Nice Wheels
Monday, June 29, 2009
posted by planetshwoop @ 9:29 PM,
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Me And The Alderman
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Before the CAPS mtg.
posted by planetshwoop @ 11:07 PM,
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Yet more flotsam and jetsam
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
1. I would love to have a pair of pants like this, but I'm not the right size. I would love to have these for casual Fridays, weekends, etc.
2. I keep mulling over an essay (yet to be written) about how the 21st century will be about authenticity. In the era of globalization and technology and virtualization and tourism, finding what's real will be of increasing importance.
posted by planetshwoop @ 8:24 PM,
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On Static vs Dynamic
Monday, February 2, 2009
About two weeks ago, I bought my afternoon coffee and forgot to put milk in it. "Oh well", I figured "I'll just drink it anyway." And so I did. But for the first time in my life, black coffee actually tasted good.
Last night I was brushing my teeth and noticed a prickly white hair poking out of my head. I had seen suspicious bits of white appear when shaving, so the maverick whitey hints at a trend: I'm about to go gray.
Neither of these things bother me. I've watched Shylo's body change so much in the past months because of her pregnancy--her curves have altered, she no longer likes tomatoes, she naps a lot--that it isn't hard to imagine that my body wants to do something different too.
One of the glorious things about growing older is watching how things change, learning what is static about yourself ("I like bicycles") vs what is dynamic ("Just black coffee please thanks"). I still have oblong feet but now I like to run--I never used to.
Perhaps the biggest thing to remember about "the change we can believe in" isn't how much our government can change, it's how we can transform ourselves. The recession has made me spend a lot more time inside, literally and figuratively.
What have I learned? I feel happier as an adult. One of the most powerful things was to learn how to control my moods, find the right tools to avoid being sad. I'm lucky--something I used to think was so static is now dynamic.
So what if my hair turns white? Soon something else will change, and I'll barely notice.
Labels: aging
posted by planetshwoop @ 12:28 PM,
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Yellow Puppy Dog
Thursday, January 29, 2009
This was the crowning top of a display in a thrift-store in Crystal Lake. I like the contrast of the dry beige with the wet yellow, but good god, it is hideous.
It was placed next to someone's collection of bells from different states. People's desire to collect things always puzzles me. "I'm in Wyoming, I should collect a bell" someone must think. But mostly they were from lame places in Florida.
posted by planetshwoop @ 5:31 AM,
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Baby Thoughts
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
The old lady who lived in the house across the street appears to have died. Appears?
Yes, appears.
She did not come over and tell us she was dying. She was 100, so we knew. And we'd see her soft living room light come on, then later go off, a definitive sign that the woman who had been a girl during World War I was still hanging out, night after night.
The caretakers would sit outside and smoke. There was a rock at the end of the old woman's driveway, and the caretakers would sit, always at 8am or 8pm, and smoke. The shift would change.
The smoking stopped a few weeks ago. Before Christmas? Now there is a green sign planted in the snow: "For Sale".
Soon new neighbors will move in, perhaps another couple with children, a couple like we are about to become. Their children will dance on the lawn, they will decorate the house. Perhaps we'll become friends and step inside for dinner?
But I won't forget the lady, living alone at the end of her life, sometimes slowly answering the door, the light usually on in the evening.
Labels: memory
posted by planetshwoop @ 4:54 AM,
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ChiBoGa
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Since we had to head up to Highland Park to pick up a crib for Gus, we decided to head over the the Chicago Botanical Gardens to see what was happening. For a garden in the winter in Chicago: not much. But the orchid room and the desert room are always a treat, and I made Shylo take this picture because it looked other-planetary.
posted by planetshwoop @ 4:47 PM,
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Truly Pattern Recognition
Thursday, January 1, 2009
"She is increasingly of the opinion that worrying about problems doesn't help solve them, but she hasn't really found an alternative yet."
-- William Gibson, Pattern Recognition
Labels: quotes
posted by planetshwoop @ 10:36 PM,
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Echoes Of Subprime
Sunday, December 21, 2008
"By mid-2003, as the drumbeat of criticism--and a string of investigations--intensified, there were some hints of remorse. At its annual meeting in May, J.P. Morgan Chase issued a statement saying, "We have seen far more than the usual number of serious accidents at the intersection of Wall Street and Main. And our financial institutions, including J.P. Morgan Chase, must take their share of responsibility for that." Two months later, J.P. Morgan Chase and Citigroup agreed to pay a combined $286 million for "helping to commit a fraud" on Enron's shareholders as SEC enforcement chief Stephen Cutler told reporters. The two banks also agreed to ensure that their clients who used complex financial structures account for them in ways that investors could readily understand. Investors will have to wait until the next bull market to gauge whether anything has really changed."
(The emphasis is mine.)
Reading "The Smartest Guys In The Room" this weekend was amazing. To imagine that such a business existing boggles the mind, and seems like a better warning of the current financial difficulties than the LTCM crisis was previously.
Labels: finance
posted by planetshwoop @ 10:11 PM,
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RAM discounts
Saturday, December 20, 2008
As I was heading out to the suburbs today, I stopped at the RAM in Rosemont to fill up a growler for our family's holiday meal. I decided to try the Hazelnut Porter, which sounds likes a cheesy coffee flavor, but is actually a pretty decent beer.
The best part? It's only $5 to refill a growler on Fridays and Saturdays. That's less than a crappy six-pack of Miller Lite--and it will be available every day in January. So I'm definitely heading back to the RAM in January.
Labels: beer
posted by planetshwoop @ 5:47 PM,
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Natasha with Aloe
Monday, December 15, 2008
A beautiful still life (well still for a cat) taken earlier today.
posted by planetshwoop @ 10:19 PM,
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Barbarians At the Gate
Sunday, December 14, 2008
"Why did these people care so much about what came out of their computers and so little about what came out of their factories? Why were they so intent on breaking up instead of building up? And last: what did this all have to do with doing business?"
Barbarians at the Gate was quite good--it read more like a novel than a business book. I'd recommend it.
Labels: books
posted by planetshwoop @ 12:12 PM,
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Reading Can Be the Stuff Of Life
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
I see the world in terms of words because whenever I have a quiet moment, I fill it with reading. (via Rands in Repose.)
As someone who has almost been mown down by taxis while walking and reading, and often takes a path through the alley at night because the light is better to finish the next page of the book, I agree.
Labels: quotes
posted by planetshwoop @ 9:32 PM,
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Peekaboo Mr. Boo
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
This is our cat that we buried in blankets during the weekend. He's a photogenic beast, though I like the blend of color from this picture.
posted by planetshwoop @ 10:45 PM,
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How To Bake Bread In a Dutch Oven And Have It Taste Totally Awesome
Friday, December 5, 2008
(A friend recently asked me for baking tips after she got a new Dutch oven. Since I bake a lot, I thought I'd pass along my experiences.)
Yes, I do bake a lot -- probably 2x a week. We've cut down how much bread
we buy because I tend to make a couple of loaves. The no-knead is how I
make all of my bread -- it makes it taste a lot better and also makes
baking a lot less work.
Here's my basic recipe. It's taken from the Mark Bittman book "How To
Cook Everything". I'm sure the library has it if you want lots and lots
of details.
3 1/2 c. flour (bread flour is better, but not necessary)
1 1/2 c. water - 2 c. water
salt
yeast - usually about 1 tsp. See below.
12 - 18 hour version
I mix the yeast, flour, and then a bunch of salt together. I then add the
water in 1/2 c. batches into the flour and just stir it all together. Use
extra water and less yeast.
Once you have a wet gooey mess (don't worry if it is gloppy, the yeast
will take care of it), set it aside in the mixing bowl to rise. It works
better if you put plastic wrap on top, but it's not required.
Let it rise for 12 hours, then punch down. Let rise again for 4 hours,
then transfer the loaf into the dutch oven and bake at 450 for 45 minutes.
4 hour version
Mix the yeast into warm water (about the temperature of bathtub water) and
give it a little boost by adding anything sugary you have handy -- jam,
maple syrup, a little molasses. No more than a teaspoon. Let it
percolate for about 5-10 mins--it will start to foam and that is good.
Use a healthy teaspoon of yeast, maybe a bit more if you are
time-constrained.
Mix the flour and salt together, then mix in the fluid. Make sure it's
gooey.
Let it rise for 2-3 hours, then punch down. Let it rise again, and then
bake at 450F in a dutch oven until it's done.
Important Tips & Tricks
- Preheat the over 20-30 mins to 450 before baking. It takes awhile for
most ovens to get decently hot.
- Make sure your dutch oven doesn't have a plastic handle -- it can melt
or smoke at 450. (I used a metal calaphon lid and it was ok.)
- you need to oil the pan to prevent the bread from getting burned to the
bottom. I usually use canola oil because it can handle the heat. It will
taste even better if you sprinkle polenta or coarse cornmeal on top of the
oil before putting the bread in -- the bread will slide out really easy
when it's all done.
- The longer you let it rise, the better it will taste, and then use
correspondingly less yeast.
- If you want whole grain bread, replace your regular flour with up to 1
1/2 c. of different flours and it should work just fine. I often mix in 1
c. of rye flour, but have also used oatmeal, whole wheat flour, or mixed
in nuts. Using lots of fruit, blueberries, and cinnamon is an option too.
- Make sure to let it cool before eating. 5 mins. is a minimum, 30 is
better.
- Don't worry too much about the ambient temperature of where it rises.
Anything over 60 should be OK, ie you don't need to put it in the oven or
anything.
- Bread tastes better with lots of salt. Taste the dough as you're mixing
it to taste the salt.
- You don't need to knead. The yeast will take care of it.
- the mixing takes 5-10 mins, and the clean-up takes the same. All in
all, the whole thing takes about 30 minutes of your time.
Here is the original inspiration. I find this recipe too fussy though.
(Seriously, who measures 1 5/8 of anything?!?) I don't preheat the pot, I
just use it myself and think that's a reasonable trade-off.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/dining/081mrex.html
Let me know how you like it!
posted by planetshwoop @ 5:00 PM,
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