Mayan Sweet Potatoes [11/26/2009]

Mayan Sweet Potatoes

2 sweet potatoes
1/3 cup coconut milk
1 teaspoons coconut oil
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Sift the brown sugar, cinnamon, and cayenne.
Warm the coconut milk and coconut oil.
Combine the warm milk with half of the sugar/spice mix.
Cut the sweet potatoes in half lengthwise. Then cut them into half inch slices.
In a 8"x8" glass pan toss the potatoes and milk.
Stir in the pecans.

Bake for 40 minutes at 400 degrees.
Stir at the 20 minute mark.
Stir again at the 35 min mark and sprinkle the top with the remaining sugar/spice mix.

Finished The Year of the Flood [11/04/2009]

This book should get an award for being a long awaited sequel that did not disappoint. At first I found it a little difficult to understand because the narrators change from chapter to chapter as well as the time line. I also didn't really care for the hymns in between each chapter. However, after you get settled in, this ends up giving the reader a much fuller picture of the reality that was hinted at in Oryx and Crake. It is gripping, emotional, and in-your-face. Are all Atwood books like this? I would not recommend reading this unless you have already read Oryx and Crake.

Chicken Chili [11/03/2009]

Chicken Chili

1 jar Trader Joe's salsa verde
1 4 oz can green chili chopped
1 pkg (approx. 5 to 6) boneless, skinless organic chicken thighs
1 14 oz can white beans drained
1 fresh jalapeno chopped
1 medium white onion chopped
1 fresh anaheim chili chopped

Fill a large stock pot with water and chicken thighs. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a strong simmer for 1/2 hour. Remove chicken and let it cool for 5 minutes while you rinse the pot. Cut the chicken into bite size pieces. Add it back into the pot along with all the other ingredients except for the beans. Cook on medium heat until the onions and peppers are soft. Add the beans and continue heating for another 5 or 10 minutes. Serve over rice.

(I altered a recipe by Fluttering in Fremont, CA)

Finished The Next Fifty Years: Science in the First Half of the Twenty First Century [10/27/2009]

I find speculating on the future to be at times fun, terrifying, worrisome, hopeful, inspiring, and sometimes even funny. This edge.org book contains only 25 essays. I wished it was like some of the other ones with more entries. Most of the topics covered are physics, technology, biology, and psychology. There wasn't any discussion of government, politics, ecology, social trends, or economics. I'd like to see Brockman do another book on the future, incorporating a wider range of subjects.

Finished What Have You Changed Your Mind About? Today's Leading Minds Rethink Everything [9/17/2009]

This is another interesting edge.org compilation of essays by scientists across several disciplines. I think it's cool to see so many people demonstrating their open-mindedness and willingness to change their mind. It makes me wish I wasn't always so stubborn.

Finished What's Your Dangerous Idea? Today's Leading Thinkers on the Unthinkable [9/11/2009]

This edge.org compilation is much longer than previous books, and includes over 80 different essays. While I enjoyed the breadth of topics covered here, a would have liked if some of them were longer and more detailed. It's pretty interesting to see how varied people's ideas are about what is and isn't dangerous. I respect these contributors for being willing to publicly voice their dangerous ideas, knowing that they might stir up controversy and un-wanted attention. One of my personal favorites from this book was Daniel Dennett's "There Aren't Enough Minds to House the Population Explosion of Memes".

Finished The Extended Phenotype [9/03/2009]

I found The Extended Phenotype to be a very enjoyable and thought provoking read. Some of the arguments presented in it are difficult, especially if you are not well versed in evolutionary biology. It is definitely the most technical book Dawkins has written for the general public. The Selfish Gene is required reading prior to tackling this one, as it is pretty much a sequel. The small print also makes it slow going.

This book inspired me to think about the evolution of consciousness. More on that later..

Finished Shaman Winter [8/22/2009]

This is more of a shaman themed novel than a mystery. I liked it a little bit better than Zia Summer. It has all the same nice desert imagery, plus some new and interesting characters. Sonny and Raven are both still annoying, but, Sonny's mentor don Eliseo is a believable and inspiring character. I also liked the genealogy and historical episodes. It doesn't seem like this series is improving much though, and I don't know if I'll bother reading the other two books.

Finished Zia Summer [8/17/2009]

Zia Summer is a fast paced murder mystery. I enjoyed Anaya's descriptions of Albuquerque. He makes me want to spend more time in New Mexico. However, I was somewhat disappointed overall with this book. The main character Sonny Baca can be annoying at times, especially when he is both bragging and guilty about his womanizing. Also, a lot of the secondary characters felt hollow. Despite the problems, I'll probably read the other three books in the series anyway.

Finished What We Believe but Cannot Prove: Today's Leading Thinkers on Science in the Age of Certainty [8/10/2009]

This is the second John Brockman edited, Edge.org collection that I've read. It was much easier to get through than The Third Culture, because most of the essays are very short. The range of topics was also much broader, including psychology and sociology as well as physics and math. Two of the entries that most interested me were those by Alex Pentland and Robert R Provine. Alex Pentland believes, "A very large part of our behavior is determined by mainly unconscious social signaling, which sets the context, risk, and reward structure within which traditional cognitive processes proceed." [pg 156] Similarly, Robert Provine believes that "we overestimate the conscious control of behavior" and "we vastly overestimate the amount of time that we are aware of our actions, whatever their cause." [pg 145] Their essays were interesting enough that I might attempt to overcome my fear of psychology research and go out and read their recent books: Provine's Laughter: A Scientific Investigation and Pentland's Honest Signals: How They Shape Our World.