Archive for March, 2008

ECU Graduate Certificate Update

I’m slowly progressing in my program at ECU. I took my first exam recently, and think I did pretty well. There are only three assignments left at this point, so I’m thinking ahead to next semester. Over the summer, ECU is offering a course on the finance aspects of non-profit organizations. Even though I don’t see non-profit work (at least full-time) in my future, the course counts towards the certificate, and you never know, I might find myself volunteering or even working in the non-profit world someday. I’d like to get in a class in portfolio management, but I’m not sure that the schedule will work out that way. I’m supposed to choose classes for the summer and fall this week, so I’ll have another update soon.

Weigh-in: 381 Pounds

Ouch! I backslid a bit this week – had a few friends in town for the NCAA tourney and didn’t stick with low-carb the way I should. I’ve up almost 15 pounds from my lowest since starting low-carb, so it’s time to get serious about this again.

Iraq By The Numbers

Today is the fifth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. Nearly 4,000 of our friends and family members have died fighting a war of preemption that was started under false pretenses against a foe that was in no position to threaten us. We have sacrificed our ability to pursue and capture the monster who killed 3,000 Americans on September 11th to instead chase and destroy a neutered tinpot dictator whose bombast barely disguised the fact that he had long ago abandoned the pursuit of weapons of mass destruction. Today on moblogic.tv, the excellent Lindsay Campbell (formerly of Wallstrip) lays out Iraq by the numbers. It’s a stark picture of where five years of fighting has gotten us. One of many interesting facts: Despite the recent successes of the “surge”, electricity output in Iraq is still only at 89% of prewar levels, and less than half of what the country actually needs. Regardless of your personal feelings on the war, you need to watch this video.

Interesting Article on Food Culture in NYT

Today’s New York Times caught my eye with an article about food critics and food authors who have ballooned to unhealthy weights due to their embrace of any “anything goes” food lifestyle. The “Fat Pack”, as some of these foodies have dubbed themselves, are seeing themselves develop diabetes and other health problems due to their eating habits. I know a little about this. I am a foodie through and through, as anyone who knows me will tell you. I love to find great restaurants, I love cooking and creating new dishes, and I think of food as more than just sustenance. This kind of relationship with food isn’t necessarily unhealthy – plenty of people enjoy food without overdoing it. However, combine a love of rich food with a tendency towards emotional or mindless binge eating, and you have the recipe for many a fat foodie. Here’s the link to the article. Enjoy!

Recipe: Low-carb Braised Pork Butt Stew

I’m a sucker for the “Reduced For Quick Sale” area of my local Harris Teeter’s meat department. Usually on Monday or Tuesday, the meat section is positively brimming with cheap meat that has a sell-by date of Wednesday or Thursday. I’ll pick some up and experiment. This week I found pork butt ribs, also known as “Country Ribs”. I picked up 3 pounds of meat for right around $5, the only problem is that I had no idea how to prepare the meat. I know a great recipe for stew made with beef short ribs, and I adapted it to create a spicy braised pork stew that tastes great with or without veggies. This is a time-consuming recipe to make, but the results are positively incredible. You end up with meat that has a nice roast-pork like consistency and a good amount of spicy gravy that goes well with the meat and really enhances steamed veggies. Is your mouth watering yet? The recipe is after the jump! Read more…

Comment Spam Sucks

If anyone wonders why I don’t update this blog more often, it’s because I spend more time cleaning the comments queue of spam than I do writing posts. In all the time I’ve had this blog, I’ve gotten less than ten legitimate comments. Since I blog more to get things off my chest that earn money, that doesn’t really matter. In the same period, though, I’ve deleted literally thousands of spam comments. What I don’t get is that many spam comments are just random gibberish without so much as a link to a product. Ah, a day in the life of a lightly trafficked blogger.

Weigh-In: 372 Pounds

Continuing to creep back up, and I’m a little peeved. Cutting carbs a bit more this week, and I may eventually take the Atkins-recommended but rarely followed step of cutting out caffeine next week if the situation doesn’t improve somewhat. I’m going to Chicago for a short vacation on Friday, so we’ll see how things stand when I get back.