ErkkilaDotOrg

I love how one minute it’s fall and Thanksgiving, next it snows overnight and it’s the Christmas season. Doesn’t hurt to watch ‘A Christmas Story’ after demolishing Thanksgiving dinner, either.

• I was an extremely early e-book adopter–Rocket EBook. I bought all sorts of titles for it which I can no longer access, now that the device is a brick; nor could I transport the content elsewhere when they went belly-up. I will never buy another reading device that will not allow me to transfer content easily between either the same type of devices (what if it breaks?), or to a different device should they go out of business.
• I an not a technophobe, but I can’t shake my paranoia about any company holding on their servers the content I’ve bought, such as books and movies. This is why I’m not keen on the idea for video, either; what if they decide to withhold it someday for whatever reason, or if something breaks and they claim I never bought it, or decide they don’t want to offer it anymore (I could easily see a content provider like Disney, with their ridiculous ‘back in the vault’ releases, doing this)? I like having books and DVDs, or even downloaded content that I can back up, because once it’s home I (generally) don’t have this concern.
• Pay 0.99 a month for a freakin’ BLOG subscription? Are you kidding me? They can claim all they want that they’re paying for the wireless, but really you *are* paying for it; that’s why the 0.10 charge for sending FREE content to it, probably. Sure, I could use the usb connection, but there goes the convenience of content anywhere, anytime I want it. I guess only if you’re willing to pay for it. Not to mention having to translate certain content into the proper format.
• E-Ink is really cool and all, but hell, I paid a similar price for a black and white e-reader 10 years ago. I know the technology for color e-ink isn’t there (or cheap enough) yet, but I expect color in an e-reader…especially if I’m thinking of using it to replace magazines.

Bottom line is really the content protection. After being burned once, why would I want to buy a lot of content for a device that might not be around someday, and lose all of it, like I did with the Rocket?

Islamic car…sales pitch: ‘and the Jihad model comes pre-wired for explosives!’ -pee
(and why doesn’t anyone ever buy the extended warranty or service plans?)

My mom’s observation of chickens running: faster than a speeding pullet

Native Alaskan’s favorite spreadable substitute…I Can’t Believe It’s Not Blubber -me

After years of attempting to dry hot peppers by stringing and hanging them in the loft, we decided this year to go with a more reliable method. Lately it’s been staying warmer longer into the fall and thus the heat isn’t on as much, thus making conditions less favorable for drying…which means we’re lucky if half the peppers are in decent shape when it’s time to use them. Either they turn brown, or they mold, or they just look not so nice; especially the habaneros, which are very likely to mold. So we decided to pick up a dehydrator. A piece of advice…if you’re drying a huge batch of habaneros and jalapenos, you might want to put the dehydrator out on the porch or outside, if possible. Fortunately Pee suggested this ahead of time…our porch is now suffused with a powerful mace-like stench. But a few peeks have verified they’re all drying nicely (cut in half, but so far they’re holding their color nicely). I should try fruit leather next and see if it ends up with a peppery flavor; that sounds so good I might throw a jalapeno in the blender with the fruit!