Nothing funny about feldspar

Here it is, the middle of July 2010, and I am finally getting to the point of doing something with the stuff we’ve accumulated in the house and the storage bin. The piles have been growing since we moved here (1997) — it’s the largest house we’ve owned — then they really took off when Plagioclase’s mother moved in (2004) and we became just completely crammed in as I cleaned out my mother’s house (2007). But until now, I wasn’t really seeing the stuff — it was just like a painted wall to me. Ok a 3D wall in a series of really small rooms, but the point is it became background.

Of course now the problem is figuring out what to do with it all. Some of it is just trash or recyclables (funny how cans of paint seem to accumulate). However, most of it is stuff that was already slated to be sold somehow. But how? eBay is too slow and too annoying. A local auction would be unlikely to generate much. A garage sale is an awful lot of work, requiring much advance planning and pricing and cleaning of the garage (part of the problem). Plagioclase suggested we set up a single table every week, and say “Come back next week, we’ll have new stuff!”

Then there’s the possibility of actually using some of this stuff, especially the vintage items, for movies. Well, stock videos, at least, since a friend of mine makes them. NO! STOP IT! I am really going to get rid of it… eventually.

*sigh*

Before I forget (based on a recipe in a comment thread at Chowhound)

Purée together (food processor):

* 2 limes (about golf-ball sized) — I just put ‘em in whole.
* 1 (ish) cup water

I didn’t make it smooth, there were some pretty big chunks left

Put into a sauce pan and add in 1 (ish) cup sugar. Heat to a boil until the liquid foams (this is what I did anyway — there are lots of internet recipes for making simple syrup).

Let cool. Strain into a glass cup/jar/bottle for keeping.

As of this posting, I haven’t tasted the final version. I could see maybe changing to brown sugar (would likely be really good in rum drinks), and possibly modifying the proportions.

I like the idea of making my own cocktail mixers. Does that make me a hipster now?

Update: It is not as sweet at the stuff you can buy, but it is certainly the right limey-bitter I call this a win!

Today’s (unheard, since I’m off of NPR lately) Sunday Puzzle:

Next Week’s Challenge

From Eric Berlin of the National Puzzlers League: Take an eight-letter term that’s often used to mean “a good child.” Remove the first two and last two letters, and reverse what remains to get a four-letter word meaning “a bad child.”

Very easy, really.

Read the rest of this entry »

No really, Patience. Weren’t we friends once, or at least on speaking terms?

I know it’s not a new trend, but I really dislike the “Rate this!” thingies that show up all over the place, on blog posts and news articles and other “interactive” online content.

I can think of three things that are ratable:

• The quality of the post, i.e. how well written it is
• My interest in the subject, i.e. I would read it even it the writing was a bit rough
• My agreement with the premise, i.e. if I don’t like what you said, even if it was well done, I would rate it lower than if I liked what you said.

Are there others? How do you decide to rate posts? Do you rate posts? I don’t, precisely because I can’t figure out what people are wanting to measure.