Black Bean Soup
Sunday, January 11th, 2009 | cooking | No Comments
I’d have to say this is one of my favorite new (to me) recipes. I found it on Food Network’s site, and you can too. I left out the ketchup and halved the Worcestershire sauce, just because the last time I thought those flavors were a little overpowering. I also ditched the cilantro because I don’t like it. (I’m one of those weird-palate people who think it tastes like soap.) Oh, I also hit it for a little bit with the stick blender at the end of cooking so it thickens up. Next time, I will probably take the bacon out after it gets crispy and put it back in at the end, as is noted in some of the comments on the Food Network site. Oh, and they’re not kidding about 8-10 servings – this makes a lot of soup.
First Fondant!
Wednesday, January 7th, 2009 | cakes | No Comments
I made up my first batch of fondant tonight. I tried out the new Americolor gel colors I got from Cakewalk Chicago, as well (“dark pink” – I don’t think I used quite enough to make it very dark, or they mean “dark” as in “not almost white”).
I made Rhonda’s Ultimate MMF (marshmallow fondant) – recipe found on CakeCentral.com. It’s a great site, but sloooooow. I imagine their bandwidth bills are through the roof. I used my Kitchenaid 6-qt mixer (much love for the stand mixer) with the dough hook, and it kneaded it up like a champ. The only thing I forgot to do in the recipe was to grease the mixing bowl before I poured the marshmallow goo in. At the end of the process, I found out why this part is important.
Recycling Christmas Trees in Villa Park, Illinois
Friday, January 2nd, 2009 | Uncategorized | No Comments
This isn’t posted anywhere on the web so I thought I’d toss it up on here:
If you live in Villa Park, IL and want to recycle your christmas tree, just leave it out on the curb anytime during the first 2 weeks of January (bare – not in a bag). Waste Management will pick it up and take it to be recycled.
I wish
Wednesday, November 26th, 2008 | Uncategorized | No Comments
…for an end to world hunger, but that’s a long-term goal.
If you were wondering, here’s my Amazon Wish List for the short term.
(And I like used books just fine.)
Wow.
Wednesday, November 5th, 2008 | Uncategorized | No Comments
I’m blown away. President Obama. My pessimism wouldn’t let me believe it until McCain conceded.
Not only that, but we’re well on our way to a Democratic Senate and House. I have to admit that makes me a bit nervous. We’re going to have to still be vigilant, as citizens, to make sure the laws we pass are what the American people need, and not what the party needs to stay in power. Remember what absolute power does, kids.
Also, most of the states were won by Obama by 10-20%-ish. That means that right now, there’s a lot of Republicans out there that have been terrified by this campaign, and they’re still wide-eyed and hair-triggered now. We have a lot of work to do to make sure this country isn’t torn apart by fear.
McCain gave his eloquent and heartfelt concession speech and it was the John McCain I respected in the past. I didn’t respect his campaign. It was dirty and divisive, and I don’t think he was steering the ship. Now, he can be Senator McCain, a dedicated Senator and advisor like he has proven himself to be, without the millstone of the GOP around his neck. Be mavericky, Mr. McCain. I can’t wait.
I can’t say I’m not pleased as punch that useless woman isn’t going to be in Washington. Go back to Alaska, Mrs. Palin, and stay there. And while you’re there, try and do some good, or at least, don’t make it any worse.
I know I still sound like a pessimist. But I really am surprised by the American people, by the system, that it is not truly corrupted, it is not decrepit, it is not lost. Maybe, just maybe, we can.
VOTE – And DO NOT accept NO for an answer
Tuesday, November 4th, 2008 | political | No Comments
I voted this morning. I guess I got lucky, I showed up at 8:45 and there was 1 person in line ahead of me.
They asked me if I wanted to vote on paper or electronically. I couldn’t say paper fast enough. Hell, I work in computers and there was no way I was voting electronically. No paper trail? Oh hell no. I was slightly disturbed that they did not ask for any ID, but they did have my name on the voter roll, and I did have to match my signature that was on the slip, so it’s not like someone under one name could have voted multiple times – but still, someone could vote under another person’s name, by accident or no.
Edit: A bit of amusement: An older gentlemen saw my hair and said, “Oh, so you’re campaigning for the blue states?” I smiled and replied, “Nope – the purple ones!”
If you have voting problems in any part of the USA – if you’ve registered and they tell you that you can’t vote for any reason, such as that you moved too recently, or your house is listed as foreclosed, or your place burned down last week, or you’re not in the system, or whatever other BS reason they come up with – don’t give up.
If you have any any problems voting call:
The CNN Voter Hotline (877) 462-6608 (877-GO-CNN-08) – they are set up with InfoVoter Technologies to get help with any voter problems.
or The Obama campaign: (877) 874-6226 (877-US-4-OBAMA)
or The McCain campaign: (866) 976-8683 (866-976-VOTE)
Good night, and good luck.
Go Illinois! Yay for Lisa Madigan!
Thursday, October 2nd, 2008 | Uncategorized | No Comments
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iEW9FYay0lFbUS4UMghrpSYEKE9AD93D6DH00
“Attorneys general from 13 states on Wednesday protested a proposed Bush administration rule that would give stronger job protections to doctors and other health care workers who refuse to participate in abortions because of religious or moral objections.
In a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services, the states said the rule is too vague in defining abortion, and may be interpreted to include birth control.
“It threatens to drastically discourage and even deter a woman’s right to choose,” Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said. “This proposed rule unconscionably puts personal agendas before patient care … failing even to acknowledge the rights of rape victims and others to access birth control and related vital health services.”
Other states joining Connecticut in protesting the rule are Arizona, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Utah and Vermont.”
Lisa Madigan is the Illinois AG. I plan on sending her a thank-you card.
Economic Crisis – understanding why the bailout was proposed
Tuesday, September 30th, 2008 | political | No Comments
(reposted from a comment I made in filkertom’s LJ)
This may be useful for you:
http://seekingalpha.com/article/97427-the-dummy-s-guide-to-the-u-s-financial-crisis
A lot of what is happening right now has to do with money markets and short-term liquidity, which is drying up. When people hear “the banks can’t lend money”, they just assume it’s John Doe borrowing money to buy a house or a car or something like that. Not so.
Here’s an example:
Bob’s Cleaning Service (BCS) employs thousands of people. Every day, BCS goes and cleans some offices, and people write them a check in order to pay for their services. Now, that money doesn’t instantly appear in the BCS account – it has to go through the system and will be in the account in a day or two. So BCS has to make payroll on Friday, and they’re $900k short, since they’re waiting for things to clear through the system. So they go to the bank and say, “Hey, we need $900k for two days, at the end of two days we’ll give you back $900k plus $1k for a lending fee.” The bank says sure, passes the money over to BCS, payroll gets paid, and two days later BCS pays the money back, plus a small lending fee.
Now, the problem is that people are terrified of the market’s stability, and are pulling their money out of the money market – and here’s where I’m a little fuzzy on the concept, because it has something to do with the money markets, which involve banks and bonds and such, so you really need a better economist to explain that part. But, if there’s no money in the money market, it means the bank doesn’t have money to loan, because people have removed it. If the bank can’t loan BCS $900k on a short-term basis, BCS can’t make payroll (or pay for supplies or gas for their trucks or pay for their operating costs, etc.). If BCS can’t do this for even one day, things start to go very badly. Payroll gets delayed, the cleaners can’t get to the sites, they don’t have the equipment they need, etc. etc. In just a few short days BCS can lose a whole lot of revenue because of delays and breakdowns in their workflow.
And this is the real crisis – not “John Doe can’t borrow money for his house or put money on his credit card for a vacation to Bermuda or a bunch of stuff he doesn’t need.” It’s the day to day businesses coming to a screeching halt because they don’t have the money moving through the system like they used to – people don’t get paid, people don’t get the services or goods they’ve paid for, and it snowballs until it all comes to a slow, grinding halt.
This is why people are screaming for the bailout.
Now, it’s not that I am endorsing the bailout. I think that 3-page piece of crap that Bernanke handed to congress about “Give me all the money and the power or we all die” wasn’t worth the paper it was printed on. It should have been rejected outright and Congress should have started over, instead of trying to take the piece of crap and make it smell nice. But something has to keep the markets moving or things will go very badly very quickly.
This isn’t about consuming and more more more. It’s about the pace of our society and the speed of business, and how quickly it can be brought to its knees. Objects at rest tend to stay at rest, and if we let the economy stop, it’s going to be very hard to get it moving again.
(Sorry for the long post. It’s just I’ve been trying to follow this crisis closely and I have a lot to yammer about.)
Why is this not front page news?
Monday, September 29th, 2008 | political | No Comments
Muslim Children Gassed at Dayton Mosque After Obsession DVD Hits Ohio
elorie is much more eloquent than I am right now:
Anti-Muslim Propaganda Has Predictable Results
The news is starting to get to me because it’s all rotten.
Walk the walk
Monday, September 29th, 2008 | pro-choice | No Comments
Father leaves nine children at Nebraska hospital
Children left at Nebraska hospitals: more details
I can only assume that being a parent of a mentally disturbed child is the most difficult, painful job you can have. And when you say “help me” there should be somewhere to turn. However, due to the Reagan administration, mentally disturbed people have been mainstreamed for years – read: “stuck out in public to fend for themselves.” So, I feel for all these parents who have come to the end of their rope and taken Nebraska at its word that they will give the help they’ve promised to their children.
Being a parent of more kids than you can handle (the “father of nine” mentioned has a history of unemployment and “no common sense”) is also just as hard, and when your spouse dies and you’re left to handle the children you couldn’t handle in the first place, yes, you need help.
But again, there’s nowhere to turn – and why the hell not? If all these pro-life groups are serious, shouldn’t there be centers, groups, programs for all these kids that are being born? Shouldn’t there be help for parents that feel overwhelmed by their children? Shouldn’t we have better support for families? Health care for children? Pre-natal programs for mothers?
(Oh wait, I forgot. The pro-life groups are too busy sitting outside of abortion clinics on all their free time. Maybe more of them should be foster parents.)
If the government is going to make laws over what access women do and don’t have to birth control and abortion, then the government should be prepared to deal with the consequences – a whole lot of children that won’t get the care they need from their parents, because their parents didn’t have access to the knowledge or materials to prevent unwanted children.