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Do you remember the things you did when you first started using the Web and how it has changed your life?
Holy crap, that was a long time ago! The first time I surfed the web with an actual graphic user interface was from the basement computer lab in the AS&M building at UCSD, using one of those fancy schmancy SUN Sparcstations.
Before websites had pictures, Archie, Veronica, and gopher were types of sites that had databases and information. No Yellow Pages, but you could find information on just about any college student or government employee that way. You accessed those from a UNIX workstation or from a UNIX server which you connect to by dialing in from your computer's modem.
There were no pictures, and no clicking, you had to navigate with the keyboard. Then came HTML, which we would browse using Lynx.
Then my IRC buddy, Taner, told me about this thing called NCSA Mosaic, but you have to use a workstation like a Sparcstation that supported graphics because it took half an hour to load a web page on my brand new computer with a blazing fast (for its time, upgraded from 2400 baud) 28.8 kbps modem, that's like 1/52000 the speed of the Clearwire internet I have now.
The first website I went to was http://www.zima.com, a malt beverage that tasted like alcoholic Perrier. I was 19.
Those were the days.
What gifts are you planning to get this year for the tech-geek in your life?
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Some soap from Bliss. And a wallet.
The wallet's going to kick ass, will post pictures later when I actually buy it.
Will you be giving out candy to trick or treaters this year? If so, what goodies can the ghosts and goblins expect to bring home?
No. I don't think there are many kids of trick-or-treating age in my neighborhood. There might've been one, but I haven't seen her in a while.
Nobody bothers selling Girl Scout Cookies when they're in season either, I think it's because they have to complete for real estate in front of the grocery stores with the bums.
If you had to be trapped in a TV show for a month, which show would you choose?
ST: Deep Space 9. Maybe Glee or Saved by the Bell.
I bet you thought I was going to say Battlestar Galactica, but I'd kill myself after a week stuck in a skanky old spaceship.
Which do you prefer? City life or country living?
Since Tim lives in the country and I live in the city, I'm getting both and it's working really well.
City Living Pros:
1. Close proximity to shopping, restaurants, nightlife
2. Accessibility of public transportation
3. Diversity of people
4. Availability of facilities such as libraries, civic events, art and culture
5. Cheaper cost of energy
6. Farmer's markets (surprisingly, farmer's markets out in the country are not quite as good as city ones)
7. Availability of ethnic food, exotic and heirloom vegetables
8. Fast response in case of emergencies
City Living Cons:
1. Sketchy people hanging around all the time
2. High rent (balances out with City Pros #2 and 5)
3. Limited space for growing vegetables and keeping livestock
4. Density of people. It's awesome when you get along with your neighbors. But if you don't, it can really suck.
Country Living Pros:
1. Lots of space for growing vegetables and livestock, away from neighbors and traffic
2. Cheaper real estate
3. Closer proximity to hiking, camping, skiing
Country Living Cons:
1. See opposite of City Living Pros
2. High cost of commute
3. When you're stuck, you're really stuck. Like in a snowstorm, flooding, or wildfires.
4. All your friends live far away in relative terms
What is it about your favorite local small business that keeps you coming back again and again?
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The neighborhood I live in is very eclectic and lively, plus it's got a ton of foot traffic so that helps sustain the businesses. It's also full of hipsters, so most of the stores & restaurants are pretty affordable. It's really hard to pick just one.
Twice Sold Books. One word: kitties. Lots of them. Four words: half-price used books. It's a win-win situation. It's a small and dense bookstore, but if I need more books, there's Bailey Coy books down the street and Third Place Books about 20 minutes away.
Stumptown coffee. They're Portland based, but luckily, I've got one around the corner from my apartment and on my way to work. Their coffee is AMAZING. They make french pressed coffee instead of drip, and they make pretty hearts or ferns in your latte foam. I'm a serious coffee addict now because of Stumptown. Even for making coffee at home, we occasionally go cheap or lazy with Starbucks beans and regret the decision immediately.
Bliss Soap. The owner Phil is hilarious. He makes you pick a sample after you've been in the store for 5 minutes. He makes everything in the store himself, and their stuff is really fun. Phil's like the Willie Wonka of soap. I want to work there for free, well, for free soap.
Retail Therapy. The owner is really nice and curates great stuff. They have really cute and comfortable clothes with an urban influence. And shoes, and jewelry, and housewares, and lingerie, and accessories.
Other notables: Hothouse spa, Quinn's, Piroshky on Madison, Molly Moon, Tin Table, Rancho Bravo, Elysian Brewery, Stumbling Monk, Tangerine Tree.
What’s your favorite quick, easy, and healthy recipe?
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When I want quick and easy, I make either ceviche or sundried tomato angel hair pasta. Both are awesome as leftovers and impressive at potlucks.
Ceviche, makes 6 to 8 servings:
15-20 limes, soft supple limes = more juice
2 lbs firm and white fleshed fish fillet (tilapia, red snapper)
1 lb ripe tomatoes, finely diced
1 small onion, finely diced
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
dried oregano, salt, and pepper to taste
mayonnaise (optional)
hot sauce
tostada shell
Directions:
1. bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Put in fish and cook until center of fillet is opaque, depending on thickness this can be as little as 3 minutes or as much as 10 minutes.
2. Strain fish and let cool.
3. Meanwhile, squeeze limes into a medium sized bowl.
4. Flake cooled fish into lime juice. Marinate in refrigerator for 30 minutes.
5. While fish is marinating, finely dice tomatoes, onion, and cilantro.
6. Strain marinated fish, add diced vegetables.
7. Add oregano, salt, and pepper to taste.
8. Pile on top of tostada shell, garnish with condiments, eat. It's even good without the tostada shell.
Sundried tomato pasta, 2 generous servings:
angel hair pasta, half a box (break the pasta in half or thirds if making for potluck)
julienned sundried tomatoes in oil from Trader Joe's, half a jar
olive oil
fresh basil, about 4 oz
grated parmesan cheese
Directions:
1. Heat a medium pot of salted water to boil,
2. While waiting for water to boil, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil on low in a sautee pan with half a jar of sundried tomatoes.
3. Add pasta to boiling water, cook until al dente, about 5 minutes.
4. Strain pasta, toss with sundried tomatoes in sautee pan. Turn the heat off.
5. Cut basil leaves into ribbons or tear into 1 inch pieces. Add basil and grated parmesan to pasta and toss.
6. Eat, delicious hot or cold.
If you could have personally witnessed one event in history, which one would you want to have seen?
Jesus's resurrection and his first request: brains.
What is your favorite memory from your school days?
Submitted by The Cookie Jar.
Recess. Playground equipment is for the little kids, plus there wasn't enough for everybody. Every year we found new games to play. Jump roping was really popular some years. Other years, it could be knitting or crocheting, you'd see all the kids, boys and girls, sitting around knitting or crocheting. We also played pog. We invented games too, like pickup sticks with pencils or space invaders on paper. Every once in a while, we'd play those hand held video games like Donkey Kong.
Other more exotic things we did:
Shuttlecock (you play it like hackey sack, but shuttlecock looks more like a coin with feathers or tassel on it). We didn't kick it around like a soccer match, nor did we have cheerleaders.
Chinese yo-yo
Raise silkworms or hermit crabs. The silkworms would eat a lot of mulberry leaves, spin a cocoon and turn into moths. The hermit crabs would invariably die. We were good about not getting too attached to our temporary pets.
What are things you can do today because of technology that you couldn't do five years ago?
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Get 3 PBS channels over the air via digital broadcast, sometimes 6 PBS channels depending on the way the wind blows. And all the other regular broadcast channels x 2. HD broadcast quality is amazing, how do they cram all those pixels over the air?
