I’ve been using GreenCine’s DVD rental service for over a year. On the whole, my opinion of GreenCine has become pretty much similar to that of Netflix. Both are slow with delivery. Furthermore, both have huge catalogs, yet they almost never respond to customer suggestions for DVD additions. Shipping was damn fast when GreenCine had […]
Monthly Archives: April 2008
Non-fiction books read in 2007 and beyond
For the longest time I wouldn’t read non-fiction books outside of work or school. “What is this non-fiction for pleasure you speak of?” The key wasn’t to follow what’s necessarily popular, best-sellers on history, politics, or purely goal-oriented how-to books. The key was to start with my gut-level (as it were) interests: food, travel, biology. […]
Pizza with chicken, cheese & chutney
Here’s an example of my being a food mutant: I don’t like pizza. To clarify: I don’t like deep dish pizzas, which are far too soggy. Thin crusts tend to change my mind. I don’t like tomato sauces —oh, I love tomatoes, sauces and tomato sauces, but on pizzas the gloppiness issue crops up again. […]
Basic bread recipe for sandwiches and focaccia (and pizza)
It’s been years since I baked yeast-based breads. Glad I’ve picked up the habit again! Having focaccia to snack on, or just a decent loaf for sandwiches, makes for comforting (not to mention tastier and fresher) eats. The dough is versatile, so I also use it for pizzas. Three cookbooks aided me in my rediscovery […]
Blissfully smooth WordPress 2.5 upgrade
Upgrading from WordPress 2.3.x to 2.5 was as smooth as silk. No joke, I made only a few of core changes, but they were on the level of trivial tweaks: Upload my preferred set of /wp-includes/images/smilies/. Modify /wp-includes/functions.php to recognize said custom smilies. Change /wp-includes/category-template.php to say articles instead of topics for title tips while […]
Local Salvadoran restaurants, pupuserÃas
Oh, how I love pupusas: The creaminess of cheese and masa, with tidbits of chicken if I’m lucky. A fine reason to seek out eateries that focus on food from El Salvador. Not quite as well-known as Mexican food, Salvadoran cuisine tends towards the mild. The Salvadoran version of horchata is the next-most-important thing. I […]
Encyclopedia of Life: Initial launch
Last year I had eagerly anticipated the arrival of the Encyclopedia of Life (EoL). Entries on individual species became viewable on 28 February, a few months earlier than the projected mid-2008 deadline. Coolness! Currently they have twenty-four exemplar species pages, tens of thousands of authenticated (but not detailed) species pages, and about a million other […]