Some nice easy to follow recipes:
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Travel: “Hong Kong Strong”
Brando Li’s brilliant video of Hong Kong…
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Health: You better sit down
I have a very simple test I’d like you to try…
Sit down on the ground and then stand back up.
Sounds pretty easy, right?
There’s just one catch: You’ve got to do this without using your hands, arms, or knees for support.
Take as much time as you need. I suggest crossing your legs to lower slowly onto the ground, and to rise back to standing — you’ll have more control that way.
And every time you do need to use your hands, arms, or knees — make a note of it.
[ Note: If you’ve got balance issues or are prone to falls, this isn’t for you… definitely skip this test!]
Here’s what it looks like…
Sit down on the ground and then stand back up.
Sounds pretty easy, right?
There’s just one catch: You’ve got to do this without using your hands, arms, or knees for support.
Take as much time as you need. I suggest crossing your legs to lower slowly onto the ground, and to rise back to standing — you’ll have more control that way.
And every time you do need to use your hands, arms, or knees — make a note of it.
[ Note: If you’ve got balance issues or are prone to falls, this isn’t for you… definitely skip this test!]
Here’s what it looks like…
I’m sure you’re wondering what, if anything, we can learn from such an unusual “test.”
Well, a 2012 study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology 1 found that these basic physical skills — sitting down and standing up — were huge predictors of longevity.
The study followed over 2,000 men and women ages 50 through 80… and the first thing scientists did was perform a Sitting Rising Test (SRT) — the same test you just tried.
Here’s how they scored the SRT:
- Every participant started with a total of 10 points — 5 for sitting, 5 for rising.
- Every time a participant needed to use their hands, arms, or knees for support, they lost a point.
- A “10” is the best possible score — and a “0” is the WORST. (Scientists considered anything below a 7 to be cause for concern.)
Go ahead, try the test and keep score. You’ll want to know your SRT number…
Because scientists found that of the 159 people who died during the 6-year study, ALL BUT 2 OF THEM struggled on the SRT test — meaning they scored 7 or below.
But they also found that every single point increase in SRT scores led to a 21% improvement in survival. 1
What does that mean for you?
Well, if you scored high on that SRT test, congratulations! You’re most likely in great shape.
And if your score was on the low side, don’t worry — it’s possible to improve your results with just a few exercises:
1) Sitting & Standing:
Just repeating the test over and over again will help strengthen the muscles you need to sit and stand without assistance.
Try to use less support every time until you’re able to do it completely unsupported. (Again, if you’re at risk of falling or getting stuck on the ground, make sure someone is around to help out.)
2) Simple Squats:
Doing just a few squats a day can really help strengthen your leg muscles… and you don’t have to hit the gym to do it.
Simply take a seat in an imaginary “chair” from a standing position, then ease your way back up, in 3 sets of 10, every day. (I actually do this when I’m watching TV.)
3) Practice Planking:
A plank is like the top of a pushup — and when done right, it’s an INCREDIBLE core workout.
Focus on keeping your arms and back straight and your abs pulled in for maximum results… and try to hold it for as long as possible. If you can only hold it for a few seconds, that’s okay – you’ll find yourself getting stronger every time!
Those 3 simple exercises may not seem like much…but if you do them regularly, you’ll see a difference in your SRT score fast.
And you don’t have to spend hours working out, either, just five minutes a day: 2 minutes of squats, 1 minute of planks, 2 minutes sitting and standing.
And remember, every single point you can increase your SRT score could mean a huge boost to your longevity…
And that’s too important to ignore.
To great days ahead,
Dr. Bereliani
INGREDIENTS
- Chicken stock (with 4 smashed ginger slices and 2 whole scallions) enough to cover chicken, usually about 4 cups or more
- Whole chicken1 (ideally 3 lb) – washed, loose fat removed and set aside
- Ginger – enough for four thick unpeeled slices for stock and at least 3 TBSP peeled & grated for sauce, about 4-5” knob
- Scallions – 2 whole for stock and at least 3 TBSP of minced white part w/ a touch of the light green part minced, for colour, about 1 bunch
- Grapeseed or avocado oil – almost 4 TBSP, enough to mix with desired quantity of ginger/ scallions (equal parts) to make a paste, roughly about 2/3 of the amount of ginger/ scallion
- Salt
DIRECTIONS
- Wash chicken, remove anything loose inside, pat dry and rub with salt. After 5 minutes rinse off salt and leave chicken to drain.
- Bring stock with ginger slices and scallions to boil.
- Lower chicken gently into boiling stock to cover, breast side up
- Reduce heat to medium and bring stock with chicken back to rolling boil, in uncovered pot. (Gentler heat is better – more tender – and will require less standing time in the liquid off the burner afterwards).
- Turn off heat (not remove from) and keep covered and undisturbed for 30 – 60 mins
- Check after 30 mins by inserting skewer into thigh – it’s done when the small puncture draws clear liquid (or to temp of 165° – which is too much for chicken breast in my opinion)
- Remove bird from pot (with wooden spoon inserted into cavity so as not to break the skin), rub skin with sesame oil and place in freezer2 for ten minutes to stop cooking process.
- Transfer to cutting board and remove the back by cutting with poultry shears up either side of the tail (set aside for private nibbling or to add to mother stock – I always eat the tail, yum!). Slice off legs and wings, and split breast in half, before cutting all cleanly Chinese style, with a cleaver.3
- Lay out on platter in the shape of a whole, flattened chicken. Serve with finely trimmed green part of scallions (slightly curled)* and with dipping sauce. Your chicken may have a slight pink tint to it which is normal – it IS cooked! If this grosses out your guests, cook it longer in the poaching liquid.
- Reserve (freeze) stock for next time – the richer it gets, the more flavour for your chicken, until you want to use your stock for soup!
- Use (freeze) reserved chicken fat for cooking rice or stir frying vegetables – yumm!
Dipping Sauce:
- Grate 4 or finely mince peeled ginger and white part of scallions (1:1 ratio) with small amount of light green part for colour, and place in heatproof bowl. Do by hand for the right texture or if you are good with the food processor, pulse the mixture carefully to avoid excess liquid or becoming mushy.
- Heat oil until almost smoking, and then pour into minced ginger/ garlic mixture and mix well. (I prefer to do this rather than sautéing the mix, however briefly, because I don’t want to cook them, just warm them and release the flavours.)
- Stir in enough salt to make sauce more than seasoned
1As we prefer dark meat I just use chicken thighs if it is just for us; the only real reason to use a whole chicken would be cost and to recreate the whole chicken on the platter
2 prefer to do this rather than the usual method of putting into an ice bath, to avoid stripping the chicken of any flavours absorbed during cooking.
3To avoid slippage, bone splintering and flying chicken from ill placed cuts, I position the cleaver at the cut location and hit with a rubber mallet.
4Grating the ginger rather than finely mincing it is more of a hassle but extremely rewarding in taste as the finer texture allows for more subtle and integrated flavour
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Olympus EM10 Mark II tips
Robin Wong’s Cheat Sheet
[Camerlab tips here]
Tips by Travis
Electronic Shutter
The EM10 Mark II offers mechanical shutter range from 60 seconds to 1/4000 and the shutter sound itself is a satisfying click that’s not too loud. By default the EM10 II employs a mechanical curtain at the front and end of exposures.
If you prefer complete silence you can enable the Electronic Shutter option, indicated by a heart icon on the Drive menu. In addition to operating silently, the electronic shutter extends the maximum shutter speed to 1/16000, giving you two more stops of exposure control over the mechanical shutter – handy if you’re shooting with large apertures under bright conditions or want to freeze the fastest action.
Electronic shutters are great for silence and avoiding vibrations, but due to the readout speed of most sensors, they’re not suitable when the subject – or camera – are in motion as the image can suffer from undesirable skewing artefacts – something I noticed on the EM10 II with only modest motion. They can also suffer from banding under some artificial lighting, but if you’re careful they can still prove useful in discreet environments.
Anti-Shock Shutter
Like the EM1, there’s also a variety of Anti Shock options which employ an electronic first-curtain shutter and a variety of delays to reduce the potential impact of the shutter causing unwanted vibrations. The shortest delay is zero seconds, which makes the Anti Shock mode practical for normal handheld use.
Note the Anti Shock mode can still suffer from skewing artefacts if the camera or subject are moving at speed (something I confirmed myself), so Olympus only offers it up to speeds of 1/320. Beyond this, shutter shock is no longer a big issue so the camera reverts to its mechanical shutter to avoid any potential artefacts. Ultimately like the full electronic shutter, I’d recommend experimenting with Anti Shock under a variety of situations to see where it could work for you and where the benefit is out-weighed by potential artefacts.
Focus Bracketing
Once enabled, the Focus Bracketing mode switches the EM10 II to high speed capture and the electronic shutter. It starts at the current focus position and gradually focuses further away during the sequence, so you have to ensure you’re initially focused on the nearest part of the subject rather than its middle. A typical 100-frame burst takes about three seconds and during the capture you’ll see the band of focus gradually receding into the distance, hopefully reaching the end of your subject; some trial and error will be necessary. Also note the electronic shutter can be susceptible to banding from artificial lighting if you’re using shutters that aren’t evenly divisible by their frequency. Probably more annoying though is the fact you can’t trigger the process using a self-timer or over Wifi from the app, so to avoid touching and wobbling the camera you’ll need to use a cable release accessory.
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Reivew: Kitzuki Ramen (formerly Kukai)
Kitzuki Ramen is currently my favorite Portland area ramen place. Click on below for photos and comments:
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Film: Ricki’s Promise
On Sunday, 4/17/16 at 2pm, Bamboo Room, Philanthropy Center, NWCC screens a touching documentary on Chinese American identity; and an adopted daughter’s bittersweet reunion with biological parents in China. Q&A with the films director via Skype follows.
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Review: EC Kitchen
Jan V. and I ventured to EC Kitchen, a Taiwanese restaurant, next door to Chinese Delicacy. EC Kitchen is known for unadorned, clean, non-greasy Taiwan style food. We arrived at noon, and saw a single fellow diner, who had ordered beef noodle soup enhanced with tomato. It looked very hearty, but neither one of us felt hungry, and decided to order appetizers from their nice photo menu.
Chewy tofu and steamed buns:
Scallion pancakes:
Taiwan style sweet sausage (options: spicy sausage & Cantonese style):
Chive pocket:
Pork belly bun with pickled veggies and cilantro:
Turnip cake is not pictured, but very good.
We enjoyed the shared appetizers, and rate it a JV “2”; and probably a “3” for well prepared and healthier food. We need to return and try some of their entrees. The beef shank noodle soup sounds good. Their signature items (preservative free sausage, beef shank, and turnip cake) are available in refrigerated units for take out.
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Food and Health
Here’s some resources I’ve found as useful reminders of connection between food and health:
Harvard’s Healthy Eating Plate