Santa Claus is coming to town

One of the best things about living in our community is the fun we have during the holidays.  This year was my turn to play Santa Claus at the community Christmas party.  Okay, barring the fact that I am half Asian and I have a perma-tan, I was a little stymied about how I would convince the little kids that I was the jolly old elf from the North Pole.  Luckily I had my Lars Umlaut fat suite from Halloween and some face paint.  Here is a photo, courtesy of Barb.  What do you think?

Ho ho ho, and a Merry Christmas to you!

Are we condoning behaviour like this?

Many would argue that perhaps I am over analyzing the content of one of the newest Dairy Queen ads, but being the father of two girls, I can’t sit by and laugh off the theme of this commercial. For those of you who haven’t seen the ad, I have included it below for reference. Watch it first and then continue with the post.

So what did you think? Here are my thoughts. This girl is about 10 years old. The suggestion that she is mature enough to use her “feminine wiles” to get gifts from would be courtiers is grossly inappropriate. Consider for a moment that this girl is 15 and doing the same thing, would you consider it appropriate? Would it be appropriate at 25? or any age for that matter?

The clincher for me is the Mom’s lack of reaction to the girl’s comment “It’s like shooting fish in a barrel”. As a parent, I would horrified if my 10 year old daughter made a statement like that. Sorry, but I don’t find the commercial funny at all.

What do you think?

5 Things You Can Do To Reduce Your Carbon Footprint Right Now

In honour of Earth Hour I thought I would take a few moments to share with you five simple things you can do to reduce your carbon footprint right now. In fact, once you’re finished reading this post, I challenge you to get up and do the following five things. You’ll feel better for having done them and maybe, just maybe they’ll become part of your daily routine.

1. Look around you right now and make a mental note of all the lights that are on in your home. If you are sitting at a computer chances are you’re either at a desk, on a couch, or in bed. Turn off all the lights in your home that absolutely do not have to be on. While you’re at it, make note of any incandescent bulbs left in your home and consider replacing them tomorrow.

2. While you’re walking around turning off lights, make sure that the curtains are drawn around any windows. If you don’t have curtains, you might want to make note of the windows that don’t have them and consider getting some. But why curtains? Simple, curtains help to reduce heat loss through windows and also prevent direct heating caused by radiant heat from the sun. In the winter this means less heat loss which means lower heating costs. In the summer this also means less heating from the sun which means less energy spent on either air conditioning or fans.

3. Now that you’re in the room checking the curtains, check the heating vents. If the room is empty and isn’t going to be used then consider closing the heat vents. This will prevent unnecessary heating of a room that will not be serving any particular service. The heat will be re-routed to parts of the house where the heat is required and, as a result, lower your overall heating costs.

4. Once you’ve closed the curtains and checked the heating vents, close the door behind you and close the door to any other rooms that you are currently not occupying. In the winter this reduces the unnecessary heating of non-occupied spaces. In the summertime, this prevents warm air from being circulated through the house.

5. If it is hot out and you’ve got your air conditioner going, consider opening some windows and using a fan directed fan. If it is cold out, then reduce your thermostat down by one degree. In both of these cases, you will reduce overall energy consumption.

So, there you have it. Five simple things you can do that should take you know more than one short walk around your home. If you have any suggestions of your own, why not share them here.

All Hail the Asian Leprechaun

Well, it finally happened. One of my very few most embarrassing childhood memories has been disclosed for all to read on the Internet. Not that I mind really. I’ve always enjoyed telling the story and seeing the reaction. For a long time I figured Barb was the only person who actually found the story hilariously funny, but apparently many other people find it hysterical as well.

Here is the back story… Barb sent me an email last week with a link to a blog called MetroDad written by a fellow who is a newage Dad of Asian decent. He had written a post about the things parents inadvertently do to embarrass their children and potentially scar them for life. It is a funny read and, like many other imports, I could relate to the experiences he described. At the end of the post he asks for people to submit their most embarrassing childhood experience. I couldn’t resist, so I wrote a comment with “My First St. Patrick’s Day in Canada” story. I was overwhelmed by the response to my comment. There were comments like “I’m voting for the Asian Leprechaun” and “All Hail the Asian Leprechaun”. Needless to say, I won the contest and I’m now the proud owner of an autographed Mandy Moore poster and a copy of “Borat the Movie”. Yeah!

I won’t post the story on my blog, but you can read it on MetroDad.

Oh yeah, thanks Mom! This whole experience has been tremendously therapeutic. Now I can finally enjoy St. Patrick’s Day without the fear that I’ll have to stand up on a chair and have children point and giggle.

Steve’s Famous Thai Beef Salad & Gado Gado

I’m posting this one for all those people who ate this salad at Uncle Al’s Summer party or the block party last summer. I used to work as a waiter at a Thai Restaurant many many moons ago and this was by far one of my favorite dishes. I found the recipe from AllRecipes.com and modified it by adding vermicelli noodles. It also works well with chicken too.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 green onions, chopped
• 1 lemon grass, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
• 1 cup lime juice
• 1/3 cup fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon sweet chili sauce
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 1/2 pounds (1 inch thick) steak fillet
• 1 head leaf lettuce - rinsed, dried and torn into bite-size pieces
• 1/2 English cucumber, diced
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes
• 1 package vermicelli noodles

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl, stir together the green onions, lemon grass, cilantro, mint leaves, lime juice, fish sauce, chili sauce and sugar until well combined and the sugar is dissolved. Adjust the flavor, if desired, by adding more sugar and/or fish sauce. Set aside.
2. Soak vermicelli noodles according to package instructions. Set aside.
   
3. Cook the steak over high heat on a preheated grill for approximately 4-6 minutes on each side, until it is cooked medium. Do not overcook the meat! Remove from heat and slice into thin strips. Add the meat and its juices to the sauce and refrigerate, tightly covered, for at least 3 hours.
4. Tear the lettuce into bite size pieces and place in a salad bowl. Spread noodles on top of lettuce. Arrange the cucumber on top of the lettuce, and then pour the meat and sauce over. Top with the cherry tomatoes and garnish with fresh cilantro leaves.

My Gado Gado recipe is pretty much just in my head, so I’ll have to document it the next time I make it. For now, I found this version that is pretty close. My recommendation is that you stick with the following ingredients:

• Cabbage
• Beansprouts
• Potatoes
• Eggs
• Fried Onions
• Cucumber
• Head lettuce
• Deep fried tofu

http://www.globalgourmet.com/destinations/indonesia/gadogado.html

Keeping Those Idol Hands Busy

I was listening to the Bill Good show this morning on CKNW. It was titled “Street Recruits: Why Teens Turn to Crime”. It was a discussion with several experts about why teens join gangs and the techniques gangs use to attract vulnerable teens to a life of crime. There was a lot of discussion about teens needing to feel like they belong and that they are part of something greater. There was also discussion about some teens not getting the attention or interaction they need from their families in order to grow into confident well adjusted members of society. Those of you that know me know that I am a very big fan of youth programs. As a young person I was an active member of the Air Cadet program and after I graduated, I volunteered and later worked as a Leadership facilitator with the Youth Leadership programs at the YMCA. These were my gangs. They gave me meaning, structure, support, camaraderie, self-confidence, a sense of self, an appreciation for community, and a respect for law and authority. My gangs didn’t involve guns, drugs, fancy suvs, or sex. So how do I get more teens to join my gang? I’m not sure really. Do you think a future filled with fulfilling experiences, achievement, philanthropy, and community service can compare to a .45 and Cadillac Escalade. Personally I think so and I can only hope that only a very small minority think otherwise.

We need more programs for young people and we need more people in the community to step up and support them.

People still appreciate common courtesy

I was at my favorite salon the other day for my very overdue bi-weekly trimming. The waiting area consists of four seats and when I sat down there were two men waiting for haircuts already, so I occupied one of the remaining two seats. About ten minutes after I sat down, an elderly couple walked into the salon. The wife sat in the last available seat while the husband approached the counter to tell the girl that he had an appointment for a haircut. As he was on his way back to his wife I asked “Excuse me Sir, would you like to sit down?” and offered up my seat to him. He politely responded that he was fine and thanked me for the offer. I said “You’re welcome” and continued to wait for my turn. After the two men who were before me went in for their haircuts, the wife leaned towards me and thanked me again for offering my seat. She commented on her perception that common courtesies like opening doors, giving up seats, saying “Please” and “Thank you” have pretty much gone out the window. I don’t know if they’ve gone out the window necessarily or whether it is just not a generational imperative. I know my parents were very conscious of instilling the virtues of common courtesy on my siblings and me, and as a result I impress the importance of those things on my children as well. For some reason, the generation slightly younger than my parents seemed to miss this. Why, I don’t know, perhaps it was the chaos of the sixties, antidisestablishmentarianism, anti-authority, who knows, but their children who are slightly younger than me now also seem to have missed it and I fear their children will too.

Here’s to hoping that the virtues of common courtesy make a comeback in the New Year, one seat at a time.

Sand Fantasy - Amazing what you can do with a piece of glass, some sand, and your imagination

I don’t usually blog about YouTube videos, but I stumbled upon this one today and I was blown away. This is sand art, but not the sandcastle kind. What struck me as most interesting is that it is like a performance art. The artist changes the image so often and so fluidly, it’s almost like an animation.