It's 2:00 am on a Saturday night and I'm up working on my dissertation, which already puts me in a less than peaceful mood. But then I find out that the genius brains at Microsoft didn't configure Excel 2003 to correctly display charts on a wide-screen monitor. What happens is that the Y axis label on every chart I make (and of course, I'm making a lot of them) is truncated, regardless of the length of the label. It doesn't matter if I resize the table or the font or the label itself. Trust me, I've tried everything. I've noticed this for a while and have been meaning to look into it. Well, now I've looked into it and verified that this is a known problem with no real solution.
Huh? Isn't charts one of the main things that Excel is supposed to do?!
Well, at least I can finally stop tugging at those title borders, trying to stretch them out until finally I can see the whole title, because I have finally come to terms with the knowledge that it will never work. But I am definitely not happy about it.
I think I might be overtired, and perhaps a bit cranky. :)
I guess I should post a little good news, which is that my job situation is looking up in that vague sense in which it tends to do. Now I am applying for a new and different grant. Fortunately, it's just a short application (plus recommendations and a statement or two). Yes, Colliculus, it's what you'd asked me about, and I'm sorry I haven't emailed back yet!
And J helped me make okonomiyaki tonight with sauteed shrimp and scallops, which was literally something we just pulled ingredients for out of the fridge and freezer. If you also happen to have on hand some okonomiyaki batter, cabbage, scallions, seafood, dashi, nori flakes, and bonito flakes, you should really try it some time. And if you just have bonito flakes, give a few flakes to your cats and they'll love you forever.
And something else I meant to blog about but hadn't made the time to... I made scrambled eggs at home with two different friends this past week. I find that sort of strange.
ive always wanted to make okonomiyaki, or at least eat them because i haven't had them in years. where can i get them, if i am feeling lazy?
Posted by: Kira | Sunday, January 22, 2006 at 08:53 AM
Actually Kira, I have no idea where to get okonomiyaki around here. I've heard that you can get it at Otafuku in NYC, but if you're feeling lazy then you probably won't want to make a three hour trip each way to New York. :)
I'm guessing you can get it at various Japanese restaurants, with maybe more luck around DC and the Silver Spring area, but I really have no idea! The only time I've had it myself was in Osaka, Japan.
But making them is fairly easy if you have the right ingredients. We picked up stuff at Han Ah Reum and now have dashi, nori, and bonito flakes on hand. Fortunately, a lot of Japanese food seems to always call for the same ingredients...
Posted by: seadragon | Sunday, January 22, 2006 at 01:03 PM
Making scrambled eggs at home with two different friends is not strange. That is, if something weird was done to the eggs.
Glad to see your job situation looking up for you. :-)
Posted by: Double Dogged | Sunday, January 22, 2006 at 01:37 PM
Glad to hear things are progressing. Positions like this one always take a long time--with a great deal of angst and uncertainty--before finally settling into a stable state (positive or negative). Fingers, etc. are crossed!
Posted by: Colliculus | Sunday, January 22, 2006 at 10:54 PM
I first had okonomiyaki at the long-defunct Louie's Bookstore Cafe (where IXIA is now) and then found a couple of recipes that I've made sporadically since then... it sounds like yours is vastly better/more authentic... please to share???
:o)
Posted by: jwer | Monday, January 23, 2006 at 08:57 AM
Mrs A. makes it too. It's just about her favourite dish.
Posted by: JtH | Monday, January 23, 2006 at 03:36 PM