USMB Coffee Shop IV

[blackhawk]

 

[Ernie S.]

It is so FRELLING COLD in Oaklandtown today that my freshly made cappuccino is already luke warm.

Meh.

Props for the Farscape dialect usage.

I am so frelling gratified that you GROKked the reference!

Grocked? THAT goes back far beyond Farscape Grock goes back to Heinland's 1961 Philosophy/Sci Fi "Stranger in a Strange Land"
Who else, without Google, knows Michael Valentine Smith?

 

[Ernie S.]

I think we have achieved Peak Quinoa.

I noticed a couple of years ago that trendy restaurants started serving dishes with quinoa as a featured ingredient (especially the ubiquitous Kale & Quinoa Salad!).

Last night, our the Chinese restaurant at which mr. boe and I dined served kale and quinoa dip. And now today I read that MCDONALDS is serving quinoa.

The latter is proof that we have achieved Peak Quinoa.

That is my theory, and I'm stickin' with it.

I don't know for certain, but I don't recall ever even tasting quinoa, much less ordering or buying something with quinoa in it.

Having lived in the Oakland-Berkeley-SF triangle for many years, I first encountered Quinoa as an undergrad at Berkeley. It's really frightening how many hideous vegan restaurants are swarming through the area.

You know, I am all for nutritious and healthy. But if it doesn't taste good I am not going to eat it despite its billing as nutritious and healthy. I am probably less of a meat/fish/poultry eater than most of you not as a moral choice but just because my preferences have changed over the years. But I don't expect to ever become vegetarian 100% and certainly will never be vegan.

Does quinoa taste good?

Quinoa doesn't have much flavor on its own - it's just an ingredient, imo.

I've had some delicious dishes which featured it. One of my favorite restaurants has a Kale Quinoa salad, which despite my making fun of the concept, is incredibly delicious. It's dressed with shaved parmesan and toasted pumpkin seed - really quite yummy!

I actually enjoy some vegetarian and vegan cuisine - I just can't stand the self-absorbed ideology of the Twoo Beweevahs.

A dear friend always said "If I could be certain that lettuce doesn't scream in pain when I tear off a leaf for my cheeseburger, I would consider becoming a vegetarian."

 

[Spoonman]

ok, I lol'd at this one

 

[Foxfyre]

Happy New Year Sherry

Sherry who?

Yeah, it's pretty funny when someone who hasn't been around in months actually speaks to me. Thanks, Spoonie.

Sherry, you're always a favorite. Hope all is well

You're very kind, and I've always been a fan of your beautiful pics.

I took a few thousand of them over the summer. i could be boring you all to death lol

I trust you to be selective and when you are, you are never boring.

 

[Foxfyre]

Happy New Year Sherry

Sherry who?

Yeah, it's pretty funny when someone who hasn't been around in months actually speaks to me. Thanks, Spoonie.

Sherry, you're always a favorite. Hope all is well

You're very kind, and I've always been a fan of your beautiful pics.

Haven't we all? And I have been missing your uncanny ability to find just the right illustration/pic for the moment.

 

[Foxfyre]

Quinoa doesn't have much flavor on its own - it's just an ingredient, imo.

I've had some delicious dishes which featured it. One of my favorite restaurants has a Kale Quinoa salad, which despite my making fun of the concept, is incredibly delicious. It's dressed with shaved parmesan and toasted pumpkin seed - really quite yummy!

I actually enjoy some vegetarian and vegan cuisine - I just can't stand the self-absorbed ideology of the Twoo Beweevahs.

So is it a thickening or binding agent like flour? Or does it have some nutrition value more than other ingredients we more commonly have on hand? Otherwise, why feature it?

It's a high protein "grain". For people who don't eat meat, it is something that can be combined with other plants to create whole protein. I'm in no way a vegetarian, but I like a balanced, healthy diet with fresh ingredients. Sometimes, I just feel like a vegetable salad for dinner (i.e. the kale and quinoa) - such a combination is healthier than iceberg lettuce!

It's also used as a base ingredient (or co-ingredient) in making gluten-free pasta, for those of us who know what wheat can do to us yet still love our pasta.

It's damn expensive though. Usually I get the rice-based pasta.

I avoid rice - especially white rice. And I don't have pasta or bread very often - so when I do, I want the real stuff.

I do too, but wheat makes ya fat. Rice doesn't.

It does if you eat enough of it. Rice flour is higher in calories than wheat flour but the usual serving of wheat is generally about 30 or so calories less than a comparable serving of rice. Nutritionally, wheat is far superior for fiber and each edges out the other on certain vitamins and minerals. Basically I think those who can tolerate them can choose either with confidence and I like them both equally well. Some facts about rice vs wheat as a nutritional choice:
What Are the Benefits of Rice vs. Wheat?

 

[Foxfyre]

some shots of the sunset. while i was off this week redid one of the bathrooms. new tile floor, vanity, toilet and tub.

Love the art shots, but your bathroom is incredible. I love it.

 

[boedicca]

So is it a thickening or binding agent like flour? Or does it have some nutrition value more than other ingredients we more commonly have on hand? Otherwise, why feature it?

It's a high protein "grain". For people who don't eat meat, it is something that can be combined with other plants to create whole protein. I'm in no way a vegetarian, but I like a balanced, healthy diet with fresh ingredients. Sometimes, I just feel like a vegetable salad for dinner (i.e. the kale and quinoa) - such a combination is healthier than iceberg lettuce!

It's also used as a base ingredient (or co-ingredient) in making gluten-free pasta, for those of us who know what wheat can do to us yet still love our pasta.

It's damn expensive though. Usually I get the rice-based pasta.

I avoid rice - especially white rice. And I don't have pasta or bread very often - so when I do, I want the real stuff.

I do too, but wheat makes ya fat. Rice doesn't.

It does if you eat enough of it. Rice flour is higher in calories than wheat flour but the usual serving of wheat is generally about 30 or so calories less than a comparable serving of rice. Nutritionally, wheat is far superior for fiber and each edges out the other on certain vitamins and minerals. Basically I think those who can tolerate them can choose either with confidence and I like them both equally well. Some facts about rice vs wheat as a nutritional choice:
What Are the Benefits of Rice vs. Wheat?

The glycemic index of white rice is very high - and worse than wheat depending upon the preparation.

Short and medium grain white rice is horrible!

How Much Will That Food Raise my Blood Sugar?

 

[Foxfyre]

It's a high protein "grain". For people who don't eat meat, it is something that can be combined with other plants to create whole protein. I'm in no way a vegetarian, but I like a balanced, healthy diet with fresh ingredients. Sometimes, I just feel like a vegetable salad for dinner (i.e. the kale and quinoa) - such a combination is healthier than iceberg lettuce!

It's also used as a base ingredient (or co-ingredient) in making gluten-free pasta, for those of us who know what wheat can do to us yet still love our pasta.

It's damn expensive though. Usually I get the rice-based pasta.

I avoid rice - especially white rice. And I don't have pasta or bread very often - so when I do, I want the real stuff.

I do too, but wheat makes ya fat. Rice doesn't.

It does if you eat enough of it. Rice flour is higher in calories than wheat flour but the usual serving of wheat is generally about 30 or so calories less than a comparable serving of rice. Nutritionally, wheat is far superior for fiber and each edges out the other on certain vitamins and minerals. Basically I think those who can tolerate them can choose either with confidence and I like them both equally well. Some facts about rice vs wheat as a nutritional choice:
What Are the Benefits of Rice vs. Wheat?

The glycemic index of white rice is very high - and worse than wheat depending upon the preparation.

Short and medium grain white rice is horrible!

How Much Will That Food Raise my Blood Sugar?

Good information as I have close friends and family who are diabetic. I'll definitely file that info for consideration in meal preparation. But somehow a bed of wheat berries just doesn't go as well with the Asian cuisine we enjoy now and then. So I'm glad I can enjoy both.

 

[boedicca]

It's also used as a base ingredient (or co-ingredient) in making gluten-free pasta, for those of us who know what wheat can do to us yet still love our pasta.

It's damn expensive though. Usually I get the rice-based pasta.

I avoid rice - especially white rice. And I don't have pasta or bread very often - so when I do, I want the real stuff.

I do too, but wheat makes ya fat. Rice doesn't.

It does if you eat enough of it. Rice flour is higher in calories than wheat flour but the usual serving of wheat is generally about 30 or so calories less than a comparable serving of rice. Nutritionally, wheat is far superior for fiber and each edges out the other on certain vitamins and minerals. Basically I think those who can tolerate them can choose either with confidence and I like them both equally well. Some facts about rice vs wheat as a nutritional choice:
What Are the Benefits of Rice vs. Wheat?

The glycemic index of white rice is very high - and worse than wheat depending upon the preparation.

Short and medium grain white rice is horrible!

How Much Will That Food Raise my Blood Sugar?

Good information as I have close friends and family who are diabetic. But somehow a bed of wheat berries just doesn't go as well with the Asian cuisine we enjoy now and then. So I'm glad I can enjoy both.

I don't care for rice - and eat Asian cuisine without it. I don't miss it at all.

My one exception is for sushi - nigiri and rolls.

 

[peach174]

some shots of the sunset. while i was off this week redid one of the bathrooms. new tile floor, vanity, toilet and tub.

Your bathroom is beautiful.
We are also remodeling our bathroom, we already have a new toilet and our friend will redo our tile (retired professional and is doing it for us for free). Of course we will then owe him a big favor in return,which I am sure he will ask when he needs us.
Then we are getting a new cabinet that will go above the toilet.
I will post ours up also when it gets done.
That is if I can figure out how to upload pics here from my cell phone.

 

[peach174]

Happy Saturday all !

I hope everyone had a good New Years Eve.

 

[ChrisL]

I was just reading about how unsentimental the younger 'millenial' general is when it comes to mementos, keepsakes, and stuff handed down. They are interested in keeping the collage of their sports medals or the stuff they created in gradeschool or boxes of old greeting cards, post cards, and letters. If it can't be stored digitally, they don't want that stuff or our hand me down heirloom furniture, crystal, china, and sterling. Also they aren't interested in owning and maintaining huge estates but enjoy living amongst 'where the action is' close to movies and restaurants and stores. Stuff their parents force on them generally wind up in thrift shops or the dump.

Me? Not having the stamina to be as active as I once was, I enjoy having the comforts of my home around me and I still hold onto stuff not because I particularly like it or it has any use, but strictly for the sentimental value.

But nothing stays the same and the culture changes and there is something to say for a simpler lifestyle too.

As Boomers shed their stuff, their offspring reject it

I have a side table that is wood and round (probably an antique) that I got after my grandfather died. I have had that thing for years and I would never sell it or get rid of it. It's something (besides pictures) to remind me of my grandfather.

 

[Foxfyre]

I was just reading about how unsentimental the younger 'millenial' general is when it comes to mementos, keepsakes, and stuff handed down. They are interested in keeping the collage of their sports medals or the stuff they created in gradeschool or boxes of old greeting cards, post cards, and letters. If it can't be stored digitally, they don't want that stuff or our hand me down heirloom furniture, crystal, china, and sterling. Also they aren't interested in owning and maintaining huge estates but enjoy living amongst 'where the action is' close to movies and restaurants and stores. Stuff their parents force on them generally wind up in thrift shops or the dump.

Me? Not having the stamina to be as active as I once was, I enjoy having the comforts of my home around me and I still hold onto stuff not because I particularly like it or it has any use, but strictly for the sentimental value.

But nothing stays the same and the culture changes and there is something to say for a simpler lifestyle too.

As Boomers shed their stuff, their offspring reject it

I have a side table that is wood and round (probably an antique) that I got after my grandfather died. I have had that thing for years and I would never sell it or get rid of it. It's something (besides pictures) to remind me of my grandfather.

I'm glad somebody else is sentimental. I usually don't get so attached to things that I won't get rid of them though we do tend to be pack rats because we hold onto stuff we haven't used in 20 years because you never know when you might need that.

I have a wooden pedestal bowl hand crafted by my grandfather who was a carpenter and apparently would be artist. I would never let that go either.

 

[ChrisL]

Hope everyone had a fantastic New Year's celebration!

 

[Foxfyre]

However I just received the following in my e-mail--oldies but goodies. And after spending the last most of an hour on the phone with incompetent service reps and one clueless person I was trying to get an answer from re a medical question, I am convinced these probably did actually happen:

Recently, I went to McDonald's and I saw on the menu that you could have an order of 6, 9 or 12 Chicken McNuggets.

I asked for a half dozen nuggets.

'We don't have half dozen nuggets,' said the teenager at the counter.

'You don't?' I replied.

'We only have six, nine, or twelve,' was the reply.

'So I can't order a half dozen nuggets, but I can order six?'

'That's right.'

So I shook my head and ordered six McNuggets

(Must have been the same one I asked for sweetener and she said they didn't have any, only Splenda and sugar.)

* * * * * * * * * *


I was checking out at the local Wal-Mart with just a few items and the lady behind me put her things on the belt close to mine. I picked up one of those dividers that they keep by the cash register and placed it between our things so they wouldn't get mixed. After the girl had scanned all of my items, she picked up the divider, looking it all over for the bar code so she could scan it.

Not finding the bar code, she said to me, 'Do you know how much this is?'

I said to her 'I've changed my mind; I don't think I'll buy that today.'

She said 'OK,' and I paid her for the things and left.

* * * * * * * * * * *

A woman at work was seen putting a credit card into her DVD drive and pulling it out very quickly.

When I inquired as to what she was doing, she said she was shopping on the Internet and they kept asking for a credit card number, so she was using the ATM thingy.

* * * * * * * * * *
I recently saw a distraught young lady weeping beside her car.

'Do you need some help?' I asked.

She replied, 'I knew I should have replaced the battery to this remote door un-locker. Now I can't get into my car. Do you think they (pointing to a distant convenience store) would have a battery to fit this?'

Hmm, I don't know. Do you have an alarm, too?' I asked.

'No, just this remote thingy,' she answered, handing it and the car keys to me.

As I took the key and manually unlocked the door, I replied, 'Why don't you drive over there and check about the batteries. It's a long walk....'

* * * * * * * * * * *

Several years ago, we had an Intern who turned to a secretary and said, 'I'm almost out of typing paper. What do I do?' 'Just use paper from the photocopier', the secretary told her. With that, the intern took her last remaining blank piece of paper, put it on the photocopier and proceeded to make five blank copies.

* * * * * * * * * * *

And then there was the lady who called 911 to report that her kid had just eaten a bunch of ants. She gave him some ant killer. What else should she do?​

 

[ChrisL]

I was just reading about how unsentimental the younger 'millenial' general is when it comes to mementos, keepsakes, and stuff handed down. They are interested in keeping the collage of their sports medals or the stuff they created in gradeschool or boxes of old greeting cards, post cards, and letters. If it can't be stored digitally, they don't want that stuff or our hand me down heirloom furniture, crystal, china, and sterling. Also they aren't interested in owning and maintaining huge estates but enjoy living amongst 'where the action is' close to movies and restaurants and stores. Stuff their parents force on them generally wind up in thrift shops or the dump.

Me? Not having the stamina to be as active as I once was, I enjoy having the comforts of my home around me and I still hold onto stuff not because I particularly like it or it has any use, but strictly for the sentimental value.

But nothing stays the same and the culture changes and there is something to say for a simpler lifestyle too.

As Boomers shed their stuff, their offspring reject it

I have a side table that is wood and round (probably an antique) that I got after my grandfather died. I have had that thing for years and I would never sell it or get rid of it. It's something (besides pictures) to remind me of my grandfather.

I'm glad somebody else is sentimental. I usually don't get so attached to things that I won't get rid of them though we do tend to be pack rats because we hold onto stuff we haven't used in 20 years because you never know when you might need that.

I have a wooden pedestal bowl hand crafted by my grandfather who was a carpenter and apparently would be artist. I would never let that go either.

I get attached to things that people had who are no longer with us. There are plenty of things I've gotten while people were still alive that I did get rid of that I now wish I hadn't. Some of the things just got lost, like jewelry and stuff.

 

[ChrisL]

However I just received the following in my e-mail--oldies but goodies. And after spending the last most of an hour on the phone with incompetent service reps and one clueless person I was trying to get an answer from re a medical question, I am convinced these probably did actually happen:

Recently, I went to McDonald's and I saw on the menu that you could have an order of 6, 9 or 12 Chicken McNuggets.

I asked for a half dozen nuggets.

'We don't have half dozen nuggets,' said the teenager at the counter.

'You don't?' I replied.

'We only have six, nine, or twelve,' was the reply.

'So I can't order a half dozen nuggets, but I can order six?'

'That's right.'

So I shook my head and ordered six McNuggets

(Must have been the same one I asked for sweetener and she said they didn't have any, only Splenda and sugar.)

* * * * * * * * * *


I was checking out at the local Wal-Mart with just a few items and the lady behind me put her things on the belt close to mine. I picked up one of those dividers that they keep by the cash register and placed it between our things so they wouldn't get mixed. After the girl had scanned all of my items, she picked up the divider, looking it all over for the bar code so she could scan it.

Not finding the bar code, she said to me, 'Do you know how much this is?'

I said to her 'I've changed my mind; I don't think I'll buy that today.'

She said 'OK,' and I paid her for the things and left.

* * * * * * * * * * *

A woman at work was seen putting a credit card into her DVD drive and pulling it out very quickly.

When I inquired as to what she was doing, she said she was shopping on the Internet and they kept asking for a credit card number, so she was using the ATM thingy.

* * * * * * * * * *
I recently saw a distraught young lady weeping beside her car.

'Do you need some help?' I asked.

She replied, 'I knew I should have replaced the battery to this remote door un-locker. Now I can't get into my car. Do you think they (pointing to a distant convenience store) would have a battery to fit this?'

Hmm, I don't know. Do you have an alarm, too?' I asked.

'No, just this remote thingy,' she answered, handing it and the car keys to me.

As I took the key and manually unlocked the door, I replied, 'Why don't you drive over there and check about the batteries. It's a long walk....'

* * * * * * * * * * *

Several years ago, we had an Intern who turned to a secretary and said, 'I'm almost out of typing paper. What do I do?' 'Just use paper from the photocopier', the secretary told her. With that, the intern took her last remaining blank piece of paper, put it on the photocopier and proceeded to make five blank copies.

* * * * * * * * * * *

And then there was the lady who called 911 to report that her kid had just eaten a bunch of ants. She gave him some ant killer. What else should she do?​

I hope the last one isn't true!!

 

[Spoonman]

some shots of the sunset. while i was off this week redid one of the bathrooms. new tile floor, vanity, toilet and tub.

Your bathroom is beautiful.
We are also remodeling our bathroom, we already have a new toilet and our friend will redo our tile (retired professional and is doing it for us for free). Of course we will then owe him a big favor in return,which I am sure he will ask when he needs us.
Then we are getting a new cabinet that will go above the toilet.
I will post ours up also when it gets done.
That is if I can figure out how to upload pics here from my cell phone.

thanks. I think that is at least the 5th time I have redone that bathroom since we lived here. we change our minds a lot lol