Rightside-up upside down apricot cake slice. It’s, uh, better looking when upside-down.

There’s a big advantage of the upside-down habit of baking: the sponge doesn’t become nearly as soggy, like in the old apricot tart recipe. Score! Also, you can easily (er, lazily) serve this without turning out, if you want. Yes! Although serving the cake upside down does hide those mini fruit juice volcanoes which could develop while baking, not to mention display the fruits’ bright colors.

Again, as in the original recipe, you can still use plums. When I do so, I quickly blanch them in simmering water, then peel them, since I’m not fond of the sharpness of their skins. If the fruits are large, I slice them into 1/2 inch thickness. Other untested fruit possibilities: peaches, nectarines, cherries, mangoes, etc.

My version of the recipe should fit a 10-inch dish (square or round). If you halve it, the cake could fit in a 8-inch pan. As usual, I’ve taken liberties with measurements and steps to suit my tastes.

The next time I make this (more likely with plums, this year), I’m going to see if I can get away with using 3/4 to 1/2 a stick of butter in the sugar topping at step 2. Not sure why I need so much butter there.

Ingredients

• 2 sticks (1/2 pound) of unsalted butter
• 3 to 4 ounces brown sugar; variance depends on the fruit’s sweetness.
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 pinches of salt
• 16 fresh apricots, halved and pitted; unpitted, it’s roughly 1 1/2 pounds, give or take.
• 6 1/2 ounces pastry flour; unbleached (white) or whole wheat would be fine, or a mix of the two.
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract; if you have vanilla sugar, use 1/4 cup as part of the 3/4 cup of regular sugar.
• zest from 1 or 2 oranges
• 2 eggs, lightly whisked
• 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons plain yogurt or buttermilk

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF degrees. Lightly grease the inside of a glass or ceramic dish. Place the apricots in the dish, cut side downwards, covering the base as much as possible. Some gaps are okay, though.
2. Over medium heat in a small sauce pan, melt 1 stick of the butter with the brown sugar, cinnamon and 1 pinch of salt. You don’t need to melt the sugar into a caramel; just gently whisk until there are no more lumps. Some of the butter might not emulsify; that’s also okay.
3. Pour the sugar-butter goop evenly over the apricots.
4. Sift the flour, baking powder and soda into a bowl, and set aside.
5. Cream the remaining stick of butter, another pinch of salt, sugar, vanilla (or vanilla sugar), and orange zest until fluffy.
6. Slowly mix in the eggs. Slowly mix in the yogurt (or buttermilk). At this point, the batter may look mighty curdled. Fear not!
7. Stir in the flour mixture, a third or a quarter at a time. The previously scary appearance at the end of step 5 will smoothen out.
8. Gently plop the stiffish batter on top of the apricots. Smoothen out so that the fruits are all covered. Again, if there are a few small gaps around the edges of the dish, that’s fine, since the batter will spread in the oven.
9. Bake until the cake has become golden brown; the sponge should no longer jiggle when shaken, and should be barely pulling away from the sides of the dish. About 50 to 55 minutes. Wait about an hour or so before eating, otherwise it’ll be too crumbly. The cake will shrink away and downwards as the fruit cools, but will remain spongey. Turn it right side up onto a plate, if you want. Tastes even better the next day! I store leftovers in the fridge when the weather’s hot. Leftovers are good at room temperature, or after being lightly heated in a low oven, or even after 30 seconds (per serving) in the microwave.

At step 1: I trimmed out the ickier bruises and blemishes.

At step 3: Brown sugar-butter mixture poured over the apricots.

Upside-down upside down cake, hot out of the oven.

If you have remodeling resources you like, please do share!

Organizations

I have a habit of checking Angie’s List and Diamond Certified when looking for a contractor, as well as other types of services. Then I double-check to see what comes up with web searches and Yelp.com. When possible, I also speak with friends and neighbors.

Angie’s List. Think of this as a non-free version of Yelp.com, but with moderation — this means they always review submissions before posting, which helps reduce trolling and asinine reports. While some highly rated companies offer discounts (nice), they do NOT pay to be listed (even nicer). This is obviously to emphasize Angie’s List’s consumer advocacy stance, as well as avoid conflicts of interest. They also offer some services as part of the paid membership, including a complaint resolution process.

Diamond Certified. They review services covering Bay Area counties. Take note that unlike Angie’s List, Diamond Certified requires vendors to pay to be reviewed. Also note that even if after a vendor has paid, it does not guarantee listing as being certified: that’s where their stringent rules come into play, e.g., requiring a standing 90% positive approval rating from surveyed clients. FYI: Many of the vendors seem to fall in the middle to high-range, in terms of price.

California State License boards for contractors (CSLB) and architects (CAB). Check these sites to ensure that licensing for your contractors or architect is up to date — before you pay for any of their services! Contractor entries also include bonding, insurance and workers’ compensation information, which should all be up to date.

For green building information, check out Built It Green (BIG), who provide detailed guidelines for green construction and remodeling in California. There’s also the federally run US Green Building Council (USGBC).

On a related note, regarding energy efficiency and solar installation:

• Title 24, a.k.a., the California Energy Efficiency Standards for Buildings. Also, the Home Energy Rating System (HERS) program.
• Tax Incentives Assistance Project, for federal income tax breaks for energy efficient products and services.
• Go Solar California! which covers the California Solar Initiative (CSI).
• If you have utilities from PG&E, check out their pages on residential solar energy and how they work with the CSI.

There are several national professional associations to which a contractor or designer may belong. For example, the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI), and their Silicon Valley Chapter. There is also the National Kitchen and Bath Association (NKBA) for those who specialize in such structures. Depending on the scope of your project, a prospective contractor or designer might be in either or both of those groups.

In addition, you can search for professionals certified by these associations:

• Silicon Valley NARI Member Directory
• NKBA Find a Professional by zipcode
• Build It Green Professional Directory

Books

Make use of your local library! If you have your own copier, gathering visual ideas becomes an easier, less costly task. I learned from the bathroom remodel that it’s better to just make copies of images you like, and spend money on reference-like guides with more explanatory text.

Speaking of which:

• Johnston, Amy. What Your Contractor Can’t Tell You: The Essential Guide to Building and Renovating (2008). The author’s perspective is primarily focused on large construction projects, so it’s better to pick and choose which tips better suit your situation. For example, she seems to interview and use architects first, and interview contractors late in the game — very different from what we’re doing. The book is more on project management, financial and legal issues, rather than materials and design styles. Has excellent examples of questions you should ask when interviewing contractors and designers (again for Johnston, it’s typically architects, but similar questions apply).
• Peterson, Lyn. Lyn Peterson’s Real Life Kitchens (2007). A good guide to working out what you need (and don’t need) in kitchen design, from layout to materials.
• Ruiz, Fernando Pagés. Affordable Remodel: How to Get Custom Results on Any Budget (2007). A great book on how to choose particular tasks and materials, in order to stay within your budget.
• Susanka, Sarah and Vassallo, Marc. Not So Big Remodeling: Tailoring Your Home for the Way You Really Live (2009). Many praise Susanka’s Not So Big House, which when skimmed through before our bathroom remodel, I found to be useless. The houses featured were still too damn BIG (compared to our own), and the projects focused primarily on rebuilding or whole house renovation. However, this new book on remodeling actually fills the gap I seek, and contains some good ideas on space arrangement in a small home.

The Taunton Press publishes tons of books with great visual ideas and nicely arranged photographs. They do update books within their Ideas series every few years; and because that series has a more a picture book feel rather than reference, those books tend to lack indices.

• The bloody backroom. Which means foundation work. Rapture!
• The outdated kitchen, which is not only attached to the bloody backroom, but has the ever common complaint of too little counter space in a crappily arranged area.
• Adding another bathroom. I don’t care what other people say, if there is more than 1 person living in a building, you need more than 1 bathroom.
• Removing the unused, space-hogging chimney. Don’t need it, don’t want it, get rid of it.
• A new roof. Something more energy-efficient, long-lasting, less prone to damage, yet easy to repair if needed. I hear lifetime composite might be in my future.
• A companion for the roof, along with the dream of (some) renewable energy production: solar photovoltaic (PV) panels. At the very least, have a roof well-constructed to take solar in the future, if we cannot do it during this project.
• Central heating, maybe. Did I mention that this house is old enough to lack central heating? It still does.
• Electrical upgrades, as well as fixes to obsolete wiring in which past electricians had failed.
• Too many new appliances.
• Sound-proofing, where feasible.
• Exterior paint. I grow weary of off-white. Death to beige!
• Doing the above in as green a manner as possible, where affordable.
• A dragon. Why ask for a pony when a dragon more appropriately suits one’s needs? Especially a fire-beathing one who’ll intimidate those who might damage our precious garden without a care in the world.

That’s the short list. Obviously, this will grow (and shrink) as we get a better idea of realistic scope and budget.

With a project of this scope, most people would start with an architect they like, work to get designs and plans, then get bids from contractors. Well, we don’t know any architects, at least of the residential and remodeling design variety. And since we’ve gotten used to screening and dealing with contractors — you know, the ones who will actually be doing the demolition and construction work — we thought we’d take an alternative and more modern route, and seek out design+build firms. Design+build companies include both the design (architectural, structural engineering, where needed) and construction aspects. Ideally.

So, with a list in hand, I finally emailed 9 prospective design+build companies. To my surprise, within less than a week, I got 7 responses. Two never responded; their loss. Of these, we decided one was located too far for us to comfortably do business with, and another seemed more focused on whole house remodeling — far too big a scope, likely far too time-consuming and too costly. So, we scheduled initial consultations (free) with 5 of them.

Suffice it to say, after speaking with these designers and contractors, executing the Big, Scary Remodel would not be as clear-cut as we had thought. But hey, that’s part of the learning process of this project. But we did learn that we might be able to accomplish most (maybe all, but I’m cautious) of the list within our budget. A little hope now is better than the hopelessness we’ve felt while waffling over this for the past nine years.

One lesson, subject to change, is to pay for the set of plans (i.e., the detailed design, which in itself is a non-trivial amount of labor) once, but get detailed bids for materials and demolition-construction labor from multiple sources. That way we can compare how much the same project would cost, both financially and time-wise. And hopefully we won’t need to pay (again, other than the single design cost) until we agree to work with a specific contractor. We’ll see.

Another lesson, in addition to the reality that detailed design plans must come before detailed bids, is learning about architectural requirements. Unless you’re building a second (or more) storey, or something underground like a basement, you don’t need a licensed architect — at least in the Bay Area, if not in California. A residential designer should suffice; if structural engineering work is needed, then that designer should work with one to get things to code. Note also that the residential designer should at least get the plans within City and State building codes.

The next step: Figuring out the design. During our bathroom remodel, the design phase took nearly half a year, whereas the construction a mere 3ish weeks. Being the schedule pessimist that I am, I imagine that design phase for this project could take a loooooong time. But this isn’t our first remodeling project, so we’ve got some experience, as well as a better idea as to what we’d want and not want. Again, we’ll see.

I’ve long been inspired by an appetizer, foul moukala, that we had at a Lebanese restaurant, Al Waha — all the way in Bayswater, London. Their version is much richer (a lot more olive oil), and included chopped cilantro.

This year we tried a variety of fava beans that wasn’t the usual “Windsor” type found in the US. We planted “Stereo,” a smaller variety, less than half the size of “Windsor.” They also seemed less prone to starchiness, so worked rather nicely in this dish.

Ingredients

• 2 cups shelled fava beans; unshelled it’s about 1 1/4 pounds.
• 2 to 3 sprigs fresh spearmint
• 2 to 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup shallots, finely diced
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seed
• salt
• (optional) freshly ground pepper
• freshly squeezed lemon juice

Method

1. Before sautéing the favas, you want to pre-boil them. Put them and the mint sprigs in a pot of boiling (unsalted) water, wait for the water to return to a boil, then simmer (lid ajar) for 3 to 4 minutes.
2. While the favas are boiling, sauté the shallots in another pan in olive oil, along with the coriander and salt.
3. Strain the favas and remove the mint. Stir them into the pan with the shallots, and add a tablespoon or two of boiling water (either from the fava water, or a kettle). Cover and cook on medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes.
4. Season with lemon juice and pepper, if desired, then serve with pita bread or lavash.

Nevertheless, the spring wildflowers are coming to an end — but they’re going out with a blast of Clarkia! There are very few of the Showy Farewell to Spring (Clarkia bottae), the pale pink ones with white centers which I often see in the foothills.

The most populous flowers overall are the Elegant Clarkia (Clarkia unguiculata), which come in a wild range — from deep magenta to salmon to carnation pink to nearly white. I’m amused that different colored flowers seem to come off of the same plant, too.

Note the magenta-ish one sprouting on the upper-right of an otherwise pink stemfull of flowers.

There’s yet another set of Clarkia blooming as well — also called Farewell to Spring (Clarkia amoena), but showier than the Showy one. Like the Elegant one, this comes in several colors, such as red with white splotches, white with hot-pink splotches, pink with red splotches, etc. All with a rather floppy poppy-like form.

True to their name, these flowers herald the conclusion of the annual wildflower season in our garden, even though there are some Mountain Phlox and Calpops making an appearance. While it’s sad to see them go, summer will soon bring forth fruit, veggies and the (continuation of more) perennial flowers.

Anyhow, as April progresses, more and more flowers are popping up in the backyard. While the fivespot remains comparatively shy, I’ve seen over half a dozen individual plants. Whoa.

The fivespots seem to prefer sunny borders. Field view of a mound (single plant).

In my last entry, I forgot to mention that vast majority of the wildflowers are these tall, reddish-veined dudes with succulent stems. Lots and lots. Yet no flowers, failing to help in identification. I got my answer this past weekend during the Going Native Garden Tour: Clarkia unguiculata (formerly Clarkia elegans), also called Mountain Garland or Elegant Clarkia. (It’s a Clarkia, which would make Samuel proud. Moreover, these guys are ¡muy hardy! to the point of outcompeting many weeds. I think I’ve found a solution for the stubborn parking strip.

But since the Clarkia haven’t opened up yet, I’ll offer some Bird’s-Eyes Gilia (Gilia tricolor).

The first ones to bloom, the many baby blue-eyes, are petering out. But now we also have a bunch of composites opening up, mostly tidy tips and tarweed.

Tidy tips.

The seed mixes also included a couple lupines, but they seem few and far between. Perhaps our soil isn’t nitrogen poor enough? I guess that’s something good in many other ways, though!

But the point of today’s post is to record the first results of the wildflower seeds Simon sowed in the backyard at the end of December. I had went wild and bought several annual mixes from Larner Seeds, who specialize in native Californian plants.

So just a few days ago, I saw some quarter sized blue things bobbing in the wind: Baby Blue-eyes (Nemophila menziesii)!

Today, I saw a cousin of the Baby Blue-eyes, the Fivespot (Nemophila maculata). I’ve occasionally seen these while hiking in the hills, but never had luck — except one specimen in the parking strip several years ago — growing them at home. Perhaps they prefer the backyard over the frontyard; then again, I’ve seen only one plant so far.

Both of these Nemophila have been recently relegated to the Hydrophylloideae subfamily of the large Boraginaceae (borage) family, rather than the former Hydrophyllaceae. I’ve labeled the photo album containing bigger images in the old way, because it helps me remember that these small geranium-like plants are not geraniums (nor borage).

Returning to the fruit trees, I finally photographed the apple blossoms. Well, one of them, the Braeburn, which has such lovely red-tipped buds. Open flowers certainly are useful (for the bees and other arthropod friends), but I’m so very impartial towards the demurely tight-lipped state of closed buds. The first three photos in this album show them in greater detail.

Members of the onion family, such as leeks and shallots, pair well with and add an aromatic dimension to dishes with starchy veg. What else is there to do? Would it overcomplicate things to top it all with nuts? Oh, no, not at all. But it is optional, if you wish.

Winter squash gratin with leeks, topped with panko and almonds.

While clearing out the refrigerator at another time, I decided to do another gratin with cauliflower and fennel bulb. How did that turn out? Quite well, thank you very much.

Another fun variable is the cheese. Gruyère has a nice, strong nutty flavor, and great meltability. But if you want something milder, Comté is much more subtle, yet still pleasantly nutty. I’ve also tried a very sharp Cheddar, where the flavor was awesome, but because it doesn’t quite melt as smoothly as Gruyère or Comté, its oil separated somewhat from the curds during baking.

All in all, the results were a kind of hybridization between a Chowhound recipe and a Epicurious recipe. Also, in the future, I might try using carrots or beets.

The Gratin, winter squash & leek variation

• 3 to 3 1/2 pound winter squash (e.g., Kabocha, Butternut, Kuri), seeds removed, peeled, and cut into 1/4 inch slices — about 6 cups total.
• 3 cups leeks, pale and tender green parts thinly sliced, about 1 1/2 pounds.
• 1/2 cup shallots, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seed
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, marjoram, tarragon, or savory (fresh is fine, just double the amount)
• 2 to 3 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped
• 4 ounces shredded Gruyère, or similar cheese
• salt and pepper
• olive oil, or melted butter (or a mix thereof)
• 1 to 1 1/4 cups heavy cream, warmed, with 1/4 teaspoon salt stirred in.

The Gratin, cauliflower & fennel variation

Pretty much the same, but removing the squash, leeks and shallots, and instead using:

• 2 to 2 1/2 pound cauliflower, chopped into 1 to 1 1/2-inch florets.
• 3/4 to 1 pound fennel bulb, thinly sliced into half rings
• 3/4 to 1 pound onion, thinly sliced into half rings

The Optional Topping (but you really should)

• 3/4 cup panko (dried breadcrumbs)
• 1/3 cup chopped nuts, such as cashews, almonds or pistachios
• 1 ounce shredded Parmesan Reggiano, or any pleasantly strong dry cheese.
• 1 to 2 tablespoons melted butter
• a pinch of salt, unless the butter is salted

Method

1. Preheat oven to 400ºF degrees. Mix the topping ingredients and set aside until step 6.
2. Toss the squash slices with a tablespoon or two of olive oil, until lightly coated.
3. Sauté the leeks and shallots in olive oil until translucent. Stir in the coriander and thyme, then season with salt and pepper.
4. Arrange the layers in a casserole dish (I used a 9-inch square, 3-inch deep one) first with a layer of squash (about a third), then half of the leeks-shallots, followed by half of the shredded Gruyère. Repeat with the rest of the gratin ingredients, ending — er, topping it off — with a layer of squash.
5. Slowly pour the cream over the gratin. Try to moisten all of the squash pieces on top.
6. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, covered, until the squash are tender. Remove the cover and add the topping, then bake for another 15 to 20 minutes until the top has browned.
7. Allow to cool for about 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

The method for all these, except for the basic marinade and lemon miso one, is to plop all ingredients into a container tall enough to avoid splatters, then whiz with a handheld immersion blender. The amount of dashi or water will vary depending on your desired thickness. I prefer the sauces on the smoother side — and adding more liquid helps with the blending.

Oh, yeah: You can store leftovers in the freezer.

Some definitions:

• White miso (shiro or saikyo) is a yellow to pale beige paste, made from mostly rice and some soy beans. It’s the lightest and sweetest in flavor of the misos. Some varieties are sweet enough to be used in desserts.
• Red miso (aka or sendai) is rusty in color, and has a deeper, more caramel flavor than white miso. It’s made primarily from soy beans, with some rice.

Basic miso marinade

I frequently use this one with broiled fish dishes. In fact, it went very well for some fish in a foil packet I made in a friend’s barbeque! Indeed, this marinade is spectacular with black cod (gindara). For a milder, sweeter taste, use all white miso; for something stronger, add a bit of red miso.

The method is simple: Simmer everything over medium heat for about 2 to 3 minutes, stirring to smoothen it. Remove it from heat, and cool to room temperature; I often hasten this by popping the saucepan in the fridge for 30 minutes. Then I marinate the (typically) fish for 2 to 6 hours, again in the fridge.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup white miso
• (optional) 1 tablespoon red miso
• 1/4 cup sake
• 2 to 4 tablespoons mirin (sweet Japanese rice wine)
• (optional) 1 to 2 teaspoons brown sugar (golden or dark)

Cashew & red miso sauce

This nutty sauce has a bold flavor with a caramel edge. It goes well with strongly flavored foods, such as eggplant, shiitake mushrooms, salmon, etc. In addition, something needing oomph like chicken breast or grilled tofu would be well-partnered with this sauce.

Ingredients

• 1/4 to 1/3 cup cashews, roasted and chopped
• 1/4 cup red miso
• 1 tablespoon mirin
• 1/4 to 1/3 cup dashi or water

Pine nut & white miso sauce

Great to toss into vegetables and salads, such as string beans, potatoes and other mild (or bland) vegetables or protein slabs. It’s somewhat lighter than the previous sauce based on cashews.

Ingredients

• 1/4 to 1/3 cup pine nuts, roasted until fragrant
• 2 to 3 tablespoons white miso
• (optional) 1 tablespoon sesame paste, such as tahini
• 3 to 5 tablespoons dashi or water

Lemon miso sauce

Excellent as a marinade for fish, but also a great topping for tofu and vegetables. Place the ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Stir and simmer for a couple of minutes to smoothen it out, then it’s ready. Cool to room temperature (at least), if using as a marinade.

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup white miso
• 1 to 2 tablespoons lemon zest
• 3 to 4 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon saké
• 1 tablespoon mirin

Another major change is to no longer boil the tea leaves, which often resulted in something unpleasantly astringent. It might look pale, but make no mistake, the tea really does not need more time to steep! Yet another tip is to avoid powdered spices, especially ginger, since those tend to yield a cuppa that’s either too flat or too bitter.

After testing some spices one at a time, I also ended up simplifying the spice list… somewhat. No more cloves: they just added a medicinal bitterness which couldn’t be either enjoyed or remedied by more sugar. Too much cinnamon makes the chai too tart — although that might be because I use the softer, fruitier Sri Lankan / Mexican variety. Even the aniseed failed to impart the characteristic anise-y flavor (still too tart!); star anise, on the other hand, succeeds quite accurately. Moreover, peppercorns or allspice are optional, if I’m in the mood for a peppery edge.

This makes enough to serve 2 people. Or one very thirsty person in need of spicy warmth and caffeination.

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 to 2 cups water
• 3 to 4 heaping teaspoons of green cardamom pods, crushed open to expose the seeds
• 1 inch of fresh ginger, roughly minced
• 1 to 2 inches of cinnamon stick
• 1 whole star anise
• (optional) 5 to 10 whole black peppercorns
• (optional) 2 to 4 whole allspice
• 2 to 4 teaspoons sugar
• 1 can (12 ounces, i.e., 1 1/2 cups) low fat (2%) evaporated milk
• 2 heaping teaspoons tea; or the contents of 2 to 3 teabags. Again, I recommend a strong black tea from India or Sri Lanka, such as Assam or Ceylon.

Method

1. In a non-reactive saucepan, bring the water and spices to a boil, and let simmer covered for 5 minutes.
2. Add the sugar, and stir to dissolve it.
3. Stir in the evaporated milk. Allow it to come to a foamy boil initially — while trying to avoid spilling onto the stovetop. (Vigilance! Remove the lid and/or lower the heat if dairy volcanism appears imminent.) Allow to simmer for another 5 minutes, with lid ajar.
4. Remove from heat. Stir in the tea. Steep covered for about 4 minutes.
5. Serve; add more sugar, if you want.

Of course, jump down to see what I did read last year.

• Some notes on comics I read last year.
• Fiction
• Non-fiction
• Books I didn’t finish reading.

In addition to the books by Dawkins and Eskridge, I’ve marked recommended titles with the lightbulb icon, .

Some comics

The size of this list is actually deceiving. 2008 marked my tardy (but inevitable?) exposure to Osamu Tezuka’s manga, which had been catalyzed by visiting an impressive exhibit in 2007 at the Asian Art Museum. This resulted in reading a whopping number of comics! Tezuka wrote so much that I think his work deserves its own entry. Also, during the past couple years I’ve read a bunch of (non-Tezuka) superb graphic novels, which I’ll get to in another article.

Carey, Liew, Hempel. Re-Gifters. Hopkido-loving Jen Dik Seong gives gifts to show affection. But what happens when a gift is not just rejected, but reused to give to another person? The life and times of a Korean American teen girl would’ve felt more convincing if the writer did a better job of expressing the immigrant experience. Not to say a writer needs to be either an immigrant or Korean, obviously, but in spite of research, Carey’s writing felt more stereotypical than captivating.

Nananan, Kiriko. Blue. A sad, touching story about two girls who learn (or fail) to navigate the emotional storm of adolescence, especially when they fall in love with each other. Quiet, yet moving.

Reilly, Ahlquist and Mann. The Weirdly World of Strange Eggs. It’s an oddly cute and weird story about a couple of kids who find themselves in charge of large egg,s and the resulting monstrous hatchlings. An interesting parable, but not revelatory. Marred by bad production that looks like poor photocopying.

Sfar and Guibert. The Professor’s Daughter. A Victorian tale accompanied with somewhat hackneyed Victorian themes. Who cares about how the professor’s daughter fell in with a mummy? In the end, I did not.

Talbot, Bryan. Heart of Empire. I liked Talbot’s artwork in Gaiman’s Sandman, but this series wasn’t my… cup of meat, I’m afraid. A bit too assaulting to my senses.

Tomizawa, Hitoshi. Alien 9 manga. I read this after watching the animé upon which it was based. Even though this involves cute middle school girls with cute aliens symbionts fighting against other aliens, it ain’t for the faint of heart. It’s not too gruesome, but instead very grueling. It shows how someone could be so consumed by her fears, that her terror harms other people. Thrilling, yet alternating between horrifying and thoughtful.

Willingham, Bill. Thessaly: Witch for Hire. I don’t know why, but I’m intrigued by Thessaly, a part-time character from Sandman. She’s old, she’s powerful, and she’s refreshingly grouchy and unsociable. I’m engrossed by watching what tribulations have cropped up during her long life (sacrifices, literally, and mistakes).

Yun, Mi-Kyung. Bride of the Water God, volumes 1 and 2. Hmm, another manhwa where the title consists of a bride to a Korean spirit? Except for similar titles and gorgeous artistry, though, this series differs quite a lot from Dokebi Bride. Sadly the story and characters didn’t manage to grab me. A young woman is married off to a rain god so that her village could obtain its much needed rainfall. From there the story seems to involve rather uninteresting, stereotypical people: the sweet nearly Mary Sue protagonist, her mysterious husband (smartass boy by day, handsome man at night, when she sleeps, of course), her terrifying but intriguing mother-in-law (goddess of torture and love). I might pick it up again, if I find later volumes at a library; but for now it’s not worth my budget.

Fiction

Eskridge, Kelley. Solitaire. While in the science fiction genre, this deals greatly with project management. Hey, wipe off that scornful smirk. Imagine the ultimate project manager, how highly effective she is, not just in manipulating people and schedules well (those ain’t small tasks) to get things done, but also how very familiar she is with techniques, skills and various fields of expertise. If she doesn’t find or encourage others to complete a project, she’s unafraid and capable enough to do it herself, and very well at that, too. So from a utopian corporate culture comes wunderkind Jackal Segura. Who falls from her high position, quite horribly, into a nightmarish prison. Her story continues to evolve painfully, exquisitely, from there.

Ghosh, Amitav. The Hungry Tide. Dolphin research and romance in the Sundarbans of Bangladesh. I wish there was more of the science; what cetological and ecological discussions there are seem quite interesting. The rest, well, seems too much Hollywood for my tastes.

Ikeda, Akiko. Dayan’s Birthday, Thursday Rainy Party, White Eurocka, and Chibikuro Party. Several illustrated children’s books that often focus on etiquette, especially for parties. Cute, but simple, and very much aimed at small kids, rather than having an all-ages appeal.

Knox, Elizabeth. The Dreamhunter duet, consisting of Dreamhunter and Dreamquake. What is that strange, colorless land, where only a few can cross into, and influence other people’s dreams? I like the details that went into the atmosphere, the plot (initially) and dialog for these books. (I love the priceless remark, “Must be a mouth breather.” Hah, so amusingly disparaging!) Unfortunately, I’m rather disappointed and dissatisfied with the resolution of the mystery and the protagonists’ fates.

Larbalestier, Justine. Magic or Madness, Magic Lessons, and Magic’s Child. I really wanted to like this trilogy. As with Knox’s Dreamhunter series, I enjoyed the characters, the scenery, and Larbalestier’s animated writing style. (Although the Magic and Madness trilogy takes place in modern New York and Australia, rather than early 20th century New Zealand.) Her magic system is fascinating and intelligent, something new I encountered in fiction. It’s also awesome to see a teenage boy love clothing (textile magic), without collapsing into tired stereotypes. But as with Knox’s duet, the resolution of the plot and characters’ destinies just didn’t sit well with me. Still, it makes me curious about the Larbalestier’s other work…

Mitchison, Naomi. Travel Light. A novella about an orphan girl finding her past, and her future. Which ends up a disappointing parable about destiny. This is the only Mitchison piece I’ve read, and since she was such a prolific author, perhaps she had better works.

Ogawa, Yoko. The Diving Pool, 3 novellas. I was hoping for something at the level of Banana Yoshimoto, but found these stories (dealing with slice-of-life issues and alienation, iirc) just mildly uninteresting. However, I am curious about the forthcoming English translation of The Housekeeper and the Professor.

Park, Paul. The Tourmaline, The White Tyger. These are the second and third books of a four book series covering Miranda Popescu’s attempt to reclaim, via bewildering parallel worlds, an empire in decline. Indeed, her burden is very reminiscent of Lord Valentine’s ordeal to recover his title and life. As with the first book, A Princess of Roumania, the characters and their stories are intricate, but the pacing remains somewhat disorienting. Still, I’m sure I’ll read the final one, The Hidden World, because I want to see what becomes of the various worlds and characters.

Pullman, Philip. Once Upon a Time in the North. This is a delightful novelette that recounts how young aeronaut Lee Scoresby became acquainted with polar bear Iorek Byrnison. Beautifully produced hardbound book, with hints to the future of other characters from His Dark Materials. Reminds me of a smaller, simpler version of Nick Bantock’s work, but with more plot and depth.

Silverberg, Robert. Lord Valentine’s Castle and Majipoor Chronicles. Finally some (slow) progress in my classical science fiction education! Silverberg’s Majipoor defines the massive planet concept, complete with multiple complex sentient species. Some of the dialog and characters are dated — these were written during early to mid 1980s — so I needed I filter out some of the more sexist bits. But I do appreciate the introspection the author bestows upon his protagonists.

Non-fiction

Dawkins, Richard. The God Delusion (2008 edition). I used to think I wouldn’t like reading Dawkins, thinking he’d be too angry, too shrill, too incomprehensible. On the contrary, this book has a remarkably compassionate and humorous tone — not to mention being passionate (obviously) and easily understandable (on evolution). With Dawkin’s careful explanations, I could better understand (and appreciate) his scathing remarks against intelligent design and religious fundamentalism. After all, how could I not resist reading a treatise on science and religion which starts off with wisdom concerning the Flying Spaghetti monster and herding cats?

Diamond, Jared. Guns, Germs & Steel (2005 edition). A very well-written book on the development of agriculture, language and industry — specifically with how geography affected such developments. Even though it took me months to get through it (characteristic of my speed through historical non-fiction), I’m glad I learned more about how complex civilizations succeed or fail. I especially enjoy the newer chapter on Japan’s development: a good testament to how Diamond pays attention to facts and presents commonalities that many chose to ignore.

McKellar, Danica. Math Doesn’t Suck: How to Survive Middle School Math Without Losing Your Mind or Breaking a Nail | Official site. Now if I could find something like this, geared at all ages and genders, for calculus, differential equations, linear algebra, statistics, and… I know. Asking a lot. Still, the point which McKellar makes very clear, is that math can be enjoyable and useful at the same time.

Meyer, Kathleen. How to Shit in the Woods (1st edition). Okay, you can stop laughing now, smartypants. It does, indeed, contain encouraging and useful outdoor tips for taking Number 2 to task. But are publications filling the void for advice on the pissoir and other similarly medieval urban-suburban devices? “What void?” you say, as you remind me about the Internet…

Riccardi, Victoria Abbott. Untangling My Chopsticks: A Culinary Sojourn in Kyoto. An interesting memoir, with some recipes, on how an American steadfastly stays in Japan in spite of the daunting language and cultural barriers. Whatever for? To learn about the history and techniques behind the complex kaiseki ritual-meal.

Simonds, Calvin. The Private Lives of Garden Birds.”You have never seen predatory dignity shattered until you have seen a stalking cat goosed by a mockingbird.” Good observations, but primarily focused on birds in the northeastern US.

Unfinished

Abadzis, Nick. Laika. Couldn’t get into the artwork.

Nelson, Derek. Off the Map: Curious Histories of Place-Names. I was hoping for more of a short encyclopedic glossary. But it seemed more like a historical text.

Novik, Naomi. His Majesty’s Dragon. I stopped reading after the first chapter. The setting and people just didn’t draw me in. Maybe I’ll try again another time.

P.S.

Hey! I published this before half the year has elapsed. Good for me. Maybe I’ll make it before the first month finishes, next year…

So it is with a heavy heart that I must disable comment previewing for the time being. However, I’m awaiting feedback from the Comments Preview developer, so perhaps there’ll be a fix in the near future.

The second problem deals with OpenID delegation, i.e., using my site’s URL via an OpenID provider. OpenID v3.2 now includes delegation, which is great: WP-Yadis should become obsolete, one less plugin to keep track of. But unfortunately, delegation through the OpenID doesn’t seem to work. I use delegation on other sites, especially for leaving comments, so I need to keep WP-Yadis around.

Update (17 Feb 2009): Version 3.2.1 of the OpenID plugin was just released, and fixed the delegation issue. Yay!

For many years I’ve lived with a Meyer lemon tree in the backyard. For many years, friends have told me how easy it is to make lemon curd. The tree remains outdoors, providing a generous source of juice, zest and bird watching opportunities.

Why the delay? Because there’s such an wild range of ingredient proportions in lemon curd recipes. Many use 3 to 4 whole eggs, but some use up to 8, and some use only yolks. Butter amounts go from less than a cube to more than 4 cubes. What?! And even the amounts of sugar, lemon juice and zest run the gamut. Sheez!

So, I decided to start with simple amounts which are easy to remember. Luckily, the first experiment worked! It is a very tart recipe, which I prefer, so feel free to somewhat reduce the amount of lemon juice. Meyers are also milder and less sour than true botanical lemons such as Eureka or Lisbon, so you may want to use less juice for non-Meyer varieties. Another piece of good advice was from my mother-in-law: use the freshest, tastiest butter you can find.

Important note: Unlike jams and chutneys, lemon curd is NOT sterilized. (Cannot boil the jars, otherwise you scramble the egg in the curd. Yuck.) Use it soon, like within a couple weeks or so, and keep it in the ‘fridge.

Use suggestions: Spread on scones, toast or pancakes. Sandwich between cake layers. Dip cookies into.

Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar
• 5 extra large or 6 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 tablespoons Meyer lemon zest
• 1 cup Meyer lemon juice (5 to 6 lemons)
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, chopped into 1 tablespoon chunks
• a pinch of salt

Method

1. Even though sterilization doesn’t occur, get your equipment ready. Wash the jars, lids, strainer and large measuring jug, then put them in a 225ºF degree oven for about 30 minutes before starting to cook (which will help dry them off, too). When you’re ready for the next step, turn off the oven so they won’t be too hot to touch when you need them.
2. Put all the ingredients in a heavy-bottomed saucepan that’s resistant to acid, such as stainless steel or something enameled.
3. Stir frequently over medium low heat with a whisk. Keep stirring until the mixture thickens into a custardy consistency. You’ll need some patience, as this takes about 10 to 15 minutes, from the time all the butter melts. You want to aim for a custard temperature of 160ºF degrees (70ºC to 71ºC).
4. Pour the curd through the strainer into the large jug. Transfer to the jars, then cap them off. Allow to cool at room temperature, then move the jars to the refrigerator. Yields about 3 cups.

Moreover, savory pancakes can be made from many different root vegetables, in my case baking potatoes and sweet potatoes, with a kick of scallions and onions. The floury Russets, and the yellow, dry style of sweet potatoes work well.

Savory pancakes from New Year’s Eve 2008, served on New Year’s Day 2009. Topped with horseradish-garlic mustard cream.

Makes about 3 dozen, give or take.

For a possible creamy topping, mix together crème fraîche, horseradish and a nice, garlicky mustard. Oh yeah.

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 to 2 3/4 pounds of baking potatoes and sweet potatoes, peeled. I used equal amounts of both tubers.
• 1 medium onion, diced finely
• 4 ounces (about 1 bunch) scallions, both green and pale parts sliced finely
• 3/4 cup pastry or all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt, plus 1/4 teaspoon for sprinkling
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried (or 1 teaspoon fresh) thyme
• 3 eggs, beaten
• your favorite frying lipids: goose fat, duck fat, safflower oil, whichever

Method

1. Mix the flour, 1 teaspoon of salt, pepper and thyme and set aside. Preheat oven to 225ºF.
2. Grate the baking and sweet potatoes. Then put them in a large bowl, along with the onions and scallions. Toss with a 1/4 teaspoon of salt, to help leech out more liquid.
3. Using a fine cheesecloth, squeeze out as much liquid as possible from the vegetables. The butter muslin from the New England Cheesemaking Supply Company is great for this task. It’s okay to do so in batches (in which case another large bow will help); you’ll probably need to squeeze the stuff twice.
4. Toss in the flour mixture, then stir in the eggs.
5. Heat up a frying pan (preferably not non-stick, since you want crispiness to develop) filled with barely an 1/8-inch of fat or oil. If you have two such pans, this will make the frying process go faster. Make sure it’s hot enough: toss in a tiny pinch of pancake batter, and if it sizzles on contact, it’s ready.
6. Form each pancake from about 2 tablespoons of batter, kinda roundish. Once in the pan, I try to flatten them as much as possible (more crispy!) with the back of a large spoon.
7. Fry until golden-brown, about 2 minutes, then flip and finish the other side in about 1 to 2 minutes.
8. When the pancakes are done, transfer them to drain briefly on a paper-lined tray — for only a minute or so, otherwise the trapped steam will make them soggy — then transfer them onto a rack over a pan in the oven to stay warm and crisp.
9. Serve with sour cream, yogurt, crème fraîche, smoked fish or poultry, caviar, and/or ketchup. Freezes and refrigerates well. Reheat in a 400ºF oven until hot and recrisped.

But a couple of things before I start. First, to find out when applications go on sale, as well as when they get updated, check out App Shopper. This site is particularly helpful because you can watch applications without having to purchase or download them. Find an app you’re curious about, then subscribe to its RSS feed. ¡Simplemente!

And second, the iTunes Link Maker is a handy site for creating links to email or embed in your website. You can make links to applications, music, shows, and so forth.

Application categories to jump to:

• Scientific apps, covering a calculator, the weather, birds, and astronomy.
• Transport and restaurant aids.
• A couple of reference-type apps.
• Social networking.
• Media and entertainment, including games.
• Productivity, redux.
• Miscellaneous apps I’m still looking for.

Science!

In the excellent movie π, the protagonist states, “Mathematics is the language of nature.” What better way to “speak” in that language than to use PCalc Lite (free | iTunes link)? But all I really need is a simple RPN calculator with a clean UI, and PCalc Lite satisfies this oddball dependency of mine.

Do I have a compulsive desire to check the weather reports? Hm, do I…? Would you believe that my favorite has remained a simple webclip to AccuWeather.com to my home screen? That perhaps the Weather Channel native app (free | iTunes link) comes in a close second? That I find AccuWeather’s native app (free | iTunes link) too cluttered? That I find WeatherBug (free | iTunes link) a bit too limited, in spite of nice location photos?

Sadly, I rarely take time to skywatch. Somehow this didn’t stop me from getting Starmap ($11.99 | iTunes link), which was the first app I purchased for the iPhone. No regrets, though. Starmap is chock full of easily accessible astronomy information. (Well, except for the menu’s awkward spinning dial, but the developer claims that’ll be improved in the next version.) What’s that planet? *Zip* Venus. Where did that meteor come from? *Zoop* The Chi Orionids. Can I adjust for twilight and the tilt of my head? Oh, yes, and more.

Bird watching apps further exhibit how my stinginess evaporates upon the discovery of compelling field guides. I started with Birds! ($9.99 | iTunes link), the only bird watching app for a while. It was a good start, but I’ve moved onto iBird Backyard ($4.99 | iTunes link) and iBird West ($9.99 | iTunes link), developed by WhatBird. (WhatBird maintains additional regional guides, as well as iBird Plus which covers all North American species.) iBird Backyard covers 145 birds in North America which are likely to appear around feeders and birdbaths, whereas iBird West comprehensively covers 711 species west of the Rocky Mountains. Both are great, but have some issues: typos, limited searching, strange navigation for going between similar bird species, and occasional crashes due to buggy memory management.

Nevertheless, I still recommend the iBird guides. In spite of the minor drawbacks, the iBird tools rank among my most-used apps. They are easy to use, the ultimate in interactive reference applications: WhatBird apps succeed in integrating audio (birdsongs), visuals (photos and illustrations), and cross-references to reduce confusion among similar species, as well as provide links to species’ pages in Wikipedia. As much as I am hyper-eager to see more identification guides / keys for other fauna, flora, geology and foodstuffs, I could only hope that such apps would approach the high standards set by WhatBird’s example.

Transport and dining

I replaced the Caltrain tool I had used for over a decade on my Palm devices with iCaltrain ($4.99 | iTunes link). True, I could use the free mobile site, but the native app is much faster and smoother, and utilizes the iPhone’s location services to display the closest station.

I wish I knew about about the Muni Time before I paid for Routesy ($2.99 | iTunes link). You simply make a webclip to the SF Muni mobile website on your iPhone, all for free. Routsey does make use of location services, but most of the time I just need route and schedule information. In any case, both Muni Time and Routesy seem to use NextBus data.

The Yelp app (free | iTunes link) isn’t too shabby for searching for restaurants and shops. But there are other apps that present Yelp content better than Yelp itself. iWant (free | iTunes link) succeeds here, most notably during roadtrips! Its main screen neatly categorizes places like gas stations, banks, restaurants, clothes and grocery stores, pharmacies, and cafés.

I’ve found the native OpenTable iPhone app (free | iTunes link) much easier to use than the mobile website, especially for booking reservations. Urbanspoon (free | iTunes link) can be helpful in locating restaurants based on cuisine type, cost, and of course, location — with the added amusement of shaking The Device to choose a place. Note that Urbanspoon focuses only on eateries, and seems to have a smaller directory than Yelp. I can rate restaurants without registration, but I’d need to create an account if I wanted to add or track restaurants on Urbanspoon.

Reference materials

I was torn between Wikipanion (free | iTunes link) and WikiTap (free | iTunes link) for access to Wikipedia. They both have straightforward interfaces, displaying content fit literally for the iPhone. But I’ve decided to stick with Wikipanion for now, although it’s rather slow to launch. I finally tired of WikiTap’s habit of displaying the top videos on startup. Also got tired of dismissing the space hogging videoclip bar every time an article loaded. (Thus I learned that I prefer to see text and images on Wikipedia, not movies.)

Constitution (free | iTunes link) neatly provides easy access to the United States Constitution. I just wish it included some sort of search mechanism, to better navigate the ocean (albeit a nicely organized ocean) of legal words and statements.

Social networking is another name for communication

I spend little time doing the online social networking jig. Okay, okay, except for Facebook, and occasionally LinkedIn. The Facebook app (free | iTunes link) is handy little thing, with clearly arranged features.

In addition, I read what seems to be a gazillion RSS feeds, although I’m not sure if I want to read them on my iPhone. After all, it’s much easier to do so with the larger display on the Mac. However, do let me know about your favorite feed readers for the iPhone. It could certainly come in handy someday, if I manage to prune the list of subscriptions.

Then there is reading email. I don’t think I could depend on mail on the iPhone. I receive too much spam, and client-side spam control on the iPhone n’éxiste pas. However, webmail systems which have server-side spam control, like Google and Yahoo, work fine. But because of my current hosting plan, I cannot solely depend on such services.

Considering my nearly pathological hatred of telephonic communication, I still hesitate to use instant messaging (IM) iPhone apps. A phone’s ring can infuriate me, so I wouldn’t want an IM to put me into a similarly unpleasant state. A positive use for instant messaging, though, would be as a substitute for SMS. I just haven’t made up my mind between IM+ Lite (a.k.a., IM Plus Lite, free | iTunes link) or Palringo (free | iTunes link).

IM+ Lite is simple and handy, but used to crash a lot until an update arrived in November (v1.4 or v1.5). Palringo was completely useless until late September (v1.2.2): up until that version, it kept refusing my logins. Nowadays Palringo seems a lot more polished feature-wise than IM+ Lite, even allowing picture and voice messages to be sent. I wish Palringo didn’t require registration even though it’s free — yet another login to keep track of. IM+ Lite keeps a transcript of conversations, which is great when interruptions occur, but not so great if you don’t want chat histories for privacy’s sake. So you could see how it remains a toss up between these two apps.

Media and entertainment

How comfortable is it for you, dear reader, to read books, poetry or comics on the iPhone, or any small, mobile device? After reading for about 20 to 30 minutes, I start getting a headache. Of course, this could be due to the power of my contact lens and spectacles. In spite of this, I’ve briefly played with eReader (free | iTunes link) by Fictionwise, Stanza (free | iTunes link) by Lexcycle, and Classics ($4.99 | iTunes link). As with the IM apps, this has become another case of dissatisfaction.

One thing I discovered: eBooks (not the pre-copyright or public domain ones) are expensive! I couldn’t find any I wanted to buy at Fictionwise, so eReader quickly became useless without purchases. Stanza allows for easy iPhone downloads of free eBooks. But you know what? So many free eBooks have shitty formatting — nearly invisible paragraph delineation, images and lines clipped off, completely unreadable lines — all which contribute to a painful reading experience.

A couple friends who read a lot of eBooks on Treos have asked about their transferability onto the iPhone. Lexcycle has developed desktop clients for Windows and Macintosh, which would be useful if the instructions were better organized. But hey, it’s beta software! I spent a bit of time gritting my teeth while figuring how to setup and transfer eBooks with Stanza Desktop, but I learned the application depends on network sharing for file transfers. The solution is to jiggle the Mac’s firewall settings to allow traffic on port 9562.

Which brings me to Classics. Oh, how I wish I could read other books with this interface! (The app is presently limited to 15 public domain books.) Even though you cannot change how eBooks are displayed, it’s beautiful, yet gentle on the eyes. Dark brown text on a barely beige background, a pleasantly lower contrast (but not unreadably low contrast) compared with black text on a white background (or vice versa). Thoughtful placement of chapter titles and page numbers, not mention thoughtful use (but not overuse) of animation for page turning and bookmarking — so much that it feels like viewing a paper-based book. No messed up paragraphs or line spacing. Now if only there were ways to add to or remove eBooks in Classics…

Shadows Never Sleep (free | iTunes link). This is a lovely example of interactive literature. Here you zoom in to see more of an illustrated, non-linear poem. It’d be wonderful to find more stories, books or poems designed in such innovative ways, but the Books section in the iTunes App Store doesn’t lend itself to productive library or bookstore searching. (Yes, I find the Power Search tool rather limited, unless I’m missing some tricks there.)

Would you believe how rarely I’ve watched videos on the iPhone? I think that returns to my difficulty with reading or surfing for extended periods of time with a small display. However, watching shorts on YouTube, or movie trailers, has been a big convenience. I highly recommend Now Playing (formerly BoxOffice, free | iTunes link) for obtaining movie times, finding upcoming theatre and DVD release info, and as an excellent one-stop source for trailers.

I’m terrible at remembering song names and musician details, and even worse at recalling what sounds actually go with which artist. Midomi (free | iTunes link) helps a lot. I know many people like Shazam, but I find its interface less straightforward than Midomi’s. In Midomi, I can simply choose a source of sound or means of identification. However with Shazam, I couldn’t get the hang of “tagging,” which doesn’t allow keyboard entry, only sound, in order to identify music.

Then there are games

For the first several months of iPhone usage, I resisted. I rarely played videogames before, so why bother? I’ve never been keen on action or multiplayer games, have an aversion to feeling rushed, and am generally a lazy ass when it comes to stratagem. Unsurprisingly, I’ve got a short attention span for games that are too easy or too frustrating. For example, I usually enjoy hangman, but I ended up removing the two free versions by MobilityWare and by JamSoft. I also got pissed off at iSpot by Noovo Communications, even though I often like find-the-differences games.

Ah, but things have changed. Because I really appreciate developers who pay attention to details (e.g., iBird, iCaltrain, Classics, Now Playing), the iPhone eventually reminded me that games are no exception, whether simple or complex. I relish being immersed in a good story, and have fun with hidden-object tasks, light puzzles, and some wordplay. Even though I really yearn for smooth graphics, I award many points for imaginative styles which elicit bemused admiration. Here are some recommendations:

• Stone of Destiny ($0.99 | iTunes link) has so far been the best adventure game I’ve played on the iPhone. Your uncle mysteriously disappeared, and to help him you must obtain items while traveling through exotic places in order to find the Stone of Destiny. It’s somewhat easy, but has a nice mixture of hidden-object and small, gesture-driven puzzles, as well as creative visuals.
• Morocco (free | iTunes link), a free version of Othello, goes completely against my impatience with strategy games. I can play it over and over and over and…
• Bix Lite (free | iTunes link), an iPhone version of Qix, is a simple, but fun game where you fence off portions of the screen without colliding with the special power balls. But if you can trap the balls, you can take advantage of their powers: slowing down, extra life, etc. This lets me relive those arcade days I never experienced. Once I complete the first six levels, I’ll be tempted to get the paid version.
• Does Bubblewrap (free | iTunes link) count? Yes, of course. Remember to turn off the speaker, unless you want to draw attention to yourself.

For more iPhone game reviews, check out Jed’s article on puzzle games.

It’d be great to see something like The Fool’s Errand for the iPhone, with a modern look and feel. Saying this, I realize, again exposes the dearth of my computer game experience and knowledge.

Productivity

For note-taking and list-making on the go, I still use Evernote (free | iTunes link). I even signed up for their premium service — the way to ensure a constant secure (SSL) connection. I enjoy how Evernote allows me to keep track of things in text, with photos, or by voice. If they ever adopt a transcription service, they just might become the ultimate productivity tool. If they can first fix their offline and editing issues.

Vlingo (free | iTunes link) is a cross between a productivity tool and a navigational aid, powered by your voice. Vlingo does not offer true hands-free operation (but no iPhone app does, AFAIK) — you need to tap or hold while speaking — but it’s the closest thing and most useful way to operate the iPhone by voice. Not only can you web search and surf, you can also get directions, make phone calls, and even update your social networking sites.

In search of…

…Unit convertors

I’m having a pickle of a time trying to find a comprehensive, yet well-designed unit conversion app for the iPhone. I didn’t find a2z Pro, UniCon or Units useful or worthwhile enough. I’ve settled on The Converter ($0.99 | iTunes link) for now, but it feels somewhat cluttered, so I’m open to other recommendations.

On a related note, I’ve noticed that among the various conversion apps, there’s a broad range of currency data available. That is, the exchange rate in one would differ from another, since they get their rate data from different sources. I like the simplicity of Converter Pro (free | iTunes link). But which others are worth considering for accessing sensible (i.e., realistic) exchange rates? Such a tool would be indispensable for maintaining a budget on an international trip.

…Language resources

I want really good dictionary and thesaurus applications, especially those including usage rules and examples. (I’m sure I’m not the only native English speaker who gets confused by the myriad of prepositions.) I used to have a webclip to AskAWord.com, but its mobile interface still left much to be desired.

I also want to find useful translation tools, including dictionaries for Spanish, French, and maybe even Japanese. I’d love to hear about apps (or mobile sites) which offer common phrases, cultural explanations, and pronunciation examples — all essential while traveling or reading non-English documents.

Already mentioned, but…

Advice on iPhone feed readers? Further input on messaging apps? Sources of interactive literature? Please do share!

And a tip on iPhone app icons

I kept forgetting how to extract iPhone app icons. The process yields a square image without the glow and rounded corners — I imagine iTunes adds those dynamically. But it’s enough so that I can use the images for review purposes.

1. Go find the app’s .ipa file, usually within ~/Music/iTunes/Mobile Applications/. Copy [appname].ipa to another place, like your desktop.
2. Since it’s really a Zip archive, rename the file to [appname].zip.
3. Open [appname].zip and locate the file iTunesArtwork. It’s really a JPEG file, so append the extension as well as change its name so that its now called [appname].jpg.
4. Resize or crop as needed. For example, I used Preview to make 48×48-pixel icons.

If there’s a better way to get a higher quality version of the icon, do let me know. Not sure if taking a screenshot from iTunes, then cropping it, would be the best way.

However, I was pleasantly satisfied with several tools and goodies I managed to find.

I had written up a list of Things to Look For in Evernote, even tagged the note as an offline favorite — because one shouldn’t depend on any network access in an underground convention. Unfortunately, a hitch arose that prevented me from initially viewing offline data in Evernote; luckily, the free conference WiFi helped out with note access. Dear Evernote: Isn’t the point of offline favorites to allow access without network connectivity? A forum thread shows how others also experience this issue, which currently remains unsolved.

FireWire to USB adapter for car stereo. I bought the passPORT charging adapter from Scosche for $25. (That was a Macworld promotion price; the list price is $29.99, but you can prolly find it online for less.) Oddly enough, they seemed to be the only vendor who had that particular adapter, AFAICT. Neither Griffin nor Macally had a similar gizmo.

Trackballs? My annual visit to Kensington revealed that they have yet to update their Macintosh drivers: not since July 2007 for the SlimBlade (which failed to work for me), and not since May 2006 for MouseWorks (which hogs system resources and behaves erratically, at least with Tiger). The booth attendant didn’t know if or when there’d be any updates. Another exhibitor, Contour Designs showed me their RollerMouse, a peculiar wrist rest containing a long, rotating rod that behaved like a trackball. I’m not sure how well such a setup would work, compared with the mouse-like, to-the-side-of-the-keyboard peripherals I had used in the past.

Etymotic Research continue to be incredibly helpful and interesting. First, they still offer many types of eartips to fit many kinds of ears. For example, the new grey foam “mushrooms” are too short for my ears, but the narrower 3-flange translucent rubber tips (which come in grey and blue) might be more comfortable enough to oust my favored opaque white 3-flange tips. Second, I got a hands-on demonstration of the Bluetooth headset, and was impressed with how well it blocked out background noise. Third, if and when my trusty HR-6isolator earphones poop out on me, the newer hf5 model would be a fine replacement.

GelaSkins manufacture skin-thin device covers for mobiles, laptops and game consoles. These are not the terrifying plastic wrappers encasing your parents’ furniture. GelaSkins offer a huge selection of artwork, with quality production which doesn’t scream, “Hey! Look at all the dithering dots!” Moreover, they are removable, like window decals without any adhesive gunk. The promotional code for Macworld is MACWORLD09, for 10% off online orders, though I’m not sure how long that sale will last. However, they seem to have a buy-3-get-1-free offer for iPhones on a regular basis. Update, from the More Goodies Dept.: They also offer free wallpapers for various handhelds, including the iPhone and iPod Touch.

Stylus for iPhone. The Pogo capacitive stylus was far too short and light for me. I’d prefer a bit more heft, and this thingie was lighter than a cheap ballpoint pen. If you check out the product page link, you’ll notice the tip is covered with what looks like a loose foamy material. Won’t that wear away after a few days of use? I think I’ll stick with my fingers, even if my iPhone doesn’t respond as well when my hands are too cold and dry. Maybe I’ll find gloves with those pokey dots — which come in my teensy size.

Gadget holder for the preoccupied. After searching for years, I happened upon In Your Face, who make a device holder that can attach to a bike handle. Finally! I’d use this on my stationary trainer, since one shouldn’t ride around with headphones, obviously. The Viewbase holder lists for $29.95, available only as an online purchase. But at Macworld they provided a coupon code of 5115 for $10 off, good until 31 December 2009.

Livescribe Pulse Smartpen. I wouldn’t have much use for this because I rarely write by hand. But for anyone taking a class? I definitely see the wow factor: the Smartpen looks virtually indispensable with how it links audio transcription with handwriting. Livescribe’s system doesn’t have true OCR (IIRC), their Macintosh support is behind Windows development, the charging contacts on the Smartpen lean against the skin, and you need special paper (which can be printed out, though) — but it sounds like a project with great potential.

For an added roasty flavor, I bake the chicken carcass beforehand in a 375ºF degree oven until, well, browned a bit. Usually for about 20 to 30 minutes, until you smell roasted chicken in the air. This extra step also eases the removal of skin and meat, which shouldn’t go into the broth anyhow.

In addition, a tip from one of my favorite television chef-teachers, Jacques Pépin: Initially simmer the chicken with the water, without the other ingredients added (yet). This helps out with skimming away rendered fat and scum before adding the other goodies — without accidentally removing small aromatic floatables like herbs and spices.

When you use the stock, you’ll need to season it with salt, since none is added while making it.

Ingredients

• 1 chicken carcass, optionally roasted, with as much meat and skin removed as possible
• 4 to 5 quarts filtered water
• 1 medium to large onion, quartered
• 1 large leek, rinsed of sand and grit; cut in half lengthwise, then chopped into large (3 to 5 inches) pieces
• 2 to 3 fennel stalks, chopped into large pieces
• 3 to 4 medium carrots, chopped into large pieces
• 4 to 6 garlic cloves
• 1 apple, quartered
• 4 to 5 whole cloves
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon whole peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme, or a small handful of fresh thyme
• zest of 1 lemon; wide strips are fine
• a generous handful of parsley, leaves and stems

Method

1. Crack the large bones of the chicken to expose the marrow. Cover the bones with the water in a large stock pot. Once you bring it to a simmer, over the next 30 or so minutes, skim off and discard any fat or scum that rises to the surface.
2. Insert the spice cloves into the onion quarters. Add them and the remaining ingredients to the pot. Bring back to a gentle boil.
3. Cover and simmer for 2 to 3 hours.
4. Cool until easy to handle. In fact, if you let the stock chill in the ‘fridge overnight, you can later skim off any solidified fat you had missed earlier.
5. Strain through cheesecloth. I recommend a finely woven cheesecloth that has strength, i.e., can be twisted and squeezed without tearing. New England Cheesemaking Supply sells butter muslin which works quite nicely.
6. Refrigerate and use within a few days. Or freeze and use later on.

Viral videos are a never-ending source of distraction on the ‘Net. But here are links to ones I found the most amusing. (Yes, some may have come out before 2008, but in my usual tardiness I stumbled upon them in 2008.)

Enjoy!

An Engineer’s Guide to Cats (YouTube link). Because it is important that you understand the hardware and software requirements for such feline-oriented development projects.

Art student Christian Simmons’s movie about a giant, maniacally smiling pencil and a young, wishful lady. (QuickTime movie | Live Leak link) A tale about greed set in a beautifully ominous landscape.

OWLS (Flash video at Weebl’s Stuff). You can’t fool them. By the creators who brought us Badgers and Carrots, Handbags and Cheese. Maddening, yet catchy.

Still on the subject of birds: Flying penguins, brought to you by the BBC. (QuickTime movie | YouTube link) No, really.

Lastly, something true: The world’s smartest cephalopod, the Indonesian octopus. (YouTube link)

For me this bread is basically an easier, lighter (somewhat) version of brioche. Not just less butter, but melted butter which in a snap can be mixed in. Then again, as I had mentioned in version 1.0 of this recipe, the Sally Lunn bun seems to be an English version of brioche anyhow.

Yeah, the ingredients and method are remarkably similar to version 1.0, but I added more details which I think will make the recipe more dependable. Version 2.0 makes enough for 1 hefty loaf (9×5x2-inch pan) plus 4 muffin-sized buns (4-inch diameter cups).

Ingredients

• 21 to 22 ounces (roughly 3 3/4 to 4 cups) bread flour, divided (steps 2 and 4)
• 1 packet of active dry yeast
• 1/3 cup sugar, divided (steps 2, 3 and 4)
• 1 cup warmed milk
• 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided (steps 2 and 4)
• 4 eggs at room temperature
• 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, melted
• extra butter for greasing pans, softened but not melted
• extra warmed milk for glazing
• (optional) extra sugar for glazing and sprinkling

Method

1. If your kitchen is cold, or unheated in winter like mine, preheat oven to its lowest temperature setting. For example, my oven goes as low as 170ºF degrees. You can skip this step if your kitchen is comfortably warm, i.e., 70ºF or more.
2. In the mixer bowl, weigh out 10 ounces of the flour. To that stir in the yeast, 1 teaspoon of sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
3. Stir in 1 more teaspoon of sugar into the warmed milk, then pour that into the flour mixture in the previous step. Stir well so that all the flour is coated — this is your sponge, so let that sit, covered, for 30 minutes. A few bubbles should form during the sponging period, showing that the yeast is alive.
4. In the meantime, combine the rest of the flour, sugar and salt in another, smaller bowl, and set aside. Now is also a good time to melt the butter, and bring the eggs to room temperature. A good way to prepare the eggs is to put them in a bowl of warm water (approximately body temperature, not much hotter) for 5 to 10 minutes.
5. Turn off the oven, if you had it on in step 1. When the sponging step is done, mix in the eggs, one at a time, making sure the dough is smooth after each egg. I use the paddle attachment for the mixer here, with the mixer at medium speed.
6. Mix in about half of the remaining flour mixture. Next, slowly pour in the butter, alternating with the rest of the flour, still making sure that the ingredients are incorporated into a smooth dough. The end result should be a very sticky, soft dough. You could also add a bit more flour if it looks too liquidy.
7. Cover the bowl and allow the dough to rise in a warm place (oven or room) until doubled in bulk. This could take from 2 to 3 hours. The eggs, butter and sugar slow things down, so have patience!
8. Stir down the dough, and let it rest for about 15 minutes. In the meantime, generously grease the pans with softened butter.
9. Glop the dough into your pans; a greased spoon or rigid spatula helps here. For a muffin pan, fill each cup less than half full, roughly 35% to 45%ish. For the bread pan, the dough should fill it over halfway, roughly 55% to 65%ish. Attempt to smoothen the tops (again, applying a greased spoon or finger), but don’t worry about getting them perfectly smooth or even.
10. Cover the pans, set aside in a warm place, and let ‘em double in bulk yet again (last time!). This should take about 1 1/4 to 2 hours; you’ll need to remove the coverings about halfway, since the dough should rise above the pans’ rims.
11. Remember to remove the pans if they were sitting there during the final rising — and preheat the oven to 400ºF degrees.
12. Slash the loaf with sharp but greased (or wet) blade, so that it can expand during baking. Mix sugar, if desired, with the extra warmed milk. Glaze the loaf and buns, taking care to avoid deflating them — brushing upwards towards the center helps. Sprinkle with a little bit more sugar, if you want.
13. Pop both buns and loaf into the oven. After the first 10 to 15 minutes, lower the temperature to 375ºF and rotate the muffin pan 180-degrees.
14. After another 8 to 10 minutes, the muffins should be done (remove them). Give the loaf a turn at this time as well.
15. The loaf should be done in another 8 to 10 minutes. Total baking times: 20 to 25 minutes for the buns, 27 to 31 minutes for the loaf.
16. Remove the breads from their pans as soon as you take them out of the oven. Allow to cool on a rack for about 20 to 30 minutes before serving. As with v1.0, v2.0 is splendid with butter, clotted cream, jam, lemon curd, and/or honey. And perfect for tea.

This is a growing list, in alphabetical order of titles. I plan on writing additional articles for other animé I’ve seen — several good, several just “meh,” a few dreadful — but here I cover just the ones I consider the best.

What are your favorite animé? Either movies or television series.

Note the 1st: In addition, I have included links to Wikipedia, Nausicaa.net, Animé News Network (ANN), or official sites, where available. They provide more screenshots which give a better idea about each work’s visual style. But do keep in mind that these sources, especially some at Wikipedia, might include spoilers.

Note the 2nd, on maturity levels: All of these are fine to watch for adolescents on up, IMO. Totoro is probably the only one that’s acceptable for all ages including young tads. Just so’s you know.

Fruits Basket (TV series). ANN link | Wikipedia link. I avoided watching Furuba for a long time, with its extremely cute yet simple style. But I kept seeing positive reviews at Netflix and other animé review sites, so I finally thought, “Oh, it couldn’t hurt to sit down with the first disc of episodes.” Talk about deceptive appearances! Also, a deceptively clichéd supernatural soap opera plot: recently orphaned Tohru falls in with the cursed (and highly dysfunctional) Sohma clan. Yet the characters have depth, and the story is involving and heart-wrenching. After watching the animé, I got hooked on the manga. The manga hadn’t finished by the time the TV series completed. So the animé takes a subset of (and minor liberties with) the plots from manga, but still results in a very satisfying story nonetheless.

Yuki Sohma, Tohru Honda and Kyo Sohma

Haibane Renmei (Grey Wings, TV series). ANN link | Wikipedia link. The opening scenes set the tone for this series: A girl quietly falls to earth, accompanied by a crow. She then wakes up, falling (again) out of a giant egg sac. She finds herself in a quiet (again) old building, surrounded by other young adults and children. Who have halos. And wings. It’s a charmingly low-key, yet rich fantasy about self-discovery, without explosions (except for festival fireworks), and without overwrought battles (except for the thoughtful, internalized kind). I love Yoshitoshi ABe’s moody illustration — it’d be great if the manga for this series became available in English. His dark style is also evident in the ground-breaking Serial Experiments Lain.

Reki and Rakka, surrounded by the rest of their gang.

Juuni Kokki (The Twelve Kingdoms, TV series). ANN link | Wikipedia link. If you want a great epic, watch The Twelve Kingdoms. It’s a whopping 10-disc set, covering the struggle and growth of both empires and individuals. Take a look at one of the protagonists, Yoko: she’s shy, withdrawn, and just wants to conform to everyone’s expectations so she can get by in life. Thrown into a terrifying new world, she learns that she must behave and become the opposite, not just to survive, but to succeed. The world of the twelve kingdoms is itself dynamic and intricate, filled with a wide variety of beasts and people.

Yoko, surrounded by Shoryu, Enki, Rakushan and Keiki.

Last Exile (TV series). Official US site (requires Flash) | ANN link | Wikipedia link. This animé is characterized by a gorgeous steampunk style, using a combination of traditional and computer-generated animation. (Studio Gonzo also made Blue Submarine Number 6, which I found underwhelming; this is the superior product. Another bit of trivia: Makoto Kobayashi, creator of the superbly hilarious What’s Michael manga, did some of the artwork in this piece. Evidence of high quality, sez I.) It’s about Claus and Lavie, a couple of delivery kids who live where a war has been raging on for longer than their lives. What happens when they run into the eccentric crew of the warship Silvana? What happens when they must deal with the deadly hyper-technologized Guild, or the mysterious little girl Alvis that so many people seem to be after?

Lavie, Alvis and Klaus.

Mononoke Hime (Princess Mononoke, feature-length film). Nausicaa.net link | ANN link | Wikipedia link. It’s medieval Japan, and a young man must go on a journey to find the source of his curse. What he finds are angry gods, a dying forest, an ambitious industrialist, and a young woman raised by wolves at the center of it all. What might seem to be a clear environmentalism vs. progress issue turns out to be far less black and white than you’d expect. True to Miyazaki fashion, even the most brutal of characters — and there are several — displays compassion and concern for others. As you can tell from the thumbnail below, this film is not for the squeamish.

Mononoke Hime with her mother, Moro.

Mushi-shi (TV series). ANN link | Wikipedia link. This is another quiet, yet fascinating series. The mushi are another life-form, kind of like a spirit, kind of like a plant, kind of like an animal. Like us, they live, evolve, and have a need to survive. Ginko the mushi-shi (an expert on mushi) travels around rural Japan, studying and attempting to cure mushi infestations. This animé consists of standalone stories, rather than a single overarching plot — but the beautiful scenery and sense of (quasi) scientific inquiry result in a dream-like admiration at Ginko’s adventures.

Ginko the Mushi-shi, with mushi overhead.

My Neighbor Totoro (feature-length film). Nausicaa.net link | ANN link | Wikipedia link. When I first watched this movie, it was without subtitles and without dubbing. But with the tones of voice and body language, it became a delight to follow. It’s a typical fairy tale, shown in a way that makes anyone (regardless of age) experience childhood wonder: Two sisters, their absent-minded professor of a father, their ailing mother, and a rickety old house and forest full of spirits to discover. I also view this film as my introduction to Shintoism, although I admit I don’t know how accurately the religion was portrayed. It was, at least by my skeptical standards, a pleasant exposure (i.e., non-evangelical, non-dogmatic).

Totoro with Mei and Satsuki, and his cute minions.

Nausicaä of the Valley of Wind (feature-length film). Nausicaa.net link | ANN link | Wikipedia link. This is the one. After years of self-mockery at my toddlerhood of Speed Racer and avoiding animé, Miyazaki’s first feature-length movie was my gateway animé. (Thanks due to Kam, for her post-college influence!) Characters so fascinating that villains are never as thinly developed as you’d expect. A post-apocolyptic story that challenges the ideas of war and the ecological status quo. To see where a film (animated or otherwise) succeeds where so many fail, watch this one. I also strongly recommend reading the multi-volume manga based on this film, whose plot and characters are both broader and more complex, given the longer production history. It comes as no surprise that it’s one of my favorite manga.

Nausicaä on her glider.

Paprika (feature-length film). Please refer to my longer entry on this movie.

Dr. Chiba and Paprika.