Using His Noodle
Before he opened Momofuku Noodle Bar, David Chang spent months cooking and eating in Japan, where he learned that ramen is as diverse as American barbecue, and that variations are just as passionately debated among connoisseurs. So rather than attempt the impossible—making “real ramen” far from its authentic Japanese context—he’s come up with his own style, using ingredients like miso compound butter, eggs slowly poached in their shells, Greenmarket corn, and Berkshire pork. The result is a gently priced menu rooted in tradition but not enslaved by it, with a Pan-Asian twist in the form of additions like cold Korean buckwheat noodles and Chinese pork buns.
163 First Avenue
212-475-7899
hebrew, the chosen beer
From Spaceflightnow.com: "The European Space Agency's ambitious Huygens probe descended to Saturn's moon Titan today, becoming the first spacecraft to touch the mysterious world's surface."

For a more interesting inside look, Emily Lakdawalla of the Planetary Society is running a blog from Huygens mission control in Darmstadt, Germany. The blog is being updated as events happen.

Here's the wikipedia page for the Huygens Probe.
im just going to throw this out there. my old 1997 jvc fs-d88 (cd/cassette/radio tuner) micro audio system is crapping out. the goal in replacement would be to find a hot system that could really pump it out (when needed) that you could play your airport express delivered wireless lap through and that you could also run dvds and cable tv audio through. im crazy about those KLH kloss designed stereos but they supposedly dont have aux input for your i.pod (and therefore laptop?) im thinking about staying with jvc and this looks close to what im looking for in my price range. trying to stay very simple but take advantage of the airport express (steaming internet radio) laptop-mp3's (ipod) dvd/cd digital-cable-tv stuff. cassettes ha ha ha. i would keep the vhs player but it wouldnt need to stay permanently hooked up. then again dave would ad tivo too but ill have to wait on that.
skinny loves wd~50:

last nite the food was fab, i am not sure i will eat a better meal this year, this years bay scallops might even be better than last year (which were the #1 in nyc), the new monkfish dish is fantastic, and the desserts were stunning as usual (french toast is not just for breakfast anymore)......
go nancy
ok one more time. there were no wmd
tell it like it is assholes
For me, too true.
madc0w pr0d

While both of the terrorist pilots who crashed into the World Trade Center were students at Venice Florida’s Huffman Aviation, the flight school's owner Wallace J. Hilliard, 72, of Naples, FL., was simultaneously pursuing a diplomatic opening to Fidel Castro’s Cuba.

But it's Hilliard’s involvement with ADNAN KHASHOGGI, arms merchant and international fugitive, which we find most intriguing. The SAUDI BILLIONAIRE’s name has now surfaced in connection with the ownership of two of the election service companies whose performance in the 2004 Presidential contest has inspired heated controversy.
0n h0fmann
Glad to have Randy Johnson as a Yankee (better he were 10 years younger) but he’d better adjust to the big city. He’s on Letterman tonight, and this incident prompts me to predict an item:
Top 10 ways for a sportswriter to get punched out:
#1: Ask Randy Johnson why they call him “the Big Eunuch”
You come up with the other 9.
usa is a monster
"WASHINGTON (AP) - The Bush administration paid a prominent black journalist to promote President Bush's education law and give Education Secretary Rod Paige media time, records show.



Armstrong Williams, a nationally syndicated radio, print and television personality, was paid $240,000 by the Education Department to promote the No Child Left Behind Act."


[just add the sound of a democracy swirling down the tube]




psy




(gifs in kind)
Debbie Wye's enthusiasm for prints is untainted and contagious. It is nice to see her get some recognition for an often unsung department/medium.
skinny sez yum yum

NYTimes $25 and Under reviews Uminoie (86 East Third Street; 646-654-1122):

Mutsumi Tanaka and Mika Okui opened this unassuming spot in January without a day of professional kitchen experience between them. The women, both in their 20's, cook, act as hostesses and wash dishes behind a five-seat bar — not unlike an island counter flanked by stools in a home kitchen — that is the focal point of the narrow, sparsely appointed space.
Uminoie serves an idiosyncratic blend of food cooked in the style of Goto Island, west of Nagasaki, where Ms. Tanaka grew up, and in the style of Ms. Okui's mother, who is from Tokyo. Goto's cuisine is distinguished by the use of ago-dashi, a broth made by briefly simmering dried flying fish, in lieu of ichiban-dashi, the dried bonito and kelp stock commonly used in Japanese cooking.
Portions are generally small, and the menu is not divided into courses. You are encouraged to linger, to drink and to order at a leisurely pace, as is the custom at an uminoie, a casual beachside restaurant and bar.
Dishes from Goto and nightly specials are the best bets. Goto udon ($8) showcases the sweet, delicate flavor of ago-dashi in a simple soup of hand-cut udon noodles made by Ms. Tanaka's father on Goto. The creamy curd of a rolled omelet infused with ago-dashi ($8) called to mind another fish and egg combo, slow-cooked eggs with caviar. Nikujyaga ($5), beef stewed in ago-dashi with onions, potatoes and carrots, has an elusive and alluring sweetness that hints at mirin or miso.
Prodded for its secrets, the kitchen coyly offered that the stew contained "other Japanese flavors" in the manner in which home cooks "accidentally" omit an ingredient when passing on recipes.
BEST DISHES Goto udon; dashimaki-tamago (rolled omelet); nikujyaga (beef stew); kakuni (pork belly); stuffed peppers; gyoza.
Steven Parrino

RIP
gifts in kind
miscellaneous parking lot theory links
"Security by Microsoft" -- Hole in MS Media DRM allows rogue media files to trigger the download of popups, installation of adware, etc.
something for backyard birdwatching, doctor?
Mr. Wilson, your skills might be needed in the war on terror:
German authorities thought they heard a bird chirping in one of Bin Laden's audiotapes this year, and brought in ornithologists to identify the species — and its habitat — according to reports in the German media.
"And I would have gotten away with it too, if it wasn't for you meddling ornithologists!"
CA to dmt: Happy Holidays