Robotic BBQ

Tonight, we were invited over to the home of one of the faculty Dan supports - Yoky Matsuoka (in the green above) - for a barbecue for her Robotics Lab. She's doing working to create a robotic, prosthetic arm that will be functionally and visually equivalent to a human arm, so that it will blend perfectly. Besides being brilliant, she's incredibly kind, friendly, generous, and supportive. When Dan has tough days at work, it's often a reassuring word from Yoky that helps him see the light at the end of the tunnel.



This Summer, her lab is full of folks of all ages - from middle school students spending 4 hours a day for a full week, to high school students doing Summer internships, undergraduates, graduate students, and post-docs (like our friend Ashish). The BBQ included a bit of each (minus the middle school kids), though Dan was the only staff.



Yoky shares our love of Hawai`i, and we were greeted with leis when we arrived, and the food (intentionally or not) had some definite island flair. I got myself a sweet bun and made a sandwich with some barbecued chicken, and had it with steamed rice, pasta salad, and a little grilled pineapple.



Yoky and her husband, Simon, provided all the food and most of the drinks, but Dan & I couldn't resist picking up some fried bananas to bring along.



Since I only knew a few people, and I get kinda shy in groups, I did what I usually do - found the pets and kids. Yoky & Simon's twin daughters and I spent a good part of the party making things out of colored duct tape - brought by one of the grad students. I made them each a crown and a necklace, and they returned the favor - so I ended up wearing a crown and necklace made of duct tape all night.

Museum of Flight

Tonight was my company's annual post-holiday party, and it was held down at the Museum of Flight. Neither of us had been to the museum since we were kids, so this was a fun chance to get to see the exhibits and enjoy free food and drinks.



We missed the party last year, but vividly remember that the food was gone by the time we arrived two years back, so we didn't plan on being filled up (or even getting any food) at the party. However, McCormick & Schmick's did the catering this year, and you couldn't walk 50 feet without bumping into a bar or a huge buffet table stocked with food. They did a great job with the food, which ranged from chicken & beef skewers, to cheese & crackers, to spanikopita.





We didn't pig out, though - sharing a small plate. So when we left, we hit Jack in the Box on the drive home for a couple Sourdough Jack burgers and some fries.

A Bold, Fresh Piece of Gingerbread Manity

Every year for the past 6 years or more, Amazon's US Media buying teams (those of us involved in the books, music, and movie buying areas of the company) get together for a holiday party. And every year we are put into teams, with the goal of creating a food display that uses a recently released media item as the inspiration. I've been in other areas of the company for a few Christmases, so this year I was excited to be back in the competition.

My team (Prancer) bounced around some ideas, but landed on the Bill O'Reilly book "A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity" as our inspiration.. I was pushing for a full-on human flesh smorgasbord, with a red velvet torso cake, jello brains, gummy hearts, and finger cookies. But I think that was a bit too out there for most of Team Prancer. I also threw out the idea of very unhappy gingerbread men, which several people liked. However, another contingent was pushing for ham. I have no idea what their plan was, but I was going to have nothing to do with it. Fortunately, by a margin of 1 vote, gingerbread one out.

We also needed a sign for our display, so I decided to go nuts and make a gingerbread recreation of the book cover. I can't say icing Bill O'Reilly's face was enjoyable, but I was happy with the end result.

Because of the snow storms hitting Seattle, the party was a little small, but everyone seemed to really like what I did. Someone suggested I should change professions, though I hope that says more about my pastry skills than my SQL abilities.

No word yet on which team won the competition...

CSE Grant Manager Holiday Get-Together

Dan invited some folks from his work (all the people who hold the same position he does, managing grants for various UW CSE faculty) to come over for a little afternoon holiday potluck/get-together.



Unfortunately, the first big snowfall of the season made it impossible for everyone to make it, but we still had a great time, drank some cocktails, ate great food, laughed... and even got Julie to play a quick holiday tune on my accordion.



Dan got a variety of cheeses, some grapes and pear, a veggie platter, and plenty of fixins for pomegranate-cranberry cosmos and boozy egg nog.



I made some homemade chocolate barks (one with rice crispies, and one with mini-marshmallows and macadamia nuts), some mini happleberry pies (using puff pastry), and a really quick and easy fiesta cheese fondue, perfect for dipping chips or crudites in. It's from Sandra Lee, Miss Semi-Homemade herself.



Fiesta Fondue
1 can of cheddar cheese soup
8 oz of shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup of chipotle salsa

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat, and stir until melted and combined. Transfer to a fondue pot and keep warm.

CSE Holiday Potluck

Tonight we headed over to the U-Village area, for the annual UW Computer Science & Engineering Holiday Potluck. Dan & I made gingerbread cookies shaped like Palm Trees and Pineapples (What can I say, we love Hawai'i).

Cucumber Sandwiches

It's been awhile, but this afternoon was my former team's bi-weekly social. I made up some white chocolate mocha brownies, which it turned out was unnecessary - as Ally took on the role of host this week for everyone. She made banana cupcakes, and some perfect little cucumber sandwiches, topped with mint from her garden. She also brought a ton of mint and I was able to take some home with me. It's definitely on the short list for items to add to our garden next year.