A Natural Talent?

Some people ad-lib music. Some people ad-lib lines on stage.

I ad-lib bread.

After making so many batches of cinnamon bread I've lost count, I thought it would be a good idea to check the fundamentals and make a batch of unflavored, white bread. I proofed the yeast, mixed it with some nondescript quantity of flour, kneaded it, and set it to rise.

And rise it did! Good sign #1.

I punched it down, divided it into the pans, and let it rise again. Good sign #2.

It did take longer to bake, probably because it didn't brown as easily for lack of oil. But once I took it out, and sliced off a sample, it was simply delicious. Good texture, fluffy, and far better than any mass-produced edible napkins from the grocery store.

Mmmmmmmmmm...

Easy Way Out

"Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court."—U.S. Constitution, III.3.

So far, the United States Army has not shown any willingness to apply the Constitution they swore to support and defend. They could have stood Nidal Hasan against a wall and let the 21-gun salute for his victims dispatch him to the hereafter. I dunno, maybe his legs weren't strong enough yet to hold him up.

Now, we find out he won't even be charged with treason. Yes, a single conviction on any of the 13 counts of murder would be enough to execute him. But why was treason excluded from the list of charges? It isn't like shouting "Allahu Akbar!" while pulling the trigger isn't overt. Neither is there any shortage of witnesses.

Why won't the Army man up? Are they so afraid of offending this putative "victim" Hasan that they would throw the real victims under the bus?

Astronomy in Real-time

I watched the International Space Station pass overhead tonight. It was very bright, easily the brightest object in the sky for the first couple minutes. But, as the sun had just set in the west, and the orbit of the ISS took it into the penumbra of Earth's shadow, it went from being very bright under the full sunlight, to being no brighter than the stars at twilight. Finally, it disappeared completely from view about 30° above the northeast horizon, as it moved into the umbra of Earth's shadow.

Worthy of the Prize

It took Sgt. Kimberly Munley three minutes to accomplish more for peace than Barack Obama has accomplished in a year.

But you can still bet your bottom dollar that she would never make it past the nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Update 2009-10-13: New reports are indicating it was not Sgt. Munley, but rather Senior Sgt. Mark Todd, who stopped Nidal Hasan's rampage at Ft. Hood.

The point still stands.

Pro-Choice Stops Here

The House of Representatives has just passed a massive bill to overhaul health care. Part of that bill requires that I subscribe to a $15,000 health insurance policy, or else risk a felony conviction and five years in jail.

Whoa, hold on there! Are you saying I'd be a lifetime criminal because I CHOOSE what to do with my body?

Oh, wait, that's right. I'm not a Woman or some other Victim, so I have no choice.

I Found the Pony!

In the middle of all this sh!t in my life, I just found out...

I'M GOING TO SEE BJÖRN AGAIN IN CONCERT!

I knew there had to be a pony in there somewhere.

Ann Montgomery: Unworthy of the Robe

The Flying Imams' lawsuit has been presided over by a judge who apparently lacks any imagination, if the following excerpt from her Not Jihadis ruling is any indicator:

The MAC Defendants have produced no evidence of a documented instance in which seatbelt extensions were used as a weapon or that law enforcement ever expressed concern about their use as a weapon. It is difficult to understand what danger a seatbelt extension poses that is not also posed by a sturdy belt with a large buckle. Even assuming the extensions could be employed as a weapon, the MAC Defendants have failed to offer a reasoned explanation of how Saleddin, who is completely blind, could pose such a threat.

Laughable on its face, if it didn't involve such dangerous circumstances. The very first sentence shows the limits of her thinking: "We've never seen it happen, so it will never happen." With that kind of thinking, we'd still be living in the Stone Age.

This judge can't imagine how much easier it is to swing a seat belt strap over one's head when both ends are detached. She also can't imagine why a team preparing for an attack would want to have a weapon in reserve with a guy whom they knew, rather than trying to get another weapon on an aircraft they don't know, from a flight crew they don't know.

This isn't a matter of law. This is a matter of street-smarts, where the law itself has become a weapon for the benefit of those who care nothing for the law. File this one under "Stupid, Vacuous Adults."

For such legalistic, short-sighted sophistry, Ann Montgomery deserves to be removed from the bench, immediately.

(H/T: Scott Johnson)

Please Stand By

I just noticed my donation links aren't working. In the process to figure out the problem, I borked some of the left-hand column's formatting. If something looks strange, please be patient while I work through it on a hidden page. I'll update this when things are back where I want them.

Update: I need to get TypePad tech support involved. Some kind of database issue is going on here.

Update #2: Things seem to be better now, although I found a kink in the TypePad system. I've filed a help ticket for it.

Even When It's Sub-optimal

I made an experimental batch of bread a couple days ago, using all stone-ground whole-wheat flour and extra cinnamon. A lot went wrong with the batch, starting with the texture. Even before I had added all the flour, I knew it was too dry. I managed to rescue the recipe by making a water-based paste of the remaining dry flour, and then kneading the paste into the mass.

Then I didn't let the dough rest long enough in the pans, before starting the baking. The loaves came out low and dense.

Even if this batch isn't anything to be proud of, they still make excellent bread for French toast.

Like Thomas Edison said, the only failed experiment is one in which you learn nothing. I learned that I should stick to the recipe, and substitute no more than 2 cups of whole-wheat for the flour.

Comfort Food

Today started out kind of "blah," then steadily descended into "ick." Really, three hours ago I was sitting in front of my computer, wondering how to pass the time without going stir crazy.

Now, here I sit, with a big smile on my face. I just sampled my latest batch of bread, and it's by far the most bread-like I've yet made. It's light and fluffy, baked not burnt, sweet with just a hint of basil. Bit by bit, piece by piece, I'm finally getting this down. The latest trick I figured out: The center of a gas cook-top with pilot lights has just enough warmth to help the dough rise. That's what made the difference for this batch.

My sister-in-law said if I want to try some new concoction, and I'm not sure how it'll come out, she'll be happy to be my guinea pig. Given that she and I don't see eye-to-eye on just about everything, that's a high compliment.

And baking bread is fun. I mean, really, what's not to like about the smell of warm bread with butter?