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Buffalo Burgers – Shea's Recipe

Buffalo was rare to non-existent from what we could tell in Ontario.  One of the specialty meat vendors in the Covent Market Garden told us that this was because Ontario didn't have the land to raise them like we did out west. 

Made sense to us but if you don't eat a lot of buffalo (yes, I know – properly bison in North America) you are missing out.  It's the best tasting meat and on top of that, healthier than pretty much any other meat including chicken, pork and fish (scroll down for the chart.) It's low fat, low cholesterol and low calories.  Most bison meat on the market is raised in the wild and organically grown because if there are two things buffalo don't like, it's pens and needles. <groan>

I'm very lucky that Shea's family are part-owners of a herd of about twenty buffalo so we get a regular supply (although our last supply had to be stolen right out of her brother's freezer when he wasn't home – don't tell!)  Any cut is good – roasts, steaks, etc. – but I have a special fondness for the plain old burgers because Shea makes them so that they're amazing.

Her recipe is flexible but here's the gist of it:

BUFFALO BURGS
1 lb ground bison meat
10 soda crackers made into fine crumbs
1 egg
1 TBSP Montreal Steak Spice Rub (my mother-in-law taught me to put Tablespoon in capitals in recipes so it's obvious.  Great tip!)
1 TBSP Bullseye BBQ Sauce
Minced red onion to taste (a thick slice or two for us)
A few shakes of Worchestire sauce
A good few shakes of hot sauce (we're partial to Cholula Mexican hot sauce)
Salt and coarse ground pepper

The hardest part is getting the ingredients in proportion so the meat sticks well and doesn't fall apart on the grill but isn't too dry either. 
Cook on a barbeque and prepare to be amazed.  Seriously, when Shea made them the other night, I wolfed down one then another two without even using a bun or condiments.  (Er, I shouldn't admit that in public.)



Posted 26 March 2007 § Canada § Main Page § Photo § Saskatchewan § Shea ‡ Comments (5) ° Tagged: ,

Blog Might Go Down

I haven't looked at my traffic stats for awhile so imagine my surprise when I log in today and see that I'm really close to my bandwidth limit.  I had an issue with this shutting down the blog back in November and December but had my bandwidth limit doubled, figuring that would suffice until I was out of library school and presumably my traffic would drop off. 

Instead, while it took me nine months to reach my initial bandwidth limit, it only took three months to double it to the new limit. 

I think a lot of people who read the blog before still do since I'm still writing about library related issues a lot (even if I'm not writing as directly about my experiences at library school.)  Plus I've gained a lot of new readers – joining the Sask Blogs aggregator got me a lot of new visitors.  Plus there's the simple fact that the Long Tail is a reality – the more I post, the bigger of a “back catalogue” of posts I have to attract hits which builds my traffic faster. 

If you're a regular reader, try to guess which post of mine gets the most hits?  One of the papers I've uploaded?  My “50 Ways To Improve FIMS” master rant?  Nope, it's a throwaway post from April 2006 (literally, the title is “Sometimes I Post Just To Say I've Posted That Day“)  I've even gone back and added a disclaimer in the hopes that somebody hitting that page explains how they found it.  My best guess is that it's because I've got a couple rare pop culture references on it – one to Eminem and one to Darth Vader.

Anyhow, every word I type is taking up more bandwidth so I'll stop now.  I've got a call in to the support of my blog hosting company and hopefully this can be addressed before the site goes down.  But if not, it should be back up on Monday.  (I use a Canadian company but am still surprised they don't apparently have tech support on Sunday.  What is the world coming too?)

Posted 25 March 2007 § Blog § Main Page ‡ Comments (3) °

Today Is "Computer Shutdown Day"

So if you're reading this on Saturday March 24, 2007, you lose!  Or something. 

Of course, it's after midnight on Friday March 23, 2007 so technically, I'm not participating properly either.  Of course, I'm too much of an addict rebel to go along with any set day like this anyhow. 

Actually, that's not so far from the truth.  Personally, I'm much much of a fan of constant, consistent, responsible recognition of any good cause.  Just like Earth Day is every day, Computer Shut Down day – or TV Turn-Off day or Christmas or pretty much any recognized or imagined holiday you find value in – should be something that you keep the spirit of every single day. 

For example, if this is a cause you feel is worthwhile, why not cut back on your computer usage for 15 minutes per day every day for a year instead?  That's over 90 hours computer usage saved each year – just about four days worth.  How do you save 15 minutes?  Quit reading any blogger whose entries are more than four paragraphs long! 

I wish I wasn't but I'm also naturally skeptical about any organization that shares less than nothing about themselves, who they are, why they're doing this, how they got started and so on, on their web site no matter how good their cause sounds from the brief blurb which is pretty much the only content on the page.  Oh, and a prominently placed “Donation” button.

I know someone is going to reply and say that it's only symbolic to have a single named day for various causes/celebrations/whatever. But this reminds me too much of people who only dig deep to give to charity during the Christmas season then ignore the related issues the other 364 days of the year.  Or people who drop a $20 on the collection plate at church then don't have a spiritual or pious thought for the other 167 hours of the week. 

Which is all a long way of saying that I'll probably be on my computer tomorrow at some point.  Although the forecast is +18 and I have a garage that badly needs cleaning so  those two factors are going to affect my computer usage more than any newly-coined, virally-spread yet strangely suspicious “day” will. 

Jason (rhymes with Contrarian…if you squint really hard…and how long has it been since I used the “Rant” tag?  Quite awhile.)

[Edit – what a surprise.  Other computer nerds agree with me – although there are a variety of other reasons given to oppose this day in the Digg thread in addition to some of the ones I listed above.]

[Edit #2 – oh, and for the record, I do celebrate the day popularly known as “Christmas” on that day.]

[Edit #3 – anybody know the costs for using a computer/laptop for a year versus activities such as driving the average commuting distance in Canada or choosing to be a meat-eater?  I know the day isn't just about reducing costs/environmental issues and is sort of a “just go outside” message.  But
that is a factor too in how “legitimate” a day like this is to me.  Is there a “Drive Nowhere” Day?  “Don't Have A Cow, Man (Literally) Day?”]

Posted 24 March 2007 § Humour § Internet § Main Page § Meme ‡ Comments (4) °

Friday Fun Link – Free MP3 Audio Books (March 23, 2007)

LoudIt.org offers free MP3 audio books of classic works that you can download or read long with onscreen. (via MetaFilter)

Posted 23 March 2007 § FridayFunLink § Internet § Main Page § PopCulture ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:

UWO FIMS "Spirit of Librarianship" Award – Call for Nominations

Meshell, who recently posted a great article called “Huckleberry Who?” on her blog that ties in nicely to my posts on the question of “Is there a Universal book?“, forwarded me the call for Spirit of Librarianship nomination for this term. 

I try to do a good job remembering to cite where I get my info/links for this blog (although not always successfully).  I also try to remember that my “audience” for this blog continues to become wider so putting a generic “SoL Call for Nominations” headers as I initially did might be mis-leading to some people.  Something anybody putting information on the Net has to keep in mind – it's more rare than it used to be but I still hit web sites that don't list full contact information for the organization or if they do, they won't list a state with the city or an area code with the phone number. 

It's hard to believe the current semester of library school is almost over.  It definitely goes faster when you're not there!  Here's a link to my Spirit of Librarianship page if you want some info on the award, past winners and nominees, etc.  otherwise, go ahead and nominate somebody!

—
Hello everyone,

The time has come again to collect nominations for the Spirit of Librarianship award.

The
Spirit of Librarianship Award is presented each term by the MLIS
Student Council to an MLIS student who “exemplifies the spirit of
librarianship” in their daily life as a student. It is based on a
positive collegial attitude and contribution, a willingness to help
whenever a need arises, and an interest in fellow students. Any current
Master of Library and Information Science student is eligible, except
those on co-op and those who have previously received the award.

To
nominate one of your fellow students, please send an email to
mlisstudentcouncil@gmail.com by March 29th.  In this email please give
not only the name of the person being nominated, but also write a short
summary as to why you are nominating them.  Please note: only
individuals can be nominated for the award.

After all
nominations are gathered, an email will be sent out with a list of all
nominations and explanations as to the voting process.  All questions
are welcome, and can be emailed to mlisstudentcouncil@gmail.com or by
asking a member of Council.

Spirit of Librarianship Committee

Posted 22 March 2007 § LibrarySchool § Main Page ‡ Comments (1) °

First Pre-Natal Class Tonight

The woman who teaches the course, Sally Elliott, gets raves from everybody we talk to so I'm pretty excited.  Plus I'll find out if reading “The Poo Bomb” is sufficient preparation for having a child. 

Posted 22 March 2007 § Baby § Humour § Main Page ‡ Comments (0) °

Finally…Proof the Stereotype Is True!

Posted 22 March 2007 § Baby § Humour § Main Page § Photo § Shea ‡ Comments (0) °

New Bookmarking Widget Added

I've put a bookmarking widget up on the top left of this site that will allow you to submit my site (and any individual page or range of pages – ie. all pages within a category or a keyword) to any of thirty or so social bookmarking sites.  This includes all the major services – Digg, Reddit, Delicious, Stumbleupon – and probably a dozen or so I've never even heard of! 

So if you come to an article on say, “Five Ways To Improve Facebook” and think it would be good on Digg, just click the button on that page and the process should happen automagically. 

Then, if everything goes as planned, the next time you come back to my site, it'll be down because of all the traffic from Digg or wherever.  

A couple minor quibbles – I'd like to be able to customize the text on the button and I'd like to be able to customize which sites pop up when you click “Bookmark” instead of all thirty.  But otherwise, this is pretty handy.

Now, I think I'm going to crack a beer and watch the Flames try to come out of a bit of a skid that's pushing them down towards non-playoff (ie. Oilers) territory.  

Posted 21 March 2007 § Blog § Main Page ‡ Comments (4) °

Moving & Shaking in 2007 (and The Internal Digital Divide)

Congrats to Amanda Etches-Johnson who was recently named one of Library Journal's 2007 Movers & Shakers. Amanda taught the “Social Software” course at FIMS in Fall 2006 and everything I heard about this class sounded like it was amazing.  I don't know many of the names on the list of past winners but wonder if this is the first time somebody with a FIMS connection has won?

Looking at the list of people named this year, there is a heavy technology-connection evident in why many of the people listed were chosen.  This reminds me of something I was pondering the other day.  We talk a lot about the “digital divide” in library school but usually in reference to our patrons – those who know/use technology and those who don't.  To generalize, rich v. poor, urban v. rural, young v. old. 

But I sometimes wonder if there is a digital divide within the field of librarianship that fits those same criteria – those who are comfortable with technology and those who aren't.  I'm not just referring to the 29 and a 1/2 years of service librarian who refuses to use the new version of MS-Word  because “I'm retiring in six months” or the branch manager who doesn't want to know about RSS because “that's a job for the systems guy.” 

There are many library students and recent grads who don't like technology or don't feel comfortable with it either.  So, is this even an issue?  Should it be?  If it is, what should we do to help reduce the “internal digital divide”?  Conference sessions are a good idea but if you have no interest in “Top Tech Trends”, are you going to be attend?  Same with magazine and journal articles – will you read an article about Facebook if you dismiss it as “kid's stuff”? 

Personally, I think the best solution is to actually encourage people to use the tools although I'm not sure how best to do that (I suspect word of mouth directly and via things like blog posts is a good way!)  Even if someone doesn't keep it up, if they start a blog, they'll know how easy it is if called upon to do so in their workplace.  If a shy librarian joins Facebook, they gain a way to socialize with other librarians that might be more comfortable than talking one-on-one after class or in a group setting.  If someone buys a new digital camera and realises that putting their photos on Flickr means that distant family and friends can easily follow the events and happenings of their life, maybe they'll take the next step and think “Hmm, this camera makes digital movies too.  Maybe I should put up a video of my little angel singing “Old MacDonald” on YouTube.  (It's important to note that most of these sites allow you control the privacy settings – the default is “public” but it's easy to specify that only people you approve can see your content.

Posted 20 March 2007 § Library § Main Page ‡ Comments (3) °

CBC Says My IQ Is…

Your IQ = 130.

Here are my scores. 
Language 11/12
Memory 5/6
Logic 12/12
Visual Memory 5/6
Math 10/12
Perception 9/12

Some random thoughts (may contain spoilers so why not do the quiz then come back to finish reading if you haven't already?)…

CBC Television : Test the Nation


– I know it's just for fun but any IQ test that asks me my star sign automatically gets a rating of “mentally handicapped” in my books.

– they also ask you to guess your final score and I picked 115 as I tend to get between 110-120 whenever I do these things.  I don't know if I've gotten smarter in my old age or I just happened to be on top of these questions.  (Full disclosure I did see about three of the math questions on TV last night (but not the answers) while channel surfing so I had some pre-warning.  But I'm positive they were ones I would've gotten anyway.)

– it helped that
one memory question had my hometown of Indian Head, Saskatchewan (with
its correct postal code) as two of the things to memorize.  (The girl
pictured was fictional as far as I know. )


– I don't believe in ESP but I do think a lot of your success/lack of success comes down to familiarity with the format of these types of quizzes (did you do a lot of riddles and puzzles as a kid?) as well as a healthy dash of luck/intution.  “I bet
they're going to ask about the pictured girl's…”, “The thing in that
cheese vendors' photo with a zillion things to look at but which is
most likely to be asked since it's obvious but not too obvious is…”  


– I almost didn't pay attention to the video clip at first thinking it
would have a “Sample” question like the other sections did.  It didn't but
luckily I paid enough attention to get most questions, probably
hitting one or two guesses correctly.


– “When in doubt, pick C” is always a good rule of thumb.  (I have a
friend who did a Grade 12 Comprehensive examination which was
completely multiple choice by selecting “A-C-D-C, A-C-D-C” all the way
down.  I think he got a better mark than I did.)


– Kathleen
pointed out that she hit a couple answers and immediately wanted to
take them back or hit the wrong answer by mistake intending to hit the
right one but crunched for time.  I probably did that once or twice as
well.  “Oh shit – did that say 'opposite' or 'similar to' immediately
after you click it and it goes away.”  In fact, how does having a timer help prove your intelligence in any way, shape or form?  It shows things like how quickly you can read, your reading comprehension but doesn't really show if you can solve the question which is theoretically what is being measured.


– my own personal bugaboo with *any* online quiz is the ones that don't
give you correct answers, either at the end or as you go.  Seriously, I hate
that!  For me, even though these quizzes are often semi-pointless, part of the reasons is to learn something.  So I'd like to be able to go back and
figure out things like what was the next number in that sequence?  Oh…I see.



– I said earlier that I don't believe in ESP but I also don't really believe in IQ.  Or at least, I'm aware that it's a very contentious issue.  In high school, I thought I was pretty smart because I came up with an alternate idea – 9Q – to measure more than just “intelligence”.  Then I got to Psych100 and learned that there were all kinds of theories of multiple intelligences including one conveniently called “Theories of multiple intelligences” that was quite similar to what I came up with (which probably means I'd come across this in a book and somehow convinced myself I'd invented it! ) 

Because I typed my 9Q idea into my personal journal when I was back in undergrad and that file is completely indexed (seriously, sometimes I am such a library nerd, it causes me physical pain), I can share it with you now:

Jason's 9Q Theory
Academic Intelligences
1. Common Sense
2. Scholarly
3. Worldly

Artistic Intelligences
4.Musical
5.Visual
6. Sensory

Athletic Intelligences
7. Mechanical
8. Physical
9. Charismatic

My big idea was that all of these blend and overlap to differing degrees in each person and that you could probably develop a test that showed you which areas were your strengths (although you probably already have a good idea about that.)

Looking at it now and looking at the Wikipedia page on Multiple Intelligence Theory, I see a lot of gaps in my idea – where does mathematical aptitude fit?  Interpersonal skills?  That page also says the theory (the real one, not mine) is controversial but I think it does have some merit, if only just to keep in mind that people all have different strengths and people who are “smart” aren't the be all and end all. 

For example, a common stereotype is that athletes and mechanics aren't smart.  But I think they're smart too – just in a different way than how we commonly think of intelligence.  Perhaps that's why the idea has such interest in the education field where giving all kids an equal chance is an important value?

And how wrong can it be?  Now, no less of
a tastemaker than Oprah promotes theories of multiple intelligence by
highlighting books on “Emotional Intelligence” and “Social
Intelligence” and god knows what else. 

I'm sure a few people who visit my site (or Michelle's or Kathleen's) will also do the quiz and it might be fun to have a central respository to post scores.  So if anybody's willing, feel free to post your score here. 

I'll sneek in one last fairly important note for anybody still reading.  I also officially got a job today!  I can't say anything else until some last minute details are taken care of but should be able to share a bit more about the position, why I chose it and so on in a couple weeks when I start.  Wish me luck!

Posted 20 March 2007 § List § Main Page § Meme § PopCulture § Randomness ‡ Comments (9) ° Tagged: