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Showing posts from 2012

Sweet potato bread (vegetarian)

Bake sweet potatoes at 200°.  Into pot put 1/4 cup mealiemeal , 2 cups milk , 4 tbs butter , 1/4 cup brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt , 1 cup water. Cook, stir until it thickens.  Zzt the sweet potatoes into the mealiemeal and add honey , 4 eggs , 1 cup of double thick cream .  Put mixture into baking dish and bake for 45 mins at 180°.

TED Rachel Botsman: The currency of the new economy is trust

TED: Rachel Botsman: The currency of the new economy is trust Reputation is the measurement of how much a network trusts you. As the reputation goes up the more tasks you get and the more you can charge. As we move digitally we leave a reputation trail. Let's make our reputation travel with us from site to site. But one score is not nuanced enough to really reflect us. Influence is not the same as reputation - that people like us does not reflect on whether or not we can do tasks. So how do we collect reputation data. Realtime stream of who has trusted me or responded to a task I have done. My reputation capital dashboard will be checked by others, like Linkedin. TrustCloud, ConnectMe. Your intentions, capabilities and values. It can create an influence positive disruption in who has power, influence and trust, taking power from the current powerholders. We are limited because our reputation currently cannot be measured or seen in relation to the celebrity power holders. M

Help required ~ Pretoria Art Museum

Help required ~ Pretoria Art Museum has no guards who can exclusively look after the parking lot - so car stealers just wait patiently until the guard goes off to patrol other areas. They have no on-site person who answers the two telephone lines they have. The area around it is a mess with papers and rotting food. Their website...(s!) are all neglected. I have sent through a note and got a shrug back. I have suggested: "Have two-day exhibitions over one weekend a month. Take the money you would do the whole month's worth of guards and employ two on overtime for that weekend. Get an extra person to man the phones on those two days. That way we can come to the exhibitions, feel safe, get the full service treatment guaranteed. I for one would rather have one good weekend to go to Pretoria Art Museum than none at all." Anyone like to support me and send a note through to Mmutle Kgokong (MmutleKg@tshwane.gov.za) who is at least prepared to forward emails to the shrugger?

Hating Facebook's Edgerank

Why Facebook is becoming pasty (aside from the interruptive ad placements). When I post something controversial and you ignore it, it ranks low on Edgerank, Facebook's algorithm for what to post to the Feed. If you only Like sugar, or only engage with sugar, you only get sugar. Pretty dumb of Facebook. 

Barry Schwartz: Using our practical wisdom

The first thing I want to do is say thank you to all of you. The second thing I want to do is introduce my co-author and dear friend and co-teacher. Ken and I have been working together for almost 40 years. That's Ken Sharpe over there. (Applause) So there is among many people -- certainly me and most of the people I talk to -- a kind of collective dissatisfaction with the way things are working, with the way our institutions run. Our kids' teachers seem to be failing them. Our doctors don't know who the hell we are, and they don't have enough time for us. We certainly can't trust the bankers, and we certainly can't trust the brokers. They almost brought the entire financial system down. And even as we do our own work, all too often, we find ourselves having to choose between doing what we think is the right thing and doing the expected thing, or the required thing, or the profitable thing. So everywhere we look, pretty much across the board, we worry that t

Queer

#Queer ~ People hate this term. I don't. I hear that it is self-derisive and used as hate speech and can't be reclaimed and is self-poison, but I don't agree. To me the 'LGBTI' is so structured, it negates the fluidity of sexuality. For one,  it excludes non-heteronormative hets. I use queer, and I want all people who don't fit into 'normal' to be 'queer' by choice. I invite them to be, I want everyone to see that 'queer' is the new 'normal'.  # Queer  ~ 'Queer' recognizes fluidity in sexuality. LGBTI is confining, exclusionary. Non-heteronormative hets could choose to be 'queer'.

Malawian leadership

Malawi President Joyce Banda says, "I as a leader have no right to influence how people feel." (http://bit.ly/SsWXgz) COMMENT: It may be that Banda needs to understand that she is applying the word 'leadership' incorrectly - or perhaps somebody rounded a vernacular word up to leadership and it's not the word she said... because leadership means showing initiative TO LEAD people in a certain direction. It sounds like she just wants to be in front of the pack, it doesn't matter what the pack thinks. The presidency should be inspirational, invigorating us to follow the leadership provided. Not eager to climb down to the lowest common denominator. Human rights are not a popular (in the democratic and enthusiastic version of that word) viewpoint, that's why they need a determined protection... or 'leadership'. I hesitate to extrapolate this incident to the rest of Africa, and some other parts of the world... but it is tempting.

Abortion and Christianity

A Christian speaks of liberties and Christian Reconstructionism preventing Christians from implementing a theocracy that enforces justice (for fetuses) not freedom. fetsiboomsticks: Occam asks how come you guys don't consider that it may not be about civil liberties and whatever other big words have been bandied about. It could be as simple as not wanting your child to be subjected to foster homes and the abuse of the fostering and adoption system. Why don't you abandon all notions of having your own children? Adopt ferociously and take up great tracts of land into Christian kibbutzim, where women who are considering abortion would prefer to deposit their children than face the indignities and guilt of adoption... and abortion.

TED: Atul Gawande: How do we heal medicine?

Systems have certain skills mechanisms to find problems mechanisms to solve problems checklists, with pause points, reminder of the key things that get forgotten the ability to implement - the part where you get people to adopt the method, difficult because it forces a confrontation with our issues we must accept that we are all part of pit-crews

Vagina Monologues

I told Eve Ensler my famous Vagina Monologues anecdote, and she asked me to post it to One Billion Rising  and Gillian Schutte asked me to repost it to V-Day . My Vagina Monologue anecdote I have ordered many things from Amazon, and always got everything I ordered... except one thing, Eve Ensler's "Vagina Monologues". I guess they are stealing it at the post office thinking it's porn. There's something delicious about the idea of someone sitting down for a lascivious session exploiting women and getting a big fat dose of feminism. I keep ordering it, over and over, and am still waiting to actually get it. Delicious.

Quiche (vegetarian)

Butter a small ovendish Mix 2 eggs, 50ml milk, 50g cornflour, 50g feta, 50g yoghurt Add extras, example cherry tomatoes, spinach, asparagus 25 mins @ 180°

Marrow marinara (vegetarian)

Oil, crumbs , parmesan , seasoning Dip lightly microwaved marrow coins into mixture Layer with marinara into baking dish 20 mins @ 200°

When to speak up

SPEAK if your silence can be damaging, especially if others are being damaged if you have a clear desired outcome if you can clearly identify the behavior you want changed if you find you keep having to explain yourself over and over, you're not doing it right you have nothing to lose SILENT revenge personality based comment - you're selfish if you haven't considered what you have done in the situation Source: Susan Fee, Jill Johnson

Red lentil curry (vegetarian)

Chopped onions and mushrooms Diced potatoes Add ginger, garlic, chilli spices, balsamic vinegar Add canned tomato, spinach Simmer for 45 mins

Potato Rosti (vegetarian)

Grate potatoes, squeeze them out in a dishcloth Oil a pan, pat in the potatoes On medium heat, turn the potato over and over On high heat, brown Garnish with cheese sprinkles, chives, parsley, egg

TED: Lessons from Death Row inmates (David R. Dow)

David R. Dow says that violence at home breeds violence on the streets. My comment: This is a tough one. With the pace of change, parents who aren't keeping up feel that they have become useless and burdens to their kids. Parents feel that they have to pander to their children's desires in order to maintain the relationship. Parents have lost their confidence among the criticisms of how they bring up their kids and the minutiae of 'correct' breast-feeding. Their self-deprecation leads to self-loathing and violence. The globalization of knowledge has brought with it judgementalism, people looking over their neighbour's walls figuratively through the TV and other media. When accused, people act aggressively. And women... Women are so much more likely to not passively accept their husband's violence. Violence breeds more violence. The whole structure of the family needs to change to accommodate. And that's scary. I believe Dan has the answer.

Eggless corn frittery pancakes (vegetarian)

Cup of a mixure of rice flour and corn flour Corn, chives, garlic, coriander, onions, any vegetables Mix with water  

Tofu soy slabs (vegetarian)

Blot tofu slabs dry. Mix soy sauce and sesame oil and brush slabs. Grill-bake the tofu for 15 mins until brown. Garnish with spring onions and sesame seeds .

Onion soup with Gruyere (vegetarian)

Fry the onions until brown, add a pinch of sugar . Simmer for 10 minutes. Add water and cornflour , stir until thick.   Add several cups of water, one of wine , and thyme . Simmer until thick.   Place rounds of Gruyere over bowls and toast in oven.

Mushroom and tofu miniloaf (vegetarian)

Fry onion, garlic, sundried tomato, oats and mushrooms .   Add soy sauce, mustard, tomato paste, vinegar and Worcestershire and a bit of water, simmer to sticky. Puree tofu, cornflour and breadcrumbs to thick dry paste.   Fold in mushroom sauce and cheddar .   Grease pan, add mixture. 40 mins @ 200°

Cheesy sweetcorn fritters (vegetarian)

Mix corn, grated gruyere, onion, garlic, parsley, cumin, flour, egg and extra eggwhite .   Fry in eggrings. Serve with sour cream .

Avocado and nut dip (vegetarian)

Purée avocadoes with lemon juice, vanilla essence . Sprinkle chopped nuts and coconut flakes .

Brinjal surfboard wraps (vegetarian)

Bake oiled brinjal surfboards. Mix chunky cottage cheese, capers, olives, parsley and roll into surfboards.   Make a tomato, onion, garlic, roasted bellpepper purée to accompany.

Stuffed Moroccan potatoes (vegetarian)

Parboil  potatoes , core with an apple corer.   Chop and mix any cooked vegetabl e s , feta and add moroccan spices and fill the inner core of the potatoes.   Make a paste with flour, ginger, garlic, oil, cottage cheese, salt and smear on the outside of the potatoes.   40 mins @ 200° Serve with coriander .

Facebook etiquette

Social Networking Guidelines (this is not an instruction manual, it's a suggestion collection from various sites) Apps • change your settings so you don't spam your friends • invite friends carefully About yourself • don't make your address or phone number visible to strangers Business stuff • belongs on a page or group, not on your profile Chat • don't chat unless you have something to say Comments • keep to topic in a comment thread • don't change the topic • don't comment on every post of your stalkee • reply at least once to comments on your posting • don't preach • if your comment gets deleted, take it with grace and apologise • check your posting for inflammatory language and tone it down • don't be the first commenter on your status • don't cause drama and don't keep it going • don't swear in someone's comments section Defriending • not allowed, move to a restricted profile Date potential • wanna dat

Marketing

Marketing is a three-syllable word that seems so simple, yet encompasses so much. Marketing is a multi-faceted approach to promoting a product or service. Both traditional and unconventional marketing methods have a place in the small business world. Marketing helps small businesses focus on building their brand and identity. There are few limitations to marketing options, and the opportunities listed here are just a few that will generally result in a decent ROI (Return On Investment) for most small businesses. That said, do not be afraid to be creative -- no one knows or understands a small business like its owner, so think outside of the box and don't be afraid to experiment. Identity Continuity Create continuity between an online website, logos, letterheads, business cards, and packaging. Create an identity that will make your business stand out from the competition, and leave a good initial impression on potential customers. A professional image associated with your com

NetProphet 2012

Took place in Cape Town, I listened online - which another listener called listening in morse code because it was so choppy. And it must have been from their side because a 10 MBps guy in England experienced the same thing. And I followed the #NetProphet hashtag on twitter. It was fabulous. I was almost there. Here are my jumble of notes SPEAKERS #NetProphet ~ #RichardHardiman Richard Hardiman: Internet Radio in South Africa. Why it shouldn’t work • a differentiation happens online • consultants from overseas tell you how to do it • focus on client, not the end user, the client is the advertiser • Tim Bishop: Too many (Digital) Entrepreneurs= fragmentation of best brains into 1000s of small entities. We must #ENTREPRELABORATE • working for yourself you mind the hours and small salaries less because you are passionate • when you set out to do something different, people question it. • Average time spent listening to 'normal' radio is 23 minutes but internet radio is

TED Sherry Turkle: Connected, but alone?

Have each other at a distance we can control - The Goldilocks Effect We only pay attention to what we want to in a presentation, and never get to hear what we don't want to hear, this is a problem Conversations problem - we can't control what we want to say, we edit ourselves, we are just right, not too much, not too little Cleaning up relationships with technology Good for connection but not for really understanding each other Facebook makes up for feeling like no one is listening to me We're developing social robots for the elderly (robodog) We're lonely, but we are afraid of intimacy I share therefor I am Not suggesting to turn away from the devices, just make room for other stuff

TED Shlomo Benartzi: Saving for tomorrow, tomorrow

everytime you earn more, save more.  monthly saving is difficult, present bias (immediate gratification) makes you think of how you have to give up something now we think about saving in the present, but spend in the long run. We diet today, eat tomorrow speaks of checking the box during an organ donor situation in licence aquisition. Germany shortage - you have to check the box to say yes. Austria you have to check the box to say No... they have organs for Africa. In terms of saving... create a situation where people have to opt out. Opting out takes effort. if you say, Yes, I want to save, that's half of the effort. Next automate the process. if you defer saving to when you get a raise, then it's a small percentage of that extra making the decisions around saving are complex, too many points to consider 1 in 10 Americans save enough Singaporeans spend average $4000 per year on lotto. Americans $1000.

TED Seth Godin: This is broken

why do you make a gate that can close on child and crush the child then there's a sticker maker who has to make a sticker to say, This could crush your child, and he makes the sticker because he doesn't have the authority to go down the corridor and say Fix this gate - this breeds "not my job" thinking sometimes you have to break it for other people to see that it wasn't broken

Lead from behind

http://dovbaron.podomatic.com/ AMY SHOWALTER • yaktivist vs activist • ego vs getting something done • action shock vs action achievement • street cred • play by the rules • they could have taken the easy way, but didn't • underdog • unconventional in how you do it, but still moral • eyes up in a top dog world • pious and self aggradising • passionista - good in two circumstances - one: show passion of the top dog's interests and two: make top dog feel like a hero - calm face to face discussion first and don't start to look like a radical - make sure your passion is networkable - not just you • making a presentation: start with what's in it for them • time and personal contact with people you are persuading it • how you put your personal brand across, your reputation • changing minds through proximity • building your pack • takes the pack to make it happen • team - cohesive team leader, convert communicator, connected pack members need advocates who

The philosophy of ambiguity, the idiosyncrasies of English

The main reason that Santa is so jolly is because he knows where all the bad girls live. I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman, 'where's the self- help section?' she said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose. What if there were no hypothetical questions? If a deaf person signs swear words, does his mother wash his hands with soap? If someone with multiple personalities threatens to kill himself, is it considered a hostage situation? Is there another word for synonym? Where do forest rangers go to 'get away from it all?' What do you do when you see an endangered animal eating an endangered plant? If a parsley farmer is sued, can they garnish his wages? Why do they lock gas station bathrooms are they afraid someone will clean them? If a turtle doesn't have a shell, is he homeless or naked? Can vegetarians eat animal crackers? If the police arrest a mime, do they tell him he has the right to remain silent? Why do they put B

The Big Picture: Why Can't a Woman ... Be a Man?

With all of its bustling and agenda setting, the new Democratic majority ought to think about passing an Affirmative Action Resolution for Women in Movies. Madame Speaker, women are more than half the population of this great country, yet onscreen they're an endangered species--the ivory-billed woodpeckers of cinema. Visit your multiplex, and try, just try, to find a movie where women are as plentiful and powerful as men. 300 , the Spartan workout video, has one important female role, of King Leonidas' wife (Lena Headey); that leaves 299 for the guys. In Shooter , the hero-on-the-run gets brief assistance from a young widow (Kate Mara) before returning to his mission of evaporating a million bad guys. Girlish Jon Heder, one of the two skaters in the Will Ferrell hit Blades of Glory , does have a love interest (Jenna Fischer), but Ferrell doesn't--unless it's Heder. Indeed, the one big new movie fully populated with strong women is the "double featur

Racial slurs or racial markers

Racism and Comedians: I agree with Silverman, there's never a reason to use a slur; and saying a word like 'woman', kinda cuts you off from men, e.g. The women took issue with the men's lascivious ass-slapping. What if it's a question, e.g. Hey, you're a woman, do you wanna make a case against those men for lascivious ass-slapping? Can racial and gender references be interchanged... I dare not give an example. *terrified* :) Great article. "The license to borrow terms other people have taken back can worry even edgy comics. A few months ago, I interviewed (Sarah) Silverman, who argued that her material was not racist but about racism (and I agree). But she added something that surprised me, coming from her: "I'm not saying 'I can say nigger because I'm liberal.' There is a certain aspect of that that I'm starting to get grossed out by. 'Oh, we're not racist. We can say it.'" http://www.time.com/tim