Squeezing in a little “fun” time

Mac Blue G3My idea of “fun” lately has been to repurpose an old Mac G3 tower I bought for $5 more than three years ago into a Linux server.

It’s been a valuable learning experience. The scary part is I’m actually enjoying the command line. I’m considering dropping a GUI interface on top to use from time to time.

It’s fitting in nicely to our all-Mac home network. Well for me it’s fitting in nicely. I don’t think the rest of the family gives a flying FTP. I still haven’t decided exactly what I’m going to use it for beyond a dev box for some of the web stuff I’m doing. I’ve read a little about using it as a media server (iPhoto and iTunes primarily). I don’t really need it as a backup solution.

But it’s been a lot of fun dusting it off and taking it for a test run.

What’s up next? Playing with Virtual Box, free from Oracle, and creating multiple VMSs. I’ve got a WindowsXP VM set up that’s not screaming, but actually has been useful in testing various browsers.

Yes, I’m letting my geek flag fly.

Posted in Digital Life | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Scared crooked

One of the reasons I like reading Paul Krugman is that he can hit the nail on the head in very plain language:

To me — and I’m not alone in this — the sudden outbreak of deficit hysteria brings back memories of the groupthink that took hold during the run-up to the Iraq war. Now, as then, dubious allegations, not backed by hard evidence, are being reported as if they have been established beyond a shadow of a doubt. Now, as then, much of the political and media establishments have bought into the notion that we must take drastic action quickly, even though there hasn’t been any new information to justify this sudden urgency. Now, as then, those who challenge the prevailing narrative, no matter how strong their case and no matter how solid their background, are being marginalized.

Come on my media friends. Stop the groupthink. This is so much like when I covered pro sports. If one of the big papers had it, you (meaning your smaller paper) had to report it too.

Read his full column here before you have to pay for it.

Posted in Cultural Life, Financial Life | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Our pouting puppy’s protest

The girls had a sleepover Saturday. What that usually means is Pippin, who normally sleeps with Abby, gets relegated to the kitchen.

Why?

Because when the girls have a sleepover, they usually sleep in the den. Why some of them like to sleep on the coffee table is another bizarre story…

We keep Pippin out of the den. But there is no way he’s going to sleep in our room for reason #1 and reason #2.

So he gets a little alone time in the kitchen. We bar the entrance to the den – and the girls – with his crate. We close the pocket door that leads to the living room. And we have a gate that closes off the entrance to the dining room.

He ended up sleeping in his crate. I checked on him about 1:30 in the morning because I went to the kitchen to take some medicine. The girls were still up singing to the likes of Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato, Jesse McCartney and Taylor Swift with the Wii game “Sing It: Pop Hits.”

Read More »

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The Wii Fit has been a hit

We got the girls a few different Wii accessories for Christmas, but both of them seem to enjoy the Wii Fit the most. Abby is working mostly on balance, but Camille has taken to yoga.

Neither Susan nor I have had a chance to test it out, but considering how unbalanced we both are, this could be interesting.

Posted in Family Life, Sports Life | Tagged , , | Comments closed

Quick, easy dinner that’s bowl-lickin’ good

I’m sure we can’t do this too often, but we cooked up pasta carbonara for dinner tonight. When the kids are licking the bowl as they did tonight, you can take satisfaction in knowing you did a good job. On the flip side, the leftover bacon has already been claimed by Camille for breakfast in the morning.

I doctored this recipe from My Recipes (Southern Living) by cutting some of the egg, and sadly forgot the garlic, pepper and salt, but there was none left for my lunch for Tuesday, so I guess we did okay.

Ingredients

2  eggs (We used one whole egg and one egg white)
3  ounces  parmesan cheese (The stuff in the canister is fine for this)
1/2  cup  loosely packed flat-leaf parsley leaves (Whoops, we didn’t have any)
1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper, plus more for garnish (Dang, forgot it)
1/4  pound  pancetta or thin-cut bacon, chopped (We used five slices of Applewood smoked)
2  cloves garlic (Oh, no! We forgot it)
3  tablespoons  olive oil (Nixed it)
1/2  cup  dry white wine (Nah)
1/2 cup Half and half or Heavy Cream
1  tablespoon  salt (Forget it! The bacon’s enough)
1  pound  spaghetti or spaghettini

Directions

1. Put a large pot of water on to boil. Meanwhile, crack eggs into a large bowl and beat lightly. Add the cheese, 1/2 cup, to eggs, and set the rest aside. Set aside.

2. We cooked the bacon in the oven on our Pampered Chef large stone which gives it a perfect texture on 425 degree heat. Remove the bacon and drain on paper towels.

3. Heat the Half and Half or Heavy Cream in a sauce pan until warmed.

4. When water boils, add spaghetti. Boil pasta until it is tender to the bite. Drain well and immediately pour pasta into bowl. Toss with two tablespoons of butter. Add the egg mixture. Toss to thoroughly coat pasta with egg mixture (the heat from the pasta will partly cook the egg and melt the cheese). Pour in the cream and mix, then add the bacon and continue to toss until well mixed. Top with a little more cheese. Serve immediately.

Posted in Cooking Life, Family Life | Tagged , , | Comments closed
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