So, I'm reading the Washington Post today about two men with a vision. A vision they call the Scooter Cannonball.

And I find this inspirational.

They're just these guys with a Lambretta and a Vespa who decided to soup up their engines and take their scooters - and 30 of their friends - from Oregon... more

Just got an email from Amazon.com that made me laugh.

This is, according to their magical book-recommending algorithms, who I am:

(click to enlarge)

.

That's a book on psychedelic predictions of the world-changing event in 2012 as foretold in the Mayan Calendar, an album by former Gainesville wunderkind & indie rock super-producer... more

As a word geek, I became irrationally exuberant upon discovering this old entry on Language Log about Chinese Philadelphia Food and the cultural significance of Cantonese vs. Mandarin. And, of course, how to translate "cheesesteak" into Chinese characters. And where to order the best Chinese one in Philly. Even though I don't normally eat meat....

If you happen to be reading this in the United Kingdom, The Herald has an interesting story on international adoption. I know the red tape is different in... more

This is what our life is like at home. Last week, the dog got out while the chickens were being walked, and the chicken chicken, Francis, didn't get back in the coop in time. So the dog attempted some chicken herding. And Francis, nervous Francis, is a bird brain. Perhaps this is an omen that it's really time to get that pool fence installed. Brian Stuy recently posted an interesting first-person account of a domestic adoption... more

Relax and go awwwwwww. Feel better? I do.

Just in case you were wondering how humanity is going to survive the next 100 years, one of the smartest people on the planet is wondering too.

He's got his own answer, too.

Nothing about moon colonies or the dissolution of the concept of the nation-state (something with which anyone who's ever had to go... more

Partial list of things I like that have nothing to do with China or adoption, just to maintain some mental balance:

Jet packs and other fantastic flying machines being brought to life. (They're going to compete over that Skywalker trademark, too. You just know it.)

Cooking with cardamom (especially in coffee or tea).

Reading the following... more

So, on the heels of my celebrating my abecedarian status in the Chinese kitchen, a friend sends me this thing. I'm honestly not sure if this discovery from the Internet Journal of Toxicology is more admirable than it is disturbing.

The title sort of says it all:

Alexander... more

There's a new angle on the ratification of the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoptions -- news sources from all over are reporting that it's going to cause a slowdown in adoptions from Guatemala:

The U.S. will then require all foreign adoptions to meet tougher international standards, which Guatemala ratified in 2003 but has yet to implement.

"We don't want adoptions to stop but we believe the current system does not provide enough protection to the child's needs," said John... more

"Brown vinegar" can be substituted with rice vinegar. "Black vinegar," however, pretty much tastes like Worcestershire sauce. (British colonial note: it's pronounced "wooster sauce," you rank savages.) With a faint hint of Coca-Cola syrup.

Thus, nothing like rice vinegar at all.

Rice noodles really do only need to be dunked in boiling water. If you try to boil them like, say, spaghetti, you'll have porridge. If you're used to fettucini like me, forget it -- you'd be better off buying them in some sort of notional powdered form. That lovely cast iron pan -- the one that's been seasoned for generations, so that every... more