Potato Salad

Several people have asked for the secret to the No-Mayo Potato Salad of late, so here it is with all its approximations:

A couple pounds of potatoes
About two spoonfuls of chopped dill
Four ounces of wine (red, white, whatever)
A spoonful of wine or rice vinegar
Eight tablespoons of olive oil
A spoonful of Dijon mustard
Pinch of salt
Pinch of pepper
Pinch of thyme
Diced garlic or rings or onion or both
Three hard boiled eggs, sliced thinly

Fill a big pot with warm water and two spoonfuls of salt. Add potatoes and eggs and bring to a boil. Cook eggs another eight minutes, then remove and slice. Keep cooking potatoes until tender enough to cut, then drain the pot and fill with cold water.

Mix the wine, mustard, dill, vinegar, salt, pepper and thyme. Slowly whisk in the olive oil. Slice the potatoes and add them to the mix. Then add the sliced egg and onion/garlic.

The big difference from more common versions with mayonnaise is that these egg yolks are cooked thoroughly before they are mixed with oil. Most interesting, perhaps, is that even with mayonnaise the right amount of vinegar will push the pH high enough to be acidic and prevent harmful bacteria from forming. But I still like to say a picnic without mayo is safer. My recipe also avoids the danger of running afoul with European Federation of the Condiment Sauce Industries rules, which state that a sauce maintain at least 70% oil and 5% liquid egg yolk. As far as I can tell a boiled egg recipe has no such restraint.

Mother hacks school grades

The AP says a mother tried to help her daughter’s chances for college by hacking the school’s records.

Caroline Maria McNeal of Huntingdon is accused of using the passwords of three co-workers without their knowledge to tamper with dozens of grades and test scores between May 2006 and July 2007 at Huntingdon Area High School in central Pennsylvania, the state attorney general’s office said.

McNeal, 39, is alleged to have improved her daughter Brittany’s grades and reduced those of two classmates to enhance Brittany’s standing in the 2008 graduating class.

First of all, why was she able to get the passwords of her co-workers? Actually, there is no second question. The fact that they shared passwords says a lot all on its own.

McNeal was charged with 29 counts of unlawful use of a computer and 29 counts of tampering with public records. Each count is a third-degree felony punishable by a maximum of seven years in prison and a $15,000 fine, said Nils Frederiksen, a spokesman for Corbett’s office.

Harsh penalties for changing grades, but I do not see anything in this investigation about those who gave the passwords so she could change the grades. No charges against them? It also does not explain how she was caught. Did students notice the changes? Did the IT department see irregular behavior, such as grades changing outside of normal hours/cycles? Did a co-worker turn her in as part of a plea deal?

Hummer fails Chinese test

China is set ‘to block’ Hummer takeover.

Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery emerged as the surprise buyer for the brand earlier this year.

But China National Radio said Hummer is at odds with the country’s planning agency’s attempts to decrease pollution from Chinese manufacturers.

Standards in China for clean air and efficiency that exceed those in the US? That normally would be good news, but thanks to product management at GM it’s now bad news for America.

the poetry of information security