The July 12th New York Times wrote about book publishers concerned that online, used book sales are cannibalizing new book sales. There were a few points made that I’d like to argue about because, you know, that’s what I feel like doing. “Used books are to consumer books as Napster was to the music industry,” […]
Used book sales != Napster Read More »
Ryobi Trimmer I am finally rid of my Ryobi 720R trimmer. For nine years I’ve owned this pathetic excuse of a lawn maintenance tool. I didn’t think asking for occasional lawn edging and trimming was too much to expect, but it was always hard to get started. When it finally did acquiesce, it’s 2-cycle engine
Ding dong, the trimmer is dead Read More »
When I was obsessing about the weather forecasts earlier this year, I read a lot on basic weather theory, hoping to better understand forecasting methodologies and, specifically, how all these intelligent people arrive at different results. Once this mystery was solved, I thought I’d tackle macroeconomic theory (ha ha!). I went to my library and
Weather Forecasting Read More »
I made some excellent cream cheese brownies last night, using the recipe from the January 1999 Cook’s Illustrated. The combination of cocoa and bittersweet chocolate works wonderfully. I used whole wheat flour because this would otherwise absolutely no redeeming nutritional value. Eat sparingly. I love the magazine, but its indexing is frustratingly linear. Instead, I’d
Cream Cheese Brownies Read More »
I had originally written this piece because I wanted to vent about why I won’t donate to my undergraduate institution. It’s an okay rant, as far as rants go, but I find it serves as an excellent example of how corporate goodwill can be successfully sabotaged by a bad customer experience. There are really two
Bad customer service goes a long way Read More »
Last week, I wrote about the difficulty I had getting my sourdough starter … started. All this effort is done because I want to have a starter that leavens and provides a rich flavor in my bread. Leavening in baking is done aerating the dough with carbon dioxide, causing it to puff out. There are
What a great day for cycling! On Saturday, I rode Flying Wheels, Cascade Bicycle Club’s summer century. The event (map, cue sheet) is three loops along the rural roads of eastern King and Snohomish counties. One can do 50, 70, or 100 miles: 50 miles: Marymoor (Redmond) – Carnation – Fall City – Marymoor 70
Flying Wheels 2004 Read More »
Last month, I killed my second batch of starter. This was a good thing, for reasons I’ll comment on later. I decided to purchase some “professional” quality sourdough starter from Sourdo International, the company Ed Wood, author of Classic Sourdoughs created. I went a little wild — pun intended — as evidenced by the number
Sourdough III: The Search for Spock Read More »