I hope I've done this dish justice. Inspired by Salt & Turmeric I decided to have Beans on Toast for my sahoor (the greatly encouraged pre-fasting (so pre-dawn) meal). I've never made this one before, and actually I think I've only eaten it once before at the Folk Life Festival, but how hard could it be? Turns out, not hard. I roughly followed S&T's recipe, but this is how I ended up putting mine together:

3 eggs
1 can beans
1/2 onion
2 slices bread
olive oil, salt & pepper

1. get out 2 pans - one for the eggs, one for the beans
2. rough chop onion
3. heat both pans
4. add a bit of oil (not much in my case, I'm using non-stick pans, your millage will vary)
5. pan fry eggs to taste (I did mine over hard)
6. at the same time saute the onion in the other pan
7. add beans after onion is translucent
8. toast bread
9. salt & pepper everything that you feel like
10. plate and serve
11. (optional) douse with a bit of hot sauce, I used Tabasco Green

I can't seem to find the definitive guide to beans on toast, so I'm not sure if this is a legitimate British, Scottish, or Welsh dish though I am sure it is enjoyed in all three. I commented on S&T that it seemed Welsh, but I think I was thinking Scottish anyway. If you are going to try this out yourself, keep in mind the proper beans to use. Wikipedia has a good guide to the differences between US and UK beans, but you'll be fine if you just find a can like the one above.

Update: as my father points out, it's Beans ON Toast...

Update: If you don't like mine, try a more English version. Though the onion is nice, and it does need pepper. Yaty also suggested nutmeg. And yet another guide to making beans on toast.

XSLT <xsl:variable> Element:

Once you have set a variable's value, you cannot change or modify that value!

So XSLT variables are not variable? Wack.

Umbraco - The Friendly CMS:

Who would believe that there would be an open source CMS based on Microsoft's ASP.NET? A CMS that can support any modern browser and that even allows editing with Microsoft Word. One where designers can create accessible and valid xhtml with their markup left intact. Where developers can integrate any .net based control right out of the box. If someone tells you "wont' happen", then they have never used umbraco..

Well I haven't done 1/2 of that yet, but I'm only a day in and already seeing progress on implementing a design given to me without knowing the platform ahead of time, and I can say I like what I see so far. I'm going to have to learn a few new skills (XSLT, XPath, etc.) but this is CMS done right, and you can't beat the price.

Props to Fire Pig Partners.

Fanswag: USA Today Crossword Challenge goes to ... - DS Fanboy:

Our latest giveaway has come to a close. We've selected 5 different winners, all of whom should be solving crosswords in record time now. Our winners are:

• Lord Humongous
• Kearns
• ethan42404
• Gid
• Kelvis

Congrats to the winners and better luck next time to the rest of you. Thanks for reading DS Fanboy!

Tipping Etiquette Guide at FindaLink.net:

Not knowing the proper tip or gratuity for a service can be very unsettling. The rest of your party might not know it, but inside you may feel highly stressed as you walk up to the coat check or curbside check-in. The challenge is not everyday situations, but when you are taken out of your normal environment. For example, if you travel only occasionally, hotel tipping etiquette can be a real mystery.

Let FindaLink.net help take the mystery out of tipping etiquette. This brief guide covers most tipping opportunities.

I don't know "FindaLink" from a hole-in-the-wall, but this guide is very thorough and I have no disagreements (at least with the few I checked). Thanks Internet, bawk bawk.

Around 1927 it was discovered that if you injected the urine of a pregnant woman into a rabbit, there would be corpora hemorrhagica in the ovaries of the rabbit. These bulging masses on the ovaries could not be seen with out killing the rabbit to inspect the ovaries, so invariably, every rabbit died, even if the woman wasn't pregnant. The phrase, "The rabbit died," came to be a euphemism for a positive pregnancy test after the late 1920 and early 1930s

[ The Rabbit Died - The Origins of the Pregnancy Test ]

In other words my wife is:

• up the duff
• in the pudding club
• working on her baby bump
• or just plain pregcellent

[ Babble.com ]

The next installment of our branch of Clan Kearns is due April 19th, 2009, God willing.

Update: apparently it wasn't meant to be, today the doctor confirmed that we have lost the baby.

Apparently, since we've switch from "you have to have sighted the moon" to "it's ok to use big fancy math" systems for determining the Islamic calendar, we can now plan well in advance for Ramadan and Eid-al-Fitr (Lebaran to my Indonesian wife and friends):

Facebook | Islamic Society of North America (ISNA)'s Notes:

Ramadan 1429: September 1, 2008

The Astronomical New Moon for Ramadan is on Saturday, August 30, 2008 at 19:58 Universal Time (i.e., 3:58 pm EDT, and 12:58 pm PDT). According to the criteria adopted by the Fiqh Council of North America, and European Council for Fatwa and Research, [the conjunction before sunset and moon setting after sunset in Makkah] first day of Ramadan is on Monday, September 1, 2008.

Eid al-Fitr 1429: October 1, 2008

The Astronomical New Moon for Shawwal is on Monday, September 29, 2008 at 8:12 GMT, 4:12 am EDT, 1:12 am PDT). According to the criteria adopted by the Fiqh Council of North America, and European Council for Fatwa and Research, the first day of Shawwal is on Wednesday, October 1, 2008.

Also posted to the Fiqh Council's website.

Update: IMAAM agrees, as does ADAMS.

Telltale tempts fate, names release date for Strong Bad - Nintendo Wii Fanboy:

Assuming that Telltale has paid proper tribute to their feudal lords at Nintendo, Homestar Ruiner will be out next Monday in North America for 1,000 Wii Points. Future episodes should release every month after that. We hope it's true. We feel like we've been waiting since last month for this game, and we'd be pretty sad if Nintendo SBLOUNSKCHED the release.

If you aren't from around here, and by that I mean anywhere near the south east United States, you may have an idea about what you think Barbeque is, and you are probably wrong. While they forgot the misqete sauce on the Texas BBQ, this is humorous, informative, and has a beat you can dance to:

Props to Serious Eats

We can't keep growing like this:

Doesn't common sense suggest that we cannot grow forever?

I would argue that common sense dictates that we will grow forever, the question is do we want to grow with forethought and wisdom?

We live in the "Greater Washington Area" or perhaps the "Greater Baltimore Washington Area" as the cities collide. The people are coming because we've done a good job building our community and offering what everyone wants. The question is not "do we grow", but "where do we put all of the people". Which begs the question "do we make room in the suburbs, or force people to live in the country side (thus turning the country side into suburbs much father out and ultimately making traffic congestion worse and worse". I would argue that conversion of close-in suburbs to more urban areas is the only wise way to address the increasing population in our greater city area, and deciding to either "just not make room" or "force jobs out to the farther suburbs" are just not dealing with the reality.

So you didn't take my cue and go to the Indonesian Independence Celebration, and now you're wishing you had something Asian to do:

Asian Festival in DC:

The "Asian Festival" is now a two-day FREE ADMISSION event to promote a greater understanding of Asian countries and culture. This year we are showcasing China to celebrate the spirit of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. In addition, all participating Asian countries have an opportunity to share their unique music, cultural performances, food, fashion, handicrafts, and other products and entertainment. The Asian Festival which has grown into huge success in the D.C. Metro Area has blended together trade opportunities, product marketing, entertainment, food and tennis, creating an event that has something for everyone, and for all ages!

We went last year, it's pretty good. Multiple stages, many Asian cultures represented, great food, great music, good times. Hope to see you there!

Come down to the Indonesian Ambassador's Residence for culture, food, music, dancing, and celebration of the 63rd anniversary of Indonesian Independence:

BAZAAR “KAMPUNG MERDEKA” Dalam Rangka Peringatan HUT RI ke-63 Minggu, 3 Agustus 2008 Dalam rangka memeriahkan Hari Ulang Tahun Kemerdekaan RI ke-63, Panitia Peringatan Hari Kemerdekaan RI ke-63 akan menyelenggarakan Panggung Gembira dan Bazaar pada hari Minggu, 3 Agustus 2008 bertempat di Wisma Indonesia, 2700 Tilden Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20008.

[ Indonesia Independence Day Celebration - Washington DC ]

And all of that Indonesian basically says what I said above, just a bit more formal... No, really. Anyway there will be a couple dozen booths selling traditional Indoneisan food and some crafts plus a state with traditional music and dancing, and usually there is also a big spectacle like a mini-parade with traditional masks and costumes.