( I must have liked it because I had a lot to say about it )
In summary, these are some Short Trips worth taking.

View all my reviews >>

Inspired by orichalcum's linking to a NYT article on "easy" holiday desserts that are not all that easy, I would like to present a genuinely easy holiday recipe: my mother's recipe for pumpkin cake.

This recipe is not only easy, it is idiot proof. I know it's idiot proof, because the first time I made it, I used a 28 oz. can of pumpkin, instead of a 15 oz. can of pumpkin. The cake needed a little longer baking, and was *very* moist, but still delicious.

I usually leave out the raisins, because I'm usually baking for folks who are a bit dubious about little bits of fruit in their cake.
( the recipe )

Just discovered the lovely site www.fightthebull.com, which is run by some consultants dedicated to eradicating all the bull that creeps into corporate speak. They've just published a book entitled Why Business People Speak Like Idiots that I'd really like to read. But they also have this cute Mystery Matador web app, where you can put in up to 20,000 characters of text and it will analyze it for corporate bull and Flesch reading-ease score. And optionally, send an anonymous email message to the recipient of your choice.

I'll will confess to having spent a while running various recent corporate communications through the app (without sending any emails). Actually, it's confirmed what I already knew: Though somewhat plagued by people who write overly long sentences, my workplace is largely bull free. Despite a weakness for words like "enterprise" and "ecosystem".

Currently trying to decide whether being abominably tired and having a slight sore throat is enough reason to take some sick time off work today.

It doesn't really seem like enough reason. And I have so much to do. But if I am coming down with something, it would be really impolite to expose my coworkers to it. And I am abominably tired. (Last night I came home, ate a quick dinner, and went straight to bed.)

Well, my morning's first meeting is a conference call, so I'll do that from home, anyway, and then see how I feel.

ETA: Sore throat went away, and tiredness is not completely gone, but much diminished. Guess I was right to be a bit dubious.

Home Remodeling Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them: The Definitive and Comprehensive Guide to Successful Home Remodeling Projects! by Duncan Calder Stephens


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I'm jumping the gun a little bit here - I haven't even managed to buy a house yet, and already I'm researching how to remodel one. Still, it's looking increasingly likely that any house we do buy is going to have something "wrong" with it that we might like to fix if it's within our budget, so it seems like a good idea to be prepared.

I pulled this book almost at random off the library shelves, and it turned out to be almost exactly the kind of thing I was looking for. It covers everything from what to look for when reading a bid to how not to drive your spouse crazy during the remodeling project. (That last chapter mostly just made me feel smug about my marriage. But who knows - perhaps my spouse and I will uncover a previously unknown tendency to fight bitterly over kitchen cabinets.) It packs a lot of information into a small space, and is easy and fun to read.

View all my reviews >>

The Drowned World by Simon Guerrier


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Excellent follow-up to the first Sara Kingdom companion chronicle, Home Truths. A bit unusual among the Companion Chronicles in that the framing story is actually rather more dramatic and suspenseful than the story that Sara relates from her travels with the Doctor. (Not that that story is bad - it's actually quite a tense story about Sara, Steven, and the Doctor having to deal with a mining base under seige.)

The story ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, but judging by the extras, it sounds like we will get a third story to tie things up at some point.

View all my reviews >>

Just a note, that BBC production of Richard III that I mentioned yesterday turned out to be quite good. (Especially once you get over the initial reaction of "Oh my god, it's Bilbo Baggins playing Richard of Gloucester!") Though you might want to consult Wikipedia or another source to refresh your mind on the details of the Wars of the Roses before listening.

It's available to listen to online until this coming Saturday.

Making plans to visit the Santa Clara city library at precisely the time when the Santa Clara city library is not open is not a sign of logistical genius. Fortunately, I never claimed to be a logistical genius. It's okay - my books aren't due for another week, and I have plenty to read. (Even taking into account the books on my to-read list that I can't actually find because they are still packed in boxes from our last move. Sigh. I had such grandiose plans about being super-organized after our last move. But the more serious we get about buying a house, the less inclined I am to put any effort into getting this place unpacked and organized - I'll just have to box it all up again.)

Speaking of house-buying, we got a mortgage pre-approval. I hadn't been at all conscious of worrying about this, but it was a real relief when we got it.

My parents were in town yesterday, on their way to Yosemite. We went to Santana Row, and wandered around, and looked at all the people in costume. There was a Halloween-themed wedding at the hotel where they were staying, with lots of the guests in costume, and the groomsmen all wearing black jackets and green silk waistcoats. I didn't see the bride, which was a pity - I really wanted to know what she was wearing. My father wanted my advice on the documentation for a piece of software he's developing. Hopefully what I told him will make life easier and not more difficult for whatever writer they eventually hire to do the docs.

I woke up stupidly early this morning, thanks to the time change. I have breakfasted and had tea. I had planned to walk to the library, but since it isn't open for another 5 hours yet, I think I'll just go for a walk. (I have a radio production of Richard III that I recorded off of Radio 7 and stuck on my iPod - that might make nice accompaniment to a foggy morning walk.)

Doctor Who: Made of Steel by Terrance Dicks


My rating: 2 of 5 stars
This book is really pretty good for what it is. It's a quick, easy read, and evokes some nostalgic memories of reading Dicks's novelizations when I was younger. Dicks writes a pretty good Tenth Doctor, though I was less happy with his characterization of Martha - at one point, he has her flummoxed by the term "teleportation device", but any companion savvy enough to reference the grandfather paradox on her first trip to the past has got to have enough sci-fi familiarity to know what a teleportation device is.

I am amused that Dicks makes reference to an untelevised adventure in which the Doctor and Martha visited Vesuvius. Someone out there really ought to write some fanfic which has the 7th Doctor and Mel, 10th Doctor and Martha, and 10th Doctor and Donna all racing around Pompeii and just missing each other.

View all my reviews >>