Monday, November 23, 2009
Christmas Books: Max's Christmas, A Christmas Carol, Christmas Magic, Santa Claustrophobia, Spot's First Christmas, Christmas Is Here, Corduroy! from $1.77
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Christmas Books: Max's Christmas, A Christmas Carol, Christmas Magic, Santa Claustrophobia, Spot's First Christmas, Christmas Is Here, Corduroy! from $1.77
~david
(sent via mobile device)
Thursday, November 19, 2009
sightseeing
free parking and admission: http://www.nationalheritagemuseum.org/
also this: http://www.nps.gov/MIMA/index.htm
also this: http://www.nps.gov/MIMA/index.htm
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Recipe Aggregators
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Recipe Aggregators
I love to cook but I don't have many recipes memorized, and much as I like cooking from any of the several cookbooks in my library, I often look for new recipes online. It's not an easy task. I'm amazed at the number of ad-riddled pages I find when typing the name of any dish into Google. I do have an online subscription to Cook's Illustrated (previously reviewed), and there are a handful of other individual free sites I turn to for recipes and technique info. However, as a research librarian, I'm always keen to execute a search in a manner that maximizes the number of relevant results by querying a specific set of targeted resources. For scientific queries, I use freely accessible databases such as Public Library of Science or PubMed, or I use one of my library accounts to access subscription-based databases such as Wiley InterScience or Elsevier's Science Direct. When I put my home-cook hat on, I approach recipe-finding with a similar set of expectations. Though there's no shortage of recipe information online, there's not really an equivalent set of databases for cookery. Here's a round-up of the best recipe aggregation resources I've found.
Epicurious is my go-to recipe site; I've used it for four years. One of the aspects I like most about it is the user comments. Because the site is older, most recipes have at least a handful of comments, and I've found that most users leave really helpful feedback (usually suggestions for how to scale or tweak recipes). However, it's also very easy to ignore user comments if you just want to stick to the original recipe. I usually cook from printed versions of the recipes (rather than bringing my laptop in the kitchen), and Epicurious offers several options for the size of the printed page, whether or not images are included, and even the option to print a separate shopping list.
Most recipes come from Gourmet and Bon Appetit magazines (the site is owned by Conde Nast). Some come from cookbooks published by Random House, with whom Epicurious has some kind of republication agreement, it seems. Some have also been reprinted from other cookbooks, with permission. In addition to the 25,000 recipes from these professional resources, they also boast 50,000 member-submitted recipes. Epicurious is the online food site to beat.
~david
(sent via mobile device)
Monday, November 9, 2009
Hospital Sends $29,000 Bill To Parents Of Murdered College Student [Inapprop...
bad ucd, bad.
Sent to you by David via Google Reader:
via Consumerist by Meg Marco on 11/6/09
Apparently he also had insurance, and the hospital should have sent the bill to his insurer.
"I can't believe that in any country besides the U.S., any civilized country, that the parents of a murdered boy would receive this bill for $29,000 and such an insulting letter," Gerald Hawkins, the victim's father, told ABC 10 in Sacramento, CA.
The bill in question was for "five minutes in [the hospital's] emergency room," says ABC 10, who tried to assess why 5 minutes could cost $29,000.
Scott Seamons with the California Hospital Council said the critical response to Hawkins is what cost the most. He said UC Davis is a Level 1 Trauma Center, which means the best and most expensive doctors were waiting for Scott.
"Whether it was five minutes or 55 minutes doesn't really matter in the initial review and assessment of the patient," he said.
Trauma surgeons, nurses, technicians and more had to treat Scott before they realized they couldn't help, according to Seamons.
"They're all right there," he said. "And those are highly trained, highly specialized and highly paid clinical experts. Clearly in the aftermath, in hindsight, they looked at it and determined there was probably less need for that, but in the first five minutes all of those resources were right there at the side of this patient, and they cost a lot of money."
ABC 10 says that the letter included with the bill instructed the deceased to take his health care needs to a county clinic in the future. The hospital has apologized.
Why was Murdered Sac State Student's ER Bill So High? [News 10]
Slain Sac State Student's Parents Stunned by Hospital Bill, Letter [News 10]
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Sunday, November 8, 2009
Here Are Your Shipping Deadlines For Christmas 2009 [Online Shopping]
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Here Are Your Shipping Deadlines For Christmas 2009 [Online Shopping]
"Holiday Shipping Deadlines for Christmas 2009" [CouponSherpa] (Thanks to Jeff!)
(Photo: dierken)
~david
(sent via mobile device)
Expansion And Extension Of Homebuyer Tax Credit Now Official [Real Estate]
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Expansion And Extension Of Homebuyer Tax Credit Now Official [Real Estate]
The key, of course, is that the newly purchased home needs to be a primary residence—no rental properties or vacation homes, thank you. Current homeowners within the income guidelines can receive a $6,500 credit after purchasing a new home—new homeowners will still receive $8,000.
Expanded First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit Becomes Law [U.S. News & World Report]
(Photo: nicolas.boullosa)
~david
(sent via mobile device)
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