Shannon Larratt is Zentastic

I was watching Bush at the North American unification summit (in conspiracy-talk, negotiations to collapse the Canada, Mexico, and US governments and run them as a non-democratic corporation), and was really blown away by Bush flat-out saying that the Northwest Passage is “international territory”. I hope he's talking about a passage that runs north of Greenland and north of Ellesmere Island, because traditionally the passage runs smack through long-established Canadian territory (through the heart of Nunavut — once again the original inhabitants get their land taken away by those who seek to exploit it — and the Northwest Territories).

I mean, isn't declaring another country's territory as yours to do with as you please in effect a declaration of war? Or at a minimum, a threat thereof? Not that Bush doesn't thrive on threatening everyone…

Of course, if it runs north of Canada, then it's in Russian or Danish territory. Denmark can't really do a damn thing about it, but Russia can most certainly defend against the US Navy because during the Cold War they realized that they didn't have the money to build the big iron that the US has, and focussed on anti-ship technology instead. So while the US Navy outpowers the Russian Navy, the Russian military in general can sink the entire US military in a couple hours should they choose.

And I cooked a nice shrimp stirfry in a miso vinaigrette over couscous last night (bad picture of it). It turned out fairly well but not as well as the dill and avocado shrimp meal.

Nature is a vast killing field. No bug, plant, or animal including humans can live unless other bugs, plants, or animals die. All we do is trade corporeal forms around the gaming table of existential matter.

Wild animals live with one eye over their shoulders watching for predators, and the other eye looking ahead for prey. I listen to a redwinged blackbird, warbling his sweet song from a bush above the creek. How contented the sounds. In reality, orinthologists believe that the translation of that sweet song goes something like this: “This is my territory and if I catch another redwing trying to move in here, I will peck his beady little eyes out.” And that may be as close to contentment as a songbird ever comes.

Other than that, I started doing the legwork to put a small structure on my property out east to run power and communications into. I haven't decided to do it yet (I prefer Ontario to be honest, but that property is big, on the road system, and totally paid off — and you can't go wrong with $78 a year in tax load), but I want to keep it open as an option and it's been years since I've thought about it.

Anyway, time to have a shower and go to the bookstore for a Dr. Seuss book or two and one of those “how to draw” books because Nefarious really enjoys them… I used to love them as a kid as well. Experience update later today as well. I have some other BME things to do, but I am trying to stall them until school starts because then I have more time to dedicate to them properly.

Watching some of the Presidential debates I'm really disgusted by the questions on gay marriage and gay rights. One of the real red herring questions in my opinion is the “do you think homosexuality is a choice?” question… While I do find the question interesting on a scientific level, I find it wholly irrelevant because it has such a nasty, nasty undercurrent — the idea that homosexuality is vile at face value, so it can only be somehow justified if “God made it so”. When it comes to making policy, who cares if someone chose it or had it “forced” on them — there's nothing wrong with it, so it's totally irrelevant.

Nefarious and I went to my doctor today, who reluctantly prescribed me Lyrica, a new drug that aggressively targets neuropathic pain (phantom limb pain basically). While I healed in a week from the knee surgery, I still have escalating Type II CRPS from when nerves were severed in my biopsy back in January — I can't wear pants, socks, or even have a blanket on my leg at night because it hurts so much… It kind of sucks.

That said, I'm a little worried about the side effects. I like one of them — “euphoria” — but there are plenty that are less fun like weight gain and worse stuff like memory impairment, lethargy, speech disorders, loss of libido, erectile dysfunction, and other crappy stuff. I quit smoking pot a month and a half ago (totally), and am in really good shape right now, and really don't want to deal with any of that crap… so I might not take it for long, we'll see. I'd rather be in pain when it comes right down to it.

Hopefully I won't have any side effects and it won't come to that.

I've been eating mountains of fresh sprouts lately. Mountains. A big salad bowl or two a day! I've been eating a lot in general and have put on about five pounds this week I think, haha… For supper I made a noodle and bay scallop dish in sort of a lime-honey hosin sauce, using the strange secret ingredient of goat parmesan cheese which sounds weird, but actually worked incredibly well.

Other than that I got a MIDI controller keyboard. In between a couple hours of doing a wide variety of medical and dental procedures on every one of Nefarious's toy ponies (they're very sickly it seems), I probably annoyed everyone who could hear it with endless prog rock keyboard riffs… I love big fat analog synth sounds and random noodling away with whatever instrument is nearby… Nefarious did the same although she's more of a free jazz aficionado than prog rock fan.

Today and yesterday were both seafood dinners. Yesterday I got a cheap tray of salmon remainders (like where it's all chopped up strips — really cheap). It was really basic — just a stir fry with mixed veggies, the fish, udon noodles, and all put together in a Thai green curry sauce (yeah, from a jar, but it was really good). Nothing too it.

That dish was fairly heavy, so tonight I decided to cook something really light, and make it totally from scratch as well — and with the condition that I use an avocado in the dish, because today was the last day it was going to be nice and solid. In the photo on the right you can see everything I used.

I started by stir-frying some red pepper and red onion in macadamia nut oil, fresh garlic, and dill, with half a lime's juice, and some seaweed and sea salt (no other spices). After I think about five minutes I tossed in the shrimp, and then a few minutes later the udon noodles (which I'd done the two minute pre-cook on while doing the stir-fry). A moment later I added the rest of the dill, some green onion, and the other half of the lime's juice. Finally, I added the chopped avocado, cooked that for about thirty seconds, and took it off the heat.

It sat for a few minutes, and was served with a very light drizzle of lime. I'm really happy with how it turned out. I wasn't sure if the avocado would fly or not (I was pretty sure about the dill and lime, but that's basic) — it totally did. Success! Yay!