When I was at my sister's house for Christmas, some of my familly was commenting that they liked my new page design because it was easier to read. When I saw one of their machines I realized why, they use a fairly low resolution (something in the 800 x 600 vicinity.) I know my mother uses this same resolution. Even on a 17 inch monitor this leaves little screen real estate to work with. Add in all the side and top menu bars that Windows brackets you with and the situation is even worse. Some of our pages are reduced to very narrow columns of text snaking down the right hand side of the browser window. Since most of us don't have lots of links on the left hand side (which I guess was the point of all that space - I mean beside the fact that I like a little blank space on a page) maybe we should have the main text take up most of the page. On a big monitor at a higher resolution this can make the text column too wide (of course you can just make the browser window smaller to fix this,) but for most people it is probably better. I've noticed some other bloggers moving toward this style. Like the queen of bloggers herself, megnut.

This sort of cosmetic change is very very simple. Let me know if anyone has any thoughts on this.

how's got cable?? Door Knock Dinners featuring Morimoto and Michiba: The New York Special, aired in June of 2000 on the Food Network, featured a half hour segment with Michiba and Morimoto participating in a Door Knock Dinner (they attempt to make a meal out of what's in a surprised person's fridge). The segment will be aired on Food Network on Friday, December 29 at 6 and 9pm (PT) and again on Saturday, December 30 at 4:30pm (PT).

Is it snowing yet?

yahoo to Saveur again / in the current issue The Saveur 100 / #96 SMARTEST "Thing to Leave Out of Wine" 'What was it we liked so much about the 1999 Brander Sauvignon au Natural from Santa Barbera county? The luscious fruit? The steely elegance? Sure-but what we really liked about it was NO OAK. Oak in wine is like garlic in cooking-a little bit adds flavor ; a lot ruins it. Winemakers of the world: tone down the oak or just forget it all together!'

Now I don't want to nag, but be sure to write a thank you note to Jim, for gifting us with this tree-place in cyberspace. It's now a bit more than a year old, and come a long way in that time. It's certainly meant a lot to me. Thanks Jim, for all your love and work here. (Just don't lose my posts again, OK?)

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just felt the need to note on the record that i am a dimwit. thanks. joyeux festivus.

if any one needs a great wine list and is near Watertown/Waltham go to Il Capriccio 888 main st Waltham 7818942234 --the list is long well thought out and not too expensive--the food heavy but nice w/ veggies, salads and other lighter foods good

from linda: At UnBagelivable next door to Ruthy's Cheesecake and Rugelach Bakery at Chelsea Market, 415 W. 15th St., the jelly doughnuts go nearly as fast as they're baked - and with good reason. Round and high and dusted with granulated sugar, they're delicious, and stuffed full of a rich raspberry jam that tastes as fresh as if it were preserved that morning. And only 70 cents per doughnut!

get ready to rock in montauk--we will be getting a shipment from these fungi's

e-jargoneering

Slow day at DMTree, so I figured I could find something by typing nonsense words into Google. Just so you know, splidge is posting to everything2.

What are Glutamate and MSG? Glutamate is one of the most common amino acids found in nature. It is the main component of many proteins and peptides, and is present in most tissues. Glutamate is also produced in the body and plays an essential role in human metabolism. Virtually every food contains glutamate. It is a major component of most natural protein foods such as meat, fish, milk and some vegetables. MSG is the sodium salt of glutamate and is simply glutamate, water and sodium. In the early 1900s scientists isolated the ingredient-glutamate-in plants that is the essential taste component responsible for greatly enhancing flavor. In the early part of this century, MSG was extracted from seaweed and other plant sources. Today, MSG is produced in many countries around the world through a natural fermentation process of molasses from sugar cane or sugar beets, as well as starch and corn sugar. Flavor Enhancement Properties When present in its "free" form-not "bound" together with other amino acids in protein-glutamate has a flavor enhancing effect in foods. When MSG is added to foods, it provides a flavoring function similar to the naturally occurring free glutamate. MSG is used to enhance the natural flavors of meats, poultry, seafood, snacks, soups and stews. Multidimensional scaling experiments, which are used in sensory research, indicate that MSG falls outside the region occupied by the four classic tastes of sweet, sour, salty and bitter. This distinctive taste is known as "umami," a word coined by the Japanese to describe the taste imparted by glutamate.

I've recently discovered that my favorite (well, one of...) restaurant Prune has one table "downstairs" that can be reserved for a private party. I think we could squeeze 8 people. It's a small, alcove like experience, but supposedly it is very charming. I know they'd let us bring vino for a reasonable corkage. Anyone up for a dmtree holiday meal? (or after-holiday meal?) Maybe sometime between Jan 1 and Jan 12?

Reuters: Holiday revelers have tried many an odd cure for hangovers, but now doctors suggest one that really might work. Eating honey, according to the National Headache Foundation, could help you avoid hangover headaches altogether. ``Honey on a cracker or piece of toast, before or after drinking, may prevent a hangover,'' according to a statement from the headache experts. ``Honey--as opposed to some other sugar stores--has fructose, which competes for the metabolism of alcohol,'' Dr. Merle Diamond, associate director of the Diamond Headache Clinic in Chicago told Reuters Health. This competition prevents the rapid change in alcohol levels that causes the 'bang' headache in the morning, she said. ``Tomato juice, another good source of fructose, also helps to burn alcohol faster,'' according to the National Headache Foundation. ``But honey works best,'' she said. More information at www.headaches.org

The Florida sunshine law which implies that a post election independent audit would set the record straight was handily thwarted by the supreme court not establishing (read : intentionally avoiding) a standard for the recounting of unders and overs. They ran out the clock by avoiding this point and accepting the case to begin with. Then blew the whistle to boot. I hate sports metafores.

hey joe where you going with that gun in your hand

Any one know exactly where the space lab is in the night sky. I've noticed somthing bright and always exactly in the same place to the south. Is that it ? Have I found it !?

Now that its almost a done deal I'd like to say that I'm glad GWB will be the new president simply and irresponsibly for the fact that I'm hoping he will continue to entertain many of us as he has done in the past. Still, it saddens me that so many of the people I know here in Southern Louisiana and obviously a few forty million others across the country really voted for such an insubtantial hairball of a guy. Sometimes, the will of mass america scares me, although, I guess in a way its good to know where everyone's standing so we can bob and weave, when necessary. Jesus, Gjr as president. I was never able in good conscience to vote for Clinton but give me the chance to replace Gjr with Slick Willie and I would say, "I love Bill Clinton, and I want you to love him too, and tonite when you hit your knees I want you to ask God to love him." (Guess the movie that last line is from--Bill Clinton is not the name used in the movie--and win a no expenses paid trip to the grand opening of the New Orleans, Louisiana Taco Bell across the street from the parish prison at Broad and Tulane.

Carnegie Mellon University found that e-commerce systems do reduce the use of buildings, but they generally rely on a transportation system that is more energy and pollution intensive (not to mention they clog up the highways and cause air traffic delays and then we as a society complain about it when it's actually our purchases adding to the problem). The "Green Team" at Carnegie Mellon also took into account all those boxes and packing materials, which they say makes the environmental impact of e-commerce 2.5 times worse than conventional commerce.

"should supremes be for life? is that really the best idea?" - df

only dianna, the rest are expendable

listen Mr.South of Santa you must become a photographer

Last Thursdays NYT, Circuts Q and A column answered a request for a spell checker that would cover botanical names.

fans of the film "Heavy Metal parking lot" and the sequil "Neil Diamond Parking Lot" should be thrilled that Anthology Film Archinve is screening Jeff Coulics (sp?) new film "Harry Potter Parking Lot" on Thursday, check tomorrows VV for the time.

Can anyone remember (and post here) George Carlin's 7 forbidden words ? It could increase our hits !

We've had a few laughs around here lately due to the...er...curious search requests that generate hits on our pages (I say 'our' but I really mean 'Bill'.) Anyway, I didn't know (until yesterday) that there is a whole site dedicated to such disturbing search requests (not for the people offended by other peoples search for offensive material.)