So, I'm out in beautiful Monterey, California for the annualISSS/ISAC Conference.  It has been a wonderful couple of days. I flew in on Thursday morning with Andrew and Mike (both of whom, I should note, are excellent traveling companions: very chill.) and we had lunch at an acceptable seafood place with a stunning view of the bay. Then we went down to the aquarium and saw the Great White Shark! Yes, capitals are appropriate, and yes the shark was impressive, despite any panderings from my friends about the shark's small size. I won't bore anyone who still reads this with the details of /why/ the shark program at the Monterey Bay Aquarium is so cool, I'll just  offer this hyperlink: Great White Sharks on Exhibit

The aquarium was, overall, fairly impressive and yes! I successfully navigated the exhibits, including the giant swirling tank of anchovies (shudder) and the kelp forest. I couldn't bring myself to touch anything in the tide pools, though Mike and Andrew had great fun.

The conference itself was very successful. All of our papers were well received and I feel that I gathered important insight and feedback on how to improve my thesis.  The conference was smaller than last year, which led to better networking and socialization opportunities.  Next time, I hope I'll remember names and faces, instead of just vague impressions and nicknames.  Mike was kind enough to share his friends with Andrew and me, and we had a great time out on Saturday.  I spent today walking around Monterey by myself, as the guys needed some recuperation (read: football) time. I had a wonderful day- I did some great wine tastings, sampled free food from local restaurants, went shopping, and sipped a mocha right on the bay as I watched the tide pour in.  While there, I was treated to a sea otter feasting on crabs and other things.  I was alterted to his presence by the sound of pounding, that echoed off the piers and rocks in a most ominous manner.  I looked around for the source, since I was quite alone on the walkway, and spotted the otter, quite close to the overlook where I was standing, hammering away with a rock on his food.  It was quite awesome to see in the wild...the aquarium demos just are not the same.  I also got some great pictures of seals basking in the sun on the rocks.  I didn't see any sea lions though...

I'm not a big fan of Facebook. I think most people who know me even a little are familiar with this. Some of you, I'm sure, chalk it up to professional paranoia. Others, perhaps, think I'm just odd. The rest of you probably have similar outlooks and we all grin and chummily bear the cross along. Then, there's one or two of you who monitor facebook like a neonatal heart monitor. Creepy. Anyway! The point is, I don't check my facebook all that often. And, for some reason unbeknown-st (seriously!) to me, it still sends all my status updates and jazz to an email I also never check.

Well. I'm at work right now, slowly melting in frustration at time delays related to extraordinary financial expenditures (read: tuition bills) and paging through my DU mail account to keep myself from flying to pieces.  Guess which email I never check? As such, I was able to catch up on all the little notes and comments left in my facebook 'notes' section.

You know what? You guys are awesome. Thank you...my sanity needed you and you were there.

P.S.: After attempting to select my lil' penguin icon, I've decided they need one for the emotion 'trapped'.  Maybe the little guy can be banging in futility against the cold, uncaring walls of his cream colored cubicle while other penguins, ones with offices and doors, point and laugh from the open entrance.

White Enchiladas:

I ad-libbed this recipe today and it turned out fantastic!

Ingredients:

1 box fat-free cream cheese (8 oz)

8 hatch-roasted green chilies, fairly large sized

8 flour tortillas

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into thin strips

3 tsp. olive oil

1 packet taco seasoning

1/2 c. shredded jack cheese

Green enchilada sauce

 PREP:

 Combine the chilies (rinsed, de-seeded and peeled) and the cream cheese in a food processor until mostly smooth. Refrigerate until the cheese is firm again.

 While waiting on the cheese, slice the chicken into thin strips.  Combine oil and taco seasoning in a 10” skillet on medium and add chicken.  Toss chicken to evenly coat in mixture and cook 15 to 20 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked and the sauce becomes slightly toasted to the meat.  If the marinade is too thick, add a little oil or (carefully) add a little water until all seasonings are blended into the oil.

 Roll the Enchiladas:

Coat the flour tortilla with cream cheese mix (about 2 tsp). Fill with 1/8 of the chicken and roll firmly. Place the roll into a greased glass pan. Repeat until all mix and chicken are made into rolls.  Pour green enchilada sauce over the top of the rolls in the pan. Cover with ¼ to ½ cup of jack cheese.

 Bake at 350 F for twenty minutes.

 Serve hot with Spanish rice. Garnish with sour cream and jack cheese, as well as diced tomatoes, onions or lettuce if desired.

9/9/09  EDITOR'S NOTE: 
So. We learned some lessons this last time around.

Lesson One: IF YOU LIKE CHILIES then you can just slice them into strips (after you peel and seed them) and lay them on the tortilla, coat the tortilla with cream cheese (like buttered toast, but only on one side. Edinburgh style, if you will.) Add chicken, roll, smother, and nom. However, if you DON'T like their texture, then you probably should take the time to food process it into the creamy-cheesey spread I outlined above. (Glares at Lilplum. Yeah. You. Picky eater.)

Also. Green Chile sauce is WAY better than red chile sauce to smother the enchiladas in.

Also Also. Don't use super spicy taco seasoning to cook the chicken in unless you really like spicy food. Duh. Or you can compensate with more creamy-cheesey-cheesey cream. (again, courtesy of the Picky Eater  >.> )

You know, one of my favorite quotes from a movie is Gene Wilder in “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory”, where he says “We are the music makers and we are the dreamers of dreams.” I didn’t realize it was part of a larger poem (though knowing Roald Dahl’s work, I should have suspected!) and I found this last night while I was STUMBLING on the internet. I thought you might like it too.

 

Happy Friday!

Ode
by Arthur O’Shaughnessy [1844-1881]

We are the music-makers,
And we are the dreamers of dreams,
Wandering by lone sea-breakers,
And sitting by desolate streams;
World-losers and world-forsakers,
On whom the pale moon gleams:
Yet we are the movers and shakers
Of the world for ever, it seems

With wonderful deathless ditties
We build up the world’s great cities.
And out of a fabulous story
We fashion art empire’s glory:
One man with a dream, at pleasure,
Shall go forth and conquer a crown;
And three with a new song’s measure
Can trample in empire down.

We, in the ages lying
In the buried past of the earth.
Built Nineveh with our sighing,
And Babel itself with our mirth;
And o’erthrew them with prophesying
To the old of the new world’s worth;
For each age is a dream that is dying,
Or one that is coming to birth.

Well. So much for the frequent spider plant update blog. Seriously though, is it that interesting?

I did get the first set of plants rooted. The plants at the office rooted in two weeks- right on schedule! The plant at home is juuuust now breaking out tendrils from the little rootball. Hmm. Interesting. I know it was suggested to me that the flourescent lights at work probably encourage the growth of the plant.

Anyway, I got the first plant set all potted and they're be-yoo-tiful but I can't bring it back into work yet. Why is that? Well. Because there is an infestation of mold bugs! AUUUGH! I hate these little black specks of annoyingness. They fly in our faces and land in our coffee and infest all our plants. I am not amused even a little.  The poison seems to kill only the plants and the bugs seem particularly to thrive in my natural-light-barren environment. Its disgusting and makes me want to drape my cube in mosquito netting. That, of course, would be awesome but completely ineffective, as the bugs would just zip right through the mesh. I could use gilly gear though...hmmmm............

Ok! Back on topic! I also had started some other water-root plants out to see how they'll do. Luckily, the bugs won't nest in water, so my little experiments are safe for now. Now, excise me, for I have some hunting to conduct...

GAO Report on Influenza Readiness: GAO FINDS PROBLEMS IN GOVERNMENT'S
FLU READINESS A June 16 report summarizing three agencies with essential
occupations that cannot be done remotely, including air traffic
controllers, indicates the FAA in particular isn't ready and believes
long-term use of respirators during a pandemic is impractical.

http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d09783t.pdf
-------------


So....does the GAO ever write reports with titles like "Yep! We're good!" ? I'm guessing not.  Now my angst level just skyrocketed, because air traffic controllers might die of flu and airplanes will start crashing into one another in a random and frequent manner, and flaming debris will fall from the sky to litter the ground like super-sized sparkler fragments, and overnight shipping from my favorite retailers will come to a grinding halt....

So, I'm pretty sure one of the primary responses to a catastrophic influenza pandemic (because remember folks: we're in the middle of a pandemic right now. It just isn't catastrophic.) is to minimize public congregation and encourage people to remain home for the duration of the incubation period. So...herding people into TSA lines, where they're forced to touch unsanitary things and share close quarters, doesn't exactly seem like a good idea. Nor does encouraging cross-country or international flights, really. In fact, I'm pretty sure keeping airports open during a pandemic event is like the anti-emergency response. Where's that report, GAO?
 

bad apartment management.

I received the following email today, with names changed for privacy:

Dear SUSAN,
Appliance Warehouse will be out to repair your dryer tomorrow.  If yuo have any questions please call the office.  I am unable to reach you by phone.  All of the phone numbers we have for you are not working at this time.  If you have changed numbers please let us know so that we can update your information.
 
Thank you,
 
MS DINGUS
OVERPRICED APARTMENT COMPLEX
Community Manager

So, I had to reply:

Dear Ms. DINGUS,
 
I regret to inform you that, in fact, I am not SUSAN, but merely the first of several artistic genetic collaborations with a bisection of approximately fifty percent of chromosomic input from the above specified donor. I assume you included me in this email in an attempt to reach my mother, so I'm going to CC her on this email and I have provided you with current contact information below.
 
I'm so sorry to hear about the communications issues you are having in reaching my mother. You see, when the original apartment OVERPRICED APARTMENT COMPLEX agreed to lease her was disgustingly unavailable, and she was relocated to her current address, Qwest was unable to figure out the mechanisms of switching the first four digits of a street address. Apparently, they moved the staff monkeys into Shakespeare. As such, the home telephone number has changed to: XXX-XXX-XXXX.  As you can imagine, she also has a new email (qwestisstaffedbysuckmonkeys@comcast.net).
 
However, her cell phone number (XXX-XXX-XXXX) has been the same for several years. I do not know if you had the opportunity to try that number before for emailing me, but I thought I'd include it for future reference.
 
I hope that resolves all future communication conundrums and I thank you for your prompt service request reply. I know my family will greatly enjoy the benefits of a working clothes dryer.
 
Most sincerest regards,

Cassandra, The Eldest.

I hope they can figure it out.

 

SO the spider plants at work are all a tangle of roots in the glasses! Yay! Unfortunately, the one I took home just looks a little moldy around the base. The little rootlings are all there, but they're not growing. I wonder if Sanyue is messing with them.......

So, I bought a new car this weekend.

Yeah, yeah, I know. I was so excited to pay the Ion off and all that, but...ah well.

I bought a Vue Hybrid, in the gorgeous dark silver color I've always wanted! Jubilations!!

So, I started some spider plant babies today. One of my co-workers has a very prolific spider plant which was recently moved to the filing cabinent adjacent to my cube. Walking past it seven or eight times a day, I couldn't help but notice the many babies desperately seeking a home of their own. SO! I snipped off two of the babies and plunked 'em into water. We'll see how they do. I'm not great with keeping these things alive, y'know, but maybe if I remember to write about them once in a while, I will also remember to feed them and water them and all that jazz.