I’m willing to bet she’d pass on you too.

While looking at the sidelinehotties website for the DVR macro blog entry, I came across this exchange of comments, which has to be the final word for nearly every guy who critiques the appearance of women in media.

Comment: Really, this is the best Mexico has? Her face is dog fence, she has fake boobs (probably more) and she is way over the hill. Pass.

Response: Ok, so she’s not the hottest, I agree. But I’m willing to bet she’d pass on you too.

Skip the TV sports filler with DVR macros

WSJ

In my recent visit to see my family, my dad mentioned a WSJ analysis of US televised football showing that only 6% of the telecast is actual football plays. The details are here.

I'm waiting for macros for DVRs that you can use to see a subset of a recording. For a football game, a fan might note down the times during which the game is played, and write a macro that directs a dvr to show only those portions of the game. Another fan might have something similar, plus selected replays. And someone with an attachment to the sideline reporter of the day might post their macro to the sidelinehotties (not even kidding) website.

Once the broadcasters figure out a way to make it profitable, hopefully they would tag the different content, in which case you could use a general "show plays only" macro. As my sister noted, you'd also want to be able to pause the macro and, for example, listen to the commentators' analysis of a referee call.

Los Balcones Del Peru

photo by Barbara Hansen for the LA Weekly

I went to Los Balcones Del Peru for the first time last night. Apparently it was remodeled in August; all I can say is that it's lovely. It's a large open space with simple aestetics. We sat in a corner booth, which was too big for four. We actually had trouble hearing each other, and mostly talked in twos. The restaurant itself didn't seem that loud though.

The food was wonderful. The sauces in particular were wonderfully flavored without being particularly hot. I didn't take close notes while I was there, so I've augmented my memory with the descriptions from this LA Weekly article. For appetizers, we had the tiradito (a sea bass carpaccio with a delicious sauce, reportedly made from the Peruvian yellow chile (ají amarillo)) and a quinoa salad with asparagus, a maracuya (passion fruit) vinaigrette and a poached egg. I love quinoa but find it dry; they were generous with the sauce, and it was great.

For entrees, I had the shrimp chowder. The LA Weekly article reports "Chupe de camarones (shrimp chowder) is red with panca chile and gets substance from rice, choclo (giant Peruvian corn) and a poached egg. This dish is from Arequipa in the south." I didn't see and egg, but the corn was delicious. I mostly forewent the rice. We all tasted nearly everything on the table. The seafood chowder was widely endorsed.

Michelada

Photo by "Tatters:)"

Yum. Michelada is a Mexican beer cocktail. I've only had it in bars, so I can't vouch for the ingredients of the ones I had. Here's the recipe I'll try when I make this at home:

Mango Michelada
1 drink

1/2 cup mango, peeled, pitted and pureed*
2 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
1 (12-ounce) chilled Mexican beer
1 lime
Coarse salt
Fresh mango for garnish
Hot sauce (optional)

Combine mango puree, lime juice and beer. Rub a lime wedge around the rim of a tall glass and then press the rim into coarse salt, coating the rim. Fill glass 2/3 full with ice and then add mango mixture. Add in a few drops of hot sauce if desired.

*1 mango yields approximately 1/2 cup mango puree

Serenity gate

I think this makes me an official fan-girl. But I've been one at heart for a long while.

Our neighbor's dog crashed through the baby gate we were using to keep the dogs from leaving the porch. I wanted a cheap replacement, so I spent $10 on some pre-cut plywood and a couple pieces of hardwood trim to serve as a handle and keep the plywood from bowing too much. And I couldn't just let a canvas like that stay blank. I had some glossy black outdoor paint and silver spray paint on hand, so I made a stencil. Here's the gate under construction:



And here's the gate in place. There may be a sliding mechanism coming, but don't hold your breath.

iphone cases made by 3D printing

I came across a few lovely iPhone case designs today on the Shapeways website. Shapeways is a company that will 3D print a design you upload to them and, optionally, sell the product.

Los Angeles Opera's 'Rigoletto'

I got to be a last minute sub for some very nice tickets to Rigoletto at the LA Opera tonight. M and I had a great time. I was transported, absorbed.

Sarah Coburn was impressive as Gilda. I was floored by her control. But my favorite aspect of the production was the lighting and set design. Although it appears that the set was designed in 1997 for the production, then in San Francisco, I had never seem them before, and I loved them. The lighting was fantastic, and they had some nice effects that required precise positioning of actors, which was executed without apparent awkwardness. The simulated water-reflection effects were also nice.

photo from www.losangelesopera.com

Involuntary corporate transparency

A great term for wikileaks' upcoming release of internal corporate documents.

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