December 28: Glaringly obvious

Anyone who has a job to do needs to keep up with a basic picture of what's going on, even when all is well. Too often leaders -- whether in business, academia, religion, or politics -- forge ahead with their agendas, relying entirely on others to tell them what they think they should know, only to discover after the dust of some destructive event settles that they knew far to little to lead effectively.

Steven Few, Information Dashboard Design, January 2006, O'Reilly

When even the tech people know you're incompetent, it's time to get out of Dodge, er, Washington.

December 20: We don't do perky in this house

Rachel Ray hates unicorns. No, really.

December 18

I love people who think.

Dec 15: Doctor Who - Harry Potter

Zoe Wanamaker: Cassandra ("The end of the World", "New Earth") and Madame Hooch

Sarah Stewart: voice of the computer ("The End of the World") was Martha Wayne in Batman Begins, which also starred Gary Oldman (Sirius Black)

Imelda Staunton: Delores Umbridge, was also in Little Britain, which stars Tom Baker, Anthony Head ("School Reunion", also in Monarch of the Glen, with Sarah Stewart)

The Canturbury Tales had:
Imelda Staunton
Richard Griffiths (Uncle Vernon)
David Troughton (son of Patrick, uncle of Harry "Dudley Dursley" Melling)
Julie Walters (Mrs. Weasly)

And I think everyone has guested on The Bill

December 11: 20th Reunion Photos

William Tennent Class of 1986. Yeah, I went, I'm not wasting this skinniness. I even hugged a woman who couldn't stand me in elementary school. Painless, but moderately boring. I missed Donna, James, Michelle, Liesel, Leslie Smith, and others.

December 8: Hot and not

What's hot (and what's not) here in the Land of Susan (motto: you won't see the exit coming!).

Hot Not
/. What can I say? I like editors Digg
Buckaroo Banzaii Napolean Dynamite (I didn't like Elvis Costello's Blood and Chocolate)
Essays Blogging
Working from home Oracle errors about tables not existing that really do exist
Perl Languages that don't allow variable declaration
Christmas The Pogues
Vim emacs
Box wine from Australia Mass-market beer
British cooking magazines Rachel Ray
The BBC (one reason I'd like to live in London for two years) American TV
Steve Jobs Steve Ballmer
Bill and Melinda Gates Sam Walton and family: if your company has made you the richest man in America, you can damn well pay for health insurance for all employees, and pay them for all the hours they work.

Janine and friend

December 7: Lalla Ward married to Richard Dawkins

That is all.

December 6: I was in tears

Toddlers were made for video cameras and uncles with too much computing power. It's better than the laughing baby even. The stomping feet are best.

(Just realized where I'd seen Arlo's mom's name -- Jen Niederst -- before. She wrote Web Design in a Nutshell, which I'm still using.)

November 28: Jim's father does not have a re-occurrance of cancer

Yesss!!!

Sorry, didn't hear me? Let me say it again:

Fsck yeah!

A merry early Christmas to the whole family!

(Mom now really horrified at my language.)

November 8: Santorum gets his butt handed to him

Yesss!!!

Sorry, didn't hear me? Let me say it again:

Fsck yeah!

I hope he's figured out that poverty isn't a moral failing. But somehow I doubt that.

(Mom now horrified at my language.)

October 27: New toy

Tea pot for Tobi.I have a new toy, a Fujifilm FinePix F30 camera.

A day in my life

A weekend with Omi and then in Rickett's Glen

I am about to be radically more viscious in deleting photos. I had 9,000 after importing those two roles, but managed to delete over 200.

I am taking one night a week off (usually Tuesdays or Wednesdays). This means Jake gets a night of daddy-time. Let me know if you want to do anything! This week was photo editing.

I've been making applesauce from Jorj's aunt's recipe. Anne is wonderfully direct. She's a professional food writer; anything by Anne Mendelson is worth your time.

This is my applesauce recipe: Throw out the Golden Delicious (unless they're unusually good for that kind). Do not even think about applesauce earlier in the year than October. Then go buy some locally grown, very juicy sweet-tart apples at the peak of crispness and flavor. Many of the good kinds are finished by December, but Winesaps or Stayman Winesaps probably are still good. (Around New York my October choice would be Jonathan, which are mushy or gone by November. Northern Spies are wonderful here but also a short-lived phenomenon. )

Quarter and core them, leaving the skins on. Dump them -- with NO SUGAR, LEMON JUICE, OR ANYTHING ELSE -- into a heavy-bottomed pot with a tight-fitting lid. Set the pot (covered) over very low heat -- low, low, lowest. Check on the apples occasionally until you see condensation forming under the lid. I never add water unless I see that the bottom is actually ready to scorch. This method takes forever. I won't even try to estimate a time. Taking forever is part of what makes them good. Chunky half-raw applesauce is an abomination by my lights.

Anyhow, when there's plenty of condensation going, you can increase the heat to medium-low or medium. Cook the apples, covered, until they are stewing in their own juice and ready to fall apart. When they are thoroughly soft and soupy, put them through a food mill, pressing to squeeze out all the pulp you can.

The important thing to know is that ALL THE FLAVOR SHOULD COME FROM THE APPLES ALONE.

When occasionally obliged to break Rule Number One about the time of year, I try to salvage something form the enterprise by using a blend of the least terrible apples I can find. Half should be a sweet variety like Fuji or Golden Delicious, the rest a somewhat tart apple like Granny Smith. You may have to add a tablespoon or two of water early on to keep them from sticking. It won't be great, but it won't be awful.

My favorite apple for sauce so far are Johnagold. Quite sweet, but with a strong apple flavor. Some find them too sweet, but anyone raised on grocery store apple sauce won't be surprised by the sweetness. (Gala for baking.)

Finally, I am trying to eliminate the word also from my writing.

Sept. 26: more for my peeps

Never geek enough

Classic geekery

Sept. 24: Prosaic or Prozac?

Inspired by gr, what's in iTunes (some comps not marked as comps, mea culpa):


1000 Homo DJs
    Supernaut_Apathy
13 Engines
    A Blur To Me Now
Aertze, die
    Planet Punk
Agustin Anievas, piano with New Philharmonia Orchestra, Moshe Atzmon cond_
    Rachmaninov
Allegro
    P.D.Q. Bach_ An Hysteric Return - P.D.Q. Bach At Carnegie Hall
Andrews Sisters
    The Andrews Sisters Collection, Vol. 1
    The Andrews Sisters Collection, Vol. 2
Andrews Sisters & Bing Crosby
    The Andrews Sisters Collection, Vol. 2
Annie Lennox
    Bare
Ave Maria
    Weinachten Zu Haus
B.B. King
    Live At The Regal
Belly
    Star
Ben Harper
    Diamonds On The Inside
Berlin
    Pleasure Victim
Big Black
    Pig Pile
Bill Evans & Toots THielmans
    Unknown Album
Bing Crosby
    Merry Christmas
    The Holiday Album
    White Christmas
Bobby Helms
    Greatest Christmas Hits
Bonfiglio
    Noel
Bootsy Collins
    Back in the Day_ Best of Bootsy
Bootsy's Rubber Band
    Back in the Day_ Best of Bootsy
Bryan Ferry
    Bête Noire
Buckethead
    Monsters & Robots
Burl Ives
    Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer
Bush
    The Science Of Things
Chris Isaak
    Chris Isaak
Coldplay
    Parachutes
Compilations
    A Classic Cartoon Christmas
    A Conshohocken Christmas
    A Conshohocken Christmas - Volume Three
    A Conshohocken Christmas - Volume Two
    A Conshohocken KITSCH-mas
    A Conshohoken Christmas
    A Mess Of Blues
    All The Best From Germany - 20 Great Favorites
    Animaniacs
    Before You Were Punk
    Before You Were Punk 2
    Best of Tchaikovsky
    Bill And Ted's Bogus Journey
    Blame It On Christmas Volume 1
    Brandenburg Concertos, Excelsior Classic Gold
    Cashing In On Christmas
    Christmas Time
    Count Basie Orchestra
    Dead Parrot Society
    Echt Schwäbisch Nr. 4_ _Ja, so was!_
    Fall '93 Sampler
    For the kids too
    Geminiani, Concerti Grossi (after Corelli, Op. 5)
    Greatest Christmas Hits
    Gute Nacht - Happy Baby
    I Asked For Whisky
    Illi-Noise
    In Defense Of Animals
    Incredible Christmas
    Incredible Christmas Album
    Jimi Hendrix_ Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
    Live At The World Cafe, Vol. 9
    M3 Holiday Edition
    Merry Christmas From Motown
    Mozart_ Concerti No. 17 In G Major K. 453, No. 18 In B-Flat Major K. 456
    Outer Limits Vol.One
    Repo Man
    Rock n Roll Christmas
    Rockin' Little Christmas
    Say Anything
    Schaffe, schaffe, Häusle baue
    Serenity Now
    Shopping
    Symphonies #100 - #101 - #55
    The Best of Beethoven
    The Crow
    The Edge Of Christmas
    The Essential Pee Wee Crayton Blues After Hours
    The Planet Sleeps_ Work
    The Ultimate Christmas Album V
    This Is Techno Volume 4
    Vol. I Symphonies Nos. 1-4 (Disc 1)
    Zydeco Barnyard
Corrosion Of Conformity
    Animosity
Das Thaddäus-Troll-Program mit Bernhard Hurm und Uwe Zellmer
    Kenner trinker Württemberger
Dean Shostak
    Crystal Carols
Depeche Mode
    Black Celebration
Dirty Vegas
    Dirty Vegas
Dizzy Gillespie
    The Jazz Masters Series-Groovin' High
Duke Ellington
    The Best Of Duke Ellington_ Centennial Edition
Duke Ellington Orchestra & Count Basie Orchestra
    Duke Ellington Meets Count Basie; First Time! []
Dweezil Zappa
    Confessions
EDF
    Aquatic Enchantment
EMF
    Schubert Dip
Ella Fitzgerald
    Ella Wishes You A Swinging Christmas
Elvis Presley
    Christmas Classics
Entrain
    Can U Get It
Etta James
    Blues To The Bone
Eurythmics
    Acoustic Eurythmics
    Savage
    Sweet Dreams
    Touch
    Unknown Album
Evil Beaver
    Still...Smells Like Christmas Spirit
Fettes Brot
    Am Wasser gebaut
Fine Young Cannibals
    The Raw And The Cooked
Fiona Apple
    When The Pawn...
Frank Sinatra
    Swinging Sinatra
Fred Schneider
    Fred Schneider
Fred's Niece on piano
    Unknown Album
George S. Clinton
    Greatest Funkin' Hits
George Winston
    December
Glenn Miller
    In The Christmas Mood
Gorillaz
    Gorillaz
Houseguests
    Back in the Day_ Best of Bootsy
Iggy Pop
    Lust For Life
    Millenium Edition
Isle of Q
    Isle of Q
James Cotton,Junior Wells, Carey Bell, Billy Branch
    Harp Attack
Janice Robinson
    Dreamer (Remixed)
Jeff Beck
    There And Back
Jim Jackson
    Vol. 2-(1928-30)
Jimmy Reed
    Blues Masters Vol.4 Harmonica
    Unknown Album
John Denver & The Muppets
    A Christmas Together
John Lee Hooker
    John Lee Hooker Plays And Sings The Blues
K.M.F.D.M_
    Don't Blow Your Top
Liane & Boheme Bar Trio
    Cabaret Songs Of Berlin & Vienna
Little Walter
    The Essential Little Walter (Disc 1)
    The Essential Little Walter (Disc 2)
Lo-Fidelity Allstars
    How To Operate With A Blown Mind
London Festival Orchestra, Alfred Scholz
    Brahms_ Hungarian Dances #1-21
London Symphony Orchestra
    The Nutcracker Suite
Looney Tunes
    Leave It To Fever
Louis Armstrong
    Christmas Through the Years
    Swing That Music
Louis Armstrong & Bing Crosby
    Christmas Through the Years
Louis Prima
    Collector's Series
Louis Prima & Keely Smith
    Collector's Series
Love and Rockets
    Love and Rockets (Special Swing Edition)
    Swing!
Mahalia Jackson
    Greatest Hits
    Mahalia Jackson Sings Songs Of Christmas
    Silent Night Christmas With Mahalia Jackson
Mannheim Steamroller
    Christmas In The Aire
Multiple
    In Munchen Steht Ein Hofbrauhaus
Nat King Cole
    The Holiday Album
Nirvana
    Nevermind
P.D.Q. Bach
    A Little Nightmare Music
Paul Butterfield Blues Band
    Blues Brothers 2000
Penny Loafers
    Nabot
Queen
    Live Killers (Disc 1)
    Live Killers (Disc 2)
R.E.M.
    Eponymous
    Out Of Time
Rage
    Reflections Of A Shadow
Red Hot Chili Peppers
    Blood Sugar Sex Magik
Roger Whittaker
    Christmas With Roger Whittaker
Rollins Band
    Weight
Romanze II
    P.D.Q. Bach_ An Hysteric Return - P.D.Q. Bach At Carnegie Hall
Romeo Void
    Warm, In Your Coat
Roxy Music
    Roxy Music
S Terry, B McGhee, B Broonzy
    The Bluesmen
SKRÄPP METTLE
    Sensitive
Sandi Patti
    Celebrate Christmas!
Santana
    0184 Santana (Disc 3)
    Early Magic
    Santana 2
Scorpions
    Crazy World
Shines, Johnny and Snooky Pryo
    Back To The Country
Shriekback
    Big Night Music
    The Y Records Years
Siouxsie & the Banshees
    Fear (of the unknown)
    The Scream
    Tinderbox
Skatenigs
    Stupid People Shouldn't Breed
Slovak National Philharmonic Orchestra
    Ludwig Van Beethoven
Snooky Pryor
    Blues Masters Volume 04- Harmonica Classics
    Chicago Blues harmonicas
    Shake My Hand
Soundgarden
    Louder Than Love
    Superunknown
Sparks
    Now That Want I Own The BBC
Spin Doctors
    Pocket Full of Kryptonite
Spiritual Thunder
    Peace_In My Soul EP
Squirrel Nut Zippers
    Christmas Caravan
Steve Martin
    Let's Get Small
Sting
    All This Time (Single)
    Nothing Like The Sun
    The Dream Of The Blue Turtles
Stone Temple Pilots
    Purple
Suicidal Tendencies
    Lights... Camera... Revolution!
    Lovely
    Still Cyco After All These Years
Supergrass
    In It For the Money
Suzanne Vega
    99.9 F Degrees
    99.9 F°
Talking Heads
    Naked
    Talking Heads_ 77
Technohead
    I Wanna Be A Hippy (Single)
Temple Of The Dog
    Temple Of The Dog
The American Percussion Ensemble
    Magnificent Bells, Organs & Chimes
The Beastie Boys
    Licensed To Ill
The Blind Boys Of Alabama
    Spirit Of The Century
The Cars
    Candy-O
The Charlie Daniels Band
    A Decade Of Hits
The Offspring
    Smash
The Police
    Every Breath You Take_ The Singles
    Ghost In The Machine
    Synchronicity
The Psychedelic Furs
    Should God Forget_ A Retrospective (Disc 1)
    Should God Forget_ A Retrospective (Disc 2)
    World Outside
The Ramones
    Hey! Ho! Let's Go_ The Anthology (Disc 1)
    Hey! Ho! Let's Go_ The Anthology (Disc 2)
The Regency Orchestra
    Christmas Treasures
The Replacements
    Let It Be
The Rolling Stones
    Emotional Rescue
    Sticky Fingers
The Simpsons
    The Simpsons Sing The Blues
The Sisters Of Mercy
    Floodland
The Smiths
    Singles
The Strokes
    Is This It
The Subdudes
    Any Cure
Tin Machine
    Tin Machine II
Tom Jones
    Reloaded
Tom Waits
    Small Change
Tones On Tail
    Tones On Tail
U2
    Achtung Baby
Unknown
    GiuseppeTartini - Violin Concertos
    Holst - The Planets Suite, St Paul's Suite
Unknown Artist
    Sabre PC sounds
    The 9 Symphonies
    Unknown Album
    Untitled - New CD
Various
    Weinachten Zu Haus
Various Artists
    Blues Masters Volume 04- Harmo
    Blues Masters Volume 06 _ Blue
    Blues Masters Volume 07_ Blues
    Super Blues Bo Diddly Muddy Wa
Vince Guaraldi
    A Charlie Brown Christmas
Violent Femmes
    Violent Femmes
    Why Do Birds Sing
Weird Al Yankovic
    Off The Deep End
Wuppentaler Kurrende
    Jauchzet dem Herren_ Motetten und Orgelmusik im Kirchenjahr
_The Seasonings_ (S. ½ tsp.)
    P.D.Q. Bach_ An Hysteric Return - P.D.Q. Bach At Carnegie Hall
artist
    title
lazy lester
    all over you

You can guess what's Jorj's and was ripped hurredly to get the CDs out of the living room. I'm missing a bunch of stuff that was ripped pre-Mac and is on the basement server. I'll be dragging those CDs out of the basement, I guess. (Easier than syncing from the basement.)

Sept 22: My peeps people! My peeps!

Weird Al understands my peeps! This means you.

And did you see the O'Reilly reference? Weird Al rocks my world!

June 8: Tori Anne Sarah: All is right with the world

Yesterday, the world got a bit back on course with the birth of Tori Anne Sarah, daughter of Cecily and Charlie. It was a long, scary journey, but she's here. Cecily got her birth plan ("live baby"), but missed having a child born on 6/6/6. Tori is 6 lbs, 4 oz and looks like her mom.

June 5: Michael Bloomberg rocks my world

Bloomberg's speech to Johns Hopkins graduates.

May 14: The Doctor is in da house!

The Doctor is back.

As much as I've missed Doctor Who since it was cancelled in 1989, the long hiatus was perhaps the best thing for the series. We're so grateful for any Doctor Who that even the most trivia-oriented fans will accept a series that is based more on the spirit of the originals than the minor details (like which generation of Daleks is being battled).

So many things have been improved upon since Sylvester McCoy -- effects, writing, directing, acting, cinematography -- but the real change is what has been restored: subtlety.

The humor doesn't hit you over the head as it did with McCoy and Colin Baker (let us never speak of him again). Tom Baker's humor might have been broad, but it wasn't the only element of the stories. Now, like any good drama, there is humor, but it is incidental to the plot, yet natural.

Billie Piper's selection as the latest companion engendered rampant hand-wringing on the Interweb. She's a pop star! She won't be able to act! Hah! Before becoming a teen pop star, Piper studied at a prestigious drama school, and she knows how to do more than scream. (In fact, in a scene where screaming is appropriate, she never reaches the ear-shattering registers of Mel -- Bonnie Langford.)

Her character, Rose, is of the party-girl groupof companions (best example: Jo Grant and Tegan) rather than the scientist/professional companions (Liz Shaw, Romana, Leela, Sarah Jane), but she takes no, er, guff, from the Doctor. "When he gets frightened he insults species." She may acknowledge his technical superiority, but that doesn't give him any moral superiority. Although Mel was ostensibly a computer specialist from the "near" future, she was a complete ditz.

Of course, we can't blame Langford for that, it's how the character was written. Piper's Rose has scenes of bravery, cleverness and resourcefulness (her use of the energy gun in "The Doctor Dances" to save herself, the Doctor and Captain Jack). Even the episode-only characters are brave, clever and resourceful (Nancy, again, "the Doctor Dances").

May 10

Cecily is one of the strongest women I know.

And some days I'm so glad I don't have a daughter.

May 4: The first of our friends

The first friends to do anything always inspire a "wow, are we at that stage already?" from me. The first of our friends to get married (Simon on Jorj's side, Suzy on mine). The first to have children (Simon again, and Rodney on my side). The first to buy a house (us, I think). The first divorce.

The first to die. Jorj's friend Phil OD'd Monday. Jorj and Phil knew each other from infancy. Jorj remembers Phil's sister Krissy being born. They lived next door to each other, then Jorj's parents divorced and moved, and they reconnected in high school, graduating in 1990. Jorj stayed with Phil's family one summer when things were tough at home.

Phil found pot in high school, heroin shortly after that. He'd been through re-hab a couple times. Krissy said he was tapering off the methadone, returning more and more to his old self. But ... for some reason he couldn't go without that high, and there's been some deadly heroin going around the area lately.

Cecily and Sarah are recovering addicts and two of the strongest people I know. I can't stay away from chocolate for more than three months, and only with a threat to the baby. Knowing it will kill her is what keeps Cecily off her addictions, she says. She has a great story of the night she almost died from an overdose on her site. Go, read it. And Tommy Barbarella said she goes to meetings to remind herself of this. The she knows, but she stops knowing that drinking again will kill her.

I guess Phil forgot. Things were good: a girlfriend of two years, talk of moving in together, talk of visiting his old friend Jorj, a life on track.

Phil's friends haven't forgotten that the heroin was killing him, slowly, for years, destroying his personality. When he got off it, Jorj said he was more like himself before but ... Each year, he was more like himself, but still not the same. I told Jorj today that Phil was a neat guy (as in neato-keano). He said "he'd been neater."

Tobi has asked how we can talk to Jake about drugs without every having tried them. Jorj and I are the perfect argument that life can be fun and cool without drugs. And there is always Cecily, Sarah, Tommy B. and Ross to scare the living daylights out of him.

And now Phil.

I hope you've found what you were looking for Phil.

April 25: Please welcom Nate Micheal H******!!!

(Parents S&L more privacy concerned than I.)

2:46 p.m., 22 inches, 9 pounds.

Everybody say Wooooooooo!

(Cecily still pregnant.)

March 21: Sharing already

We think my camera -- the one I dropped on the terrazzo floor at Greg and Anne's wedding -- may be dying, so no obligatory photos of snow drops or crocusses. In good news, the daffodils and hyacinths I thought had died last year seem to be returning. Must have been that global warming that doesn't exist.

I read this essay from the Council on Foreign Affairs, discussing Saddam's paranoia, equating of disagreement with disloyalty, and refusal to hear bad news and thought, gee, that sounds really familiar.

[Want to drive Rick Santorum out of office?]

We now return to our regularly-scheduled absurdity.

It's pledge time for Public TV again (Public Radio has finished, but my membership is good for another few months), so, finally, they realized that special cooking programs during the usual block of weekend cooking shows might pull more pledges than yet another money lecture. I was so thrilled to see Julia Child on TV again that I went a little crazy and pledged ... a lot ... to get six DVDs of her first two seasons. Of course, you could buy the Julia Child DVDs for a lot less and still support public TV. Now, when the Simpsons have been recorded again rather than my beloved Good Eats, and I can't stand to watch another talking head with a frying pan, I can whip out some Julia and whip up some cream. I just need a DVD player in the kitchen.

Parenthood is still exhausting.

Name for an obscure Christian death metal band: Death Milk.

That is all.

February 19: Pictures!

Obligatory child photos

I've been cooking: apple-onion cream soup, and Turkish meatballs in yogurt sauce. Both are recipes from Anne. Both are very good. Both have left my kitchen a disaster.

January 29, 2006

Latest project for the web site has been converting the recipes to XML. This will make changing the style of the pages easier, and allow me to make metric versions of all the recipes without hand-converting. Plus, it's just plain geeky fun. Each XML file must still be validated, but I'm pretty proud of it. Each validates to the RecipeML spec, with some XHTML thrown in for paragraphs and images. An XSLT stylesheet converts it all to XHMTL, which is made pretty by CSS. Although its creators claim otherwise, CSS is not capable of rendering XML, unless you want the document displayed in the order written, which I didn't. Some elements appear twice (title), some get moved around (date). CSS has no conditionals, no loops. XSLT is just plain cool. The CSS will change as I show more info on the pages, and have better ideas for sidebar placements.

Philly photo-bloggers meeting today. Only two of the four actually have a photoblog, and one of those two was Jake, so I'm not sure that counts. Jorj (with Jake and me in tow) met good friend Steve Boj at three-bear park in old city -- near St. Paul's Church. Can't wait to see Steve's pictures, if he ever gets a site.

Jorj suggested we have a game night, so now he and I spend Friday nights with a beer and a deck of cards or pair of dice. It beats spending Friday nights with a beer and a computer (that's what Saturdays and Sundays are for!). Gena and Steve joined us after Christmas for "Shadows Over Camelot." Lots of fun! "Shadows" is a co-operative game, where everyone wins or loses. We lost two of three, and that was playing with the easy rules. Co-operative gaming sounds odd, you say? Jorj is still trying to counter the insidious influence of my only-childhood.

Tentatively, Jake's first trip to Germany will be in July, if airfare prices come out of the stratosphere. Tickets are $1,200 per seat (including taxes and fees). We now need three seats. Sure, we could not book a seat and hope to find an empty seat for the carrier, but the kid's got luggage!

Jorj and I have both uploaded pictures of Jake recently. Go and coo in wonder!

August, September, October & November 2005 January & February 2007

What I'm reading

  • Learning XML This is the kind of book tht built O'Reilly's reputation in technical publishing. Complete, well-written and funny as all get out. If you can, read the first edition. While not as complete, the examples -- all from Sci-Fi TV and movies -- are great. The second edition is missing most of them, maybe for copyright reasons.
  • R Is for Ricochet. I've loved Kinsey Milhone since A Is for Alibi, I'm not giving up on her yet. R didn't grab me so much -- I read ahead to see if it got interesting, it did. S is supposed to be better.
  • Inkheart, Cornelia Funke. She's claimed to be the German J.K. Rowling, but Inkheart got off to a slow start. The reputation might come from her other books, but I couldn't see it here.
  • Inkspell, Cornelia Funke. The sequel! Jorj was busy this Christmas, bless his little heart. Of to a much better start. However, it's hardcover, so I'm not reading it on the train. This may take a while.

What I'm listening to

Germans -- because I could by German rap on iTunes. Jorj appropriately horrified.

  • Fettes Brot, Am Wasser Gebaut, rap, once you get past the white German rap, it's fantastic and intelligent. Must find their album we bought on our honeymoon. Tobi's sister very impressed that I'd heard of them and liked them.
  • die Ärtze, Planet Punk, punk, bought on the honeymoon, like Fettes Brot, very intelligent
  • Scorpions, Crazy World, metal, Jorj's, love it.

Things that make me happy (in no particular order)

  • Sleep!
  • Sudden understanding
  • Honeysuckle: this year they've been very strong, and can be smelled even in the car with only the vent open.
  • Fastnachttag
  • Julia Child
  • Spontaneous entertaining -- just drop on by!
  • Wool socks
  • Hearing Schwäbisch -- in Germany, in the deli, on CD
  • Sudden understanding
  • Honeysuckle: this year they've been very strong, and can be smelled even in the car with only the vent open.
  • Fastnachttag
  • Chanel No. 5
  • Spontaneous entertaining -- just drop on by!
  • Wool socks
  • Hearing Schwäbisch -- in Germany, in the deli, on CD
  • Hot tea
  • Spätzle
  • Math, especially algebra
  • Inclement weather
  • Getting a good workout in the garden
  • Mokka
  • Watching Jorj
  • Clap boxes and label printers
  • Green tea