http://clawblog.com Unique tips: photography, cooking, coffee, parenting and more... Thu, 31 Jan 2008 16:45:56 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en To many, nothing is more artistic than a simple penciled sketch.  Over the years, the true talent of an artist was best demonstrated in their ability to draw.  While stumbling the other day I came across a really neat site that allows you to recreate an artists sketch, digitally.  You simply upload ... http://clawblog.com/2008/01/31/how-to-make-a-sketch-from-your-digital-photo/ Prior to acquiring a serious espresso machine for my wife at Christmas I used to frequent the local Starbucks on a semi-regular basis to get her a latte.  The one closest to our house is one of the limited stores that incorporates a drive-thru. Starbucks, or "Four-bucks", a reference to their ... http://clawblog.com/2008/01/30/close-all-drive-thrus/ Is she really reading?  Well, I doubt she's making sense of the words, but I do believe she is triggering different elements of her imagination with each page turn.  Prior to the birth of our daughter 14 months ago, my wife and I committed to doing everything possible to limit / ... http://clawblog.com/2008/01/29/dad-talk-no-tv-for-baby-reading-at-14-months/ Properly ground coffee beans go a long way toward brewing a quality cup of drip coffee or cup of pressure brewed, crema coffee.  Following are the top 3 reasons why burr grinders are better than conventional blade-style grinders. Consistency of the grind! Does not heat up the grounds Greater capacity for grinding more beans ... http://clawblog.com/2008/01/28/coffee-top-3-reasons-why-burr-grinders-are-better-than-blade-grinders/ Not only does salmon taste great, it's tremendously healthy for you.  It's rich in omega-3 fatty acids that serve to lubricate the body, as well as increase good cholesterol and lower bad cholesterol.  All of these reasons are important in the fight to help prevent heart disease. Salmon is fantastic when grilled, ... http://clawblog.com/2008/01/27/the-perfect-grilled-salmon/ Yesterday was "family lunch day".  A time reserved for my wife and baby to get out for a "treat".  We loaded up the vehicle (quite the chore with a 14 month old :) ) and headed off to our chosen lunch spot.  This week took us on the freeway for a ... http://clawblog.com/2008/01/25/better-etiquette-driving-and-the-blinker/ In an ongoing effort to select foods that serve to improve one’s overall health, don’t forgo certain black foods in  your diet. In particular, black beans, rice, sesame seeds and vinegar.  In addition to their black color, all of these foods contain antioxidants called anthocyanins, which possess anti-inflammatory properties.  Following ... http://clawblog.com/2008/01/23/health-tip-black-foods/ While car seats provide important protection for our babies, the fact of the matter is they are not used properly by most people.  The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that nearly 80% of all car seats are not properly installed.  Additional problems result from the child not being ... http://clawblog.com/2008/01/22/preparing-for-baby-top-9-car-seat-dos-and-donts/ My wife loves her lattes.  So much so that "Coffee" is a line item in the household budget.  After doing a great bit of research, I decided to take the plunge and buy my wife a super-automatic espresso machine for Christmas.  At the rate my wife drinks lattes, the unit ... http://clawblog.com/2008/01/22/best-cup-of-coffee-pressure-brewed-crema-coffee/ I recently completed a long overdue cleanup and organization project in my garage.  In so doing I came across three products that I found exceptionally useful. All of these products are not uncommon in existing garages today, but I found that there are a lot of choices when it comes to ... http://clawblog.com/2008/01/21/garage-organization-3-must-have-products/