Christopher’s Internet Affliction

Hello!

I left the house this weekend! Oh me! Oh my! Fancy, fancy! Who would have thought such a thing! But, yes, on occasion, I like to venture out into the real world and enjoy some good ol’ fashioned visceral experience. You know me- I’m a party ani-mule.. slamming gin & tonics (hold the gin, please!) at the bar, dancing on the bar, leaving at closing time, covered in sweat and various goo, yanno. The usual. You know how C-dawg rolls. (edit: I just try to be polite and un-noticed!)

Anyhow, this was a very fun event! I’ll have to check it out again sometime. It was at Exit, a Chicago punk-sorta-club, which was fun- I knew the doorman, so that made cigarettes fun, met a friend from the intarwebs, and had fun overall! I really like seeing people so happy!

The event was hosted by Vaudezilla, a local burlesque troupe. I met Red Hot Annie there, whom I’d been bantering with online for a couple years now.

But most of all, I went to see my friend Jolie perform. She’s an excellent and devoted belly dancer, and it was high time I saw it for myself. So, onto the train I go, leaving the safety of The Embassy (some call it an apartment) for points new and unknown.. And here we go.. wait for it.. SHAMELESS PLUG: GO TO JOLIE’S SITE. TAKE CLASSES!! She fucking rocks and is good stuff all around. Trust me!

I did put new batteries in the camera, but apparently, they’re good for about eight photos. But that’s okay! Photos after the jump.. Keep in mind, if they’re good, they were lucky shots. These guys move too fast for me! >_< (more…)

Here’s a little work in progress that I’m tooling about with.. the tube will end up drying to a clear red resin, with two LED lights inside.. The circuit is mostly for looks- just pretty shinies! But, that center chip contains about 35 lines of C++ to control the lights in the test tube.. What’s growing in there? Oh, and the tube will be suspended between the two branches with jute and some shiny wire. And whatever else I make up.

nom nom nom!

Hello!! I found a great recipe and gave it a go today.

Like most other people, I love Hummus, I can eat it up by the bucket, but sadly, to get the really good kinds, you really have to pay for it. Eight ounces can get up to five or so dollars, and hey! I can eat that in one sitting! So. the Great Unemployed Cook sets out again, in order to see what he can do about this. I started off with a few criteria before I found a recipe to try. I wanted everything as fresh as possible, of course, along with proper spices. I also wanted to use dried chickpeas (that’s Garbanzo beans, as well) over canned, for the sole reason that dried beans retain twice as much of their nutritional value over canned. Also, dried is cheaper! Sounds like two great wins to me. Certainly, you have to wait a bit longer for dried beans, but I think it’s worth it, on those two facts alone- and I suspect, that they probably taste better, too! Just something about something being preserved in a wet metal can with heat in god-knows-what just doesn’t sound optimal.. so, given the choice!

Anyhow, I’m going to go ahead and mention it: Get creative and add what you like to your hummus! Red peppers are easy to roast over a gas range, olives, garlic.. make yourself happy. You’re making something wonderful for your body, tasty, and just good all around. Also, if you have a lot of infused olive oil around.. hmm! Anyhow, after the jump, here’s the recipe I used with great success today, with my own notes thrown in.

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I like hot sauce. I like it a lot! But, sadly, I’ve been given a nervous stomach, so, I must be careful with the goods. And I don’t like it too hot, either, I like it with flavor! But, given as hot sauce and so much extra heat sells a lot better than the foodie-grade stuff, (I blame football and frat boys) I, once again, decided to make my own. This is one of my oldest projects, having been refined over the years, and some still sing the praises of my ‘green sauce’, which I made up in 2001. It’s something I’ve gotten to be very creative with, and that’s what I hope to inspire with this writing.

More after the jump..

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Howdy!

Of course, if you’ve been reading for any length of time, or know me personally, You already know I’m all about the do it yourself ethic, and especially with food- I really enjoy making everything from scratch. I think my one big “pass!” is with pie crusts- and I think anyone who’s tried to make one from scratch agrees. I’ll gladly fork over two dollars to the man for the convenience of not having to make the things myself! Anyhow, Here’s the buttercream frosting recipe from Magnolia Bakery in NYC- easily the simplest, and best, icing recipe I’ve found. As always, my usual caveat- use poor quality ingredients, get poor quality food. Also, keep in mind that you can easily make this recipe with all hand utensils, I don’t own a blender! And with cupcakes, have even MORE fun with them! That big honkin’ photo to the right is a batch I made- The raspberries, blueberries, and shaved dark chocolate (Freeze the bar, shave with veggie peeler) added a nice touch of bitterness, which was lovely, with all the sugar involved. This is one of those things you can just hop right into and take anywhere you want! By the way, this is the stuff immortalized in the “Lazy Sunday” Saturday Night Live short skit.

Recipe after the jump!

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Okay! This is a little guide intended for those just getting started out in the weird, wild world of The Ultimate In Geek: Programming your own microcontrollers. After you outgrow your Arduino, and find out that it’s really too much for a lot of applications, programming your own AVR microcontrollers is the way to go. This is not intended to teach you how to do everything- There’s plenty of documentation on each part of the process out there. I merely intend to compile what has worked for me in one central place.

Tools and supplies, software and a lot of links, after the jump!

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Hi everyone!

I like good popcorn, just like everyone else! So, microwaved popcorn doesn’t really do it for me- butter makes it mushy, and it’s rather icky and expensive, too! Not to mention all of the unpronounceable chemicals that are in it. So, I kick it old school- I get the soup pot out, and make some really tasty, healthy popcorn for my snacking needs!

My favorite combo right now is using an infused olive oil (garlic!) and a nice blend from The Spice House, a local spice shop. I like their Lakeshore Drive Seasoning best, and their Old Taylor Street Cheese Sprinkle sits nicely, too, but I’d skip the infused oil on that.

Recipe and kettle corn after the jump!

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Okay! Here’s a quick one for you. This will take no time at all, and will nicely compliment your homemade wine vinegar collection. It’s really as easy as it gets- if you can’t handle this, then perhaps you ought consider hanging up your apron! Anyhow, you only need three items.

What you need:

1. Clear glass wine bottles, with cork.

2. Olive Oil. Wait for a sale, and buy in bulk! Get the best you can afford.

3. Herbs and spices! Fresh is nice, but dried will do. I suggest garlic, your green leafy herbs, and I also had good results with dried Italian seasoning. Just don’t add salts or anything powdery.

And there you go, really. Just add your herbs to the bottle after a good bruising, and label & cork. Set in your rack for at least six weeks, the longer being the better. You can stretch it out a bit by adding fresh olive oil after you’ve used a bit, but of course, the herbs only have enough oil to go so far. Also, adding the ‘born on’ date to your label is very helpful! These also look very nice, by they way- a wonderful ‘functional decoration’ for your counter, perhaps? In any case, use how you would any other olive oil, but I suggest saving it for when the taste of the olive oil will be appreciated. Bread, salads, just on pasta, and actually, popcorn! are my favorite applications for this stuff. Have fun!

Okay! So, I enjoy learning and practicing massage as a hobby. And being as that I like to make everything myself, I’ve also learned how to make my own moisturizing massage bars. It’s very simple!

What You’ll Need:

1. A nice essential oil, or Tiger Balm. This is up to you! Use what you like.

2. The following ingredients: Cocoa butter, Shea butter, and Beeswax. Get a little more cocoa butter.

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So, I picked up the flag, several years later, and restarted the evilstar forums. I hope that you pass the word, hmm?

http://www.evilstar.net/forum/index.php