Author: cdwan

After extensive experimentation, I present to you: The first in a line of signature drinks to be served at my notional bar and tapas restaurant:

The Seven Olive Martini

How the hell do you think it’s made?

* Chill olives. Big ones. Queen olives. Monsters.
* Chill martini glass.
* Fill the chilled martini glass with ice cubes
* Pour vermouth over the ice cubes. Doesn’t matter how much.
* Fill a pint glass with ice cubes
* Pour two shots of vodka (Stoli works nicely well) over the ice cubes. Stir or swirl.
* Cut a slice out of the lemon and remove the flesh, leaving you with a semicircle of lemon rind.
* Swirl the vermouth in the martini glass, and then dump it and the ice cubes in the sink.
* Put seven olives in the martini glass.
* Strain the vodka into the martini glass. A fork works fine if you’re using ice cubes.
* Twist the lemon rind slice over the surface of the drink. This will mist a bit of lemon oil onto the surface. Discard the rind.
* Serve.

The advanced variant might well be called “The Seventh Olive Martini”

Open call for ideas:

I’m looking to build The Next Big Thing. It will be software, and run on a workstation. It will be useful for scientists, in the doing of their science. I have some ideas, but I need more. Many of you are scientists (or used to be, or want to be): Describe the software that you wish you had on your computer.

If you use the words “web 2.0” or “The Grid” you will be beaten.

I bought a Bagster for disposing of construction detritus. It’s a seriously tough bag, about the size of a tiny dumpster, that you fill, place by the street, and a truck takes away your rubbish. It’s sort of like ordering a roll-off dumpster except that you keep the dumpster and just put it out any time you need it. I bought the thing and filled it. Then I called the number … and there was no answer. I checked the web site and it said “no online scheduling yet, call our number!”

I thought “great. I’ve put trash on my yard.”

However, this morning someone answered the phone and my stuff will be gone by Saturday.

In yoga news, I had a pretty good workout yesterday. We did lots of hip socket stretching, including multiple variations on the “pigeon” pose. I was working hard enough at it that I managed to fall over, out of pigeon. Fortunately, in this pose, your hips are mostly on the ground already … so it was just sort of a pathetic tipping “waaaa…” -thump-. It amused me to no end. I mean, how do you fall when you’re already sitting? Yeah. I’m that talented.

Today, possibly the first tour of the house. We’ve already gotten some action from the yard sign. Sell sell sell.

We have a realtor. I will not be going “For sale by owner.” This one is vastly superior to the last. The house will be listed tomorrow? Today? Who knows?

In truly, totally unrelated news, I’m going to go to a week-long developer “boot camp” to learn how to make OS X GUI applications. Wheeeeeee.

My house is down to just a few bold lines of personality and structure. The noise, the daily projects and dishes, have all been put aside. We’re down to four plates and sets of silverware. Four wine glasses, the cheap ones … the crystal is packed. The piano remains because it’s heavy and precious, and the katana remains because I received it yesterday, and because I like the look of it on the mantle. The cats remain … but they hide. They’ve both seen this movie before and they didn’t care for it.

The library is packed, but the current topic of thought (buddhist thought and the martial arts) is consolidated on the one remaining bookshelf. The toaster remains, but the deep fryer and the press-grill are packed. The cherry wine continues to ferment, but the makings of future batches aren’t re-appearing in this house. We can do sauteed greens, and we can do stir fry … but I don’t think that we can do them at the same time right now.

All this was done in a frenzy of tape and cardboard. Now, we live here for a month and a half. Then we shift the lightened form to Braintree and receive a truckload of noise and depth at some point after that.

It’s odd to see what stays and what goes.

I wonder what would happen if it *all* went … except the cats, of course.

I had a thoroughly fun birthday:

Woke up, and redmed suggested that I open a present, first thing. I had been planning to run out to the coffee shop, since my coffee maker’s carafe broke (mid coffee preparation … which didn’t work out very well) the other morning. She was pretty insistent, and in my coffee-deprived morning state, I didn’t even see the obvious coming. Yeah, new coffee maker.

Then her mom showed up, having driven up from PA. This was a special treat, since we don’t get many visitors here. We went to the farmer’s market, and then to whole foods for the extreme yuppie breakfast buffet.

Got back, and proceeded to take three or four carloads of stuff (in boxes) to the storage facility. The goal is to have the house “clutter free” when we show it. Of course, clutter is otherwise known as “all the stuff that I sorta like.” Oh well.

In the evening, dinner was eggplant parmesan (eggplant from the food co-op), and sauteed kale and onions (from the garden). Carrot cake, singing, and then opening of more presents. Among the high points:

* redmed gave me a yoga towel, and a tibetan singing bowl. These rule.
* Doug (brother in law) sent a freakin’ katana, which blew my mind. I now have *two* wicked sharp Japanese style swords that I need to learn how to use.
* justkidding_nr sent a shirt claiming that “Chess players mate better.”
* Various other folks sent various other things.

Finally, we went down to WaterFire and watched the city’s campfires.

Now, off to sleep. Hooray.

Oh for God’s sake, how am I supposed to plan for *anything* in this crazy world.

The Fed. just cut interest rates by half a point.

ranting

Apparently, we’re moving to Braintree (one of the southern termini of the red line) in October. After a long day of looking at various apartments … I woke up this morning and remembered that we finished the day with sushi and drinks at casa capital_l and technolope … then drove home and completed applications for residency. I drive north this morning to drop off said applications, provide comprehensive genetic samples, and submit to a psychic reading (or so I assume … I haven’t tried to “qualify” to live anywhere in a long time).

We’ll be living here. At least it’s done.

redmed has proposed the following use of space:

The place is pretty sweet. It’s high-end yuppie stuff. We can sign out the 25 seat movie theatre, and the workout facilities are kickin’.

The plan is still to amass ill-gotten gains over the next year or two and then try to build a perfect, off-the-grid, massive-garden-plot-empowered, house … including my Tower of Solemn Contemplation and the padded-floor workout room.