Monthly Archives: May 2008
Cancer Survivors “Left in Limbo”
Interesting article from the BBC:
“More than 60% of adults with cancer can expect to live five years or more, according to an article in the European Journal of Cancer. Yet they are left ‘in limbo’ to deal with ongoing symptoms from their disease or harsh cancer treatments.
Professor Alexander Eggermont, president of the European Cancer Organisation, said: ‘To be cured from cancer, but living with symptoms that are related to often complex multi-disciplinary treatments involving surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy is already difficult enough. To reintegrate into society, resuming work full or part-time adds to the complexities and socio-psychological pressure that an ever-increasing number of former-patients have to deal with. We better start tackling these issues now as they will only increase in number and magnitude.’“
Goliath Expedition
I’ve been following the progress of Karl Bushby – attempting to walk around the world as the sole member of the Goliath Expedition – for quite some time now, mainly out of pure jealously more than interest… He started walking in 1998 (!) at the southern tip of Argentina, headed North, crossed the Bering Strait, and is now working his way across northern Russia, nearly ten years later.
The expedition is operating on a fairly low budget given the overwhelming goal, which is also rather enticing for me. I’m not sure I would go quite as far, but Argentina to Alaska would be pretty amazing. A walking/hitch-hiking combo would be much simpler than via bicycle too, something I’m sure I would come to appreciate…
Austin is Hot
Goodness, Central Texas sure heated up quickly… It seemed like it was cool one week, then I went to NY, and after returning it was god-awefully hot. Right now, not only is it hot, but it is also humid – which sucks. It “feels like” 97 degrees according to weather.com.
I’ve never spent a summer in Austin despite living here for four years; I’ve always been overseas in England, or doing something crazy like riding a bike to Alaska. I’m not exactly looking forward to experiencing these next few months first hand.
I’m looking for a job right now, which has been entertaining. My resume is looking good, and I have a few decent looking companies in mind, so hopefully I’ll find something soon. This is one process I’m very apprehensive about rushing, seeing how a career choice can be a fairly life defining event, or so I’m told. I still might hold off on any huge career advances though, instead going to work at a bike shop or something in the meantime…we’ll see.
The new Texas 4000 kids are almost “ready” to take off for Alaska. I’m a little jealous, to be honest, and can’t quite believe that it’s been nearly a year since my own journey North. The ATLAS ride is on June 7th; if you’re a cyclist in the Austin area, you should definitely come join us. I haven’t been on the bike quite as much as I would like (see references to it being outrageously hot), but 70 miles isn’t that long…
Organic Grocery Delivery
I’m considering setting up an organic produce delivery service, to bring high quality fruits, veggies, and bread to my doorstep on a weekly basis. I was introduced to the concept from an organic farm project in South Texas; the owner delivers weekly mystery boxes to my brother’s restaurant… Living car-free, grocery shopping has always been a slight inconvience for me, but a delivery service would definitely solve a lot of problems.
The company I’m looking at is Greenling Organic Delivery.
“Greenling is everything you ever wanted in a grocery company. We bring you Local food and Organic food fresher than you can get in the grocery store, for about the same price, delivered to your door for FREE! You can trust what you get from Greenling to be the best food anywhere.”
They have strong relationships with local growers, and have a really great range of cool foods. I figure one week I’ll get a standard box with my usual staples, and then the next I’ll let them suprise me (think Iron Chef Kietzer).
Graduation, New York, and All
Life got crazy during the ten days since my last update… I graduated from college, turned 22, jetted to upstate New York for a friends wedding, and managed to not get fired from my current job (unfortunately) after taking nearly a week off work.
“Graduation” was a fairly anti-climatic event for me. I was always certain that I would be passing my remaining electives this semester, so when I finally received confirmation that all went as planned, the news wasn’t unexpected. I was given A’s on some cool projects, and did pretty well overall, given my level of motivation. And now that it’s all over, it honestly doesn’t feel much different – I guess school never was a huge weight on my lifestyle.
I forgot about my 22nd birthday (on the 7th) until 11:00pm on the 6th – I was too busy taking a final and getting ready to head to NY early on the 8th. My parents bought me plane tickets for my birthday, and I was planning on celebrating pretty heavily during the trip anyways. Another year older, I guess… Read the rest of this entry
Cubanos at Clementine Coffee
I make my way around to a few different coffee shops here in Austin; typically, they are where I prefer to do creative work and borrow an internet connection when my neighbor’s isn’t working properly. I’m also a bit of a people watcher, and enjoy occupying an afternoon in such a capacity. As I mentioned a while ago, Clementine is one of my favorites in Austin, mostly because it’s just so conveniently close to my place, with a great atmosphere and good coffee.
In particular, I’m especially fond of the “cubano”, which as you may have guessed from the name, is how Cubans traditionally take their coffee.
“Cuban-style espresso is made by adding sugar to the container where the espresso will be collected after brewing in the espresso machine. This enables the resulting drink to have the strength of espresso, but with a smooth, sweet flavor that is unobtainable by simply mixing sugar into a regular espresso.”
The practice of brewing espresso in this way is also common in number of other Latin/South American countries; I remember the last one I had was at Sao Paulo’s, a Brazilian restaurant here in Austin. Unfortunately, I have yet to find the cubano in any other Austin coffee establishments. The cubano itself is deliciously drinkable, especially if you find yourself unable to take espresso straight-up. If made with a proper machine, it will have a slightly thicker crema on the surface than a standard espresso shot.
So, the next time you need to be wired – quickly – do it how the Cubans do it, at Clementine Coffee.
Airlines Saving Gas
“Southwest Airlines will save $42 million in fuel this year by adding one to three minutes to each flight. Northwest Airlines cut their speed 10 MPH on a flight from Minneapolis to Paris and saved $535 in fuel, but added 8 minutes.”
Via treehugger.com
