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Showing posts from May, 2012

Time Management

Summary Notes from Time Management for System Administrators by Thomas Limoncelli: 1. Keep all your time management stuff in one place - your work and personal appointments, to do list, calendar, goals, etc. 2. Focus on the current task; use external storage to record/remember everything else. 3. Develop routines for things so there are no oopsies or important items left undone or forgotten. A good routine is to start each day with our to do list, estimate duration to complete each task, prioritize the tasks, schedule them to be completed, and work the schedule. 4. Pre-compile decisions by developing habits and mantras. Habits such as using the first quiet hour of the day to work projects, or to put gas in your car on the same day every week. 5. Maintain focus during work tasks- do not allow distractions like email, internet surfing, IM, etc to derail you. Study in a quiet environment whenever possible.

Smoked Pork and Spicy Grilled Potato Salad with Corn and NM Green Chiles

  Memorial Day Menu Spinach and Arugula Salad with Tomatoes Baked Beans Potato Rolls Smoked Pulled Pork with Spicy BBQ Sauce Spicy Grilled Potato Salad with Corn and NM Green Chiles Hibiscus Iced Tea   Recipes Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated   Spicy Grilled Potato Salad with Corn and NM Green Chiles Ingredients  1 1/2 pounds new potatoes, 2 to 3 inches long, scrubbed and unpeeled, cut into eighths 1 1/2 teaspoons table salt 2 tablespoons olive oil 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper   Table salt 1 cup corn kernels, cooked 4 NM green chiles, roasted, peeled, seeded, and diced 1 jalapeño chile, seeded and minced 4 tablespoons lime juice 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar 5 tablespoons olive oil 2 scallions, green parts only, sliced thin Instructions In large Dutch oven or stockpot, bring 4 quarts water to boil over high heat; add 1 teaspoon salt. Skewer potato pieces. Drop skewers into boiling water and boil until paring knife slips in and out of potato easily, about

Salmon Cakes

  Made these for dinner tonight, accompanied by roasted corn on the cob (trim loose husks from corn and roast at 425 for 40 minutes), and roasted asparagus (drizzle with olive oil, salt, lemon juice and roast at 45 for 10-15 minutes). The hubby rated them very highly and it’s a great way to get in your healthy Omega-3 fatty acids. Adapted from Cook’s illustrated. Serves 4 If buying a skin-on salmon fillet, purchase 1 1/3 pounds of fish. This will yield 1 1/4 pounds of fish after skinning. Serve the salmon cakes with lemon wedges. Ingredients 3 tablespoons plus 3/4 cup panko bread crumbs 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley or arugula 2 tablespoons mayonnaise 4 teaspoons lemon juice 1 scallion, sliced thin 1 small shallot, minced 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon pepper pinch cayenne pepper 1 (1 1/4 pound) skinless salmon fillet , cut into 1-inch pieces 3 T olive oil Instructions 1. Combine 3 tablespoons panko, parsley, mayonnaise, lemon juice, sca

The Art of Critical Thinking

  Just finished reading The Art of Critical Thinking by Vincent Ruggiero. Summary Notes follow. Thinking is production of ideas and judgment of ideas. Read problems fully then decide how to begin attacking them. Check assumptions for validity. Think on paper for clarity: freewrite, brainstorm. Good thinkers accept the following foundational beliefs: 1. Strict determinism and strict free-will are both false. Our ideas and actions are heavily influenced and constrained by nature/nuture but we have a strong measure of free will that we exercise to determine our course of actions. 2.There is objective truth, although we may not always be able to discern it. 3. We approach truth from direct experience, from directly observing others’ experiences, and from report by others. We are biased by our own senses, our attitudes and beliefs and the reliability of reporting. 4. Memory recall is frequently flawed. 5. Opinions can be expressions of taste/preference (which are not based on r

Recent Readings

I finished The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman as well as The Year of Fog   by Michelle Richmond last week. In The Imperfectionists Rachman devotes each chapter to an episodic portrait of a different character. In doing so, the author slowly reveals a timeline and interdependent setting for all of the characters. By the end of the novel the cohesive storyline of the newspaper and its history is fully developed and I was able to look back over what I had already read and marvel at the way Rachman had effortlessly tied all his characters together so smoothly while I wasn’t paying close attention. The background plot centers on a small family owned newspaper agency in Rome and the character portraits are of the owners and staff. Because the characters are introduced so slowly, one chapter at a time, and because those chapters focus exclusively on that character, the reader is never left confused or overwhelmed in the moment trying to untangle characters from one another (a problem I fr

Thai Menu

  Enjoyed a fantastic Thai dinner tonight at our favorite restaurant – Chez Parks. 5/5 stars! Grilled Beef Satay Cucumber Salad Rice Peanut Dipping Sauce Mango Sticky Rice photo credit: Cook’s Illustrated --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Grilled Beef Satay (Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated) Ingredients Basting Sauce   3/4 cup coconut milk 3 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar 3 tablespoons fish sauce 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 3 shallots, minced 2 stalks lemon grass, trimmed to bottom 6 inches and minced 2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger 1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander 3/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin 1/2 teaspoon salt Beef   2 tablespoons vegetable oil 2 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar 1 tablespoon fish sauce 1 1/2 pounds NY Strip steak, sliced on slight angle against grain into 1/4- inch thick slices Disposable aluminum roasting pan Instructions 1. FOR THE BASTING SAUCE: Wh