Blue Mouse Monkey Blog

Are you tired of feeding brown rice to the reluctant?  And does the 45 minute cooking time get you down? I like the stuff, sometimes even crave its spartan simplicity, but really, it’s not up there with the quick ‘n tasty.

Ok, so this is what you do.

Get 1 c brown rice.  Wash it thoroughly, rinsing several times. (You never know what floor it’s been spilled on and swept up off of during its journey to you.)

Put an empty, dry, pot on the stove on medium heat. It need not be cast iron, but a flimsy or bent pot won’t work so well.

Tip the wet rice into the pot, and dry it over the heat, stirring constantly.  After a while the dry grains will start to pop.  Not puffing out like popcorn, but its sort of similar.  But gentler: you don’t need to keep the lid on.

Keep stirring till the rice looks different.  Roasted rice is a little lighter, a little yellower, and not as shiny as raw rice. Keep stirring till most grains look transformed this way.  It’s a subtle change, so keep some raw rice nearby to compare from time to time.

When the rice is thoroughly roasted, pour two cups of water into the pot.  Caution: it will boil violently for a few seconds before settling down.  

Put the lid on the pot, and cook on low for about 20 minutes.  Yes that’s right, roasted brown rice takes less time to cook than raw rice.

While it’s cooking toast about 1 tablespoon of sesame seeds and set aside.  Black sesame seeds would look even better than white, but it’s a bit hard to tell how done they are when toasting.  Also fry up 1/2 diced onion.  I used a purple onion which is why there is a slight color to the onion pieces in the image.

Test the rice for doneness.  When done, stir in the onion and the sesame seeds, and that’s it.

The combination of onion and sesame tastes, along with the extra boost of yummyness roasting imparts on the rice itself, makes normally reluctant rice eaters want multiple helpings.  It’s not quite as irresistible as say, well-made stuffing, but it’s surprisingly moreish, and still really good for you.

 

Arches National Park

From the Salt Lake Tribune

Excepts from the article by Patty Henetz:

He didn’t pour sugar into a bulldozer’s gas tank. He didn’t spike a tree or set a billboard on fire. But wielding only a bidder’s paddle, a University of Utah student just as surely monkey-wrenched a federal oil- and gas-lease sale Friday, ensuring that thousands of acres near two southern Utah national parks won’t be opened to drilling anytime soon.

Tim DeChristopher, 27, faces possible federal charges after winning bids totaling about $1.8 million on more than 10 lease parcels that he admits he has neither the intention nor the money to buy — and he’s not sorry.

“I decided I could be much more effective by an act of civil disobedience.”

Book Cliffs, Utah

…he came to the BLM’s state office in Salt Lake City to join about 200 other activists in a peaceful protest outside the building Friday morning. But then he registered with the BLM as representing himself and went to the auction room.
There, he thought about the times he has marched, fired off letters to his congressmen, signed petitions and supported environmental organizations — all to no avail.

“What the environmental movement has been doing for the past 20 years hasn’t worked,” DeChristopher said.

…The auction had been under way for a couple of hours when energy company representatives became suspicious of a man wearing an old red down parka after he won bids on more than 10 parcels numbered consecutively, all around Arches and Canyonlands…the man, brandishing bidding paddle No. 70 and unknown to the regular buyers, also seemed to be bidding up on parcels, raising prices on leases that others eventually won.

DeChristopher, who acknowledged upping other bids by about $500,000, said he would be willing to go to jail to defend his generation’s prospects in light of global climate disruption and other environmental threats.

Since the Election Day announcement of the lease sale, preservationists, conservationists, archaeologists, business owners, river runners, anglers and hunters have registered objections to the BLM’s plans to allow drilling in some of Utah’s most scenic redrock desert.

Desolation Canyon, Utah

They challenged proposed leases near Arches National Park, the White River, the greater Desolation Canyon region, Labyrinth Canyon, the benches east of Canyonlands National Park, Nine Mile Canyon, the Book Cliffs and the Deep Creek Mountains.

Objections also have come from the National Park Service, members of Congress and John Podesta, the head of President-elect Barack Obama’s transition team, who said the lease sale should be halted or altered to accommodate environmental concerns.

…BLM official Terry Catlin said the agency didn’t want to reopen the bidding on the parcels DeChristopher snagged unless all interested parties were able to compete for the leases. That means the parcels won’t be available again until at least February — after Obama takes office — during the next scheduled auction.

Read the full article

A typical mis-typing of ‘does not’ is ‘doe snot’. Google this for some funny sentences, particularly when viewed in their truncated search-results form:

 
“Garage Door opener doe snot close the door” (It’s a new lubricant. Works great)

“suspend doe snot work when X is running” (I try to suspend doe snot work at every opportunity)

“The PC doe snot boot” (There’s a hose out the back you can use for that)

“Widows Explorer doe snot open” (and when it does, it works like doe snot)

“Windows Media Player doe snot work” (seems to be pretty cervid and gummy up there in Redmond)

“Autumn Doe Snot Return” (It’s inevitable, I’m afraid)

“view doe snot copy” (or if you’d prefer to see the original doe snot…)

“Extreme 2000 doe snot show anything” (Extreme doe snot?)

“For Everone Who Doe Snot Like Me” (Hmm)

“Doe snot wirth the money” (That one’s from a hotel review)

“my subwoofer doe snot make any sound” (that’s because it has exceptional muffling effects)

“thanks - but no this doe snot help” (and neither did the buffalo snot)

“My niece is going to court for DWI and doe snot have a attorney” (Yikes. Just one shot of doe snot will put you over the legal limit)

“A team hat doe snot communicate and talk to each other about what the next move will be is going to lose.” (Mostly because doe snot makes a lousy hat)

“quality doe snot seem to suffer” (the cheap stuff, though, bounces right back!)

“instead just doe snot load the page” (that’s if you have no intention of ever reading it again)

“They only have a peace-keeping force that doe snot compbat terror” (Now why didn’t the UN think of this first?)

“remember that doe snot give you the right to be condescending and cocky” (or snotty)

“to ensure development doe snot” (this is critical for societal progress)

“Anarchy doe snot equal chaos” (Capitalist doe snot is worse, though)

“OH WAIT IT DOE SNOT FIT IN MY IPHONE” (That was the last call she made from that phone)

“As long as Valve doe snot articficially raise the dollar prices for people from Europe I still prefer Steam” (I’m watching the exchange rate and keeping my fingers crossed)

“the little bit of static that may be in the background doe snot” (which is kind of like the background cosmic radiation -  it’s everywhere)

Banana tree in snow. Our neighbors have a banana tree. Which is pretty ambitious here above the 45th parallel. Every winter it disappears, and every summer it pops back up over the top of the fence. Here it is receiving the shock of its life.

Swirly snow. A study in movement.

Hummingbird in snow. I hope it survives the upcoming week of below-freezing temps.

Workers occupying Republic windows & Doors

Direct action at work: The workers who occupied their own factory (Republic Windows and Doors) for 5 days after sudden notice of their layoffs succeeded last night in getting the severance pay and 2 months health insurance that was due to them under Illinois law.  

About 200 workers showed up in groups of 50 or 60 to occupy the plant around-the-clock in eight-hour shifts. The company violated federal law because employees were not given 60 days’ notice that they were losing their jobs. Bank of America, although flush with U.S. government bailout cash, had refused to extend Republic’s line of credit and had also refused to allow Republic to pay out what the workers were owed. Most of the anger over the plant closure had been directed at Bank of America, not the company, which did not try to evict workers from the building. 

The sit-in ended in victory late Wednesday night, when the union announced that more than 200 workers and members of UE Local 1110 voted unanimously to accept a $1.75 million settlement that includes eight weeks of back pay, two months of continued health coverage, and compensation for unused vacation time. 

The worker occupation of a plant is something that’s been rarely seen in the U.S. since the 1930’s. The reaction was stunning for the union, when messages of support poured in from around the world, and demonstations of solidarity were held in other cities.

CommunityHealthPriorities.org

In the summer Blue Mouse Monkey launched a website called Community Health Priorities, whose goal is “to engage people all over the state [0f Oregon] to articulate a vision of a healthier life for everyone, and then develop policies that help us achieve that vision.”

Created to foster conversation, the Community Health Priorities website would not be the same without visitor comments. So they’ve launched a program this December to reward those who post a comment about any of the “conversation” items, news stories, or polls on the site.

Here’s how it works:

Make a comment anywhere on the site during December 2008, and you will be eligible to win $500 for to a nonprofit community group of your choice anywhere in Oregon or southwest Washington.
One person will be randomly selected to win each week for a total of four winners for the month of December.

Comment anywhere on the site and you’ll be entered to win. Check it out!

moss

Walking in Washington Park today, my zoomy eye spied these secret and magical worlds. 

Okay, so my new camera has a macro function. Now that I’m losing the closeup range of my eyesight (just old age, nothing serious), this camera will have to fill in for me!

pine