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January 29, 2007
Recent math contest
The math contests at school have become a big thing. To prevent the kids from googling my blog, I'm showing the contest from December. Click to embiggie it.
So. Each one of the tiny triangles is an equilateral triangle. However, each of the smaller triangles can also build a larger equilateral triangle. How many triangles are in the figure in total?
Just for a hint, there are between 1000 and 2000. I'm just saying. Points to anyone who can express the solution algebraically. Maybe I'll even take someone out to dinner?
Posted by G at 06:14 PM | Comments (13) | TrackBack
January 26, 2007
My entry for death recipe of the year
Just like Matt, I crave something a little bit more interesting in my diet right now. Maybe it's a January thing.
My aunt Kathy, also a member of the bacon religion, just gave me the recipe. The only thing preventing me from making it RIGHT NOW for breakfast is my lack of an ice cream maker. I'll bring the ingredients, if someone here in NYC has an icecream maker.
Pecan, Brown Sugar & Bacon Ice Cream
Recipe included after the jump.
3 cups heavy cream
1 cup milk
1 1/4 cups firmly packed dark brown sugar
4 egg yolks
1 cup chopped pecans
1 pound bacon, cooked until very crisp, blotted on paper towels and finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)
Combine the cream, milk and sugar in a heavy saucepan, and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is hot and the sugar is dissolved.
Beat the egg yolks until smooth in a small bowl. Slowly whisk 1 cup of the hot cream-milk mixture into the eggs. Stir the warmed yolk mixture into the saucepan, beating constantly.
Cook over medium heat, stirring continuously, until the mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon, 6 to 8 minutes. Do not let it boil.
Strain the custard into a clean bowl, and cool completely.
Stir in pecans and bacon, and freeze in an ice cream maker, according to the manufacturer's directions.
Before serving, remove the ice cream from the freezer to soften slightly.
Makes 1 1/2 quarts.
Posted by G at 07:59 AM | Comments (13) | TrackBack
January 24, 2007
Der is going to change his name to Derkiki
Because we're going to see Kiki and Herb at Joe's Pub.
Derrick is a Kiki virgin. I'm a Kiki whore. Tickets are still available for our night- Sunday, Feb 11th. Anyone want to join?
Posted by G at 08:22 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
January 23, 2007
Whither to go?
I've been stressing about my February 17-26 vacation time, as I feel I must precede any vacation with stress planning the vacation. My original idea was to head to southern AZ/southern CA, but that isn't gonna work out, as I delayed on the purchase of tickets. CURSES! The prices are about $100 too much, but I'll keep looking.
With a southern trip excluded,darling international Bob got me thinking that what I need is to explore some place new. Here are my ideas, out of my normal zone:
Boston- Metropolitan, fun, boston bloggers and friends. Never been.
Rhode Island- Visiting my last state. Never been.
Philadelphia- Metropolitan, art museums, history. Never been.
Niagara. Waterfalls. Never been.
Florida. Not some place horrible and republican. Where is nice/affordable in FL?
Any other places? Advice? I need advice. I need some place warm, but that doesn't seem to be in the cards. Maybe some place cold with a hot jacuzzi?
Posted by G at 06:08 PM | Comments (16) | TrackBack
January 21, 2007
The nose knows
Click to enlarge to see the shattered cartilage glory.
My built-in snorkeling equipment has never been right. First time I broke it was when I was playing kickball in the fourth grade. Scott Svatos and I were both outfield, and the ball was kicked high in the air. I raced. He raced. We both were looking up, smacked each other in the head, and I was knocked out cold. My time in middle school with thick glasses and no peripheral vision didn't help. I walked into many doors and walls, always with a resounding crack and slight shift to the cartilage.
The craziest was this time as an adult when a straight friend of mine started a fight in a bar. I was happily drinking my beer when I looked up just in time to see a fist heading to my face. My nose was squashed flat. I was covered in blood, we were all kicked out, and we limped back to his place. He sat me shirtless down in a chair, straddled my knee, and straightened it for me. It hurt like the bejeesus, but I was totally focused on his weight on my leg and his beat up face inches from mine.
I'm not sure what he would have done if I'd kissed him. It was one of those weird moments. In moments, there was a fresh flow of blood, and he jumped up and grabbed a towel. End of moment.
So I snore now. I can't really breathe out of the left nostril, and there are little shifty bits in my nose. Last summer I got to the point of scheduling surgery, but I canceled. They're not sure if it will fix my breathing passages, and it could make the structure weaker. The second worries me, as zod knows I'll NEVER walk into another door/another fist, right? Finally, I sometimes look in the mirror and have no idea who is looking back at me, so what's going to happen when I can't even recognize my own nose? Maybe snoring is okay.
Posted by G at 02:54 PM | Comments (19) | TrackBack
January 20, 2007
I must go to NZ in March
This is EXACTLY the kind of movie I like.
Posted by G at 11:03 AM | Comments (8) | TrackBack
January 18, 2007
New Food Addiction
As we left VT, we did a lunch/grocery run at this organic co-op store in Putney. I always like to buy random food products. This is how I discovered my addictions to Lion Bars, Chikin Stix, and Crunky Bars. Now I have a new one, but this one is actually made of all natural good ingredients.
Thank you, Barbara's Bakery, thank you.
Who knew three of my favorite things- crunchy puffs, real cheese, and jalapenos would be SO AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS?!?!? I swear the bag just emptied itself in about 10 minutes. The back of the bag says that my tastebuds will say Ole (with an accent even), that the company saves puffins (and they're not an additive of the cheese puffs), and all the ingredients are wholesome and natural. They mix in blue cheese and white cheddar cheese, toss in some jalapenos, and I just say that I want more of it, all in my belly! I was a bit put off by the lack of fluorescent orange color, but then I realized 'oh, it's real cheese.'
Of course they sell all their products but this one through their website. Now I have to find a place, or go back to VT to stock up. This is how I buy things, by the way. I find a perfect and delicious product that I can't find where I live.
**Update**
AzLee directed me to Amazon's new online grocery store and Barbara's customer service sent me some stores in Manhattan. Nothing really close to me, but heck, I'll make a trip just for these little gems.
Posted by G at 09:32 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
January 16, 2007
Misty maples meet marvelous men
This time in VT was very different than the last few times I've gone. Of the six other guys at the cabin, 4 used to have blogs but have given up their online writings. I haven't seen some of them in years, and I was unable to check on their lives prior to the trip. I actually had to TALK TO THEM to find out what was going on in their lives. Since they really don't read my blog any more, they had to actually TALK TO ME to find out what was going on. It was strangely familiar....
The usual stuff went on- we hiked a wee bit, played Celebrity, and sat in the jacuzzi. For me, I graded a bunch of classwork, began planning the midterm, and managed to plug the guest toilet with a horrifying poop. Yes, my poop is so terrifying, not even the toilet would accept it. Good times.
One other exceptional thing happened. My friend Patrick has begun taking pictures semi-professionally/for a hobby. He's really good, and with a little bit of peer-pressure, I sat in front of a camera along with my friends for quite a few hours. I haven't done that in about 9 years.
Click HERE if you want to see my non-professional photos, and I will post more of Patrick's photos in the next week. Here's just a few of the photos he took.
Posted by G at 09:29 PM | Comments (12) | TrackBack
January 10, 2007
Time for some maple syrup!
I'm going to Vermont with friends this weekend. It's going to be nice to be in the trees. I think I'm gonna spend time looking out the windows at trees with hot cocoa in my hand.
Posted by G at 10:34 PM | Comments (9) | TrackBack
January 09, 2007
How happy I am
Some days in school, things just all GO WRONG. Lessons go badly, kids are too sugared up, the soy milk is curdled in my coffee, and custodians trashed my room over the break. Nothing sucks worse than when custodians wreck your kids' real cubic meter constructed from straws. Nothing helps a kid understand volume better than a real cubic meter. It's a math thing, trust me.
Even more fun, my old school has reared its head above my horizon. Numerous times this year, I have received calls from various staff, asking for advice, asking where things are located, that sort of thing. Most of the time I don't mind, but one back-stabbing idiot has been harassing me for the last few days. If I had to really point to one thing that really made me leave the last school, it wouldn't be the rampaging kids, or the prison principal and his prison principles, or even the lack of planning. I would point to her incompetence as a manager. I look at my old school and my new school, and I see such a difference in management. Competence vs. incompetence. This one person looked for scapegoats, whereas my new school looks for excellence. It's a big difference. The new principal is slowly steering the school in a new direction, but I'm glad I'm gone.
Speaking of the old principal, I just found out from a friend that he was convicted for 33 months in prison and must pay back over $200,000 he stole from the Philadelphia school system. I hope he enjoys prison, as it would be just like the way he treated our school. He's just on the other side of the bars. I feel bad about myself that these people bring out such anger in me.
Posted by G at 07:35 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
January 07, 2007
Full Disclosure
I just discovered that when I was a little younger, some photos of me were taken by a photographer without my knowledge. They've just been released, much to my chagrin. Rather than have anyone searching the internet or profiting from the pictures, I decided to post them here. If you must see me nude or in compromising positions, feel free to look after the jump.
Obviously me, shaking that ass. Shaking that ass!
I'm dirty. DIRTY!
I'm liking the cage. Hot bondage AND diapers!
Grabbing my own basket with BOTH hands.
Okay, no double entendres for this last pic. This is me and my dad. Don't I look like him, though? Weird.
I'd never seen any of these pics before, as my parents had only take pics with slide film. My sister found them and created pictures from them. It made me a little verklempt, as they showed my mom and dad at a totally different time.
Posted by G at 07:32 PM | Comments (14) | TrackBack
January 01, 2007
Ring out the old year
Click here for all the rest of the racy, 'Boys gone Wild' pics. Make sure and look for what happens when a trio of Canadians encounter their national geese. Not pretty, not pretty at all.
We went for a relax/recharge time, and it was perfect. I read the last Harry Potter book, we hung out at a wonderful coffee shop, and we did tourist things. For the first time, I went to the top of the John Hancock building for drinks, which is a perfect way to enjoy views. I got to hang with Tye, and I got to meet the very cute One 3Y3. I tried lots of different beers, Derrick wrote and read, and I even got to put up blinds for our hosts. That's a fun thing for someone like me.
Tomorrow is the first day back at school. I am recharged, but I can't deny that I wouldn't mind a few more days of freedom. I bet the kids would say the same.
Posted by G at 09:40 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack