This One?

Teinou Woman

A Guitar Museum

Cooperstown, N.Y.

Arlen Roth's proposal for a guitar museum has passed one hurdle. Cooperstown is similar to SF in one respect, it has a great many well educated people that love to sit around and flog their personal hobbyhorse. This being said, the board meeting won't be the last step, but things are looking good at present.

The Scribe of Vyas

Japanamation (drawn in Korea) is invariably tied to plastic tchotchkes, American output is pathetic, and no new scripts have been produced in years. (Bugs and Daffy remix #485 in 3D) India and Brazil just might eat our Saturday mornings along with our lunch.

Harbor Traffic

This link is to an active map of the current Bay traffic. Not quite real-time, it's close enough for ship ID (kinda like trainspotting)

Round-up

What Next

Time for a new decade. The last one was a tad bumpy. Happy new year to everyone.

• Enabling the Wreck
• Hack-a-Drone
• Slightly Strained Essay on Pantheism
• An End to Movements

Bad To Me

My friend Scott in a Buffalo coffeehouse.

Christmas Time is Here Again

RFID Zapper

Rfiddler

It's a homebrew electromagnetic field generator, tuned for blowing RFID chips. No doubt it will do a number on most forms of data storage too. An efficient way for getting your butt canned by Homeland, and it has that romantic steampunk feel. Just remember to keep Mom's credit card away from the field when you strike a blow to the hegemony.

Not Good For Dieters

Recipe / Video

The Cherpumple is the desert version of the Turducken. It's a three-layer cake with a pie stuffed in each layer. Cherpumple is short for CHERry, PUMpkin and apPLE pie. The apple pie is baked in spice cake, the pumpkin in yellow and the cherry in white.

Via: The Presurfer

The Cow's other Product

In the future, America will harness cow farts to curb pollution and power the grid. It sounds like a joke, but it's actually a real promise. By 2020, dairy industry emissions will be reduced by 25%, largely by persuading dairy farmers to capture methane gas.

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced this at the Copenhagen climate change summit this week. Farmers will be able to buy anaerobic digesters that convert cow, errr, emissions into electricity. - Via: The Presurfer

While this stuff might impress the city folks, most farm kids know better. First: anaerobic digesters don't do a thing about farts, they digest poop. Second: Farmers have been selling or using methane for years. The Coperstown old folks home is heated with it. The Copes had a large set-up since the '80s. (a farm just down from my parents farm) The bugs have been largely sorted out. It's nice to see the ruling class catching up.

Claude Paillard

I have a few musician friends that are pretty knowledgeable about tube amplification. (even vs. odd harmonics) and even have their favorites (6L6, made in the Novdesk factory by employee 23 - etc - etc) Some even do their own mods and enjoy talking shop ... at length. Then comes Claude Paillard, a French ham. He makes his own vacuum tubes.

• Video - Part 1
• Video - Part 2

That's talking shop with some authority!

Merry Christmas

• Searching for Steve Ditko
• Earthquakes within Plates
• S.F. fail
• Boat Captains
• Map of the Known Universe
• Friedman's Jihad
• Peter Watts Arrested
• John Clute

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas

Your Tax Dollars at Work

Anthony Falbo: The 17th century cadaver conspiracy

Our Senators and Congresswomen do not pay into Social Security and, of course, they do not collect from it.  You see, Social Security benefits were not suitable for  persons of their rare elevation in society. They felt they should have a special plan for themselves. So many years ago  they voted in their own benefit plan.  In more recent years, no congress person has felt the need to  change it. It is, after all, a great plan.

 For all practical purposes their plan works like this:  When they retire, they continue to draw the same pay until they die. Except it may increase from time to time for cost of living  adjustments. (computed separately from our adjustments) For example, Senator Byrd and Congressman White and their  wives may expect to draw $7, 800,000.00 (that's Seven Million, Eight-Hundred Thousand Dollars), with their wives drawing $275, 000 during the last years of their lives.  This is calculated on an average life span for each of those dignitaries. Younger Dignitaries who retire at an early age, will receive much more during the rest of their lives.  Their cost for this excellent plan to them is $0.00. NADA!!!  ZILCH!!!    This little perk they voted for themselves is free to them. You and I pick up the tab for this plan. The funds for this fine retirement plan come directly from the General Funds.

From our own Social Security Plan, which you and I pay (or have paid) into, every payday until we retire (which amount is matched by our employer), We can expect to get an average of  $1,000 per month after retirement. Or, in other words, we would have to collect our average of  $1,000 monthly benefits for 68 years and one (1) month to equal Senator Bill Bradley's benefits!  Social Security could be very good if only one small change  were made.  That change would be to jerk the Golden Fleece Retirement Plan from under the Senators and Congressmen. Put them into the Social Security plan with the rest of us. Then sit back.....

This modest proposal has been buzzing around the net in various forms for some time now. When asked about it, representatives immediately propose making apple pie the national dish and studying the feasibility of a kitten-up-the-tree fund. Mention the representative's insurance plan - meet a fellow from Homeland.

                       

NYT Writer Proposes Solution

"Yes, what problem can't be solved by the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people worldwide, egged on from the sidelines by a newspaper columnist?"

Mushrooms

January/February 2010 - Cook's Illustrated

Freshly harvested white button mushrooms have firm caps, stems and gills that are free of dark spots. That said, some chefs advocate the use of slightly older, blemished mushrooms, claiming that they are more flavorful than pristine, ultra-fresh specimens. To test this claim for ourselves, we sautéed two batches of mushrooms, one fresh from the supermarket and one showing signs of age after a week in the refrigerator. In a side-by-side comparison, the results surprised us. Tasters found that the older mushrooms actually had a deeper,, earthier flavor and were substanstially more "mushroomy" than the unblemished samples. This is likely because some moisture had evaporated and flavors were more concentrated. The takeaway: There's no need to discard old mushrooms. In fact, their imperfections may actually improve the flavor of your dish. Do not, however, use mushrooms that smell fermented or look slimy.

I'd also like to note that older works great in duxelles and dishes where they are chopped or ground, but salads and presentations get the good lookers.

Book of Joe

Oyster Stew

Christmas is coming. You may already be aware of this. What you might not know is that a bowl of oyster stew is a Christmas eve tradition in many parts of the country and any oysters that survive the stew demand to go into the goose's stuffing. If this isn't your family's tradition, the solution is to try it once, and thereafter you'll be with the program.

D2D oyster stew is fairly simple. Get 2 pints of glassed (oysters in a jar). Pick the oysters out with a small spoon, leaving the liquor behind. Poach them in 4 tablespoons of butter. (non-salted is best, clarified or regular is fine) Do not overcook or overheat, erasers in cream isn't what we're looking for here. In another pan, heat 1 quart half & half. Decant the liquor, leaving any grit behind, and add to milk. Just bring this to heat, do not boil. Combine the two pans, balance with S&P, garnish and serve.

Notes: The dish needs to be adjusted to the season. In summer, a lighter broth might be in order. Bottled clam juice or a fumet will lighten the broth and add flavor (shy away from the paste kind, it has way more salt than you want) , or the simple expedient of using milk to replace some half & half. Heat can be added with cayenne or hot sauce. A sense of place helps here, in the north, mace or nutmeg are common additions, in the Carolinas hot sauce is preferred due to the vinegar content, and the deep south seems to like cayenne i.e. straight heat without the extra components. In the fall and winter, you can add vegetables to make it more of a chowder. Cubed potatoes are a New England favorite (as long as the potatoes are in your bowl and the oysters in mine, I'm ok with it) Corn has a long history and strikes a good balance quickly. I'm not personally too keen on celery. The texture doesn't mesh well. If you want the flavor, I think the dish is better served with celery salt. I've seen fresh spinach used, but havn't tried it. Green onions are a shoo-in, as are minced shallots. As for black vs. white pepper, fresh ground black is better. The usual schtick of white in cream doesn't really apply here. Oyster crackers are o.k. and easy, but if you have a second to pan fry some croutons (very light garlic), then treat yourself. On the chance you have some fresh cornbread, well life is good.

Now a stew that's meant for a celebration. (like Christmas eve) This one is from Antoine's in the French quarter, NOL. I've pretty much mirrored the recipe straight from an old cookbook I own, and found again on the web.

• 50 medium oysters, such as bluepoints, shucked (about 1 1⁄2 lbs.), with 1 cup of the liquor reserved
• 12 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 5 tbsp. flour
• 4 ribs celery, finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 1⁄2 cup finely chopped curly parsley
• 1 tbsp. kosher salt
• 1 1⁄2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 1⁄4 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 2 cups milk, 2 cups heavy cream

1. Combine oyster liquor with 1 cup water in a 2-qt. saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Add the oysters and simmer until their edges just begin to curl, about 2 minutes. Strain oysters through a fine sieve set over a medium bowl. Reserve oysters and cooking liquid separately. Heat butter in a 4-qt. saucepan over medium-high heat. Add flour and cook, whisking constantly, until golden brown, 3–4 minutes. Reduce heat to medium; add celery, garlic, onions, parsley, salt, pepper, and cayenne. Cook, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon, until onions and celery are very soft, about 25 minutes... 2. Stir in milk, cream, and reserved oysters with their cooking liquid and cook, stirring occasionally, until just hot, about 5 minutes. Serve immediately.

Notes: The roux is the key, of course. I suspect those of us who haven't been working the line in Antoine's since age 11 might need more than 3 to 4 minutes to bring the roux up. If the parsley looks like it's going to shed too much green into the cream, a quick fix is to wrap it in a kitchen towel, run it under some cold water, and squeeze it out. Oddly what isn't mentioned is the addition of a splash of pernod (after you've finished the roux, please) And remember, with any fresh shellfish, you need to keep the batch tag, and use plenty of ice and the appropriate sanitation precautions. And speaking of having a lot of raw oysters around, the secret summons is "cooks treat". After all, they do need to be checked.

Fat Goose

A quick word of advice. If you get an unexpected (no subject) e-mail from a friend, especially a social network friend, take a quick look at the source code. If it contains hi5, hi5 traders, or any similar wording, it's scareware that hijacks your contact list. Dump the little bugger and if you have the tools, check your registry for an addition called slybitch. The script kiddies might be sending you a present.

• Brave New World read by A. Huxley
• The Right and War
• Busted for raw milk
• Schadenfreude
• Balthasar Holz
• So that's Where the Money Goes
• Lot 19
• Offbeat at the Apollo

Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat...

Next Time

Via: Nag on the Lake

Must Be Santa

Green Eyes

It's been 25 years since the publication of Green Eyes. Originally tossed in the cyberpunk niche, (at the time, the buzz du jour) the story is better described as an American Gothic. My copy still has plenty of Cajun spice, Jocundra still seems an apt name for the lady you see out of the corner of your eye on the train, and Shepard still crosses styles with impunity. And yes, zombies have a market again.

Words

It may appear agrestic to ask, but The Times is calling on its readers to come to the rescue of words that risk fading into caliginosity.

Dictionary compilers at Collins have decided that the word list for the forthcoming edition of its largest volume is embrangled with words so obscure that they are linguistic recrement. Such words, they say, must be exuviated abstergently to make room for modern additions that will act as a roborant for the book.

I guess Orwell and Wittgenstein will have to be tossed.

Via: Futerismic

Mr. Hun

Outside a small Macedonian village close to the border between Greece and strife-torn Yugoslavia, a lone Catholic nun keeps a quiet watch over a silent convent. She is the last caretaker of the site of significant historical developments spanning more than 2,000 years.

When Sister Maria Cyrilla of the Order of the Perpetual Watch dies, the convent of St. Elias will be closed by the Eastern Orthodox Patriarch of Macedonia. However, that isn’t likely to happen soon as Sister Maria, 53, enjoys excellent health. By her own estimate, she walks 10 miles daily about the grounds of the convent, which once served as a base for the army of Attila the Hun. In more ancient times, a Greek temple to Eros, the god of love, occupied the hilltop site.

Historians say that Attila took over the old temple in 439 A.D. and used it as a base for his marauding army. The Huns are believed to have first collected and then destroyed a large gathering of Greek legal writs at the site. It is believed that Attila wanted to study the Greek legal system, and had the writs and other documents brought to the temple. Scholars differ on why he had the valuable documents destroyed – either because he was barely literate and couldn’t read them, or because they provided evidence of democratic government that did not square with his own notion of rule by an all-powerful tyrant.

When the Greek church took over the site in the 15th Century and the convent was built, church leaders ordered the pagan statue of Eros destroyed, so another ancient Greek treasure was lost. Today, there is only the lone sister, watching over the old Hun base.

And that’s how it ends: No Huns, no writs, no Eros, and nun left on base.

I can't find the original source of this. It's reproduced, almost verbatum, on a number of sites devoted to puns, but aside from a mention of the Order of Perpetual Watch,in an 1812 religious dictionary, nada. Good pun though.

Trompe-l'oeil

Via: Book of Joe

I know the model for this cup. I see him every morning when I shave.

Postcard from London

Thanks: The Inferior 4+1

Happy Feet

The Blue Footed Boobie

Thanks: Lauren Axelrod in Presurfer

Sunday's Links

The horse, pictured above, lives in a small shop, cum exhibit, on Colombus street. (up from the house, down from City Lights) On sunny days he comes out to hold the door, and on rainy days he's like the rest of us.(got stuff to do inside) He does look as if he's enjoying his work.

• Geometric fractals with processing
• Astrophotography
• The Media Equation (you need to skip an ad, x in upper right)
• Nuke the Whales
• Thomas Friedman
• Life in Space
• Moxyland

Have a good Sunday

Partridge in a Pear Tree

A Partridge in a Pear Tree

via: ...nonamedufus

Change Your Look

A cache of winter scenes you can use as computer wallpaper.

via: Presurfer

What Job

This picture is pretty self-explanatory. "We need to finish the job in Afghanistan." (what job? Bin Laden is long gone.) "Unfortunately, we're a little short of cash for domestic programs." (like jobs, unless, of course, you're a bank.)

Borrow My Pen

click to enlarge

Too Much Blood

They got that Dionysia thang down.

Who owns Whom

This is for Marilyn + Ed, Jim + Cindee. Some builders in Japan are designing homes around the household cats, or as The Presurfer says, special features for pets. If you have the tools, here are the plans.

Have You Seen the Prices

Cheese Making Made Easy

Have you seen the price of crème fraîche in the market lately? Not a problem if you don't use it, but if your menu says you serve it, well there you are. The workaround is to make it yourself. This book and Home Cheese Making, by Ricki Carroll, will get you started and New England Cheesmaking will ship anything you can't find in town.

Sunday

Days getting shorter. There's a song in there somewhere.

• Railing against Bailouts
• Douglas Rushkoff
• Harry Smith
• Miles Blows his Last
• Ten Notable Apocalypses
• R2-D2 stars in Star Trek

Now for some coffee

No cream, No sugar

As all my friends and family are aware, I'm just not very useful before I've had my morning cup.

Turkey Soup

photo: Black Diamond Caterers

I'm relatively sure that some of you have a turkey carcass or two laying around. (day after Thanksgiving) Therefore it must be soup time, or at very least, stock time.

Gather up the remains, and pick the good pieces of meat. These go to the fridge. Break the keel so it fits in the stockpot, add the neck, wing tips, chopped giblets (except liver) et al. Add peeled, cut carrots (mirepoix sized), white onion (same), a finger of peeled ginger (for soup, for stock - no), whole peppercorns, bay leaves and some celery. (be sure to peel it, turkey doesn't cover the bitter flavor in the outer layer) Some folks call for the white part of leeks. Certainly a great addition if you have some on hand. You can roast the bones before hand, but turkey is generally a light stock. My opinion is that this step distracts, rather than adds. Cover with cold water.

Here's the part where you must control the heat. Bring the pot to a simmer. A simmer is not a boil. In this instance, boil bad. Any time you save doing this at high heat, your going to spend at the other end trying to clarify the stock. Cock the pot a bit off the center of the flame. What this does is starts a convection cell that pushes the scum to one side or the other. (if you're using a steam jacket, it ends up in the center) You have to skim the pot regularly. If you don't, the particulates just break up and voilà tout, cloudy stock. (short review: skim good, simmer good - boil bad, cloudy bad) If your stove is cranky, or full up, you can always transfer your hot pot to the oven. (200°), just remember to skim.

After about 2 or 3 hours kill the heat. Let things stand long enough for everything to settle down. Use a ladle to pull the stock out and strain through a chinoise. The point of using the ladle is to leave the layer containing those little specks of stuff in the bottom of the stockpot. If you just pour out everything, the pressure of the pour will force things through the mesh. Taste the stock, decide if you need to reduce it, (you know the drill) and if not, chill it with an ice paddle and fridge it.

Soup is soup. Take the amount of stock you need out of storage. If it has some fat on top, spoon it off and save it. You can wilt your vegetables in it (slowly, low smoke point). Cut up your goodies, spoon your vegies out of the sauté pan (leave the oil behind. You might want to heat your meat a bit to remove any clinging fat before it goes into the pot too) Uncooked stuff first, cooked stuff last... bowl, spoon, sandwich, and you're done.

The above picture is from a caterer in Saratoga Springs, NY. (link) She has a nice variation posted as well as other recipes.

The Turkey that ate St.Louis

Upstate NY

Via: Susan

Me and my Uncle

The Oscar Brandt Show, c. 1965

Anthony Asks

Anthony asks:

Why a penguin?

evilmilk.com

Lichenberg Figures

Lichtenberg figures are branching, tree-like or fern-like patterns that are created by high voltage discharges along the surface or within electrical insulating materials.

The first Lichtenberg figures were actually 2-dimensional patterns formed in dust on the surface of charged insulating plates in the laboratory of their discoverer, German physicist Georg Christoph Lichtenberg.

Mirrored from The Presurfer

Technical Description here

It's Starting

Trimming the tree by the B of A headquarters in N. Beach. (SF)

Round-Up

Short one this morning. The hotel's hallway is being painted, so even at this hour you can hear the scritch of someone applying calk to the walls. May (Happy Donuts) is getting ready to see her family in Cambodia. She has an in ear phone on and is fielding calls from Aunts and cousins (Cambodian) while taking coffee and breakfast orders (Spanish and English) and tending to last minute details (officialese). She's her usual cheerful self, but I found that my expresso would be having rye with its huevos, changing planes in Tokyo - Bhat auntie - and would be taking the blueberry muffins out in 5 min, merci. For someone who grew up monolingual, it was a bravura performance.

• Five things the US can learn
• Mandlebrot in 3-D
• City sized nuclear bunker
• Competence
• Shoot the fat guys
• Dino Munching

Happy Thanksgiving

Clay Henry

As the official site for mayor of the town of Lajitas, Texas, states: many towns can claim that their mayor is an old goat, or that he enjoys his beer – but not many can validly claim that their mayor is a beer drinking goat. Literally. Lajitas has that dubious honor. In the original election in the 1980s Clay Henry I defeated a wooden Indian and a local ranch dog called Buster by a landslide and the tradition continues to this day, with Clay Henry III.

There is a wooden Indian (actually a plas-crete Indian) standing guard over a store about two blocks from here. It's certainly seems a darn sight more competent then the crew (SF) we have now. You thinking what I'm thinking?

More animals that ran for government in Business Pundit.

Noveau Oldtime

The good stuff. Story, and a larger image at BoingBoing

The Old Neighborhood

Photo by I W Taber

Opium Dens (c. 1889) in the neighborhood. More pictures and a story here

More SF ephemera: Spots Unknown

The Frictionator

Photo by John Masterson

The Frictionator is a Ford F650 pickup truck equipped with a 7,000 hp GE J85 jet engine. Joe Arnold’s monster truck is capable of reaching speeds up to 200 mph and is street legal (so as long as you don’t use the jet engine).

Mirrored from Neat-o-rama

Chicken Curry

Here we have two ways to make chicken curry. Outwardly Indian, they are in fact American supermarket style. A real curry is a spice blend specific to the dish and cook, while we use a one size fits all mixture. Both recipes are suitable for lunch service, one being an á la minute and the other for holding on the steamtable. If you want to learn the traditional way to make a curry, get yourself an Indian mom, or if that isn't practical, be prepared to hunt for some unusual ingredients. (which is both great fun and an eye-opener) Linda Bladholm's The Indian Grocery Store Demystified is a place to start.

The first one is adapted from Mark Bittman (The Minimalist Cooks at Home), is written for four, but can be adjusted up or down. Rub four (boneless, skinless) chicken breasts with S&P and one teaspoon of packaged curry powder. (Check the curry's date.) Brown the breasts in ghee or an unflavored oil. Set in a fast oven to finish. French a medium onion or three shallots. Add S&P and a teaspoon curry and brown. Splash a bit of stock in to deglaze and bring the pan's heat way down. Fold in one cup of sour cream, add chicken, let it meld for a minute, plate with cilantro.

Notes;
• Yeah I know, boneless/skinless is the avian version of supermarket tomatoes. Oh well.
• You do date your product when it comes in, don't you? If the curry has been sitting on the shelf forever and a day, toss it. If you don't make curry every day, buy a small jar, not the institutional size. Fresh is good, stale is not.
• Ghee is the same as pan clarified unsalted butter.
• Bringing the heat down is crucial. Sour cream curdles under high heat (Here's why) This is also the reason this version is unsuitable for the steamtable.
• Subs include stabilized whole-milk yogurt (1 t flour or cornstarch / cup), adding golden currants (raisins taste good, but look a bit funky in the sauce. Currants look and taste good) Shrimp for chicken, dried coconut, slivered almonds, peas (last minute) chili of one sort or another. Do a few one-offs to find the combination you like, then work on fine tuning it.

For the second, bone, de-fat and skin whole chicken pieces. (you do have a stockpot, don't you?) Plunk them in a brazing pan (no oil) and sear them completely. Add garlic, onion or shallot to taste with some S&P. When the vegetables are wilted, add tikka masala (notes) and work the pan for a minute to open up the flavors. Cover with water or stock and set on a slow simmer to reduce. The sauce should be fairly thick when your done (at least an hour)

Notes:
• Tlkka Masala is a brick red spice paste, usually sold in jars. I've seen Bombay brand all over the place.
• Instead of serving over rice, you can add cubed potatoes to make it self contained.
• The first part of the reduction needs to take place in the brazing pan, because the chicken finishes cooking there. The second part, the thickening, can be on the steamtable. (140°+, you know the rules)

Satin Doll

Duke Ellington is one of those composers that get taken for granted when you ask people to list their favorites. Bla and/or bla-bla, then you mention Ellington and the reply is, "yeah, but that goes without saying." Not too many people in that category.

The Prisoner (redux)

The Prisoner (re-boot) aired its first two episodes last night. Hope might spring eternal, but then there is that darn old reality of corporate show-business. Charlie Jane Anders mentions gonzo in reference to the original. Fair enough, the word certainly applies to the filming, budgeting, and working methods of the real one. Compare that with careful product placement, script by executive committee, and top dollar photography of the new. A great many critics (read lazy writers) have overused the word allegory, again referring again to the original. To the new one, I'd like to add slick, and telegraphing your moves. The original is labeled a cult series, (whatever the heck that means) while the new message is accessible. (corporate hipsterism, featuring individuality as represented by a fine wardrobe, kept fresh in the most difficult of situations, a romantic interest wearing flawless make-up in any close-up, a huge playing space with branded designer accoutrements, and plenty of others to cover the day to day. Buy from us kids, and you too...)

A fair question is, would the new stand on its own with a different title or conversely not having an original to re-boot? I can't say. The show-biz folks chose to ride on McGoohan's coattails. (The Pitch: we took an idea of Bill's (Gibson), mixed with a property that's come on the market, and chose fashions by Lolly, while we wrote in a star turn for the company's new line of cars) The original can best be characterized as having a time and place. Will people who weren't around then accept the new? That's up to them. I'm a tad underwhelmed myself.

Pat's Sunday

Penrose Tile

Sunday; The Prisoner is on the tube tonight. Is their any point in comparing it to the original? (rhetorical question) Will I watch it? Yes, cuz hope springs eternal. ( and I can switch to a Looney Toons marathon on 54 if it turns out to be as pedestrian as the previews indicate). Sunday round-up:

• Penrose floor tiles
• Maker Beam
• Saving Europe
• Microfluidics and Shrinky Dinks
• Value of Ruins
• Phishing with the FDIC

Sunny day - must take pictures.

Xia Xiaowan

This isn't a hologram; it's a succession of glass frames meticulously tinted with colored pencil by multimedia artist Xia Xiaowan. A link to more pictures in Beautiful Decay magazine here. I'll bet my cousin Dianne would love them.

Via;Posthuman Blues

Art Tatum

An celebration of Art Tatum at 100

Speaking of Artichokes

A bit too mature for eating

Artichokes are out of season in most places, but you can get plenty here and the glassed hearts are always available. Here are some notes on artichoke prep and a dip recipe you can use around Thanksgiving.

Preparation is pretty straightforward. For those in doubt, refer to Pépin's Techniques or here. On acidulated water, lemons are expensive, tablets of vitamin C comparatively less so. Powder a tablet of the cheap brand and dissolve it in place of the half lemon. (no kids, the racemization of the vitamin in the manufacturing process doesn't make a lick of difference in this instance. Go with cheap.) Artichokes have a truckload of unusual compounds in them. We're concerned with two here. Polyphenol oxidase (also called tyrosinase), when combined with oxygen, turns a lovely, gooey gray. It also stains reactive metals, like that expensive steel chef's knife you just bought. The bottom line, use a non-reactive pot, a cheap knife, and keep the choke in acidulated water while preping. The second compound is cynarin. This affects the taste buds, making things taste sweeter. ( a research abstract is here) This is probably the reason behind the recommendation that artichokes not be served with wine. Use your own judgment, but remember that vinophiles (read wine(y) poseurs) can be so vocal about something they read somewhere.

About half the published recipes contain a blanc,(¼ c flour, 6 c water, salt, lemon juice) the others don't. The difference is in storage. If you're going to use the choke straight from the pot, don't bother with the blanc, if you're going to set them aside for use later, cook them in the blanc and refrigerate them in the cooking liquid. (Julia Child's discussion and recipe here. A final note: If you have a pressure cooker, give it a try. The resulting texture is smooth and almost jellied.

Artichoke Dip:
• 1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach
• 2 (13 3/4-ounce) cans artichoke hearts
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 1 cup grated jack cheese

Notes: Squeeze the spinach dry. taste for S&P, Top with your favorite gratin and bake @350° until sides bubble. (heated through) Alternative ingredients include roasted red peppers (no more than 4 or 5 oz, or else the dip gets a bit bloody-looking) Crab meat, Roasted eggplant, cut thin Hot chili flakes, to taste, Sour cream, 8 oz (replacing the mayo)

And Furthermore..

This one has popped up on the net in a number of different places

Ever heard of lachanophobia? It's a pathological fear of vegetables. Don't laugh, it's real. Vicki Larrieux, a 22-year-old student from Portsmouth, UK, claims she is unable to keep to a healthy diet because she is frightened of vegetables.

Terrible affliction or the fifteen minutes of fame special? In food service, we get to meet all sorts of allergies. "I want my steak very well done, I'm 'lergic' to rare." Or my personal favorite, (true story) "Oh I didn't know you made artichoke dip with artichokes. I'm 'lergic' to that. You need to adjust my bill." A writer for the NYT has made a list of things that restuarants should do to keep his custom. (Demand grab-joint prices with four star French service. Demand that the server reads your mind from a kneeling position. Demand the full attention of the house, Order off the menu whenever possible.. yes, I'm being rhetorical ) Here's my two cents on being a customer. Don't elevate a personal dislike to a medical problem. If you're alergic to something, the time to mention it is when you order, not after you've finished three quarters of the plate. (and oddly enough, the other customers probably aren't interested in your medical history) A cranky post, to be sure, but some days the customers from he** just seem to come in bunches.

Picture and quote: The Presurfer

Neuromancer-lite

Sasha Grey

A link to io9's story about a performance piece in NYC based on William Gibson's Neuromancer.

Clasic Timepiece

Photo: Unica

Andreas Dober’s wall clock for the German luxury shop Anthologie Quartett cycles a bicycle chain to display the hour with copper digits at the top. A custom job, it prices out at $2,338.

Mirrored from Neatorama

Baker's Clay

Thanksgiving table decorations. Time to go back in the storeroom and pull the boxes that somehow drifted behind the canned soda delivery and worked their way up the shelves and hid themselves in the far corner. Or you could make some to order. The baker's dough recipe is basic, and lends itself to anything that can be made of clay or ceramic. You can use food coloring, egg wash, or paint on it, and if varnished, can last under storage. Traditionally used to make a cornucopia (check out a French bakery window), you can do napkin rings, tree ornaments, etc.

4 cups all purpose flour, 1 cup salt, 3/2 cup water:Form ball, if dry add water 1T at a time. Knead at least 20 minutes until smooth and very elastic. Form. Bake @ 250° for 3/2 hr until slightly brown, firm and very dry. Spray with varnish.

To make a cornucopia, make a double batch of dough. Roll half out into a sheet and half into snakes (tubes). Make a cone with cardboard and aluminum foil, then use crumpled foil to make any details. (bulge on end, that sort of thing).Spray the form with no-stick or oil it. Use a cookie cutter to make a few leaves from your sheet and use the rest to drape your form.(a wet finger will seal the seams) Use the snakes to build surface texture (again, use some moisture or they will separate during baking), place the leaves and put it into the oven. After about 45 minutes, check it. If things have firmed enough, pull the form, give it an egg wash and put back in oven. The goal here is golden brown with all the moisture driven off. If the bottom is retaining a bit of moisture, turn the darn thing and give it some more oven time. Don't try to drive the process by turning the oven up, it will crack or separate. (and usually on the part you worked the hardest on). When done, let it air dry and cool, use food color or paint for any details, and spray with varnish. If you have any dough left, punch out some gingerbread men. Christmas comes soon enough.

Starlings

The European Starling, introduced by Eugene Schieffelin in 1890, have pretty much populated their niche in N. America. They're the most successful alien-species invasions ever documented to date.(stay tuned though, a few marine species are giving them a run for the record)

Suggested by BoingBoing

Linkdump

Picture; link

Sunday's linkdump:

• Spammer pays Facebook
• Einstein still right
• Party Favors
• 101 Historical Moments
• Fear and Overreaction
• Roger Penrose
• Power Plugs

That should keep you out of mischief for a minute.

Ferrofluid

Ferrofluid is a magnetic medium often used as a coolant in speaker voice coils. Artists have found that it sculpts itself in the presence of controlled magnetic fields.

Hungry Bear

The Roadies Friend

An Alaskan bush pilot had his plane attacked by a bear. Apparently he hadn't cleaned sufficiently after the last fishing trip and the bear was thinking it had an easy dinner. The pilot had 2 new tires, 3 cases of Duct Tape and several rolls of cellophane delivered, then went about repairing the plane so he could fly it home. This is why Duct Tape is known far and wide as the roadies friend.

(to see more pictures, click fullscreen and use the advance arrow at bottom)

Via: Anthony

Uhhh - Wrong

If you can't tell what's wrong in this picture, please don't do your own repairs.

The Basics

A little reminder never hurts. Now if I could just do something about my spelling.

Greg Egan

Greg Egan will have some new books out shortly. From an interview:

Zendegi is set in Iran in the very near future; the first part of the novel takes place in 2012. The ultimate focus of the story involves brain mapping and virtual reality, but the backgrounds of all the characters are entwined with the Iranian pro-democracy movement in various ways. It’s due to be published in mid-2010.

Orthogonal is a novel I’m working on right now; it’s set in a universe with laws of physics that are different from our own. One small change in a fundamental equation — just turning a minus sign into a plus sign — leads to some incredibly rich variations in everything from the way biology works to the relativistic effects of space travel.

His homepage contains some advance copy along with writing and travel notes. (and those great apps)