The Weird Sense of Deja Vu

My dad says it’s something that happens naturally after you’ve worked in a field long enough: you start to feel like you’re looping back and forth on yourself. He used to say he’d find himself going to American Historical Association meetings as an “emeritus professor” that he had gone to as a newly-minted professor: some things had changed, some things hadn’t, so the changes and the gaps in the change were what really jumped out.

[Read more…]

Seattle, December 2

I got into Seattle late Dec 2, took a shared ride bus to my hotel, and then walked out for some food. The hotel I was staying in had a fancy bridal/formal store in the downstairs, with some big display windows and some lovely outfits.

[Read more…]

I Hate Snow

I did this using a radio remote (hidden in my glove) and carefully timed shutter settings to get the right light and motion blur. To get the blur right I had to be really close to the semi, which meant I had a slight chance of slipping and throwing myself under the wheels.  Everyone honked and waved but, whatever.

[Read more…]

Liquid Soap

Making liquid soap is daunting because it’s a weird process. But it’s also pretty simple. In fact, the full description of the process takes longer to read and understand than actually doing the work.

I’ve produced this as a single recipe with quantities for a member of The Commentariat(tm) who wants to give it a try. So where I put specific quantities, you can use them and make exactly what I did, or there are links at the bottom for how to compute your own quantities based on different oils.

This process takes about 4 hours start to finish, but you’ll only actually do a little work. But you have to be there to deal with it; you can’t just leave your soap on the stove like you would a cat or a child or something…

[Read more…]

Yummy “NopeFish”

My friend who introduced me to this guy’s twitter feed calls it “Nope Fish.” I suspect they all taste more or less the same, but I can understand why a sushi chef wouldn’t want those pretty faces staring at customers through the glass.

[Read more…]