A new recipe and an interesting article

Recently I was at a friend's house for dinner.  She made a  Spanish Slaw recipe similar to this one and  I really enjoyed it.  Apparently it is always popular when she makes it for friends.  She actually just buys the packages of pre-shredded cabbage instead of shredding it herself.

Ingredients

• 3 cups shredded cabbage
• 1/4 cup chopped green pepper
• 1/3 cup vinegar
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 4 teaspoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon diced pimientos
• 1 teaspoon grated onion
• 1 teaspoon celery salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions

1. In a bowl, combine cabbage and green pepper. In a jar with tight-fitting lid, combine remaining ingredients; shake well. Pour over cabbage mixture just before serving; toss to coat. Serve with a slotted spoon.

I found this news article interesting:

Online gamers crack AIDS enzyme puzzle
- in summary,  it seems scientists have been trying to decode this enzyme for a decade and the gamers were able to do it in 3 weeks.  People have the spatial reasoning skills that computers lack.  Games bring the strengths of humans and computers together.  This new partnership could lead to new medical advances.

How to Read a QR Code

I recently wrote a post about QR codes. They are in magazines, store flyers and in a lot of news articles lately. From what I read, they originated in Japan and are popular in Europe. They are now popping up all over North America and it was bothering me that I didn't know how to read them.

I found this information on Search Engine Land:

'QR is short for Quick Response (they can be read quickly by a cell phone). They are used to take a piece of information from a transitory media and put it in to your cell phone. You may soon see QR Codes in a magazine advert, on a billboard, a web page or even on someone’s t-shirt. Once it is in your cell phone, it may give you details about that business (allowing users to search for nearby locations), or details about the person wearing the t-shirt, show you a URL which you can click to see a trailer for a movie, or it may give you a coupon which you can use in a local outlet.'

So my big accomplishment this past weekend was to download my first app and read a QR code. They actually gave instructions on how to do this in our local paper:

1. From your smartphone browser application, visit any of the following websites
Bakodo -    http://bako.do
Scanlife -   http://www.scanlife.com
I-nigma -    http://www.i-nigma.com

2. When detecting your smartphone model, your mobile device will ask permission to download the reader application.  Press accept, download and install.

3. You are now ready to read QR codes from your mobile device.

The Scanlife reader worked fine for me on my Blackberry. It put the app in my download folder. So I just go there if I want to  access Scanlife to read a QR code.


Hope you'll find this information useful!

AAADD -- We May Have This

This is a funny email I received:
 

KNOW THE SYMPTOMS.... .PLEASE READ!
Thank goodness there's a name for this disorder.
Somehow I feel better,even though I have it!!

Recently, I was diagnosed with A.A.A.D.D. -
Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder.

This is how it manifests:

I decide to water my garden.
As I turn on the hose in the driveway,
I look over at my car and decide it needs washing.

As I start toward the garage,
I notice mail on the porch table that
I brought up from the mail box earlier.

I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car.

I lay my car keys on the table,
Put the junk mail in the waste basket under the table,
And notice that the basket is full.

So, I decide to put the bills back
On the table and take out the rubbish first.

But then I think,
Since I'm going to be near the mailbox
When I take out the rubbish anyway,
I may as well pay the bills first.

I take my check book off the table,
And see that there is only one check left.

My extra checks are in my desk in the study,
So I go inside the house to my desk where
I find the can of Coke I'd been drinking.

I'm going to look for my checks,
But first I need to push the Coke aside
So that I don't accidentally knock it over..

The Coke is getting warm ,
And I decide to put it in the fridge to keep it cold.

As I head toward the kitchen with the Coke,
A vase of flowers on the counter
Catches my eye--they need water.

I put the Coke on the counter and
Discover my reading glasses that
I've been searching for all morning.

I decide I better put them back on my desk,
But first I'm going to water the flowers.

I set the glasses back down on the counter,
Fill a container with water and suddenly spot the TV remote.
Someone left it on the kitchen table.

I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV,
I'll be looking for the remote,
But I won't remember that it's on the kitchen table,
So I decide to put it back in the den where it belongs,
But first I'll water the flowers.

I pour some water in the flowers,
But quite a bit of it spills on the floor.

So, I set the remote back on the table,
Get some towels and wipe up the spill.

Then, I head down the hall trying to
Remember what I was planning to do.

At the end of the day:
The car isn't washed
The bills aren't paid
There is a warm can of Coke sitting on the counter
The flowers don't have enough water,
There is still only 1 check in my check book,
I can't find the remote,
I can't find my glasses,
And I don't remember what I did with the car keys.
Then, when I try to figure out why nothing got done today,
I'm really baffled because I know I was busy all darn day,
And I'm really tired.

I realize this is a serious problem, AND I'll try to get some help for it,
But first I'll check my e-mail..

Sunday Sketches - Beach ACEO

Welcome to Sophia's Sunday Sketches!

I'm doing a Beach scene that I saw in the newspaper.  It's trading card sized.

Please stop by the other talented participants.

A first sign

Welcome to Diana's Sweet Saturdays!  Be sure to drop by the other participants or better still,
join us!

I was walking this week and spotted a first sign of fall on the pavement beneath me, simply beautiful don't you think?

Paint Party Friday - Gros Morne ACEO

Welcome to Kristin and Eva's Paint Party Friday!

I saw a photo advertised in the newspaper and it caught my attention:

This is Gros Morne National Park, Newfoundland and Labrador.  It is a glacier-carved fjord 2000 feet deep, which started to form about 485 million years ago. I don't think I'd be standing anywhere near the edge like that!

Please stop by the other participants to see what they did today!

Follow-up

I had my follow-up appointment for my recent hysterectomy yesterday.  The doctor says everything is  fine and I can now lift weights and go back to the gym.  Of course take things gradually, but I have no restrictions really.  Yay!

Have you heard of lemon cucumbers?   There was an article on them in the newspaper recently.
I found this photo on google by aerogardenseeds.com.  Apparently they taste just like cucumbers, maybe a little sweeter.