Clever Ways to Use a Blender

 

DevonBerry is a nursing professional residing in Happy Valley, Oregon with his family. He last served as the executive associate dean at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) School of Nursing, and prioritizes health in his everyday life. 

 

One healthy drink Devon Berry and his family like to make is a green smoothie. A blender is the appliance of choice for cold, creamy smoothies, but that’s not the only thing it’s good for. Apart from making soups or purees, there are even more clever ways to use a blender that makes the bladed device a must-have for every kitchen.

 

Homemade tea

You can use your favorite herbs, flowers, and spices such as lavender, ginger, lemon peel, and chamomile to blend a nice tea. Mix and match about three different ingredients with water, strain, heat, and enjoy.

 

Flour

A blender can double as an oversized food processor. Pulse oats into oat flour, almonds into almond meal, or stale bread into breadcrumbs.

 

Dressing

Salad dressing can run up to $7 a bottle with ingredients you likely have at home such as oil and vinegar. With a blender, you can make homemade dressing at a fraction of the cost that comes together in seconds. Try a simple lemon dijon dressing with olive oil, lemon juice, dijon mustard, salt, pepper, and garlic.

3 Wildlife Photography Tips for All Skill Levels

Having recently completed his MBA at Western Governors’ University, Devon Berry hasover 20 years of experience as a healthcare professional. He last served as the executive associate dean at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) School of Nursing, following leadership roles at University of Cincinnati, Wright State University, and Cedarville University. Outside of academia, Devon Berry likes to work on his hobbies, including photography.

 

Photography offers many challenges by way of equipment and jargon, but subjects can pose their own set of obstacles--especially wildlife. While the art of capturing animals is ever-evolving, there are a few wildlife photography tips for all skill levels that hold true no matter what:

 

Plan and Have Patience

The hardest part of photographing wildlife is getting close to your subject. Depending on what animal you’d like to photograph—such as a bird, deer, or rabbit—their habits should dictate when and where you set up. What time of day do they like to go out? Where are they most likely to be found? Once you have that settled, have patience—unlike human and inanimate subjects, you can’t direct them or manipulate their environment in any way.

 

Get a Mix of Detailed and Pulled Back Shots

When capturing the character of the animal you are shooting, often what comes to mind is detailed shots to get their expressions and body language. Telephoto zoom lenses (though expensive) are great for this, as they allow you to get tight shots at a distance. However, it’s important not to overlook the importance of their habitat. To get a sense of place, take some pictures that are further away using a wide-angle lens. That way you get a well-rounded look at the animal and how it interacts with its environment.

 

Shoot at the Subject’s Level

While shooting from above can capture an interesting angle, by getting eye-level with your subject, you can get detailed shots with a better bokeh effect—where the background is softly out of focus. That may mean some uncomfortable situations such as climbing a tree or hiding in a bush, but if you’re up for it, it may have a nice payoff.

 

3 Causes of Blurry Photos and How to Avoid Them

 

DevonBerry is a nursing professional living in the Pacific Northwest. He most recently served as executive associate dean at Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) School of Nursing after holding executive leadership roles at University of Cincinnati, Wright State University, and Cedarville University. In his spare time, Devon Berry likes to practice photography.

 

While a fun and joyful hobby, photography can lead to a few frustrations, such as blurry photos. The reason for blurry photos are typically the same—the camera is out of focus—but many things can cause that to happen. What’s more, once you do have a blurry photo, there is little you can do to fix it apart from spending hours on Photoshop. Fortunately, there are preventative ways to stop the shake. Below are three causes of blurry photos and how to avoid them.

 

Shaky Hands

Whether you have the jitters or your arms are getting tired from holding the camera, you can choose a high shutter speed, such as 1/125^th, to reduce motion blur. If you prefer to take your hands out of the equation, affix your camera to a tripod and activate the shutter via remote or timer.

 

Moving Subject

If you’re taking pictures of a moving subject such as athletes at a basketball game or a car speeding past, try setting your autofocus to continuous so the camera maintains focus as you press the shutter. You can also try burst mode on the camera so the speed of the shutter matches the speed of your subject.

 

Insufficient Light

Sometimes when there is not enough light, the camera’s autofocus system won’t work properly. Add light to continue using autofocus. Alternatively, if you are focusing manually through a viewfinder, check the dioptric adjustment wheel to make sure you’re accurately seeing a clear image through the viewfinder.

Stand-Out Portland Food Carts

 Devon Berry, RN, PhD, has served in executive leadership roles in academics for over
ten years. He has worked in the Midwest, at University of Cincinnati and Wright State
University, and has lived in the Pacific Northwest the last five years, most recently
acting as executive associate dean at Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU)
School of Nursing in Portland, Oregon.
 

Portland, a city whose unofficial slogan is “Keep Portland Weird” has many unique
traits, including its food cart scene. According to Travel Portland, there are over 600
food cart pods spread across the rose city. Many act as incubators for restaurateurs to
try new dishes or for chefs to keep overhead costs lower than at a brick and mortar.
Regardless, you’re likely to find exciting food that you can’t find anywhere else at a
reasonable price. Three stand-out Portland food carts, below.

Matta

There are a handful of Vietnamese restaurants across the city, but this cart on NE
Alberta doubles down on comfort. The small, four-item menu has warm dishes like Thit
Kho, with coconut and caramel-braised pork belly and Bà Nôi with thin-sliced steak,
cilantro, scallion, fries and rice.

Nacheaux

This teal cart with a rainbow-haired unicorn painting on its side is the newest of the
bunch, opening in Southeast Portland March 2020. If its exterior is any indication, the
food is playful and creative—a mix of Southern and Mexican styles. Try the crawfish
taco and the Nacheaux Crunch Wrap with Cajun-fried chicken and dirty rice. 

Matt's BBQ

While you can find many BBQ styles represented in Portland’s food cart scene, this Guy
Fieri-approved spot off N Mississippi is the place to go for Texas style. It’s best to try
everything from the brisket to the turkey, so get The Whole Shebang for Two (which can
feed 3-4 smaller appetites) that includes three meats, beans, potato salad, slaw, and
toast.

Devon Berry, Academic Nursing Leader, on Pets

Devon Berry, RN, PhD, is a leader, a nurse, and a consultant. He most recently served as the Executive Associate Dean for School of Nursing at OHSU in Portland, OR. He is currently enjoying a mid-career gap-year to pursue deferred professional goals and spend time with family. Dr. Berry believes that deciding to adopt a pet is a big decision for any family. He grew up with dogs and has many good memories of the warmth and vitality they brought to his childhood home. Selecting dogs in his home required the intersection of a dog's availability and the appropriateness of the breed’s traits for a small farm. Most of Devon Berry’s dogs as a youth came from neighbors with pups who happened to have larger breeds that were good around animals including collies and German shepherds.

When an individual or a family decides to adopt a dog, selecting the right breed can be an involved process. Fortunately, the internet provides dozens of resources from many trustworthy organizations that can help in the selection process. In fact, some resources offer automated dog breed selectors that walk aspiring dog owners through a series of questions designed to narrow down the choices. For example, one selector asks for preferences around qualities such as amount of barking, intensity of grooming, activity level, trainability, and good with children. After entering your information, the selector produces a list of breeds that best match your preferred profile.

As a nurse, Devon Berry understands that dogs and other animal companions can play a supportive role in the lives of many people. The allowance of pet visits or pet therapy services can often provide a significant emotional uplift to patients who need encouragement. Nurses, says Devon Berry, are often in an excellent position to facilitate this kind of experience for their patients. Dr. Berry believes that pets can be a great gift in the lives of those who desire loyal companionship. Kind and responsible humans can also be great gifts to pets who are in need of a home. Selecting and adopting just the right pet for your home can be an investment that pays generous returns in times of both health and sickness.

Nurse Devon Berry on Education for Leadership

Devon Berry, RN, PhD, is a nursing leader in Portland, Oregon, who has served in multiple academic nursing leadership opportunities across the U.S. Most recently, Dr. Berry served as the Executive Associate Dean for the Oregon Health and Science University’s School of Nursing. He has also held Director and Sr. Consultant level positions in other organizations. As a leader and a nurse, Dr. Berry often considers the elements of formal education that are helpful to prepare an individual for leadership in the academy.

After 20 years of work experience in higher ed, Nurse Devon Berry recently completed his MBA. Although this long-term career goal was gratifying to accomplish in and of itself, Dr. Berry believes that the greatest benefit has come from the new competencies gained. Like many nursing leaders, his experience as an associate dean and executive director has informally instilled many of the skills of an organizational leader through on-the-job training. These skills, however, were unrefined and ungrounded in a solid theoretical base. The education gained with an MBA provided a much deeper understanding of issues related to human resources, finance, strategy, marketing, and operations among other areas. 

Devon Berry believes that his work as an academic nursing leader will be greatly enhanced by these new understandings. Returning to the question of appropriate education for an academic leader, Dr. Berry feels that many nursing leaders, such as Deans, Associate Deans, and other leaders charged with executive responsibility, can benefit greatly from the grounding that an MBA, or other similar degrees, can provide. Employers seeking new leaders or wanting to develop current leaders, should consider advanced education in leadership a good option for building their academic organizations.