Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Read: How to Build Wealth with Your 401k

Title: How to Build Wealth with Your 401k: Everything You Need to Know to Become More Than a Millionaire Over the Course of Your Working Lifetime

Author: Steve Merritt

Comment:
This book is too basic to be useful to anyone but the very beginners. Even for someone who is just starting out, it doesn't offer much.

Merritt tries to do two things in How to Build Wealth with Your 401k: 1. convince readers that 401k is a good way to build a retirement nest egg; 2. give out some definitions on the fundamentals of investing. Now, if someone bothered to read this book at all, then I am assuming he or she is already convinced about the long term benefits of 401k. In other words, this person doesn't need additional arguments to sway him/her over. As for the glossary, one can get that in millions of places.

The book is easy to read, but don't expect too much from it.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Konnyaku

Recently I started using konnyaku (konjac in English) in my cooking. Where I live it is sold in the form of either a pale white or a mottled grey jelly-like substance. The taste is nothing to speak of, as konjac really just soak up flavors from the rest of the dish, but I really like its smooth texture. And it is chewy.

Here are excerpts from the Baidu encyclopedia entry:
Different Chinese Names for konnyaku
蒟蒻(学名:Amorphophalms konjac),又称蒟蒻芋,俗称魔芋、雷公枪、菎蒟,中国古代又称妖芋,自古以来蒟蒻就有“去肠砂”之称, 日本又称菎蒻,又名蒻头(开宝本草)、鬼芋(图经本草)、花梗莲(江西新建)、虎掌(江西万年)、花伞把(江西定南)、蛇头根草(江西丰城)、花杆莲、麻芋子(陕西)、野磨芋、花杆南星、土南星(江西)、南星、天南星(广西河池)、花麻蛇(云南思茅),多年生宿根性块茎草本植物
  魔芋AnorphophalluskonjacK.Koch,以球状块茎入药。夏秋采挖,除去地上茎叶及须根,洗净,阴凉处风干。 性味归经:辛,寒。有毒。
  
Medicinal Properties
功能主治:消肿散结,解毒止痛。用于肿瘤,颈淋巴结结核;外用治痈疖肿毒,毒蛇咬伤。
用法用量:3~5钱,大量可以用至1两(须煎3小时后方能服用);外用适量,捣烂敷患处。
备注:(1)同属植物尚有下列两种同供药用。花杆莲(花麻蛇)AmcrphophallusrivieriDurieu;蛇枪头AmorphophallusdunniiTutch.。
摘录:《全国中草药汇编》

魔芋是一种多年生草木植物。地下块茎为扁球形,个大,叶柄粗壮,园柱形,淡绿色,有暗紫色
斑,掌状复叶,生长在疏林下,具有散毒、养颜、通脉、降压、减肥、开胃等多功能。

据《本草纲目》记载,2000多年前我们的祖先就用魔芋来治病。魔芋含有十六种氨基酸,十种矿物质微量元素和丰富的食物纤维,对防治结肠癌、乳腺癌有特效;魔芋低热、低脂、低糖,对预防和治疗肥胖症,高血压,糖尿病的人群可以说是一种上等的既饱口福、又治病健体的食品,还可以防治多种肠胃消化系统的多种常见慢性疾病,由此可见,魔芋是一种“天赐良药”,食用起来有百利而无一害。

Main Uses:
Swelling reduction, pain alleviation, and pain reduction. Internal ingestion can help in the cases of tumors or tuberculosis of cervical lymph nodes. Topical application treats carbuncles, boils and snake/bug bites.

According to Chinese medicines, konjac is a basic substance (as opposed to acidic) that can detoxify the body, improve complexion, reduce blood pressure, and stimulate appetite.
Here is another FAQ compiled by a Japanese person (this person also offered from recipes which are not included here. Frankly, I am not sure if Chinese eat konjac in the same gelatinous form):

The quintessential Japanese foods that (may) help you lose weight, are konnyaku and shirataki. Both are made from the same substance, the corm of the konnyaku or konjac plant, also known as the Devil's Tongue plant. Shirataki is also known as konnyaku noodles, to further confuse things, but I prefer to call it shirataki, which means "white waterfall". It's basically konnyaku shaped like long thin noodles.

Konnyaku is about as close to a zero-calorie food as you can get. No wonder, since it's about 97% water. The remaining 3% is mostly fiber in the form of a viscous substance called glucomannan, plus some traces of protein, starch and minerals like calcium. It's the glucomannan that makes it so interesting as a weight loss food though. A big block of konnyaku has about 10 calories, but it's very filling. It's long been called a 'broom for the stomach' (胃のほうき) in Japan because of that.

While there are several kinds of konnyaku available in Japan, outside of Japan we can usually only get ita konnyaku, basic slabs of konnyaku. Some konnyaku are white and translucent, and some are grey. Transclucent/white konnyaku is plain konnyaku made from dessicated konnyaku powder, while the grey kind is usually grey because of the addition of a powdered seaweed called arame.

True konnyaku made from raw ground up konnyaku corms, called nama-konnyaku(raw konnyaku), is actually quite grey, and the seaweed-added grey industrial konnyaku is meant to look like that. (It's still made in some areas of Saitama prefecture and other places. My mother is from Saitama and I remember those grey, rather rough konnayku showing up a lot for dinner at my grandmother's house.) Other types of konnyaku mostly seen just in Japan include sashimi konnyaku, which is konnyaku with various flavorful additives in it like powdered nori or citrus skin (mostly yuzu, but other citrus too), ito konnyaku, thick noodle-shaped konnyaku similar to shirataki but slightly thicker, and tama konnyaku, ball-shaped konnyaku. This Japanese page on a konnyaku manufacturer's site has pictures of these.

There is very little difference in flavor or texture between industrial white and grey konnyaku, so it's mostly a matter of aesthetics. I like the grey kind myself, but that's probably because I grew up eating the real grey kind.

Konnyaku itself has very little flavor. It's the texture that will either be interesting or completely off-putting to the eater. It's gelatinous and firm, rather like agar-agar (kanten) but firmer and a bit rubbery. Since it has little flavor of its own, and because it's almost all water, it takes on the flavor of whatever it's cooked in. So, if the texture is okay for you you can add it to all kinds of food for the added almost-no-calorie bulk to fill up those spaces in your belly.

Shirataki has been getting some attention in the U.S. recently because it's noodle-shaped, and there seems to be this obsession with finding noodle and pasta-shaped food that isn't so high in calories and carbs as the real thing, like spaghetti squash strands (which are nothing like pasta either). A lot of people are disappointed when they actually try the shirataki because the texture is nothing like pasta and noodles made from flour. But again - it's a matter of getting used to it perhaps.

[Edit:]Note that there is something called "Tofu Shirataki" or "Noodle Tofu" sold byHouse Foods America - this is made from tofu and konnyaku yam. It's a little bit higher in calories. They're not the shirataki I'm talking about here, which are called "Yam Shirataki" or "Yam Noodles" - these say they have 5 calories or so per 100g. "Tofu Shirataki" is not very traditional, but shirataki has been around for centuries. You can however use "Tofu Shirataki" in most recipes that call for plain shirataki.

I happen to like konnyaku better than shirataki, because shirataki is often so thin that it's almost not there. Konnyaku is substantial enough to get your teeth into.

More recent konnyaku innovations include sweet konnyaku jellies, chewy gummy-like konnyaku chips, and grain shaped konnyaku to mix in with rice so that you are fooled into thinking you're eating rice while taking in less calores.

How to prepare konnyaku and shirataki for cooking


Both konnyaku and shirataki come packed in water - no wonder, since they are mostly water anyway. Open the package in a bowl or over the sink. The water will smell a odd; drain it all away. Drain away the liquid in the bag, rinse the konnyaku or shirataki briefly under cold running water, then blanch in boiling water for about a minute, or until the water comes up to a boil and drain well before using. This step cannot be missed, or that 'odd' flavor will linger on your konnyaku or shirataki! If you can let the konnyaku or shirataki sit for a while to dry out more, it will taste better.

Shirataki may need to be cut up into manageable lengths. Konnyaku can either be cut up into cubes or slices, or torn apart into rough chunks with your hands. The torn chunks are good for putting into soups or stews, since the rough surfaces help to absorb more flavor. For stir-frying, sautéeing and such the cubes or chunks allow for more surface to be in contact with the hot pan.

The longer konnyaku cooks, the more it takes on flavors. It's really like a sponge in that sense.

The easiest way to try konnyaku is to put some small pieces into a well flavored soup or stew. Putting some chunks into miso soup is a good place to start - just be sure to cook the konnyaku in the dashi stock for a while, so the flavors can penetrate. Traditionally shirataki is put into sukiyaki and mizutaki, both of which are flavorful sort of stews. It's also put into small bags made from fried tofu (aburaage) which are put into an oden, another kind of stew with lots of fish cakes, root vegetables and so on in it.

Some caveats

Since konnyaku is almost zero-calorie, high fiber and very filling. But since it has no significant nutrients other than fiber, be sure not to overuse it. A well known Japanese journalist and writer in the 1960s called Soichi Ohyake was rumored to have died of malnutrition after attempting to lose weight by eating excessive amounts of konnyaku!

If you're serving konnyaku to kids (if they'll eat it...) make sure that the pieces are small enough, and that they chew it well, before attempting to swallow. This was a problem a few years ago with sweet konnyaku jellies that could get stuck in the throat - since konnyaku is so glutinous it was considered to be a choking hazard. (Konnyaku jellies nowadays are manufactured in smaller or different shapes to avoid this, but they have been banned in the United States and Canada.)

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Mercury Contamination in Tuna

Natural Resources Defense Council provides the following table to guide people who regularly consume tuna:
If you weigh:Don't eat more than one can every:
White AlbacoreChunk Light
20 lbs10 weeks3 weeks
30 lbs6 weeks2 weeks
40 lbs5 weeks11 days
50 lbs4 weeks9 days
60 lbs3 weeks7 days
70 lbs3 weeks6 days
80 lbs2 weeks6 days
90 lbs2 weeks5 days
100 lbs2 weeks5 days
110 lbs12 days4 days
120 lbs11 days4 days
130 lbs10 days4 days
140 lbs10 days3 days
150+ lbs9 days3 days
Source: Food and Drug Administration test results for mercury and fish, and the Environmental Protection Agency's determination of safe levels of mercury.

Additional information from FDA: http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodSafety/Product-SpecificInformation/Seafood/FoodbornePathogensContaminants/Methylmercury/ucm115662.htm

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Watched: Forget Me Not

Genre: Horror
Year: 2009
Director: Tyler Oliver

I watched Forget Me Not because someone said it was one of the best 2009 horror flicks.

It really wasn't.

Horror movies that rouse genuine fear connect to the audience in some way. It can be visually shocking (Juon) or contain enough reality to be convincing (The Eye). Even if the plot follows twisted logic and crazy premises, as long as it actually adheres to its own propositions, I am OK. This movie, however, sorely lacks that kind of "credibility."

The main character Sandy Channing and her friends are just some typical high school seniors in a small town. The place is mundane. The people are mundane. Save for the ghost, everything is very normal. Then this spirit comes on the scene, and voila, she not only physically attacks Sandy and clique but also alters the entire reality, i.e. the house where a party was held few nights prior now looks totally run down or parents who forget they have another child. Suddenly I feel like I am watching Butterfly Effect except Forget Me Not is much worse because it made no make provisions for god-like power. Never thought I would say this for a horror movie, but, yes, the director was really stretching his story.

The ghosts' appearance did not improve matters either. Obvious influence from Asian horror films aside, she and her entourage looked rather like teenagers dressing up goth and dancing at some Halloween party.

The movie also progressively got worse. In particular, Cody Linley as Sandy's brother Eli was unconvincing. The eagerness with which he latched onto Sandy's story was incredible. She told it in such a terse nonsensical way that I had a hard time believing her even after watching the film from the very beginning! At this point, I really started to wonder if the director madly wants to wrap his film up, and this was the first idea (bad one at that) to cross his mind.

I briefly entertained the idea that Sandy's other friends are fabricated, but if this were the case, why would the director show extended sequences about their deaths or their bed activities? Sandy apparently didn't have the pleasure to "witness" these developments, so the fictional sex and gore were just put in for the audience's sake? Somehow this sounds more lame to me than a ghost creating alternate realities.

I had high hopes for Forget Me Not and even like its seed idea. But the execution totally flopped.

Rating: 5.5 out of 10

Friday, September 3, 2010

Rachel's Birthday Video

Rachel's Birthday Video from Kristian Anderson on Vimeo.

A cancer patient made this video for his wife's birthday.