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Starry Night Enthusiast 8 for Apple Silicon
When I upgraded from an Intel to Apple Silicon MacBook Pro, I couldn’t get Starry Night Enthusiast 8 by Simulation Curriculum to work. The error message indicated that the application was damaged, even after a fresh installation. As a last resort, I deleted this folder: Users > [username] > Library > Application Support > Simulation…
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Lightroom Dehaze Turns Black
I had ordered a 16″ MacBook Pro at the beginning of the WFH phase of the pandemic. Three years later, the laptop is still chugging along on its legacy Intel processor. The biggest bottleneck is with the AI-powered Denoise in Lightroom, where it takes about a minute per photo. May not be as fast as…
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San Francisco COVID-19 Vaccine Order
On August 12, 2021, the Health Officer of the City and County of San Francisco ordered certain businesses to check patrons 12 years and older and staff for proof of full vaccination before allowing them to enter an indoor portion of the business. In the United States, the COVID-19 vaccines available include the Pfizer and…
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Lantern Festival
The Lantern Festival (元宵節) marks the conclusion of Chinese New Year celebrations. When it falls in February, it coincides with the arrival of the Snow Moon.
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Beef Roll 牛肉捲餅
My version of the beef roll 牛肉捲餅 is a marriage of two recipes: sous vide beef shank and green onion pancakes. While I can prepare the beef shank in the Instant Pot, I find the process a lot simpler with sous vide. It just requires some advance planning. Once the beef shank is done, I…
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螞蟻上樹
Growing up, I had heard about 螞蟻上樹 but had never had it. In my mind, I pictured something like ants on a log with raisins on celery sticks filled with peanut butter. But, it is a real Sichuan dish, which I found in the the re-issued edition of The Food of Sichuan by Fuchsia Dunlop.…
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National SRMK18N Rice Cooker Pan
My 17-year-old National SRMK18N rice cooker still works. I had already replaced the inner pan twice. Unfortunately, there will not be a third time since the replacement pan is no longer available. I was a bit devastated by this unplanned obsolescence. Panasonic still sells replacement parts for the SRMK18N, but none of them include the…
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Stir-Fried Lotus Root
I prepared this dish based on the Caramelised Lotus Root recipe from Kylie Kwong’s My China with some substitutions and modifications. Add oil to a hot wok. Once the oil is heated, add the ginger and whole garlic cloves, and stir-fry until toasted and fragrant. For that extra boost of garlic flavor, I add a…
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MacOS Mojave 10.14 Will Not Install
It took way too many attempts this morning, but I was finally able to upgrade to MacOS Mojave 10.14. When I first attempted to upgrade from High Sierra, I was able to download and run the installation app. It then proceeded to close other applications and restart. However, a quick check of About This Mac…
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Dry Roasted Cauliflower
After having 干锅菜花 at a few Chinese restaurants, I’ve worked on a home version of my totally non-authentic dry roasted cauliflower. First, I start off with Chinese cauliflower, which I found available at select 99 Ranch markets. I’ve been finding it consistently at the Cupertino and Mountain View stores, but not the Foster City one.…