Greetings!

Welcome to Flora's occasional blog.  Most of my journal is friends-only.  The public portion is mostly a way to share recipes (or cooking misadventures), along with "ooh, shiny, must share!" (mostly SCA) stuff. 

I have special friends filters set up for SCA, Techies, Women, Masons and Eastern Stars, and Local (living in the greater Washington-Baltimore metro region).  Let me know if you want added to any of those. 

As always, please feel free to drop me a note here.  All comments on this entry are screened.

Cheers,
~Flora

One in a series of Fulbright Orientation notes. Not all these are public yet. It's mainly for my reference when we're in India.

These are my notes from this morning's talk. I'm making this entry public since others might be interested. I will try to hide this behind a cut, but it's cross-posting from DreamWidth so I apologize to LJ friends if the cut doesn't work.

My notes from 26 June 2009 Fulbright Orientation speaker on Safety and Security - Michael O'Neill, former director of safety for Peace Corps, now at Save the Children.

( Read more... )
Lots of interesting, practical advice for those going abroad.

Email systems don't handle non-ASCII characters well.  Even web-based XML parsers have problems with > greater-than and < less-than signs.

Today's sophisticated email programs often function as word processors. They can automatically change straight "double quotes" into different beginning/ending double quotes; Microsoft Word is notorious for this. Word also non-helpfully transforms 1/2 and 1/4 (one-half and one-fourth) to single characters. This is a big problem in trading recipes over email.

Many non-serif fonts still don't display l (lower-case letter L) and 1 (number one) and I (upper-case letter i) in a format easily distinguishable to a human eye .

This problem is not necessarily new.  For instance, Washington DC doesn't have a J street because, in the early maps for the city plan, the letters I and J looked nearly identical and the founders thought it would be confusing for people. (source: a National Parks expert on the DC city layout, at a talk I attended last year.)

The SCA College of Heralds have worked out a standard for writing foreign and special characters in email that accommodates names for a lot of Roman-based alphabetic characters.  It's worth looking at for anyone who needs to share non-standard character information.

Anyone have other references they have found helpful?

My company is still hiring!  We have several open positions. Comments are screened.

• Quality Control Analyst (1), Arlington VA
• Requirements Analyst (3), Arlington VA
• Jr. ASP .Net Developer (2), Arlington VA & Fairfax VA
• Mid-level ASP .Net Developer (2), Arlington VA & Fairfax VA
• Sr. ASP .Net Developer (2), Arlington VA & Fairfax

Details under the cuts.  You can send me a message through LJ or leave a comment here with your name/email. All comments are screened.

EDIT: Yes, you can pass this information to your friends who are looking for work. This is a public post.  They can also comment on this post anonymously (comments are screened unless the commenter specifically tells me it's OK to unhide).

EDIT: We're not really a Microsoft-only shop, it's that the current developer openings are for a certain client's particular needs. If you're good, apply anyway. 

( Quality Control Analyst )
( Requirements Analyst )

( Junior ASP .NET Developer )
( Mid-level ASP .NET Developer )
( Senior ASP/.Net Developer and Architect )

(public post - comments screened)

Yet another job opening!  My company is hiring an "Internet Technology Analyst." Basically, a "Web 2.0" social-networking expert. No clearance required, just a normal background check.

Details are posted on my boss's journal.

(public post - comments screened)
My company is still hiring!  Right now, we're looking for 3 Requirements Engineers in Crystal City, Virginia. (Metro-accessible; near the Pentagon and Washington, DC.)  This is to help staff a contract by April 1.  If you or any of your friends are looking for work as requirements analysts, you can reply to this message, send me an email, or send a message through LJ.  Comments are screened.  Note, this job is not on our website yet, but our HR manager gave me permission to post this.  She's in the middle of interviews for other positions - did I mention my company is hiring like mad?

Brief description:

Provide system and system-of-systems requirements engineering for determining data interface, functional and operational needs for a Joint Services information processing application.

Interact with weapons platforms subject matter experts, program technical directors and system vendors to determine operational system needs, data and workflow requirements, CONOPs and use case diagrams.  Work with application architects, designers and test suite developers to ensure requirements are thoroughly documented and understood.

Support System Requirements Review (SRR) and System Functional Review (SFR) processes.

Qualifications:

• Secret clearance
• Experience with DOORS and Enterprise Architect
• Experience with requirements traceability through development, testing and defect tracking

Additional / Desired skills:

• DoDAF knowledge (United States Department of Defense - Air Force)
• Rhapsody knowledge
• Prior experience with tactical radar systems

The "Vegetarian 100" meme - how many of these vegetarian foods have I eaten?

This list was created by Barbara Fisher of Tigers and Strawberries:
http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/2008/09/04/the-vegetarian-hundred/

If you want to play along, here’s how you do it: copy the list, including my instructions, and bold any items you have eaten and strike out any you would never eat, and then post it to your blog. If you want, you can leave a comment here, linking to your results, or you can link back to this post so I can try and keep tabs on what folks have eaten and not eaten. Finally, if you think something else should be on the list–feel free to add that to your post, and add any comments you like to your own posting of the list. I am just as curious to see what people have to say about food as whether or not they have eaten them.

I'm altering the rules slightly, striking out only things I have tried and do not want to eat again.  I'm also italicizing dishes that I have cooked myself or used in a recipe. 

The Vegetarian Hundred
( 100 vegetarian foods everyone should try )
Not bad - I've eaten all but 12 and cooked (or cooked with) over half.

Report from Tournament of Chivalry, Storvik, April 19 2008.

I arrived in the afternoon, apparently just shortly after the kitchen had opened.  Tirzah and orlacarey put me to work chopping apples and I did that for maybe an hour?  I replaced a sweet lady whose name I forget eridun who had cut her finger.  Tirzah had improvised a "finger condom" for her, a latex glove to go over her gauze-wrapped wound, but it was still threatening.  So Dierdre O'Bardon and her lord came over to join me in finely chopping apples.  After they were all chopped I just set a timer (a very practical thank-you gift for helping) and monitored the apples and waited, and waited...  The apples roasted in the oven for half hour per batch until they softened at all, and even then they couldn't be mashed - they had to be pureed a bit in a food processor.  The roasting really brought out the flavor though.  Hot, freshly-roasted Granny Smith apple chunks are delicious!  Saw a bunch of other folks too, including spikywheel who delivered her homemade onion pies, freshly baked off-site.  Vitha was doing pretty much everything; cooking, plating, even helping with cleanup long after feast was over... she just didn't sit still!

There was enough help in the kitchen at that point, so I ducked out and joined the musicians for the (very small) court on the field.  Seriously, there were maybe only a half-dozen people in the audience, plus about that many musicians; rather disappointing for a "major" fighting event.  I'm not sure why.  The Baron & Baroness processed in with a beautiful, loud bugle call so you'd think people would have heard it. Anyway,luscious_purple heralded the court, and telerib and other musicians provided lovely background music; I just banged on my tamborine, the only instrument I had with me.  I especially liked the sly "Imperial March" (Darth Vader theme) the harps slipped in as the autocrat's husband was called into court.  There are times for formality and pageantry in the SCA, but for this informal field court it was nice to have a little fun.  Also recognized were hardworking folks Ascelina le Dragon (baronial courtesy award?) and someone from House Wulfshaven who was inducted into the order of the Golden Dolphin (James Griffin (I recognized him but I'm blanking on the name?).  Finally they called on luscious_purple herself and recognized her with the Lozulet (Storvik baronial service award).

Graciela (Grace?) was the hall steward and supervised the servers.  It was good to have a capable, designated authority.  Per her request, we servers put questions to Grace to ask Orla to answer or relay to Tirzah and then all the way back again.  That was a good tactic to minimize hassling the kitchen staff.   Grace and Orla also serenaded us with the "servers song," which I understand Grace had learned less than a half-hour before.   We actually had sufficient servers for once, so that was nice.

Unfortunately we ended up having a relatively lot of empty seats at feast, the first time I've seen that happen for one of Tirzah's feasts.  The servings were all for tables of 8, and many of the tables had far fewer feasters.  So the carefully planned portion control didn't apply to many of the diners, and later dishes like the lamb and asparagus weren't eaten much mainly because people were too full.  Also, the feast itself started a little late.  This was amazingly not because the site opened the kitchen hours late.  Tirzah and Orla and their crew had caught up!  No, some of the fighters wanted to shower.  People-wrangling is tough sometimes.

Everybody who was there really liked the food.  Towards the end, they applauded the kitchen and Tirzah/Orla in particular.  Unfortunately the kitchen staff were busy plating the last course at the time and I don't think they heard it.

Comments from the feasters:

"Is there any more gnocchi? Pleeease?"  (I say I don't know, I will ask.)  "No, that's OK, I'll go get some... hang on..."  At that point, the lady got up, ran to the kitchen with a bowl and returned with a bowl of gnocchi. That *second* batch of gnocchi was inhaled. It lasted maybe 5 minutes or however long it was to serve it.

"...And the way the applesauce went with the pork.  That was perfect!"

Me: "My lord, are you done with the beef soup?"
Fighter: "Noooo. You're not taking my meat away from me." 

Me: "This is sushi-grade tuna in a ginger-saffron sauce...."
Fighter, eyes lighting up: "You brought me more meat!"

Same Fighter, for the fennel salad: "There's no meat in this!" 
Me: "Try it!"
(Later: the bowl was half gone.  That table had only four people. Hmm...)

Feaster: "The asparagus in cream sauce was very good. I just don't have any room!"
Me: "But I hope you'll have room for the pistachio cream for dessert?"
Feaster: "Oh yes."

Entire Table, seeing the dessert tray: "PISTACHIO CREAM!!!"

Feaster, just before tossing back her pistachio cream:  "It's like doing shots!"

Feaster (pointing to an empty seat next to him) "And one for my friend here..." (wanting more Pistachio Cream)

Too Many People to Count: "Mmmmm, pass me more gnocchi!"

Too Many People to Count: "Is there any pistachio cream left?"

I served two tables, one full eight and one that started with two people and somehow grew to four over the course of the meal.  Duke Ragnarr was at the small table.  He is notorious for only ever eating hot dogs and Ho-Hos and macaroni and cheese.  We cooks love him anyway, because he helps with cleanup and appreciates the work that goes into a feast.  I'd made a show of placing the gnocchi right in front of him with a flourish, but unbeknownst to me the kitchen soon after presented him with his own bowl of Gnocchi!  And *gasp* he even ate it! 

So people were fed into submission.  Yay!

Friday was Pi day (3/14, get it?)  Our longtime gaming friend and his better half rislyn hosted a Pi Day party for lots of their friends on Saturday (a large approximation of pi).  It was great to meet so many nifty people and game as only nerds can do.  The games were as good as the company.  Also, Sweetie brought his vintage Apple IIc and lots of folks played Oregon Trail.  I learned two new games, "Rise of the Galaxy" (similar to Puerto Rico, with cards like Citadels) and "To Court the King" (a dice manipulation game, Yahtzee on crack).

This was a potluck, with an invitation to bring pie or a Pi-themed dish.  There were pineapple wedges, key lime pie (Sweetie ate half of himself), pine nuts, pink lady apples, a couple Squared Pies, a yummy peach-strawberry pie, apple and several other fruit pies, and a cute minimalist pie (a baked plain pie crust). I did my usual potluck strategy, trying medieval-style food on unsuspecting people.  Made a custard pie (tart of cream) and some "cubed roots" (roasted root vegetables, cut into cubes).  There were over a dozen assorted gamer geeks, and at least one or two SCA folks I didn't know yet.  Almost all the attendees are on LJ.  (I haven't friended you all yet, but I recognize several people I know who are your friends or friends of friends.)

The recipes, by request...

( Cubed Roots recipe )
( Tart of Cream (saffron custard) recipe )
I also attempted a Pie of Paris (meatloaf pie) but that didn't turn out as well.  I was rushed for time due to some last-minute mundane business that interrupted just when I pre-heated the oven.  *sigh*  Life happens.  But it was a great party!  I hope to game with some of you again soon.

    Federal Lodge on Monday held an event toasting the wives and significant others of famous masons.  As I wrote in a previous post, my husband went in character as James Hoban, architect of the White House and supervisor of the U.S. Capitol.  Hoban also founded Federal Lodge #1.  I played Hoban's wife, Susanna Sewell.  We both attended in circa-1800 costume.  About three hours before the event, Sweetie called me, rather irritated - it seems the event organizer hadn't found enough background information on her life to properly toast her.  Well we weren't getting all dressed up for nothing!  So I jumped headfirst into teh interwebz and dug up enough info to justify our outfits.  I discovered they had used a different spelling for her first and last names, so I did find information on Susanna and her family.   So here's a short biography of Susanna Sewall, aka Susannah or Susana Sewall, aka Mrs. James Hoban. 


Demanding a proper kitchen before she'd marry? Susanna was a lady after my own heart.  :-)