Some think sausage and mashed potato is best. I’m not one. This is the family recipe for kielbasa, kraut and potato — Alsatian-style, by way of Ireland.

1. Bake thick-skinned potatoes, then peel when cooled a bit. You could use a microwave, which cuts down the total cooking time by about 40 min.
2. Poke sausages with a knife to let escape fat, then boil for ten minutes. Cut into fingernail-width slices, and reserve. The more authentic the sausage, the better;  but, in a pinch, I’ve had success with “Hillshire Farm” product line.
3. Drain kraut and replace brine with the combination of sausage water and white wine. Then simmer kraut in rolling water for 10 minutes, adding four cloves and a bay leaf to get that cosmopolitan taste.

At the end, combine all the ingredients and plate while steaming. Myself, I definitely favor baking, rather than to microwave, the potatoes; because I prefer the evenness of the bake over a faster cooking time. Plus, I feel the baked potatoes end up peeling more easily, and remain whole more often (which is what I want).

Lastly, out of all the pre-made krauts, the best to use is the BA-TAMPTE brand. Currently, it’s available  in both plastic and in glass, and keeps nearly forever in the cold, nether-regions of your refrigerator.

I’m going to list the three most important steps to start developing on App Engine, with Eclipse GUI magic, based upon using the Ubuntu Linux as your development distro.

1. Install Python + Eclipse via Synaptic. Actually, there may be some conflict between installed Python version and Google App Engine SDK’s required version. Myself, I did indeed have to address this issue — after it raised some problems. Setting this right meant following these instructions (although a bit authoritarian).
2. Use Help > Install software in Eclipse to download and install amazing plugin PyDev. For integrating with the App Engine SDK, see PyDev App Engine Integration. With this magic plugin, you can even use Eclipse to upload your project the App Engine cloud!
3. Finally, set up your first new project that uses PyDev’s App Engine facilities. The important compoments of this last (but hardest) step are (a) right-click in the Package Explorer and choose New > Other and (b) in the upcoming dialog select “App Engine project” from the PyDev folder.

That last little gem of crucial info I sourced fro this page.

To test our Eclipse project:

• Configure the project to run as a Google App project through “Run As” (only needed once).
• Right click the src folder, then run as “PyDev: Google App Run”. Browse to http://localhost:8080/ and validate that you’re in business.

I just love to embed audio. Here’s some from a favorite contemporary author of mine. ‘Contemporary’ means he’s alive now.

Embedding was as simple as specifying the link target as the mp3 file uri. Thanks, WordPress, Firefox.

Can we play mp3′s? I love you Will Self / I call you ‘Will Selfless’

Books I intend to read this summer:

• The Bloody Chamber: And Other Stories by Angela Carter
• A book or 2 by Russell Hoban, who Self likes.