I've been a bit bad about updating this site, but I've been blogging here on LiveJournal. Many posts are restricted to access control lists that I maintain and are not viewable by anonymous users.
Black Cat Natural Foods - May 30, 2009
I helped friends Phil and Karen set up a simple new web site for their business - Black Cat Natural Foods - http://www.blackcatnaturalfoods.com/
Karen has a great food blog that's built into the site - http://blackcatnaturalfoods.blogspot.com/ - updated just about every Sunday, sometimes twice.
Moses is Departing Egypt: A Facebook Haggadah - April 1, 2009
http://9a4440c5.fb.joyent.us/haggadah/ultraModern2.php
Theoretically, there is a serious flaw in this Haggadah - no mention of Maror. According to Rabbi Gamaliel the Elder, "Whoever has not discussed these three things at Pesach has not fulfilled his obligation: the Pesach, Matzah, and Maror". I'm not sure there was actually any discussion of Pesach and Matzah either.
Fiber Studio promo video - March 30, 2009
Michelle and I are in a Fiber Studio promo video
Coolness!
Funny questions heard while traveling - March, 2009
I heard some funny questions from customer service people on this trip ...
While walking into a breakfast buffet in the hotel - "Are you here to eat breakfast?" All I could think of was "No, I'm here for the floor show".
The guy ahead of me at the car rental place said, "I have a reservation under the name of [Last Name]". The response: "Do you have a first name?" I think I could have guessed the answer to that one right off and skipped to the "What's your first name" question.
Obama inauguration - January 20, 2009
I watched the inauguration and the ceremonies surrounding it at the MSP airport.
I'm so very happy Obama is our president.
As a friend of a friend said, this is "the end of an error".
River Cottage Meat Book / Recipe: Rolled Shoulder of Lamb with Capers and Anchovies - March 27th, 2008
My friend Liz presented me with a belated birthday gift, The River Cottage Meat Book by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, which I've been thoroughly enjoying. It's really a tail-to-snout type of meat book, focusing first on choosing good (well-raised) meat, then focusing on the different types and cuts of meat, and then cooking methods. In each cooking method section, there are wonderful recipes showcasing the various meats.
Tonight Liz came over and we cooked together to make the recipe "Rolled Shoulder of Lamb with Capers and Anchovies". Neither of us had ever paired lamb with anchovies, but wanted to let the book take us into less traveled places - and we didn't regret it. This is one of the best preparations of lamb that I've ever made, served with steamed asparagus and potato-cheddar cakes. Here's the gist of the recipe (We made a half recipe since that's the size of meat I got from Clancy's):
Preheat oven to 425F. Chop 6 anchovies, 1 tablespoon capers, 2 garlic cloves, and a small bunch of parsley till well mixed and fairly fine. Transfer to a small bowl and mix in 1 teaspoon mustard, a squeeze of lemon juice (we also added some lemon zest), and a tablespoon of olive oil. Take a 3-4 pound boned shoulder of lamb (or hogget or mutton) and lay it skin side down. Spread the mixture over the lamb, roll it and tie it up. Put in a roasting pan (we used a cast iron pan) and cook at 425F for 30 minutes (till well browned). Then pour a glass of white wine and a wine glass of water into the pan (to make gravy). Turn the oven down to 325F and cook till done (I use a remote probe thermometer, set to 145F for medium - next time I may aim for 140F since it cooked more during the resting phase). I added a bit more wine during this phase to ensure that the juices would come off the bottom. Once out of the oven, tent with foil and rest for 20 minutes before carving. During the carving phase I added another 3/4 cup of wine to the pan and boiled it down again, adding butter at the end to give the gravy some gloss.
Yum. I'm going to be trying more recipes from this book!
By the way, the section on gravy is concise and brilliant - but that deserves its own post at a later date.
SuperBowl XLII - February 4th, 2008
I can't begin to describe how cool it was to be at at the SuperBowl - but here's a picture.
Warning: not a poet - December 18th, 2007
When travel I, to client site
To air I take, in winged flight
With luck I'll make connecting gate
Or stuck in airport, there to wait
Ideal it's not, but such is luck
Too often I must exclaim, [expletive deleted ;-)].
Arriving tired I'll find my room
Some franchised hell one should assume
I wash my face and hang my clothes
Turn on the tube, and watch some shows
I hope that I will fall asleep
Else sleepless lay, and thrash and weep
Meetings pass, in quick succession
My client's many needs discussed
Expertise will gain expression
I know at least they'll get the thrust
I'll never leave someone nonplussed
When meeting's done I always check
Before I leave, and homeward treck
Sick on Sunday - December 16th, 2007
I've got a bit of a cold and I'm trying to recover before going out again on the road tomorrow. It's my last trip until the new year, so I'm taking comfort in that.
Chicken soup in bubbling away on the stove, though I lack the fresh ingredients that I like to use and am too sick to get to the grocery to get what I would like - but I'm sure it will turn out okay.
Football on the tube - GB/STL.
I ordered myself a little comfort food from Russ and Daughters. It should arrive this week and I hope to gather some friends with whom I can share the bounty.
Earl and Gwen in Tucson - December 15th, 2007
I got to visit with my friends Earl and Gwen in Tucson while there on business. It was swell. They bought me a birthday present - a t-shirt with a wi-fi signal on the front that lights up based on the signal strength of nearby access points. We also got some tasty Italian food and, one evening, Gwen made a delicious chicken/potatoes dish - braised in olive oil and lemon juice with a bit of garlic and oregano. When I got there, there was a plushy javelina on my pillow - pictured below.
Google street level images - December 13th, 2007
Google has finally published street level images of Minneapolis - pretty darn cool. I was at a friend's house when they were filming - I could tell because my car is in front of their house.
Kansas City - November 30th, 2007
I'm on my way back from a Kansas City business trip. Traveling on my birthday is not my favorite way to celebrate, but whattaya do?
Last night I went out to a restaurant with some colleagues but the local person took off in their car leaving me nothing more than the name of the restaurant 20 miles away to help me find my way - and worse, the car navigation system didn't have the restaurant in its database. Thankfully I had my cell phone with me and used one of my favorite new tools. I text messaged the name of the restaurant, city and state to Google (short code 46645 (GOOGL) and got an immediate text message reply with the address and phone number of the restaurant - which I could then plug into the navigation system ... and off I went!
Alpaca Fest 2007 - September 29th, 2007
Michelle and I went out to the Whispering Oaks farm in Prior Lake, MN today. Michelle bought lots of roving to spin into yarn and we saw kittens, dogs, alpacas, horses, chickens, and a very friendly family that had opened their barn to the public for the weekend. A lovely time was had.
Seed art from the 2007 Minnesota State Fair - The Root of Evil - September 3rd, 2007
I went to the Minnesota State Fair today with Michelle and the Erskine ladies (Erin, Chrissi, and Betsy). Food on a stick was eaten.
Seed art from the 2007 Minnesota State Fair - The Root of Evil
Chinese restaurant menu of doom - August 4th, 2007
Reposted from Mr. Bali Hai's blog - the ultimate badly translated Chinese restaurant menu. Includes scores of gems, including such delectables as "Gold silver lotus root silk fries shrimp fucks" Warning - possibly not work safe depending on your work environment. [Link: May I Take Your Order?]
August travels - Sweden - July 13th, 2007
I'll be in Sweden in mid-August on business - mostly Karlskrona, but with a few days in Stockholm. It's a bit difficult to plan the itinerary without knowing Swedish - I may have to check in with my friend Pete for help along the way - I know his preference would be to come with us so he could be *really* helpful :-)
Frou-Frou foxes in the midsummer fire - July 9th, 2007
East River Road, near Worcester Ave - St. Paul: On my way to the airport at 3am I saw a loaf-like shape in the road ahead, and I slowed down and stopped as the shape grew larger and the fox slowly got up and strettcched, looked at me for a second or two, then padded swiftly off the road.
Travels - July 8th, 2007
I was over at my friend Dave's house yesterday and we realized that last week we were both in Atlanta at the same time, within five miles of each other. If only we had known we surely would have hung out!
Travel plans this next month include Baltimore, Los Angeles, Knoxville and San Francisco. Let me know if I should be calling on you when I'm in town...
Firefox plugins - May 14th, 2007
Two neat Firefox plugins (if you value your privacy and security):
RefControl: RefControl is a free extension for Firefox that lets you control what gets sent as the HTTP Referer on a per-site basis. - http://www.stardrifter.org/refcontrol/
NoScript: This free, open source add-on for Firefox that allows JavaScript and Java execution only for web sites of your choice. - http://noscript.net/
Peninsula Malaysian Cuisine - May 11th, 2007
One of my favorite fairly new restaurants on Eat Street in the Twin Cities is Peninsula Malaysian Cuisine. If you have not had Malaysian cuisine before, you might think of it as a cross between Chinese, Indian, and Thai food - but it's best enjoyed on its own terms.
I've shared food there with friends a few times, so I've tasted a number of items on the menu, and each item on their extensive menu has a very unique flavor, and the curries are very good. The first time I went there I had the best red curry ever - the clove taste was very strong. Another time that I was there I had a red curry that was entirely different, deliciously full of dark and sour flavors. I don't look at the subtle inconsistencies as a bad thing - it just shows that each time the chef is making an interesting and unique dish.
The pricing is reasonable with entree prices in the $7-12 range with a few more expensive ones ranging toward $17 - and the menu is large and varied - you won't get bored there soon. If you look at the featured dishes you'll get a sense of the menu - the pictures accurately represent the presentations.
Deli in MN - Pastrami Jack's - May 9th, 2007
A friend recently turned me on to Pastrami Jack's, a deli in Minnetonka, and I stopped by last Sunday to check it out. I figured all of the sandwiches named after celebrities (a NYC deli tradition) was a good sign, as was having delicacies such as kishka and rugelach.
Unfortunately, they were out of both rugelach and sour pickles when I arrived - which made me wonder what else they may be out of and how their turnover was - especially on specialty items. The staff seemed like clueless kids, but an older gentleman was there - the owner/manager I think. He told me that they were no longer going to carry rugelach because employees were eating more of them then patrons. He also mentioned that they stock up on food on Mondays and would have more of a lot of things after that point. Out of sour pickles? Having them delivered on Monday? Aren't pickles that the sort of thing you should have 50 gallon tubs of, made from scratch, in the back if you run a deli? Well, that's the bad.
On the good side, the rye bread and pastrami were quite excellent - not a rating I would give lightly - and the corned beef and coleslaw were very good. I'll go back.
In honor of finding good pastrami in Minnesota, a rather dated joke from "The Joys of Yiddish" by Leo Rosten: A newly arrived Jewish immigrant entered a kosher restaurant on Delancey Street. The waiter who poured his water was - Gottenyu! - Chinese! And the Chinese servitor proceeded to rattle off the menu in fluent Yiddish, even unto the idiomatic grunts, sighs and nus. When the Jew was paying his bill, he asked the cashier, "Are you the baleboss [owner]?" "Who else?" "Well, I certainly enjoyed my dinner - and even more, the fact that your waiter speaks such excellent Yiddish!" "Sha!" hissed the proprietor, "He thinks we're teaching him English!"
Ahmad Jamal - May 3rd, 2007
I went to see Ahmad Jamal at the Dakota last night with my long-time friend Dave Meier. I love the Dakota - it's such an intimate venue, and it was such an honor to be so close (six feet from the piano) while Ahmad Jamal was playing.
While I recognized a lot of quotes during the music and understood what he was up to rhythmically I've got to admit that his changes and chords were definitely way beyond my understanding. It's always amazing to hear music that makes you feel like an absolute beginner again. It was powerful stuff.
Traditional NY Jewish foods - Apr. 22nd, 2007
I've been craving traditional NY Jewish foods lately. Thankfully, after Passover my local grocery put a lot of such foods on sale for half off. I got lots of Manischewitz macaroons and the U-bet chocolate syrup that is essential for that NY delicacy, the egg cream.
For those not in the know, the egg cream has neither eggs nor cream in it. You fill a tall glass with a half inch of U-bet syrup, add three-quarters of an inch of milk and stir till well mixed. Then fill the glass almost to the top with seltzer and stir thoroughly. It's important to use real seltzer, or as close as you can get to it - the more powerful the bubbles the better, and it needs that slight salty taste that regular bubbly water doesn't have. It's also important not to add too much syrup and make it too sweet. The best egg creams are subtly flavored - not just a slightly watered down chocolate milk.
Anyway ... yum!
Passover 2007 - Apr. 3rd, 2007
On Passover my family gathers to discuss when it was freed from slavery, and the ensuing exodus from Egypt.
This is no dry historical lesson - one should remember that in each and every generation an enemy has risen to destroy the Jewish people.
This is why the haggadah reads: "In every generation one is obligated to see oneself as one who personally went out from Egypt. ... You shall tell your child on that very day: ‘This is because of this that God did for me when I went forth from Egypt’"
Right: My great grandfather. In his generation the Jews suffered and were killed in the pogroms of eastern Europe and Russia. My grandparents traveled to the United States in advance of the Russian revolution, which did not improve the Jewish lot.
Working hard or hardly working on Oahu - Feb. 14th, 2007
Concentration / Diminution - Jul. 1st, 2006
There is something that makes me very happy, but I'm not sure how to describe it.
In the raga musical form, it is the slow exploration of a note and set of notes, then in subsequent movements, the bringing together of those notes previously explored more quickly.
In classical music, especially when composed by J.S. Bach, it is when he uses diminution, the statement of a theme in notes of lesser duration, usually one-half, of the original - often in combination with new material.
In lyrics or poetry, it is when a theme is explored slowly, separately in verses, then words from each verse brought together in a climax, with the power of each verse condensed into the last.
It can even be experienced during cooking, in the preparation of a reduced sauce, or in a dish where one can taste different elements and then those same elements combined and concentrated.
What are you gonna do, Otho? Viciously rearrange their environment? - Jun. 30th, 2006 @ 06:46 am
We've been having most of the house interior painted, and the chaos has been a bit difficult for me. I appreciate that the painter is exceptionally detail oriented and quality minded but if he could just go a bit faster and get things back to normal, my mental state would be much improved. I'm excited by the aesthetic improvement that will result from the process, but the next few weeks may be a bit difficult.
On the bright side, we got a new dining room set and living room furniture that I like very much.
Grillin' - May. 25th, 2006
I love to grill but the chore of getting charcoal to light and stay lit, regardless of how much lighter fluid used, finally pushed me over the edge - I got a gas grill. I'm liking this ... time from deciding to grill to the start of cooking - 1 minute. I didn't get one of those 'small penis' grills, but I didn't cheap out and get the least expensive one either. Hey, I consider a built-in thermometer and a warming rack fairly essential. I know it's going to take a bit more work to clean than the old charcoal grill, but that's what Erin's for (just kidding hon!).
Ribs and corn are on my agenda for tonight. I made up a special dry rub (chili powder, brown sugar, salt, pepper, cinnamon, garlic powder, paprika) and it's smelling pretty good.
I'm dreaming of grilling a shrimp spedini, but I'll have to drop by Clancy's to see if they will cut me some pancetta paper-thin. If not that, I'm sure I can console myself with some other form of barbecue-able goodness.
Time in NYC - Feb. 7th, 2006
I spent yesterday evening with my uncle Walter, aunt Marilyn and my cousin Maude in Queens, NY. It was good to catch up with them, because they are my favorite aunt/uncle and it's been a few years since I've seen them - since we stopped having full family Passover sedars. My other cousin on that side, Leslie, couldn't make it into the city, but called while I was there. I think I'll need to get together with them all again soon, maybe this June if I come back to New York.
As usual, I'm enjoying New York, though being here on business means a bit less flexible time to explore.
Another image from the streets of NYC...
I had fun with my camera phone in NYC ... here's another picture from the streets of New York. I forget exactly where I took this - it was somewhere just north of the Flatiron building. Food recommendation: Seafood Thalli at Curry Leaf on 27th and Lexington.
September 8, 2005
I found a funny quote today that I think I will find useful in the professional context. This quote is attributed to Henry Ford, the automotive pioneer: "If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses."
I'm all for appropriate use of surveys and focus groups (I help clients with these activities) and I also believe that organizations should be responsive to customer or member needs but there are some important initiatives that simply require leadership and vision. Sometimes an initiative is complex and requires more work to explain than one would get across in a survey. Sometimes the benefits of an initiative are not obvious - or even worse - are difficult to prioritize above less important items that provide more immediate gratification.
I often deal with the types of initiatives - complex areas like online real estate transaction management, and working to get real estate organizations to implement security practices and solutions, so I like how this quote provides a perspective on how important leadership is, and how depending solely on being reactive to what the broad base thinks is important can sometimes be foolish.
Just some food for thought...
April 21, 2005
More kitten pictures...
March 23, 2005
Erin found some abandoned very young kittens at work and took them in and took care of them. Then she trapped the mother cat and has re-introduced them in our home. The mother cat is now taking care of the young. We'll probably keep all or most of the kittens. The mother cat is probably not staying in the long term - she's not at all friendly - probably been a stray too long. Here are pictures:
November 3, 2004
Minneapolis rock venue First Avenue/7th Street Entry has closed its doors. I was so looking forward to hearing the kind of bands First Ave brought in, in the smoke-free environment legislated for 2005, but it was not to be. My favorite First Ave shows: Phish, Dandy Warhols, Jonathan Richman with Tulip Sweet, Camper Van Beethoven. At the 7th Street Entry - many a UJM and Bashful Habits show. The Twin Cities just took a big step down.
October 22, 2004
Took a short vacation to NYC. An excellent time was had! 2nd Ave Deli, Peking Duck House, Met Museum, Central Park...
October 5th, 2004
You know you've been traveling a bit much when ....
you have a dream where it seems quite reasonable when an airline counter person tells you that the only way you can get back to Minneapolis from Portland is through Samoa.
June 16, 2004
I learned something last night.
My brother called me last night with an Excel question. Now, I don't use Excel enough to be a true guru, and he asked me something that I probably should have known.
"How do you add a line break at a specific place in a cell?" he asked. I said, "Impossible from within Excel!" but he insisted that he had seen it and provided an example with [cr] indicating the break.
I searched Excel high and low for the answer and finally was inspired by my brother's example, found the answer in the help system under the term "carriage return".
CARRIAGE RETURN?
I can't believe anyone much younger than myself would have ever thought to look up *that* outdated phrase. Classic MS Help.
I can still remember learning to type on a typewriter that had a carriage that went back and forth - with the 'ding' at the end, of course. In order to get the keys to whack the paper from their semicircle resting place I had to jam my finger straight down into the typewriter. I think the action on the typewriter keys must have been a full inch. Not so efficient.
Strange, I guess I'm a bit nastalgic for carriage return after all.
March 13, 2004
Ustad Vilayat Khan, the sitar teacher of my sitar teacher, passed away this weekend. He was not as famous in this country as those players that promoted themselves in this country, like Ali Akbar Khan or Ravi Shankar, but he was a musical genius at that same level. Hindustani classical music has lost one of its greatest practitioners and pioneers and although his soul has left us, his spirit continues to live with us wherever the melodies and rhythms of India can be heard.
November 4, 2003
A look back at some of this year's travel.
September 24, 2003
Want to call me for free, no matter where you are in the world, with better than telephone voice quality? Have Windows 2000 or XP? Download Skype and look up Matt Cohen in Minneapolis and there ya go. Neato. I've also set up an account on Friendster, a site based on exploring your network of friends. I connected my account up to four friends who had also signed up and suddenly found myself connected with more than 3000 people, all within 4 degrees of separation. Again ... neato.
September 14, 2003
Flashback! - Erskine Family Reunion '98
September 12, 2003
I just got back from a client in Colorado Springs, CO. It's a nice enough town, but the real attraction is the mountains. I visited a park called Garden of the Gods that was a real eye opener with its huge rock formations.
August 22, 2003
Erin and I took a trip up to Lake Mille Lacs to go camping and fishing. We decided to do this spur of the moment on a Friday afternoon. We just strapped our honking 17 foot canoe to the top of the truck and drove up to the state park, but they were full and referred us to this lovely quiet campground nearby, North Star. We had fun by the fire, along with this campground cat that adopted us and also had fun fishing, even when we capsized. D'oh!
June 28, 2003
I just spent some time in the hospital for a simple appendectomy. I can't say it was pleasant, but I was provided perspective by a room mate who was in extreme pain from cancer. I think on my own I may have rated some of the pain as an '8' on a scale of 1-10, but with this guy in the room, it was obvious that my pain must have only been a '3' or '4'. Under the circumstances I couldn't feel too sorry for myself.
May 6, 2003
My cat Mammal moistens a plant:
April 9, 2003
I've updated my online bookmarks.
I've also had fun running a 'Shoutcast' Internet radio station - but it's for friends only. I started it up after my friend Joe came out of the woodwork after a long absence and I realized an interactive radio station format would be a great way to share the music that I've been listening to with Joe. E-mail me if you are a friend and want to know about gaining access.March 25, 2003
Here's another item that had disappeared off the web - for those who have been project managers or have worked with one: The Adventures of Action Item: Professional Superhero. This cartoon is quite the deliverable!March 20, 2003
Somehow I always thought I could find my brother's old newsgroup postings online, but some have apparently fallen out of the archives. Here are some of the ones I could find.March 18, 2003
Wow! - a decent article on interface design as a part of the development process!March 12, 2003
I had dinner with some good folks recently, including Richard Schooley and John Gerber - and I realized that I wasn't alone in my belief that it is our (US) government's responsibility to develop a sustainable energy infrastructure to promote security and prosperity in every way. Heck, I've been writing to every US President about it since the '70s, but it seems more important than ever given current events. I found this report from a UK Sustainable Development Commission to be interesting reading on the subject (requires Adobe Acrobat).March 10, 2003
I've been enjoying web comics lately. Some dailies include Something Positive, Queen of Wands and ScaryGoRound. There are also lots of comics that aren't updated anymore, but which had a good run, including the beautifully drawn Same Difference and Xenith.February 22, 2003
I love it when friends and family have cool sites:My friend Etelka has been upgrading Time-Wasting Diversions recently. Etelka is a talented professional writer who lives in Chicago. Darn, I wish she lived closer by.
My brother Jonathan has been writing his web log, Nelliphant. Jonathan is the best writer I know, though he's not a professional writer like Etelka. Someone needs to give him a million bucks so he can just write.
October 25, 2002
