Congratulations: have a steak

Today called for celebration - so we went for the steak.
The venue was oZ. Chophouse. The food was predictably tasty, the wine did its work, and most importantly, good conversation was had.

Locksley appreciated the leftovers.

(also, congratulations to ben).

merry COOKIES!!

My sister has a holiday tradition of making Christmas Cookies. She didn't do it one year, and there was a mutiny. So now, whether she likes it or not, there MUST BE CHRISTMAS COOKIES. There was a mutiny, of course, because she makes the most brilliant assortment of cookies around.
This year, I came over to help for one day (although it takes at least 3 days to get them all done). Locksley and Melbourne helped.

My favorite recipe is below:

Rum Ball Cookies

Combine in bowl:
1/2 c. sifted confectioners' sugar
2 tbsp. cocoa
1/2 c. finely chopped pecans
3 tbsp. light corn syrup
1/4 c. rum

Mix well. Add 3 cups vanilla wafer crumbs. Mix well. Form into small balls. Roll in confectioners' sugar. Store in tin box.

Nerd Time.

I need to catch up on my nerding, I think. I say this for two reasons:

1) Holy Cow, new species.

CNN.com has a story about all of the new species that have been discovered (or rediscovered in the case of the Laotian Rock Rat) in the Mekong Delta. It's still possible I could have missed my calling as an "animal-something-or-other" because when articles like this are put out I get all excited. Nature, evolution, biodiversity - it's all pretty amazing. I mean, just check out Nesolagus Timminsi!

1) Web Analytics

At work I've been doing a lot of talking about Web Analytics. It makes me want to hole up with some nonprofit geeks and talk about pageviews, tracking individuals, and whether the numbers actually matter. I've been reading a lot of articles online (this one is pretty fantastic, though a definite wet blanket for folks who are use to working with non-web metrics) and I like what it's doing to my brain. I just wish I had some people to nerd out with. I mean, I do. But not ON DEMAND. It's kind of lonely being the only nerd of this sort at work.

Silkscreening - GOOD RIDDANCE.

This semester has been difficult. Going to school full time (whether online or not) and working full time is always hard, but it at least helps when you're taking classes you're excited about. I had no such luck this semester. My other three classes plodded along well enough but my silkscreening class was absolute murder.

I am happy to report, though, that it is now OVER. I managed to complete my final project and mail it successfully to San Francisco. Now I hope to never think of silkscreening again.

Here is one of the final prints:

Pumpkin story

I thought you might enjoy this.
It's traditional (for me at least) to oust the pumpkins that have been decorating my house after Halloween is over. I've never had a problem with this formula until this year, where it has apparently been very popular with the squirrels.

Let me illustrate:

Indeed, this was not a human made jack-o-lantern. It started as just a few nibbles on the virgin orange flesh of my carefully picked pumpkin and it progressed, my friends, into this abomination.
I have it on good authority that the plump, one-eyed squirrel that lives in the trees around the apartment complex did it.

DAMN YOU SQUIRREL!!!

Ode to Osaka

Every once in a while I get a hankerin' for sushi that must not be ignored. My favorite place, hands down, to satisfy my sushi needs is Osaka in Greenbelt, MD.

Please note, I have played the field, so to speak. I've tried sushi joints far and wide and I have to say (with the exception of the ULTRA swank Kai in New York) Osaka is my favorite.

The reasons:
1) it is close.
2) the sushi always tastes delicious.
3) it's reasonably priced.
4) you get salad AND miso for dinner.
5) the service is excellent.
6) the beverage selection is very good.
7) the ambiance is everything you could want in a japanese restaurant.

They also have a Happy Hour! And, importantly, they are hip enough to have a website.

You Rock, Barack.

The votes have been tallied and we have our 44th President - Barack Obama.

I admit, I am one of those people that registered for the first time to vote for Obama. I even aligned myself as a Democrat so I could chip in for the primary. That's sort of a big deal for me, because I staunchly abhor any sort of affiliate for affiliation's sake. But in this instance, I made a very large exception.

Voting was a breeze today, though I hear it was not as nice for some other people. I live in a city that is politically active and full of old-guard free spirits/hippy types. So the whole process was surprisingly efficient. From the time I parked my car to the time I trotted away from the polling place only an hour had elapsed. Some of my co-workers we not so lucky - they were nearly 3 hours late to work.

I knew my County would carry Barack based on its demographic, but I was compelled to vote anyway. Not to be disappointed, when I got out of my car after driving home from watching most of the News, I was greeted with hooping and hollering and - yes - fireworks. PG County never fails to show its pride.

This election has given me a lot of faith: foremost in the somewhat alien "American People" with whom I don't feel very closely aligned. I have to say, I was pretty pessimistic about whether folks would be able to use their brain instead of falling back on primal fears. I've also got restored faith in The Process - my guy WON which means this whole election thing must not be as broken as I was lead to believe 4 or 8 years ago.

But mostly I'm looking forward to tomorrow and the days after. Things won't be easy and they won't be pretty but it will be brave and new and I think that kind of lean and hungry attitude is what we really need.