Nothing funny about feldspar

The cartograms:

2004:

2008:

Stephen Fry congratulates us.

Cosma and I had similar emotions.

Not much more to be said. I know there will be disappointment, but not today.

1 stick butter
¾ cup cream cheese
¾ cup packed brown sugar
½ cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. nutmeg
½ tsp. salt
2½ cups oatmeal

Heat oven to 375°F. Beat butter, cream cheese and sugars together until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Add combined flour, baking soda, salt and spices. Mix well. Stir in oats. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake about 15 minutes until golden brown. Makes 3-4 dozen cookies.

Notes: in a Martha moment, I used a real measuring teaspoon to make the first tray of cookies, and then a real measuring tablespoon to make the second tray. While I like both sizes, I wish there was a two teaspoon measurer.

Also, for the third tray, I added a handful of dried cherries. For me, it reminded me of why I don’t put raisins in cookies — all of a sudden you bite into a mushy unsavory thing. The flavor was lost, too. Might as well have been raisins for the effort.

It is a pretty good recipe. However, I can’t tell there’s cream cheese in it. I think I’ll make something more brownie-like next time.

I’ve been a bit down in the dumps lately. What was once my favorite month of the year has become the month When Bad Things Happen. This October, while it has not been nearly as bad as some of the previous ones, still had its scares. Plagioclase’s mother has been ill off and on since her hospital stay in September. Business is in the dumps. The house we were hoping to have built by now is not even off the drawing board yet and the stock market crash has pretty much precluded it ever getting past that.

And yet, and yet…

Today marks the twenty-first anniversary of that fine Saturday afternoon that Plagioclase and I stood up in front of friends and family and a judge and declared that we would forever file taxes together. They already knew that we’d made a commitment to each other, jeez we’d been engaged for years, but that Halloween I dressed up like a bride, and he dressed up like a groom and we made it official.

Knowing that Plagioclase is there, and having this day come around every year, makes October bearable.

So here’s to us, Orthoclase and Plagioclase, and our marriage that is now old enough to drink. I love you, my dear — no matter what we’re going through, our marriage keeps me sane.

Even if you’re driving me crazy

It’s been a few weeks since I reported what iPod Touch applications I’ve been toying with, so here we go with another (gratuitous) listing of what’s on my iPod. Unlike the previous posts, I’m only going to say what’s on it now not what I’ve tried out. The list would be Way Too Long.

• Remote — Still my favorite all around app.
• WeatherBug — Handy to have.
• Bloomberg — It’s a bit slow, but I’ve found it useful in the recent weeks of market turmoil.
• AirSharing — A great way to use the iPod Touch for emergency sneaker net. I’ve put a web archive of our (HTMLified) DVD list so that I can always know what we’ve got without needing a wifi connection, which is useful at the Friends of the Library sale.
• FiatLux — Great for those insomniac nights, so I can walk through the house without turning all the lights on.
• MachDice — I don’t play D&D (or its ilk) but I really like the dice. This app does a respectable job of replicating a well-stocked dice bag.
• reMovem free — A simple little “I don’t want to think much” game.
• Trace — This is a very recent game. It’s using stick figures and cartoony drawings, and the idea is a basic “get your guy from here to there.” However, you get to make up the path the guy takes (accounting for any obstacles, etc.). It’s quite fun learning if the guy’s going to make it up the hill I’ve drawn, and while there’s some sort of timer, it’s not the main part of the game.
• Solebon — Something like 30 solitaire card games. I waste the most time with this app, but I do wish I could replay hands without using the undo button all the way to the beginning. I also wish there was some sort of “no more moves” indicator so I don’t search for the unfindable.
• Urbanspoon — This local restaurant randomizer isn’t bad on the iPod Touch, but it’s not nearly as nice as it is on the iPhone (with its real-time location finder). We’ve used it, but often we say “not that! Try again.”
• Rolo — I play this every so often; it’s on still because I bought it.
• Galcon — Here only because Plagioclase insisted. He loves the game.
• Everest — A “hidden picture” game. You remember those from your childhood, don’t you? “Find the wolves hiding in this picture of the desert.” This is like that, wrapped up in some sort of archaeological storyline (or maybe it’s anthropological, it doesn’t really matter). It’s reasonably interesting if you like detail work. The pictures are pretty darn good, and each “level” gives you different targets even in pictures you’ve already done once. However, I’m not sure that I could keep playing this after I’ve gone through it completely. We’ll see.
• TiltMeter Pro — totally random cheap (99¢) app. It uses the accelerometers to act as a leveling device (vertical and horizontal). Since I no longer have access to decent metrology equipment, I’ve got crap calibration, but it’s fun to play with every so often.
• Google Earth — Slow, but fun for a while. It works best when there’s an active internet connection, but it can work with saved data (whatever you were looking at last). And when you tilt the iPod Touch, the world tilts! I probably won’t keep this on for long, unless I’m planning a trip somewhere. I know pretty much where everything is I’m needing to go around here.
• JellyCar — A soft physics game. Everything is squishy and slow-bouncing. I’m not particularly good at making the car go, so I don’t play it often.
• iBowl — In theory, you’re supposed to make movements like you’re really bowling (ala Wii). I have been so far unsuccessful in getting that to work properly. I’d rather go bowling for real.

And that’s it, other than the apps that come with the iPod Touch and a few bookmarks I’ve got saved (Plurk, Twitter and Google News). I’m listening to tons more music than I used to, and I’ve even tried watching a movie! (Thanks to HandBrake) I don’t see me watching many movies — they take up a lot of space, and my elbows get sore holding it up

Plagioclase would like me to install the Brian Eno app “Bloom.” However, since I don’t usually wear headphones, I would simply be playing with silent ambient music. Now that’s a concept!

Continuing on my quest to use up cooked winter squash in ways other than just reheating it, I’ve adapted one of last year’s christmas cookies for a cool fall day.

Autumn Squash Cookies

1½ cups hot cooked and puréed winter squash (I used roasted butternut)
1¼ cups brown sugar (not packed)
1 cup shortening (about half butter, half Crisco)
1¾ cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (I really use a lot of this in cooking, you may have noticed)
1 cup chopped pecans

Combine the ingredients in the order given and drop the mixture by spoonfuls on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake the cookies in a preheated 350°F oven for about 15-20 minutes or so. (I use insulated pans, so if you don’t you might want to reduce the time.) They don’t really spread on the pan, so you can fit a lot on at once.

Result: about 5 dozen soft, somewhat sweet and nearly muffin-like cookies that go well with coffee or cider.

Note: Do not put in plastic. These are very close to being muffins, so plastic just makes ‘em soggy. However, popping them in a warm oven for a few minutes revives them quite well. Yum!