exhausted

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I am just back from RSDC 2008. Conferences like this, related to my line of work, normally get me pumped up and excited for the coming year’s efforts. This conference, like so many other things in my life that used to be important to me it seems these days, just drained me. I am left wondering if I don’t have some sort of chronic fatigue syndrome or sleep disorder that is preventing me from having the levels of energy I need during the day to make things happen.

Rather than dive into a solipsistic morose ramble (screw all you self-obsessive types), I think I’m going to focus on the sun, and hope that a weekend of not thinking about work, school, or anything else that’s obligatory “cures” me. If not I will find out what’s behind all of this when I go on vacation the middle of next week.

plurk

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Well, if you’ve visited my website in the last day, you’ll see I’ve added my plurk widget to the sidebar. I’m finding plurk altogether more motivational than twitter. A recent comparison of the two services I think was unfair to plurk, mostly due to overhyped twitter features that aren’t even working correctly half the time.

Even if Twitter solves their reliability concerns, plurk just feels more alive. It’s not a single thread with everyone’s crap mixed in (and hacks like #hashtags). It’s a threaded timeline: part web forum, part IM, and part IRC. And yes, a bit twitter, too. I like the fact that it’s Web 2.0 enough for my friends who won’t get on IRC (still my #1 place for synchronous) and that the web layout is attractive. The “get more points to get more features” thing is a pain, but I’d rather have that than some sort of “pay us $$ to get more features,” I think.

I moved over to plurk when some of my friends followed Leo Laporte over. I’m not a personality cult-er, but I do like keeping tabs on my friends. And I’m finding that plurk’s interface encourages more synchronous collaboration (read: chatting) than twitter ever did. In about 48h on the service I’ve managed 15 “plurks” (microblog entries) and 38 responses; I never hit that level of engagement with twitter.

Once they add some sort of SMS interface (I can’t get their IM interface to work…) it’ll be a sure fire hit, I think.

So you twitter types out there: would you miss me from twitter if i semi-abandoned it?

where has she been

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The past two weeks, I have been sick – fever, congestion, barotrauma due to plane flight with aforementioned fever and congestion, coughing, laryngitis…it’s been lingering longer than it’s needed to. I am mostly recovered but still sniffly/coughy/post nasal drippy, and my head still feels like it’s full of cotton. No, I haven’t seen a doctor; what is he going to do other than tell me to get more rest?

I am stressed and overcommitted with work, school, programming projects, home construction, home garden, my feline companion, and preparation for conference presentations. I think this is the real cause of my illness.

I’m also committed to travel for the next 3-4 weeks.

I need to ease up on myself; I don’t see that happening anytime soon. :(

Catch me on IRC or twitter if you want to connect.

ms. “maytag” repairman

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Tonight I had to repair my own dishwasher. After weeks of dishes coming out dirty, and after reviewing some references, I decided I probably had a bunged up inlet valve. HG Service Engineer for Dishwashers After much disassembly, reassembly, and testing, I discovered:

  • that even modern dishwashers still come with service technician notes behind the kickplate, though they no longer include exploded parts diagrams,
  • that, if a chopstick breaks in half in the washer, it will melt partially, then drop into the chopper assembly, further mangling things,
  • that rocks in the chopper assembly are also bad things, though the built-in plastic guard prevents them from becoming horrible things,
  • that the rubber valve assembly in the tube that feeds the middle and upper spin arms is horribly specified, and easily sticks open,
  • that by turning said valve assembly upside down, you can prevent a large leak (by mating the stuck-open hole with the normal position of the upper drawer – high or low),
  • that increasing numbers of parts inside dishwashers are now plastic, grrrr,
  • that plastic inlet valves are fragile, and moving them even the slighest bit for purposes of service can cause them to start leaking a bit during inrush of fluids (fixed for now with old absorbant facerag on floor),
  • that someone had rearranged most of the hand tools in the basement (shakes fist), and
  • that the built-in diagnostic mode for the dishwasher is fun to use.

I am waiting for the Good News that should come when the dishwasher ends its normal cycle in about 90 minutes, I open the door, and the dishes and utensils are actually clean.

joanbits 2008.03

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As the snow finally melts away, I start to get busier and busier. Here’s what I’ve been up to the past week:

  • Work: supporting new projects as usual, writing position papers, working on newsletters, technical enablement, beta testing.
  • House: cooking every night (pasta from scratch, ramen from scratch, gourmet hamburgers…will try and post some pics soon), planning garden, staring at wall that needs repairing and trying to motivate to fix it, regular cleaning, indoor gardening…
  • School: Developing axiology, epistemology, methodology for design research approach. Gave guest lecture on internal Wikipedia politics.
  • Other: Dealing with horrendous migraine. Developing novel database application. Attended One Of A Kind show with friends and got fabulous clothing, jewelry, housewares. Reverse engineering synth. Looking at motorcycle today. Petting cat to deal with stress from everything else i listed.

satay-spackled roast chicken

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Tonight’s meal is decidedly anti-Irish. Nothing against St. Patrick’s day, but I really felt like something savoury and spicy. Behold: the satay-spackled roast chicken! (Inspired by a recipe in Solomon’s The Complete Asian Cookbook, 1976.)

  • one 1½ kg chicken, washed and dried, dressed
  • one medium onion, coarsely chopped
  • one garlic clove, coarsely chopped
  • 2 chili peppers (your choice of heat levels)
  • 2 cups coconut milk
  • 2 tbsp sunflower or canola oil
  • 2 tsp coriander seeds
  • 1½ tsp cumin seeds
  • ½ tsp ground turmeric
  • ½ tsp whole fenugreek
  • ½ tsp finely grated lemon rind (fresh or dried)
  • 1½ tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice

Combine onion, garlic, chili peppers and 2 tbsp coconut milk in blender; puree. Grind all whole spices in a spice mill or mortar and pestle. Heat oil in heavy skillet. When hot, add onions and spices, mixing rapidly and frequently. Remove from heat when puree pulls away from the pan.

Use spatula and puree to spackle the chicken. Place breast up in a baking pan, filled with the rest of the coconut milk. Place pan in a 350°F oven for 20 minutes. Turn chicken over, basting with the milk. Return to oven for an additional 60 minutes, basting every 15-20 minutes wiht the coconut milk. For the last 20 minutes, increase temperature to 400°F, turn chicken over again, and brown the breast meat. Remove when done (a meat thermometer helps).

(It was so good, I couldn’t help but start eating before taking a photograph…)

Serve with basmati rice and an arugula-and-tomato salad.

yummy faggots in my broth

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“To make a faggot, cut a stalk of celery in 2 pieces 3 or 4 inches long. In the curve of one piece, tuck a few sprigs of parsley, folding in the end, lay this on a bay leaf, and sprinkle with a little thyme. If the recipe does not include carrots, a small piece of carrot is sometimes tucked in with the parsley. Place the other piece of celery on top very firmly and secure the faggot by winding a long piece of string closely around it. Unless you assemble a faggot firmly and bind it tightly with plenty of string, it is apt to roll apart during the cooking. Always discard the faggot before serving the dish it flavors” -Louis Diat

Essentially a mirepoix that’s not got onions in it. Perfect for those I love who are allergic to onions, if the name is a bit…unusual. From an antique cookbook (1945, published 1961) through my irc bud gyoza.