That old-time rock 'n roll

At the beginning of this year, I announced some goals for while I'm 30.

Pure genius.

The following photo was recently posted at cakespy. I think it's a picture of a page from one of the  williams-sonoma cookbooks, modified slightly. 

30-while- 30: 3-month update

Wow - a quarter of the goal time has passed! The question is: have a quarter of the goals been completed??

Health and Happiness

Exercise 3x/week regularly

This month I've been especially bad. What I've really failed at is logging in daily activities and calories. I found that the tracking tools at myfitness.com work nicely [Ok, the reports stink] in the sense that everything is easily accessible on all my web-enabled devices (ipod touch, desktop, laptop), its free and the food database is very good. As you can see, my logging in days are pretty sporadic of late (the points are weigh-ins).

Run a 5K

Before taking the training break, I had worked thru week 3 of the NHS C25K podcast program on an indoor track. What I really need to do is transition to outdoor running and get a good feel for what the ratio of indoor miles:outdoor miles is in order to exert the same effort. This is still true

Blog regularly

Last month blogger said I had 5 subscribers. This month is seven!! welcome new readers [-:

Lose 30#

In the last month I lost about 2 lbs for a total of -16.4 from original. Obviously if I get back on the bandwagon of exercising 3x/week that progress (the line slope in the plot) will be steeper. Did I mention I like visuals? In the plot I've drawn a dotted line showing the ideal weight-loss slope (-1.5 lbs per week). Blue indicates the period I was gardening a lot, red when I was really good about hitting the gym. And the last trailing dot is now. boo!

Learn to use my dSLR

This month I started using the Manual mode on my camera. In addition to custom white balance, I've been using the metering sensor inside the camera to adjust aperture and shutter speed.

Do two social activities a week

While I still haven't found a new "routine" social outlet, this time of year is super-active for the academic scene. I've been going to journal club dinner sessions and seminars that promote networking as part of activities.

Visit another country

This one is still in the planning stages. But budget is set/saved. Wahoo! T -12 months

Make 2 quilts

Still hand-quilting #1. #2 is totally planned, in my head (and uses far more machine sewing)  #3 got started unexpectedly when I was cleaning out my sewing area - specifically the scrap pile. Now, since I don't sew crazy volumes my scrap pile was actually pretty small. But I also don't like throwing items away, it seemed like making a few scrappy strips blocks would be a good way to use 'em up while keeping things neat. Here was my inspiration pic: Can you believe I was able to make 10 blocks?? Awesome.

Talk to Mom daily 2X per week

My mom got a job!!! Congrats!

Go to a concert

The summer free concerts start up around here in June. Can't wait! (Is anyone else jonesing for farmer's markets? The ones in my city don't open until May, boo-hoo.)

30-while-30: Month 2 - House

House

This is the area where I've been a major FAIL at. I haven't crossed anything off the list this month!

Paint Kitchen cabs and reconfigure dw area

build headboards for the beds upstairs
build a kitchen banquette
install new flooring
refinish stairs
finalize a basement design (flooring chosen)
do something about the interior doors (replace or add molding and paint)
install trim for formal dining area

epoxy coat garage floor
plant a garden (measured out the yard - existing plants, etc and contacted a garden designer)

Why I'm not on pinterest

After reading this article and the tos, I ended up canceling my Pinterest account. While I completely dig the idea of an online and share-able bulletin board, my personal research showed that my own actions when pinning are not in line with fair use. There are many other sites that talk about the nuances of copyright laws and licensing options - I am not a lawyer so this post is more about my own personal journey.

Why support copyright beyond simple acknowledgement?
Well, there are obvious legal and practical reasons. Failing to obviously follow copyright laws has legal implications - lawsuits and fines and such. Depending on you isp/domain host, even the hint of a copyright challenge (this is more common in University communities) may be enough to get services suspended. I like blogging. I like access to the internet. I don't like being tangled up in legal procedures. I really don't like paying unnecessary bills for legal services.

But there is also the spirit of copyright. Not only do copyright laws at a federal level protect fair use (see here), but people can choose who they want to share intellectual property with while retaining ownership via variations of the creative commons license. How awesome is that? There are a whole group of people who are happy to share what they've made. Now I understand that there's a large segment of the population that makes a living from the images they've created, and they want to maximize revenue/profitability. This blog is a hobby, and I prefer the content to fit squarely within a like-minded community.

'Fair-use' as a challenge
I like (healthy) challenges. I like seeing how I respond to new and unexpected situations, learning and personal growth. Per EFF:

uses that serve a different audience or purpose are more likely fair

isn't this what blogging is all about? Taking inspiration from the world and making it one's own? Even if only to say "I tried X and did/didn't like it because ...". So the challenge here is to be original. got it.

Can you reuse content from this blog, "Random Musings"?
Absolutely! I do ask that you: (1) attribute the author (me) in some way (2) share any derivations freely and (3) don't make money from the content directly. This is probably overkill for the quality of "stuff" on this site, but oh well. Just remember that any content from a 3rd party is subject to their choice of copyright.


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.


If you are interested in reproducing my work in a commercial setting (e.g. a monetized blog), please contact me directly (rbbrducky26 'at' gmail 'dot' com) for permission. It will not unreasonably be withheld.


Any other reasons for dropping Pinterest?
Yep. I get annoyed clicking thru a bunch of repins - usually in hopes of seeing a tutorial or additional pics - only to find that it was a google image search. Sometimes there are so many repins that I give up. Pinterest also strips metadata from the original image. The argument is that the links and Pinterest interface is substantially transformative (see here for discussion). While that may be absolutely correct (i.e. legal) from the perspective of Cold Brew Labs, the ToS requires that I personally take responsibility for respecting copyrights of anything on my boards and grant Pinterest the right to reproduce/republish content for profit, rights I don't always have access to. Since I do have the ability to support fair-use in the scope of this blog, Pinterest becomes a problematic approach to sharing inspiration.


Update
It appears that Pinterest *has* changed terms of service, (see here for a discussion). The new terms are better, but still place the onus on individual users to take responsibility for ensuring that copyrights are being followed (and pay for Pinterest's legal services). Under the new TOS (which took effect yesterday), my statements above hold as long as I only pin from my own pics, which kinda defeats the purpose of an inspiration board, no? The private boards look promising (if it's private, it's not publishing) - fingers crossed!

30-while-30: Month 2 - Academics

Academic

Go to 2 conferences each in Summer and Fall semesters 

I just got back from the lovely NMBIST Symposium last week, where I experienced some pretty awesome interaction with fellow students I travelled/presented with and got to practice my conference skills. I will be presenting at a local (on campus) conference on April 19. I have apps in progress for conferences in May, June, and October.

Write 3 papers for Journal (not conference) submissions 

I really have no idea where/when this is happening. Really, 3 journal submissions?? We have one in the works, but it's stagnating due to the conference schedule.

Pass prelims!

Gah! My PI is pushing me in so many areas right now that when I asked her to clarify timeline she pushed this back a semester. Grrr! not.cool.

Present 2x to the working group 

I think the poster I'm doing for the local event would be good for the second working group presentation this semester

Go to one dept networking event monthly

In February I went to three speaker events: lunch with speaker, pre- and post- analysis of the presentation. Since those all included food, I'm counting it as networking. In March, all the dinners at the NMBIST symposium were networking. That was two distinct opportunities to talk shop plus an open-bar poster session.

Work on thesis daily

This is a bit harder to quantify. I do stuff every day that I know incrementally adds to my body of work, but the delayed gratification makes it difficult to evaluate any success.

Create an academic web presence

The site and structure are there; I do need content. Part of the concern is to avoid putting anything up that looks stupid or completely unrefined. The whole purpose is to "sell oneself", not "get scooped while looking incompetent". However, modern social media also demands that one appear relavent, and responsive with a high degree of flexibility.

The following have not been started:

• Write a program that calls C code from within R
• Apply for graduation (gulp!)
• Push a package to CRAN

Easter inspiration

Can you believe next week is Easter? Already?

When I was younger, Easter was all about making up baskets for nieces and nephews - maybe sneaking some treats in the process. My mom would blow up this inflatable pink plastic rabbit (I kid you not). It looked like this (ours had cute pink ears not those bat-like monstrosities, but you get the idea)

The plastic inflatable rabbit from my youth
with scary-er ears.

Nowadays, with my overarching goal of turning every.single.activity into a multitasking learning opportunity, I am trying to use the holiday of Easter to get in touch with my Italian heritage. Oh and there's that whole religious aspect too, right? My brother would say that the last sentence was a bit too cheeky for the occasion, but he doesn't read this blog. I'm comfortable with my own faith and your intellect to say that the message of renewal speaks to us in the best way for our unique lives and is ultimately a very personal and individual journey. And for me lately, a big part of that journey is food. 

In contrast to my immediate family's admittedly kitschy and consumeristic approach, my Auntie Edythe (one of those East-coast Italian types) attacked the holiday with the weight and responsibility that a major feast day demands. Her home was decorated for at least one month before the holiday. The weeks of Lent were filled with many many Church events and introspective study. And every year we would get a easter pie in the mail.

What Aunt Edythe's pies looked like.
My mom didn't like eating them ...
via google images

It usually fell to Dad and I to eat with gusto, as Mom is not a big fan of cheese. Or pies. This may be part of why she is < 100lbs... 

Living away from family for academics, I don't have the luxury of time or money to create a buffet table of goodies to devour. On Easter Sunday, T and I will go to church and join the community potluck, which is wonderful - just not very Italian. I'm bringing this:

via skinnytaste.com

To extend the celebration, I'm making a ricotta pie which we can eat for dinner over a few days. If I had unlimited time/energy,  I would attempt this recipe at theitaliandish, which uses ten (10!!) layers of buttery pastry dough. Maybe next year??

via theitaliandishblog.com

In an attempt to keep goals SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely), I will be making a different version, dubbed Nan's Ricotta Pie by npr  

via oneforthetable.com

And who knows? Maybe with that $5 budget T & I set each other, I can get him an inflatable plastic rabbit?

30-while-30: 2 month update

Okay, this post was supposed to go out on Tuesday (the closest Tuesday to the 26th of the month, in case anyone is wondering). But I got sidetracked by a monsterous case of poison ivy. I'll spare you gory details; let's just say I now know what the words "Urticaria" and "plaques" mean in a medical context.

And for all of you employed folks, let me just say that while I really really appreciate the cheapness of student insurance when it comes to well-care checkups, I also really really can't stand the fact that my insurance doesn't cover urgent care visits in town on the one day of the week that the student health center is closed. Or the reduced coverage for visiting out-of-network practitioners when I'm traveling out of state for university business. Or the zero pharmacy coverage off-campus (did I mention that I returned home on the one day the university center was closed?). Which means my 3-day wait to see a practitioner was only partially successful at reducing out-of-pocket costs. But do let me sing the praises of a chemical cocktail that involves oral steroids, antihistimines and topical hydrocortizone.

I am quite pleased to avoid the moniker "that itchy rashy girl at the conference" thank-you-very-much.

Health and Happiness

Exercise 3x/week regularly

Because of the allergies and traveling and gardening, I haven't been as good lately. I'm okay with gardening as a substitute for regular exercise (my approach seems to be of the more active sort), but sleeping itchiness off isn't very useful. I did get two days at the hotel fitness center (2 miles on elliptical plus 15 min of pilates each time).

Run a 5K

See above for my whiny reason for not making progress towards the 5K. I'm pretty sure I won't make the April run I chose last month. Before taking the training break, I had worked thru week 3 of the NHS C25K podcast program on an indoor track. What I really need to do is transition to outdoor running and get a good feel for what the ratio of indoor miles:outdoor miles is in order to exert the same effort.

Blog regularly

This is one area I feel like I'm making progress in, if the blogger stats and lovely comments I'm getting are an indicator. With practice, I hope this will continue to improve. I did notice that on one post I got 110 views with only two comments. I'm hoping this means that I have more than the 5 readers that blogger tracks!

Lose 30#

Again due to life, I'm not making progress as fast as I'd like. There was a wonderful comment on a blog (I forget the source) that giving up on trying to follow an eating plan for the rest of the day b/c of initial "cheating" (I ate those chips earlier, might as well eat ice cream now) is akin to dropping your cell, seeing a crack on the screen and proceed to smash it to smithereens. Not wise or helpful. Must keep this analogy in mind. I have been hovering steadily at -14 from my original start weight, so all is not lost. Just need to get moving more.

Learn to use my dSLR

I figured out how to use custom white balance! Awesome! (please wait to work thru delayed posts to see any actual evidence). I'm using the course from Two Peas in a Bucket via Twenty-Six To Life

Do two social activities a week

I really haven't found a good substitute for confirmation class since it ended. And since I've been replacing my weekend group exercise with [solitary] gardening, this is an area I've completely fallen behind in. What I'd really like to do is be organized for my Monday meetings that I don't need the hour right before for prep, then I can go to the group ex class during the week (reducing trips to campus) and reorganize how I'm spending time at church on Sunday mornings. I'm really committed to several big projects - internship, academics, home improvement which are pretty solitary in nature - which is a big obstacle in this goal. I'm not sure if this perspective means that I am looking at "social" in the wrong light or if I just need to build the confidence/skills to make my "work" less stressful...

Visit another country

This one is still in the planning stages. But budget is set/saved. Wahoo!

Make 2 quilts

Still hand-quilting #1. #2 is totally planned, in my head (and uses far more machine sewing)

Talk to Mom daily

I really put this on my list because my mom is in that in-between stage of being both unemployed (thanks economy!) and newly graduated. So I didn't want her to get too lonely without a regular routine of expected interaction. Guess what? My mom is perfectly happy in solitary company. For days at a time. I still text/email/call daily. At least she knows I'm available for chats!

Go to a concert

The summer free concerts start up around here in June. Can't wait! (Is anyone else jonesing for farmer's markets? The ones in my city don't open until May, boo-hoo.)

Okay there are two more sections. But this is a really long post of words already.  I'll leave the academic and house updates for another post.

St Patrick's day inspiration

Made using this tutorial

Some thoughts for St Patty's Day yummies:

Main course: corned beef
CB in the slow cooker via crockpot365
CB with stout  via Steamy Kitchen

Dessert
Irish potato candy via All recipes
Chocolate stout cupcakes with bailey's frosting via Skinny Taste
Chocolate Stout cake via Simply Recipes

Thoughts of warmth

As I write this the weather is cold and windy and snowy (the weather may change before post publication). Miles away from my home temperate climate. And while I normally do not seek out desert climes, this set of pics seemed quite appropriate

30-while-30: 1 month update

Health and Happiness

Exercise 3x/week regularly (4-6 days every week!)
Run a 5K (I'm looking at: http://vetmed.iastate.edu/event/scavma-scamper as a possibility in April)
Blog regularly (do you like?)
Lose 30# (10 down, 20 to go)
Learn to use my dSLR (I've bookmarked a couple of  online tutes....)
Do two social activities a week (church, confirmation class and pilates weekly. Although pilates is causing neck pain and confirmation ends this week. Need to find something else...)
Visit another country (we may be going to ireland this spring/summer! squee!)
Make 2 quilts (hand quilting #1, a 60-degree diamond, I think the next will be machine quilted though found a great inspiration pic; the next one might also be a 60-degree diamond too...)
Talk to Mom daily (except when she's traveling, yup!)
Go to a concert (I'd like to make this a semi-regular summer activity, and bring my camera)

Academic

Go to 2 conferences each in Summer and Fall semesters (paper for conference #1 draft is done, and my dept is sending me to [providing funding for] 2 more! )
Write 3 papers for Journal (not conference) submission (paper #1 in-progress)

Pass prelims!
Present 2x to the working group (last friday!)
Go to one dept networking event monthly (two in one day [yesterday] - it was fun! and yummy! This makes up for none in Jan)
Work on thesis daily
Create an academic web presence
Write a program that calls C code from within R
Apply for graduation (gulp!)
Push a package to CRAN

House
Paint Kitchen cabs and reconfigure dw area
build headboards for the beds upstairs
build a kitchen banquette
install new flooring
refinish stairs
finalize a basement design (flooring chosen)
do something about the interior doors (replace or add molding and paint)
install trim for formal dining area

epoxy coat garage floor
plant a garden (measured out the yard - existing plants, etc and contacted a garden designer)

cleaning my office

gulp! I cannot believe that I'm posting a pic (for all the world to see!) of my office in this state. However, being able to take pics after? Gooooood motivator.

So here's the before. see what three years of not having in office system does?

And just to keep things truly real, the view behind my desk:

Please ignore the green walls - that's a home improvement project that is waiting for another day (month, year, whenever-i-get-to-it). I find that when I'm insomniac-ing, the green brighten ups the space well, but egads it is definitely not my cup of tea. What these photos hide so well is the absolute and utterly shoddy workmanship that was invested in the last paint job(s). Drips on the baseboard. Unpatched holes. ick.

The goal at this stage is to simply get things into a functional state. As mentioned, at some later date I'll give it the whole diy treatment, but right now there are three other areas in the house that are in-progress. So, like the cobbler's children, I'll wait.

ta-da!!

Here's what I did:

1. Toss out all the garbage - including "scratch paper". I know that over the next few days, I'll be grumbling that I can't find paper for quick notes, but it's important to get a fresh start.
2. Move stuff that doesn't belong in this room out! Here's a sampling of what I found:
• easter decor
• first aid supplies
• clothes (technically, this room does have a closet...)
• CDs, car CD organizer
• wood shims
• cleaning products
• loose change
3. Find a place for stuff that needs to reside in my office. This included improving where/how stuff that wasn't finding its way home should be stored. Things that fit into this category:
• owner's manuals
• old financial statements (keep/toss/shred??)
• articles for my to-read pile
• current paperwork - I divided this into two categories: financial and academic
• stationary - envelopes, thank-you cards
4. Rediscover the systems that I like:
• a bin for electronic bits, like extra earbuds and chargers
• a folder for home design choices 
• gift shelf
5. Clean: dust and wipe down. 'nuff said
6. Reconfigure
• I found a cable that let me use dual monitors with my mac, so now the one that was previously assigned to the PC (and rarely used) is usable vertical real estate
• Having the little folder system & trash can behind the desk made it feel cramped, so now those items have been dispatched to other parts of the room.
• Please don't judge my art placement - I just used the hooks that were already there. Hat tip to anyone who knows what the poster is from...

Thank you Centsational Girl

Have you seen the blog Centsational Girl? It's a lovely design, diy and lifestyle blog that was one of the first I added to my gReader rolls.

Well a while ago - almost a year to be exact - I won a giveaway for lavender that Kate grows in her garden. Kate was so wonderful, she even sent me more than the giveaway specified!

  

So what did I do with all that lavender?

yup! eye pillows. There were enough to make 3 generously sized pillows, all of which I am happy to report, are still going strong.

Kate - if you're reading - much much belated thanks.

Applesauce

Aka "how to wake up quickly on a cold fall morning"

1. Buy a dozen apples when they're on sale for $0.88/lb. think "applesauce is good with pork chops"

2. Peel, quarter and slice apples. This should fill capacity of a 4 qt ss saucepan.

3. Cover and cool on low with a cinnamon stick. (optional: stir occasionally)

4. Go about your evening. Pass out candy to trick-or-treaters. Watch a movie w/ the bf. check email and fb.

5. Go to bed.

6. Lie in bed at 6am, after the alarm has gone off, thinking about what to do for the day.

7. Realize the apple sauce is still cooking. Yell "oh sh*%" repeatedly as you race to the kitchen. Phew, not only is the kitchen okay, but the applesauce is yummy. Turn off the stove, and spoon applesauce into storage containers.


My speculation is that we avoided major disaster because the lid was very tight fitting *and* the "simmer burner" is low output. When I pulled the applesauce off, it's temp was actually lower than what I would expect in a crock-pot and the apples had caramelized beautifully (this "recipe" contains no sugar). After 12 hours of cooking, this was a pretty loose applesauce.

Pinterest is a time sink

... but so useful for organizing project ideas.

much better than the system I was on in gReader.

see my boards here



My new and improved method for using gReader.

1. install the toolbar buttons for both gReader and Pinterest

Let's take a closer look, shall we?

The leftmost one, labeled "Next >>;", allows me to scroll thru gReader unreads in my browser. To install, simply go to Reader Settings, Goodies, scroll down to "Put Reader in a bookmark" and drag the button onto your toolbar. Voila!

Pinterest is rather self-explanatory

2. Now all I do is click "Next >>" and periodically "Pin It". Sooo much easier to see all the effort people are putting into their blogs and comment. Fun times!

ouch....

"this isn't like a normal scientific presentation"

Things you don't want to hear from the course prof...

Still resolving technical difficulties

So if you've been following along, this post mentioned issues with pics loading. I've fixed most of the July postings, but still need to go thru  June and May.

I think I managed to break *all the pic* hotlinks.


Slowly but surely....thanks for the understanding

Guess Where? Part 3

Final clues....

Guess where? Part 2

Here are some hints:

three guesses

....what this means?