Excellent overview of the basics Adam. I think that it also helps people understand exposure by looking at an Exposure Value chart like the ones here: [en.wikipedia.org]

Lytro is definitely an impressive concept and time will tell if it is the future of photography or just another photographic niche. One of the things I love about photography is the ability to play with depth of field as you compose a photo, but on the other hand it would be easier to fine-tune the focus area on the…

The dogs used to sleep in our bedroom, but we made them start sleeping downstairs so they wouldn't wake the baby (for the first few months the baby was in a bassinet in our bedroom... so that was two adults, a baby, and two large greyhounds in a fairly small room). The dogs get up in the night to change sleeping…

The trivets on their website appeal to me more than the shower mat, but I'm still trying to figure out the perfect way for us to re-use our growing cache of cork. I've thought about a number of small jobs for single corks. One I might actually try is cutting up a cork into thin layers to make furniture pads for chair…

Gah! Every other year new research to make one rethink what they've been doing and thinking. This is why I keep returning to the "Everything in moderation" approach.

We just use a pyrex roasting pan that has 3 or 4 inch sides and then tent some foil over it later in the roasting process if it starts to brown too much on top (this only seems necessary for larger birds. A dutch oven or any large oven proof pot or cast iron skillet with tall enough sides to contain your vegis and…

Which version iPhone are you using? When I went from a 3G to an iPhone 4, the Evernote app speed improved dramatically in terms of browsing, editing, and searching. Searches are pretty instantaneous for me, but if you have a huge Evernote database I suppose it could affect performance.

My perfect bedtime is dictated by our dogs. They usually wake up at 6:00 A.M. on the dot. That's a full two hours earlier than when our 10-month old baby usually wakes. 6am is about the time I need to get up for work anyway (well...I could sleep until 6:30, but sometimes it's nice not having to rush). So I try to get…

I would add that oven roasted chicken tastes so good! I forget when we go for a long time in between whole chickens. It's really nothing like a grilled chicken breast. Completely different texture. It can seem like a pain to roast a chicken and then deal with storing the carcus in the fridge until you make stock (and…

Fulanodetal316: I totally understand your reservations about margarine... we avoid buying processed foods whenever possible, but at the recommendation of my brother (who is a doctor) I broke down and started substituting margarine for some things. True that it has some things in it that probably aren't good to…

Butter is not healthier than margarine. What you say was true a few years ago... when margarine was made with hydrogenated oils that contained transfats, but most margarines on shelves today are made with water and non-hydrogenated vegetable oils (often canola or even olive). A tablespoon of butter contains 102…

I do the same thing when I eat out... I often go decadent and order something I could never, in good conscience, prepare at home. I mean... if you're going to splurge you might as well splurge, right?

I'll have to try the butter + bacon fat thing ;-) I'm from the South, so growing up just about everything I ate... even pancakes... were fried in bacon fat. Mmmmm... bacon fat. Bacon is another ingredient that sure makes things good, but we try not to eat too much of it.

This has also been a trend in restaurants in recent years of simplified preparations that let the ingredients shine through, but of course they aren't going to skimp on the butter and salt...so it really is healthier to cook your own.

I agree... something is just off there. It's like she's an alien wearing human skin.

I will admit to having done this before I knew better. It's probably taking a chance since that means the spores are in the bag with all of the slices... not just the one you see it on. And most of the time if I see mold on one slice, it will be on other slices as well that might be in various places throughout the…

A 3 table limit per server is pretty unusual. A server would need those three tables to order a lot of food and drink to expect a good amount of tips for the night. Of course some fine dining restaurants do this, but each customer probably spends $100 or more on a multi-course meal. I never worked at a restaurant that…

...or go even farther. Remove that wussy finger-guard, plug it in next to your bed, and tape your hand to that sheet of paper!

The best restaurants often server smaller portions than the chains. I'm not necessarily talking expensive restaurants either. Many are local places that serve smaller portions for smaller prices than the chains like Cheesecake Factory. Of course many of them do serve large portions as well, because they know it is…

I was a server for eight years and I agree with other current and former restaurant people who say these tips were written by paranoid people with no real insight into the restaurant industry. Sure a server might suggest appetizers and drinks or talk up their favorites in hopes that you will order more. Sure they…