Food: Bamboo Fungus

Image from Openrice

Ever since I have found out that this Brother 3 of Tam Boy Yunnan Rice Noodles is actually my student long time ago (found out from the first visit not long ago), I have visited his Mongkok branch 3 times. Not because I have discount (in fact, if I had known, I would definitely ask for one) and also not because he has found out that I know about his multi-million business, but there is really something attractive about the peppery spicy soup base that a spicy-food lover like me can't resist.

But today, I am not going to talk about the soup, because I have no pictures to show you, instead, I would like to talk about one mushroom that I have never found interests in but all of a sudden, fell in love with.

And that, is the Bamboo Fungus, or Phallus indusiatus, a member of the stinkhorn fungus. Why stinkhorn? Because the cap / top of the mushroom gives out a really stinky smell, so the male pickers really have to endure some smells before obtaining this lovely mushroom, as for female pickers, they might enjoy it (Why?). Why is it called bamboo fungus? Because they are grown "on agricultural wastes—bamboo-trash sawdust covered with a thin layer of non-sterilized soil"[1]

Image from Wikipedia

I think most of you have tried this mushroom before, but since I am new to this, I say I am attracted by its whiteness, crunchiness and health value, since the mushroom is "rich in protein, carbohydrates and dietary fiber"[1], "contains various bioactive compounds, and has antioxidant and antimicrobial properties."[1], and "The concentration of several mineral elements, including potassium, sodium, and iron was also favorable compared to fruits and vegetables"[1] As to how much goodness there are specifically, you will have to read up from the links I have below. For now, I know that if I want a vege-diet, I will definitely eat more bamboo fungus.

Image from HAPPY HOME: Fish maw soup with Bamboo fungus

Homework:
Why do I say that the female pickers might enjoy the picking of this mushroom?

Vocabulary:
endure -- (vb) [T]  to suffer something difficult, unpleasant or painful

Resources:
http://www.openrice.com/english/restaurant/sr2.htm?shopid=21615

Bamboo Fungus
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phallus_indusiatus

All That the Rain Promises and More: A Hip Pocket Guide to Western Mushrooms By David Arora
http://books.google.com/books?id=87ct90d4B9gC&lpg=PA241&dq=phallus%20hadriani&pg=PA241#v=onepage&q=phallus%20hadriani&f=false

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/endure_1

Health and Fitness: Manage Your Weight

Image from hongkongsunday

Hello guys! Hope you all had a great Halloween! I had a good one, went to Ocean Park for their 10th anniversary and had some fun, but it wasn't all that scary. In fact, none of the actor/actress-ghost scared me even a little bit. Not even when they jumped out right from behind of in front of my face. That's mainly because I know they are fake in the first place, and second, I know they will come out from somewhere to scare me. And they were smart too, they targeted those who would give them reactions -- the girls, but even for girls, I don't think they found it scary this year. As such, I was mainly appreciating the designs of the haunted houses as I was pushed along by some unknown girls. They should watch my backpack, it's getting old and is no longer holding things that well.

Image from alwayshungryny.com

Anyway, I guess the most horrible thing I did last night was that I ate 2 Fillet O'Fish burgers for dinner. Didn't the Supersize Me and Supersize Me Add-Ons articles say that we shouldn't eat? Well, yes. But I had no quicker choice if I wanted to finish visiting all 8 haunted houses in 4.5 hours. So apart from those unhealthy chemicals I swallowed, what else did I get from the 2 fish sandwiches?

"Nutrition values of McDonalds Sandwiches" has the answer.

One Filet-O-Fish(R) contains: (15 sandwiches in comparsion, including those not for sale in Hong Kong)

Calories: 470 (9th highest) -- highest in HK: Double Quarter Pounder® with Cheese
Calories from fat(g): 240kJ (7th highest) -- highest in HK: Double Quarter Pounder® with Cheese
Total fat: 26 (7th highest) -- highest in HK: Double Quarter Pounder® with Cheese
Saturated fat (g): 5 (10th highest) -- highest in HK: Double Quarter Pounder® with Cheese
Cholesterol (mg): 50 (10th highest) -- highest in HK: Double Quarter Pounder® with Cheese
Sodium (salt): 730 (14th highest) -- highest in HK: Double Quarter Pounder® with Cheese
Carbohydrate (g): 45 (4th highest) -- highest in HK: Big Mac®
Fibre(g): 1 (14th highest) -- highest in HK: Big Mac® & McChicken®
Sugar(g): 5 (14th highest) -- highest in HK: Double Quarter Pounder® with Cheese & Quarter Pounder® with Cheese
Protein(g): 15 (12th highest) -- highest in HK: Double Quarter Pounder® with Cheese
% Daily Value of Vitamin A: 4 (11th highest) -- highest in HK: Double Quarter Pounder® with Cheese
% Daily Value of Vitamin C: less than 2 (15th highest) -- highest in HK: Big N' Tasty®
% Daily Value of Calcium: 20 (15th highest) -- highest in HK: Double Quarter Pounder® with Cheese
% Daily Value of Iron: 10 (15th highest) -- highest in HK: Double Quarter Pounder® with Cheese

Image from sports.cbsimg.net

From caloriecount.about.com, the healthiest McDonald's sandwich available in Hong Kong is the Hamburger, with the worst stuff at the lowest, the most evil burger? You should know by now.

Now, how many of you order this when you go to the McDonald's?

And because I had two, just double everything and you will get my intake. How many calories should I be taking in each day? According to Diet Blog, using the centimetre to foot & inch convertor, I need about 1646 calories per day, eating 2 Filet-O-Fish took up 57% of my daily calories intake -- which means, one meal = half day intake. That's a lot!

Watch your health!

Image from insidetheusa.net

PS: If you want to find the best eat in Hong Kong, you can take try the recommendation page from CNNGo.com instead.

Resources:
http://lockyep.blogspot.com/2010/10/movie-supersize-me.html
http://lockyep.blogspot.com/2010/10/health-and-fitness-supersize-me-add-ons.html

http://www.diet-blog.com/05/how_to_calculate_your_daily_calorie_needs.php
http://manuelsweb.com/ft_in_cm.htm

http://www.fatfreekitchen.com/junkfoods/mcdonald-nutrition-sandwiches.html
http://www.fatfreekitchen.com/junkfoods/mcdonald-nutrition-fries.html

http://www.cnngo.com/besteats

Health and Fitness: Supersize Me Add-ons

So you might have watched a video extra from the movie Supersize Me, a movie which I have recommended last week. Good! Have you tried the homework? Try it if you haven't. Answers will be released next Friday (5th November). How about a little more add on to this?

Once in awhile, I would like to have hamburgers too, and Burger King is my favourite choice, but I hardly ever order French fries/chips, just because they are too unhealthy (I guess you can tell from the movie), plus, they are expensive when ordered à la carte, and I don't like the sugary fizzy drinks. Why wouldn't mould grows on the chips? Would it be unhealthy to eat the chips that even the mould won't eat? Yes. Was it because there were just too much preservatives in the fries? Yes and no.

Here's an article that explains the reasons.

Moulding bread

Image from FlyBlackChick

Picking out the essence of the article above,

The truth is many processed foods don't decompose and won't be eaten by molds, insects or even rodents...Potato chips can last for decades...With meats, the primary reason why they don't decompose is their high sodium content. Salt is a great preservative, as early humans have known for thousands of years. McDonald's meat patties are absolutely loaded with sodium -- so much so that they qualify as "preserved" meat, not even counting the chemicals you might find in the meat...The real question in my mind is why don't the buns mold?

In short, chemicals and more chemicals.

Enriched flour (bleached wheat flour, malted barley flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid, enzymes), water, high fructose corn syrup, sugar, yeast, soybean oil and/or partially hydrogenated soybean oil, contains 2% or less of the following: salt, calcium sulfate, calcium carbonate, wheat gluten, ammonium sulfate, ammonium chloride, dough conditioners (sodium stearoyl lactylate, datem, ascorbic acid, azodicarbonamide, mono- and diglycerides, ethoxylated monoglycerides, monocalcium phosphate, enzymes, guar gum, calcium peroxide, soy flour), calcium propionate and sodium propionate (preservatives), soy lecithin.

I like the author's last few paragraphs the most,

chihiro: I'm hungry.
No face: Here you go.Just pick any mcBurgers you want.

Image from Nanba.Kisame's Page

No normal animal will perceive a McDonald's hamburger bun as food, and as it turns out, neither will bacteria or fungi. To their senses, it's just not edible stuff. That's why these bionic burger buns just won't decompose.


Which brings me to my final point about this whole laughable distraction: There is only one species on planet Earth that's stupid enough to think a McDonald's hamburger is food.


Opinions:
Sometimes, I will ask myself why more and more people are getting cancers. The most likely reasons in my opinions, the water, the food, the air and the home. Hang on, that is everything. Well, basically, yeah. You see, since the largest organ of our body is exposed to all these every single second, we are in fact in contact with a lot of chemicals.

Some people, particularly the doctors who see life and death day in and day out, consider there is nothing we can do, so we should just try to live a happy life. I think this is just semi-true.

If you know jumping down a building is dangerous, at least you should not stand too close to the edge. If you know the water is full of chemicals, shouldn't you at least get a water filter? How about staying away from chemical-packed food most of the time and only allow yourself to eat a little once in awhile? How about getting an air-filtering machine at home? (Though it is not eco-friendly) And how about using those eco-paints when you paint your apartment? Use less turpentine and smelly glue? Keep a few pieces of activated carbon at home to absorb the gaseous chemical?

Activated Carbon under microscope

Image from SMIAnalytical

Instead of waiting, I will always at least take some actions. Can't cover all of course, but at least I try to do what I can do (same as learning English). What about you?


Homework: 

1. What is the largest organ of a human body?
2. If 'soft drink' is 'fizzy drink' or 'soda', what is 'hard drink'? 
3. What is the English word to describe a hard drink that is not sweet?

Vocabulary:
à la carte -- (adv) [before noun] If you eat à la carte, you choose each dish from a separate list instead of eating a fixed combination of dishes at a fixed price
fizzy drink -- (n) soft drink
decompose -- (vb)  [I or T] to decay, or to cause something to decay
rodent -- (n) [C] any of various small mammals with large sharp front teeth, such as mice and rats
preservative -- (n) [C] a chemical used to stop food from decaying
perceive -- (vb) [T] to come to an opinion about something, or have a belief about something
bionic -- (adj) humorous used to refer to a person who has greater powers of strength, speed etc. than seem to be possible for a human
distraction -- (n) [C] an activity that you do for pleasure


Resources:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYyDXH1amic
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wmac-INoXg
http://www.naturalnews.com/030074_Happy_Meal_decompose.html

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/a-la-carte
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soft_drink
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/decompose
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/rodent
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/preservative
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/perceive_1
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/bionic
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/distraction
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turpentine
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Activated_carbon

Message: Way to Leave Message On My Blog

Step 1: Find the comment button at the end of each entry and press it

Step 2: Type what you want to say and choose account to log in, if you don't want to use your email account, select Anonymous.

Step 3: Preview first and then confirm by Post Comment button

Step 4: Post your comments often so that I can see your writing.

Movie: Supersize Me

Image from Roses, Cackleberries, Butterflies and Cowpies: So we ate at McDonald's ...

I thought I have recommended this movie Supersize Me before, and just as I was writing a follow up on this movie, I realised that I haven't actually done that, so here it is, a documentary of how a healthy man turns into a fatty by eating McDonald's meals 3 times a day.

Image from photobucket.com/

There is a super detail review of this movie by Red Pub Magazine, so, I suppose I don't have to say much about it. If you are interested, you can read it here.

To watch this movie, you don't need to buy a DVD, but of course, it would be great with transcript. So, here it is!

Supersize Me movie transcript by Script-o-rama
http://www.script-o-rama.com/movie_scripts/s/super-size-me-script-transcript.html

Now, with the transcript, you can watch your movie, here!

Enjoy! Since I am recommending two things today, I will take my Monday off, unless I found something really interesting to write.

HW:
I have created a simple exercise here for you guys to do. It is very easy, many too easy for most of you, but it can be kept as a record of your knowledge. All the answers can be found in the introduction of the movie.

1.         Name the restaurants in the children’s song. (0:32)

                       i.              __________________

                     ii.              __________________

                   iii.              __________________

2.         Which is the fattest nation in the world? _________________

3.         From the movie, which 2 words are worse than the word “fat”?

        a)     overweight

        b)     serious

        c)     obese

        d)     supersize

4.         More than _____________% of all US adults are too fat.

5.         Which is the fattest state in America?

                       i.              Mississippi

                     ii.              West Virginia

                   iii.              Ohio

                    iv.              Utah

6.         How old and how heavy were the two girls who sue McDonald’s?

                       i.              ________ yr old – ___________ pounds

                     ii.              ________ yr old – ___________ pounds

7.         McDonald’s feeds _______ million people a day, more than the population of ________________

8.         McDonald’s are everywhere, even in _______________

9.         How many days will Morgan eat McDonald’s?  __________

Resources:

Supersize Me movie:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1432315846377280008

Supersize Me movie transcript by Script-o-rama

http://www.script-o-rama.com/movie_scripts/s/super-size-me-script-transcript.html

Supersize Me movie review

http://www.redpubmagazine.com/article.php?id=271

Technology: Masking Your Ads on Office 2010

For those of you who bought your computer or laptop that comes with Windows 7, you don't need to be bothered by the dual-booting setup that I was previously talking about. And you have one more advantage over people who need to install Windows 7 by themselves, and that is, you probably have free Microsoft Office 2010 Starter that comes with the package. But let's not be too excited by this, because it is not a fully-functional version, it does allow you to read and save, but has an annoying button which you need to press every time you want to edit a file. Plus, there is a distracting advertisement box on the bottom right corner of the panel, so every time you were trying to stay focus and think about what you want to write, this ad keeps flashing and reminding you that you should pay to use the full version.

Microsoft Office 2010 Starter

Image from laptopmag.com

Some people might go to some computer centre, pay $40 for a pirated Office 2010 and the problem is solved, but for those who want to save some cash, is there another way? Since we are still waiting for someone to crack this problem, we have to look for other solutions.

Well, I might just have one you might like to try. It is easy and effective!

"If you can't remove it, cover it! Like mascara on scars" -- Locky

Basically, Windows 7 comes with Windows Media Player 13, the mascara, which you can choose to run the miniature version, the version is so small that it is just big enough to cover that annoying flashing ad, the scar.

Image from 7tutorials.com

Run it, play your favourite song or just play it and then mute it, place it over the ad, and the last thing you need to do is set the player "Always Show Now Playing on top", to do that, Right click on the Windows Media Player screen and check Always show Now Playing on top.

Image from lytebyte.com

$40 saved! Ka-ching!

HW: what is the meaning of "Ka-ching!"?

Resources:
http://lockyep.blogspot.com/2010/09/technology-windows-7-crossover-windows.html

http://blog.laptopmag.com/microsoft-office-2010-starter-is-not-worth-the-price#axzz12yr4aLdg

http://www.addictivetips.com/microsoft-office/a-challenge-for-developers-disabling-advertisement-in-office-2010-starter/

http://www.lytebyte.com/2009/08/17/how-to-keep-windows-media-player-on-top-in-windows-7/