A blog from under the floorboards

The Struggle for Blog Identity or: Macaroni and Cheese Recipe

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 17:10:00 +0000

I am doomed to never be a famous book-deal-era blogger, primarily because I am not funny, but at least partially because I don't stick to one topic. Maybe "1000 Things to Drink, Eat, or Plug Into Your Wall" will some day be a huge best seller, but for now, I'll settle for the three readers I have.

Usually, my cooking (when not just for nutritional necessity) revolves around a need to relax—that's when I make bread—but occasionally I will have a very specific craving. This weekend I could not stop thinking about macaroni and cheese. I am not a good blogger, nor do I ever actually measure my ingredients, so what follows may be the most useless recipe ever, as I can't in good conscience stand behind these numbers.

1 16oz Box of tubular pasta... penne I think
3/4 lb shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 lb shredded Jarlsberg (Swiss) cheese
1/2 white onion, diced
1/4 lb double-smoked bacon, diced
2 tbs fresh chopped garlic
3 tbs all purpose flour
3 cups milk
maybe 1/2 cup of leftover white wine (optional)
Panko
Black pepper, freshly ground
Salt, to taste

This usually works well for me if I put the pasta water on to boil at roughly the same time that I start the roux and start preheating the oven (350°). Start the bacon, onions, black pepper and garlic on low-medium heat until the fat gets cooking out and the onions are turning clear. This bacon I used is pretty meaty, so high heat will over cook it before enough fat comes out. At this point, add the flour, browning it and getting it mixed in nicely. Add the wine, which should turn things into a nice paste. Once that gets heated up, add the milk a bit at a time, stirring to make a thin gravy. Usually the water is boiling at this point, so you can start the pasta. Add half or a little more of the cheeses to the sauce and go ahead and turn off the heat. Taste it at this point to see if you think you should put salt in it. That bacon isn't as salty as normal bacon, so I needed a little.

Put your semi-cooked pasta (you want it to keep cooking in the pan with the cheese) in a pan that will hold it, pour on the cheese sauce, and stir in the rest of the cheese, so you get some nice cheesy pockets. Top with panko, and bake it for like 40 minutes. Take it out of the oven, turn the oven off, and run downstairs to the bodega to get some drinks. By the time you get back it will have set up a bit and will be very delicious.

No pictures, and this will feed 5 people, realistically, because everyone will want a second helping. Also, it's kind of a dry, un-creamy style, which is how I like it. If you are skilled, you could probably adjust the sauce to macaroni ratio in order to get it creamier.

Summer is here. Let's shop!

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 17:19:00 +0000

Summertime has arrived, meaning vacation time for most in my world. Technology in the arts, on the other hand, picks up the pace while everyone else is relaxing. No on sale dates to support. Constantly changing content needs take a back seat. The more demanding elements tend to quiet down. This means project time, so while everyone else is taking it easy and taking well deserved holiday, I have to stay focused and start producing rather than just supporting.

How do I cope with this? IMPULSE SHOPPING!

Here's some of my favorites lately (many of which have my money now)

McSweeney's Summer Garage Sale - They do good things and employ good people and publish good works. I never feel bad spending money with them.

Woot! - A new deal every day. The essence of impulse shopping.

Newegg - If you are a nerd like me, you know Newegg. I like it because I can browse for new toys, and can be pretty comfortable that the price is reasonable (nothing hinders an impulse purchase like price hunting)

Also, in addition to shopping, Summer is nice (and New York is nice) for day trips to the beach. Independence Day was spent on Long Beach, which was lovely. I got laughed at for using SPF 70 sun block (who knew?) but I think I was the only member of the group that didn't take a post-beach trip to Walgreens for aloe. Also, I didn't take any pictures because I was afraid of my camera being full of sand. Maybe I'll ease up on that paranoia this summer and take (and subsequently post) some photos.

Oh, to have readers

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Tue, 05 May 2009 04:46:00 +0000

One of the things I've been thinking about a lot recently (in regard to my job) is mobile browsing. While internet services (Google, Yelp, Ask, etc) have been quick to embrace mobile technology in terms of web experience, it seems like the arts community has purely been taking pot-shots at it. A few places have done a decent job, but mostly, if anything, it seems to be just pared down design of their normal internet sites.

What I want to explore more, but am a bit lost in terms of a starting point, is how people are really using their mobile devices. It clearly isn't primary browsing (yet) so a month-long calendar of events is likely unneccessary, and possibly annoying.

What is going on now, where is it happening, and how can I get a ticket? That is what should be answered, I think.

There's a lot of pressure to "go mobile" but I'm not convinced anyone really knows what that means.

Forward thinking

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 14:19:00 +0000

It has been some time since I posted here, and likely that is because of a lack of particularly interesting things. That is not to say that things have been boring... quite to the contrary. However, real-life excitement doesn't always make for internet excitement.

Last night, however, I attended a discussion led by Seb Chan of the Powerhouse Museum of Science + Design in Syndey. One of the things, since starting my current job, that I have been most eager to learn about and discuss, is the role of social media in a professional arts web presence (the topic of Seb's presentation). "Web presence" is the key there, since gone are the days of a web page, or web site, or web application. Each of those things is really singular in purpose, but if you think about your company/organization's PRESENCE online, you can start accomplishing some really spectacular things.

You can watch the presentation by Seb on-demand here and I highly recommend that you do. Also, check out the Powerhouse

Pink Gin (Saturday Afternoon Cocktail #1)

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 21:06:00 +0000

The cocktail I have just made myself is one I have read about in a number of books, but never actually tried, because I had convinced myself that I dislike Gin (and I just happened to have a promotional bottle of Miller's London Dry Gin.) Not only is this not the case, apparently, but the Pink Gin turned out to be refreshing and delicious with enough kick to warm me up.

Pink Gin

1 ½ oz Miller's London Dry Gin
1 liberal dash Peychaud's Bitters

Combine ingredients with ice. Stir; strain; drink.

Afternoon Cocktails

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 21:00:00 +0000

One thing I definitely enjoy, is a tasty cocktail in the afternoon. Not enough to make me anything but warm, but just enough to make the day a little sunnier. I, like everyone else on the internet, am somewhat obsessed with old, forgotten cocktails, from classy to fuck-you-up fast.

I will try to continue this tradition of posting a cocktail recipe as I have made it, which is not necessarily the "right" way.

I will keep these as separate posts, as well, tagged appropriately.

I Just Couldn't Resist Any Longer

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 19:01:00 +0000

One of the things that I thought might change (but thankfully didn't) was that Monday night is almost exclusively a TV night. Chuck, How I Met Your Mother, Heroes, Gossip Girl, House, and Weeds are probably all in my top 10 of tv shows right now, so Monday nights my DVR works overtime.

Here's the final scene from Chuck last week, and I still can't get over how well put together that show is.

The Perks of Exposure

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 01:45:00 +0000

One of the many perks of working where I do is the opportunity to experience some pretty fantastic performing art. I have been a web nerd for my entire professional life, but there is only so much that telemarketing, chemical manufacturing, and reliable (yet affordable) living room furniture can provide in the way of excitement.

Dance is something that, prior to this job, I have never really gotten into. It has been an issue of availability, knowledge, and I suppose just exposure, but the more I see, the more I love.

Next week I get a chance to see Max performed by Batsheva Dance Company. Tickets are still available, and from what I have been told, it should be pretty hot (I've been promised nudity). Here's a preview:

One of the events that I have been extra excited about is Merce Cunningham at 90 with live music from Sonic Youth, John Paul Jones, and Takehisa Kosugi (who you may know from Sonic Youth's Goodbye 20th Century.) To say I am looking forward to it is most definitely an understatement.

Moving Things Around

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 06:29:00 +0000

I recently had a really unfortunate mishap (or just some bad luck I suppose) that involved my home theater stereo receiver deciding to just stop working completely. It was one that allowed me to have every bit of technology I own plugged into one spot, which, in some ways, is really helpful in a New York apartment. However, one thing it did is allowed me to passively neglect listening to music casually.

When spending time in my living room—the primary location of this stereo—I would almost entirely spend my time on the television. When the mood called for music, it was my computer (plugged into my TV and stereo) which provided digital entertainment, but rarely did I listen to my records, which, oddly enough, are the only forms of non-mp3 music that I have in my current possession.

The death of my all-in-one home stereo solution motivated me to move my turntable to my bedroom, where more relaxing time is spent, along with all of my records. Since, I have spent some time going back and listening to entire albums (or at least entire sides) and remembering just how great some of my favorites are.

Tonight, as I type this, I am listening to Yo a Tengo's Painful which, if not their best, is certainly my favorite. The first side is just so fucking warm. If you read this post, no matter who you are, or how you found it, leave a comment about a record or a side, or if you must, a song, that you routinely forget just how much you love it.

I'll leave you with one of my favorites from this album.

Yo La Tengo - "I Heard You Looking"

Nannerpus, for example

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 03:31:00 +0000

I have spent the bulk of my adult life on the internet. I have lived on social networking sites from ridiculous (makeoutclub) to strangely draconian in ratings (orkut) to current (no link necessary).

One rite of passage of any internet nerd is the registration of many many domain names, but it's just so goddamned easy. So, after seeing what may be the best 15-second Super Bowl commercial I have ever seen, I decided to register nannerpus.com. There was a great deal of debate over whether this creature's name contained one s or two, but the obvious relation to the octopus answered that question enough for me. So, it is with a great deal of pride, I present to you, the NANNERPUS

Oh, and I will try to write in this more, though it is quite likely that nobody reads this (google analytics tells me that there have been 19 of you in the last month).

If Google were to go away, how would we find out?

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 21:36:00 +0000

A few days ago, for no more than 10 or 15 minutes, everything google suddenly went away. Maybe this occurrence was limited solely to my place of employment, maybe not, but the varied attempts to find out what was going on were entertaining. Where would we find our news? How would we ever find out if this was just happening to us without the massive power of Google.

This made me think about how much of my life is wrapped up in some sort of Google application. Gmail, documents, YouTube, calendar... the list goes on and on. Looking at the analytics for our website at work (another google product) I see that 92% of our search engine traffic comes from google. In any given work day, i spend probably 25% of my day using a Google tool of some sort (not counting the entire day that I have Gmail open. When I get home, I catch up on my RSS feeds, sometimes post to a blog, watch movie trailers, and update my personal calendar. All of these things are Google services. (I even use a Google browser)

So, when I see that Google stock is dropping, in some ways that scares me more than other signs of the economic apocolypse, because I know how ingrained in my entire life a "search engine" is. I guess I don't really have a point, but most of this musing was done in the absense of Google for a mere 15 minutes.

Flash 10 Headache

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 15:27:00 +0000

One of the problems inherent with being part of a very small (one person) development group, is that it is difficult to maintain the ability to test your site/application with every browser on every os with every new update and release. That is why, when I got that terrible email that says "I just installed Flash and the website doesn't work" I panicked.

What was calming, and frankly pretty funny, was upgrading myself to Flash 10 and wandering the internet looking at the large number of sites that didn't work properly. The irony of seeing "Hey maybe you should update your Flash player" messages everywhere moments after getting the newest release.

The culprit? A little bit of javascript which was, in fact, the exact script recommended by Adobe in the first place. The purpose of this script is to make sure that the user has a new enough version of the plugin installed to get the full impact of your totally awesome Flash animations. The problem is (here is where I probably bore some of you) that the script pulls in the description of your installed plugin, which might be something like "Shockwave Flash 10.0 r12". Well, that "10" used to be a "9" and had never before been two digits. Adobe's sample javascript just pull the ONE character to the left of that first period, and called that the version. Sadly, with Flash 10 installed, that script would think you had version ZERO which logic told it wasn't enough to handle state-of-the-art. Nice forethought Adobe.

Fresh start # 2

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 18:43:00 +0000

April was the last (and only so far) entry on this blog, but there have been a number of things in the last few months that have inspired me to start documenting my thoughts and activities again.

In April, I was still very much "the new guy" both at work and in New York, which in many ways is a very comforting title to have. Lower expectations mean higher rewards when something actually goes right.

So here is my life over the last six months, summed up in bullet point form (in no particular order):

Learned how to try to catch mice
Learned how to just give up and live with mice
Went to ATP in Monticello (Catskills) and saw My Bloody Valentine, which I thought might be something that would never happen.
Continued to meet new people, but mostly just got to know people better that I had already met.
Launched a great website at work

So, from now on, I will post here more often. I will post pictures that I take, probably talk about work a bit, maybe about technology, maybe about music, maybe about how frustrating it is to go on dates. I am not sure what the "personality" of this will be, or if it will have one. I don't think anyone is reading it anyway...

When in doubt, create another blog

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 18:23:00 +0000

Of all of the reasons to start blogging, unless you plan on having a schtick, boredom is likely the one that hits me most. There's the livejournal, the myspace, the tumblr, the podcast, and now this. The over/under on the actual number of posts I make can probably be counted on one hand, but for now, let's see where this goes.