Archive March 2011

Pyjamas - Python Javascript Compiler, Desktop Widget Set and RIA Web Framework. I already mentioned this in the old blog, but a) a lot has happened and b) it came up again today as a topic, so I'm blogging about it again.

Check it out: pqc - PostgreSQL Query Cache. A PostgreSQL proxy that caches queries via a Memcache database to improve performance for recurring queries. Since it works as a proxy, it can also speed up applications that don't already implement caching on their own.

Whoever the asshole at Apple is responsible for the appallingly bad app sorting in iTunes (seriously, how can someone be so completely braindead to replicate the already quite clunky sorting interface for the home screen in iTunes with the mouse in nearly the same stupid way?), that "designer" deserves to be slapped, kicked, and fired. If I spend 20 minutes sorting my apps, I expect that when I click "Apply," it will actually be applied. I certainly do not expect all the icons to revert to their original positions before my 20 minutes of work. And no, this is not the first time I have cursed this pathetic app sorting interface. Bah.

Apple just can't do encryption

I fell for it again and thought, I'll just enable the encryption of iPad backups. Pretty stupid. I should have been warned by the debacles with the encrypted home directory. But of course, I did it again. Everything worked fine until today when the backup mess happened - it got stuck in the first step and just wouldn't proceed. Possibly corrupt backup files on the Mac. Ok, the standard procedure is to simply delete the backup in the settings under devices and create a new one. But that doesn't work if you have encryption enabled - it complains, naturally only after all the steps have been completed, that it can't make backups because no session with the iPad can be started. Huh?

And of course, I can't reset the password - it always claims it's wrong (even before I deleted the backup). My suspicion: the password is checked against the backup and if there isn't one, or it's defective, you can't perform a successful check. Resetting the password doesn't work, creating new backups doesn't work, and making iTunes forget the iPad also doesn't work. Before someone thinks they need to tell me I don't know the password: iTunes saves the password in the keychain if requested and yes, the password is the one I enter. And yes, that is definitely the correct one - the device identifier is saved as the account name with the password. And no, this exact password is of course not accepted...

Solution according to Apple? Completely reset the iPad and set it up again. Great, fantastic idea. Sure, many of the data I have are on my Mac, but over time, data have also been added that are not on the Mac. And I would like to transfer those somehow.

By the way, normal backups and restores work - and with unencrypted backups, you can also create a new one if the backups are corrupted. But not if you have encryption enabled.

Frankly, this renewed experience with Apple's inability to build reasonably stable encryption solutions makes me rather skeptical about their full-disk encryption in the upcoming 10.7...

Update: after a few experiments (tested on another computer, iPad backup reconstructed from the TimeMachine backup and tried with it) I suspect the password is also noted on the device - and this note seems to be corruptible. Because even on another device, the definitely correct password is rejected as wrong, and another device also insists on making an encrypted backup (which makes sense, otherwise you could trivially get the data via a backup on another device). The problem is not that it protects itself against manipulation - the problem is that this crap can break and without any external signs - the backups have always worked fine so far, they are just suddenly worthless now (just like the data on the device).

The Sinclair ZX81: 30 years old today. Happy Birthday, old plastic box. I loved that thing and started some crazy projects on it. It started with 1 Kilobyte of memory, later with the great expansion to 16 Kilobytes - you couldn't hit the table too hard, otherwise the connections would wobble and the computer would reset. And the box even got me my first (and only) article in c't! After the ZX 81 came the ZX Spectrum with gigantic 48 Kilobytes of memory (from the money of the article). Then it got boring with PCs. It wasn't until the 90s that Macs came into my life.

Beef Rolls with Ratatouille

Well, that was today's cooking experiment. Partial success, because I completely miscalculated the quantities (no problem, there's a freezer and delicious rations for another day are also quite nice) and the ratatouille was somehow overcooked today. But that's what happens when you want to handle several pots at once, it doesn't work perfectly the first time. But the roulades were great - although gigantic. Only recommended if you're really hungry! I cooked some ahead of time (using a roasting pan for just one roulade would be silly), gives about 3 servings:

  • 3 horse meat roulades (careful, these things are rather XXL size, one is enough per person!)
  • 300g mixed minced meat
  • Pitted black olives "natural" (about 10-15 pieces, depends on the size - and the taste)
  • 1 onion
  • 3 cloves of garlic
  • Mustard (I had a nice spicy fig mustard, but a simpler medium-spicy one should also work), about 3 tablespoons
  • 1 carrot
  • half a celeriac
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 cloves
  • some peppercorns
  • 100ml red wine
  • 200ml broth (probably should have been more, the sauce was a bit meager)
  • 3 bell peppers
  • 1 eggplant
  • 1 zucchini
  • 1-2 tomatoes
  • Basil, oregano, thyme, or whatever spices you like
  • Pepper and salt as usual
  • Olive oil

For the preparation, it's best to start with the roulades and their filling - because that takes the longest and the roulades simmer in the oven, so you can then prepare the ratatouille in peace.

By the way, for the dish, it's advisable to have a roasting pan - those are these gigantic and very heavy pots in an oval shape that you know from your mother's roasts. Expensive, heavy, annoying, but with the size of the horse roulades, don't even think about a normal pot, take a roasting pan right away.

  1. Chop onion and garlic finely
  2. Chop olives finely
  3. While we're at it, chop eggplants finely and soak in salted water (sometimes they are bitter, so they need a bath before use)
  4. Mix minced meat, onions, garlic, and olives thoroughly. You can also add spices (thyme, oregano) here. Basically the distribution: meat spicy, vegetables rather mild, so here the slightly stronger things.
  5. Spread roulades flat (and wonder what you manage to do with them - the things are gigantic!)
  6. Spread each roulade with a tablespoon of mustard
  7. Then distribute the filling
  8. Roll up the roulades and secure with roulade rings or roulade needles (rings worked better for me - two per roulade, because of the size)
  9. Chop celeriac, carrot (and if desired another onion!) finely
  10. Preheat the oven to 170°
  11. Heat oil in the roasting pan, sear the roulades from all sides for a few minutes
  12. Remove roulades, set aside on a plate, add celeriac and carrot pieces to the roulade broth and fry
  13. Add cloves, bay leaf, and peppercorns
  14. Fry everything well, it should leave traces on the vegetables
  15. Deglaze with red wine (pour over)
  16. Bring everything back to a boil
  17. Pour in the broth
  18. Bring everything back to a boil
  19. Put the roulades back in the roasting pan
  20. The liquid should not be too little at the bottom, because some of it will still boil away and then the roulades will become dry, so if necessary, fill up with some water (or if you have any left, broth)
  21. Bring to a boil briefly
  22. Put the roasting pan with the roulades in the oven and let them simmer there for about 1.5 - 2 hours. In between, you should turn the roulades over (1-2 times).

Now that the roulades are simmering - and that takes time! - it's a good time to clean up in the kitchen and wash all the plates and bowls that you used in between because you panicked that there was no surface for the tongs, or the vegetables also had to wait somewhere for their destiny or something similar. Take a short break and relax, ratatouille is actually quite simple. About 30 minutes before the roulades are done, start with the rest:

  1. Chop bell peppers and zucchini into small pieces, keep eggplants separate, they need longer (optimal would be to keep all three vegetables separate)
  2. If desired, add an onion and some garlic - you can simply do this with the roulades above and take some for the ratatouille
  3. Chop tomatoes finely (if you want, you can pre-cook them in hot water and then peel - I don't have problems with tomato skin and save myself the trouble)
  4. Heat oil in the pan
  5. Add eggplants and pre-fry (here you would also add the onions and garlic)
  6. When the eggplants start to become translucent, add the zucchini
  7. When the zucchini starts to become translucent, add the bell peppers and tomatoes
  8. Fry everything thoroughly and season. The tomatoes should fall apart, but the other vegetables should still be recognizable in their shape.
  9. Put the lid on the pan (your pan has a lid, right? If not, it's difficult!) and let it simmer for 5 minutes (that was my mistake, too long, became too soft - the 5 minutes are an estimate from me, I had more)

When the ratatouille is ready, the roulades should also be ready. So take the roulades out of the oven and put them on the plates. If you want sauce: simply strain the vegetable-broth mixture from the roasting pan through a sieve and then add some water to dilute and make sauce with sauce thickener. Is currently still theoretical for me, as there wasn't enough at the bottom to bother, so I just put some of the roast residue on the roulade.

I ate the whole thing again as usual with bread. And with it - since I had it open anyway - a glass of wine. It was very tasty (ok, in a restaurant I would have commented on the very soft ratatouille, but with my own experiments I am quite tolerant with myself), just simply a much too large portion. And the time invested to produce the whole thing was not in proportion to the time in which I devoured the portion. But hey, the weather wasn't so great today, so you can also make such cooking excursions.

jsFiddle is a very nicely made online editor for JavaScript, HTML, and CSS. Various JavaScript frameworks are supported, and there is the possibility to save snippets and discuss them with others. Progressing.js is also available, as well as a number of tools to unleash on the code. Quite cool for experiments.

Toolbox, H5 and twentytenfive are Wordpress templates that are based on HTML5. I should take a look at them and see if I can't build my own theme on one of them, instead of deriving it from the standard theme. Since I am currently a subtheme of the standard Twentyten, Twentytenfive might be the easiest - but Toolbox could also be interesting because it is a really minimal theme that I could use as a real base.

balupton/history.js provides an API for accessing HTML5 History manipulation, but it also supports older browsers and uses that ugly # notation - but only when HTML5 is not available. Could be quite interesting for a project of mine.

Today I learned that there are two-legged skinks (which are actually legless reptiles) that use their front feet as shovels like a mole: Handwühlen. Just when you think nature is already weird enough, you learn a new curiosity.

Paprika-Bohnen-Suppe mit Hack

And once again, a funny episode from "Cooking with RFC1437". Today, a real man's soup. Okay, for men who aren't too wild about spicy food. So, a little man's soup then.

  • two bell peppers
  • one onion (not too small)
  • 4 cloves of garlic
  • 2 mild peperoni
  • 300g ground meat
  • 400g kidney beans (from the can)
  • 500ml vegetable broth (for me it was only 450, the remaining 50 were in the previous cooking frenzy)
  • tomato paste
  • basil
  • cilantro
  • pepper and salt
  1. Chop or dice the onions (I dice, well, sort of like cubes - just small)
  2. Dice the garlic
  3. Dice the bell peppers
  4. Dice the peperoni and wonder when you'll buy a food processor
  5. Pan hot, add olive oil
  6. Fry the ground meat crumbly (just put in the ground meat and with the spatula keep dividing the clumps until you have nice small crumbly fried ground meat) - don't fry it completely, it will still be cooked in the soup
  7. When the ground meat is done, put it in the pot
  8. Put the onions and garlic in the pan and let them become translucent
  9. Put the bell peppers and peperoni in the pan and fry for a few minutes together with the onions
  10. Take everything out of the pan and put it in the pot
  11. Half a liter of vegetable broth in the pot
  12. The beans in the pot
  13. Basil and cilantro in the soup - I am quite generous with basil
  14. Let it boil, then simmer for 30 minutes (so just not too much bubbling in the pot - on my stove, half a point on full pot is enough for that), stir occasionally
  15. Taste and add pepper and salt

The whole thing then tastes a bit like a mild, slightly sweet chili con carne. I suspect that with chili spice and hot peperoni, the whole thing is also a usable spicy variant. And can certainly be varied cheerfully with the vegetables. The whole thing then yields approximately 4 normal soup bowls.

Plagiarism scandal: Doctoral supervisor distances himself from zu Guttenberg. Just as a question posed to the room (honestly, I don't know!): doesn't a doctoral supervisor read the doctoral thesis of their doctoral candidate?