In my mug: Papua New Guinea

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Papua New Guinea  (0.205538832029mm, f/1, 1/60 sec, ISO64)

I haven’t posted much the last few weeks. I’ve been busy helping my new client and I’ve had a very busy social life in the evenings. Hopefully, this weekend I can get out in the early morning and get some photos in.

Bhavna hasn’t been drinking coffee so my last bag of beans lasted longer than usual. The office where I’m working has no coffee machine and the nearest coffee-house is a Dunkin Donuts. Not my favorite. But I used the last of the beans yesterday. I picked up a half pound of Papua New Guinea this morning and brewed four cups to take to the office. Bhavana starts drinking coffee tomorrow.

Are iOS and OS X converging?

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Ive — and Apple as a whole — is fond of saying that design is about more than the way something looks, it’s the way something works. OS X Mavericks might be the most iOS-looking version of OS X to date, but it’s a fundamentally different operating system built for a different type of input. It doesn’t matter how many notifications roll across your Mac’s display or how much Calendar, iBooks, and Maps look like their iOS counterparts — OS X is built around point-and-click, iOS is built around tap-and-swipe. That’s a wide gap to bridge. Nathaniel Mott

I like having apps like Byword and Pages and Keynote etc. that have iOS and OS X versions that sync data across iCloud. I like being able to use some gestures on OS X with the MagicPad. I like that OS X will get notifications.

Farmers’ Market to Williams Dining Table

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NIKON D5100 (55mm, f/8, 1/100 sec, ISO100)

Last week the Montgomery Friends Farmers’ Market returns to its spot in the parking lot of the Village Shopping Center on Route 206 in Skillman. I dropped my son off at Kickside Martial Arts (he teaches Tae Kwon Do) and took my camera out. After documenting the opening event I put my camera away and returned to get some of the goodies I saw. I picked up some organic grass fed burgers from Mallery’s Grazin’ Meats, white wine sausages from Griggstown Quail Farm, a bottle of white wine ( Delicado ) from Villa Milagro Vineyards, some fresh organic mozzarella from Fulper Farms, and a loaf of rosemary olive oil bread from Terra Momo Bread Company.

When I bought these items I had no thoughts about dinner. I just wanted to get a bit from each vendor. When dinner time came Bhavna suggested that I grill some sausages for myself and the kids but I wanted burgers. So we decided to grill both.

It was a hot day and I knew I would be sweaty outside with the grill so I put the bottle of wine in the freezer to chill. While the grill warmed up I cut a few slices of tomatoes and some slices of the rosemary olive oil bread. After grilling my meats to the correct temperature I let them sit for a bit. I ate the burger between two slices of the bread and tomato and dill pickles with the sausage. I quenched my thirst with a glass of chilled Delicado.

Delicious! Maybe today I’ll pick up some lettuce and some onions and another bottle of wine. The summer’s here and the Montgomery Friends Farmers’ Market is the place to grocery shop.

Designing blogs for readers – Matt Gemmell

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I was talking to my friend Evgenia about blogs recently (do say hello, and encourage her to start her own – she’s thinking of doing so), and at this point I should restate something I told her: I think that blogs are for their authors first, and their readership second.

I don’t think there’s any reasonable way, or any need, to separate vanity and ego from a personal blog. Writing is inherently about its author, and is a product of their personality and opinions – that’s not something to be shy about, and we shouldn’t try to change it either. So, write for yourself – and hold yourself to an appropriate standard, because you’d better believe that others are judging the person as well as the piece – but as soon as you publish your views, you’re inviting readers to take a look. I think that the needs of the reader and the author are more aligned than many blogging systems seem to believe.Designing blogs for readers – Matt Gemmell

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28th
May

Sugar and Spiced Oatmeal

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It’s simple to make. Heat up one puck of Trader Joe’s Frozen Steelcut Oatmeal in the microwave (two minutes, then stir, then one more minute). Remove from microwave and sprinkle Savory Spice Shop’s Spiced Vanilla Bean Sugar to taste. Crumble some walnuts and cashew nuts over the oatmeal and sprinkle some more Spice Vanilla Bean Sugar. Enjoy.

Oatmeal isn’t something I eat every day. I drink fruit blends during the week — it’s an easy quick but nutritious breakfast — so on the weekend I’ll have either grits or oatmeal for breakfast. I prefer steel cuts that have been cooked in a slow cooker over night but in a pinch the Trader Joe’s frozen version is fine.

NIKON_D5100_20130526_007_8_9_HDR OatmealNIKON D5100 (35mm, f/2.8, 1/500 sec, ISO100)

The Trader Joe’s Frozen Steelcut Oatmeal is water, steel-cut oats, brown sugar, maple syrup, rolled oats, and salt. And the Spiced Vanilla Bean Sugar? Madagascar vanilla beans, pure vanilla extract, cinnamon, allspice, mace and cardamom.

NIKON_D5100_20130526_022_3_4_HDR OatmealNIKON D5100 (35mm, f/2.8, 1/160 sec, ISO100)