Recipe: Creamy Chicken and Dumplings

This is a very rich and satisfying soup.   While it can be frozen, it wont be as good as fresh because the potatoes will soften the longer they are in the soup.   Recipe for the chicken stock is here.

Recipe: Chicken Noodle Soup

This is a hearty and healthy soup perfect for curing what ails you.

You can use store-bought stock, but I suggest you use home made, for which there is a recipe here.

Recipe: Chicken Stock

This recipe is the first step in preparing any soup which requires chicken stock.  I post it here for use in two specific recipes, chicken noodle and creamy chicken and dumpling, but you can use it for anything.

How to proof yeast

When making breads, you should ALWAYS proof the yeast.   If the recipe calls for water, sugar, and yeast, you have no excuse not to, and if the yeast is dead you have just saved yourself from wasting other ingredients.

If done properly, this also ensures that the yeast is fully dissolved and as such will be distributed evenly within the dough.

Recipe: Italian Meatballs

These meatballs are best used in tomato sauce, but don't let that stop you from serving them as appetizers :)

This is written as a base unit.  A pound of meatballs is about right for a three quart batch of sauce.

Two important bits of info I am going to warn you about ahead of time:

1) These take awhile to make.   You might want to make these a day in advance of when you intend to use them.

2) This will make a mess.

Read on!

Recipe: Simple Tomato Sauce

This very simple sauce recipe is just the base.   You can add almost anything you like to it.   Alone, it is a fabulous pasta sauce that you can make in about an hour.

Simple White Bread

There is nothing, and I mean NOTHING, like home made bread.   It's very easy to make, probably doesn't take nearly as long as you think, and the final product is just amazing.

You can also use this recipe to make rolls instead of loaves.   You'll want to be mindful of shorter baking times if you do.

In this recipe, I will also show you how to prepare the dough and then freeze it.   This is really handy when making a holiday meal.  You'll be busy enough with everything else.

No pictures though.   My phones battery was dead while I made this.

Yield:  2 loaves

Bagels

These are pretty easy to make if you don't mind ugly bagels.  

This was my first attempt, and as you can plainly see, the results were not very visually attractive.  I am sure had I been a little more careful when shaping them, they would have been fine.

That said, they taste amazing!

This recipe is for 6 bagels.   Do the math if you want more.

Recipe: Pork & Mashed Potatoes

If you like pork chops and mashed potatoes, try this quick meal for one....

Ingredients:

1 Pork chop (One thick cut chop is usually enough for one person)
2/3 Cups mashed potatoes.
A small glass of water.

Instructions and pictures after the jump.

Windows 8.1

Pic Dump

Many more after the jump....

Tony Soprano sleeps with the fishes... :(

James Gandolfini has died :(

Article

IMDB Entry

The Sopranos was one of the greatest shows ever made.   Sorry to see ya go, Tony...

Baking Powder - Make Your Own

Yes, I know it is a very common ingredient, and is certainly not very expensive, so why make your own?

One reason, all of the ingredients that go into it have myriad other uses, so why buy four things when you can buy three?

Another reason is that you only have to make as much as you need, and if you just want to do that, you then only need two ingredients.

The thing to know is what the differences are between baking powder and baking soda.  Baking soda reacts to moisture and acidity and produces carbon dioxide, which makes it an effective leavening agent.  Baking powder is baking soda with an acidic element added already.  The choice of which one to use in your recipe is dependent entirely upon the acidity of your ingredients, and most breads are not acidic at all.

A very basic baking powder formula is:  1 teaspoon baking soda + 2 teaspoons cream of tartar = 1 tablespoon of baking powder.   You will need to use this pretty quickly, as moisture in the air will cause the two ingredients to begin reacting almost immediately, albeit rather slowly.

If you want to make some to store for a bit, add 1 teaspoon of cornstarch to the mix, which will act as a desiccant powerful enough to keep the reaction quiet, so long as you store the mixture in a relatively airtight container.

So making stuff for long term storage, think of how much you want to make.  Take that number and divide it by four.  For example, lets say you want to make 1 cup of baking powder.   In that case, the recipe is:

1/2 cup cream of tartar
1/4 cup baking soda
1/4 cup cornstarch

I would run them through a sift to mix them well.

Put them in a jar and shelve :)

Kingdom of Loathing - My new addiction.

For something with so rudimentary an interface (in contrast with console dungeon crawlers) this is one of the most fun and compelling games I have played in a while.  

http://www.kingdomofloathing.com/

I would suggest a look at the wiki as well.. Should you do the right thing (start playing KoL) the wiki will prove invaluable.  http://kol.coldfront.net/thekolwiki/index.php/Main_Page

From their wiki:

KoL's designers have cleverly created a scheme for keeping your interest long past when you have 'won'. Once you beat the main quest, you can ascend and restart the game as any class. You start over as a level 1 character, and your items are put into a storage locker to which you will have restricted access. There are several choices to make when ascending, such as do you want your next life to be easy, or would you like to take on some voluntary restrictions and challenges in order to receive better rewards? Many items, trophies, adventures and areas are ONLY available ascended players that have given themselves restrictions. There are a variety of fun ways to play out your next life, and you can try them all!

When you ascend you will have the option to keep one of your skills from your current life to be permanently usable for all other incarnations. Hence, you can continue to build up your character by cherry picking skills from all 6 classes!

Ascension is fairly complicated, so be sure to read through the details before you shuffle off this mortal coil. Once you start ascending, if you are looking for strategy tips, you can try asking on the forums, or check Ascension Strategy for normal ascensions or Hardcore Strategy for hardcore ascensions. (Specific advice on those two pages can become outdated quickly, but the general advice is useful.)

Preserved Lemons

A popular ingredient for many middle-eastern and mediterranean dishes, this isn't something you can just walk into a supermarket and buy.

They take about a month of sitting around in a jar before you can do much with them, which gives you plenty of time to cull some recipes to try.  I will link to a few at the bottom of this article.

What you will need:

Approximately 2 pounds of large, unblemished lemons.
Quart glass jar
Glass dish (to prepare the lemons.  You want to save all the juice, so it will have to hold about a pint of liquid)
Kosher Salt

You will also need to click Read More below...

Gunman Killed, at Least Six Victims Dead in Santa Monica Shootings

The suspect in a series of shootings that left at least six people dead in Santa Monica, Calif. on Friday was killed in a shootout with police, authorities said.

The number of victims has changed multiple times over the course of a quickly developing breaking news story with varying crime scenes. The most recent number is six victims and the suspect, for a total of seven dead.

In a Friday afternoon news conference, Santa Monica Police Chief Jacqueline Seabrooks said the shooter was killed on the campus of Santa Monica College after attempting to evade police responding to multiple shootings that began about a mile from the school.

At least two people were killed in a Yorkshire Avenue home that was burned, then the gunman fired on people in a series of "random encounters" that proceeded along Pico Boulevard toward the final shootout in Santa Monica College library, Seabrooks said.

"The officers came in and directly engaged the suspect, and he was shot and killed on the scene," Seabrooks said. "The information we have indicates, at this point, that as many as half a dozen victims were shot and killed, and several more were injured."

The gunman had not been identified Friday afternoon, but was described as a white male aged 25 to 30 and clad all in black and "what appears to be a ballistic vest," Seabrooks.

Another subject of interest was in custody, she added.

"We are not convinced 100 percent that the suspect who was killed operated in a solo -- or alone -- capacity," Seabrooks said.

Seabrooks said that two people were dead in a home in Yorkshire Avenue that was ablaze about a mile from campus. Another person died on Cloverfield Boulevard, and two were killed on 19th and Pearl streets.

Another woman later died in the hospital, Seabrooks said.

Full article here.

The Shat

Awesome wallpaper set!

Tapped into a nice pile of wallpapers labeled "Abstract."

Lots of cool stuff, like that.  I already made a mini slide-show on the side-bar, but here's a link for the full page.   So far only 200 images uploaded.

If there is any interest, i'll put the other 600 pics up.

Ice

While I am not a pessimist in general, I occasionally do make observations that lead me to believe that as a society we are in a state of decline.

I had planned on a few paragraphs highlighting specific observations that help shape my conclusions, but I think a single web page that I found does a perfect job of driving my point home.

Not only did someone think these particular instructions would come in handy for someone, but there's a fair chance that some number of people probably have this bookmarked.

You can't make this stuff up.

According to the top of the page, this handy do-it-yourself guide required 45 contributors to get it right.

The icing on the cake?  "Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 74,145 times."

...and jesus wept

Warm today :)

Well, it isn't like this was not to be expected.   I'm in Texas.  Its June.   Of course it's going to be bloody hot.

Hottest day since I've arrived here, in fact.


The top half of my phone says it all.

Services restored

There were only a few glitches with the upgrade that I am pretty sure nobody noticed.   Particularly readers of this site, as this has nothing to do with the site at all ;)

Server Upgrade

I am in the process of updating my personal server/workstation behemoth.

Since this is a kernel upgrade its not known how well all systems will return to normal without tinkering, but time will tell.

See you all on the other side.

School opens 'investigation' after airline kicks students off plane

New York (CNN) -- The dispute surrounding a student vacation flight from New York to Atlanta is getting uglier.

One hundred one students and eight chaperones were kicked off an early morning AirTran flight before its scheduled departure Monday. The controversy now pits the airline against an Orthodox Jewish high school.

"We take this matter seriously and have started our own investigation," said a statement released Tuesday by Rabbi Seth Linfield, executive director of the Yeshiva of Flatbush school. "Preliminarily, it does not appear that the action taken by the flight crew was justified."

From the airline's perspective, it sounds like a large-scale version of the parental "don't-make-me-turn-this-car-around" scenario.

Southwest, which owns AirTran, said the group of "non-compliant passengers" would not stay seated, and some were using their mobile devices after being asked not to. When the students failed to comply with requests from the flight crew, including the captain, they were asked to leave the plane, delaying the AirTran flight for 45 minutes, said Southwest spokesman Brad Hawkins.

Southwest Airlines acquired AirTran in a deal announced three years ago.

Students and chaperones from the Brooklyn-based school said the flight crew overreacted to the teenagers who were looking forward to visiting Six Flags and rafting, among other activities.

"It blew out of proportion. It was a mountain out of a molehill," said teacher Marian Wielgus, one of the chaperones.

According to Wielgus, some students may have had to be told twice to sit down or turn off their phones, but everyone listened.

"They certainly did not do what the stewardess was claiming they did," she said. "That's what was so bizarre."

Wielgus said the flight attendants were "nasty," "overreacting" and "created an incident when there didn't have to be one."

According to Southwest Airlines, the group violated safety regulations.

Wielgus said she would understand if individual students who were not complying had been asked to leave, but she objected to the collective punishment.

Wielgus said a "small group" of students in the back of the aircraft were chatty, but that did not warrant the flight crew to force an entire group of 109 people off the plane.

"It was so ugly," she said.

Rabbi Joseph Beyda, another chaperone, said none of the students on the plane was particularly loud or disruptive. And when he saw that the flight attendant was flustered and had asked students to leave, he asked which kids were causing issues and offered to help, but she refused.

"They just simply said 'get off the plane,'" Beyda said.

Full article here.

Macabre Monday

Also - this blog's 100th post.  Purely a coincidence.

lolz

Philips.com "live chat"

Please wait for a consultant to assist you.
mfennell will be with you momentarily!
mfennell says, "Thank you for contacting Philips USA Webchat. My name is Maurice. How may I assist you today?"
You say, "yeah.. i was looking at your digital camera keyrings and had a question"
You say, "i couldnt find what resolutions that were available to take pictures in"
mfennell says, "I will be more than happy to assist you with this information but first , please may I have your first and last name, zip code, city and telephone number so as to create a case file ?"
You say, "i realize it is 1.3 gigapixels and it comes in either 128 or 64 meg memory capacitys, but i dont know what res it will take picutres in"
You say, "er... do you really need all of that info? im not sure if im going to buy it or anything.. i just wanted to know the resolutions.."
mfennell says, "We would like this information so as to keep a record of each customer contact."
You say, "but im going to talk to you for all of like.. half a minute.."
You say, "my name and email address was allready submitted.. that should be more than enough"
mfennell says, "May I have the model number of the unit please?"
You say, "KEY008"
You say, "and KEY007.. if there is a difference"
mfennell says, "Thank you."
mfennell says, "With an issue like this what we suggest is that you contact us at 1-800-531-0039."
You say, "er.... lool.. ok... im not gong to give them my info either"
You say, "how bout i just look around for a different manufacturer that is less creepy.."
mfennell says, "With an issue like this what we suggest is that you contact us at 1-800-531-0039."
You say, "wow.. generated responses.."
You say, "really makes me feel i have a genuine connection w/the person helping me"
You say, "well thanx for spending a good 15 min of my time"
You say, "have a nice day...."
You say, "try not to seduce any 13 yr olds over the net..."
mfennell says, "Thank you."
mfennell says, "Thanks for contacting Philips USA. "
Your consultation has ended
mfennell leaves.

You knew it was only a matter of time...

Three storm chasers killed in Oklahoma

(CNN) -- A group of men who devoted their lives to hunting powerful storms died in the middle of the chase.

Tim Samaras, his son Paul Samaras, and Carl Young were killed while following a tornado in El Reno, Oklahoma, relatives told CNN on Sunday. They were among nine people killed in storms that struck Oklahoma on Friday night.

Their work tracking tornadoes was featured on the former Discovery Channel show "Storm Chasers."
"They all unfortunately passed away but doing what they loved," Jim Samaras wrote in a statement posted on his brother's Facebook page.

At the intersection where authorities said the three men were killed, crews hauled away a mangled white truck Sunday that had been crushed like a tin can. The metal frame was twisted almost beyond recognition. The windows had been smashed to bits.

Canadian County Undersheriff Chris West confirmed that three storm chasers had been killed, but declined to provide additional details about the circumstances of their deaths.

"We also want to say that storm chasers and meteorologists and news stations, that's part of the vital link in getting the word out to people so that they don't become victims," he said. "A lot of these individuals have dedicated many years of their lives to going out and assisting and tracking storms, and getting footage and putting themselves in harm's way so they can educate the public to the destructive power of these storms."

Tim Samaras founded TWISTEX, the Tactical Weather Instrumented Sampling in Tornadoes Experiment, to help learn more about tornadoes and increase lead time for warnings, according to the official website.

In 2004, he told CNN that being near storms was part of the job.

"In order to get directly in the path, you have to be close," he said.

"Actually I'm pretty focused on our safety, certainly, and I'm focused on getting the data and getting the right spot," he said. "You only have one chance to do it."

Full article here.

BUY THIS BOOK

I mean it.  Buy this book.

See the Ted Williams post of earlier today if it doesn't look even vaguely familiar to you.

Don't really want to click an amazon link?  The book's prologue is after the jump.  Perhaps that will whet your appetite.

RIP

Anne Sullivan, 24
Matthew Renaud, 35
Robert Bebee, 41
Robert Garner, 29

Newly discovered virus takes more lives, spreads

(CNN) -- A new SARS-like virus recently found in humans continues to spread -- with the worldwide total now at 49, the World Health Organization said Wednesday.

Of the 49 known infections with the MERS-CoV virus, 27 have resulted in death, the organization said.

The latest deaths were reported in Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi health ministry said Wednesday that three people died from their infections in the country's eastern region.


The virus is "a threat to the entire world," the WHO's general director said Monday.

It "is not a problem that any single affected country can keep to itself or manage all by itself," Margaret Chan said Monday in her closing remarks at the 66th World Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland.

Although many of the cases have occurred on the Arabian Peninsula, people have died of the infection elsewhere.


However, "all of the European cases have had a direct or indirect connection to the Middle East," the WHO said earlier this month. But "in France and the United Kingdom, there has been limited local transmission among close contacts who had not been to the Middle East but had been in contact with a traveler recently returned from the Middle East."

On Tuesday, a patient died in France after having contracted the virus during a trip to the Middle East, the WHO reported.

Coronaviruses cause illnesses ranging from the common cold to SARS, or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, as well as a variety of animal diseases.

However, the new virus is not SARS.

The WHO recently gave it a more specific name: Middle East respiratory symptom coronavirus, or MERS-CoV.

It acts like a cold virus and attacks the respiratory system, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said. But symptoms, which include fever and a cough, are severe and can lead to pneumonia and kidney failure.

Health officials do not yet know much about how the virus spreads, which makes it hard for scientists to prevent infections, Chan said.

The WHO is calling for the world to pull together its resources to study and tackle the virus.

Remember this guy?

(Courtesy of the Washington Times)


Interview with Ted Williams, The Man With 'Golden Voice'


NEW YORK, May 20, 2013 — Each year the homeless population increases in the United States. The reasons for this vary. Natural disasters, disability, substance abuse, and lack of affordable housing are just a few factors that result in homelessness. According to The National Student Campaign against Hunger and Homelessness, more than 3.5 million people experience homelessness each year in the United States.

Why is homelessness on the rise? The Homeless Coalition of Hillsborough County provides an answer: “When a household is using more than 30 percent of their income on housing costs, they frequently have to make difficult decisions about what to pay, be it housing, utilities, food, childcare, health care, education or transportation. With limited resources, one emergency or unplanned situation can begin a downward spiral into homelessness.”

What do the homeless themselves have to say about their struggle? Ted Williams, The Golden Voice, a formerly homeless man who became an internet sensation in 2011 after a recording of his voice went out to the public on Youtube, answers to this and other pressing questions.

Ted, a native of Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York sat down to discuss how he became homeless and offers some suggestions for empowering the homeless to empower themselves.

The interview after the jump.

I'd bid on this just for the hell of it.

State puts 'used' giant morgue refrigerator up for sale on eBay


It’s the creepy alternative to a beach cooler.

The state Office of Mental Health is selling a morgue refrigerator from a Manhattan psychiatric ward on eBay — calling it “used” but “in good condition.”

The bizarre ad lists the huge silver appliance, equipped with four doors for body storage, as having “signs of cosmetic wear” but being “fully operational.”

The fridge looks plucked from the set of “Law & Order: SVU.” At 8 feet tall and 6 feet wide, it could fit nearly 2,000 12-ounce cans of beer.

And the weirdest part? People are actually bidding on it.

The price was at $202 less than a day after it was posted.

A spokeswoman for the state Office of General Services, which sells unwanted government goodies, admits she’s never seen anyone sell a morgue fridge.

“Every once in a while, we get an unusual item — and this would be that,” said spokeswoman Heather Groll.

She added there are no rules about who the cooler can go to — any individual or agency could take it — and no background checks are required.

“Whoever buys it would have to come pick it up, so he or she would have to have some familiarity with [refrigerators] like that,” she said.

She said she had no clue who might want the item.

The Office of General Services has also sold barber chairs from prisons, police cars and scrap metal on eBay, she said.

The fridge ad was posted Thursday and garnered a $10 bid in the first few hours. The auction ends in late June.

The ad notes the buyer must pick it up from the Manhattan Psychiatric Center using his or her own transportation.

“Buyer must dismantle unit to remove from room,” it says

The buyer, the ad notes, is responsible for cleaning it. It also states the fridge is in good condition with few scrapes and bangs.

“The potential buyer is strongly encouraged to inspect item prior to bidding,” it says.

The item is a Norlake Scientific 4 Drawer Morgue Refrigerator with compressor on top.

All major credit cards are accepted.

Houston Motel Fire Kills 4 Firefighters, Sends 13 to Hospital

Four firefighters died and thirteen were hospitalized after battling a five-alarm blaze that overtook a Houston motel on one of the city's heavily traveled expressways today.

The fire in the southeastern part of Houston quickly engulfed a motel, the Southwest Inn.

The thick black smoke was visible for miles and, as the fire spread, the building's roof collapse, ABC station KTRK reported.

"We can confirm for you, at this time, we have four fatalities," said Janice Evans, a spokeswoman for the Houston Mayor's Office. "Families are being currently notified ... It's a very sad day for the Houston Fire Department and the city of Houston, as a whole."

Three firefighters were killed at the scene, while the fourth died at a hospital, The Associated Press reported.

Some of the survivors could be seen saluting, a traditional honor for a fallen comrade.

One of the firefighters killed today was a female, and became the second woman to die in the line of duty as a Houston firefighter.

At least six firefighters were injured battling the fire and were taken to the hospital.

The deaths today made the fire the deadliest in the history of the Houston Fire Department, The Associated Press reported.

"Houston firefighters mourn the loss of our three brothers and our sister and will forever honor their sacrifices," said Jeff Caynon, president of the Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association. "This tragedy underscores the inherent dangers of our profession. Please keep Houston firefighters in your thoughts and prayers."

Caynon said the Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association and the International Association of Fire Fighters were monitoring the conditions of the six injured firefighters and would be assisting them and their families.


More than 100 units responded to the fire and 155 firefighters were on scene in teams, KTRK reported. Firefighters were shuttling in and out of the fire, battling not only the intense heat and smoke but a wind that would not quit.

KTRK reported that the blaze burned out of control into the afternoon, several firefighters were overcome by dehydration from the intense heat and the blistering 95-degree temperature.

Late this afternoon, the fire was finally brought under control, according to KTRK. The cause was not known.

Start Button Returns in Windows 8.1

It's officially back.

After months of rumors, Microsoft finally announced that the venerable Start Button is coming back to Windows 8 in the upcoming "Blue" update, which will officially kick Windows up to version 8.1.

Antoine Leblond, corporate vice president of Windows Program Management, delivered the news in a May 30 Blogging Windows post. "We've improved the way you navigate to Start with the mouse by changing the Start 'tip' to be the familiar Windows logo," he wrote.

"The new tip appears anytime you move the mouse to the bottom left corner of the screen, and is always visible on the taskbar when on the desktop. There are also options to change what the corners do, and options to boot into alternate screens," added Leblond.

Since the debut of Windows 8, one of its most polarizing features—or non-features—was the lack of the Start Button, which graced the Windows desktop since Windows 95. Instead, the company instituted a Start Screen, the tiled interface that greets users when they boot up a Windows 8 system.

The decision was met with some outcry, but the company stuck to its guns.

In an effort to defend the decision, Marina Dukhon, a senior program manager lead on Windows' Core Experience team, took to the Building Windows 8 blog on Oct. 11 and stated Microsoft's case.

"We know major changes like this can be controversial and we are looking forward to continuing this dialog with you. I wanted to address some of the specific topics that have been brought up so far as they pertain to the design," stated Dukhon.

New Feature - Wallpapers!

If you scroll down to the very bottom of the page, you'll notice that I am adding slideshow gadgets..  These will have separate categories of wallpaper, and will take you to full size images to download from my Flickr account.  Enjoy!

My new stove :)

I can finally cook again!!!

Internet sensation Grumpy Cat to star in upcoming film

(Reuters) - Grumpy Cat, who won fame on the Internet for her permanent scowl, will be getting Hollywood treatment in an upcoming film, the feline's manager Ben Lashes said in an email.

Grumpy Cat, whose real name is Tarder Sauce, went viral last year after the brother of owner Tabatha Bundesen posted a photo of the cat on the user-submitted social news site Reddit.

The film will be produced by Broken Road Productions, which has been behind such films as the Kevin James' 2009 comedy "Paul Blart: Mall Cop," and Adam Sandler's 2011 comedy "Jack and Jill."

Photos of Grumpy Cat, whose scowl Bundesen said was caused by feline dwarfism, gained a following with ironic user-generated captions, like "I had fun once ... it was awful" and "Of all the nine lives I've lived ... this is the worst."

Grumpy Cat is no stranger to cameras, having already appeared on U.S. morning show "Good Morning America" and CNN's Anderson Cooper's daytime talk show, "Anderson Live."

Grumpy Cat will join the ranks of Hollywood's other four-legged furry A-listers such as Uggie the dog from Oscar-winning film "The Artist" and Buddy the basketball-playing Golden Retriever from 1997's "Air Bud."

Whoops: Evening News Program Accidentally Airs Graphic Sex Scene

Viewers tuning in to watch Tuesday's evening news broadcast on Greece's state-owned public TV station ET3 were surprised to see a bit more softcore porn than usual in between reports on the country's latest unrest.

That is to say, any softcore porn at all.

While the staid anchor went on about the news of the day, a graphic sex scene was clearly unfolding in one of the screens behind him.

Commenters from the region who witnessed the "breaking news" firsthand reported that, rather than accidentally allowing a pornographic film on the air, ET3 unwittingly highlighted an erotic movie that was being shown on its sister channel ET1 at the same time.

Given that you can sort of make out boobies, I imagine YouTube will be taking this down soon enough. So of course I have a copy you can download here.

Father of Chechen killed in Florida says FBI murdered him

MOSCOW — After FBI agents questioned Ibragim Todashev for hours on end about one of the suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing, his father alleged Thursday, they murdered him to keep him from talking.

Abdulbaki Todashev, who applied Thursday for a U.S. visa so that he can pick up his son’s body in Orlando, where he died, said that he has heard nothing from U.S. officials about the May 22 shooting.

“I want justice. I want an investigation,” he said at a Moscow news conference. “They come to your house like bandits, and they shoot you.”

Ibragim Todashev, 27, was an acquaintance of Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the alleged organizer of the Boston bombing. Todashev had moved to Florida two years ago from Massachusetts, his father said. He said FBI officials questioned his son on three separate occasions this spring.

The first time, they asked him about the bombing. The second time, his father said, they asked him about a triple murder in Waltham, Mass., that police suspect Tsarnaev may have carried out. The third interview, which took place at Todashev’s home and included Massachusetts state troopers, ended with his death, his father said.

Despite earlier accounts of the incident that suggested Todashev had a weapon, two law enforcement officials told The Washington Post on Wednesday that he was not armed. His father said that he was shot seven times. The FBI has said that he attacked an agent, just moments after confessing to his part in the Waltham slayings.

He who fights monsters... More on hackers

Do not be afraid.. there are those who are really fighting for you.  Some of them aren't.   That said, there is a difference between immature idiots and true hackers.

True hackers find things that could otherwise be used to hurt you and their goal is to bring these problems to the attention of companies that could have fixed it from the start, but chose not to.

What makes this more compelling is the fact that even with that, some of them still don't.

This video does a good job at bringing their point across.

I want one of these!

OCD chef: wooden chopping board

More info here.

It's about time these people got busted...

Ever heard of Liberty Reserve?   No?  Probably for the better.  They are an online currency exchange that operated for years with the intent of helping criminals launder and distribute money.

All that was required to use their service was a name, a birthdate, and an email address.  No efforts were made by the site to verify identities of its users.

Deposits could be made via credit card or bankwire, among other deposit options. The funds were then "converted" into Liberty Reserve Dollars or Liberty Reserve Euros, which were tied to the value of the US Dollar and the Euro respectively, or to ounces of gold.

Just as PayPal revolutionized how people shop online, making it possible to buy a microwave oven or concert tickets with the click of a button, Liberty Reserve sought to create a similarly convenient way for criminals to make financial transactions, law enforcement officials said.

In total, Liberty Reserve was used to transfer an estimated $6 billion over 55 million transactions. It has been linked to crimes including credit card fraud, identity theft, investment fraud, computer hacking, child pornography and narcotics trafficking.

As of Tuesday, a visit to the Liberty Reserve website gets you this:

It is unclear if any businesses with legitimate funds tied up in the service will be able to recover their money.

Full article here.

America's Oldest Hero

America's oldest veteran to spend quiet Memorial Day at Texas home

For his 107th Memorial Day, Richard Arvine Overton, who saw many of his fellow soldiers fall in the line of duty in World War II and even more die over the following decades, is planning a quiet day at the Texas home he built after returning home from World War II.

He wouldn’t want it any other way.

Overton, who is believed to be the nation's oldest veteran, told FoxNews.com he’ll likely spend the day on the porch of his East Austin home with a cigar nestled in his right hand, perhaps with a cup of whiskey-stiffened coffee nearby.

“I don’t know, some people might do something for me, but I’ll be glad just to sit down and rest,” the Army veteran said during a phone interview. “I’m no young man no more.”

Overton, who was born on May, 11, 1906, in Texas’ Bastrop County, has gotten used to being the center of attention of late. In addition to being formally recognized by Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell on May 9, Overton traveled to Washington, D.C., on May 17 as part of Honor Flight, a nonprofit group that transports veterans free of charge to memorials dedicated to their service. Despite serving in the South Pacific from 1942 through 1945, including stops in Hawaii, Guam, Palau and Iwo Jima to name a few, it was Overton’s first time in the nation’s capital.

“I was really honored when I got there,” Overton said of his visit to the World War II Memorial. “There were so many people, it was up in the thousands. And we danced and we jumped … them people tickled me to death. It made me happy as can be.”

The entire experience gave Overton a “good thrill,” he said, and the significance of visiting the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial at a time when an African-American holds the country’s highest elected office was not lost him.

“I was very, very happy,” Overton continued, adding that he wasn’t deterred by Washington’s expansive National Mall. “At my age and my strength, I’m able to stand up and do anything. My mind is good, so I’m able to do what I want.”

Chicken Soup

Yet another good recipe for you all :)

There is nothing quite like home made chicken soup, and it's surprisingly simple to make!  As with most recipes that I get into, they take much more time than effort.   Read on if interested :)

The goal here is to get about two quarts of stock out of one chicken carcass, and the primary ingredients are the bones and skin, and use the meat for the eventual soup.  These are two completely distinct tasks, and can be completely separate.  I.E., you can take the bones/skin from a chicken you prepared for a meal and just make stock for use later, if you like.

Thus, I am going to divide the process into two recipes.

Sourdough Crumpets

If you've been maintaining a healthy starter, you have likely been left with somewhat of a conundrum:  What to do with the starter you have to replace with each feeding.

I just found a nifty recipe that I am about to try for making sourdough crumpets, and I am keen to try them.  If this works out, I will keep my starter at room temperature, feeding every day, and make a batch of these as my daily bread in between making proper loafs.

50 Common Misquotations - Mental Floss

Turkey Puppies!

Turkey Stuffing Hush Puppies

1 box turkey stuffing mix (stove-top or equivalent)
1 cup chicken broth.
1 extra large egg
1 package of dry turkey gravy mix.

The stuffing mix calls for 1-2/3 cup water per box, but I found 1 cup of broth and the egg makes for a perfect moisture level to form into balls.

Add the stuffing mix to a good size mixing bowl. Heat the broth up to just hot but not boiling, either on the stove, over the fire or in the microwave. Let cool for a minute or two and stir in the gravy mix. Add immediate to the stuffing mix (before the gravy can set up). Stir well to moisten all the stuffing and cover bowl with a towel for 5 minutes so the stuffing mix can soften and absorb the moisture. Add the egg and stir well. The mix should be able to be formed into balls, but not ‘soggy’. You can add a splash more room temp broth to get the consistency right.

Your oil should be near 350 degrees. Form the mix into hush-puppy sized balls and fry until crispy and hot, about 1 to 1-1/2 minutes. The puppies will wind up slightly darker than standard corn meal puppies when done.

You can adjust the amount of gravy mix to add to suit your taste. I prefer a more pronounced turkey flavor, but you may not. You can also make this up ahead of time and refrigerate it for a couple of days.

Enjoy!

Do your chairs need repair?

Yeah, I'd press that.

Angry Meeroo :)

Fire Dragon

Tatum Raetz Kindergarten Graduation: Police Force Shows Support For 5-Year-Old To Honor Her Dad's Memory

Five-year-old Tatum Raetz was surrounded by an incredible show of love and support at her kindergarten graduation on Wednesday. Hundreds of Phoenix police officers showed up to celebrate her accomplishment after the little girl's father, Officer Daryl Raetz, was killed in the line of duty just days before.

A photo that surfaced on Reddit shows Tatum smiling as the police family cheered her on.

"The purpose of us is to be here in proxy for Daryl and to let her know that we're here for her," Police Officer Keith Garn told CBS5.

Another officer, James Holmes, told AZFamily.com that the original plan was for just a few cops to attend the graduation. "But the word got out that this was happening and it went viral within the department and there was absolutely no way that you could keep officers who could be here away from here. they came, even with their families," he explained.

The Phoenix Police department tweeted a photo of the incredible turnout:

During the ceremony, everyone took a moment of silence for Tatum's dad. "Officer Raetz truely embodied the type of great American citizen that our school and our teachers aim to create," school director Keven Barker announced.

In the end, CBS5 reports that Tatum got a standing ovation when she received her diploma.

Original story here.

AZ Lawmaker In Charge of House Prayer Tells Colleagues He's an Atheist

A lawmaker put in charge of delivering the opening prayer at yesterday's session of the Arizona House of Representatives surprised his colleagues by using the opportunity to talk about his atheism and quote Carl Sagan.

USA Today says Juan Mendez (D-Tempe) put in a request to have Secular Coalition of Arizona director Serah Blain speak before the house during yesterday's "prayer time," but his request was somehow misplaced, so he decided to address the House in her stead.

"Most prayers in this room begin with a request to bow your heads. I would like to ask you not to bow your heads," Mendez told his fellow legislators at the start of yesterday's invocation. "I would like to ask that you take a moment to look around the room at all of the men and women here, in this moment, sharing together this extraordinary experience of being alive and of dedicating ourselves to working toward improving the lives of the people of our state."

Tornado Survivor Finds Dog During TV Interview

This brought me to tears

Remember this story?

A homeless man whose face was mostly chewed off in a bizarre attack last year in Miami says he doesn't want any more reconstructive surgery.

Ronald Poppo spent nearly a month in a hospital after the attack alongside a Miami highway. Since then, he's been living in a long-term care facility.

The attack left him blind and disfigured. Poppo's doctors said Tuesday he knows he's lost his nose and his left eye completely, but he's satisfied with the surgeries and skin grafts that have closed his wounds.

A video posted online by the hospital that has been caring for Poppo shows him sitting in a hospital bed, wearing a baseball cap and strumming a guitar, which he's learned to play and practices daily.

Facing the camera, Poppo, who was wearing a Miami Heat hat, thanks the public for their contributions and support.

"People in my predicament need to be helped out," he said. "I thank the outpouring from people in the community. I'll always be thankful for that."

Rudy Eugene attacked Poppo on May 26, 2012, along the MacArthur Causeway in Miami, police said.  An officer shot and killed Eugene.  In a report on the investigation, Poppo told police that Eugene accused him of taking his Bible.

Lab tests found only marijuana in Eugene's system.

Boruch Spiegel, Fighter in Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, Dies at 93

Boruch Spiegel, one of the last surviving fighters of the Warsaw ghetto uprising of 1943, in which a vastly outgunned band of 750 young Jews held off German soldiers for more than a month with crude arms and Molotov cocktails, died on May 9 in Montreal. He was 93.

His death was confirmed by his son, Julius, a retired parks commissioner of Brooklyn. Mr. Spiegel lived in Montreal.

The Warsaw ghetto uprising has been regarded as the signal episode of resistance to the Nazi plan to exterminate the Jews. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum calls it the first armed urban rebellion in German-occupied Europe.

As a young man, Mr. Spiegel was active in the leftist Jewish Labor Bund, and when it became clear that the Germans were not just deporting Jews but systematically killing them in death camps like Treblinka, Bundists joined with other left-wing groups to form the Jewish Combat Organization, known by its Polish acronym ZOB.

In January 1943, when German soldiers entered the ghetto for another deportation — 300,000 Jews had already been sent to Treblinka or otherwise murdered in the summer of 1942 — ZOB fighters fought back for three days and killed or wounded several dozen Germans, seized weapons and forced the stunned Germans to retreat.

“We didn’t have enough weapons, we didn’t have enough bullets,” Mr. Spiegel once told an interviewer. “It was like fighting a well-equipped army with firecrackers.”

Full Article

Ron Paul: Fix IRS by shutting it ‘once and for all’

Former Rep. Ron Paul of Texas called the recent IRS fiasco troubling — but writes that the only way Congress can protect the freedoms of Americans from a long pattern of suspected IRS abuse is to “shutter the doors” of the agency “once and for all.”

The longtime GOP congressman writes that IRS agents in the 1930s were essentially “hit squads” against opponents of the New Deal, and that allegations of IRS abuse spanned the administrations of Presidents Kennedy, Nixon, Clinton and George W. Bush.

“The bipartisan tradition of using the IRS as a tool to harass political opponents suggests that the problem is deeper than just a few ‘rogue’ IRS agents — or even corruption within one, two, three or many administrations,” Dr. Paul writes in his weekly column, “Texas Straight Talk. “Instead, the problem [lies] in the extraordinary power the tax system grants the IRS.”

The libertarian and tea party hero goes on to argue that the power of the IRS can only be countered with a complete overhaul to the country’s tax system.

“The federal government will get along just fine without its immoral claim on the fruits of our labor, particularly if the elimination of federal income taxes are accompanied by serious reduction in all areas of spending, starting with the military spending beloved by so many who claim to be opponents of high taxes and big government,” he writes. “While it is important for Congress to investigate the most recent scandal and ensure all involved are held accountable, we cannot pretend that the problem is a few bad actors. The very purpose of the IRS is to transfer wealth from one group to another while violating our liberties in the process, thus the only way Congress can protect our freedoms is to repeal the income tax and shutter the doors of the IRS once and for all.”

© Copyright 2013 The Washington Times,

Before and After pics of Moore, OK

These can be a little hard to see, so I will just link to the original post.

Click here for the pictures.

Wise words

A video from the OK storm. Horrible. Just Horrible.

Arias speaks on own behalf as jury considers death

When Jodi Arias addresses the jury in her murder trial one more time, the big question will be whether she pleads for mercy or repeats what she told a TV reporter minutes after her conviction: She would rather be executed than spend the rest of her life in prison.

After nearly five months of testimony in a case that has captured tabloid headlines with tales of sex, lies and violence, Arias' final words to the jury will soon bring the trial to an end.

Arias' own attorneys tried to quit the case and asked for a mistrial a day earlier after complaining the trial had become a witch hunt. But the judge swiftly rejected the requests. The defense then said they would call just one witness to testify — Arias herself.

Read more here.

Mammoth Okla. twister kills at least 51, including 20 kids

The Oklahoma state medical examiner's office says 20 children are among the dead in the tornado that ripped through Oklahoma City suburbs.

The twister killed at least 51 people, and officials fear the death toll will rise.

Medical examiner spokeswoman Amy Elliott confirmed the children's deaths Monday night.

The tornado made a direct hit on an elementary school in Moore, Okla., and authorities were seen pulling children alive from the rubble.

Oklahoma City police say the search and rescue operation at the school is now a recovery effort. Authorities are still searching for victims -- and survivors -- throughout the community.

The monstrous tornado was at least a half-mile wide. It flattened entire neighborhoods and destroyed the elementary school as children and teachers huddled against winds of up to 200 mph.

The storm laid waste to scores of buildings in Moore, a community of 41,000 people about 10 miles south of the city. Block after block lay in ruins. Homes were crushed into piles of broken wood. Cars and trucks were left crumpled on the roadside.

Read the rest of this incredibly sad story here.

Are you worried about security - Episode 01

You should be.  Forget homeland security and other physical manifestations of the illusion of security.  The real threat is the ineptitude of the automated systems that we take for granted on a daily basis.

This is the first in a series of videos I am going to post that I hope will open your eyes to the real threat: Inept software developers and the organizations that trust them implicitly.

In this video, recorded at the 16th DEFCON convention,  Felix Lindner, Head of Recurity Labs, describes the weaknesses of bar-codes   It starts slow, but as things move along, you will see some rather glaring, and frightening, potential problems.

Do not fear the hackers that discover these things. They are just pointing out problems that need to be fixed.  Rather, fear those that would do us harm should they discover the same problems that should not exist in the first place.

If you'd rather not see the non-scary stuff, skip ahead to about 25 minutes in.   It starts to get really interesting at that point.

BREAD!

Finally had a chance to try out that sourdough starter described in several posts, and while not quite as sour as I would like, it turned out great!

For lack of a proper cooling rack, I suspended it between two inverted cake pans.  So now I have a known good starter and will be making bread much more often, and will never buy another packet of yeast.

The texture was near perfect too - this is why you knead for 10 minutes :)

Star Trek: Into Darkness

Just had occasion to watch the new Trek movie, and...

HOLY FUCKING SHIT!!!!!!

Go see it.  Like now.

First sourdough try - Preparation

For those that have been following along, we're going to try our first stab at sourdough bread tomorrow.  The starter is done, and two jars are in the freezer.  One of them is for Janet, and one is my backup in case I kill my active starter.  The other jar is in the fridge for now, and the rest of it has been set aside for the recipe.

After the jump, details about tonight's culinary adventure.

Kittens!

Recipe: Grilled Egg and Cheese Sandwich

Want a quick and awesome sandwich?  You can make this in one pan, all at once.

Prep Time:  5 minutes
Cook Time:  5 minutes

1 egg
2 slices of bread
2 Tbs butter, sliced thin
1 slice of cheese

Recipe after the jump

Congress Questions Larry Page Over Google Glass

Congress wants to know how Google plans to protect consumers using and not using Google Glass.


Several members of Congress have submitted a letter to Google CEO Larry Page (pdf) asking about privacy concerns related to Google Glass and its embedded camera.

Created on May 16, the letter quotes articles published by The Wall Street Journal and Forbes, the first of which talks about the facial recognition technology pulling up a stranger's information such as his/her address, measurements, hobbies and so on. The Forbes article in question reports about that bar in Seattle that has banned users from entering with Glass on their face.

"As members of the Congressional Bi-Partisan Privacy Caucus, we are curious whether this new technology could infringe on the privacy of the average American," the letter states. "Because Google Glass has not yet been released and we are uncertain of Google's plans to incorporate privacy protections into the device, there are still a number of unanswered questions that we share."

The letter then dives into the 2010 controversy surrounding Google collecting information from unencrypted networks across the globe without permission. The company just recently coughed up $7 million to settle charges with 38 local states for the collection of data, and even admitted that it did not adequately protect the privacy of consumers. What does Google plan to do to prevent Google Glass from unintentionally doing something similar?

That's just one question; there are eight in all. Others ask about the extent of privacy considered when approving the app for the New York Times. Another wants to know what device-specific data Google plans to collect, and will this data be collected without the user's knowledge or consent. Others question about the facial recognition aspect while another asks Google what it plans to do to proactively protect the privacy of non-users when Glass is in use.

"Please provide examples of when Google would reject requests on Google Glass that would risk the privacy of others," the letter states. "Would Google place limits on the technology and what type of information it can reveal about another person? If so, please explain. If not, why not?"

The letter, signed by eight members of the Bi-Partisan Privacy Caucus including co-chairman Joe Barton, requests that Larry Page respond to the questions no later than Friday, June 14, 2013.

The letter is here.

The science behind glow sticks

Time To Make The Bread

Finally!  The starter is ready and its time to see if I can actually make some real bread!  I had two jars (at 2 cups each) of healthy starter, I just divided it into four jars, feeding all four.   The final disposition will be:

1 for the bread
1 for me to freeze
1 for me to keep at room temperature
1 for Janet (will be delivered frozen)

Here's how they looked just after feeding, and I am keeping an eye on them in case they start to spill over:

Update:  1AM (1 hour after feedings) and all four jars are alive and growing!  you'll note that in the last picture, 1 and 2 are a little more full than 3 and 4, and that is reflected in their growth.  All four have expanded by around 50%, which is what I was expecting.   No danger of spillover yet, but I have at least another hour to go before I can be sure they wont.

Update:  4PM (Sunday) and we are ready to make the dough.

It's kind of hard to see from this photo, but the first two jars are still a little more active than the other two.  To remedy that, I will combine them all together and redistribute them before I hand them out.

Awesome Traffic Camera

There's always room for Happy Jello Fun Time

Are there rings around Uranus?

Must Appease The Appliance Gods

A follow-up to the luzsec article.

The story about hackers - how it all began.  Part of a great series.



This was a part of my growing up.  Good times, indeed.

Former Lulzsec hacker Jake Davis on his motivations

Four men were sentenced on Thursday for computer hacking. In 2011 they were all linked to the Lulzsec hacking collective which targeted organisations including the FBI and Britain's Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) in a 50-day campaign which wrought havoc across the internet.

Among those sentenced was Lulzsec's self-appointed PR man, Jake Davis, who in his first TV interview has spoken to BBC Newsnight's Susan Watts about what he did and why.

Jake Davis, who went by the online alias Topiary, says he now regrets "95% of the things I've ever typed on the internet".

"It was my world, but it was a very limited world. You can see and hear it, but you can't touch the internet. It's a world devoid of empathy - and that shows on Twitter, and the mob mentality against politicians and public figures. There is no empathy.


"So it was my world, and it was a very cynical world and I became a very cynical person."

In the summer of 2011 Davis was Lulzsec's de facto head of communications, running the group's Twitter feed.

Full Article

1955 Map Shows No-Go Zones for Soviet Travelers in the U.S.

If you were one of select few private Soviet citizens granted permission to visit the United States in 1955, you could take in a Cubs game or ski Jackson Hole, but if you wanted to sample Memphis barbecue or check out the factories in Youngstown, Ohio, you’d be out of luck. That’s because a National Security Council directive had, on Jan. 3, 1955, allowed some “Soviet citizens in possession of valid Soviet passports” into the country, while extending controls previously placed on visiting Soviet diplomats and official representatives to apply to their travel.

This map shows where Soviet citizens, who were required to have a detailed itinerary approved before obtaining a visa, could and could not go during their time in the United States. Most ports, coastlines, and weapons facilities were off-limits, as were industrial centers and several cities in the Jim Crow South.

Click the picture to embiggen

These restrictions mirrored Soviet constraints on American travel to the USSR. Both the United States and the Soviet Union had closely controlled the movement of all foreign visitors since World War II. A 1952 law in the U.S. barred the admission of all Communists, and therefore of Soviet citizens. (An exception was made for government officials.)

The Soviets’ decision to relax their controls after Joseph Stalin’s death in March 1953 left the U.S. open to charges that it, not the USSR, was operating behind an Iron Curtain. President Eisenhower and his foreign policy advisers decided to mimic Soviet policy as closely as possible: As of early 1955, citizens of either nation could enter approximately 70 percent of the other’s territory, including 70 percent of cities with populations greater than 100,000.

Travel restrictions on Soviet private citizens stayed in place, enforced by the Departments of State and Justice, until the Kennedy administration unilaterally lifted them in 1962 as a symbol of the openness of American society. Controls on visits from journalists and government officials, by contrast, lingered until the end of the Cold War. As the recent story of the American diplomat arrested in Moscow on charges of CIA recruitment activities suggests, the history of mutual suspicion still occasionally surfaces.

Full Article

Yep. It's like that.

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford denies crack cocaine allegations

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford says allegations he was caught on tape smoking crack are "ridiculous," following reports that someone had been trying to sell a purported recording of such an event to U.S. and Canadian media outlets.

"Absolutely not true," he said outside his Etobicoke home on Friday morning. "It's ridiculous. It's another Toronto Star whatever," he said before getting into his Cadillac Escalade.

Later in the day, Ford emerged from his office at city hall to give a brief statement to reporters.

"Anyways, like I said this morning, these allegations are ridiculous, it’s another story with respect to the Toronto Star going after me," Ford said. "And that’s all I’ve got to say for now.”

Ford then walked to a nearby elevator and did not answer questions from reporters.

Toronto Star reporters and the editor of the U.S. gossip website Gawker report viewing the footage, which they say shows the mayor smoking from what appears to be a crack pipe.


The Toronto Star says two of its reporters have seen the video. Robyn Doolittle told CBC News that she and Star colleague Kevin Donovan had reviewed the footage earlier this month. Doolittle wrote in her report that the video was shown three times to her and Donovan by men in the back of a car. The men were looking to sell the video, Doolittle told CBC News.

"The men were clear that they want the money for it. And we know that they have spoken with American outlets," she said.

"They wanted six figures for it and we did not pay it," Doolittle added.

The editor of Gawker, John Cook, also told CBC News he was approached by someone looking to sell the video.

Cook said he did not purchase it.

On Friday, the website said it was trying to raise $200,000 in order to purchase the video and publish it online.

Full Article

Amen to this

A Compelling Argument