Sand Shrimps

You know what people say about making a good first impression? Well, it turns out that leaving a good impression on someone is actually a pretty sound idea. This is especially true when in your in, say, the food business.

The other day mother and I were hanging around Scarborough and we decided to sit down at a small sushi restaurant called Hanabi Sushi. Hanabi Sushi is a quaint little plaza tucked into a corner of one of those chinese plazas that dot the Scarborough landscape, hehe. Anyways, this is a small little store that we visited; the interior is kinda small and cramped, and there isn't much room to manuever with the tables, wooden partitions and all that inside.

Like many other Japanese sushi joints, the fare they offer isn't very much different from those of other restaurants. You can find at Hanabi sushi the quintessential Japanese lunch box, or bento box that has many little compartments for different food items. At Hanabi sushi, there is also a lunch and all-day special menu where you can choose from a variety of yummy combos such as tempura and chicken teriyaki, spicy chicken, salmon teriyaki, chirashi, sushi, and alot more that I can't quite remember.

When you first sit down, you are given a menu with all of the aboved mention food items. At most restaurants. after ordering, there is a period of time where people chit-chat, often waiting anxiously for the food to arrive especially if you've been starving, and often this period of time can seem very long even though it may be but a few minutes. At Hanabi sushi however, they get right in on the act by serving up some appetizers for you.

First, you get your own little salad with orange-ish dressing which I'm sure you've seen at other restaurants, and some miso soup after that. After you're done with this, they give you even more appetizers (Chef's Service is what the waiter called it) after that! First they gave us some tempura sushi. Yeah, that's like pieces of shrimp tempura rolled up in rice and seaweed. And you know me, I love sushi, but I love tempura even more! So having these two together is really good thing... especially because you can't normally order that kind of sushi, at least where I go to eat. After this, you get a few pieces of crispy fried salmon, and not like the leftover head or neck parts, but like salmon belly, fried to a golden crisp and deliciously melt-in-your mouth kind of-ish! Also, they give you a small little bowl of porridge type stuff, which I was kind of surprised at just because I've never seen that kind of fare offered at a sushi joint. Nevertheless, my surprised sensation was a pleasant one. Later on when you finally get your meal, they may give you even more stuff, courtesy of "Chef's Service"; when I went there, it was a free eel hand roll! And you know hand rolls are those pretty big seaweed ice cream cones with some fish or whatever else on rice rolled up into an ice cream cone shape with seaweed, and so that was a pretty pleasant surprise as well.

My point here is that Hanabi sushi which would otherwise be another overpriced Japanese restaurant left a good impression as me as a first-time customer. And all that Chef's Service has made me think about coming again, and perhaps even telling people I know about it, which I am evidently doing as I type this. So, if you are in some sort of business that involves clients (ok nevermind almost ALL businesses involve clients at some point or stage), it could potentially pay off in the long run if you take the extra step, go the extra mile or simply take pains to make your client base comfortable, make them feel like they are appreciated, let them know you are thankful for their business, or whatever it is you decide to do. And if you don't think that it will pay off, think again. Because the only reason I'm writing this right now is because Hanabi sushi left me thinking "Hmm... that was a noteworthy meal", and now I am writing about it.

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U of T residences are small and nasty.

kamster

Do what makes you feel Good!

Another thing that I forgot to mention (actually, that's a lie, I just figured this out yesterday)... keeping your two hands locked (with thumbs and pinky/forefinger of either hand interlocked) helps alot too. For a while I was doing just fine without locking my hands together, but yesterday after having a dismal session at the driving range, my dad told me once again to do this. For me, it feels really unnatural locking my hands together when I grip the club, but I did it, and voila, I started hitting balls to 150 like that *snaps fingers*.

Again I have no idea if that will work for you... but who knows?

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Are backyard bonfires legal?

kamster

QQ Tips

I went to the golfing range two days ago and I realize that golfing isn't as easy as it was for me last year. I don't know why but I ended up re-learning all the basics from how to hold the club properly to where to stand. And now that I'm back I think I will just add a little something on how to improve your skills at the driving range:

It is essential that you find the perfect distance between you and the ball on the tee. This "sweetspot" may feel unnatural but you will find yourself hitting the ball alot more when you are standing at this ideal distance from the ball.

Yeah, I'm pretty nooby so this might not work for you. It's just that at the beginning, when I just stood at a distance that felt comfortable, I would keep missing the ball. Then I kept experimenting from that spot forwards and backwards until I found the place where I was able to hit the ball easiest. For me, this spot was slightly in front of the spot where I felt the most natural, the most comfortable. So in my case, it actually felt a bit weird from where I was standing, but I hit lots of balls from that spot. So just experiment a bit untill you've found that perfect distance. If you ask some golf pro, he'll probably cite some complex method or formula factoring in height and club length for this magic distance, but you could always just use trial and error, hehe.

I also went to play softball yesterday. It turns out I can throw and hit fine, but I need to work on my catching. Especially because the captains somehow decided that I would make a good outfielder.

kamster

Fireteam Bravo Go!

If you are someone who has always aspired to be a police man or law enforcement officer, or anyone else who simply wants to look and feel great, LA Police Gear is a great company to purchase real tactical gear, similar to what real police officers use!

LA Police Gear is a company on the web where you can purchase a large multitude of police and tactical gear such as footwear and boots, flashlights, holsters, pants, shirts, hats, bags, Luminox dive watches (the kind U.S. Navy Seals use) and even handcuffs! They've got everything you might want to (legally) purchase! Of course, what is listed here is just a tiny fraction of what they offer on their site. Visit them to browse the full catalogue.

What I like best about LA Police Gear is all the free stuff! By this I mean free hats, free shipping, free coffee mugs, free knives, and so on and so forth. Where else can you get so much more for your money when purchasing tactical gear? So do yourself a favor and visit LA Police Gear today.

kamster

Hit the Windshield

Summer is upon us in full swing. The flowers are blooming, the mercury is rising and our skin is boiling as we head into mid-summer. I'm pretty sure the longest day of the year is coming up some time soon?

Anyways, I haven't had many chances to get out of the house during the winter, but now that the weather is going so good, one particular sport has my attention again: GOLF!

Yes, many view golf as a sport for old, poorly dressed "old chaps", but this is simply a stereotype that stemmed from that fact that many old people did like to play this game with a clubs and white, dimpled balls. Some people don't consider golf a sport at all! The reality is however that more and more people are picking up this age-old game and discovering how satisfying it can be a ball with a stick!

Now me, I used to play lots of minigolf; it was easy to pick up and required little skill to be good at. Then I think one or two years ago, I went to a real driving range for the first time. After taking one of the beat-up drivers from the box, I stepped onto the green (I think that's what it's called) with a bucket of balls and put one on the tee. I took a step back, aligned myself with the ball and swing with all my might. Of course, I missed the ball by about three metres and ended up almost whacking myself in the head with the club on the backswing. So no, I was not born to play golf. Over the past couple times of going to the driving range though, I've gotten a bit better, I think :) and it's probably the result of some good advice from my dad and common sense. So I'm going to share with you some strategies of mine that I find are helpful in getting your club to connect with the ball that will hopefully improve your game (unless you already know what you're doing... then ignore me).

1. Make sure you have enough tees to last through your session. Nothing is more frustrating than having two buckets of balls left and realizing that you're out of tees. Unless you want to practice with the wedge, having tees with you is essential. Make sure you have more than just a few because breaking and losing tees is very common. Some driving ranges now have rubber stands that you can put balls on but at the same time, many don't.
2. Get a club that's the right size for you. You shouldn't get a club that's too long or you'll find yourself leaning forward to get it to be straight with the ground. On the other hand, if your club is too short, you'll be holding it too close to your body to get a good swing. I'm not really an expert on figuring out club sizes but just experiment the first few times you go driving to find out what feels comfortable for you.
3. Know the significance of how far in you push the tee into the ground (if at all). If you put the tee deep into ground, then your ball will obviously rest a little closer to the ground. I don't usually do this because I find it's too hard for me to hit the ball. Of course, if you are using a wedge, putting the tee in deeper might be a good idea. Even better, don't use a tee at all if you're practicing with the wedge. If you find you simply cannot hit that ball, raise the tee higher so that it sticks out of the ground a good 4 centimetres or so. This will make the ball much easier to hit.
4. Square your shoulders with the ball. What this means is that you should be facing the ball directly, either from the left or right (depending on whether you are left or right handed). The ball doesn't have to be right in the middle of your two legs, but your legs should form a line roughly aiming at where you want the ball to go (parallel to your trajectory); this way your swing will curve more naturally towards the ball... I think.
5. Bend your knees slightly and keep your back straight. If you've done kungfu, you'll know this is sort of like horse stance. Your knees should be bent a little bit but you shouldn't be leaning over like a sumo wrestler. If your upper body is straight then you should be fine for hitting that ball... usually when I forget about this I end up missing and hitting the grass or something (come to think about it... I end up doing that whether or not I keep this position or not xD).
6. Keep that position throughout your swing; don't arch up when you pull the club back or during your backswing. Doing this will usually cause you to misjudge the position of the ball on the tee. Especially if you're coming down during the middle of your swing, you might end up hitting the dirt a foot behind the ball instead of hitting the ball itself. And yes, it is VERY difficult (if you're a noob like me) to hit the ball square in the centre of your driver every single time.
7. Take a few "practice swings". By this I mean pull your club back and pretend you're doing a swing, but stop before you hit the ball (obviously). If you find that the middle of the head isn't matching up with where the ball is sitting on the tee, you know either your swing, position or club is "out of whack"... or whatever they say. Anyhow, make sure you correct this misalignment before you swing or you'll probably just miss the ball.
8. You don't need to swing that hard. Unless you're planning to join one of those long driving competitions (300+ yards? Are you KIDDING ME?), you don't need to swing as hard as you think you do to hit the ball far. I'm a pretty lean/skinny person, and without putting a lot of arm strength into the club, I've hit the ball almost two hundred yards. What matters most is that you hit the ball right in the middle of the head two get a straight shot, and your ball will FLY.
9. Ignore the rules. You know they have signs telling you not to pick up balls on the green? This rule is for two reasons: It lets dumb people know that walking out into the green while there are dozens of people hitting golf balls towards you is a foolish and potentially deadly thing to do. The second reason for this rule is to prevent people from picking up balls that have accidentally rolled a few feet in front of them onto the green. By putting this rule in place, people have to buy more balls to replace those they've lost and technically cannot pick up, even if they are within 5 paces of you. So be safe and use your head. If the ball has rolled down the slope (that exists at some driving ranges), don't rush down and take it, cus you might also be rushing towards a quick trip to the hospital. If it's right in front of you however, or anywhere on the green where the risk of you getting hit by a golf ball is very minimal, go cautiously, pick it up... and run back. This is not a good idea if there is some crazy dude next to you that is hitting balls left and right like mad.

That's all I can think of now, I might add more later. Just make sure you don't FOREget to wear sunscreen!

kamster

Frontrunner

Senator Barack Obama has finally clinched the democratic nomination:

"WASHINGTON – Barack Obama clinched the Democratic presidential nomination today, becoming the first black candidate to lead a major party into a campaign for the White House. Vanquished rival Hillary Rodham Clinton swiftly signalled an interest in joining the ticket as his running mate.

Obama arranged a victory celebration in St. Paul, Minn., at the site of this summer's Republican National Convention, an in-your-face gesture to Senator John McCain, who will be his opponent in the race to become the United States' 44th president.

The 46-year-old Obama outlasted Clinton in a historic campaign that sparked record turnouts in primary after primary, yet exposed deep racial and gender divisions within the party.

In a campaign of surprises, Clinton's comments about joining the ticket rated high.

According to one participant in an afternoon conference call among Clinton and members of the New York congressional delegation, Representative Lydia Velasquez said she believed the best way for Obama to win over Hispanics and members of other key voting blocs would be to take Clinton as his running mate.

"I am open to it," Clinton replied, if it would help the party's prospects in November, said the participant, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the call was a private matter.

Obama sealed his victory based on primary elections, state Democratic caucuses and delegates' public declarations as well as support from an additional 22 delegates and "superdelegates" who privately confirmed their intentions to The Associated Press. It takes 2,118 delegates to clinch the nomination."

You know, we all saw this coming. There really wasn't any doubt that this would happen, especially in the past few months where support for Obama had been increasing steadily while Clinton's attack ads against Obama were simply not convincing voters. Perhaps Obama's "no dirty politics" policy was a good one.

It's partially true too; by fighting against each other in this race, the public's image of the democratic party has been dirtied up. I say it's best to just combine won delegates and throw all support behind one candidate instead of fighting through all the democratic primaries to determine Obama or Hilary.

Hmm... Wikipedia hasn't update yet, I've always wondered how quickly they update their pages after a major event like this?

kamster