Saturday, December 30, 2006

Lost my template

Long story.... I lost it and the links that came with it *sniff sniff* I'm still in the process of restoring it atm. The only good thing is I'm almost done as I've managed to put back a lot of it already *sigh*


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Jan 3, 2006 - I'm 99% there. Something still doesn't look right... somehow it doesn't feel the same but that's okay. I think I'm done with all the links. Just need to put back some of the titles for the mouseover.

this coffee break @ 8:58 AM
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Wednesday, December 27, 2006

Happy Holidays!

I know I should've posted this 2 days ago but, as the cliche goes, better late than never.



Merry Christmas
and
a blessed New Year to all!
And a happy, stress-free Boxing Day too!

this coffee break @ 9:31 AM
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Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Ideas anyone?

I am, without a doubt, the least creative person when it comes to creating online aliases and screen names.


*points at address bar*


That is (primarily) why my blog is not-so-creatively called ninacarla. My email addresses, forum names, Ebay and, at one point, mmorpg accounts are mere mutations of my name, nothing fancy. In fact, the closest I've ever been to having a 'special' e-name was during my Half Life and Warcraft III days. And even then, the best I could come up with were Juday and Ping Lacson. But I gotta give myself credit because I tried. At one point, I tried so hard that I even came up with really cheesy names like delphi (I keep forgetting this Peyups name) and suki (Japanese for love). Yes, I cringe at the thought of those names.


So when I decided to create a family recipe blog, it was no surprise that all the names I could come up with have already been taken. And I mean all. Some of them were blog names that I really wanted too. But I must admit I was really shocked to find that even the corniest and what-in-world-were-you-thinking names I managed to conjure have already been reserved as well.


http://recipeshare.blogspot.com/
http://sharedrecipes.blogspot.com/
http://familyfavorites.blogspot.com/
http://familyrecipes.blogspot.com/
http://foodgallery.blogspot.com/
http://homecooking.blogspot.com/
http://ourrecipes.blogspot.com/
http://recipeworld.blogspot.com/
http://recipecentral.blogspot.com/
http://recipezone.blogspot.com/
http://recipebook.blogspot.com/


And even Filipino ones like:


http://salosalo.blogspot.com/
http://lutongbahay.blogspot.com/
http://fiesta.blogspot.com/
http://hapagkainan.blogspot.com/


Sigh. I'm afraid I'm gonna end up with cookme.blogspot.com or an equally corny name unless I get help. Help!!!

this coffee break @ 3:22 PM
5 sugarcubes | add sugar
Thursday, December 14, 2006

Boy they were good but,...

as this website says, all good things must come to an end.


Ever wonder what happened to your favorite snack? Check out the Hometown Favorites website and their list of discontinued products. It's kinda like the obituaries for food items. That's how I found out, to my utter dismay, that my old time favorites Planter's cheese balls and cheese curls are no longer in production.


You can find a list of products that are confirmed to be out of production and another list for those that have just assumed new identities (yup, Tangy Taffy is going under a different name now). They also have the Hard-to-Find Grocer where you can buy some rare but still in production favorites. Or maybe you're just looking for a unique, nostalgic gift - make sure to check out their Gift Center. And don't leave the website without checking out their really cool Candy Store that has retro candies from as far back as the fifties. Ooh, I wonder if those are still edible!


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And no, this is not a splog :P I just really love that website.

this coffee break @ 12:54 PM
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Tuesday, December 12, 2006

My Christmas wishlist

Hey, everyone else is doing it! This is my Xmas 2006 Top 10, in no particular order:


1. A cuisinart griddler: it's actually a contact grill, panini press, flat grill & griddle all in one
2. A nice warm winter coat or jacket: to help me brave those -40C wind chills
3. Black winter shoes
4. A celebrity chef book: the likes of Ina Garten, Nigella Lawson and Emeril Lagasse
5. A USB Flash drive
6. Subscription to O
7. A brown cardigan
8. Bare Minerals starter kit: yes, their home tv shopping glib got to me
9. New jars for my spices
10. A donation to one of your favorite charities

this coffee break @ 10:35 AM
3 sugarcubes | add sugar
Friday, December 08, 2006

Your heritage versus your environment

This is just my opinion. I'm not saying I am absolutely right, but I know I am not utterly without reason either. Living in Canada, I often read on the papers about the native's ways of living and their rights to preserve their heritage. While I am not (completely) against that, it still sometimes frustrates me how protecting a people's culture oftentimes, if not always, takes precedence over protecting our environment.


First, this is not to point fingers or to put blame on aboriginal peoples only. I can just easily write an entry on the barbaric annual Canadian-government subsidized seal slaughter. But once again, this post is about my frustration on the fine line between deeming certain activities as integral to a culture and recognizing their potential and actual adverse effects on the environment.


A recent Supreme Court ruling allows the Mi'kmaq and Maliseet of Atlantic Canada to cut down crown trees for consumption. This means that even though the Mi'kmaq and Maliseets no longer use canoes or live in wigwams, they can still cut down crown trees for making furniture and firewood. The court says the native's rights are "not locked in time".


I have yet to read up on this topic some more before I want to form any solid opinion. However, it did bring to mind another topic that has, time and again, brought forth frustration and disbelief to this blogger. That topic is whaling.


Who is hunting our whales? There are the commercial whalers (Icelend and Norway, for instance) and they are the worst kind of whalers. Then there are scientific whalers (ex. Japan), and there are the aboriginal peoples (ex. Inuit and Chukotka). I object to all three kinds whaling activities equally and vehemently. Why? Because whaling, in my opinion, is unnecessary, cruel and barbaric. And no, it is not comparable to killing and eating cattle because cattle has been domesticated and is being farmed. Whales are not. Whale numbers are dwindling and, at this rate, we are close to a point of no return. Yet, we still give special considerations when it comes to the exploitation of these natural resources by aboriginal people for the purpose of subsistence. Sure, it might be sustainable but for how long? Also, it presents a very static view of a people's culture. It implies that a people's culture cannot and will not evolve over time. And that is, in my opinion, wrong.


When you embrace a new era, you inevitably lose part of your heritage. When you are faced with the realities of a threatened environment, you as a people might have to shed some of your culture and determine a new one for your future generations. This culture over the years will form a heritage that
  • regards all life more important than tradition
  • accepts how change is necessary to adapt to new threats to our environment, and
  • ackowledges how everyone is obliged to protect mother earth -- no exemptions.

This in my opinion are the kind of rights that are truly not locked in time.

this coffee break @ 11:39 AM
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