Mochi-Mochi, ya'll

Have I inadvertently created a monster? I introduced Judy-Bob to Mikawaya's Mochi Ice Cream this weekend (I had some Green Tea flavor at home) and now she's addicted! I found it at May Hua in Plano, but Hong Kong Market Place (Walnut @ Audelia) also carries it. Best I can tell, Asia World Market in Richardson doesn't carry any ice cream. I haven't spotted Mochi in any of the non-Asian groceries yet, but I'll check from time to time.

Chance of finding Mochi at Wal-Mart: Z-E-R-O.

Trips to Asian grocery stores are entertaining; if nothing else, it opens your eyes to a world that doesn't revolve around the red meats that the American diet has devolved into; this diet's still centered around fish: fresh, frozen, or dried. Just stay away from the durian: pee-yew!

No sign yet of urchin-flavored ice cream, but I'm sure it's just a matter of time.

I've always liked the taste of lychee, but like anything else, if I consume it too often, the taste gets old. So, I picked up some "lychee pudding" (which is nothing like chocolate pudding); lychee yogurt; and a can of lychee drink. I decided against the lychee gummy (something like individually wrapped Gummy Bears), thinking I might overdose.

Unrelated: I stopped by North Haven Gardens (on Northaven -- only one H -- Road) to pick up some dried molasses. I will experiment with it this season, for fire ant control. Could Gene-Bob be going organic, whole hog? Stranger things have happened.

going organic

I went to the monthly meeting of the Dallas Sierra Club tonight. The guest speaker was Howard Garrett a/k/a the Dirt Doctor™. He is totally into organics, so if you even think chemicals are the only way to treat your lawn, then it's time to stop listening.

Stuff I learned:

• "Garrett Juice" is Howard Garrett's concoction that can be bought, if you don't want to make your own. It's a liquid fertilizer;
• Texas Organic Research Center
• Tierra Verde is an Arlington golf course that's about 80% organic;
• United States Green Building Council;
• local organic success stories include Frito Lay's Plano headquarters ("organic since 1989"), Radio Shack - 38 acres in Southlake, and also Sabre Corp;
• Soil Foodweb;
• tree advice
  1. remove all ivy
  2. trees are supposed to FLARE as they exit ground (otherwise, roots are too deep)
  3. use "compost tea" to eliminate unhealthy (yellowing) plants and oak wilt disease (see "sick tree treatment")
• Lambert's (214-350-8350) is an organic landscape contractor, and a member of the Texas Nursery and Landscape Association. Lambert's is affiliated with the Moore Tree Company;
• air spade - "fancy sand blaster" for dirt;
• 1000 year old tree - 3 miles north of Waco;
• Garrett's best-selling books: Texas Bug Book and Texas Gardening - the Natural Way;
• regarding mosquitos : the MosquitoNix™ misting system is okay if used with "plant oil" (BiOrganics and EcoEXEMPT™ are neurotoxins to invertebrates only) and they have a nice vanilla scent;
• pyrethrum - very bad for kids with asthma, but used by City of Dallas as a spray for mosquitos (West Nile Virus);
• spinosin (apparently the seeds and leaves of Ziziphus Spinosa) is a good fire ant bait. It appears to be Texas A&M's new recommended treatment
• garlic tea - 30 day mosquito prevention;
• Roundup™ is not as safe as it's marketed! (a new study shows it kills amphibians);
• Green Light®'s goal is to provide effective, environmentally responsible products;
• Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) is a good way to get rid of tent caterpillars;
• lawn scalping only good in fall except in prep for overseeding;
• philoremediation - removing toxins from soil;
• hardpan is an impenetrable layer of soil, mostly due to compacting;
• beneficial nematodes & molasses - fix grubworm problem (not organic gardening problem)
• Safer (brand) products (not the same as the Safer Pest Control Project);
• Garrett - "i've had no fireants in 12 yrs". He uses a mix of 20 pounds of dry molasses (per 1000 square feet) and says it provides "great fireant control". Also mentioned: orange-oil (but, it will burn grass);
• George "Evil Empire" Bush's Crawford Ranch is 100% organic - this must be a closely guarded secret, lest his cronies in the chemical industry find out
• after the monthly meeting, the Dallas Sierra Club often gathers at Papa's Pizza (on Beltline, in Addison)

Mr. Peabody Awards

In the "Betcha Didn't Know That!" department: the George Foster Peabody Award comes from the University of Georgia's Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. They recently announced their 64th Annual Peabody Award winners, which included one of my newfound favorites, LinkTV's Mosaic: World News From The Middle East.

Maybe I appreciate good journalism, after having been in that industry (fresh out of college, eons ago). That mini-career started in high school, when I somehow found myself as Sports Editor (and photographer) for the school paper. I think that was after someone stuck a 35mm camera in my hand and said "here - do this!" Eventually, they looked at my English grades and found I could write, and there ya have it.

In college, I earned a double-major, of which half was Broadcast Communications. Then, I landed a job for a few months as a "staff announcer" on a smalltown radio station, before leaving the microphone open one time too often (!) and being escorted out the door. It was the best thing that could've happened, since I despised that job. I ended up a few miles away, working as a news reporter for a radio station next to a major military base. I enjoyed myself, even acting as an investigative journalist a few times (when the situation merited). Being on the "deadline end of the mic" gives me appreciation for some reporters, and contempt for others.



Disclaimer: the Peabody Award was invented long before the Mr. (Hector) Peabody cartoon character from Rocky & Bullwinkle.

Unrelated #0: last week, I attended a Candidate's Forum hosted by the League of Women Voters of Dallas. A crew was there from Dallas Community Television (seen on Comcast cable 27A), but it has yet to air. I got an email from a DCTV staffer today saying that they're adding subtitles, etc. and it will be a few more days.

Unrelated #1: I lunched with Drew-Bob and Roger-Bob at the Addison Pointe today. From the moment I walked in the door, I could smell the cigarette smoke, which made their burgers taste like an ashtray. Ah, the ambiance.

serapes and sombreros

Judy-Bob wanted to see an art exhibit at the Dallas Latino Cultural Center, so we moseyed by there on Saturday afternoon.

In honor of Latino culture, I threatened to wear a serape and a sombrero but instead just sampled the Pig Stew (okay, okay .. so guiso de puerco sounds more appetizing) at Monica Aca Y Alla (in nearby Deep Ellum).

The Latino Cultural Center doesn't get much Action on the weekend, apparently; although they're open from 11 until 4, by 2pm only 27 people had stopped in to have a look-see. Perhaps everyone moseyed west, to take in the Main Street Art Festival in Fort Worth.

Unrelated #0: The next time I mosey through East Texas (en route Shreveport) I may stop by to see some of the potteries in Marshall, which are undoubtedly low-tech to the max.

Unrelated #1: Trish-Bob turned me onto a show on Bravo: Showdog Moms & Dads, which is a reality show about the world of professional (?) dog shows. Yeee haaa.

ah, springtime!

What a great way to start the day! I moseyed over to my PC to check email, then accessed a website (Dallas Homeowners League) to check the status of something, and kaBOOM!


I wonder how many other people have seen this screen? 

resisting temptation

I was nosing around Geoff's blog, and spotted a posting about his new digicam (Nikon 5600). Hmmm .. am I overdue for a new digicam? I wonder how long I can resist the temptation?

The digital camera that I use most often is the Canon, and I haul out the E-10 when a good lens (and lots of settings) is more important than shirt-pocket size and "movie mode". This is my fourth digicam:

1. Sony Mavica FD-90 (acquired May 2000)
2. Olympus C-2100 UZ (May 2001)
3. Olympus E-10 (September 2002)
4. Canon PowerShot S-230 (December 2002)

Paula still has the Sony (I think) and Jill-Bob bought the C-2100.

I still like Digital Photography Review's website the best, in part because of their side-by-side comparison feature. Heck, I thought it'd be entertaining to compare all four of my digicams (sorted by acquisition).

Depending on whether you can tell the difference between a 200dpi and 300dpi image, anything with 3.2 megapixels [MP] or higher will produce a good 8x10 inch print at 200dpi, but you'll need a 7.2 MP camera if you demand 300 dpi precision. Also, if you have a less-than-spectacular zoom lens, and/or tend to crop a lot, the more megapixels the merrier.

I recently printed quite a few 8x10 images, and they all look crisp to me (except for a few where I did some serious zoom-and-cropping) so I suspect I can live with my 3.2 and 4 MP cameras a while longer.

Happy Bat Mitzvah, Trish-Bob!

Earlier today, I wandered 12 miles up the road to see Trish-Bob, the day before The Big Three-Five, and gifted her a Bat Mitzvah card and a circular pill sorter. She appeared pleased. Scott's taking her to a secret destination, and I'm betting that pill sorter will be packed in her luggage.