How to carve a turkey

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/21/dining/21carv.html?_r=1&emc=eta1

Advice from a 3rd generation butcher in New York about how to get the most meat from your turkey.

NYTimes: Is There Such a Thing as Agro-Imperialism?

I rarely read something that demonstrates society is on the precipice
of a new era, but this article changed my thinking about the future.

Is There Such a Thing as Agro-Imperialism?

Fearing food shortages, investors from wealthy countries are snapping
up land in poor countries to grow food there. Is this development or
exploitation?

http://s.nyt.com/u/C0o

NYTimes.com: For the Volt, How's Life After 40 (Miles)?

This is a pretty positive report on driving the Chevy Volt after it has reached the limit of its range. "I point the Volt toward a hill and wait for the sound and feel of the generator engine...but I completely miss it; the engine's initial engagement is inaudible and seamless... AUTOMOBILES / CAR REVIEWS | November 22, 2009 For the Volt, How's Life After 40 (Miles)? By LINDSAY BROOKE A reporter test-drove a Chevrolet Volt to see how it performed after its electric power supply was depleted.

Google Announces Automatic captions in YouTube

http://techblips.dailyradar.com/story/official-google-blog-automatic-captions-in-youtube/

Electric cars proliferate

Nissan leaf the small photo of the light blue car, 80kW motor, 4 passenger " impressively smooth, quiet and quick" at "$25,000 to $40,000" should compete well with the Chevy Volt the gray one, at "$32,500 after the $7500 federal tax credit."

Tesla red, of course, "0-60 in fewer than 4 seconds and a one-speed gearbox" now has a family sedan coming in 2011 for $50K.

Harbinger, the orange one "Zero to 60 in five seconds, scissor doors, and you'll even get some change back from $100,000"

The Aptera, the white one, a very streamlined design, projected to be $25000 - $40,000.

(And...not a pure electric, but still very cool looking dark blue one:

Fisker Karma "403 hp, 67 mpg, 88000 - $100,000")

For a complete list of electric cars, see "on electric cars..."

Lung flute clears mucus by generating 16 Hz vibrations

http://www.popsci.com/bown/2009/innovator/pied-piper-mucus

Where to get it: $70 in Canada
http://www.1stflash.com/files/Lung-Flute.htm

My favorite iPhone apps as of Nov 2010

Free apps:

Pandora:
Pandora is a music player that takes your favorite songs, and streams continuous music using songs that match similar attributes to your favorites. It's like a radio station that only plays your favorite songs. The more you use it, the better the music selection gets. And it introduces you to new artists you might not otherwise encounter. I've used it for months now - it doesn't introduce me to as much new music as I'd have liked, and about 10% of the songs are way off target, but I still use it a lot. (There's an interesting New York Times article about how much human listening goes into making the site work.)

I think this link should take you to it.
phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=284035177&mt=8

Glympse:
A free app to share your continuously-tracked location with someone for a defined period of time.  It sends a text or email to a recpient(s) you specify, for a duration you specify.  If you keep it running in the background (or lock the screen) it continuously updates on the recipient's screen - easiest (but not essential) if they're running the same app.
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/glympse-location-sharing-made/id330316698?mt=8


Snaptell:
Here's their idea: you're in a store, and you wonder if the online price for the item you're looking at would be cheaper. Take a photo of any item (book, CD, game) with the phone, and it finds online prices of that item from sites like ebay and amazon. What a great use of iphone technology - camera, browser, web. Very cool.
Here's a techcrunch review, and a link to the app in itunes store.

There's now another new app for this purpose called Shopsavvy, for any product with a barcode (not just books and CD's) http://www.biggu.com/apps/shopsavvy-iphone/ and one for 2-D barcodes from AT&T. 

Yelp:
Find reviews (usually by techno-savvy twenty-somethings) of restaurants and services by location. The advantage of reviews by everyone and anyone is that they're unbiased and have personality, the disadvantage is that they're untrained reviewers, so they can be overly negative for a single fault, or immature. I have found I can easily sift through a bunch of reviews and see if a restaurant or service is right for what I want.

You do have to register with the website (free, no junk mail so far).

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=284910350&mt=8

Showtimes:
Uses your current GPS location to tell you what showtimes are available for movies near you.
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=285018181&mt=8

What's on:
Automatically updating TV listings - set your locations and the provider at that location.
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=289190113&mt=8

Where

This app combines what several apps used to do for me - it constantly updates your location, and searches for gas prices, restaurants, weather, events and so on near your location. I've found it very useful when traveling.

http://www.where.com/iphone/

Repairpal: tells you, by make of car, how much local garages are likely to charge you for a given repair, and gives advice on what related repairs might be required. When you need this app, it's very useful and informative.

http://repairpal.com/mobile

REI snow report

The latest update greatly improved this formerly slow app, and includes trail maps of resorts.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/snow-and-ski-report-by-rei/id299120437?mt=8

WSF schedule:

This one tells you what time the next ferry will arrive at any WSF dock. Very handy if you ever take the ferry. Supported by unobtrusive embedded ads.
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=288902938&mt=8

SoundHound:
Hold your iPhone up to a radio, and it will identify the song. Or you can hum a tune into the phone... I tried it in a store playing a nice song over the speakers, and it worked very well.
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=284972998&mt=8

Trapster:
A map showing (user-reported) speed trap locations.  Keep it running in the background, and choose one of several funny voices (redneck, NY taxi driver etc) to alert you to upcoming speed traps, construction zones, and road dangers. It has been refined with a feature that looks for possible alerts only in a narrow cone in front of your direction of travel, so you don't get alerts about a schoolzone near the highway you're on, for instance.

Wikipanion:
Search wikipedia quickly, and have the result already formatted for the iphone screen.
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=288349436&mt=8

Charts and Tides
This 'teaser' app shows nautical charts only for the Seattle area and uses your phone's GPS to locate you on the chart. It's to convince you to buy the full $50 version to have full North American coverage.
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=300499486&mt=8

Units:
convert any imaginable unit into another unit - area, temperature, speed, you-name-it
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=284574017&mt=8

Youversion:
Raed and search the Bible, and add your comments to any verse.
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=282935706&mt=8

Everytrail
Use your iPhone to record a hike or bike ride, link pictures to their location, and figure out how far you went. Can show a live terrain map of your location, and has a nice minimal-battery-use lockout function so it'll record up to (say) four hours of hiking. Afterward, it can send a link with an animation overlaid on a map, showing your speed and route.
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=290954446&mt=8

The Weather Channel
Can show a live Doppler map of precipitation.
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=295646461&mt=8

Epocrates:

Drug compendium - handy reference. It also lists a couple of noteworthy new articles each week, if you want. Have to register (free, and no junk emails so far).

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=281935788&mt=8

Paid applications:

GPSdrive

Finally, turn-by-turn directions that automatically reroute if you go off route. This is almost what my Garmin used to do, and works well. The cost is about $26 a year for all the features, which is a lot cheaper than the map updates I used to have to get every few years for my Garmin. You can play your music collection on your iphone, and it seamlessly interrupts the music to give directions and returns to the music.

http://news.motionx.com/category/motionx-gps-drive/

$5
Seattle Bus Map
One of my favorite applications: shows where Seattle buses are in real time, using the GPS transponder signal from every bus. So you don't have to stand there wondering 'When will that bus ever get here?' Worth the price if you take Seattle buses often. Doesn't yet work for the Seattle-Tacoma express buses, unfortunately.
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=299293359&mt=8

$10
mboxmail
Finally, finally, I can get hotmail on the iphone. I can't tell you how much time I've wasted trying to sign into hotmail only to get odd redirects and answering 'Is this going to be your primary phone' over and over again. Now I have rapid access to fully functional email with swipe to delete, move to folders, and click contact list features that are so handy on the regular iphone email program. However, since the program can't run in the background unless it' open, there's no change in the screen icon when you get new mail. And it has a maximum attachment size of 1MB which hardly bothers me, but seems to have some reviewers on the Apple app store pretty steamed.

$20
iBird
Love this one. Used to do a lot of birdwatching, and here's more than a field guide now conveniently tucked into your iphone. (Lugging that field guide was always a nuisance, but ya gotta have it.) You can identify an unknown bird by answering a series of questions (size, color, location etc) and then have illustrations, photos, recordings of its song and maps of its range at your fingertips. Layout looks great on the screen, and all info is stored on board the iphone so it works where there's no phone signal.

$10
Anchor alarm
OK, I don't have this one yet, but next time I go sailing overnight, I'll get it. Last time I was anchored overnight, I kept waking up at night wondering if the anchor was still holding. Peering out in the darkness, it took my sleepy eyes a few minutes to figure out if we had drifted more than a few feet. Here's an app that sounds an alarm if you drift more than a specified distance from your original anchoring point. Granted, you'd need a power source to keep the iphone GPS up and running all night, but peace of mind is worth it.
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/anchor-alarm/id304892917?mt=8

NYTimes: Building an Online Bulwark to Fend Off Identity Fraud

A list of online security techniques to avoid identity theft:

" 9.9 million Americans were victims of identity theft in 2008"

"But a new breed of products is tackling the trickier matter of preventing identity theft. New approaches include scouring the Internet in search of signs that criminals have your information..."

http://www.lifelock.com/

https://www.trustedid.com/ for example, searches to see "if a person’s Social Security number was found to be associated with a different address"

http://www.cardcops.com/

http://stolenidsearch.com/ $120/yr, a database created by Colin Holder, a 30-year veteran of Scotland Yard, that contains stolen records gathered from longtime, trusted informants.

Safe Central $20/yr which includes "a stripped-down and secure browser to use when banking, trading stocks, viewing health information or shopping online." "In this safe room of sorts, certain Windows features regularly abused by attackers have been disabled."

BASICS: Building an Online Bulwark to Fend Off Identity Fraud

A number of services go beyond reacting to identity thieves and
instead aim to safeguard users' personal information.

http://s.nyt.com/u/C3S

NYTimes: Checking the Right Boxes, but Failing the Patient

Doctors are paying too much attention to things that are quantifiable
(like handwashing and proper charting) and too easily neglecting the
human aspects of care.

CASES: Checking the Right Boxes, but Failing the Patient

As doctors bustle from one well-documented chart to the next, no one
is counting whether they are still paying attention to people.

http://s.nyt.com/u/CWB

NYTimes: Online Maps: Everyman Offers New Directions

When mapmaking is opened up to everyone, the resulting map may be
better than what experts produce (much like wikipedia). It's
unfortunate, but inevitable, that 3 different groups are working on
publicly edited world maps. Here's how to edit google maps: http://maps.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=98014

Online Maps: Everyman Offers New Directions
From Petaluma to Peshawar, volunteer cartographers are logging
details of neighborhoods near and far. http://s.nyt.com/u/CDJ

Modified Algae Produce Clean, Easy Hydrogen | Popular Science

Hydrogen directly from photosynthesis - wow. http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2009-11/process-deriving-hydrogen-algae-paves-way-hydrogen-fueled-future

Frybrid

A Seattle company converts diesel vehicles to waste-vegetable-oil vehicles (they start and run the first few miles on diesel) for about $1400 (DIY kit).

Read all about it (and some interesting comments below the article)

NYTimes.com: City Room: College Ivy Sprouts at a Connecticut Prison

Providing an ivy-league college education to inmates: I understand the dilemma they describe here of providing funds to educate prisoners (versus helping victims of crime or preventing crime in youths.) The latter are worthwhile efforts, but those individuals do have lots of opportunities in life still. The mind-numbing emptiness of prison can easily lead to rage and frustration and planning a return to a life of crime. Recidivism comes from the hopelessness of life after prison, while educating prisoners provides the hope of being able to offer something useful to society. Although the tuition at the college nearby is $51000, the marginal cost of providing this education to inmates is much less than this, and a reasonable philanthropic effort for the university to take on. I applaud them for taking this on. N.Y. / REGION November 16, 2009 City Room: College Ivy Sprouts at a Connecticut Prison By ALISON LEIGH COWAN Inmates' access to higher education was sharply crimped by a 1994 crime bill that made them ineligible for federal grants. But last spring, two Wesleyan University students persuaded the university to embark on a daring experiment that brings an elite college education inside a high-security prison.

NYTimes: Afloat in the Ocean, Expanding Islands of Trash

I've noted this in my blog before - a swirling mass of plastic garbage the size of Canada. What an optimistic idea to turn the plastic into diesel.


"Project Kaisei, based in San Francisco, is trying to devise ways to clean up the [huge ocean swirling plastic garbage] patch by turning plastic into diesel fuel."

Afloat in the Ocean, Expanding Islands of Trash

A garbage patch in the Pacific is one of five that may be caught in giant gyres scattered in the world's oceans.

http://s.nyt.com/u/DVn

100 Things Waiters Should Never Do

An interesting list from a NYT list of things waiters shouldn't do:
3. Never refuse to seat three guests because a fourth has not yet arrived.
7. Do not announce your name. No jokes, no flirting, no cuteness.
8. Do not interrupt a conversation. For any reason. Especially not to recite specials. Wait for the right moment.
11. Do not hustle the lobsters. That is, do not say, “We only have two lobsters left.” Even if there are only two lobsters left.
15. Never say “I don’t know” to any question without following with, “I’ll find out.”
17. Do not take an empty plate from one guest while others are still eating the same course. Wait, wait, wait.
24. Never use the same glass for a second drink.
30. Never let the wine bottle touch the glass into which you are pouring. No one wants to drink the dust or dirt from the bottle.
32. Never touch a customer. No excuses. Do not do it. Do not brush them, move them, wipe them or dust them.
40. Never say, “Good choice,” implying that other choices are bad.
41. Saying, “No problem” is a problem. It has a tone of insincerity or sarcasm. “My pleasure” or “You’re welcome” will do.
42. Do not compliment a guest’s attire or hairdo or makeup. You are insulting someone else.
49. Never mention the tip, unless asked.
52. Know your menu inside and out. If you serve Balsam Farm candy-striped beets, know something about Balsam Farm and candy-striped beets.
56. Do not ignore a table because it is not your table. Stop, look, listen, lend a hand. (Whether tips are pooled or not.)
57. Bring the pepper mill with the appetizer. Do not make people wait or beg for a condiment.
60. Bring all the appetizers at the same time, or do not bring the appetizers. Same with entrees and desserts.
61. Do not stand behind someone who is ordering. Make eye contact. Thank him or her.
64. Specials, spoken and printed, should always have prices.
66. Do not return to the guest anything that falls on the floor — be it napkin, spoon, menu or soy sauce.
75. Do not ask if someone is finished when others are still eating that course.
78. Do not ask, “Are you still working on that?” Dining is not work — until questions like this are asked.
85. Never bring a check until someone asks for it. Then give it to the person who asked for it.
86. If a few people signal for the check, find a neutral place on the table to leave it.
87. Do not stop your excellent service after the check is presented or paid.
88. Do not ask if a guest needs change. Just bring the change.
91. If someone complains about the music, do something about it, without upsetting the ambiance. (The music is not for the staff — it’s for the customers.)
99. Do not show frustration. Your only mission is to serve. Be patient. It is not easy.


http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/29/one-hundred-things-restaurant-staffers-should-never-do-part-one/
http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/05/one-hundred-things-restaurant-staffers-should-never-do-part-2/?em