Whale Of A Site (Reblog)

The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society is allowing us to experience a life-size whale on our computer monitors. Maybe I'm a sucker for whales, but I think this is totally keen. I think this might go over well in the classroom of one of the many J. Schoolteachers I know.

Parent Sorta Wants Lost Child Back (Reblog)

Things like this are what inspire my inner Luddite. This guy gives his child a USB drive with lost-and-found contact instructions on it, instead of giving him a piece of paper with a phone number. Presumably he doesn't want his child back if somebody without a computer finds him.

Further Crowing (Reblog)

First Google dominance, and now I'm a blogging trend-setter! I appear to have scooped Lifehacker on how to prevent Firefox resizing for the tech-impaired. Lifehacker's post isn't even as detailed as mine.

Hunan #3 (Chow)

Attempt the third. Only slight progress from attempt the second, I'm afraid; I overshot on the heat correction to the point that the wife (who is no spice lightweight) found it a bit uncomfortable to eat. Switching from rice to soba didn't help with the heat mitigation, of course.

I doubled the ginger and salted black bean liquor from my last recipe, and threw in a fresh serrano pepper. The ginger and serrano finished kicking the hot/sour balance up to what I wanted, and the extra liquor slightly nudged the depth in the right direction. I'm still missing some magic vegetarian ingredient to add some meat-fat-like profundity.

I've updated the Kitchenarium recipe to reflect the desired heat. I also added a terser printable version of the recipe that fits on one page and omits all my blathering.

More Posthumous Tolkien (Reblog)

Christopher Tolkien, working for years and years from notes left by his father, has just completed The Children of Húrin. It will be released on April 17.

Menu Foods Income Fund (Reblog)

I shared an item a while back about the pet food poisoning. It was interesting how many brands were affected... In fact, it turns out that almost all pet food brands we can buy in America, from generics to Iams, are manufactured by the same company in the same facilities. Over 90 brands on the market, and in actuality it is a pet food monoculture and we have little real consumer choice. The Globe and Mail has an interesting article about how the Canadian Menu Foods Income Fund came to add rat poison to so much of our pet food.

Self-aggrandizement

The wife just pointed out that this blog is now the #1 Google hit for its name... Now, if only people always searched for "Itty Bitty Kitty Committee", I could sell ad space and drown myself in Trappist ale!

Kitchenarium Updates (Chow)

Updated with some easy little snacks.

• dill dip
• firecrackers
• sweet and sour cucumbers
  

Stop Unwanted FireFox Resizing

I was asked about this earlier today, and figured one of my other non-technical readers might find the answer useful. If you get really irritated by websites resizing Firefox for you -- from zooming it out to unmaximized full screen to shrinking it down to the size of a tiny ad -- it is simple to put an end to.

1. Open the Options dialog.
2. Open the Advanced JavaScript Settings dialog.
3. Uncheck the Move or resize existing windows check box.
Alternately, you can just use about:config to change dom.disable_window_move_resize to true... :-)

Composting

It is getting to be that time of year when our dog can begin to frolic in our thawed open-bin composters, with unpleasant results for those who sleep with him. We have three 3'x3'x3' cheap wire compost bins and one heavy plastic barrel, for about 30 cubic feet of composting. That would be an excessive amount of composting space for our meager household and yard if we weren't also composting sod as we slowly ungrass our yard.

Unfortunately, the wire bins aren't holding up that well, and are also difficult for the wife to turn over. (What? I have to think of my manicure!) And a squirrel ate a hole in our plastic composter.

This got me to thinking about some sexier tumbling composting options. Unfortunately it looks like those composters work out to between $15 to $40 per cubic foot of composting space. Additionally, while some of the tumbling composters claim usable compost in just 2 weeks, general Usenet consensus appears to be that they don't actually measurably accelerate the composting process.

Assuming I could get 3 full loads out of a Tumbleweed Tumbler each year, that's $8 per cubic foot of compost over the device's warranty lifetime. (Again, Usenet seems to demonstrate that there is a reason this particular product only has a one year warranty.) It would take an 8 year lifetime to bring the cost down to competitive levels with purchased compost.

So it looks like my wife is going to have to keep turning over her own compost. To address the compost accessibility issue we may be reduced to constructing our own composting fixture.

Forever Stamp Now (Reblog)

The forever stamp is on! The USPS approved it along with the 41 cent rate hike. We should see the forever stamp in April, before the rate hike goes into effect, but will still have to pay 41 cents for it.

I could have just shared this item, but that wouldn't let me link back to my previous blog on the same subject.

The Ditty Bops (Recommendation)

The Ditty Bops are a folky pop band with a super-green sensibility (warning: song link) which could easily make them unlistenable if they were any more self-important or preachy -- they aren't -- or any less musically talented -- ditto. No driving guitar lines here, this is vocal-driven stuff with constant dulcimer accents. Their cool self-designed web site lets you give them a very thorough listening before you give a cut of your money to the RIAA; remember, always check the RIAA Radar before purchasing music!

The photo shows the group's front-women with Les Paul.

SFBC & Me (Reblog)

I arrived at this circuitously through CMD's shared post from SF Signal about a cute plastic Cthulhu doll. The original is from Sara Howe. This is a Science Fiction Book Club list of the most significant SF novels from '53 to '06 with the instructions: "Bold the ones you have read, strike through the ones you read and hated, italicize those you started but never finished and put a star next to the ones you love." Let's see how normal I am.

1. * The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien
2. The Foundation Trilogy, Isaac Asimov
3. Dune, Frank Herbert
4. Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert A. Heinlein
5. A Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula K. Le Guin
6. Neuromancer, William Gibson
7. Childhood's End, Arthur C. Clarke
8. * Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Philip K. Dick
9. The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley
10. Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury
11. * The Book of the New Sun, Gene Wolfe
12. A Canticle for Leibowitz, Walter M. Miller, Jr.
13. The Caves of Steel, Isaac Asimov
14. Children of the Atom, Wilmar Shiras
15. Cities in Flight, James Blish
16. The Colour of Magic, Terry Pratchett
17. Dangerous Visions, edited by Harlan Ellison
18. Deathbird Stories, Harlan Ellison
19. The Demolished Man, Alfred Bester
20. Dhalgren, Samuel R. Delany
21. Dragonflight, Anne McCaffrey
22. Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card
23. The First Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, Stephen R. Donaldson
24. The Forever War, Joe Haldeman
25. Gateway, Frederik Pohl
26. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, J.K. Rowling
27. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
28. I Am Legend, Richard Matheson
29. Interview with the Vampire, Anne Rice
30. * The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K. Le Guin
31. Little, Big, John Crowley
32. * Lord of Light, Roger Zelazny
33. * The Man in the High Castle, Philip K. Dick
34. Mission of Gravity, Hal Clement
35. * More Than Human, Theodore Sturgeon
36. The Rediscovery of Man, Cordwainer Smith
37. On the Beach, Nevil Shute
38. Rendezvous with Rama, Arthur C. Clarke
39. Ringworld, Larry Niven
40. Rogue Moon, Algis Budrys
41. The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien
42. * Slaughterhouse-5, Kurt Vonnegut
43. * Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson
44. Stand on Zanzibar, John Brunner
45. The Stars My Destination, Alfred Bester
46. Starship Troopers, Robert A. Heinlein
47. Stormbringer, Michael Moorcock
48. The Sword of Shannara, Terry Brooks
49. Timescape, Gregory Benford
50. To Your Scattered Bodies Go, Philip Jose Farmer

Read: 40.

Read & hated: 6.

Read & loved: 9.

Started & did not finish: 1.

I'm genuinely surprised that I'm more of a lover than a hater! Although many of the books on the list I consider poor (Neuromancer) or quite poor (The Sword of Shannara), without actually being able to provoke by utter derision. I'm gratified that Dick, Sturgeon, and Wolfe all made their list.

Kitchenarium Actually Slightly Useful (Chow)

I'm so excited; my recipe-sharing plans have borne fruit! Well, carbohydrates, actually, but close. CMD dined upon confetti casserole the other night, modified with chicken and blue tortilla chips. Using the blue tortilla chips is inspired, and adds some much-needed color to the dish.
He also used an improvised tin-foil casserole lid, which worked just fine.
Unfortunately, Myra wasn't so impressed with the food. I'll have to figure out how to cater more towards her tastes -- perhaps a Batman-themed dish...

Puzzle Blog (Recommendation)

What is it? is an interesting blog of visual puzzles consisting of photographs of strange objects. There are some interesting pieces of antique machinery scattered throughout.

Stamp Yourself

I stumbled across this while playing with Google's latest Picasa, and while I'm probably too cheap to ever use it, Zazzle can do some neat one-off manufacturing. What really caught my eye was how you can create your own postage stamps (for a one to two times markup). I'd never thought about it before, but this is a clever little shtick to impress the grand-folks. Of course it turns out there are vast numbers of competing websites out there which will also create custom postage for you -- I guess the USPTO didn't think this was as patentable as point-to-point Internet protocol.

Frogwatch (Recommendation)

For those of you who don't already know, I was raised by frogs. I used to drive around the country in a panel van with Hyla painted on the side. When I visit my parents' home, the only way to avoid looking at a frog is to keep your eyes closed. And I mean anywhere in their home.

All that said, I still kinda like frogs.

Do you like frogs? The National Wildlife Federation (one of my favorite charities) has a Frogwatch program that you -- yes, you -- can participate in. Some of you I know have children that are almost of an age to participate in this with the help of a parental unit. In Champaign-Urbana there are plenty of nearby wetland habitats. It pays to build on a swamp! Or you can always take a few excursions east to Kickapoo.

He Made Me Eat Fascist Ideology

Alas, in much the same way I imagine it was difficult for Thyestes to judge the meal Atreus served him on its culinary merits once the ingredients were revealed, I now find myself unable to appreciate the books of John C. Wright, having exposed myself to too much of his blog.

Green Your Toilet (Reblog)

I was first exposed to this magnificent residential toilet idea when we were on our honeymoon in Matsuyama, staying with CRB&JAL in their university apartment. The toilet had a small sink on top of its tank, and when you flushed it the flushing water ran through the sink's faucet first before cycling on down to the toilet bowl. This let you wash your hands without using any additional water.

Now there are apparently after-market toilet tank tops that can similarly convert any toilet. This SinkPositive model is available for about $100, and while it clearly isn't haute décor for your Toto, its function is beautiful.

Chew On Gumboy (Reblog)

I am sometimes nostalgic for old-timey arcade games, and MAME doesn't really satisfy me -- even EJB's cool MAME cabinet, were I to have convenient access to it. Which I weren't. I'd like some modern gloss on top of solid game play (as opposed to modern gloss on top of modern gloss).

A while ago I stumbled upon Gish, a physics-based PC game where you control a ball of tar by adjusting your stickiness and viscosity. To me, this is the new-tech version of the old-tech arcade joy. Which, however, is not why I'm writing this reblog...

I've just run into a clear descendant of Gish, Gumboy Crazy Adventures. To me, this promises sentimental arcade pleasures in a hip, fancy package. At least EJB may like it.

Green CU (Reblog)

Chambana just barely eked its way into a top ten list of best green places to live, according to a study by Country Home Magazine. My current township was not so industrious.

Kitchenarium Updates (Chow)

Since I actually made a bok choy stirfry last night, I updated the recipe page with some photographs. The wife made some steamed taro and azuki bean buns and fried vegetable pot-stickers as accompaniment.

• bok choy stirfy
• confetti casserole
  

Unnatural Seedling Love

We built a little nursery in the basement which the wife can use to indulge her startlingly inappropriate love for seedlings. She's documenting their growth as if they were her babies. I'm more interested in the low-impact nursery, which we can wheel around on its extension cord. I can't believe how badly we exploit foreign labor for super cheap fluorescent light fixtures!
Of course this is nothing compared to the extravagant biospheres in EJB's basement, or his mother's basement. But we have room to grow.

Fast PDF Viewing (Reblog)

For those of us who sometimes read PDFs, Foxit Reader is a nice free alternative to Adobe's quite inefficient Reader software.

I would have just shared the Lifehacker post that turned me on this software, but I still haven't found a way of sharing an arbitrary blog post. I'm surprised, actually, that there isn't a bookmarklet (like the Subscribe bookmarklet available on Google Reader's Settings/Goodies page, which I can't directly link to) to star or share a syndicated web page.

Amazon Upgrade (Reblog)

While following up on some new Amazon-Tivo cross-pollination today, I somehow failed to stumble across this nifty Amazon feature -- but my dad was nice enough to point it out to me. This is an interesting service that, for an additional fee, gives you permanent electronic access to books you purchase through Amazon. Depending on the cost, I can see this being well worth it for many types of reference books. Alas, the selection is currently rather limited (none of my past book purchases are eligible for Amazon Upgrade).

Amazon has a sample to look at if you are interested. Searching, bookmarking, note-taking, it all looks pretty slick.

Gizmodon't (Reblog)

It is really disappointing to see a post like this on a moderately reputable technology blog. I'd comment on the post directly, but Gawker commenting accounts are invitation-only.

Here is what I'd like to have said:

It is disappointing to read something like this on Gizmodo. I hope, in the near future, there is a top-level debunking that is a little more grounded in the real world. Not only is the device in question a guaranteed placebo, but if this (possibly real & deluded but probably shilling) Larry's father-in-law really has a 6-digit audio setup, that will be 99% placebo as well. You might as well have published a hearsay article about how your friend Moe told you what a good time he had visiting Zembla last fall.

I need to go wash this taste out of mouth with some Dan's Data debunking.

Camerashy (Pets)

'Dolon isn't sure about the wife's new sleazy around-the-house camera. Maybe it squeaks? Maybe it is edible, like plastic bowls, mulch, or frozen dog poop?
'Dolon has figured out that the camera is none of those things. Plus it makes weird whirring noises when the wife focuses it on him.
Camera is bad! 'Dolon gives it three barks of badness.

Kitchenarium Updates (Chow)

Needed to make some beer bread tonight, so I'm responding to CMD's criticism that my recipes are too daunting with these:

• beer bread
• vegetable korma
  

Kitchenarium Updates (Chow)

I'm unhappy with the various free tools I've tried for turning a random web page into a blog. Some automatic ones don't work all that well or spam ads to the blog, while I'm too lazy to jump through additional hoops for the manual ones. This hoop, I'm already jumping through, so when I update the Kitchenarium I'll just post about it here.

To wit:

• bok choy stirfry
• ālū gōbhī (cauliflower potato curry)
  
• chapati
• dhaniyā caṭanī (coriander chutney)
• nāśapātī caṭanī (coriander pear chutney)
• pudīnā caṭanī (mint chutney)
• spinach and zucchini lasagna
  

Nanodeposited Air (Reblog)

It isn't the long-awaited general availability of affordable SPD windows, but it is still pretty cool... Some researchers in New York have created a material with a refractive index of 1.05 using oblique angle evaporation.

Wurd Of The Deigh

I don't really mind that mental_floss almost never put up a word I don't know, or even a fairly rare word. However, I've been really irritated by the horrible quality of the writing in their example sentences. It wasn't quite enough to get me to unsubscribe...until now. The malapropism in today's example was too much -- coupled with no facility for leaving a comment about their error, I'm turfing their feed.