OK, so I'm an idiot

We already knew that, of course.

figmo spoke to me Wednesday and said she'd found some excellent fares on American for our trip to GaFilk -- about $210 for SJC <-> ATL. But yesterday, by the time I had figured out AA's website, fixed the spelling on my last name (which would probably have screwed up the credit card transaction), and checked with work and my mom about scheduling, the price was back up around $360 like everybody else's. DAMN.

Meanwhile, my flight is going to be even more complicated -- I want to visit my Mom in FL; the only flights AA would give me have me flying back from Fort Myers via Miami and LAX.

Seems like every time I'm about to get all of my ducks in a row, one of them waddles off and gets eaten.

Yup, still an idiot

About half an hour after chaoswolf put dinner (a pork roast) into the oven, she smelled burning plastic (we all know wolves have a better sense of smell than humans). As I had remarked a few minutes earlier, that old stainless steel pot has plastic handles, and although they've been in and out of the oven many times over the 25 years we've owned it, it was never a good idea.

So I pulled out the pot, unscrewed the handles, and put it back. What I didn't notice, and didn't bother to check, was whether the oven was on. The Wolfling had very sensibly turned it off. The flower_cat is out fetching Chinese, and we'll have the pork roast (reheated) tomorrow.

Cold comfort food

Guess I've neglected to mention the party last night at my coworker finagler's. That's ok; so has he. It was an apartment-cooling party; he's looking for a house (and keeps getting outbid; housing in the SFBA is a nightmare). The cooling in question was provided by liquid nitrogen; Brad provided that and the cream, custard and sorbet bases, and the guests provided flavorings.

For those of my readers who still haven't figured it out, the idea is to pour LN₂ into the center of a stainless-steel (not glass!) bowl full of flavored base while stirring with what appeared to be a drill-powered paint mixer. The result is a huge cloud of fog and, about 2 minutes later, ice cream. Soft, creamy, fresh, wonderful ice cream.

OK, the wasabi/mole ice cream wasn't quite so wonderful, though it didn't suck as much as one might have expected. The lemon, with chocolate sauce, was excellent, as was the orange sorbet.

Hopefully one of the other guests will post pictures. For those wishing to try the experiment, liquid nitrogen is cheaper than milk. Wear goggles and gloves; it's cold! (-300something F).