All About Coffee!

Coffee. If you know me well, you know that morning does not start without it. Yet, over the years people have tried to tell me the evils of coffee. I would not, of course, believe them. In recent years, I have been happy to see that studies are proving what I already know--that coffee is Good Stuff.

The latest study, one from Harvard Medical School, shows that women who drink coffee have a reduced risk of stroke when compared to women who don't drink coffee. (I don't know about how this pertains to men, but since I'm a woman, who cares?) The more coffee they drink, the more reduced the risk. The results, released in the March 3 issue of Circulation are summarized here.

Another article on the health benefits of coffee from Harvard Medical School is found here. This article tells us that coffee may not increase your risk for higher blood pressure, it may protect against cancer and diabetes. Okay, so yes, some chemicals in coffee may raise your cholesterol, but my cholesterol was at 170 last year, and I think that's pretty good.

Coffee is morning. Coffee is sunshine. Coffee is the elixir of bright happy morning faces, of bright happy eyes. (If you doubt this, then you should see my morning face before coffee. It's not a pretty sight.) 

If you like coffee as much as I do, perhaps you want to buy your coffee where I buy mine. (Reason: I buy in bulk.) 

The place? Coffeebeandirect.com. Try the Costa Rican Tarrazu Cariblanco, found uner "regular coffees." Delicious!

Pearls Before Swine

I'm a fan of Stephan Pastis' "Pearls Before Swine" comic strip, but this one I thought was particularly well done. (Poor pig!)

View the strip on the web at Pearls Before Swine.

Helpful Printing Utilities

One of my responsibilities at the library is creating library displays, and over time, I've discovered some helpful printing utilities that can assist you printing out unusual items. One utility is on the web, and allows you to cut out before printing any section of a webpage you don't want to print. The utility is Print What You Like, and is found at PrintWhatYouLike.com. This utility allows you to cut out sections of a webpage, and leave only those section you'd like to print. Once you have the webpage cut down to size, then print away!

Another useful utility is titled PosterPrint. This utility is not free, but only costs $25. For me, this has been a lifesaver, as this utility allows me to take any image or webpage, and enlarge it to poster size. You can see what this utility does by viewing the PosterPrint demo. All information, including a free trail download, is available at the PosterPrint website.

Ebooks on Cell Phones and Self-Publishing

Anyone who knows me at all knows my (continued) frustration with the publishing industry. Write a children's story or novel--a big task in and of itself--and then you must begin the lengthy and stressful journey of getting the daffy thing published. As a writer, you of necessity work alone. The only way you can know if you're on the right track with your work is to get feedback. The way the publishing industry currently works, getting feedback on any one story is an iffy prospect at best.

For example, I write a novel. I revise and proofread and have two beta readers give me comments. I revise and proofread some more. Then, at this point, I say to myself, I have a good book. At least one I and my beta readers like. 

Now, the research begins. I go to the library or buy publishing market guides, and I find the names of editors and agents who might have an interest in my work so I can send this puppy off. I make my list, I check it twice, and then off my book goes, into the great beyond. 

And I wait. And wait. And wait. And wait. If I'm lucky, I'll get one or two personal comments from the 30 or so editors and agents I've submitted to. The rest are form letters. And I may have to wait to hear back from all of them for a year or more. 

Say an editor wants to see my book. (I sent query letters out, because editors don't want your full book unless they ask.) Happily, I send it to her. Then I wait. And wait. And wait, and wait and wait. 

(You see the trend?)

If I'm lucky, I'll get more than a comment like "This just didn't work for me" when I finally get the rejection back months later. (I once waited 18 months to get a rejection on a requested book.) Then, since I'm apparently insane, I begin the whole process again. I finish another book, and start revising....

Now along comes the Internet, and the fanfiction on the web, then ebooks and electronic self-publishing. Some journalists are now saying this is the wave of the future, for writers to self-publish electronically, so their books can be downloaded onto ebook readers, cell phones, and PDAs. I like the thought, but I worry about the implimentation of the process.

I worry that I would self-publish my work, and then I would have no way to promote or market it. Does one do this through Facebook and MySpace, or through in-person author talks? Do you pay for ad space in cyberspace, or do you take out an ad in your local newspaper? Maybe I'm too much a child of the "older generation," because I'm ignorant of just how to sell something in this new medium of the Internet. 

I'm going to have to come to grips with this sooner rather than later. I'm working on a novel at the moment that is progressing very well. I know myself well enough to know I will finish it, and want to send it somewhere. Do I start first with the print publishers, and resign myself to the waiting, or do I jump into cyber-publishing with both feet? I honestly don't know. 

To read more on this issue, and to see the types of articles that are provoking this particular train of thought, Computer World magazine's article does a nice job of summing it all up. 

In the meantime, I have to pick up dry cleaning and then I plan to spend the rest of the afternoon writing. That part of the process, at least, I understand.

Beef and Onion Stir Fry!

Ingredients!

For this recipe you will need:

A 2-3 pound beef roast. In this case, the roast I used was a 2.82 pound beef round tip roast cap off from Meijer. Another good roast is a London broil.

4-6 yellow onions, the sweeter the better

1 tablespoon sugar

molasses

olive oil

balsamic vinegar

corn starch

What you do: 

Slice the beef into thin, fairly short slices. Peel the onions and cut them into first quarters, then into eighths. You want the onions to be chunky rather than diced for this recipe. Pour a liberal amount of oil olive (I think I used about 1/8 of a cup.) to your skillet. (I use a Presto brand large electric skillet because of the size.) Add the beef and cook at about 350, or medium heat, until almost browned--only a bit of pink remains.

Add the onions. Stir them into the beef and cook, stirring regularly, until the onions are almost soft. Add the sugar, and about 1/8 of a cup of molasses. Add about the same amount of balsamic vinegar. Stir until all the beef and onions are coated. Put a couple of tablespoons of corn starch into a small bowl, cover with water, and stir until the corn starch disolves. Add the corn starch mixture to the stir fry. Stir until the meat juices thicken and coat the onion and beef pieces. Remove from heat and serve with a rice of your choice.

NOTE: This makes a very large portion, enough for two meals for 2-3 people. I don't like to cook every day and so I rely on the leftovers.

The almost finished product. This is just before adding the corn starch.

The finished product! Yummy!