Cake Wrecks. Read every page. I can’t decide my favorite horror, there’s far too many. Edible babies are always right up there, though. Eew.
via Metafilter

Swank, flaming cocktails have returned to Milwaukee!
thanks, Ann!

We signed up for MG&E’s wind power last month, and so far have not used 577 pounds of coal.

We also got a new air conditioner last week, after the forty-year old Carrier gave up the ghost. They figured the old unit’s SEER value was about three, and the new one is thirteen. It’s also so much nicer / more efficient that it needs to run a lot less, so it’ll be interesting to watch our usage over the summer. Then again, with the way the cost of energy has been going, the bill will probably stay the same even if the use plummets.

Reconstructing Apple I BASIC from a Cassette Tape. Run it on an emulator or a replica… …or just as a nerdy ringer for your iPhone.
via slashdot

Seriously, am I the only person who picked up their New Yorker, saw the cover, laughed, and turned the page?

The editorial cartoon artwork pokes fun not at the Obamas but the people *cough Fox news* who painted this false picture. And to all the hand-wringing pundits who worry aloud saying, “well, I got it, but will Middle America get it? How will this play in the midwest?” Hey, pal, the average IQ doesn’t drop 50 points once you cross the New York or D.C. city limits; on the contrary, most data swings it the other way.*

* disclaimer re: IQ testing controversial, data inconclusive, blah blah blah.

We don’t have a digital video camera yet (apart from the built-in function of the Fuji 5000), but it’s getting more and more tempting. There’s a bunch of Flips in the office, and here’s some easy way to roll your own macro- and micro- lenses for them.

Mastering the Art of French Cooking, vol. 1


Fricadelles de Veau à la Crème , p. 373
Veal Patties with Cream and Herb Sauce
Gratin Dauphinois, p. 523
Scalloped Potatoes with Milk, Cheese, and a Pinch of Garlic

For being a pretty straightforward meat/milked-bread/egg/etc. recipe, the veal patties came out nicely light. I was a little uncertain how the tarragon/wine/cream sauce would pair up with them; I needn’t have worried. Served on lettuce from the CSA (she recommends a bed of sauteéd spinach, but somehow I didn’t read the sauteéd part) with the base scalloped potatoes recipe, this was a really nice summer supper–rich but neither overwhemling nor too warming.

One note about the potatoes; it’s been my experience that low-and-slow works better in my oven so they were in for an hour at 350° instead of 20-30 minutes at 425°.