Posted in Food and..., tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, fun, Thoughts on January 7, 2023| Leave a Comment »
We’re having friends over for dinner for the first time in (what seems like) decades, and I’ve apparently forgotten everything I knew about giving a dinner party. So lots to do, but I did take the time to update my chocolate volcano recipe to metric.
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Posted in Likes, Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, adventure, fun, inspiration, Thoughts, yay on September 10, 2022|
No writing today. Instead, adventure.
Morning: an early drive through the fog-filled hills of Quebec to canoe through a giant water maze, home to beavers, frogs, birds, turtles and more.
Lunch: hot dog with ketchup and sauerkraut in honor of my grandfather, who also liked them that way.
Afternoon: three hours of hiking, climbing, zip-lining, rock climbing fun.
Ziptour – Adventure – Discover our Arbraska Parks
And now we rest.
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Posted in Likes, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, #OneDrabbleSinging, creativity, fun, inspiration, music, the interwebs, writing on July 15, 2022| Leave a Comment »
In my quest to prove that the internet is good for more than trolling, discouraging news and ridiculous conspiracy theories, I give you Typatone.
The act of writing has always been an art. Now, it can also be an act of music. Each letter you type corresponds to a specific musical note putting a new spin on your composition. Make music while you write.
Type directly or use the clipboard icon to paste text. Toggle the music icon to change styles. Click the plus sign to start anew.
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What is the sound of one drabble singing?
And here’s the opening of Pride and Prejudice while we’re at it.
Delightful!
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Posted in Food and..., tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, experiments, fun, recipes on February 13, 2022| 2 Comments »
Today I am going to caramelize white chocolate, and then use it to make white chocolate passionfruit tofu pudding.
There are a number of ways to caramelize the chocolate, the most traditional being a 250F oven for 45–60 minutes, stirring every ten minutes or so. A second option is to sous vide the chocolate at 90C for anywhere from 4 to 12 hours, but that’s a long time and I have dessert-making to do now.
I think I’ll start with the quickest of the options I’ve found so far: the microwave.
… (time passing)… (muzak from your preferred era)… (stepped away to make a lemon meringue pie because it’s Mr Man’s favorite and, you know, Valentine’s Day)…
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Success! It took seven minutes of microwave time total, plus all the opening the microwave and stirring and closing the microwave door and … you get the picture. I’m glad I tried it but next time I will test the sous vide method. It takes a lot longer but it’s all hands off.
That said, all that microwave time paid off. Caramelized white chocolate is freaking delicious.
I made another batch of tofu chocolate pudding, subbing in the caramelized white chocolate for dark, passionfruit simple syrup for plain, and lime juice for the vanilla. It is quite good but a little too sweet straight from the blender. It may balance out once it chills. If I try it again I’ll reduce the amount of syrup considerably (half? less?) and up the lime. (Actually, next time I’ll probably just toss a block of tofu in the blender with the white chocolate and go from there.)
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Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, fun, history, Thoughts on February 9, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Yes, our part of Ontario is expecting freezing rain (thanks climate change!), but there’s still enough snow for that purest of winter joys, a snowball fight!
Snowball fight captured in film for first time 1897 | AccuWeather
The 50-second clip captures a group of people in Lyons, France, playing in snow and the chaos ensuing as a snowball fight between two sides turns into a surprise attack on a bypassing cyclist.
…
Like in the current day and age, there were many things the Lumière brothers could have filmed as world events brewed and boiled, but instead, they chose to make one of their many short films about people playing in the snow…
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Here it is again in a version has been upscaled and colorized, making it even more relatable.
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“A snowball in the face is surely the perfect beginning to a lasting friendship.”
― Markus Zusak
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Posted in Science!, tagged #365Ways, fun, science, tech hates me today, Thoughts on December 19, 2021| Leave a Comment »
Some days I feel like I am getting nothing done. Despite the fact that I have been working on a number of projects and fighting bad tech mojo on multiple fronts,* today is one of those days.
Am I am getting nowhere? Maybe, but I’m also doing it very, very fast. Thanks to the magic of plate tectonics (ok, that part’s pretty slow) and orbital mechanics, so are you.
If you’ve ever wanted to know how fast you are moving (even when you aren’t going anywhere), check out this fun site:
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* Really, keyboard, backup drive, laptop, and printer, you’d have me believe that this wasn’t all planned?
Posted in Entertainment, Likes, Science!, tagged #365Ways, creativity, fun, inspiration, interesting, internet, Thoughts, wackiness ensuing on November 17, 2021| Leave a Comment »
I accumulate a lot of links. Work links, sure, but on my way to the data mines I often come across fun, interesting, obscure or downright delightful corners of the web. They inform me when I need a bit of learning with lunch, cheer me up when the news is too newsy, and otherwise remind me that the internet, like the world, is not 100% terrible.
What sort of links? I’m so glad you asked:)
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Look Up! An Introduction to Identifying Raptors in Flight
* The answer is yes.
20 of the Best History Podcasts to Help Us Actually Learn From the Past
Honest Government Ad | Carbon Capture & Storage – YouTube
Introducing the Icelandverse – YouTube
Bohemian Catsody – A Rhapsody Parody Song for Every Cat Queen and King! – YouTube
This man won a Guinness World Record for his tree that bears 10 types of fruit
The True Story of the Blue People of Kentucky
Photos of the world above and below the sea by David Doubilet
Periodic Table of the Elements, in Pictures and Words
How to Identify that Light in the Sky
Scientists Create 3,000 TB Simulation of the Universe You Can Download
And since I’m a baker, here’s one last link:
All You Could Ever Want to Know About a Pumpkin Slingshot
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Posted in Likes, tagged #365Ways, fun, inspiration, photo compositing, sff, Thoughts on November 2, 2021| Leave a Comment »
It’s Tuesday so busy busy, but I still made time for a little cat-related fun.
You’re welcome:)
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Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, creativity, family, fun, Mark Twain, quotes, Samuel Clemens, Thoughts, Writers, writing on October 4, 2021| Leave a Comment »
A long-time family friend always says goodbye by saying “Be good!” My father always answers the same way: “Have fun!”
You can see which side Samuel Clemens occupied.
I at least try to split the difference.
Posted in Entertainment, Likes, Writing, tagged #365Ways, Applescript, creativity, Fiction, fun, inspiration, libraries, Thoughts, Writers on August 21, 2021| Leave a Comment »
In my roles as a writer and as a person, I read a lot. Some books I purchase, but many I access through my local library. How great is that?*
So I just spent a non-zero amount of time writing a little AppleScript to automagically run a search in any of the four area library systems that share e-book resources.
Was it necessary? No. I could click through my library portal and into each separate library system for every book I want to check, one stodgy button at a time. Ho hum.
Does this script save time and my wrists and open up new worlds of possibilities?
Yes.
Was it fun to make?
Also yes:)
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* I love books, and I’m lucky enough to live in a society that supports public libraries. In fact, I made a modest donation to my local library the other day, and hope it helps bring just a little more literacy and knowledge and enjoyment to my city.
J.R. Johnson 
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