Mike Oren.com

My niece, Brooke, has her birthday (she's turning 2) next weekend, and I'll be in the Chicago area for that and more than likely won't be doing an update to my site that weekend. As for what's been going on since the last update, the IRB has finally been improved and I can now finally begin conducting the user study once we finalize the script for our procedure and make some final updates to the program. My other research project is also going well, while I was working on my audio game project an undergrad that's working on the geology project with me wrote the C++ code I needed in C++ to get the color of the texture at the contact points, so I've now written some preliminary code that utilizes that to adjust the friction levels and play a different sound via a JAVA program.

Outside of research and such, I've found myself missing Danielle more and more. We've been dating for over 3 years and in total we've spent about a year of that time apart (with me in various internships, graduating a semester early, and now being in grad school). I often say it's not a big deal to me, that I just get caught up in work and don't think about how much I miss her, which is partially true. While I'm working I focus on work, but as working all the time isn't good for social, mental, or physical health there are plenty of times when I find myself just thinking about Danielle and missing her. When I'm in bed at night I find myself sad that I can't give her a kiss good night and when I'm out shopping I find myself wishing she were with me, especially when I find something I think she might like (or something I think we can both make fun of together). I mean, sure we talk online and on the phone just about every day, and we've recently taken to mailing letters or cards to one another about once a week. Still though that's not the same, and I am greatly looking forward to seeing her in mid-October when she'll be on fall break and visiting me here in Ames. Until then though, I guess I'll just be content reading her letters over and over again and smiling at the sheets full of kisses she sends me.

Quick announcement, MikeOren.com is now 1 year old, so to celebrate I'm giving out my "ultra top secret semi-world famous finger lickin' good northern fried chicken" recipe (that I just came up with a few weeks ago--it was a matter of having flour, wanting to use it, but unsure what to use it for). So without further ado, here's the recipe:

Place flour in bowl
Add preferred seasoning (I recommend a decent amount of black pepper, garlic powder/salt, Jacob Dean's Smokey Chipotle, Onion Powder, some cumin powder, and a dash of cinnamon)
Pour vegetable oil into a large frying pan (that has a lid) and put the stove at about medium heat
Place the chicken in the flour mixture and make sure to cover the chicken pieces completely
Place the chicken piece(s) into the pan and place the cover on the pan
After about 5 minutes, flip the chicken piece(s) over and cook the other side
After another 5 minutes take the chicken out and roll it around the flour mixture (to make it extra crispy)
Cook each side for another 5 minutes
Bon Appetite

Those directions aren't exact, but they're "close enough". I made this for my mom, grandma, and little brother and they all enjoyed it (and my grandma is a person who normally doesn't like ANYTHING that she didn't make herself, but she wanted my mom to get the recipe from me because she enjoyed my chicken recipe). So enjoy the recipe, and play around with the spices so you have something that works for you. Also note that this should be done in a deep pan and flipping the chicken and with a liquid oil (instead of something like Crisco) as this will make the chicken more tender and I think makes the breading a little better as well (even if it takes slightly longer).

As for things going on in my life, I had my first presentation in grad school, which I think went alright. Not as nicely as I would have liked, but considering some drama that occurred a few days before I had to give the presentation that made preparing for it slightly difficult, I think it all turned out fairly nicely and with just the normal nervousness that is entailed with speaking in front of a group of people (with cameras pointed at you). Research is also going fairly well, although I've reshifted my focus toward the audio game as more work is now necessary to properly prepare for the user study.

If anybody's interested (besides Danielle) my last name before it was shortened by my grandfather or great grandfather was Orzeszynski. I prefer the much shorter "Oren", which also balances nicely and symmetrically with "Mike", but Danielle seems to prefer the longer Orzeszynski. What does everybody else think? Write your thoughts in the comments section. And Danielle, don't flood the comment section with posts in favor of Orzeszynski... I love you, honey :-*