Regarding a recent story on Frontier Airlines planning to swap jet bridges for portable stairs to load flights, because they believe it will provide a faster turnaround (I thought this seemed rather ableist), I've referred to this related story from 2024. www.scientificamerican.com/article/ther...

inside my head: “Be like Tim.”

I was very surprised to have not one, but two excellent dining experiences at the Chili's in Willis, Texas during my recent stay in that area for a square dance caller school. This article helps to explain how that happened. I found it fascinating. slate.com/business/202...

Artist unknown (but feel free to let me know if you know).

I have never been comfortable with private equity firms, and this Vanity Fair piece does a great job of explaining the ways in which PE firms are harmful to employees and consumers. www.vanityfair.com/news/story/m...

Lili Thomas has just stolen my theater heart as the Best. Miss. Muzeppa. Ever. youtu.be/KqSYVWHAPQQ?...

Clients keep telling me that on-prem services are always more $$$ than cloud. Until they see charges on their first bill for data in, data out, data stored, data backed up, data even just thought about... As Robert A. Heinlein once said: "TANSTAAFL."

This article made me feel quite melancholy. I grew up in a movie-going world where Technicolor was The Standard. And now it's all gone, along with cellulloid moviemaking in general. www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/bus...

After seeing Costco's frozen kimbap described in passing in an article, I ordered a bag (ink in comments). Lazy description: "Korean vegetarian futomaki [sushi roll]". Looks like futomaki, but has different flavors and textures. Usually eaten plain. Randy and I were both impressed.

Tonight’s recipe from NYT Cooking: Crispy Sheet Pan Noodles with Glazed Tofu. I won’t deny I felt a little silly with some of the steps in this recipe. (Mixing the noodles on the sheet pan was just a tad surrealistic at times.). However, the result is surprisingly tasty. Gift link in comments.

Tonight’s dinner: NYT Cooking’s Tofu and Green Beans with Chili Crisp. Hint: If you’re gluten-sensitive, using tamari instead of regular soy sauce, makes this recipe GF. Cheap, easy, and healthy. Can’t do much better than that. Gift link to the recipe in the comments.

Postprandial voguing at Mendocino Farms before heading out to call an Advanced club night for Prime 8s.

This. Is. Freaking. Brilliant. www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxbG...

Every time I post a plant-based recipe, I get notified of a new block. Wow. Tough crowd. (I wonder what would happen if I posted a meat based recipe…?)

Rosemary White Beans with Frizzled Onions night. Tossed a generous dollop of sour cream on top, and air fryer-toasted some Kirkland Parmesan Rosemary bread to go with it. Damn, it was good.

Tonight’s culinary experiment: Butternut Squash & Coconut Noodle Soup. Turned out quite nicely. The serving photo may not show it, but the soup is served over egg noodles, with thinly sliced scallions on top, along with chili oil and lime juice. (Recipe link in comments.)

Made the tofu and green beans with spicy chili crisp again, served it over (nuked) shelf-stable brown rice & quinoa from Costco. This is so amazingly cheap and tasty. Used a blender to make the marinade, worked better than just whisking stuff together in a bowl.

This is why I donate to the EFF every year. And as a member of a targeted community, I feel that now we need this more than ever. ssd.eff.org

Make Space Mom proud. Illustration credited to Justin Aram.

I’m a sucker for a good (bad) tech pun.

Credit Karma: “Hey! Congratulations! You just paid off the balance on your credit card with a $6,900 credit limit! This is a huge step in proactively improving your credit score!” Me: “Settle down, Bevis. The total balance I just paid off was a $9.00 parking fee.”

Worst. Episode. EVER.

News story: Amazon buys production rights for James Bond films. In my head: This New Yorker cartoon.

Huh. Intriguing. www.goodsuniteus.com

People, to Dems, after having voted Dems out of power, for some reason.

Dinner tonight: NYT Cooking’s Crisp Gnocchi With Brussels Sprouts and Brown Butter. I threw in some leftover Chinese BBQ Pork for some extra flavor, because Randy loves anything with bacon or pork. cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1020...

Resist! www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

Surprising exactly nobody who actually pays attention #FAFO #SaysWhatHeMeans #MeansWhatHeSays #Predictable #LeopardAteMyFace

Valentine’s Day dinner: NYT Cooking’s Tofu & Green Beans with Chile Crisp. (A double recipe.) cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1020...

Me, out in public for the first time since cataract surgery, wearing the wraparound sunglasses the nurse gave me because STILL LIGHT SENSITIVE ZOMG SO BRIGHT, muttering “Smash his camera” in my best bad impression of Greta Garbo.

26 hours after cataract surgery, I’m still light-sensitive (long-acting dilation agent used), but my vision is becoming progressively clearer. Colors, however, are totally whacked-out vibrant. (Whoa.) My original lenses were more yellowed than I’d realized.

(In pre-op for cataract surgery.) I AM ELOCUTUS OF BORG: PREPARE TO RECEIVE ETIQUETTE EDUCATION IMMEDIATELY.

The caaract surgery seemed to go well. The doctor was very pleased. I will have blurry vision today and tomorrow, getting better over the next six weeks. Thankfully, KP now uses a “dropless” protocol that doesn’t require a bazillion types of eye drops for the first two weeks post-op. More later.

Some nights you’re the square dance caller, some nights you’re the stupid schmuck holding a microphone at the front of the room wishing that all square dance classes within a week before or week after each full moon would just be cancelled. (My dancers were very patient with me last night.)

Although we’re not vegan or vegetarian, the NYT has some amazing plant based recipes that have become household favorites. This is their Creamy Spicy Tomato Beans and Greens. It’s amazing with freshly heated sourdough. (Gift link to recipe below.) cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1025...

I am about ready to go knock on the Daley crypt so we can get some actual thugs in politics because clearly we need monsters to fight monsters

Dear Microsoft: I hated Clippy, and I feel the same way about Copilot. (And Eff You for adding it to all of my apps without asking.) To ditch your Copilot: App menu / Preferences Authoring and Proofing Tools / Copilot Clear the "Enable Copilot" checkbox. (You're welcome.)

My first block on Bluesky! I just received a notification from the Listification bot that “Mudakun” had blocked me. Appears to be primarily a pro-masking COVID-aware profile, and since I am a believer in COVID and masking, I’ve no idea how I offended them. Meh. Not my problem.

How I arrived on Bluesky.

My mood today.

This is my first day off in 10 days. Recovering clients from cyberattacks sucks. At least the client in question has been exceptionally easy to work with and grateful for our efforts.

Today’s non sequitur. I suspect this was supposed to be an ad for the wonders of irradiating food.

If my mother-the-Holocaust-amateur scholar wasn’t already dead, portions of today’s news cycle would have given her a fatal aneurism. Twice.

GDI, not another one. Are all of the authors of my favorite works going to end up going down in flames? www.sacbee.com/news/local/c...

I also know what it's like to discover that the creator of art you've taken into your spirit is in fact horrible. It's a real loss & if you've been feeling that loss around your love for Gaiman's work, please know that your grief is real, too. I wrote once about my own, similar grief: