Folding@Home Information

To date I have completed 45 jobs on the PlayStation 3.

I understand that where a PS3 takes 6 hours to complete a job some PCs will take days. More power for gaming is good.

The model uses color to denote the elements in the protein.

• Grey-carbon and hydrogen
• Blue-nitrogen
• Red-oxygen
• Yellow-sulfer

The yellow lights on the globe (background animation) represent the sites where PS3 machines are being used in the Folding@home project. Again, please join my team (176303).

Parts Inventory

At our initial interview Dr. Bergeson said he was planning on using the DePuy ASR total hip.

On the DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. (Johnson & Johnson company) website they list the DePuy ASR™ XL System, I confirmed that this is the specific hip replacement Dr. Bergeson was referring to.

Tri-Lock® Bone Preservation Hip Stem is what Dr. Bergeson is going to put in my femur.

Warnings and Precautions

The following conditions, singularly or concurrently, tend to impose severe loading on the affected hip joint, thereby placing the patient at higher risk for failure of the hemi-hip replacement: Obesity or excessive patient weight, manual labor, active sports participation, high levels of patient activity, likelihood of falls, alcohol or drug addictions and other disabilities, as applicable.

The following conditions singularly or concurrently, tend to adversely affect the fixation of hemi-hip replacement implants: Marked osteoporosis or poor bone stock, metabolic disorders or systemic pharmacological treatments leading to progressive deterioration of solid bone support for the implant (e.g., diabetes mellitus, steroid therapies, immunosuppressive therapies), history of general or local infections, severe deformities leading to impaired fixation or improper positioning of the implant, tumors of the supporting bone structures, allergic reactions to implant materials (e.g., bone cement, metal), tissue reactions to implant corrosion or implant wear debris, disabilities of other joints (e.g., knees and ankles).

This implant should not be used with other manufacturers’ components. Use of components other than those recommended could lead to loosening, wear, fracture during assembly or use, and premature failure.

Adverse Events

Change in position of the prosthetic components, often related to the factors listed in WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS. Early or late loosening of the prosthetic components, often related to factors listed in WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS. Early or late infection. Peripheral neuropathies. Subclinical nerve damage may also occur as a result of surgical trauma. Tissue reactions, osteolysis, and/or implant loosening caused by metallic corrosion, allergic reactions, or metal wear debris or loose cement particles.

Christmas Poke Cake

Sarah made this for our family Christmas in Baltimore last week. Nice light sweet and colorful, just what you want after a large meal i.e., not heavy rich and filling.

She used strawberry or raspberry JELL-O but I am using red (cherry) and green (lime) for more of a Christmas flair. In order to get both colors in the same cake layer I used the turkey baster to inject the jello into the cake instead of using the fork piercing method. We learned that the baster leaves large holes that don't fill with jello as the jello soaks into the cake.

There are a lot of Jell-O Poke Cake recipes out on the net, have fun and experiment. You might also be interested in the history of Jell0.

Ingredients

• 1 9 x 13 inch cake pan
• 1 baked white cake (Betty Crocker SuperMoist Cake Mix; White), cooled
• 2 cups boiling water, divided
• 1 (3 ounce) package JELL-O Brand Gelatin, any red flavor
• 1 (3 ounce) package JELL-O Brand Gelatin, any green flavor
• 1 (8 ounce) container COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed

Directions

1. Bake the cake as directed on the box.

2. Pierce cake with large fork at 1/2-inch intervals.

3. Stir 1 cup of the boiling water into a bowl with the red gelatin. Do the same with the green gelatin in separate bowl. Stir both for about 2 minutes until completely dissolved.

4. Carefully pour red gelatin over 1 cake layer and green gelatin over second cake layer. Refrigerate 3 hours.

5. Dip 1 cake pan in warm water 10 seconds; unmold onto serving plate. Spread with about 1 cup of the whipped topping. Frost sides of cake with more Cool-Whip. Optional: leave cake and pan and just dump the Cool-Whip onto the top, spread thickly.

6. Refrigerate until ready to serve, at least 1 hour.

7. Store leftover cake in refrigerator.

TED Ideas worth spreading

My buddy Ted visited last night and turned me on to this site that features short talks by smart people about their passions. Can you say YouTube for Illuminati?

TED.com—Technology, Entertainment, Design

I've added TED to my podcast feed. The buccaneer scholar sails on.

Evolution in Nocturnal

Episode #25 of Scott Sigler's book Nocturnal has a nice dialog on evolution and behavior. I'm not sure what I think about it, only that I need to study more and think about it. It folds into a discussion in On The Origin of Species, another book I am reading his month.

The Buccaneer scholar sails on.

The Buccaneer-Scholar

I recommend this new book, Secrets Of A buccaneer-Scholar by James Bach, to all my students and friends.

South Carolina Low Country Chicken

I never heard the term South Carolina Low Country before. (Here is a page about the food.) The google map indicates this is the Charleston South Carolina region of the country. Anyway, we had South Carolina Low Country Chicken at lunch today in the National Gallery of Art Garden Café.

The recipes are available as PDF on the gallery's website. I decided to type in the chicken recipe here so I know it will be available when I want to make it. The PDF also includes the Georgia Sweet Potato Casserole that Marcia and Sharon enjoyed plus Maryland Crab Cakes with Remoulade and Mustard Sauces (we didn't try).

The chicken was good and spicy. They only served legs, no thighs or white meat. I include brining in this version of the recipe in hopes that it will not be as dry as what was served in the buffet.

The recipe was created in honor of the exhibition from the Collection of Robert and Jane Meyerhoff by Executive Chef David Rogers, Restaurant Associates, at the National Gallery of Art.

South Carolina Low Country

Serves 6

• 4 pounds chicken drumsticks
• Low Country spice rub

Low Country spice rub

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 T garlic powder
• 2 T salt
• 1 T paprika
• 1 T lemon pepper
• 1 T chili powder
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp dried basil

1. Brine the chicken for an hour.
2. Rince and dry chicken.
3. Place chicken in a large bowl.
4. Combine sugar and spices in separate bowl and mix the rub.
5. Add spice rub to chicken and mix until thoroughly coated.
6. Cook the chicken at 350° until it reaches an internal temperature of 165° (about 20 minutes).

Radio Station Chili

Marcia made a great chili for dinner tonight. She and Fred got the recipe from Cliff Pence, the radio station manager at WCWM way back in the 70's. Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lb Hamburger
• 1 large Onion
• 2 cans Kidney Beans
• 28 oz Crushed Tomatos
• 8 oz Tomato Sauce
• 1 Bay Leaf
• 4 T Chili Powder
• 2 T Red Wine
• 1 T Sugar
• 1 tsp Salt
• 3 dashes Red Pepper
• dash Oregano
• dash Paprika

1. Brown the onion.
2. Add hamburger, cook until brown.
3. Add remaining ingredients.
4. Simmer uncovered for 1 hour, stir occasionally.

Folding@Home, join my team

[Geek On]

Folding@Home distributed computing.

I'm running this protein folding simulation software on both the PS3 and Mac.

Create a username for yourself.

Download and install the software.

You are welcome to join my team: Danzan Ryu (176303)

[Geek Off]

More info about my PS3.

You Only Live Twice

I am reading You Only Live Twice by Ian Fleming this week. Good fun.

The password is: Freddy Uncle Charlie Katie

Every dog needs a few fleas otherwise it will forget it is a dog.

You only live twice, once when you are born and once when you look death in the face.—James Bond (a.k.a. Bondo-San and Agent 777 in the book)

Really enjoying the book. A lot about Japan and Japanese culture. It worries me that Ian Fleming did a good job of describing it because if he understood it as well as I think I do then I must not get it at all. Shimata(sp), I make a mistake.

Everything is new tomorrow.

The story deals with Bond's depression/mid-life_crises following the death of his wife and a couple of failed missions. With James ready to resign and run a chicken farm M sends him on a mission in the hope that Bond will discover his second chance at life.

Quilting Skill Building; 1/4 seam allowance

I bought some fabric with 1/4 inch strips. I will use this the practice sewing a 1/4 inch seam. The idea is to train the body to sew consistence accurate 1/4 inch seams.

Each time you set down at the machine whip out the practice fabric and sew a couple of long straight stitches 1/4 inch from the last stitch.

Pinwheel Star, getting started

As I plan for my hip replacement surgery I am once again thinking of quilting. It must be because I will have time available that is currently scheduled for work, commuting and karate.

I want to do some complex creative project that require additional quilting skills. To the end of having a full set of tools I will be doing small project each focusing on developing my skills.

Started by checking out a bunch of books from the library and looking through them. I've already blogged about Michael James, that is the kind of stuff I want to do artistically. The book that grabbed me for learning technique is Teach Yourself Visually Quilting (2008) by Sonja Hakala. I have learn stuff and remembered other things, nice to see that my quilt teachers passed along a lot of solid tips (include in this book).

In order to learn to sew triangles with sharp points I will be doing the Pinwheel Star Quilt Project on page 128. This finished quilt picture is from the book. Below are the fabrics that I picked for my project.

Picked out the fabric today. This quilt will be machine quilted and bound.

Tiger Cry Beef

This Thai dish feature a rare steak cut into thin slices served over lettuce with a wonderfully complex sweet and astringent sauce. I love the sauce and intend on testing it with both steaks and grilled chicken.

Tiger Cry Beef Sauce

• Juice of 1 lime (2 limes if you like)

• One fresh chili, seeded and finely sliced.

• Small handful of fresh coriander (cilantro), chopped

• 1 teaspoon sugar (any sort, honey)

• 1 clove garlic, minced/pressed

• 1+ tablespoon Thai fish sauce

• 1 teaspoon soy sauce

Transfer to a large mixing bowl. Add the steak to the bowl and rub with the marinade. Leave in a cool place for 20 minutes.

Preheat a grill until hot, and lightly grease a grill rack.

Grill the steak for 1½ - 2 minutes on each side, if you like your steak rare. Cook it for about 3-4 minutes on each side for well-cooked steak.

Rest the meat for 5 minutes before slicing into strips.

Serve with the dipping sauce on a bed of lettuce with fresh tomatoes.

Deer Sighting

I saw a deer in the neighborhood this morning on my way to work. My first sighting on our street although I have seen them in the woods and dead on I80.

This photograph resembles what I saw, but I didn't take the picture.

Initially I was going to title this Doe Spotting but she was to mature to have spots and the previous wildlife entry was Fox Sighting not Fox Spotting :)

Now you too can have dear in your yard.

Quilt Assembly & Thread Choice

Yesterday I blogged about Inspiring Quilts. This posting contains the technique stuff I learned from Michael James's book.

1. Stretch the backing, good side down, tightly and pin down the sides.
2. Lay the batting over the backing. No pinning.
3. Cover with the top, show side up.
4. Smooth out the top and adjust the seams. Pay particular attention to the seams that define the pattern. Pin these key seams to the backing so they'll remain in the correct position during the rest of this process.
5. Use a tailor's basting stitch to secure the principal seams to the batting/backing. This extra basting step will take longer than the final quilting but the accuracy it affords is mandatory IMHO. (I want to look into using basting gun instead.)
6. Unpin the backing and roll up the quilt.
7. Quilting Thread & Foot—Nylon mono-filament as the surface thread with cotton-covered polyester thread in the bobbin. Walking foot prevents creeping of the top layer relative to the backing.
8. Quilt from the outside edges inward. This method helps reduce the distortion in the overal shape of the finished quilt.

Inspiring Quilts

Michael James is an artist that works in the quilt medium. I check out his book Art & Inspirations from the library and fell in love with his images. I like the color play on the strips of fabric. The depth of the image as one changes yo's focus. Must learn how to do curved pieces. Struck with his earlier works. They are the kinds of thing I want to create now. The newer stuff he did 20 year into his career are art more then quilts. Examine his archive and you will see what I mean.

Andouille Sausage Dressing

Here is Chef Paul Prudhomme's Andouille Sausage Dressing I intend to make for Thanksgiving this year. I've made it before and love it. It is going to go under the butterflied turkey along with some oyster dressing that Sharon like to make. I copied this recipe from his website. I first make it on 11/20/01 from his cook book, Chef Paul Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen (1984), page 226.

Makes about 12 cups Ingredients

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, in all

2 1/2 lbs Chef Paul Prudhomme’s Andouille Smoked Sausage, ground (8 cups) (See Note)

5 cups chopped onions

3 cups chopped celery

2 1/2 cups chopped green bell peppers

1/4 cup minced garlic

7 tablespoons Chef Paul Prudhomme’s Magic Pepper Sauce®

5 tablespoons Chef Paul Prudhomme’s Meat Magic®

3 cups very fine dry breadcrumbs, unseasoned (preferably French bread)

How to Prepare

• Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a 5-quart pot over high heat.
• When the butter is melted, add the ground andouille. Cook, stirring and scraping the bottom frequently to prevent sticking, until the andouille is beginning to brown and the oil is beginning to render from the andouille, about 6 minutes.
• Add the onions and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are translucent, but not brown, about 5 minutes.
• Add the celery, bell peppers and garlic. Continue to cook, stirring and scraping frequently, until the celery and bell peppers are faded in color, about 4 minutes.
• Add the Magic Pepper Sauce and Meat Magic. Stir and scrape until mixed in well and the brown crust on the bottom of the pot is dissolved.
• Remove the pot from the heat and add the remaining butter. Stir until the butter is melted.
• Fold in the half of the breadcrumbs, using a bottom to top folding motion.
• When mixed in well, fold in the remaining breadcrumbs. Continue to fold until the breadcrumbs are evenly moistened but still somewhat dry and cakey.

• Remove from heat and spread on a sheet pan as thinly as possible.
• Refrigerate sheet pan in the coldest part of the refrigerator until dressing is very cold. (Note: The goal is to chill the dressing as quickly as possible. Spreading the dressing in a thin layer on a sheet pan allows it to cool very quickly. In our refrigerator, this took a little over 1 hour.)

NOTE: If you are not using Andouille, add 1 to 2 more tablespoons Chef Paul Prudhomme's Meat Magic® for a fuller flavor.

Thanksgiving 2009: I used 12 oz of chorizo and three links of cooked andouille sausage sliced because the raw/fresh sausage was not available. Next time we should remember to turn the bread pieces into bread crumbs. Also, cooking under the turkey sounds good but my cheap roasting pan and the high heat over cooked/chard the dressing on the bottom. Safeway was out of the Meat Magic so I used Poultry Magic instead. I also forgot to put the hot sauce in :(.

Here is the morning after breakfast, sausage dressing (hot) with plain yogurt topped with hot sauce. This is now my favorite breakfast!

Therapeutic devices

At the Pre-Op Total Joint Replacement class yesterday the PT showed us a CPM commonly used after knee surgery. Some doctors prescribe the CPM after hip replacement as well.

My surgeon does not use the CPM for either hip or knee replacement patients (in general). Recent studies do not find significant impact of using the device six weeks after surgery.

However, as I am a trained therapist myself I have identified a couple of external devices that could be advantageous to my particular surgical recovery.

Racing Wheel with foot pedals for the PS3. This along with the appropriate software can be used to measure pre-op and post-op automotive braking abilities.

The Tony Hawk Skateboard for the PS3. A new device and supporting software should develop balance and fine motor muscle control of the hips.

Sashiko Quilting

To date all of my quilt tops have been sent out to be quilted by a professional on the large commercial quilting machines. I am very pleased with the results and enjoyed getting the tops done. I have little interest in the labor of quilting the top to the batting and backing.

As I contemplate another life phase of quilting I am thinking of doing my own quilting, sewing the top batting and back together, on my Elna. The free motion techniques are not very appealing to me. However, the linear designs of Japanese Sashiko is aesthetically pleasing and feels like the thing for me to do.

My intent is to stick to straight line sashiko patterns and use a sewing machine. There will be 5 to 7 straight stitches per inch with an extremely heavy thread.

• Asanoha
• Higaki
• Hiragumi Manji Tsunagi
• Kaku Seigaiha
• Sayagata

Sashiko (刺し子?, "little stabs") is a form of decorative stitching. This functional running stitch technique is now also used for purely decorative purposes in quilting and embroidery. My Jujitsu gi has sahiko stitching on it.

Circle of Quilters

This week I am listening to Circle of Quilters by Jennifer Chiaverini. I am thoroughly enjoying it (currently half way through) and find that she effectively captures the pleasure and personal fulfillment of quilting.

The chapter about the Russ hits home. I have personally experienced the social bias and sexism he encountered. However, the quilt shop where I got started was very inviting and encouraging, not once did I feel unwelcome (mahalo! Mel and Margrit). After reading this chapter I think I may check out some Internet quilting bees when I get back into serious quilting again.

Some of the women in the book are a bit whiny such that I wish I could grab them and tell em' to brace up and move on, Fuggedaboudit!. But as Matt always says, "it's in the script." This is just effective storytelling that has sucked me in, allowing me to care about these women.

Ms. Chiaverini has over a dozen Elm Creek Quilts novels. I look forward to reading more.

My Meatloaf

This recipe is derived from the American's Test Kitchen (ATK) meatloaf recipes. One is for an all beef meatloaf (season 7) and the other is a bacon-wrapped meatloaf (season 1) that uses veal and pork. But my Safeway doesn't carry ground veal or meatloaf meat. So I combined the two substituting turkey for veal plus using the gelatin to keep my loaf moist.

Traditional meatloaf may also include lamb, rice, scrapple, etc. and is baked in a loaf pan and served with tomato ketchup. ATK developed their bacon-wrapped recipe to reduce the grease and produce a tasty dish that was not dried out or rubbery.

Bacon-Wrapped Meatloaf with Red Sweet Glaze

Servers 6 to 8.

Red Sweet Glaze (Double if you want sauce for serving.)

• 1/4 cup chili sauce (substitute ketchup)
• 2 T Light or dark brown sugar
• 2 tsp Cider or white vinegar

Meatloaf

• 2 ts Vegetable oil
• 1 Onion, medium; chopped
• 2 Garlic cloves; pressed
• 2 Eggs, large
• 1 tsp Dried thyme
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1/2 ts Ground fresh black pepper
• 1 tsp Paprika
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp Hot red pepper sauce
• 1/2 cup milk; low-fat plain yogurt
• 2 lb Meat-loaf mix; (2 parts chuck, 1 part ground veal, 1 part ground pork) (substitute ground turkey for veal if you have no choice)
• 24 Crushed saltine crackers
• 1/3 cup Minced parsley
• 6 oz Thin-sliced bacon
• Sweet Red Glaze

Preparation

Mix all the Red Sweet Glaze ingredients in a small bowl; set aside.

Meat Loaf Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Build a baking rack. Cookie sheet (or shallow roasting pan) lined with aluminum foil, wire rack sprayed with PAM, meatloaf tray made of 2 or 3 layers of aluminum foil about 5" by 9". Poke holds in the try to allow grease to drain. Spray tray with PAM.

Heat oil in a medium skillet. Add onion and garlic, saute until softened, about 5 minutes; set aside to cool.

Mix eggs with thyme, salt, pepper, mustard, Worchestershire, pepper sauce, and milk or yogurt. Add egg mixture to meat in a large bowl, along with crackers, oatmeal or bread crumbs, parsley and cook onions and garlic; mix with a fork until evenly blended and meat mixture does not stick to bowl. (If mixture does stick, add additional milk, a couple tablespoons at a time, and continue stirring until mixture stops sticking.)

Turn meat mixture onto the foil tray and form into a loaf. Smooth the sides of the loaf with a wet rubber spatula.

With wet hands, pat mixture into a loaf approximately 9 by 5 inches. Cover a wire rack with foil; prick foil in several places with a fork. Place a rack on a shallow roasting pan lined with foil for easy cleanup. Set formed loaf on rack.

Brush loaf with the glaze. Then arrange bacon slices, crosswise, over loaf, overlapping them slightly. In order to prevent curling, allow the ends of the bacon to hang off the loaf then trim the excess bacon of so that you have about half an inch of the bacon to tuck under. Tuck the ends in under the meatloaf.

Bake loaf until bacon is crisp and loaf registers 160 degrees, about 1 hour.

Reduce the remaining sauce over medium low heat. The heat will sterilize the sauce that has become contaminated by contact with the raw meats.

Optional: Just before removing from the oven put some of the reduced sauce on the bacon and put it under the broiler to glaze.

Remove from oven/broiler. Rest for 20 minutes. Slice and serve.

Inversion Therapy

Our new inversion table arrived and we set it up on Sunday after the concert.

Here is a video of a nice couples inversion therapy. I have some experience with it and it is wonderful. I suggest including these postures in your couples yoga sessions.

However, finding a partners that can support each other is a non-trivial task. :)

We got a table off EBay that I have used in the past. The following table is made by another company but I like the demo the gentleman gives.

After the hip replacement I will NOT be doing full inversions shown above, just down to 45° so that table friction holds me up, not my ankles.

Fantastic Voyage

Use the slider bar for a fantastic voyage.

If you don't get the above reference then maybe this will help.

Astronomical Quilting

A friend pointed me to Jimmy McBride's blog for some new quilting ideas.

Inspire yourself with the Astronomy Picture Of the Day.

Questions for Hip Surgeons

This is the list of questions I want to ask during my initial interview with potential hip replacement surgeons.

1. Can't we do both hips now and get it over with?
2. How will my procedure and recovery be typical?
3. What is atypical about my case?
4. What procedure do you recommend for me? Why not the others?
5. How many of these surgeries have you performed? How frequently?
6. Should I continue to take baby aspirin daily?
7. What medications will be take in preparation for surgery?
8. What medications will I be on after surgery? For how long?
9. What about Coumadin (warfarin)? Alternatives?
10. Antibiotics?
11. There may be dental work in my future. When should it be scheduled?
12. Is a flu shot recommend?
13. Any need to carry an ID card or wear a medical alert bracelet after procedure?
14. Airport security and other metal detectors?
15. I have a 90 mile freeway commute, how long before that will be safe?
16. After full recovery, what physical motions will be forbidden?
17. Karate stances and kicks? Jujitsu falls? Yoga "hip opening"? Inversion?
18. Prescription for a new bed? Recommendations please.
19. If you had my body what would you do? When? What surgeon would you use?

The Singing Tree

I'm starting a new tread, things to do and places to go someday.

I'd like to hear this sight in Lancashire England (not Great Britian), The Singing Tree.

Cuban Style Roast Pig

Sharon came back from music camp last winter with a hankering for a new pork dish that the cheif at Bishop's Ranch had prepared for diner on Saturday evening. She asked for the recipe and he referred her to this book on cooking pork, Bruce Aidells's Complete Book of Pork: A Guide to Buying, Storing, and Cooking the World's Favorite Meat. We read some yesterday and decided to make the lechon for Sharon's birthday meal on Saturday (or did I just want an excuse to cook this weekend?)

His essay on ham was quite informative and entertaining. Made me want to read the book chrome://foxytunes-public/content/signatures/signature-button.pngcover to cover and to explore his culinary world of pork. I have made a couple of pork recipes that I love, pulled pork and pepsi pork, so I expect to find more winners here.

Of course there is a more authentic/Cuban Lechon Asado recipe for suckling pig if you want to go whole hog. (-8 pun intended :-)

---

Roasted Pork Shoulder, Cuban Style (serves 8)

1 bone-in (or boneless) Boston butt (pork shoulder cut), 5 to 7 pounds

For marinating and cooking:

1/4 cup triple sec or Grand Marnier
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon whole cumin seeds
2 tablespoons chopped fresh or dried oregano
1 tablespoon grated lime zest
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil

1) Make the Cuban Marinade by combining all ingredients, except pork, in bowl and mix well. Set aside/refrigerate 1/3 cup of the marinade for the Citrus Sauce.

2) Place pork in 2-gallon zip-lock plastic bag and pour in remaining marinade. Seal and refrigerate overnight or up to 2 days, turning bag occasionally to redistribute marinade.

3) When ready to roast, remove pork from marinade, shake off excess and discard marinade. Let meat sit at room temperature 1 hour.

4) Preheat oven to 325° F. Place roast in roasting pan and begin cooking. After 2 hours, begin checking roast for doneness. When meat is fork tender in several spots, remove from oven. Transfer pork to cutting board and tent with foil. Let rest 15 to 30 minutes.

5) While roast is cooking make the Citrus Mojo Sauce. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and bloom the garlic and cumin for 30 seconds.

6) Pour most of the remaining ingredients except the cilantro and dissolved cornstarch into saucepan. Bring to boil, reduce heat to maintain a simmer and cook 5 minutes. Adjust acidity and sweetness to taste with additional lime juice and sugar.

7) Stir in dissolved cornstarch, bring to boil 30 seconds to thicken slightly then set aside.

Citrus Mojo Sauce (for serving):

3 cloves crushed garlic
1 tsp cumin powder
1 T olive oil
1/3 cup reserved marinade
3/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice, or to taste
1 teaspoon sugar, or to taste (omit if you used sweet oranges)
1/2 cup chopped cilantro (optional)
2 teaspoons cornstarch dissolved in 2 tablespoons water

8) Right before serving pork rewarm the Citrus Sauce and add in the cilantro.

9) Carve pork into 1/4-inch-thick slices, arrange on a platter, drizzle with a little sauce and serve remaining sauce in gravy boat at the table.

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Note 1: Alternatively you can grill the pork on a BBQ with indirect heat at about 300° to 325° F oven instead of using a oven. Use a drip pan under the grill to catch the fat and juices. The cooking time and range for doneness are roughly the same. Use some hickory wood for that outdoorsy flavor.

Note 2: For bigger parties use a whole pork shoulder (butt and picnic as one big hunk of meat). Just double the marinade and sauce recipes. Grill/roast the shoulder for 3 to 4 hours. Serves 12 to 16 folks.

Jaya's Citrus Mojo Sauce:

Before serving add 1 to 2 parts Joe Caribe' Caribbean To-go's Habanero sauce to 6 parts Citrus Mojo Sauce. Nice heat but not recommended for most people.

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Aside: This painting is what I first thought of when Sharon started talking about the Cubist pork she had for dinner; Nude Descending a Staircase (No. 2) by Marcel Duchamp, 1912.

---

Pulp Fiction (1994)

Vincent: Want some bacon?

Jules: No, man. I don't eat pork.

Vincent: Are you Jewish?

Jules: Nah, I ain't Jewish, I just don't dig on swine, that's all.

Vincent: Why not?

Jules: Pigs are filthy animals. I don't eat filthy animals.

Vincent: Yeah, but bacon tastes good. Pork chops taste good.

Jules: Hey, sewer rat may taste like pumpkin pie, but I'd never know 'cause I wouldn't eat the filthy motherfucker. Pigs sleep and root in shit. That's a filthy animal. I ain't eatin' nothing that ain't got sense enough to disregard its own feces.

Vincent: How about a dog? Dog eats its own feces.

Jules: I don't eat dog either.

Vincent: Yeah, but do you consider a dog to be a filthy animal?

Jules: I wouldn't go so far as to call a dog filthy, but they're definitely dirty. A dog's got personality. Personality goes a long way.

Vincent: Ah, so by that rationale, if a pig had a better personality, he would cease to be a filthy animal. Is that true?

Jules: Well, we'd have to be talkin' about one charming motherfucking pig. I mean, he'd have to be ten times more charming than that Arnold on Green Acres, you know what I'm saying?

Vincent: [laughing] That's good.

Chicken Fried Steak

We got this recipe from American's Test Kitchen Season 4, the Truck Stop Favorites episode.

The Coconut Cream Pie was good but since I don't particularly get excited over non-chocolate deserts we haven't made it a second time. The chick fried steak on the other hand has become my favorite meal. Sharon makes it for me on my birthday every year.

Makes a real mess of the kitchen with the batter and hot oil. We use the dutch oven for frying. Since you have the oil going might as well bread up a few vegetables and deep fry them while your at it. Takes about two and a half hours to prepare.

LoughHaven Restaurant

LoughHaven Restaurant is going to reopen. Several years ago Sharon and I were inspired by Robert Rodriguez's supplemental material on the Once Upon A Time In Mexico (2003) DVD. He said that everyone should have a hand full of great recipes that they can put together at the drop of a hat. Then when people come over you have several thing that are fantastic that you can serve.

There is a new keyword, menu, used in this blog to identify the recipes on the LoughHaven dinner menu. When you are coming over tell us what you would like and we'll make it for you. Goood!

We only include dishes that we thoroughly enjoy and know how to prepare.

There are a few other things that are on the menu but have not been recorded here yet. Check back for the grilled salmon with spice rub asperigous and maybe even upma/uppammaa/upama (a spicy Indian dish using curry, vegetables and Cream of Wheat).

Testing Time

Reading an article by Steven Woody on "Software Longevity Testing" in Better Software today, September 2009 edition, and though I would record the important dates/times that should be considered when testing.

• GPS systems reach 999,999,999 seconds on September 14, 2011.
• GPS systems weeks rollover on April 7, 2019.
• UNIX 32-bit time overruns on January 19, 2038.
• System uptime 32 bit counter rollover. Hint, use a debugger to set the counter to just before rollover and verify all date/time related functions after a rollover occurs.
  1 mS = 24.9 days
  2 mS = 49.7 days
  2 mS unsigned = 99.4 days
  5 mS = 124.3 days
  10 mS = 248.6 days
  10 mS unsigned = 497.1 days

New term Soak Test; a long period of time running the application under heavy load without letting it up for air. Place the system under increasing load until the load-regulating, rate-limiting or discard mechanisms become active then maintain this load for hours/days.

New term Quiescent Test; a long period of idle time followed by work to verify that she wakes up and is ready to go after things have been quite. What happens when processes are swapped out, connections dropped, sleep mode, powersave, firewall timed out, key process not woken up in time, et cetera.

Moonbow

I download images from the Astronomy Picture of the Day(APOD) site occasionally for my screen saver and the PS3.

Check out this video of a moonbow filmed in Patagonia Chili. Visit the APOD page for a discription of the phenomenon.

Eusocial Networking

One of my favorite authors is Scott Sigler. Scott just won a Parsec Award for his novella EUSOCIAL NETWORKING at Dragon*Con 2009.

I am including a link to the short story (50 minutes) for you. The audio file starts with a ten minute introduction that explains a bit about Scott and the Obsidian podcasts followed by Scott reading his story. Click to download/listen to the MP3 file. I subscribe to both authors podcast feeds via iTunes and listen on my iPhone.

You don't need to be familiar with the J.C. Hutchins 7th Son books for the story to work. But if you want to find out about the Saudi nuke and the project financier (A.U. Rookman) then listen to the 7th Son books (really just one very long story in three volumes).

T2, The Future Begins Today

JCVD

If you like European films that allow you to think then check out JCVD (via Netflix).

Please don't read the Netflix description, reviews, the DVD box cover or watch any previews. This film does not fit into a pigeon hole and everything I have see written about it has it wrong. Like many non-Hollywood films, a key element is the disclosure of the story (as opposed to Hollywood movies that follow well understood formulas).

JCVD is NOT an action movie.

JCVD is NOT a comedy.

JCVD is NOT a mixed martial arts blood bath.

JCVD is NOT a romance.

JCVD is NOT predictable.

JCVD is NOT an American movie, English subtitles.

After your have seen it let me know what you think.
That last scene, the coda, kick my ass. Run Lola Run.

TIME Magazine named Jean-Claude Van Damme's performance in the film the second best of the year (after Heath Ledger's The Joker in The Dark Knight). "He deserves not a black belt, but an Oscar®", said TIME Magazine.

RipStick

I saw something new at the skate park today, a rip stick.

It is not easy to push a four wheel dolly because of the omnidirectional casters. Now try to balance on a board with just two casters, yee ha!

Add this to the list of things to avoid after getting a hip replacement.

Auburn 49 Fire, August 30, 2009

I was playing GTA IV Sunday afternoon when I saw a massive wall of smoke through the parlor window. Great billowing thick dark gray smoke in the center churning up looming on the horizon. It looked like it was just past the ridge north of us, across I80 up toward the new Home Depot on 49.

Sharon, get the camera and take a picture out the front door.

3:55 PM A short time later we received a robocall to evacuate our house. We started packing by collecting the important papers, irreplaceable family pictures, et cetera. Packed clothes for a few days stay and backed up the computers. Planned on taking the computers/drives with us in both cars.

4:01 PM

4:01 PM, click to see the air support.

Problem, where to go? There are a few friends we know would welcome us but the two cats would be an issue (allergies/dogs)?

With most of our stuff collected and before we started loading the cars we received a follow up call rescinding the evacuation order.

Last year there was a lot of smoke in the air from massive wildfires but we never felt threatened. Remember the "fog" the morning that Legacy was here for their house concert (pictures)?

Check out this collection of aftermath photographs taken by the community.

We found the yubanet.com was an excellent source of fire information. It seems that the local radio station KVMR gets their information from yubanet.com, in fact the person who runs the fire service at yubanet.com called into KVMR to give regular authoritative updates on the emergency. Specifically, we followed http://yubanet.com/nevada/Rock_Creek_Aurn.php on Sunday for our news (Are we really going to evacuate and possibly lose the house?).

The next day, highway 49 was partially open, the Governator declared a disaster area during his site visit, and my dojo (just across the street) was open for training :). The fire's name changed from the 'Rock Creek Auburn Fire' to the '49 Fire'.

This map shows the area engulfed by the 49 Fire. Click on the picture to enlarge and read.

Tango links

The Tango Eternal podcast mentioned some places on the web that are worth a visit.

Hybrid Tango Blog has worthwhile commentary and YouTube videos. Their masthead says, "The secret of tango is in this moment of improvisation that happens between step and step. It is to make the impossible thing possible: to dance silence. This is essential to learn in tango dance, the real dance, that of the silence, of following the melody." Carlos Gavito

There is a website with a large selection of instructional videos, www.argentine-tango.com.

White Sister's Three Shirt Deal

Just finished two Stephen J. Cannell books back to back; White Sister (2006) and Three Shirt Deal (2007). These are part of the Shane Scully's Tour of Duty series of novels.

Cannell starts an intense subplot in White Sister that get resolved in Three Shirt Deal. I recommend they be read together. The other Scully books are pretty much stand alone although it will flow better in order.

With the exception of #4 they have all been a good read, melting the miles away during my commute.

Taiko at Band Camp

Here is Sharon performing after a week of Taiko drumming class. I went to the first class on Saturday evening but the Zen Kutsu Dachi (warrior pose) doesn't work with the arthritis and it stressed my knee so bad for a short time I didn't think I would be able to walk back to the dining hall. Seems that I got so into playing that I wasn't aware of the pain in my hip and stress on my right knee until we started lifting the drums to put them away for the night :). Add Taiko to my post surgery things to do.

Margaret Goddard, playing the taped tire in front, brought Taiko to Lark Camp for the first time last year. Rick and Jan Babington are the instructors.

Taiko must be experienced live, in person. Our sound systems just do not move air anywhere close to what a bunch of big loud drums can move.

Run Lola Run

Picked up copy of Run Lola Run the other day. Loved it when it came out in 1998 and saw it a couple of times in the theater. Note, this preview's music is very relaxed compared to the film's soundtrack which is driven!

The new HD version is beautiful and has an informative 10 years later feature. We watched it without subtitles, the film is in German, focusing on the details.

Recommend you see this film at some point (if you watch more then 30 movies a year).

Roadside Attractions

Stevie Coyle's recent email mentioned a roadside attraction not far for Alice's place in Virginia, Foamhenge.

The website Stevie cited seems to be a useful/cool way to find interesting things when traveling. I think we'll use this site to spontaneously plan our big American road trip. Check out this Auburn entry.

Auburn Journal Article

Check out the newspaper article about our house concerts. House concerts offer intimate show setting.

Our back yard neighbor saw it this morning and commented.     :)

I do like Auburn, it is our home and our town; we no longer feel like anonymous SF Bay Area residents.

Rendezvous with Rama

I am listening to Rendezvous with Rama (1972) by Authur C. Clarke this week. You know it is a great book when I get to work in the morning and don't remember making the drive. Good solid old fashion science fiction that describes a future while instilling awe, wonder and optimism. Like 2001: A Space Odyssey, listed to it last month, he asks very intelligent questions and answers many.

I found these pictures (spoiler) inspired by Clarke's story.

These two drawing are from the wikipedia entry for the novel.

The Rookie

The Rookie is my latest recommendation for an exciting read. A solid coming of age story set in a professional football future.

Now available in print, this science fiction novel was first available as a book tape read by the author. I like the related podcasts that others have done that fit into the story. You need to build your own play list to get the bonus material in the right sequence.

In a previous blog I recommend Scott Sigler with some reservations for the all but the toughest reader. The Rookie is recommended without those reservations. Start here and then when you get into Scott's stories check out his other fiction. The podcasts are how I access his fiction.

Trigosamine® smoke and mirors

Yesterday someone handed me an article they clipped from the Auburn Journal on a "powerful new" over the counter drug for the relief of joint pain, Trigosamine®. The article was glowing and they quoted a doctor and everything.

My suspicions were aroused when by the box ad at the bottom of the page, just above the article citations, telling how to order this new product with special limited time 48-hour "significant discount". Implying that my local drug store may not be able to stock the product in the foreseeable future because of the high demand. But with the special code, if I call after 8:00 AM (date not specified) I am guaranteed my order will be delivered directly to my home.

I googled for Trigosamine and found the company's website and pages of hits. Most of these hits seemed to be drug sales sites offing the product. Eight pages into the google hits I found this short article, Is Trigosamine® Really an Effective Drug for Joint Care? About the only none sales related hit I found. I then looked for FASEB J and found the Journals website. No articles on Trigosamine® or on Hyaluronate-13 published in 2004.

The one scientific sounding reference in the company's literature is bogus. Assume the other information if not wrong is misleading.

The Glucosamine Sulfate is known to help degenerating joints so maybe the product will help some people. But eating a joint lubricant, hyaluronate, isn't going to lubricant my joints any more than eating steaks, bovine muscle, is going to add more muscles to my abs.

While writing this blog I attempted to link to the article in the Auburn Journal but their search engine didn't find their own article. Hmmm??? Going back to the newspaper clipping I see in a smaller type along the top of the page that the "article" is a paid advertisement run by Universal Media Syndicate, Inc. for the product manufacturer. To quote Universal Media Syndicate's website, "Media buying is not just what we do, it's who we are".

Dr. Joseph Dietz, PhD works for the manufacturer. The other scientist quoted in the article, Dr. Philip Howren, is a medical consultant to the manufacturer, PatentHEALTH.

I will NOT include the URL for the product here because I do not want to endorse it or add search-engine-credibility to the company.

The Lascivious Biddies

The Lascivious Biddies do a most sensual number call Salt on their Get Lucky CD. I heard it on the Tango Eternal! Episode #13 podcast. I recommend you download this episode and give it a listen, Salt is 4:19 into the podcast.

Generally I don't listen to songs but these chicks tickle my ears. Check them out on MySpace.

Celtic Tribute to Led Zeppelin

Pete Grant turned us on to a new recording tonight during the AcoustiCelts practice; Celtic Tribute to Led Zeppelin: Long Ago and Far Away. Like Wake The Dead launching from the Grateful Dead's music, this group artfully sets Led Zeppelin tunes with trad Irish tunes.

Check out the various YouTube recordings from the album. Below is one of these YouTube "videos", very nice set with Stairway To Heaven and Star of Munster.

Speedway, Fast Fridays

I joined Dick and his motorcycle buddy at Fast Fridays, Auburn Speedway, last night for a few hours of short track motorcycle racing.

I really enjoyed myself and plan on going back. I was surprised how exciting some of the races were.

Recommend using ear protection. I used my taiko drum ear plugs, they worked great; knocked down the motorcycle roar while still being able to hear conversations.

Hip replacement surgery info

Starting to plan for my right hip surgery. Asking professionals I know to reach out to their contacts about pre/post surgery training and secondarily about surgeons/hospitals to stay away from.

Every person I have talked to raves about how great their hips feel after the surgery. I never hear anything negative ("I had the best surgeon."). I think that just about anybody doing a fair number of hip replacements a year is going to be fine.

What I am looking for the someone that uses the newer minimally invasive, 2 inch, technique (MIS). Not everyone has been trained and it may not be covered by insurance yet, all this needs to be investigated.

• Medical New Today for breaking news
• SmartBone.org
• DePuy Orthopaedics
• National Library of Medicine
• Hip Replacement Physical Therapy Tutorial
• Minimally Invasive Total Hip Replacement

Terms

• Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS) with Computer-Assisted Navigation (CAN) allows the surgeon to perform the hip replacement through one or two smaller incisions.
• Total Hip Arthroplasty (THA); complete hip replacement surgery.
• Direct Anterior Approach (DAA)
• Venous Thromboembolism (VTE); potentially fatal blood clot, risk of occurrence is greater after THA.
• Short Term Recovery; patient no longer needs walking aids and can walk around the house without pain--in addition to being able to walk two blocks around the house without pain or resting. Short-term recovery also involves getting off major pain killers and having a full night's sleep without pills. (4 to 6 weeks)
• Long Term Recovery; complete healing of surgical wounds and internal soft tissues. When a patient can return to work and the activities of daily living, they are on the way to achieving the full term of recovery. Another indicator is when the patient finally feels normal again. (6 months)

Facts

• Patients who had complete hip replacement surgery, or total hip arthroplasty, had better success at preventing venous thromboembolism if they used extended duration rivaroxaban. From 9.3% down to 2% chance of death.
• Serious complications, such as joint infection, occur in less than 2% of patients. (Hanssen, A.D., et al., “Evaluation and Treatment of Infection at the Site of Total Hip or Knee Arthroplasty,” JBJS, pp. 910-922) Besides infection, possible complications include blood clots, lung congestion or pneumonia.
• Physical therapy within the first six weeks is also very important. Most of the exercises for hip replacement patients can be done at home. Patients are encouraged to see physical therapy as an integral part of their recovery and the more serious patients are about their daily exercises, the quicker they tend to return to their normal activities.
• Avoid bend the hip joint over 90 degree after surgery. How long it this going to be ill advised, what can I expect in terms of range of motion after complete recovery?
• Researchers...found that only five of the 124 cement-less metal Harris-Galante implants used to replace the bone that fits into the hip socket had failed over two decades in the patients under review...

Quilt in use

Beware the cat with a wolf's eyes.

I love to see my quilts used by the people I give them to. If you don't understand the quote, click on the picture.