What's the Point?

Don't worry, this isn't going to be a self-pitying entry about my qualms with the universe. I don't mean "What's the point?" as a rhetorical question, as people often do. I mean it quite literally. What's the point to this blog?

A friend of mine has been working on a blog of his own, and has been trying to streamline his thoughts and interests into a general theme. He got me thinking about the blogs I read, and my own blog, as well.

The blogs I read have very little in common with one another. A fashion designer in Brooklyn, a dog musher in Alaska, a farmer in upstate New York, a mother and her cancer-fighting baby in Kentucky. Maybe because they're all written by strong women? They all have qualities I admire; primarily, strength and independence. Only a few of the blogs I read are written by men. (And most don't even update anymore!)

Blogs are an evolution of the personal diary; a hobby often associated with the female sex (though I'm not sure why -- is keeping a record of your day-to-day life somehow feminine?). I've always kept diaries, journals, and now, blogs. My first diary was a big, blue, spiral notebook. I mostly used it for stickers, but I did scribble out some entries. They were riddled with spelling errors and hard to read, chicken-scratch handwriting.

I went through a long phase of starting journals and then immediately destroying everything I had written. Pretty much sums up my pre-teen and teenage years. So much angst for no apparent reason.

Then came the internet. I think I have had every online journal/diary/blog imaginable. Livejournal, Deadjournal, Xanga, and more recently, Blogger and Tumblr. I know there are others, I just can't remember them all.

But what's the point? Why have I always been so inclined to record my ramblings? And publicly, no less? Part of it is to feel important, I'm sure. To broadcast my thoughts and ideas, as if they somehow matter. Many hope to gain a following, some sort of e-fame, through their writing. I admit, that would be exciting. But I've been writing for years without any clear audience, and I don't show any signs of stopping.

My blog (diary, journal, etc.) is for me, above all else. It's something to keep track of my existence -- to prove that I exist. To share what I care about to anyone who might be listening. I don't write to change anyone's mind, but to open it, if only for a minute. And while I don't write about anything earth-shattering or unique, I hope to at least offer an alternate perspective: my perspective.

So when I ramble about dogs, cooking, and hiking, I realize I may bore the masses. But one person might adopt a husky, buy a bread machine, or go for a walk in the woods. And that's all I can hope for.

My Bread Making Adventure: Part IV - Pizza Edition

A few nights ago, Rob and I were hungry, and there was nothing to eat. In desperation, I turned to my trusty bread machine. I found a very simple recipe for pizza dough, and decided to give it a shot. The first pie came out surprisingly well. In fact, it was so good, we decided to celebrate our friend Ed's birthday with more homemade pizzas (along with cookies, cake, wine, and beer).

The recipe (originally from here, by Kim):

• 1 cup flat beer (I used Pabst the first time around, Yuengling the second... no noticeable difference)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1/4 teaspoons yeast

Throw everything in your bread machine and set it on "dough". It takes a little while, but the resulting pile of doughy goodness is the perfect consistency for pizza -- no more frozen, store-bought dough for us! By the way, if you get impatient and take your dough out a few minutes early, just be sure to have lots of extra flour on hand. It'll help make it less sticky.

For my pizzas, I sprinkled flour and cornmeal on a pan (makes the crust crispier). I stretched and flattened the dough by hand, and folded the edges for a nice, thick crust. I brushed olive oil on the crust and let the dough sit for about 15 minutes, with a paper towel covering the top. Next, I added a thin layer of Prego tomato sauce (I would love to make my own sauce next time, but Prego got the job done). On top of the sauce, I sprinkled a thick layer of mozzarella, and topped it off with some fresh parsley.

The pizza takes about 20-25 minutes to bake at 400° F -- just wait until the crust is golden brown and crispy. I added fresh Parmesan cheese on top after taking it out of the oven.

The final step: cut and consume! I'm sure this recipe can be adjusted for different pizza styles and toppings. If you try it, let me know what kind of pizza you made!

Colors of Autumn

After hiking six miles around the Watchung Reservation with my point-and-shoot, I can safely state that it was a solid investment. To say it takes good photos would be an understatement. It's so compact and light, I had no trouble letting it dangle from my wrist the entire time. Definitely easier on my back than lugging around my D-SLR gear.

Even the cheesy panorama setting produced some pretty awesome shots.

All in all, I'm very satisfied with my new hiking buddy. Although Dexter was a bit annoyed by my frequent stops for photo opportunities.

"Can we go!?"

My New Point-and-Shoot

Presenting my new Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX5. It retails for around $330-325, but I managed to nab this one for a mere $250 (plus about $8 shipping). I bought it open-box, so I saved a bunch of dough. Judging by the pictures that were on it when it arrived, I'm guessing it was B&H's floor model for a little while.

As I mentioned in my hiking post, I wanted to get a small, relatively durable point-and-shoot camera. As much as I adore my D-SLR, it can be a burden. It's big, heavy, and expensive. I can't get it wet, and I certainly can't throw it around in sand or dirt. Thus, there have been many outings where I've been without a camera, aside from my cell phone's mediocre one.

So for hikes, beach trips, rainy days, swimming pools, sledding, ice fishing, whatever... I have this little Sony point-and-shoot. It makes a decent sidekick for my D-SLR, so I'm happy. The photo quality isn't too bad, either:

I dunked it in water a few times to test its waterproofing. It's such an odd sensation -- putting a camera underwater on purpose. All my life I've conditioned myself to protect cameras from the elements. I took a few random underwater shots, without focusing or looking at the screen, and produced some very interesting results. I foresee lots of experiments with this camera in the future!

Fall's Fury

Without any warning, the weather seems to have flipped from melting-hot midsummer to damp-and-dreary, late fall. It's a shock to everyone's systems -- I lost count of how many friends are reporting colds, or just feeling cold.

Yes, it is cold. But it's not winter cold (thank goodness)... not yet. The rain and wind don't help, but believe me... come late January, you'll be wishing for temperatures above freezing. I don't really mind these dismal days. It's an excuse for extra coffee and wearing sweat pants with over sized, fluffy socks.

Inside becomes a sanctuary during the rain. I've got pumpkin spice scented candles and little bits of autumn decor around the house. I hope to gather a few more bits and pieces as Halloween approaches -- we certainly need some Jack-o-lanterns and horror-themed items.

So for those of you sick of this weather, or literally sick from this weather, hang in there. Enjoy your blankets, soup, cookies, and movies. It will pass and we'll be able to hit the pumpkin patches and hiking trails again. At least, for a little while, before winter steamrolls us all into hibernation.