jesse crouch

The California burrito and the horseshoe (pictured above) are...

Fri, 18 May 2012 21:01:33 -0500

The California burrito and the horseshoe (pictured above) are the SAME THING :O

Cheese, bread, meat, french fries.

I recently made this observation while eating a California burrito (one of many that I’ve had since I’ve been in San Diego) and trying to figure out what it is I liked so much about it. After all, it is a bit odd to wrap fries with bread, isn’t it? Turns out that it’s just the San Diego version of one of my other favorite foods.

Even more interestingly is that they are both original dishes to their respective towns. It’s like a parallel universe. or something.

Photo

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 15:37:49 -0500

there will always be another chance things can always get better and we who thought we would live...

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 22:43:45 -0500

there will always be another chance
things can always get better

and we who thought we would live forever
galloped from pasture to pasture
nothing lasts, nothing lasts, we said
but then, some things do

Upload high resolution photos from Picasa to Facebook

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 19:48:00 -0500

I ran into the problem recently where the Facebook Picasa Uploader plugin doesn’t put up high-res images. I love this button in Picasa as it makes it really easy to share stuff. I like making albums with it and it’s easy to pick out which photos I want to share - great organizing software. But the low-res copies it uploads are really disappointing.

I’ve looked for all sorts of alternatives and nothing really seems to exist currently.

Solution:
- Hit the “Export” button in Picasa. This puts the ones you selected in their own folder.
- Upload photos to Facebook as normal
- Delete the folder when you’re done

And that’s probably just as easy as any alternative *could* be =)

No USPS mail in Rancho Santa Fe

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 01:06:13 -0500

The area in which I currently spend most of my time, Rancho Santa Fe, does not allow for delivery of mail by the United States Postal Service. Basically, there’s nowhere here to put the boxes and nobody wants them here anyway.

I have accomplished what Kramer could not. I have stopped the mail.

San Dieguito trail in Black Mountain Open Space Park

Sun, 01 Apr 2012 20:55:00 -0500

San Dieguito trail in Black Mountain Open Space Park

Philippines speedshow! 4 months, 2300 photos, 4 minutes.

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 21:21:15 -0500

Philippines speedshow! 4 months, 2300 photos, 4 minutes.

the more i shop for my no-kitchen lifestyle the more i realize that many people can’t cook. ...

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 19:38:01 -0500

the more i shop for my no-kitchen lifestyle the more i realize that many people can’t cook. never really thought about it before.

I made a video! 1400 photos in 3 minutes! Watch closely and you...

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 15:59:04 -0500

I made a video! 1400 photos in 3 minutes! Watch closely and you may see yourself - it’s of my trip across country.

Trying out an experimental artistic medium. SpeedShow is a high-speed slideshow made up of photos often taken in burst mode on a normal digital camera. The idea came as a result of looking through photos in Picasa while holding down the right arrow key and liking what I saw as the photos sped past.

The Show
========
The show is of my life for the past 3 months. I just got back from living in the Philippines and have been traveling around in my car since then, living with friends and family and out of hotel rooms. The show is made up of approximately 1400 photos.

Places seen in the show:
- Springfield, IL
- Cozy Dog
- John Crouch Giant Flea Market
- Charleston, MO
- St. Louis, MO
- City Museum
- Austin, TX
- Torchy’s Tacos
- Corpus Christi, TX
- West Texas
- White Sands National Monument, NM
- Saguaro National Park, AZ
- Yuma, AZ
- San Diego, CA
- Rancho Santa Fe, CA

Equipment
=========
Most photos were taken using a Samsung I9250 Galaxy Nexus smartphone. The phone features a zero-shutter-lag feature which is great for doing “burst” photography.

Credits
=========
Music: The Wailin’ Jennys - You Are Here
From their Bright Morning Stars album

Photos, video, editing, everything, blah blah blah: me, Jesse Crouch

How do you eat cheaply without cooking?

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 00:25:00 -0500

I’m in the unique situation of not having anything but a microwave for cooking at my new place. I do not have a freezer, only a refrigerator. It’s caused me to think about ways to continue to eat healthily, but still at a reasonable price. Currently I don’t consider my situation a disadvantage as much as I consider it a learning opportunity. Also, anymore I really hate cooking. I hate the time it takes, I hate doing dishes, I hate storing food, I hate buying ingredients, I hate the entire process. So this eating-without-cooking thing is great for me right now.

However, cooking for yourself is a very good way to live cheaply. A meal is something that happens for many people (in the United States) over 1000 times per year, so even budgeting an extra $1 per meal adds up. Eating $5 meals instead of $10 meals makes a huge difference for most people. With the median income in the US for persons over 25 being around $32,000 per year, adding $5 to the cost of your meal would be $5000 per year - 15.6% of a person’s income.

So what’s the next best thing?

So far I’ve found:
- Milk and Cereal. Cheap, nutritious if you get decent cereal. Compact and doesn’t take up room in my mini-fridge. Oatmeal is good too.
- Fruits generally don’t require even refrigeration and are cheap and nutritious.
- Grocery store sandwiches. Usually just as good, if not better than sandwich shops, and certainly cheaper. $4-5 for a sandwich that will easily last me two meals.
- Grocery store deli area foods. The cafeteria-style stuff is often nutritious and cheap. $5 will easily get you 2-3 meals. Often a good way to add cooked vegetables to my diet.
- Pre-prepared foods at the grocery store. No, not frozen meals. These ones are usually prepared by the grocery store themselves and you’ll find them refrigerated near the deli sections. Biggest advantage is that they’re diverse in the types of food in them, store well in a refigerator and taste a lot better than frozen meals. Disadvantage is that they’re expensive - $4-5 for a single meal that doesn’t stretch beyond that meal.
- Deals! My favorite category. At my local grocery store, Albertsons, they have a Monday special where you get: 8 piece fried chicken, 1lb potato wedges, 1lb potato salad, 4 rolls, 2L coke.. for $8. That’s easily 4 meals for me.
Nearby there is also a Rubio’s. The first time I tried them I thought they were overpriced, not that great Mexican food. However, on Tuesdays they have these wonderful fish tacos for $1.50. Three is a meal for me; I bought 8 last time and took them home.

Sidenote: if you drink soda, beer is slightly more macronutrient-healthy option in that it gives you a reasonable dose of protein. Plus, it’s funner =)

Sidenote 2: I have two of everything: bowls, plates, cups, forks, spoons (most of which I acquired at thrift stores). I do my dishes in a bathroom sink.

Sidenote 3: Being at the grocery store a lot gives you interesting social opportunities. I end up talking to a lot more people in my typical week by living this way. You can vary your social scene too. For example, at my Albertsons in Del Mar, despite the reasonable prices on food, most of their customers drive BMW, Mercedes and other luxury-class cars. If I go the other direction toward Encinitas and stop at Trader Joe’s, I’m surrounded by very suburban folks in minivans and SUVs.

Sidenote 4: I live in San Diego, CA. Prices are higher here than most other places I have lived. Per meal, I’d easily subtract $1 (about 20% of the cost of most of the meals I discuss) in much of the Midwest.

Anyone have tips on how to eat cheaply and healthily without cooking?

Ron Paul!

Sat, 17 Mar 2012 21:15:45 -0500

Ron Paul!

Grand canyon! It was below freezing here all day!

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 23:21:00 -0600

Grand canyon! It was below freezing here all day!

Joshua Tree National Park

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 01:49:00 -0600

Joshua Tree National Park

Alright, folks. It’s been 7 months now that I’ve...

Fri, 02 Mar 2012 02:49:09 -0600

Alright, folks. It’s been 7 months now that I’ve been living out of a suitcase; 20,000 miles, 2 countries, 3 islands, 5 states and countless towns sleeping on rented beds and floors. Huge thanks to family and friends who have let me stay with them for free along the way - you’ve all been way more than hospitable. Today I moved into a lovely apartment and have my first semi-permanent place in a long time here in San Diego, California. It’s been a fantastic journey, one that’s far from over, but I’m happy to finally have a place to call home. Wheew! what a trip. Come visit me if you’re out this way.

no legoland for me =(

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 10:00:06 -0600

There’s a Legoland here in San Diego!!
Deeply saddened that it’s built without adults in mind at all though =( Found this and a bunch of other similar reviews on Tripadvisor:

Our boys were 13 and 11 - huge Lego fans. The rides were generally too little for them but they loved Miniland, Xbox game space, Build and test, and shopping. We wish we would have visited here 3-4 years ago! This was a 3 hour excursion for them - no rides.

Legos were my #1 toy while growing up. I probably spent more time with them than I spent time in school.. haha.

Maybe I’ll find some kids to go with. hahah.

An update from San Diego, aka "Why does nobody do month-to-month leases"

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 23:57:33 -0600

I’ve been in San Diego for 1 week now. I’ve been looking for a semi-permanent place basically since the day I arrived and still have yet to find anything promising. Prices here are high ($700-1500/month for what I want) and my requirements for a place are limiting: large bedroom that I can fit a bed and a desk in (master bedroom, typically) + short term lease (3 months or less). The former is limiting, but the latter is the real killer. If I were willing to go to a 6 month lease, I could rent just about anything I wanted here… however I don’t know yet how long I will stay. Seems it doesn’t matter where you are in the world - nobody likes to rent short term.

I’ve been pondering an alternative which is to never rent long term and just hop from place to place, mostly via Airbnb. There are a few 1, 2, 3 neat ones here in San Diego, but I’m not sure there are enough “fun” ones to justify not having a space that I customize and can call home. Plus, doing that all the time adds up… $75/night = $2250/month.

Made it to San Diego! It’s so warm here. Think I will...

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 20:08:13 -0600

Made it to San Diego! It’s so warm here. Think I will probably stay awhile.

Cost of housing per day

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 03:37:00 -0600

I was talking with my dad on the phone tonight and we had a discussion about the cost of hotels, apartments and houses. One interesting finding for me was that I’ve always tried to do the “cost of housing” calculation by year - never looking at it from a monthly or daily perspective. This may make more sense for travelers, especially those working and traveling like me.

The rule generally goes “rent should be less than 1/3 of your gross (pre-tax) income”. This means if you make $30,000 per year, your rent should add up to no more than $10,000 per year = $834 per month = $28 per day.

Therefore, the cost of your hotel, motel or hostel should be that “per day” number - in this case, $28.

Interstate 10 at sunset

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 01:51:00 -0600

Interstate 10 at sunset

Traveled over 2000 miles since Illinois now!

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 01:45:32 -0600

Traveled over 2000 miles since Illinois now!