A Bureaucracy of One

30 Days Hath A Beater

 30 days hath a beater
 60 days would've been sweeter
 Next Season will see 91
 'Ere I call my skiing done.

7 Layer Dip to Shake the Heavens

Sure, you can follow a recipe, but like jazz, the genius is in the improvisation and the execution.  Nominally, this recipe is from The Joy Of Cooking, but I've modified it.

1 1/2 16oz.Cans Refried Beans
3 Lg (or six Sm) Ripe Avocados
3 Tablespoons Lime Juice
1/4 teaspoon Sea Salt
2 Cups Sour Cream
1 Packet Hot & Spicy Taco Seasoning
2 4oz. Cans Chopped Green Chilis
1 container Grape Tomatoes
2 Cups Sharp Cheddar Cheese
1 Cup Mozzerella
Fresh Cilantro
1 Bunch Scallions/Green Onions

In a 13x9 baking dish evenly spread the refried beans

Mash together and mix Avocados, Lime juice, and Sea Salt, then spread over beans

Mix together Sour Cream and Taco mix, and spread over Avocado

Chop enough cilantro to cover Sour Cream, and spread evenly

Spread Green Chilis evenly over Cilantro

Dice Grape Tomatoes and spread evenly

Spread grated Cheddar evenly, and top with Mozzerella

Broil for 2 minutes to melt cheese

Chop Scallions/Green Onions and spread over Cheese

Serves 15-20.

You can also leave the dip in the oven after broiling it, and set to oven for 350 for about 10-12 minutes to warm the dip.

Gulden Draak Lamp

Well, after months weeks days hours of hard work, I have finally (finally!) finished a project - turning an empty bottle of Gulden Draak beer into a lamp!  As I am not one to really plan these sorts of things in advance, I have no pictures but of the final product.

This was a very easy project whose biggest difficulty lay in drilling the hole needed to run the wires into the base of the lamp.

While the drilling itself was a slow process, requiring a steady and patient hand, it was actually trying to find a drillbit for glass that gave me fits. For once Lowes let me down, and I ended up finding one in Home Depot of all places.

While there I also picked up the socket, switch, threaded steel nipple, shade, and bulb.  All for about $12.  The cord I salvaged from something that didn't need it anymore (I can't remember what it was, and old humidifier maybe?), and the cork came from a bag of corks a roommate had on hand for one of her projects (a cork board made from corks; she didn't want the artificial ones, so I took them). 

In truth, I am not entirely pleased with the result.  The lamp shade is too short; the cork used to anchor the socket looks like crap; and the socket itself is too exposed.  Speaking of exposure, I had to use electrician's tape to cover the exposed terminals as 120V is not something that any sane person really wants to touch.  While my ex-boss may maintain that it merely tickles, I say it bloody well hurts!

These are minor problems, though, and will be rectified in future iterations of this project. Lampshades will be purchased from someplace with a decent selection, and not Home Despot; and I will either find a way to neatly trim the corks down, or go with something more along the lines of a rubber stopper used in laboratories.  As for the exposed wires on the socket, I probably should get a cup in which to place it.  This would not only serve to protect the wires, but would also look much better.

But all that is for next time.  For now, i have video games to play!