The Off Topic Thread...

Sapsorrow

El_Dangeroso wrote: »

Sapsorrow, why you no blog no more? Getting withdrawal symptoms from the food porn ova heee.

No time for cooking and no photo opportunities lately really The new apartment has crappy light for photos and no garden either so there's not a lot to work with anymore. Pity, it was going well for a little while there. Might get some pics up of my christmas tree tomorrow though

Sapsorrow

Lots of leftover chocolate cake from work today, brought home 7 slices. Not good considering it consists solely of dark chocolate, butter, eggs and sugar but there was no way I was letting it go in the bin when it costs 4-5euros (:eek:) a slice! This stuff is so good it actually has it's own Facebook page for fans, so if anyone wants tea and cake let me know!

Rosiestar

as this is an off topic thread just thought I'd say I'm watching the Front Line with Pat Kenny, you have got your usual down and out dubliners, GUESS WHAT the rest of the country is in the same boat! It makes me so mad that there was no regulation of the banks and no accountability yet here we go we got the dubliners on as if they own the country, whilst in fact they ruined it!, makes me nauseus. Pat Kenny is ok with his major salary this country is a joke!

Sapsorrow

El_Dangeroso wrote: »

Sapsorrow, why you no blog no more? Getting withdrawal symptoms from the food porn ova heee.

Updated the blog as requested with some very tasty recipes (if I do say so myself ) as well as pics of my christmas decorations. Hope you like sprouts though!

El_Dangeroso

I've just read a mainstream newspaper article about nutrition that didn't actually make me want to tear my hair out.

http://www.latimes.com/health/la-he-carbs-20101220,0,5464425.story?page=2

Ok, so they pretend that carbs are the root of all evil, (equating potatoes with donuts ffs!) but this is the first time they are starting to look at flour and sugar as the real root of metabolic derangement. Atkin's gets a plug like it's the only low carb plan out there, but there are a few notable names quoted, who seem to have changed their minds on the issue. It's a start IMO.

Sapsorrow

Crazy thing happened today...

Me and my boyfriend decided to go for a romantic walk up the city centre while the dinner was cooking away in the oven (to work up an appetite) and my boyfriend literally ended up saving a man's life. He was walking along the bridge ahead of us when he wobbled, fell and hit his head on the stone wall of the bridge and slumped face down on the path. I told my boyfriend I saw him hit his head and he immediately took off at a run up the street to him to find him convulsing, breathing with great difficulty and going blue. Then he went limp and stopped breathing completely and had turned a horrible shade of dark blue/purple all over his face and hands. My boyfriend got him into recovery position and put his coat under his head to stop it banging on the ground (he was trashing violently when we found him) and helped him to clear his airways so he started to breath again while I called an ambulance. Several people walked straight past him on the bridge before we got to him and despite having a good look didn't bother to stop and help him. One couple even stopped with their three small children to look for a few minutes and then proceeded to take photos of each other on the bridge. Didn't even ask if we needed help or if he was ok. I didn't have a clue what to do myself so it was so lucky that my boyfriend reacted so calmly and quickly. The man nearly died right in front of us. Luckily the ambulance came quickly and he's going to be ok now but it was a close one. To think had we not run to help him he could have just been there alone with everyone just walking by him leaving him to die like that on Christmas day He was really well dressed, clean etc.. and clearly having a fit not in a drunken stupor. His rucksack had fallen open on the ground and had packets of biscuits etc in it as if he was on his way to visit someone and still people just walked right past him. It's weakened my faith in humanity somewhat. What a bunch of *ssholes :mad:

El_Dangeroso

OMG, That's more dramatic than anything I saw on the soaps tonight!

Fair play to you and the BF for acting so quickly and decisively, you saved a man's life today, kinda puts christmas presents in perspective doesn't it.

Hope you guys are over the shock and tucking into a well deserved dinner.

rocky

Here's hoping I manage to fly out of Ireland tonight, my first attempt was squashed by the imperialist machine Ryanair when they canceled the flight to Paris earlier this week 8-)

typed on bluesberris up the dingos with the Iphonipididdy supper dupper app *snap!* :pac:

Muirgheal

Sapsorrow wrote: »

Crazy thing happened today...

Me and my boyfriend decided to go for a romantic walk up the city centre while the dinner was cooking away in the oven (to work up an appetite) and my boyfriend literally ended up saving a man's life. He was walking along the bridge ahead of us when he wobbled, fell and hit his head on the stone wall of the bridge and slumped face down on the path. I told my boyfriend I saw him hit his head and he immediately took off at a run up the street to him to find him convulsing, breathing with great difficulty and going blue. Then he went limp and stopped breathing completely and had turned a horrible shade of dark blue/purple all over his face and hands. My boyfriend got him into recovery position and put his coat under his head to stop it banging on the ground (he was trashing violently when we found him) and helped him to clear his airways so he started to breath again while I called an ambulance. Several people walked straight past him on the bridge before we got to him and despite having a good look didn't bother to stop and help him. One couple even stopped with their three small children to look for a few minutes and then proceeded to take photos of each other on the bridge. Didn't even ask if we needed help or if he was ok. I didn't have a clue what to do myself so it was so lucky that my boyfriend reacted so calmly and quickly. The man nearly died right in front of us. Luckily the ambulance came quickly and he's going to be ok now but it was a close one. To think had we not run to help him he could have just been there alone with everyone just walking by him leaving him to die like that on Christmas day He was really well dressed, clean etc.. and clearly having a fit not in a drunken stupor. His rucksack had fallen open on the ground and had packets of biscuits etc in it as if he was on his way to visit someone and still people just walked right past him. It's weakened my faith in humanity somewhat. What a bunch of *ssholes :mad:

Well done... true meaning of Christmas spirit in action!

WildBoots

Sapsorrow wrote: »

Crazy thing happened today...

Me and my boyfriend decided to go for a romantic walk up the city centre while the dinner was cooking away in the oven (to work up an appetite) and my boyfriend literally ended up saving a man's life. He was walking along the bridge ahead of us when he wobbled, fell and hit his head on the stone wall of the bridge and slumped face down on the path. I told my boyfriend I saw him hit his head and he immediately took off at a run up the street to him to find him convulsing, breathing with great difficulty and going blue. Then he went limp and stopped breathing completely and had turned a horrible shade of dark blue/purple all over his face and hands. My boyfriend got him into recovery position and put his coat under his head to stop it banging on the ground (he was trashing violently when we found him) and helped him to clear his airways so he started to breath again while I called an ambulance. Several people walked straight past him on the bridge before we got to him and despite having a good look didn't bother to stop and help him. One couple even stopped with their three small children to look for a few minutes and then proceeded to take photos of each other on the bridge. Didn't even ask if we needed help or if he was ok. I didn't have a clue what to do myself so it was so lucky that my boyfriend reacted so calmly and quickly. The man nearly died right in front of us. Luckily the ambulance came quickly and he's going to be ok now but it was a close one. To think had we not run to help him he could have just been there alone with everyone just walking by him leaving him to die like that on Christmas day He was really well dressed, clean etc.. and clearly having a fit not in a drunken stupor. His rucksack had fallen open on the ground and had packets of biscuits etc in it as if he was on his way to visit someone and still people just walked right past him. It's weakened my faith in humanity somewhat. What a bunch of *ssholes :mad:

Fair play to you and your boyfriend, I love hearing stories like this. As for the people who didn't react, it just shows how disconnected some folk are from reality.

El_Dangeroso

Cool short TED talk about the value of sleep:

http://www.ted.com/talks/arianna_huffington_how_to_succeed_get_more_sleep.html

This is one of my new year's resolutions, be consistent with my sleep routine. I'm sick of staying up til 3-4am on the weekends only to be completely shattered on Monday morning. It sure as hell makes me a more boring person, but it might make me a healthier, more productive one so it's worth it, especially since I have a thesis to write over the next few months.

What are everyone else's resolutions?

metamorphosis

I love ted.com

It came up trumps for me when doing my thesis. I am going to watch this now.

About resolutions - not so sure. I usually write out a little to do list every week and it usually includes things i want to get a head start on, so in a way i am always trying to do little resolutions year long. Doesn't work much but makes me feel more organized and on top of things!

Few things - get application sorted for South Korea asap, continue building up my classes here and branch out in the type of classes i am teaching, and one or two important ones that i wont be sharing here

rubadub

El_Dangeroso wrote: »

What are everyone else's resolutions?

Mine was to stop buying those damn 5 packs of doughnuts in tesco, they are always there on the way in :mad:

So I ended up getting a 5 pack in dunnes instead

Ordered some new asics walking shoes
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Asics-Mission-Walking-Liquid-T016Y9090/dp/B003O0O7WU/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1294177631&sr=8-10

nice and discreet compared to their usual runners

I might start walking to work a bit, I already cycle.

Red Cortina

El_Dangeroso wrote: »

What are everyone else's resolutions?

I want to look into making some kind of fermented food like sauerkraut (sp?) or something....
Plus need to start buying some of our food at the local farmer's market
Would also like to find a recipe to make liver a bit more palatable

Lots more improvements to be made to my diet yet!!!

El_Dangeroso

Red Cortina wrote: »

I want to look into making some kind of fermented food like sauerkraut (sp?) or something....
Plus need to start buying some of our food at the local farmer's market
Would also like to find a recipe to make liver a bit more palatable

Lots more improvements to be made to my diet yet!!!

I went through a total phase of loving liver. Tried to eat it the other day and couldn't stomach one bite. Could be that it was supermarket liver? You could ask the butcher to mince it for you and then mix it into ground beef.

Rubadub, hear you on the donuts. Had a few gluten-y transgressions over the xmas, and was rewarded with the most horrible gastric consequences, low mood and days of cravings afterwards. Not worth it at all! Donuts are the holy trinity of ****ty food, vegetable oil, white flour and sugar,

Red Cortina

El_Dangeroso wrote: »

I went through a total phase of loving liver. Tried to eat it the other day and couldn't stomach one bite. Could be that it was supermarket liver? You could ask the butcher to mince it for you and then mix it into ground beef.

Oh that's a great idea! Thanks for the tip!:)

El_Dangeroso wrote: »

Rubadub, hear you on the donuts. Had a few gluten-y transgressions over the xmas, and was rewarded with the most horrible gastric consequences, low mood and days of cravings afterwards. Not worth it at all! Donuts are the holy trinity of ****ty food, vegetable oil, white flour and sugar,

I was with the in-laws for xmas this year and had to put up with the MIL saying 'What bread will RC have for breakfast? My OH: 'She can't have bread' MIL: 'But can she have brown bread?'. WTF

Sapsorrow

El_Dangeroso wrote: »

What are everyone else's resolutions?

God so many...

- get really strict on the primal again
- cut my carbs (again, again)
- Take my supplements more often
- cut out the rollies
- get cracking on some new hobbies (I'm starting dress making classes in a week or two and I'm planning on enrolling for the Cork roller derby group and I plan to start practising with my camera more)
- Pay off my loans
- save up to go to India and to buy a campervan
- figure out an alternative to working for the man (maybe selling clothes I make...)

El_Dangeroso

Ugh, sooo full. Just ate a tiny portion of red duck curry and rice noodles. Forgot how filling coconut milk is. I now feel all alert and energetic. Gotta love those MCTs rushing through my blood stream

El_Dangeroso

Watching Guns, Germs and Steel on More4 at the mo. (It's next on Sun 09 Jan, 1am if anyone wants to set their DVR - Brilliant documentary on anthropology)

Man, those Papua New Guineans are RIPPED. Seriously, that is what humans are supposed to look like.

Sapsorrow

El_Dangeroso wrote: »

Watching Guns, Germs and Steel on More4 at the mo. (It's next on Sun 09 Jan, 1am if anyone wants to set their DVR - Brilliant documentary on anthropology)

Man, those Papua New Guineans are RIPPED. Seriously, that is what humans are supposed to look like.

Aw I don't have channels Are you recording it? *hint!*hint!*

El_Dangeroso

Sapsorrow wrote: »

Aw I don't have channels Are you recording it? *hint!*hint!*

Have it on the DVR, boyfriend started complaining that this was not the most entertaining way to spend a Saturday night, and he puts up with a lot of boring crap that I like to watch so we put on 'The Town' (good flick btw). I'll watch it later.

Ooh look here it is for free:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4008293090480628280#

eclectichoney

So I just tried me some buckwheat flakes made into porridge today! Nice! What's the consensus on buckwheat? Good, bad, indifferent? There's very little on the forum about it which surprised me I went for the flakes as it was what I saw first in (the excellent!) Nature's Hand in Limerick, but from a quick Google it seems groats might be the way to go? Can you still microwave the groats I wonder?

rubadub

Ryvita original, mulitgrain and sesame 54c in tesco until 18/1/2011

must buy up lots as they keep well, inspect the packs though, they are often torn at the corners.

metamorphosis

rubadub wrote: »

Ryvita original, mulitgrain and sesame 54c in tesco until 18/1/2011

must buy up lots as they keep well, inspect the packs though, they are often torn at the corners.

Saw that alright, but the Lindt 85 and 90% chocolate is no longer on special offer , back up to its regular price

eclectichoney

metamorphosis wrote: »

Saw that alright, but the Lindt 85 and 90% chocolate is no longer on special offer , back up to its regular price

Yeah though it was on special for a good three weeks or so in fairness. Tis a pity though, but at least the full prcie is actually pretty reasonable also.

metamorphosis

Just ordered me some Thorne K2- MK4 and D3 from iherb. Cheap as chips given how long it will last.

Bottle_of_Smoke

Getting worried about the forum, with only one sticky and 4 threads about weightwatchers its starting to look less like a WW forum and more like a general nutrition and diet forum

El_Dangeroso

Ha! Know what you mean, I suppose the WW'ers could probably do with their own forum, but then that would be boards.ie supporting a commercial business forum for nothing. Isn't there a WW irish forum anyway?

rubadub

El_Dangeroso wrote: »

Isn't there a WW irish forum anyway?

Probably not much use, apparently they do not even let you post points up, and we might get a mail to stop it too.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weight_Watchers#Criticism

Criticism
The WeightWatchers.com bulletin boards use the rubric of violations of intellectual property to attempt to enforce a prohibition against posting PointsPlus values for foods in the message boards.[17] While Weight Watchers can legitimately impose rules on the use of its forums—including prohibiting posting of PointsPlus values—casting the restriction as a violation of intellectual property is misleading. In the United States, formulas standing alone cannot be subject to patent protect. See Gottschalk v.Benson. Formulas are similarly are not subject to copyright, because they are functional as opposed to expressive in nature. Similarly, the fact that Weight Watchers has not sued ConAgra Foods for labeling packages with Points values, highlights the weakness of any trademark related intellectual property arguments—the usage of the Points trademark on the packages is a nominative trademark use that is protected under US law.


Weight Watchers has not provided official confirmation of the Points or PointsPlus formulas and has aggressively sent cease and desist letters to websites and a number of third party tools that claimed to provide Points, or PointsPlus, calculations.

I will merge any if I catch them soon enough, if you merge some with too many posts nobody knows what is going on. I expect it is a combination of new years resolutioners, and the new pro points.

The new pro points forumla


I have a degree in engineering, and that formula makes my head hurt!

El_Dangeroso

rubadub wrote: »

Probably not much use, apparently they do not even let you post points up, and we might get a mail to stop it too.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weight_Watchers#Criticism



I will merge any if I catch them soon enough, if you merge some with too many posts nobody knows what is going on. I expect it is a combination of new years resolutioners, and the new pro points.

The new pro points forumla


I have a degree in engineering, and that formula makes my head hurt!

V interesting! That formula is insane. For the love of god like the goodness of a food can just be reduced down to it's macronutrients like that. Jesus wept.