So much ham

The recipe I had called for a ham with the bone. The smallest ham I could get with the bone that wasn't pre-sliced was 16 pounds. It looked big, but I didn't fully comprehend how much ham it was, and how much I don't actually like ham, especially in massive quantities. I made the Marmalade-Glazed Ham with Orange-Tea Sauce. Dave requested the Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Brown Sugar and Pecans. To round it all out, we also had green beans, and Scott made a pumpkin pie. The meal went well, except that we'll have ham leftovers for the rest of life.

Easter Weekend

Rich, Dave, and I headed up to Binghamton, for easter. I had Good Friday off of work, and we figured it would nice to cook our first big holiday meal. On Thursday night, Scott and I headed up to his local irish music session. At the hall, the Binghamton Kazoo Band was having a birthday party for one of its members. A nice woman gave us kazoos, and they later serenaded us with a kazoo and singing rendition of Harrigan. (And, to think, a month ago, I'd never even heard this song before.)

On Saturday, we headed up to Watkins Glen, NY. We wanted to see the waterfalls at Watkins Glen State Park, but unfortunately, the trail was closed due to dangerous conditions. We did get to walk around a little bit. I always like to see cliffs or rock cover in a blue layer of ice. We met up with Cynthia, and headed over to the Seneca Lake vineyards. The Fingerlakes area specializes in ice wines, fruit-based wines, and sweet wines. Starting at the tip of the lake, we started at the Castel Grisch Estate Winery, Lakewood, Arcadian Estate Winery, Fulkerson Winery, and going up as far as the Glenora Wine Cellars. Glenora was packed. My favorite was Lakewood with its Mystic Mead. It was a great time. We went home and I made the Farfalle with Cheery Tomatoes, Arugula, and Goat Cheese.

Philly Weekend

Rich and I headed to Philly this weekend to meet up with Scott who was in town for the ICASSP 2005 conference. One of my favorite things is to get a nice Sunday brunch. I found Vilanni in a list of the City's best brunch places. It was reasonably priced and lived up to expectations. Rich got the poached eggs, lump crab and garlic herb focaccia toasts, which was really excellent.

At night, we hit Monk's Cafe for dinner. We arrived early so that we could get a table in a reasonable amount of time. (Monk's doesn't take reservations and it is always crowded on weekends.) You can't beat the extensive Belgium beer menu or the tub of mussels and fries that you get. (My favorite is the Raspberry Lambic, aka the Lindemans Raspberry Framboise.) Scott liked it so much that he even took a collegue back there the next evening.

Carnegie Mellon

I visited Carnegie Mellon this week. I've seen so many PACM prospective students come by, and it was fun to be a prospective student myself. I stayed with some EPP students who were really nice. They took me out to a thai restaurant in Squirrel Hill. The next day, I began my two days of interviews. I had a good time and met some really interesting professors. I found some projects I want to work on and identified professors who I want to work with. I'll find out about funding in a few weeks. While I was there, I also met up with my brother Jeff who just started his rotation at the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Rich and I took him out to Sushi Kim. (Rich stayed at my brother's place while I mingled with CMU grad students.)

I also discovered that the "cuisine" of Pittsburgh is french fries or "grease" as some other people described it. They put fries on top of salads and they put fries in your sandwich. Luckily, the food scene has been evolving.

Strengths: The Strip District, an area of wholesale food merchants. On weekends, it becomes one huge outdoor Farmer's Market. (Hooray for local produce!) Next, Polish food. There is a Polish Hill neighborhood, which means I'll be able to get more of those periogie that I mentioned before. There's also one Ethiopian restaurant Abay, so I'll be able to get my Ethiopian fix. Based on my conversations with current EPP students, there's a pretty strong EPP social scene. They like to have house parties and hang out. Sounds like my kind of scene! There's also a Pittsburgh Critical Mass. I hope they are as cool and laid back as Chicago Critical Mass! (Bikes are fun!)

Weaknesses: I hear that Pittsburgh lacks good Mexican food, Greek food (oh, how I miss Chicago's Greektown), and Dim Sum. In fact, Pittsburgh will be the first city that I've lived in that doesn't have a Chinatown. (Well, it did, but got demolished around 1960.)

Driving and more driving

More backdating...

Headed up to Binghamton this weekend. Something I want to do sometime is to buy some pyrohy (or periogie). The local Ukranian church in Johnson City sells them on the weekend, probably as a fundraiser, much like the Pasty Palace in Port Huron. Xcott bought a car this weekend to replace his dearly departed VW Jetta with its "Coding is not a Crime" bumper sticker. He'd been looking at the Toyota Prius, but in the end, the wait was too long. Instead, Xcott got a pretty good deal on a Toyota Camry, in silver.

Leaving New Jersey...

I'll be leaving New Jersey in August. I got the rejected letter from Princeton today. At least I know what the game is now. I hope my visit to Carnegie Mellon goes well!

Sweet hookups

Seen Napoleon Dynamite? How about having someSweet hookups at a Napoleon Dynamite party? Check out Bill's article. No, clicking on "sweet hookups" will not lead you to porn, but an article at thetimesherald.com

Xcott also suggests having a Flynn Lebowski party. Jeff Bridges is the main character in both TRON and the Big Lebowski. Others have already blogged about this.

CV Handbook (PDF)

Here's a guide to writing a Curriculum Vitae. It is especially pertinent for libarians.

Grad School Update

I've been accepted into the PhD program Engineering and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon. I'm heading out to Pittsburgh next week to visit and interview. Hooray!

I've been rejected by the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. At least I didn't "hack" into their admissions system.

Now, I'm just waiting to hear from Princeton!

Harrigan and Hart

Last night, I meet up with Jeffrey, Cynthia, and Ed for dinner at Choga on Bleeker in the West Village. I haven't really had that much Korean food, so it was nice to try the Dolsot Bibimbab, or Julienne Vegetables served over Rice On Sizzling Stone Pot with Spicy Bean Paste Sauce On The Side. I was in town to see Suzanne playing the fiddle at the Skirball Performing Arts Center at NYU. It was Mick Maloney's Irish American Music & Dance Festival. Suzanne played in a group called the Washington Square Harp and Shamrock Orchestra, a group of musicians who get together every week to play some tunes at NYU. They had a big tribute to Harrigan and Hart who staged the first musical comedies in New York.

Waltz this way

Tonight, we had the Princeton Graduate College Formal. It's a waltzing formal, meaning what it sounds like, you waltz. They have a waltzing lesson beforehand. It's a great opportunity for those Princeton male grad students to dance with females. Obviously, if you already know how to waltz or are talented in the ballroom dancing area, you'll be much sought after.

Beforehand, we had dinner at the Main Street Bistro at the Princeton Shopping Center. I got ready at Katy's, and we headed over with Phillip and Arick, meeting Rich at the restaurant. Rich then picked up Sharon and Dave, who's car had been stuck in the mud at his apartment. Rich got to wear the suit he got for Christmas. (I should post pictures.)

Another plus of the formal is the chocolate. They bring him a great deal of Lindt truffles (there's a store in Palmer Square). It's also an extended social hour at the Graduate College with free mixed drinks. Rich and I waltzed and even tried to polka. (Good thing I "learned" how to polka back in college for the annual Willard Polka Parky!)

NJ Budget Address

Governor Codey gave his Budget address on Tuesday. Now that the Governor's Office has released the budget brief, the work for next 4 months is set in place. Committee meetings will finish, and the NJ Senate has 2 more voting sessions. After that, we have the budget break where everyone start wrangling for their money in the budget. This is done in the media, at budget hearings, in back rooms, etc. In the Senate Majority Office, each Research Associate will write their own budget briefs that analyze costs of programs, the savings from various initiatives, and the like.

Due to the huge budget deficit, NJ in approaching a fiscal crisis. There will have to be cuts everywhere. It'll be interesting to see how everything plays out. I'm so glad I get to view everything up close!

Use TurboTax for free online!

Check out TurboTax Tax Freedom. You can use TurboxTax for free online via the IRS website. Hooray!

Tweedy and Lessig

Jeff Tweedy, of Wilco fame, and Larry Lessig, of cyberlaw fame, will be doing a seminar at the New York Public Library! How cool is that? I'll be there if I can get tickets. Anyone else want to go?

Here's the info.

JEFF TWEEDY AND LAWRENCE LESSIG AT NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY ON APRIL 7 Jeff Tweedy and Stanford Law School professor Lawrence Lessig offer up their opinions regarding Napster, free culture, and the arts. Lessig wrote the 2004 book Free Culture: How Big Media Uses Technology and the Law to Lock Down Culture and Control Creativity. Steven Johnson, author of Interface Culture: How New Technology Transforms the Way We Create and Communicate, will moderate the discussion. Tickets on sale Thursday, March 17 at 10 a.m via Smarttix.com. Additional Ticket info to follow.

WHO OWNS CULTURE?
LIVE from the NYPL in conjunction with Wired magazine
Jeff Tweedy
Lawrence Lessig
Steven Johnson
Thursday, April 7 at 7 p.m.
Celeste Bartos Forum