Adam Fields (weblog)

The important thing here (on page 2) is:

"To pay for those large tax cuts, the administration is looking at eliminating both the deduction for state and local taxes, and the business tax deduction for employer-sponsored health insurance."

Bad bad bad. We need more incentives for employers to offer health insurance, not fewer.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A58554-2004Nov17.html

If you want a Metafilter login, now’s your chance. It costs $5, which goes towards server expenses. Well worth it – I think that Metafilter is still one of the most interesting sites out there.

I’m totally addicted to Ask Metafilter.

http://www.metafilter.com/newuser.mefi

This follows my general rule of “if you’re trying to impress, use phyllo dough or puff pastry, because people who haven’t worked with it think it’s hard and it’s not”.

The basic strudel is really easy – saute a handful of shallots and a chopped garlic clove in 2 tbsp butter until they turn clear. Add 1 cup chopped mixed mushrooms* and 3 tbsp white wine. Cook until they’re cooked through – 8-10 minutes. Cool. Mix 1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese and whatever fresh chopped herbs you have on hand (I like parsley**). This is your filling. Thaw phyllo dough according to the directions on the package (it comes frozen). You’ll need 3 sheets. Lay out 1 sheet, brush with melted butter. Lay another sheet on top of it, and brush with melted butter. Repeat with the third sheet. (So now you have a stack of three sheets, with melted butter on each layer). Put the filling in the middle, and roll it up like a burrito. Brush the entire outside, top and bottom, with melted butter. Lay it seam side down on a pan or baking sheet with sides (not a perfectly flat sheet), seam down. Cut a diamond pattern into the top with parallel diagonal cuts (use a sharp knife, otherwise you’ll tear the dough). Bake at 400 for 20 minutes or so, until golden brown. Slice and serve.

* Whatever mushrooms you can find. Definitely choose cremini over white button. Shitake adds some nice chewy texture.

** Parsley is ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS flat Italian parsley, not the crinkly stuff.

http://www.nei.nih.gov/photo/charts/index.asp

‘Two Chilean engineering students have designed (Good Awakening") a pillow for waking up deaf people (or those who simply don’t want to hear the alarm clock).

You can programme the pillow to wake you up at any time. The pillow gently shakes your head by inflating and deflating, providing a feeling similar to hair massage.’

http://www.popgadget.net/2004/11/wake-up-pillow.html

Interesting. I think the media is looking at this whole thing (the blogging phenomenon) in the wrong way. Bloggers aren’t journalists, nor are they really trying to be (in the general case). They’re opinion filters.

http://www.personaldemocracy.com/node/view/151

Um. Yeah.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2004/11/17/184354/08

I’m pretty speechless about this.

1) There are theories that money spent on campaigning directly translates to voter turnout. If that’s true, the margin was too thin to have not spent this money.

2) As pointed out in the link, even if it wasn’t used for Kerry, it could have very much benefited a number of key Democratic races.

“Researchers at Luca Technologies have made a discovery regarding natural gas production in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin that could lead to a renewable source of energy for generations to come.

The company today announced that laboratory evidence shows that the Powder River Basin (PRB) coals are generating natural gas in real time through the ongoing activity of anaerobic microbes (bacteria that live in the absence of oxygen) resident in those coal fields.”

http://www.spacedaily.com/news/energy-tech-04zzzi.html

Among other things, a long story that ends with:

“Everyone agreed to convene tomorrow morning, to further audit, discuss the hand count that Black Box Voting will require of Volusia County, and of course, it is time to talk about contesting the election in Volusia.”

http://www.blackboxvoting.org/