August 25th, 2009
June 6th, 2009
June 5th, 2009
I've been in San Francisco for two weeks now, though the last week has been somewhat of a blur and I'm not really convinced that it's Friday yet. The city is really amazing, and I can't believe I waited this long to get out here for reals. I think I'm going to make a life here.
Tim is finishing classes in Iowa which is a strange experience. This is the longest time we've been separated since we first went out, causing me to realize how amazing our constant conversations were. We have a somewhat interesting relationship in that we're both academic, and we approach all problems from an academic standpoint. Most of our casual time is spent coming up with crazy hypothesis about the world we live in and attempting to defend them with data. I'm getting increasingly excited and impatient waiting for him to join me.
The people out here are very weird. I was never the most liberal person in Iowa by any stretch, but people that were more liberal were few and far between. Out here, people are unabashedly more liberal than me -- to the point I'm almost conservative. There have been more than a few times that conversations have been taxing for me because I realize that my viewpoint comes from an entirely different worldview than someone born and raised in Northern California. That said, I haven't met anyone I didn't really like, and overall everyone seems nice enough.
I finally met![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
midendian in real life. It's been weird meeting someone I've been online friends with since 2003 and somehow avoided meeting until now. Adam has been pretty much awesome, in fact he may actually be cooler in person than online.
Tim is finishing classes in Iowa which is a strange experience. This is the longest time we've been separated since we first went out, causing me to realize how amazing our constant conversations were. We have a somewhat interesting relationship in that we're both academic, and we approach all problems from an academic standpoint. Most of our casual time is spent coming up with crazy hypothesis about the world we live in and attempting to defend them with data. I'm getting increasingly excited and impatient waiting for him to join me.
The people out here are very weird. I was never the most liberal person in Iowa by any stretch, but people that were more liberal were few and far between. Out here, people are unabashedly more liberal than me -- to the point I'm almost conservative. There have been more than a few times that conversations have been taxing for me because I realize that my viewpoint comes from an entirely different worldview than someone born and raised in Northern California. That said, I haven't met anyone I didn't really like, and overall everyone seems nice enough.
I finally met
midendian in real life. It's been weird meeting someone I've been online friends with since 2003 and somehow avoided meeting until now. Adam has been pretty much awesome, in fact he may actually be cooler in person than online.I made the following recipe and I have no idea what asian cuisine it most closely resembles.
Stock
1 head and 1 tail of mackerel (use the flanks for other dishes)
1 quart water
1 clove garlic
1 tablespoon thai chili sauce
1/2 tsp "Seasoning" (from Japan)
dash salt for flavor
Put fish in water, bring to rapid boil and remain at boil until stock reduces by about 1/4. Add whole garlic clove, thai chili sauce, seasoning, and salt to stock and continue reducing until only 2c remain. Remove from heat and strain liquid of all particles.
Soup
1 handful peas in pod
1 clove garlic (cut into 8 strips along fiber)
1 squid cut into ring pieces
Bring stock to rapid boil, add peas, garlic, and squid. Continue to rapid boil for 10 minutes. Serve.
It tastes delicious, but I have no idea what to call it =p.
(As a side note, I normally use much more normal ingredients, but my new kitchen is severely under-stocked so I'm forced to be creative)
Stock
1 head and 1 tail of mackerel (use the flanks for other dishes)
1 quart water
1 clove garlic
1 tablespoon thai chili sauce
1/2 tsp "Seasoning" (from Japan)
dash salt for flavor
Put fish in water, bring to rapid boil and remain at boil until stock reduces by about 1/4. Add whole garlic clove, thai chili sauce, seasoning, and salt to stock and continue reducing until only 2c remain. Remove from heat and strain liquid of all particles.
Soup
1 handful peas in pod
1 clove garlic (cut into 8 strips along fiber)
1 squid cut into ring pieces
Bring stock to rapid boil, add peas, garlic, and squid. Continue to rapid boil for 10 minutes. Serve.
It tastes delicious, but I have no idea what to call it =p.
(As a side note, I normally use much more normal ingredients, but my new kitchen is severely under-stocked so I'm forced to be creative)
I'm currently foaf browsing for interesting people in the bay area. If you have been friended today it's because your journal was found interesting. Don't feel compelled to friend back unless you find my journal interesting (it tends towards uninteresting).
I discovered last night that I'm a goal driven individual. Without concrete goals, I float through life aimlessly. I don't like myself when I'm floating.
I discovered last night that I'm a goal driven individual. Without concrete goals, I float through life aimlessly. I don't like myself when I'm floating.
May 29th, 2009
I was highly disappointed in the available squid preparation instructions on the internet, so here goes...
0. WASH all squid in a bath of cold water before you begin to remove ink. If at any point ink or dark digestive tissues get on your hand wash under cold water until clean again.
1. Separate head from cap with minor force. You may find it useful to use a knife or stick your finger into the cap. If the head breaks off just above the eyes, that's fine. Optimally you want about 1 to 1 & 1/2 heads worth of tissue to come with the head.
2. Remove ALL yellow stuff from any tissue connected to the top of the head. It's part of the digestive system. The only thing that should be extruding from the top of the head are two "tube like" muscles -- they taste quite yummy.
3. Cut a small incision on both sides of the ink jet, squeeze the head between the eyes until ink bladder pops out. Set bladder aside.
4. Remove backbone. The cap should have a point at the bottom -- if you pull down a translucent bone similar to a shrimp skeleton will come out in one piece.
5. Stick finger or (very) dull knife into cap to loosen all the organs. It will feel like mucus, just keep playing with it until everything is dislodged. Remove everything.
6. Wash both pieces of squid under running cold water. You want to run cold water into the cap. If any organs or waste can be seen continue removing it until the cap is only one outer muscle (the "skin").
7. Place head in the cap it came from, it is ready for cooking.
To cook:
1. Separate head and cap. Place both on a medium heat frying pan with liberally applied oil (olive or sesame or whatever). Watch tentacles, if they start to burn, rotate head. When head has been cooked on all sides remove from heat. Keep cap on heat (flipping every few minutes) until it just barely starts to contract into a circle (it should have been flat when you started frying).
2. Place both pieces of squid together so it looks like it did before cleaning. Serve.
0. WASH all squid in a bath of cold water before you begin to remove ink. If at any point ink or dark digestive tissues get on your hand wash under cold water until clean again.
1. Separate head from cap with minor force. You may find it useful to use a knife or stick your finger into the cap. If the head breaks off just above the eyes, that's fine. Optimally you want about 1 to 1 & 1/2 heads worth of tissue to come with the head.
2. Remove ALL yellow stuff from any tissue connected to the top of the head. It's part of the digestive system. The only thing that should be extruding from the top of the head are two "tube like" muscles -- they taste quite yummy.
3. Cut a small incision on both sides of the ink jet, squeeze the head between the eyes until ink bladder pops out. Set bladder aside.
4. Remove backbone. The cap should have a point at the bottom -- if you pull down a translucent bone similar to a shrimp skeleton will come out in one piece.
5. Stick finger or (very) dull knife into cap to loosen all the organs. It will feel like mucus, just keep playing with it until everything is dislodged. Remove everything.
6. Wash both pieces of squid under running cold water. You want to run cold water into the cap. If any organs or waste can be seen continue removing it until the cap is only one outer muscle (the "skin").
7. Place head in the cap it came from, it is ready for cooking.
To cook:
1. Separate head and cap. Place both on a medium heat frying pan with liberally applied oil (olive or sesame or whatever). Watch tentacles, if they start to burn, rotate head. When head has been cooked on all sides remove from heat. Keep cap on heat (flipping every few minutes) until it just barely starts to contract into a circle (it should have been flat when you started frying).
2. Place both pieces of squid together so it looks like it did before cleaning. Serve.
May 25th, 2009
Listing: Looking for multiple Interns: Compliance QA Engineer
Requirements: 1-2 years experience doing the job listed.
Requirements: 1-2 years experience doing the job listed.
May 24th, 2009
I will be arriving at noon today. I'll be living in Berkeley (Tim's doing summer school there). If you want to hang out please message me on aim or call.
Sean
Sean
February 17th, 2009
Or, how I manage to keep myself from wasting hours reading on the internets.
I have a terrible tendency to spend hours reading pointless web forms. It started with /. and over the years has moved through various forums as /. went downhill. Most of the time, I am able to avoid the habit for months or years at a time, but it seems that when I get a lot of "free time" I fill it up with pointless web browsing.
As a solution, I have learned to update my /etc/hosts (or C:\WINDOWS\System32\drivers\etc\hosts) to be the following:
##
# Host Database
#
# localhost is used to configure the loopback interface
# when the system is booting. Do not change this entry.
##
127.0.0.1 localhost
255.255.255.255 broadcasthost
::1 localhost
fe80::1%lo0 localhost
127.0.0.1 reddit.com
127.0.0.1 www.reddit.com
127.0.0.1 facebook.com
127.0.0.1 www.facebook.com
127.0.0.1 fark.com
127.0.0.1 www.fark.comThen, in my Apache document root directory on my local machine I put the following file:
<html>
<head>
<title>WTF SLACKER</title>
</head>
<body>
<h1>GET BACK TO WORK</h1>
</body>
</html>Then, when slacking time comes, I simply use ssh tunneling to my webserver to get past my local domain lookup.
As an aside, while preparing this code I found the nifty osx command
pbcopy used in cat /etc/hosts | pbcopy
boredFebruary 15th, 2009
February 13th, 2009
Timeline: October 16th -- I call to cancel service
November, December: Vonage charges me $19.95 for service (I don't notice it on my CC -- I'm terrible about reading everything -- I probably assumed it was the cancellation charge when I saw it)
December: I lose my old credit card and report it lost, changing my number
January: Vonage billing starts calling me without leaving a message because automatic billing failed. I ignore random 800 call-and-hangup number assuming it's some sort of scam.
Feburary 13: Vonage billing calls me again, I call back to see what's up.
==> Noon: I call the billing office and get directed to account support to resolve the conflict
==> 1pm: I finally find out that there is no record of me canceling my account
==> 1.10: I am told to contact email support as they can verify my records and apply my already-paid unauthorized monthly fees to the cancelation charge
==> 1.30: I email customer service explaining the problem
==> 4pm: Customer service emails me back, citing some nonsense from their terms of service for why they can't cancel my account for non-use
==> 4.30: I email customer service back telling them that if they don't get this fixed soon I will stop recommending their service and never consider it for future use.
==> 4.30: Customer service emails be back, they cite more terms of service. They still have not even canceled my account.
==> 4.35: I send email informing them to contact my lawyer if they intend to collect and that my account is unilaterally cancelled in writing (cc: my lawyer). Further that any future direct contact from their company or any representatives will be considered harassment.
So the conclusion: Don't use Vonage.
November, December: Vonage charges me $19.95 for service (I don't notice it on my CC -- I'm terrible about reading everything -- I probably assumed it was the cancellation charge when I saw it)
December: I lose my old credit card and report it lost, changing my number
January: Vonage billing starts calling me without leaving a message because automatic billing failed. I ignore random 800 call-and-hangup number assuming it's some sort of scam.
Feburary 13: Vonage billing calls me again, I call back to see what's up.
==> Noon: I call the billing office and get directed to account support to resolve the conflict
==> 1pm: I finally find out that there is no record of me canceling my account
==> 1.10: I am told to contact email support as they can verify my records and apply my already-paid unauthorized monthly fees to the cancelation charge
==> 1.30: I email customer service explaining the problem
==> 4pm: Customer service emails me back, citing some nonsense from their terms of service for why they can't cancel my account for non-use
==> 4.30: I email customer service back telling them that if they don't get this fixed soon I will stop recommending their service and never consider it for future use.
==> 4.30: Customer service emails be back, they cite more terms of service. They still have not even canceled my account.
==> 4.35: I send email informing them to contact my lawyer if they intend to collect and that my account is unilaterally cancelled in writing (cc: my lawyer). Further that any future direct contact from their company or any representatives will be considered harassment.
So the conclusion: Don't use Vonage.
February 12th, 2009
February 11th, 2009
There seems to be no shortage of startups that want to deal with hosting, indexing, and providing ads for internet TV. Recently, Tim and I have started using casttv to find tv episodes when we want to view a series.
We watched Firefly last week, hosted by hulu, supported by ads. It was in amazing quality, displaying acceptably on my projector. I was really excited that perhaps internet tv had finally happened.
Then we wanted to watch Heroes. We haven't watched any Heroes, so we needed to find the first season somewhere. It is nowhere.
Alas, I shall again resort to piracy in order to watch television. Sometimes I wonder if the big studios trying to not make money from my demographic...
We watched Firefly last week, hosted by hulu, supported by ads. It was in amazing quality, displaying acceptably on my projector. I was really excited that perhaps internet tv had finally happened.
Then we wanted to watch Heroes. We haven't watched any Heroes, so we needed to find the first season somewhere. It is nowhere.
Alas, I shall again resort to piracy in order to watch television. Sometimes I wonder if the big studios trying to not make money from my demographic...
January 29th, 2009
I think it's fair to say that I've been apathetic to the whole web2.0 nonsense. However, yesterday I ran across Cappuccino which changed my whole perspective.
This is web 2.0. No more re-implementing basic drawing features for every application. No more massive dom hackery. No more time wasted dealing with oddities of CSS/DOM.
While running through the tutorials I created this toy application using this code. Interested readers will note that I did absolutely no web programming to get that webapp up.
Web 2.0 has finally arrived.
This is web 2.0. No more re-implementing basic drawing features for every application. No more massive dom hackery. No more time wasted dealing with oddities of CSS/DOM.
While running through the tutorials I created this toy application using this code. Interested readers will note that I did absolutely no web programming to get that webapp up.
Web 2.0 has finally arrived.
January 26th, 2009
January 21st, 2009
No substance to this update, simply that I have discovered that goat cheese omelets are amazing.
The rest of the meal consisted of organic coffee made in a french press, local sourdough w/ blueberry jam and butter, and a herb salad with goat cheese crumbles and homemade balsamic vinaigrette.
Yay absurdly overdone breakfasts :).
Goat Cheese Omelets for two
4 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp salt
2oz goat cheese
Break eggs and mix with milk in medium bowl. Add salt and pepper. Whisk until air is suspended and eggs start to froth. Allow to approach room temperature before cooking. Crumble goat cheese (simply cutting it into thin slices will crumble it)
Lightly sprinkle large frying pan with olive oil. Heat pan on high until oil just smokes. Pour entire mixture in and immediately drop crumbled goat cheese onto half of the omelet. Lower temperature on stove 20% and let cook for 2-3 minutes until top starts to firm. Rotate pan so that goat cheese half is away from you, then fold egg in half with a single motion. Turn heat up and let cook for 1-2 minutes until bottom is dry. If fold went poorly (common for me) flip omelet over in pan and allow exposed egg to cook for 30-40 seconds before plating. Cut in half and plate.
The rest of the meal consisted of organic coffee made in a french press, local sourdough w/ blueberry jam and butter, and a herb salad with goat cheese crumbles and homemade balsamic vinaigrette.
Yay absurdly overdone breakfasts :).
January 9th, 2009
Since the beginning of January I've been invariably happy. This is a welcome change from 2008 where I spent the entire year depressed and grumpy.
Here's to hoping that I have an entire year of enthusiastic and happy!
Here's to hoping that I have an entire year of enthusiastic and happy!
I switched to a new host with my name change and managed to nab sean-mcquillan.com. I had put off writing a page for it not knowing what to do, but I finally decided that I should put something up.
Presenting my new and honestly not very improved webpage
Presenting my new and honestly not very improved webpage
January 7th, 2009
So, I should probably update this thing. As I always do after long breaks I'm going to put bullet points to summarize the recent events.
1. Since the Iowa oral arguments we've become a lot less popular in the press (thank god) and while we'll likely be called for a statement after the SC ruling comes down we're probably done with that whole nonsense forever now. I can't really understate how much of a relief it is to not feel sole personal responsible for marriage equality in Iowa anymore. We did our part, now the task moves on to the real activists.
2. Christmas @ the parents went remarkably well this year, though having gone to the parents two years in a row now we're hopefully going to have them out for Christmas next year wherever we are.
3. Visited friends in the town of Elkader, Iowa for new years, was an interesting time.
4. Now that the SC Oral Arguments are done I'm now free to consider my options out of state. I'm evenly torn between corporate work and going to grad school, so I'm applying to both and seeing which one comes up with better options =p.
5. I'm moving to the SF bay area sometime next month (with, or without a job lined up).
6. Job applications begin tonight, for real jobs, that I actually want, at companies I don't hate. This is a mildly terrifying experience.
3sat
1. Since the Iowa oral arguments we've become a lot less popular in the press (thank god) and while we'll likely be called for a statement after the SC ruling comes down we're probably done with that whole nonsense forever now. I can't really understate how much of a relief it is to not feel sole personal responsible for marriage equality in Iowa anymore. We did our part, now the task moves on to the real activists.
2. Christmas @ the parents went remarkably well this year, though having gone to the parents two years in a row now we're hopefully going to have them out for Christmas next year wherever we are.
3. Visited friends in the town of Elkader, Iowa for new years, was an interesting time.
4. Now that the SC Oral Arguments are done I'm now free to consider my options out of state. I'm evenly torn between corporate work and going to grad school, so I'm applying to both and seeing which one comes up with better options =p.
5. I'm moving to the SF bay area sometime next month (with, or without a job lined up).
6. Job applications begin tonight, for real jobs, that I actually want, at companies I don't hate. This is a mildly terrifying experience.
3sat
December 11th, 2008
According to the defense counsel in the IA SC case I went to Tuesday "marriage is over 4000 years old." While that line didn't seem to impress the justices any more than saying "slavery is over 4000 years old" would I thought it would be fun to explore it.
What do we know about marriage from 4000 years ago:
A. Marriage in the United States shall consist of a union between one man and one or more women. (Gen 29:17-28; II Sam 3:2-5)
B. Marriage shall not impede a man's right to take concubines in addition to his wife or wives. (II Sam 5:13; I Kings 11:3; II Chron 11:21)
C. A marriage shall be considered valid only if the wife is a virgin. If the wife is not a virgin, she shall be executed. (Deut 22:13-21)
D. Marriage of a believer and a non-believer shall be forbidden. (Gen 24:3; Num 25:1-9; Ezra 9:12; Neh 10:30)
E. Since marriage is for life, neither this Constitution nor the constitution of any State, nor any state or federal law, shall be construed to permit divorce. (Deut 22:19; Mark 10:9)
F. If a married man dies without children, his brother shall marry the widow. If he refuses to marry his brother's widow or deliberately does not give her children, he shall pay a fine of one shoe and be otherwise punished in a manner to be determined by law. (Gen 38:6-10; Deut 25:5-10)
G. In lieu of marriage, if there are no acceptable men in your town, it is required that you get your dad drunk and have sex with him (even if he had previously offered you up as a sex toy to men young and old), tag-teaming with any sisters you may have. Of course, this rule applies only if you are female. (Gen 19:31-36)
What do we know about marriage from 4000 years ago:
A. Marriage in the United States shall consist of a union between one man and one or more women. (Gen 29:17-28; II Sam 3:2-5)
B. Marriage shall not impede a man's right to take concubines in addition to his wife or wives. (II Sam 5:13; I Kings 11:3; II Chron 11:21)
C. A marriage shall be considered valid only if the wife is a virgin. If the wife is not a virgin, she shall be executed. (Deut 22:13-21)
D. Marriage of a believer and a non-believer shall be forbidden. (Gen 24:3; Num 25:1-9; Ezra 9:12; Neh 10:30)
E. Since marriage is for life, neither this Constitution nor the constitution of any State, nor any state or federal law, shall be construed to permit divorce. (Deut 22:19; Mark 10:9)
F. If a married man dies without children, his brother shall marry the widow. If he refuses to marry his brother's widow or deliberately does not give her children, he shall pay a fine of one shoe and be otherwise punished in a manner to be determined by law. (Gen 38:6-10; Deut 25:5-10)
G. In lieu of marriage, if there are no acceptable men in your town, it is required that you get your dad drunk and have sex with him (even if he had previously offered you up as a sex toy to men young and old), tag-teaming with any sisters you may have. Of course, this rule applies only if you are female. (Gen 19:31-36)
December 9th, 2008
This morning at 10 am we'll be at the supreme court. I am quite nervous :).
November 19th, 2008
November 17th, 2008
Apparently, Focus on the Family decided that they would finally sit down and describe their version of Christianity. If you have anything but firm answer to any of these questions, you are not a Christian. Of note, if for any question you provide a nuanced reply that mitigates the entirety of your 'belief', you are not a Christian. "Correct" answers inserted after questions. Any differing answers means your faith isn't real and it does not deserve respect.
1. Do absolute moral truths exist? (Yes)
2. Is absolute truth defined by the Bible? (Yes, and only there)
3. Did Jesus Christ live a sinless life? (Yes)
4. Is God the all-powerful and all-knowing Creator of the universe, and does He still rule it today? (Yes)
5. Is salvation a gift from God that cannot be earned? (Yes?)
6. Is Satan real? (Yes)
7. Does a Christian have a responsibility to share his or her faith in Christ with other people? (Yes)
8. Is the Bible accurate in all of its teachings? (Yes)
Tolerant bunch, aren't they? Apparently, according to them, I'm not a Christian. Neither is my minister. Or my Christian church.
Listening to these clowns ramble about religious tolerance for the last week has been one of the highlights of my life.
1. Do absolute moral truths exist? (Yes)
2. Is absolute truth defined by the Bible? (Yes, and only there)
3. Did Jesus Christ live a sinless life? (Yes)
4. Is God the all-powerful and all-knowing Creator of the universe, and does He still rule it today? (Yes)
5. Is salvation a gift from God that cannot be earned? (Yes?)
6. Is Satan real? (Yes)
7. Does a Christian have a responsibility to share his or her faith in Christ with other people? (Yes)
8. Is the Bible accurate in all of its teachings? (Yes)
Tolerant bunch, aren't they? Apparently, according to them, I'm not a Christian. Neither is my minister. Or my Christian church.
Listening to these clowns ramble about religious tolerance for the last week has been one of the highlights of my life.
November 15th, 2008
Our prepared speech for the Des Moines, Iowa rally 11/15. Tim read it because we decided that people like his red hair :).
It is interesting to me that we don't have the ability to denote cadence and crecendo in written english. P3 ends with crecendo, as does P4. P6 is spoken abruptly.
So I was writing this speech last night, thinking of how I could explain the meaning of marriage. I was a little bit tired, and I had just seen Wall-E, so my mind kept wandering back to my childhood and all of the other similar coming-of-age stories that filled my world: We've got "The Little Mermaid", "Lion King", "Beauty and the Beast"-- you know, the Disney Trifecta. And at the end of each of these stories--these coming of age stories--what happens to the main character? They fall in love and get ... married. And in fact we see that common theme echoed again and again in our society: to find someone you love, marry them, and live happily ever after.
Last August, Sean and I were granted the opportunity to take the last step in our own coming of age story. On that day, we unintentionally made history by becoming the first, and so far, only legally married same-sex couple in Iowa. We were not seeking a role in history, but it turns out that the realization of our story had found us one.
It is our own story and the story of so many others: two young kids from Iowa living the American Dream--going to college, falling in love, marrying each other, and starting a life together. But although this seems a common story, it is the very improbability of ours that symbolizes everything we work for. What we work for today, like so many others years ago who started this movement, is to make an invitation available to all future generations. An invitation not just to see this story unfold and lament its passing, but to fulfill, honor and carry forward this most sacred of traditions given to us by our parents and society.
I'd like to tell you what my husband and I have learned about marriage over this last year. We have to admit that it's a little difficult to explain, mostly because it feels so different from anything else in our human experience. What I feel is the unmistakeable sense of security when you have someone by your side, capable of making up for all your shortcomings. More than that, the decisions you make take on a different perspective; instead of "What should we do tomorrow night or this weekend?", you think "What should we be doing 10 years from now?". But most of all, and I think this tops the cake, is the inescapable clarity when you tell someone you are married; because it tells them, without the slightest hint of ambiguity or doubt, that you are committed to each other and you intend to spend the rest of your lives together, as one.
And we've learned that this coming-of-age story can apply to all Americans--and that is what we are fighting for here and across the nation.
Thank you everyone for being here today, to show your solidarity and support for those in California who've had their stories cut short. Thank you.
It is interesting to me that we don't have the ability to denote cadence and crecendo in written english. P3 ends with crecendo, as does P4. P6 is spoken abruptly.
November 14th, 2008
HOPE
will never be
SILENT
--------------------
Who will
protect
ALL marriage?
--------------------
FREEDOM
is the
AMERICAN
DREAM
--------------------
LOVE is not
something to be
BANNED
(credit: vernal_vices)
--------------------
EQUALITY
is the greatest
AMERICAN
TRADITION
--------------------
We're an
OBAMA NATION
not an
ABOMINATION
(credit: The View)
vernal_vices)
--------------------
EQUALITY
is the greatest
AMERICAN
TRADITION
--------------------
We're an
OBAMA NATION
not an
ABOMINATION
(credit: The View)
Please share your sign ideas before jointheimpact. I have 12 signs to fill out by tomorrow.
Sean
I found the following reddit post quite possibly the most amusing thing I've read all week. So I decided to share it here.
Can we make that a unit of measurement?
One Cuil = One level of abstraction away from the reality of a situation.
Example: You ask me for a Hamburger.
1 Cuil: if you asked me for a hamburger, and I gave you a raccoon.
2 Cuils: If you asked me for a hamburger, but it turns out I don't really exist. Where I was originally standing, a picture of a hamburger rests on the ground.
3 Cuils: You awake as a hamburger. You start screaming only to have special sauce fly from your lips. The world is in sepia.
4 Cuils: Why are we speaking German? A mime cries softly as he cradles a young cow. Your grandfather stares at you as the cow falls apart into patties. You look down only to see me with pickles for eyes, I am singing the song that gives birth to the universe.
5 Cuils: You ask for a hamburger, I give you a hamburger. You raise it to your lips and take a bite. Your eye twitches involuntarily. Across the street a father of three falls down the stairs. You swallow and look down at the hamburger in your hands. I give you a hamburger. You swallow and look down at the hamburger in your hands. You cannot swallow. There are children at the top of the stairs. A pickle shifts uneasily under the bun. I give you a hamburger. You look at my face, and I am pleading with you. The children are crying now. You raise the hamburger to your lips, tears stream down your face as you take a bite. I give you a hamburger. You are on your knees. You plead with me to go across the street. I hear only children's laughter. I give you a hamburger. You are screaming as you fall down the stairs. I am your child. You cannot see anything. You take a bite of the hamburger. The concrete rushes up to meet you. You awake with a start in your own bed. Your eye twitches involuntarily. I give you a hamburger. As you kill me, I do not make a sound. I give you a hamburger.
6 Cuils: You ask me for a hamburger. My attempt to reciprocate is cut brutally short as my body experiences a sudden lack of electrons. Across a variety of hidden dimensions you are dismayed. John Lennon hands me an apple, but it slips through my fingers. I am reborn as an ocelot. You disapprove. A crack echoes through the universe in defiance of conventional physics as cosmological background noise shifts from randomness to a perfect A Flat. Children everywhere stop what they are doing and hum along in perfect pitch with the background radiation. Birds fall from the sky as the sun engulfs the earth. You hesitate momentarily before allowing yourself to assume the locus of all knowledge. Entropy crumbles as you peruse the information contained within the universe. A small library in Phoenix ceases to exist. You stumble under the weight of everythingness, Your mouth opens up to cry out, and collapses around your body before blinking you out of the spatial plane. You exist only within the fourth dimension. The fountainhead of all knowledge rolls along the ground and collides with a small dog. My head tastes sideways as spacetime is reestablished, you blink back into the corporeal world disoriented, only for me to hand you a hamburger as my body collapses under the strain of reconstitution. The universe has reasserted itself. A particular small dog is fed steak for the rest of its natural life. You die in a freak accident moments later, and you soul works at the returns desk for the Phoenix library. You disapprove. Your disapproval sends ripples through the inter-dimensional void between life and death. A small child begins to cry as he walks toward the stairway where his father stands.
One Cuil = One level of abstraction away from the reality of a situation.
Example: You ask me for a Hamburger.
1 Cuil: if you asked me for a hamburger, and I gave you a raccoon.
2 Cuils: If you asked me for a hamburger, but it turns out I don't really exist. Where I was originally standing, a picture of a hamburger rests on the ground.
3 Cuils: You awake as a hamburger. You start screaming only to have special sauce fly from your lips. The world is in sepia.
4 Cuils: Why are we speaking German? A mime cries softly as he cradles a young cow. Your grandfather stares at you as the cow falls apart into patties. You look down only to see me with pickles for eyes, I am singing the song that gives birth to the universe.
5 Cuils: You ask for a hamburger, I give you a hamburger. You raise it to your lips and take a bite. Your eye twitches involuntarily. Across the street a father of three falls down the stairs. You swallow and look down at the hamburger in your hands. I give you a hamburger. You swallow and look down at the hamburger in your hands. You cannot swallow. There are children at the top of the stairs. A pickle shifts uneasily under the bun. I give you a hamburger. You look at my face, and I am pleading with you. The children are crying now. You raise the hamburger to your lips, tears stream down your face as you take a bite. I give you a hamburger. You are on your knees. You plead with me to go across the street. I hear only children's laughter. I give you a hamburger. You are screaming as you fall down the stairs. I am your child. You cannot see anything. You take a bite of the hamburger. The concrete rushes up to meet you. You awake with a start in your own bed. Your eye twitches involuntarily. I give you a hamburger. As you kill me, I do not make a sound. I give you a hamburger.
6 Cuils: You ask me for a hamburger. My attempt to reciprocate is cut brutally short as my body experiences a sudden lack of electrons. Across a variety of hidden dimensions you are dismayed. John Lennon hands me an apple, but it slips through my fingers. I am reborn as an ocelot. You disapprove. A crack echoes through the universe in defiance of conventional physics as cosmological background noise shifts from randomness to a perfect A Flat. Children everywhere stop what they are doing and hum along in perfect pitch with the background radiation. Birds fall from the sky as the sun engulfs the earth. You hesitate momentarily before allowing yourself to assume the locus of all knowledge. Entropy crumbles as you peruse the information contained within the universe. A small library in Phoenix ceases to exist. You stumble under the weight of everythingness, Your mouth opens up to cry out, and collapses around your body before blinking you out of the spatial plane. You exist only within the fourth dimension. The fountainhead of all knowledge rolls along the ground and collides with a small dog. My head tastes sideways as spacetime is reestablished, you blink back into the corporeal world disoriented, only for me to hand you a hamburger as my body collapses under the strain of reconstitution. The universe has reasserted itself. A particular small dog is fed steak for the rest of its natural life. You die in a freak accident moments later, and you soul works at the returns desk for the Phoenix library. You disapprove. Your disapproval sends ripples through the inter-dimensional void between life and death. A small child begins to cry as he walks toward the stairway where his father stands.
weirdNovember 13th, 2008
Took the GRE today. 720 verbal and 630 analytical.
1. How did I get 720 verbal?
2. Seriously, 630 analytical?
I'll do great if I apply for English departments!
1. How did I get 720 verbal?
2. Seriously, 630 analytical?
I'll do great if I apply for English departments!
Guinnan the time traveler must sense something important in the temporal flows (nerd++).
November 11th, 2008
I've now seen people twice confused about what to do now that they've released their inner activist. In order from easiest to hardest. Giving cash, for most people, is the easiest thing to do, so I will start with all the places to donate that will make a difference.
1. Donate to GLAAD. Dollars to GLAAD directly effect public opinion and are an amazingly effective way of getting a good feeling for whatever cash you can spare.
2. Read GLAAD's media activism guide. It will help you figure out what to say. Check GLAAD's website often for changes.
4. Donate more money to Lambda Legal*. They are the reason I'm married, and they'll be pivotal in future decisions. Court battles are expensive, and the straight supremacy organizations that oppose us are very well funded by rich conservatives and puritan religions.
5. Donate to your local LGBT equality organization. They're the grassroots supporters of equal rights and canvasing costs $$.
6. Donate to tight races identified on eQuality Giving. Getting more legislature members that are opposed to the straight supremacy agenda is fundamental to winning equality.
0. Come out of the closet. All of them. This is the first step towards accomplishing any political goals.
1. Attend a media training session from GLAAD. While there register in their demographic profiles. This will only take a few hours and will help when reporters want to run stories about 'red headed lesbians between 35 and 40'. GLAAD matches reporters with real live gay people and allies, but they can only do it if they know about us.
2. Attend PFLAG meetings every week. Your local PFLAG organization has been working on equality for years. You should go and lend a hand.
3. Write letters to the editor. No they don't have to be good. They have to be there.
4. Get involved in your church. Different churches are at different points in equality. In some churches, getting your church to stop hating goes a long way. In other churches forming a LGBT organization for members goes even further. In many churches, now is the time to start discussing full marriage equality for all members. In churches that are already equal, get your church to be active in getting equality for all citizens.
5. Get involved in your city. Does your city have a LGBT equality ordinance? Do you have an anti-discrimination code (should your state not have one)? City councils are very easy places for grassroots activism to have a very large impact.
6. Get involved in your state. Your state government is smaller than you imagine. Find your state representatives and give them a visit. Don't lobby them, in fact I find it's most useful to not even mention politics surrounding gay issues, but let the fact that you're gay and talking to them speak for itself. Let them know you as people, not political arguments. If they support equality, help them raise funds by hosting fundraisers and volunteer to their campaign. Politicians have very long memories for favors.
7. Volunteer your time to your local state equality organization. Canvasing is a lot cheaper when there's more people to pass out fliers!
8. Reach out to other communities. Get involved in the people of color political organizations. Show a genuine interest in civil rights. Note that you will likely get some push back from some minorities, don't give up. We know that the vast majority of gays and lesbians are firm supporters of civil rights, it's time for us to show our support.
9. Volunteer your time to GLAAD or Lambda Legal
10. Discuss equality with your extended family. Don't allow straight supremacy to be tolerated in your family any more than you would allow racism.
11. Start marching. Don't just go out and enjoy pride weekend. You're gay all year round, why exactly are we allowed to speak only one weekend of that year? Go to small towns and have marches. Complaining in San Francisco and L.A. is good for generating press, but will do about nothing for convincing people (unless we have a Million Man March or some such).
12. Canvas. Canvas. Canvas. Make a flier with a simple argument for equality. Go door to door. Put flier in door. This can have an unbelievably large impact if you attack the exact points that they're nervous about.
12. Canvas #2. Go door to door with your spouse. Say hi. Say you're supporting marriage equality. Ask if they have any questions for you. Learn to stick to talking points before you do this. By far, this is the most important thing you can do for marriage equality.
Infinity. Run for office. Only you can decide if this is the right decision for you. If it is, all the luck ;).
If anyone has any other ideas for getting involved, I'd love to hear them. Please comment below.
*Full disclosure, Lambda Legal represents Tim and myself.
Places to put your money.
1. Donate to GLAAD. Dollars to GLAAD directly effect public opinion and are an amazingly effective way of getting a good feeling for whatever cash you can spare.
2. Read GLAAD's media activism guide. It will help you figure out what to say. Check GLAAD's website often for changes.
4. Donate more money to Lambda Legal*. They are the reason I'm married, and they'll be pivotal in future decisions. Court battles are expensive, and the straight supremacy organizations that oppose us are very well funded by rich conservatives and puritan religions.
5. Donate to your local LGBT equality organization. They're the grassroots supporters of equal rights and canvasing costs $$.
6. Donate to tight races identified on eQuality Giving. Getting more legislature members that are opposed to the straight supremacy agenda is fundamental to winning equality.
Places to put your actions.
0. Come out of the closet. All of them. This is the first step towards accomplishing any political goals.
1. Attend a media training session from GLAAD. While there register in their demographic profiles. This will only take a few hours and will help when reporters want to run stories about 'red headed lesbians between 35 and 40'. GLAAD matches reporters with real live gay people and allies, but they can only do it if they know about us.
2. Attend PFLAG meetings every week. Your local PFLAG organization has been working on equality for years. You should go and lend a hand.
3. Write letters to the editor. No they don't have to be good. They have to be there.
4. Get involved in your church. Different churches are at different points in equality. In some churches, getting your church to stop hating goes a long way. In other churches forming a LGBT organization for members goes even further. In many churches, now is the time to start discussing full marriage equality for all members. In churches that are already equal, get your church to be active in getting equality for all citizens.
5. Get involved in your city. Does your city have a LGBT equality ordinance? Do you have an anti-discrimination code (should your state not have one)? City councils are very easy places for grassroots activism to have a very large impact.
6. Get involved in your state. Your state government is smaller than you imagine. Find your state representatives and give them a visit. Don't lobby them, in fact I find it's most useful to not even mention politics surrounding gay issues, but let the fact that you're gay and talking to them speak for itself. Let them know you as people, not political arguments. If they support equality, help them raise funds by hosting fundraisers and volunteer to their campaign. Politicians have very long memories for favors.
7. Volunteer your time to your local state equality organization. Canvasing is a lot cheaper when there's more people to pass out fliers!
8. Reach out to other communities. Get involved in the people of color political organizations. Show a genuine interest in civil rights. Note that you will likely get some push back from some minorities, don't give up. We know that the vast majority of gays and lesbians are firm supporters of civil rights, it's time for us to show our support.
9. Volunteer your time to GLAAD or Lambda Legal
10. Discuss equality with your extended family. Don't allow straight supremacy to be tolerated in your family any more than you would allow racism.
11. Start marching. Don't just go out and enjoy pride weekend. You're gay all year round, why exactly are we allowed to speak only one weekend of that year? Go to small towns and have marches. Complaining in San Francisco and L.A. is good for generating press, but will do about nothing for convincing people (unless we have a Million Man March or some such).
12. Canvas. Canvas. Canvas. Make a flier with a simple argument for equality. Go door to door. Put flier in door. This can have an unbelievably large impact if you attack the exact points that they're nervous about.
12. Canvas #2. Go door to door with your spouse. Say hi. Say you're supporting marriage equality. Ask if they have any questions for you. Learn to stick to talking points before you do this. By far, this is the most important thing you can do for marriage equality.
Infinity. Run for office. Only you can decide if this is the right decision for you. If it is, all the luck ;).
If anyone has any other ideas for getting involved, I'd love to hear them. Please comment below.
*Full disclosure, Lambda Legal represents Tim and myself.
I find your current complaints about 'religious intolerance' very puzzling. Your church, and vast majority of it's members has been acting as a political organization for months now.
By your own admission, you actively worked to absolve over 18,000 marriages. Marriages of non-Mormons who you had no claim to.. You showed a complete disdain for the people who were married in these unions. You showed that you wanted nothing more than to legislate your particular view of the world.
You have admitted that you were not interested in getting married to a same-gender spouse yourself. You have admitted that you would not in any substantial way be impacted by the ability of other people to be happy.
Yet you chose to go out and attack the equal rights of your fellow man. You stripped them because you 'disagreed'. Just as your church once disagreed with the rights of women to hold property, or the rights of black citizens to vote, your church now disagrees with the rights of gay citizens to be full citizens.
And now, you are pretending that it is unacceptable that people are objecting to your choices. You are crying foul because the same people who you worked so hard to deny equality are seeking to treat your church as the political organization.
Here's the cold hard truth. As the Mormon organization is engaged in politics now, it is fair to protest them for their political activities. If you wanted protection for your beliefs, you should have kept them to yourself instead of legislating them on people who wish no part of your particular belief structure.
Engage in politics and your church becomes political. There is nothing more or less than that. The Mormon organization is no longer a church in Californa, it is engaged in politics to impose it's will on the masses.
What will you prohibit for everyone else next. Divorce? Drinking? Will your church regress and restart the war that you held so dear against interracial marriage again?
Mormonism is a choice. You choose to be a Mormon. You choose to associate with straight supremacists. You choose to protest equality for your fellow citizens. You choose to reject religion and engage in politics.
You should have considered that politics is ugly before you jumped in the water.
By your own admission, you actively worked to absolve over 18,000 marriages. Marriages of non-Mormons who you had no claim to.. You showed a complete disdain for the people who were married in these unions. You showed that you wanted nothing more than to legislate your particular view of the world.
You have admitted that you were not interested in getting married to a same-gender spouse yourself. You have admitted that you would not in any substantial way be impacted by the ability of other people to be happy.
Yet you chose to go out and attack the equal rights of your fellow man. You stripped them because you 'disagreed'. Just as your church once disagreed with the rights of women to hold property, or the rights of black citizens to vote, your church now disagrees with the rights of gay citizens to be full citizens.
And now, you are pretending that it is unacceptable that people are objecting to your choices. You are crying foul because the same people who you worked so hard to deny equality are seeking to treat your church as the political organization.
Here's the cold hard truth. As the Mormon organization is engaged in politics now, it is fair to protest them for their political activities. If you wanted protection for your beliefs, you should have kept them to yourself instead of legislating them on people who wish no part of your particular belief structure.
Engage in politics and your church becomes political. There is nothing more or less than that. The Mormon organization is no longer a church in Californa, it is engaged in politics to impose it's will on the masses.
What will you prohibit for everyone else next. Divorce? Drinking? Will your church regress and restart the war that you held so dear against interracial marriage again?
Mormonism is a choice. You choose to be a Mormon. You choose to associate with straight supremacists. You choose to protest equality for your fellow citizens. You choose to reject religion and engage in politics.
You should have considered that politics is ugly before you jumped in the water.
November 9th, 2008
Join the impact.
Nov 15th is the date.
Nov 15th is the date.
Your town is the location.
Protesting prop 8 is the goal.
Start a revolution.
November 7th, 2008
All I ever do on this journal anymore is post things I'm not supposed to.
It's been a great vent, but I really should stop.
Bye.
It's been a great vent, but I really should stop.
Bye.
November 4th, 2008
Here's where I currently am.
Let z be an irrational number. Obviously, {z} is countable. Obviously N * {z} is countable.
For any finite set S; N * S is countable. This is true even if all elements of S are irrational.
For any infinite set S2 that contains only a finite subset of irrational numbers, both S2 and N * S2 are countable.
For any infinite set S3 that can be generated by a sequence of countably-closed operations with N and some set S3' that contains only a finite subset of the irrational numbers, both S3' and S3 are countable.
For some infinite sets S4 that can be generated by a sequence of countablity-closed operations with N and some set S4' that is an INFINITE subset of the irrational numbers, both S4 and S4' are countable. (S4 and S4' are countable only if S4' is a S3 set?)
For some infinite sets S5 that are defined as S4 all of this falls apart and S5 becomes uncountable.
What characterizes S5, that is the question.
Let z be an irrational number. Obviously, {z} is countable. Obviously N * {z} is countable.
For any finite set S; N * S is countable. This is true even if all elements of S are irrational.
For any infinite set S2 that contains only a finite subset of irrational numbers, both S2 and N * S2 are countable.
For any infinite set S3 that can be generated by a sequence of countably-closed operations with N and some set S3' that contains only a finite subset of the irrational numbers, both S3' and S3 are countable.
For some infinite sets S4 that can be generated by a sequence of countablity-closed operations with N and some set S4' that is an INFINITE subset of the irrational numbers, both S4 and S4' are countable. (S4 and S4' are countable only if S4' is a S3 set?)
For some infinite sets S5 that are defined as S4 all of this falls apart and S5 becomes uncountable.
What characterizes S5, that is the question.
November 1st, 2008
When Tim was in cs330 (intro to proofs for computer scientists), he asked me to justify Cantors Diagonalization. At the time, I ended up explaining the general proof concept, and trying to walk him through the details.
For those that are not aware, CDM goes something like the following:
(Note, I believe this is the cleanest version of CDM that I've ever read, I want a cookie)
Tim attacked this proof, pointing out the fact that it relies entirely on the convenient abstraction of assuming real numbers are "infinite strings of digits." I found it almost impossible to counter this claim, and for over a year now I have questioned both the existence of real numbers and the viability of CDM.
Unfortunately, though CDM is commonly accepted as a truth, I found it impossible to find a competent muse to defend it's viability as a proof (all of my text books that contained the proof elided all important discussion and rigor, and no one I knew could defend it). This frustrated me greatly, and I became worried that I would eventually disagree with proofs of turing incompleteness if I didn't eventually become persuaded that CDM is a viable proof. One should note that I considered this a fairly large blemish in the personalities of those who thought less of me for being cynical, as I hold cynicism in high esteem when it comes to math and science.
In that time, I've become convinced that the infinite expansions of real numbers is a convenient abstraction, but an error. It is more realistic to view real numbers as a function that produces the next digit in an infinite sequence.
Tonight I finally solved my problem. I was attacking CDM with too much semantical meaning. I now present generalized diagonalization.
I am now happy.
update: Of course, now I find and need to study this as applied to the cardinality of the reals. There are at least two real numbers that hold the value of each rational number, and the irrational numbers are annoying in their own way. Anyway, sleep time now.
update 2: I see why this proof drove Cantor crazy.
For those that are not aware, CDM goes something like the following:
Attempt to create an onto mapping M from the Natural numbers N to the Reals R. For contradiction, we construct a number r such that r \notin range(M). Construct r as follows, let digit r_i = M(i)_i + 1 (let the ith digit of r be the ith digit of the M(i) plus 1). By construction r \in R but it cannot be in the mapping defined by M and therefore M is not an onto mapping for N->R.
(Note, I believe this is the cleanest version of CDM that I've ever read, I want a cookie)
Tim attacked this proof, pointing out the fact that it relies entirely on the convenient abstraction of assuming real numbers are "infinite strings of digits." I found it almost impossible to counter this claim, and for over a year now I have questioned both the existence of real numbers and the viability of CDM.
Unfortunately, though CDM is commonly accepted as a truth, I found it impossible to find a competent muse to defend it's viability as a proof (all of my text books that contained the proof elided all important discussion and rigor, and no one I knew could defend it). This frustrated me greatly, and I became worried that I would eventually disagree with proofs of turing incompleteness if I didn't eventually become persuaded that CDM is a viable proof. One should note that I considered this a fairly large blemish in the personalities of those who thought less of me for being cynical, as I hold cynicism in high esteem when it comes to math and science.
In that time, I've become convinced that the infinite expansions of real numbers is a convenient abstraction, but an error. It is more realistic to view real numbers as a function that produces the next digit in an infinite sequence.
Tonight I finally solved my problem. I was attacking CDM with too much semantical meaning. I now present generalized diagonalization.
|\Sigma^*| \noteq |\Sigma^{inf}| iff |\Sigma| > 1
I am now happy.
update: Of course, now I find and need to study this as applied to the cardinality of the reals. There are at least two real numbers that hold the value of each rational number, and the irrational numbers are annoying in their own way. Anyway, sleep time now.
update 2: I see why this proof drove Cantor crazy.
October 27th, 2008
>>fun id x = x;
val id = fn : 'a -> 'a
>>id(id);
Warning: type vars not generalized because of
value restriction are instantiated to dummy types (X1,X2,...)
val it = fn : ?.X1 -> ?.X1
>>fun tstId f = (f, f f);
Error: operator is not a function [circularity]
operator: 'Z
in expression:
f fI'm starting to find the edges of type inference. Millner's system is still cool stuff, but it achieves deterministic status by throwing away all useful recursive computations. I'm willing to bet that's a necessary precondition to decidability*.
Lazyweb: does anyone know how to specify a type that would allow tstId(id) to be called? I'm failing miserably.
*I'm not versed in the proofs of his or other type systems.
October 24th, 2008
fun ?(w) =
let val wlist = explode(w);
fun cycle(x::xs) = xs @ [x]
| cycle(x) = x;
fun ??(nil) = false
| ??(x::_) =
let fun isIn(nil, c) = false
| isIn(y::ys, c:char) =
if y = c then true else isIn(ys,c);
in
isIn(explode("aoeui"), x)
end;
fun rotateCons(nil) = nil
| rotateCons(l) =
if(??(l))
then l
else rotateCons(cycle(l))
in
if ??(wlist)
then implode(wlist @ explode("yay"))
else implode([#"i"] @ rotateCons(wlist) @ explode("ay"))
end;
amusedOctober 23rd, 2008
Last year this time I still believed I would be going to grad school. I had definitely ruled out getting my masters from ISU, and I was investigating other options. Of course, having just gotten married I was still not quite sure about the complications that would be added by my newfound politician status. Also, as a result of being a newlywed I was more than unwilling to live halfway across the country from Tim, even if it meant I was going to be stuck in Iowa while he finished school.
( 95% more )
( 95% more )
October 19th, 2008
I feel like using this as a journal.
Last night, we made a batch of yogurt using Euro cusine starter, of course this meant we had an extra two cups of whole milk and nothing to use it on. Out of bordem and with no idea of what to use it on, I churned the whole milk to see how much butter I could get. The answer is not very much, though I did manage to markedly change the color. As a backup plan we decided to toss some yogurt in and let it incubate overnight so I could use it in the morning for making pancakes and/or bread.
This morning I woke up and decided that pancakes were a good idea. I tried the following recipe:
After that we decided to go and see if there were any exciting leaves to be found outside. Exploring as far north as the town of Gilbert we didn't find anything particularly exciting. On the way back we took Lola to Ada Haden park where she discovered a new love of swimming. She wore herself out and has been napping since she got home. I don't think she's going to be up until tomorrow :).
After we got back we decided to make indian to try out our new yogurt with. Tim, as usual, was responsible for making the main course. He made Dal and curried potatoes, which I am at loss to guess the ingredients of except there was a lot of tumeric and curry :). Overall it was amazingly delicious and further proof that Tim is amazing at making indian food.
I, as the baker in the family, was of course tasked with making naan. The last few times I tried I've gotten it to come out as a risen flatbread, but I've been underwhelmed by the texture and fat content. In my search for new ideas I ran across this amazingly simple and foolproof risen naan recipe. I'm guessing by it's similarity to "biscuits + yogurt" that it's more Brittish than the name would imply, so I'm going to title it as such. Also, watch until the end for the most amazing music ever.
Tim informed me that I promised him meringue cookies over a week ago, so I made some. By hand. My dad threw away my garage sale find "$200" ($20) mixer when I lived in the dorms, and I've not replaced it yet. I suggest not making this recipe without a mixer.
Todo: Use camera if I'm going to keep blogging like this. Post needs pictures. Use longer non-declarative sentences.
Last night, we made a batch of yogurt using Euro cusine starter, of course this meant we had an extra two cups of whole milk and nothing to use it on. Out of bordem and with no idea of what to use it on, I churned the whole milk to see how much butter I could get. The answer is not very much, though I did manage to markedly change the color. As a backup plan we decided to toss some yogurt in and let it incubate overnight so I could use it in the morning for making pancakes and/or bread.
This morning I woke up and decided that pancakes were a good idea. I tried the following recipe:
"Extra Milk" Pancakes
1tsp Vanilla Extract
~2cups whole milk whisked the night before and cultured with yogurt starter -- left at counter temperature
~1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1tsp active dry yeast activated in warm water
1tbl oil (I used canola)
2 eggs
Integrate ingredients as with any other batter. Raise for 40 minutes (until double in size). Do not disturb after raising. Spoon onto hot pan without mixing batter (bubbles will pop if disturbed). Cook over medium high heat for about 5 minutes each side.
Notes: Batter responds significantly differently than baking powder based pancakes -- allow to cook until sides are completely cooked before flipping. Batter does not raise significantly -- perhaps I will add an instant levening agent in future attempts.
After that we decided to go and see if there were any exciting leaves to be found outside. Exploring as far north as the town of Gilbert we didn't find anything particularly exciting. On the way back we took Lola to Ada Haden park where she discovered a new love of swimming. She wore herself out and has been napping since she got home. I don't think she's going to be up until tomorrow :).
After we got back we decided to make indian to try out our new yogurt with. Tim, as usual, was responsible for making the main course. He made Dal and curried potatoes, which I am at loss to guess the ingredients of except there was a lot of tumeric and curry :). Overall it was amazingly delicious and further proof that Tim is amazing at making indian food.
I, as the baker in the family, was of course tasked with making naan. The last few times I tried I've gotten it to come out as a risen flatbread, but I've been underwhelmed by the texture and fat content. In my search for new ideas I ran across this amazingly simple and foolproof risen naan recipe. I'm guessing by it's similarity to "biscuits + yogurt" that it's more Brittish than the name would imply, so I'm going to title it as such. Also, watch until the end for the most amazing music ever.
Brittish/Indian recipy for naan/biscuits
Tim informed me that I promised him meringue cookies over a week ago, so I made some. By hand. My dad threw away my garage sale find "$200" ($20) mixer when I lived in the dorms, and I've not replaced it yet. I suggest not making this recipe without a mixer.
Delicious Sugar in the Oven
1c sugar
4 egg whites
1tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking powder
Make soft peak meringue. Put on pan. Put in oven at 200 for an hour.
Todo: Use camera if I'm going to keep blogging like this. Post needs pictures. Use longer non-declarative sentences.
October 8th, 2008
"I don't believe the First Amendment is any guarantee to those who wish to disrupt the government," [the state superintendent of police] said.
That quote really should be enough to lose him his badge... while I am in no way sympathetic with anarchy, to imply that any part of the 1st amendment may be involuntarily waived is an extremely scary thought.
At least the legislature is holding hearings about this nonsense. Perhaps we're moving out of the era of nightmares after all.
That quote really should be enough to lose him his badge... while I am in no way sympathetic with anarchy, to imply that any part of the 1st amendment may be involuntarily waived is an extremely scary thought.
At least the legislature is holding hearings about this nonsense. Perhaps we're moving out of the era of nightmares after all.
October 1st, 2008
Could someone more versed in constitutional law please explain the following little oddity I've been noticing more and more often recently:
How does the senate vote on a bill that failed to pass the house?
How does the senate vote on a bill that failed to pass the house?
September 23rd, 2008
It had become apparent to me reading this journal that it had taken a wrong turn somewhere. While the causes of this are obvious to me, they are not the sort of thing I made this journal for, I've decided to go back and make a good chunk of entries private.
You are reading the newly sanitized version of my journal.
You are reading the newly sanitized version of my journal.
September 16th, 2008
From the tim;
it's just funny how computer scientists [always] hit problems inherent to exponentialities... and freak out for awhile. and then they find some way to recursively define the problem so that it can be operated on in a linear manner.
it's just funny how computer scientists [always] hit problems inherent to exponentialities... and freak out for awhile. and then they find some way to recursively define the problem so that it can be operated on in a linear manner.
August 26th, 2008
The following little snippet caused me great amusement for unknown reasons.
javascript:(test = function() { document.write("Hello World! "); })();test();
javascript:(test = function() { document.write("Hello World! "); })();test();
July 29th, 2008
We got a puppy as a wedding present from my brother, here is a picture. Her name is Lola and she's a 4 month old Welsh Corgi.
Click for full size
Click for full size