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Art Book Art

You've heard of art books. And books that are art. Here are books made into art.

Stupidest Password Restriction

One of my pet peeves is stupid login or password restrictions. What it means is that for this login only, I have to use a different password. Some require you include numbers, some require numbers be between letters...

The stupidest one ever came up today. Blue Cross / Blue Shield requires:

Your password cannot contain the first three letters of a month (for example: Jan, Feb, Mar). Please try again. Thank you.                             

WHAT?

So if your password is Janet32puppy or imamartian, you're hosed?

Morons.

End rant.

Maker Faire, May 3-4

For those in the Bay Area, I would encourage you to attend Maker Faire. May 3-4 at the San Mateo Fairgrounds -- and not to be missed!

I went last year and vowed next time to go both days. It's huge and full of really, really fascinatng exhibits and brilliant ideas. Lots of free stuff.

What is it? It's the heart and soul of do-it-yourself. Hundreds of people who make stuff and love what they do so much that they stand for 12-hour days waiting for people to come by and gawk at their magic. Organizations and museums that have created hands-on demos you can play with.

If you like metal and fire, gears and gadgets, Legos and things that move, honk, squirt, squeak, spark, and belch, you have to go.

See: http://makerfaire.com/

150-Year-Old Computer Brought to Life

In Scientific American: "Designed nearly 150 years ago but never actually built until recently, the Difference Engine No. 2 designed by Charles Babbage (1791 to 1871) is a piece of Victorian technology meant to tussle with logarithms and trigonometry long before the first modern computer. Technophiles have a rare opportunity beginning May 10 to see one of these devices (only two exist) on display at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, Calif."

More (including really cool photos)...

Quote

This would be funny if it weren't so true.

"Email combines intimacy and distance in a way that sociopaths seem to really enjoy."
— Merlin Mann

Logo Love: O Ain't for Oprah Anymore

I saw a comment in one of my favorite comics about Obama's logo:

"I like Barack Obama pretty well, but I’m in love with his logo. What a brilliant, versatile asset. The attention to detail and sheer number of variations are amazing and the typographic choices very distinct. The only thing I like as much as comics is a solid design identity system. (Can you guess what I went to school for?)" — R. Stevens, author of Diesel Sweeties

Me too.

I love logos. Embodying a brand in 100 milliseconds of attention span is an achievement. And if you have ever designed one, you know it's hell. Capturing a feeling in a memorable swatch is hard, hard work. Many logos are tacky and amateurish but when done well, they approach high art.

I am especially fascinated by presidential campaign logos which have terrifying design limitations. First of all, you get three colors. Red. White. Blue. And second, they mostly are trying to say the same things: Solid, competent, forward-thinking, hope for a new day, that kind of thing. And most succeed pretty well.

Do check out this piece on the Obama logo and don't miss the many variations, official and not, further down the page. Very nicely done. His website, by the way, is also really nicely designed.

Foodgal

When the Mercury-News laid off much of its staff recently, we lost the reporting of food editor Carolyn Jung. I loved her articles because she always went the extra mile. She reported not just on the food and the recipes, she would find out where it is available and interview local chefs on how they use it. I especially remember an article on fresh garbanzo beans (who knew?).

Happily, Carolyn resurfaced quickly as FoodGal, where she has been posting an article every day or two with her "musings on food, wine, laughter, and life."

Lemon Sorbet

What to do with a tree full of Meyer lemons? Try this lemon sorbet.

I like to tinker with a recipe, seeking perfection. Sometimes, it takes months. This one snapped into place on just the second try! I really like the result. A shot of vodka prevents ice crystals so even after a few weeks in the freezer, it's smooth and not all icey. It's very lemony without being too tart or too sweet.

In version 1, which was compiled from several I found online, the lemon zest was a problem. I liked the punch of lemon it gave, but the zest also brought bitterness and the little bits of zest interfered with the otherwise smooth and almost creamy texture. Adding the zest to the hot mix at the end and straining fixed the problem.

I also adjusted the ratios to make it less tart and not too sugary. I think it's now perfect.

This recipe can be doubled and still fit most home ice cream makers (e.g. the popular Braun and Cuisinart models). I like to make smaller batches because they freeze faster and usually colder than if you run right at the machine's capacity.

Lemon Sorbet
Makes 2 servings (2-1/2 cups)

1-1/4 cups water
1 cups sugar
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice, (4-5 lemons)
1 tablespoon lemon zest, (2-3 lemons)
1/2 tablespoon corn syrup
1 tablespoon vodka (optional)

To make lemon zest, use a fine grater (e.g. the Microplane), lemon zester, or very sharp knife to trim off just the outer yellow layer, with as little of the white pith as possible.

Bring the water, sugar, and corn syrup to a boil in a small saucepan and stir to dissolve. Remove from heat, add zest and cool. Add lemon juice and vodka. Strain to remove zest. Chill, either in the refrigerator, or by placing in a metal bowl over an ice bath.

Freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. (This recipe should reach 16 degrees, a double recipe not quite as low.)

After the sorbet is made, transfer to an airtight container. Cover tightly and freeze until ready to serve.

Scoop out preferably with a melon-baller. Garnish with mint or curls of lemon zest.

Nori Extraordinary: A Food Find

Nori is the dark green sheet used to make rolled forms of sushi. Made from algae (though most people think it's seaweed), it holds the rolls together but also adds the hard to describe, savory flavor the Japanese call umami. Until recently, I thought the nori's contribution was a minor component.

I was in a Korean market (Hankook in Sunnyvale, CA). There was a table in the back where a woman was packing sheets of nori in plastic envelopes. She had a saucer with samples. I tasted one and it was different. Much more flavorful than any nori I had ever tasted and with a lingering, fulfilling aftertaste. It looks different, too. Not as flat or as evenly cut as the packaged nori, it has a few holes. It's more delicate, requiring some care when rolling.

I bought the ones labeled as being lower salt and they were just salty enough, I thought. When we made sushi with it, the difference was remarkable. The umami accentuated everything, without overpowering it.

I'd never have thought nori would make a major difference.

Tele-Commute Me

WebWorker Daily had an article about how to get the boss to allow you to tele-commute. I found it rather disturbing because of a base assumption that the boss is wrong. Pardon me if this gets rather lecture-y, but I think the people who most need to hear this are the people least likely to hear it.

The most important way to "convince" the boss of anything is to (duh) be a great worker. It is much easier to give telecommute privileges to someone who does their job well, with minimal supervision.

The reasons the article cites that a boss would not want a worker telecommuting mostly presume that the boss is an idiot. Employees who approach the issue with that kind of attitude are unlikely to get what you want. Try imagining that the boss has some good reasons. Remember, your boss has a boss, too, and if we’re smart, we will look for ways to all succeed together.

The article mentions the idea that perhaps the manager doesn’t trust you. That’s probably the most important point. While “you can’t make someone trust you,” you can earn trust.

There are certainly bozo bosses out there and maybe yours is one of them. But you also have to ask yourself if you’re part of the reason (especially is this is a repeating theme in your career). Even if it's not you, you'll benefit from making it work anyway. If you consider your boss’s success to be part of your mission, you’ll do better. Even if this job is a dead-end, you can practice better boss-relationship skills and they will serve you throughout your career.

OK, end of lecture. I'm working at home today and better get back to it. ;)