A guest post by my sweetie, Nate, a programmer at a local web development firm:
After finding that some code you’ve previously written would be useful in some program you’re working on currently, it would be a shame if you had to just copy-and-paste that original code into your new project, right? What if there was a bug in that original code? Now you have to fix it in two places: the original program, and the program you copypasta’d it into.
A better idea is to “include” code you’ve previously written in a new project. You do this by saying (in C) “#include <file.h>” where file.h is a file containing some previously written code. Now, when you find that bug and update file.h, your new project will benefit from the fix automagically.
Applied to cupcakes: delicious desserts that #include a file like <yummy.h> are a way for the chef to say “Look, I’m awesome, and have already mastered the cupcake thing. I’ll just #include the yumminess I’ve created in the past”.
Thus, these delicious vegan cupcakes “#include <yummy.h>” and import all that tried-and-true vegan cupcake numminess into the new batch.
chef’s note: Inspired by the beer glasses, I made these cupcakes for the Richmond Hardware Co-op work day. The Hardware Co-op is a ministry of the Richmond Church of the Brethren that accepts donations of old computer hardware, cleans it up, installs free/open-source software (like Ubuntu or Kubuntu Linux), and donates the finished machine to the needy in our community. (I use Kubuntu. *grins*) If you’re local & want to help at the Co-op, be in touch with Nate here or Mark here.
nom om om om om!!!
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Christmas came early this year to my Richmond Communities in Schools study buddy, a precious elementary student not quite to where she could be in her reading and writing. A few days before Christmas, Nate and I paid a visit to her mother’s apartment to deliver a bookcase that Nate had put together, I embellished with little purple flowers, & we both filled with books gathered from all over–eBay, Salvation Army, Goodwill, etc.
In total, we were able to deliver almost 90 books, many within her current reading range, to a home with fewer than 10. Thanks especially to the generous eBay seller who, upon learning who the books I bid on were intended for, included many many more at no extra charge!
Nate & I celebrated “our” Christmas on the Tuesday before heading to see his family in New York. Two shots of our tree:
Nate was given a pair of cthulhu slippers, a donation to the Free Software Foundation, bike etc from buyolympia.com, including two Portland-area bike zines and a pair of bicycle socks, a donation to Bikes To Rwanda which came with a free t-shirt, a Kubuntu mug, a Kubuntu t-shirt, a lb of ginger green tea from TeaGschwendner, a silver teaspoon, Sjaak’s vegan truffles, and some C. Spencer Yeh 7″s.
Me? Well, for starters, the new laptop I’m using, refurbished by someone on eBay and found at a great price. I love it! Also, an adorable owl mug, some vintage mushroom juice glasses, toasted coconut vegan marshmallows from Sweet & Sara, more chocolate, a cthulhu plushie, mushroom slippers custom-made on etsy, and lots and lots of love.
Ah, the redundancies of vegan coupling (aka four boxes of “surprise” truffles under the tree):
The long, slow drive to New York: here, through the Pennsylvania Wilds:
Continuing the tradition of doing something outdoors on holidays most people spend inside in front of televisions, we took a walk over the (relatively) newly-installed Walkway Over the Hudson, “the world’s tallest pedestrian bridge–a 120-year-old railroad bridge re-engineered 212 feet above the Hudson River.” Nate & his dad:
The view of the other bridge into Poughkeepsie from the Walkway:
On Christmas day, we opened presents with Nate’s parents and his sister and brother-in-law and then sat down for a big late breakfast. (organic cheerios with soymilk and Tofurkey biscuits for us. :)) No pictures of those wonderful events, but later that night I suddenly encountered a Rancor Beast while at Nate’s rich aunt’s:
The Rancor Beast ATTACKS!! aaaaagh…my nose…
The Rancor was uncovered in the Star Wars Pop-Up Guide to the Galaxy, which we delighted in while waiting for dinner at the Aunt’s. What a surprise to receive it from Nate’s parents just a few days later as a New Year’s present!
And, of course, that which completes one’s holiday break: watching little ragdoll twins (named One & Zero) attempt to eat various succulents:
Don’t worry–they didn’t get far.
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