Some magic

Please click on me.

How are you going to use your MP3 player?

I was going to give mine to my mother, as I have an iPod Shuffle that I use for listening to music. All the songs I listen to are songs I have on CD stored on iTunes. I don't use it for podcasts yet, although I think if I were to ever get a bigger iPod model that has a screen and more space, I'd love to download podcasts from places like NPR and some other websites.

If my mother decides she doesn't want the mp3 player, as she's not very techy (she crashed our computer somehow playing a mah jong program--I don't know how), maybe I can use it for news podcasts.

-doreen

Online Music and DRM

I took a look at Liveplasma and plugged in the band name "Blonde Redhead." I don't think it has an entry for Blonde Redhead, however, as I was redirected to the mapping of a band called Screaming Headless Torsos (who?!). My search for the artist RJD2 proved much more fruitful, with little multicoloured planet bubbles bearing the names of some of my more favourite artists like DJ Shadow, Company Flow, El-P, Prefuse 73, Aesop Rock ("Daylight" being one of the best songs ever--but not worksafe!) and more. I was also able to have a little circle-map for the Velvet Underground, which yielded names like the Ramones, Iggy and the Stooges, Television, The Clash, New York Dolls and Elliot Smith. The correlations seem to go well together, and this is a good, quick way to discover new artists (assuming it accepts the artist you plug in).

Music-Map did have Blonde Redhead, lookie. Although I've seen and heard of Last.fm, I don't have an account yet, but I think I may get one very soon. I like the concept of the site, and many of my friends are music fans, and we're always trying to get each other turned on to different music. I'd also recommend Pandora as another means of finding new artists one might like.

However, it's websites like Pandora that are losing out to the new DRM laws that seek to retroactively charge online radio stations for the music they play. Listen to this article from NPR: Music Sites Fight Higher Royalty Fees.

With DRM restrictions and other means of preventing listeners to hear music they want to listen to, I think these music companies are shooting themselves in the foot. I find out about most of my new music online, and I can easily rattle off musicians whose CDs I've purchased after listening to their music online through websites like Pandora, Tigersushi or NPR's Song of the Day: Bon Savants, Sol Seppy, Chad VanGaalen, Blonde Redhead, The Twilight Sad, Beirut, Silver Apples. Artists like the New Young Pony Club, East River Pipe and Hot Chip would be unknown to me without online radio and other online means.

And artists recognise this. This is why so many artists have MySpace and Humblevoice pages to showcase their music online to those who might want to hear, and buy, their work.

Many people point to the record labels as the walls preventing artists from getting their music out to people. EMI's change of pace from the rest of the big labels is refreshing, as well as Apple's iTunes making music available to be DRM-free. Although I do tend to agree with the peanut gallery with the grumble about the higher cost for something that just ought to be anyway, but in the end, it's 30 cents extra for not supporting the DRM ethos. Whether you feel it's worth it or not is up to you.

I actually don't buy music from iTunes, since I normally just buy the CD if I like the artist or band and I've heard at least one or two songs I like (a reckless gamble, I know) and the reviews from my favourite magazines are favourable (BUST and VenusZine being two of a few). In the end, though, DRM and strict policies against music sharing will hurt artists, their fans and their potential listeners by cutting off a means of promoting themselves online.

Week 8's "PS"

My groupmate, Rita, made a Flickr account that you can see from our humble environs of Special Services. See it here. We're using her Flickr account to represent that of our department.

Playing catch-up

Since I was away, I'm going to play catch-up for the OCLS Learn 2.0 lessons with this posting.

With regards to Week #7, I checked out Chug'd and, although I'm quite the beer fan, it didn't look like there was a lot going on with this website. The beer bottles next to the listings aren't the actual brand's bottle, but just a generic icon. And any beer website that fails to mention my favourite brew, Hitachino Nest White Ale, is bound to get a thumbs-down from me. It appears that Chug'd has a long way to go before it could be a useful resource and tool for anyone possessing beer knowledge that goes beyond party keg swill.

When it comes to actually connecting with other beer drinkers, why not have a good cause behind it? Beer Church is a group that gathers people together for good beers and good causes. Our local Orlando chapter meets monthly at Redlight Redlight out in Winter Park, and I recommend the experience. The website itself is also full of information about beer and beer news, like this article on the Top 30 Beer Brand Performers. Newcastle is #1!

I was familar with Catster and Dogster; my old cat (who's now with the ex) has a Catster site, though it hasn't been updated for ages, nor will it be any time soon. You can see it here.

As far as the "Adventure Challege" goes, I believe I've already mentioned Open Source Food, which I've been using for my baking hobby. So far, I have six recipes, though my goal is to be a pro-user by having ten three-star-rated recipes. You can see my profile and recipes here.

As far as Week #8 goes, I don't know how I can catch up with regards to the photos that my department has done. I actually have a Flickr account, which you can find the link for in the sidebar of this blog. In any case, I guess I'll have to talk to my manager, Jim, with regards to catching up to this one. With Creative Commons licensing, I've been familiar with that as well through my experience with Flickr, as well as when I wrote my little Wikipedia article (which has no doubt been rewritten and/or edited since), and with Open Source Food.

Here is a photo I took in Mexico City this past January. If you click on it, it will take you to my Flickr account.



-doreen

Gone for now

I'm going to the Philippines tomorrow, so all blogging and baking will be suspended on this site until further notice.

Book nerds, unite!

This week on our Learn 2.0 adventure, we travelled the internet seas to see the various library and book applications available. I already have a Library Thing account, but I don't use it too often. However, Shelfari seems better designed, so I'm torn.

Some of the applications we were asked to explore seemed like too much micromanaging. In other words, it seemed like a lot of work to catalogue everything on Guru Library. Wouldn't you rather just read more books rather than spend time cataloguing everything? I guess it would be handy if, say, you have uberrare copies of books or DVDs, or if you just really, really, really like to keep track of every possible thing you own.

But I don't have time for it. I'm too busy getting new stuff, trading in old stuff and generally using my stuff to keep track of everything.

Something interesting and book-related that wasn't mentioned on this list from OCLS Learn 2.0: Book Crossings. This website is part book-giving, part scavanger hunt where people log in books they own that they want to pass on, then leave them somewhere, then say where they left it online for others to go find it. Care to do a bit of hunting in Orlando?

In other news, I'm up to six recipes on my Open Source Food account, including the super-duper tasty treat, Glazed Orange Spice Cake. It's good like nobody's business.

Welcome, new obsession

Now that I've graduated (although I'm still waiting to receive my degree, ahem), I have a bit more time to putter around and get into things that I originally couldn't do. I was pretty distracted from my schoolwork at times because, by golly, I just had to make a batch of banana muffins or a gang of cookies.

Now, I can be distracted all I want, and there's a website out there that's encouraging my baking predilection: Open Source Food. It's a website where you can upload photos and recipes of your favourite tried-and-true masterpieces and tummy-fillers, browse other recipes from other members, create menus and rate recipes. Not only is it super-functional and fun, but it meets Hao's approval for site design. And that's saying a lot.

I have three recipes up, and be on the lookout for more. I made what I've now called my "Bachelorette Pasta Bake" last night for dinner, and wouldn't let anyone touch it until I had some photos on a borrowed digicam. I can see it now:

Someone: "Can we eat it yet?"
Me: "No, not yet. I have to get a picture for the website."
*click*
Someone: "Okay, now can we eat?"
Me: "Wait, I need better lighting. Maybe I should put a scoop of ice cream next to it."

It would be funny if this scenario hadn't already played itself out. Twice.

My username is my first name: doreen. You'll see the little recipe image slideshow on this blog as well. If that doesn't tempt you, what will?

Web 2.0: Menschenseele in Maschine

Earlier today, my fellow group members and I did this week's OCLS Learn 2.0 together. Fanya, Rita and I watched the Web 2.0 video, and I couldn't help noting the websites that were briefly featured, as they were websites dealing with anthropology. I've just completed my studies for a Bachelor's in Anthropology at Rollins College, so I was curious about the concept of a "digital ethnography" of YouTube, and fascinated with the possibilities of how humanity is creating a new international culture that is internet-based.

Culture 2.0, if you will.

I could continue to muse, theorise and get all po-mo, but instead, I'll talk about the presence of OCLS on MySpace and YouTube. I had known that the Library has been putting up videos and using a MySpace profile, but I hadn't gone online to see the work that's been done to reach out to the online community. I'm pretty impressed, especially at the 171 MySpace friends the Library has. Our group read some of the comments, and it's really intriguing to see the very positive comments the Library's gotten on MySpace from teens.

The other part of the exercise entailed going on to SEOmoz's website and exploring a few websites that gained their Web 2.0 awards. I was already familiar with Pandora, and it truly deserves accolades and more. It's a great way to find out about new music you might like, but not think to look for. We also looked at the website for PEERtrainer, which is a nice way to find like-minded individuals who are trying to live healthier lives, like the one who started the group 20 somethings who need to put down the martini and pick up the weights. Although I personally am normally at the other end of the spectrum, being a purveyor of baked goods, I think a website like this would really help those who need a little bit of motivation to be more active and to eat better. Our group also took a gander at Farecast.com, which is going to definitely get used when I take a trip this year to Seattle. It's another way to find cheap airfare online for domestic flights. They predict the fares and allow you to book online, and they provide refunds if the fares they predict are over the ticket price. The website also tells you when you should wait to buy tickets, and when you should buy now. Here's an example of low airfares coming out of Orlando just to give you an idea.

I also wanted to mention a website that was on the list of SEOmoz's: Etsy. I shop online through Etsy all the time, and I love the idea of supporting crafters and artists who work from home or a small studio, making unique clothes and items that really stand out. Some of my favourite Etsy shops include RunzwithScissors, the little stitch, Katrina Kaye, Kitty Empire, AhPeele and Run Amok. The shops are located all over; recently I ordered a few gifts on Etsy from an online shop all the way in Shanghai.

Okay, I got this through my feed from Fark.com from their "sappy" section: Students raise money for beloved elderly janitor's dream. I confess to getting a little misty after reading this story.

-doreen

Wednesday's cookies

So I made cookies last night, which are the ones pictured here, from a recipe gotten from my RSS feed from All Recipies. The recipe was derived from one called Jumbo Raisin Spice Cookies, but the version I made were vegan and omitted the salted peanuts, using instead dried apples and cranberries from an organic fruit snack mix bought in the Greenwise section of Publix. As the empty plastic container next to me proves, these cookies met with the approval of at least some members of the Special Services department, namely one in particular who asked me for my version of the recipe. Since I was experimenting last night, this recipe might not be accurate, but I'll post it anyway, just in case someone else feels line fooling around in the kitchen.

Vegan Fruit & Spice Cookies
makes 24 cookies, more or less

Ingredients
3 cups oat flour or unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup unsalted vegan butter (or use regular unsalted butter if recipe doesn't need to be vegan)
1 3/4 cups white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup sweetened applesauce
1 1/2 cups raisins
1 package of dried cranberries & apples (I used Good Sense's brand)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.
2. In a large bowl, beat butter until soft. Mix in the vanilla and sugar. Add the applesauce and mix well. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger cinnamon and nutmeg. Gradually stir into the butter mixture. Stir in raisins, dried apples and cranberries. Take tablespoon-sized pieces of dough and drop them onto the cookie sheets, pushing the dough to make a round or semi-round shape.
3. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Let cool on wire racks.

Again, this recipe is still in beta mode, so I will still be working on it to make it even better. I'll release a 2.0 version if I decide to modify this any.

-doreen

cooking with bling

I was listening to NPR online, and apparently a couple of people have released a new cookbook called Joy of Liberace: Retro Recipes from America's Kitschiest Kitchen. It's a collection of recipes the King of the Candelabra had himself, and one of them, the "Angel Bling Cake Pie," is featured on the NPR website, and here it is in my little work bloggie, too:

Recipe: Angel Bling Cake Pie

2 egg whites
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
3/4 cup chopped nuts
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 275 degrees (F). Beat the egg whites with salt until almost stiff. Beat in the sugar, a tablespoon at a time. Add cream of tartar and nuts. Spoon into a greased nine-inch pie plate and bake about an hour. Cool. Whip the cream, add vanilla, and spread over the pie. Chill.

Serves six people

I'm curious to see what other recipes are included, as the photo for this bling cake pie looks impressive, and the ingredients seem rather simple.

Learn 2.0 lesson for week 3

On Grokker, I searched for "apple muffins" and came up with all sorts of results: wheat apple muffins, bran muffins, apple cinnamon, et al. Here's a recipe for Cranberry Apple Muffins that was gotten from my searching.

Grokker was helpful, yet I think I preferred the outline view in comparison to the map view. I don't know if that is indicative of my learning style (2.0) or not. I vaguely remember being labelled a "visual learner" when I was in middle school after a test the whole class took, though I don't know if this sort of thing stays solid throughout one's years.

Bloglines is a new website for me, and I like the idea behind RSS feeds, so I still need to play around with the site a bit more. I was able to organize the feeds I have into categories by following the "Edit" link above the list of blogs I'm subscribed to, then opting to make a few new folders to keep my subscriptions in line. This way, if I'm looking for new stuff in one topic in particular, I don't have to scroll through a gang of feeds to find the ones I want.

These are the RSS feeds on Bloglines I've subscribed to: Slashdot, NPR topics: Books, NPR topics: Business, Orange Slices, BBC News - Front Page - World and Allrecipes Baking. Here's a recipe for Frosted Ginger Sandwich Cookies from Allrecipes Baking. It looks simple enough; I need a cookie cutter, though.

-doreen

Cinnamon-Spiced Vegan Banana-Blueberry Cake

Cinnamon-Spiced Vegan Banana-Blueberry Cake
Inspired by Abigail Johnson Dodge's recipe in The Weekend Baker

Makes a 9-inch or 8-inch cake, depending on your pan, or about 8 servings

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, or more if you like
1/4 teaspoon table salt
6 tablespoons of vegan butter, at room temperature (I use the Earth Balance brand)
1 cup granulated sugar2 medium bananas
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 or 1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
2/3 cup vegan sour cream (I think Tofutti makes a version)

For the topping:
3/4 or 1 cup blueberries, rinsed and drained well
3 tablespoons granulated sugar1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, or more if you like

1. Place an oven rack on the middle rung, then heat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease and flour the bottom and sides of a 9-by-2-inch round cake pan. If you don't have a 9-inch pan, an 8-inch will work okay, but make sure that the sides are at least 2 inches tall. Tap out any excess flour.

2. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Whisk until blended well. In a small bowl, mash the bananas together with a fork until it resembles baby food. In a large bowl, combine the vegan butter and sugar. Beat with an electric mixer (with paddle attachment for stand mixers) on medium speed, or with a fork and some gumption if, like me, you don't have an electric mixer. Add half of the banana mush to the butter-sugar blend and beat until just blended, then add the vanilla and the remaining banana together. Using a rubber spatula, fold the dry ingredients into the butter mixture in three batches alternating with the sour cream, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Scrape the batter into the greased-and-floured pan and spread evenly. Bake for 10 minutes.

3. Once you put the cake in the oven, make the topping. In a small bowl, combine the blueberries, sugar, cinnamon and flour. Mix with a fork, lightly crushing the blueberries.

4. After the cake has baked for 10 minutes, sprinkle the topping evenly over the top of the cake. Continue baking until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, about 30 minutes longer. The sides will brown a little.

5. Transfer the cake to a rack to cool for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the inside edge of the pan to loosen the cake. Using a thick, dry dish towel to protect your hands,, invert a large, flat plate on top of the cake pan and, holding both the pan and plate, invert them together. Lift the pan off, then invert a flat serving plate on the bottom of the cake and invert the cake once more so the blueberries are on top. Serve warm or at room temperature.

You can cover the cooled cake in plastic wrap and store at room temperature for up to 5 days.

graven words

-deleted-