AntSaint

Making cannable fruit butters in the oven

Jodie and I have begun dabbling in some home canning. Our first experiment, a roasted tomatillo salsa, has turned out lovely, and at the very least has not killed us yet. Now we're looking at other recipes, especially for next year, and these fruit butters, which you prepare in the oven before jarring and processing in a usual boiling water canner, really got my attention:

Link: Fall fruit butters preserve the season : The Register-Guard, Eugene, Ore..

if you’ve still got enough oomph to preserve, I’m all for it. Consider my classic fruit and pumpkin butters. There’s no butter in these butters, of course. But there is plenty of fruit (or pumpkin!), and a whole lot of flavor. So with a new crop of Northwest apples, pears and pumpkins, consider putting up a few batches of this old-fashioned treat as well

Don't call me, mail me or send me credit card offers

Don't want telemarketing calls? Sick of 10 credit card offers showing up in the mail every day? Don't want to receive anymore catalogs you didn't want in the first place? Here are the silver bullets for getting yourself removed from all these:

• National Do Not Call Registry * good for 5 years
• National Do Not Mail List FAQ - Directmail.com
• Catalog Choice - Eliminate unwanted catalogs you receive in the mail
• Stop Receiving Credit Card Offers and OptOutPrescreen.com
• How To Get Off A Mailing List - Consumer Assistance

Thanksgiving blogging holiday, Nov. 21-25

May my hands touch only food (and a glass of good grog), and not a keyboard, for the new few days. The blog and I are taking a Thanksgiving break to stuff ourselves silly. To all celebrating it, have a Happy Thanksgiving. Posts resume Nov. 26

Do you write "beautiful" HTML?

I know - who thinks of HTML, good ol' webpage source code, as "beautiful'? Chris Coyier does, and I agree. Good code, crafted well, tends to mean a well-organized, well-presented, fast, easy-to-use site. Here's what makes better, more user-friendly, and even beautiful HTML:

Link: What Beautiful HTML Code Looks�Like - CSS-Tricks.

what makes beautiful code? In HTML, it really comes down to craftsmanship. It’s all those little things added up that make the whole. Here is a list of just some of the little things that I look for in other’s code and that I try to do myself that make for good craftsmanship in HTML

Green Store offers line of ‘alternatives’: The Register-Guard, Eugene, Ore.

Jodie and I had dinner at The Beanery on 5th Street last night, and were talking about this new space. Through the windows we could see some of the Green Store's wares, such as flooring, but this R-G article has us quite interested in seeing what DIYness the Green Store can fulfill for us:

Link: Green Store offers line of ‘alternatives’: The Register-Guard, Eugene, Ore..

the Green Store carries a variety of solar energy equipment, wind generators and other environmentally friendly products, including air and water filters, personal and household cleaning products, and natural-fabric clothes

What is the best recording of Orff's Carmina Burana?

The Eugene Symphony rocked the Hult Center last night with a stellar performance of Orff's Carmina Burana. There's nothing like a good intense chorus, sung in Latin in German, that sounds all transcendent and high-minded, but really it's about drinking, getting some booty and how crappy life can be. The roast swan is a nice touch too. Now I'm obsessed with getting Carmina Burana on CD.

But what is the best recording of Orff's carmina burana? Here are some contenders I've encountered on my surfing search:

• Eugene Ormandy, Philadelphia Orchestra
• Vaclav Smetacek conducting the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra and the Czech Singers Choir
• Stokowski/EMI
• Amazon.com: Orff: Carmina Burana / McNair, Aler, Hagegard; Slatkin: Music: Carl Orff,Leonard Slatkin,Sylvia McNair,John Aler,Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra & Chorus,Hakan Hagegard
• Amazon.com: Orff: Carmina Burana: Music: Jonathan Summers,Carl Orff,Riccardo Muti,Arleen Augér,John van Kesteren

These all sound like mighty contenders, though based off the reviews, the Carmina Burana / McNair, Aler, Hagegard on Amazon intrigues me most. Jodie, are you making notes for my Christmas list?

Carmina Burana & Beethoven's Sixth Symphony tonight at Hult Center, Eugene

The Eugene Symphony performs Beethoven's Sixth Symphony, the Pastorale, and Orff's Carmina Burana. Tickets still available, show's at 8 p.m. in the Silva Concert Hall at the Hult Center for the Performing Arts.

Extend the life of razor blades

Just bought a new pack of razor blades for my Mach 3, and I've always been on the hunt for ways to make the expensive buggers last longer while still cutting cleanly. Here is a treasure trove of tips to make razor blades last longer. With rinsing and blotting dry the blade after each use — and having a goatee, so only cheeks and underside of my face to shave — my Mach 3 blades last about a month, but I'd like to see if I can get some more out of that $15 for a pack of 8:

Link: How To: Extend the Life of Your Razor Blades.

Extending life of razor blades leaves users dry -- chicagotribune.com

Ogling Ural motorcycles in Salem - A trip to Raceway Services

Quick post, then I'm back to nursing an annoying cold...

Rolled up to Salem, OR, this past weekend to meet Jim Petitti, the main man behind Raceway Services. Raceway specializes in sales and service for the non-Harley, non-Japanese bike crowd. Looking for a Whizzer motorbike or Cushman? Want to go British and snag up a Royal Enfield? Or want to be really different and throw a leg over a Ural sidecar motorcycle? Then you're at the right place.

Jim and I talked for about an hour and a half. Note "talked". Not, "Jim tried to sell me" or "Jim talked a lot of smack". No pressure, no oiliness sales talk, no B.S. We talked Urals and the motorcycle business, and I'm happy that I'll be buying my bike from him.

Did I leave with a Ural? Couldn't have. Jim says it's been about two and a half years since he'd had Urals on the floor that you could buy and leave with. Every order he's had, has been for a customer. In fact, the 2007 Gear-up I sat on was shipping out Monday for a delivery to Hawaii.

But I will be ordering mine by the end of the month.

Update, May 2008: I have my Ural! I took delivery of my forest green 2007 Ural Patrol on Feb. 16, 2008. It has been a blast. For trip stories, photos and the day-to-day of being a Ural motorcycle owner, see my Ural blog, Ride Three.com....

Lifehacker test drives Firefox 3.0 beta

Lifehacker's got a great breakdown, with screenshots, of the latest beta release of Firefox 3.0. Some good innovations in here, namely the "Stars" to help you identify and manage bookmarks, and a rich interface to manage feeds and file types. No mention yet on whether Mozilla has roped in Firefox's tendency to be a memory hog, but we shall see:

Link: Screenshot Tour: First Look at Firefox 3.0.