I've started a new photo gallery for my tree photos called, "Branching."

Prints available. Contact me for pricing and dimensions.

I upgraded to OS X Lion (10.7) recently, only to boot up, login, and have my computer shut right back off again. Booted up, logged in — same thing.

I logged in with a different account on the same computer, and it didn't have a problem. The computer ran fine.

I couldn't help but think about the old computer geek prank of writing a startup script to auto-run at login. Then it occurred to me: I always use an Applescript on my desktop to shut down instead of choosing " > Shut Down." However, Lion has this nifty set of functions called "resume" that opens programs up to the same state they were in when you closed them. Another feature is that it opens whatever files you had opened when you logged out/shut down. Since the last file I had opened was the shutdown Applescript, that was the first thing it opened every time I logged in. So I had pulled a prank on myself.

Well, I patted myself on the back for realizing what the problem was, but I still had to fix it. I opted to open up Terminal, login as root and delete the file, since the account I had logged into the desktop as did not have access to it. Logged out, logged in with my main account, not auto-shutdown. Problem solved.

Custom gallery-style splash page for raku potter Frank Kara. The logo shape was provided by client as an SVG file, and I added the shadow and background. Photographs were provided by client.

Written in CSS, HTML, and Javascript to set DIV opacity.

Check out my Design page to see all of my Web designs.

Long URL for a small Web site, designed for a local property maintenance company — Full Circle Property Maintenance.

Makes use of mobile phone number link, so smart phone users can click the phone number to dial. Written in HTML and CSS. Logo provided by client.

See the rest of my Web site designs on my Design page.

What's my recipe missing?

Lately I've had a hankering for tahini — a key ingredient in many great Mediterranean foods, including hummus and halvah — and when I was making grilled ham and Swiss with soup this weekend, I thought it would be the perfect time to try inventing a tahini spread with some ingredients I had lying around.

It tasted alright, and would probably taste better on something else, but I think it was missing something. Here is the C+* recipe-in-progress I came up with:

Olive Tahini Spread, Version 0.1

(Makes enough for two sandwiches)

Ingredients
1/8 of a red onion
1 clove garlic
6 Kalamata olives
1 1/2 tsp. butter/olive oil spread
1 tsp. ground black peper
1 1/2 tbsp. tahini

Preparation
• Dice and pan fry onions and garlic in butter/olive oil spread until soft
• Dice olives and heat in pan
• Mix tahini, black pepper, and onions, olive, garlic combination in glass dish

(Here is a good video from Reluctant Gourmet on how to dice onions like a pro. Sorry, but it offers no tricks to make them sting your eyes less. When I cut onions I look like I got pepper sprayed)

Verdict?
Tahini is a bit like peanut butter, but less viscous and less sweet. The taste doesn't overpower the salty ham and sharp Swiss cheese, but it doesn't quite add enough, even with the pepper. I think it needs a kick — lemon juice or even something a bit spicy. And again, it's probably not ideal on a ham sandwich.

So what's this spread missing? And what would it taste great on?

*Grading system is relative to my own cooking ability.

(1680x1050 1.6MB .BMP.ZIP)

(Download 12KB .BMP.ZIP file) 1680x1050. Contact me for resolution request.

New wallpaper (74KB .BMP.ZIP file). It is 1680x1050, but contact me and I will render it in the proper resolution for your screen.

Made a new wallpaper (147KB .BMP.ZIP file). it is 1680x1050, but contact me and I will render it in the proper resolution for your screen.