I'm excited to say that Windows Search 4.0 (WS4) has been released today!  It was a lot of work and a great experience to be a part of. 

Windows Search 4.0 includes the following new features and improvements:

1. Improved indexing performance
2. Support for the Encrypting File System (EFS)
3. Reduced effect on Microsoft Exchange when you index e-mail in online mode, and there is no local cache (.ost) (this is my feature baby!)
4. Support for indexing online delegate mailboxes (I did this too!)
5. Support for client-to-client remote query to shared indexed locations
6. Faster previewer updates for Windows XP
7. Per-user Group Policy settings
8. Windows software updates for Watson errors (See, if you send error reports, we do fix them!)
9. Enterprise Group Policy settings

It was really great to work on a small team with a short release cycle.  Each member of the team was able to make a difference and we all worked hard to produce a solid, fast product that should really be great for consumers and enterprises alike.  We received great feedback during our Beta and have stabilized and improved it even more. 

You can install WS4 is supported on Vista and XP.  You can install it here: http://support.microsoft.com/Default.aspx?kbid=940157

Our small online business, Eye Mateys, which sells eye patches for children with Amblyopia and Strabismus, has recently released a new product line called: "Smaller Patches for Smaller Faces".  These patches are specially sized for infants and toddlers.  We are excited about the line since as far as we can tell, we are the first to offer anything like this.

Before we started the business, when we were searching for suitable eye patches for our son to wear, one of the things that bothered us was how huge the eye patches were.  They would cover the majority of a small child's face.  Since wearing a patch is already often a painful or embarrassing thing, having a patch that obstructed most of our sweet son's face really upset us.  It made a hard situation harder. 

We had other issues with the available patches, such as durability, comfort, quality, and aesthetic appeal.  We had two interesting experiences that motivated us into starting this business.  The first was while our son was still wearing a different patch that we had purchased from our Ophthalmologist's office.  Frankly, it looked like a big Band-Aid and every time we had to remove it, it would pull at our son's skin, causing pain and a lot of tears.  One day Holly was at the store and a little boy asked his father what was wrong with our son, the father responded that "that's what happens when you poke your eye out".  You can imagine how upset Holly felt.

Later, after our son started wearing the patches that Holly made, we would get excited and interested comments where ever we went.  People instantly seemed to know what the patch was for, and it seemed "cool" to other children due to the graphics.  We'd get comments like, "I want to wear a soccer ball like that!" from children when our son would be wearing a patch with a soccer ball on it.  Our son also didn't seem to mind anymore when it was time to wear his patch, especially since he had several to choose from.

After that we decided that we wanted to make these high quality, fun to wear patches available to the public.  We realize this will most likely stay a small business, filling a niche need with little profit.  But we get excited when we receive feedback and pictures from children, whose lives are made a little better by wearing our patches.  In that way, we are able to make a difference.

This past week Holly and I catered a 10 course dinner for a co-worker of mine and his friends (a party of 10).  We had planned on doing eight courses but as time went on and the menu became more complete, it ended up being 10.  We had also planned on having someone to help us with dishes and serving and at the last minute that fell through.  This meant that we were running between dishes, serving, cooking, plating, etc.  It was hectic to say the least (and exhausting) and a good learning experience. 

We started cooking Friday night, cooked all day Saturday, and though we had planned on arriving several hours early, we ended up arriving a few minutes before we were supposed to start!  Even with that short of time, we had prepared well and actually started only a few minutes late (about 7:20 instead of 7:00).

Here are some of the pics.  We didn't bring our camera but luckily one of the guests was nice enough to take some pictures.  We are missing a few of the courses but we plan on doing this same menu on Mother's day.  Brian will be there so we will have him take pics (so come back and check them out!).

This is the "Are we going to have to pack our knives and go home?" look

Amuse Bouche Trio

For the amuse we did a trio.  First was a Cauliflower Panna Cotta with a Oyster Nectar Gelee topped with Lumpfish Caviar.  Second was Red Cabbage Gazpacho with Mustard Ice Cream.  Third was a Red Snapper Ceviche with a Rutabaga Chip and Guacamole.

Seafood

This was one of the hits of the night, Seared Scallops with Butter Poached Lobster and Fresh Morels in a Tarragon Lime Emulsion topped tableside with Parmesan Foam.  We had made this recipe the first time a few days before and we were licking our plates, so we knew it would be good.

Foie Gras

This course ended up being the most troubled course of the night.  We had bought grade A frozen foie gras and made it in the Thomas Keller style.  The problem is that I don't think I pressed it tight enough.  Also, when it came time to serve, it hadn't been returned to the refrigerator so when I cut it, it was soft and gooey.  I worried and decided to try and save the dish by searing it.  It shrunk a ton as the fat rendered out so I pulled it and put the bits on the plate.  I think it was still ok, just because foie gras is so good it's hard to make it bad, but it was a horrible waste of an expensive ingredient.

The course was Seared Foie Gras with Sour Cherry Compote and Toasted Homemade Brioche.

Pasta

The next course was fun.  We made a Corned Beef and Chicken Tortellini made with homemade Ricotta and Mascarpone Cheese.  It was served with a Roasted Red Pepper Cream Sauce and a Sauteed Sage Leaf.

Pork

Sadly, the next course, which was the favorite of the night, didn't get a picture.  It was Mangalitsa Pork Belly slow braised in Guiness and topped with Bourbon BBQ Sauce and Shaved Black Truffles.  It was served with Cheesy (9 year aged cheddar) Grits and Molasses Sauteed Collard Greens.  The only criticism we received was that they didn't get enough.

Palate Cleanser

After the pork belly, a palate cleanser was served, Meyer Lemon Oregano Sorbet.

Soup

The next course also didn't get a pic.  We served a bowl with Julienned Sugar Peas, Greek Yogurt, and Homemade Eucalyptus Marshmallows.  I then served a Green Pea Veloute tableside.

Salad

This Caesar Salad sat on a Mascarpone filled Brioche Crouton and was wrapped in a Bocarone (pickled anchovy).  It was fun and yummy, with homemade dressing.

Main Course

The main course was also a hit.  We served a Braised Lamb Osso Buco topped with Gremolata and Rack of Lamb.  We served it with Black Quinoa tossed with Gremolata, Golden Raisins, Slivered Almonds, and Braised Carrots.

Dessert Trio

The dessert trio was the finale and also was meant to mirror the amuse bouche.   We served Cocao Nib Panna Cotta with Fresh Raspberries and Syrup.  Next we served Milkless Mousse from Peruvian Single bean Chocolate in a Chocolate Ring.  Lastly we served a Black Bottomed Praline Bar with Chocolate Ganache.

Whew, were we dead when we finished!  I imagine (and hope) it will be a much lighter experience when we do this again on Mother's day for our friends.

As many of you know, I've been working for the last year on the Windows Search 4.0 release.  We released the beta yesterday, much to the excitement of a growing crowd.  The official release posts can be seen here:

Vista Team Blog - Announcing the Windows Search 4.0 Preview

KB Article describing Windows Search 4.0 (with download links)

This release was focused primarily on performance and reliability, which means that it's fast and stable!  Normally, I am a bit wary of installing betas on my main work machine but I've been running a pre-beta build for months now without any complaints.

 Windows Search 4.0 includes the following new features and improvements:

1. Improved indexing performance
2. Support for the Encrypting File System (EFS)
3. Reduced effect on Microsoft Exchange when you index e-mail in online mode, and there is no local cache (.ost) (this is my feature baby!)
4. Support for indexing online delegate mailboxes (I did this too!)
5. Support for client-to-client remote query to shared indexed locations
6. Faster previewer updates for Windows XP
7. Per-user Group Policy settings
8. Windows software updates for Watson errors (See, if you send error reports, we do fix them!)
9. Enterprise Group Policy settings

As owner of email indexing, I feel that we've improved it's stability and performance during this release.  Online mode is primarily used by enterprises and I hope that we get some great feedback and usage during the beta so that if there are any bugs left in it, I can squash them before we release. 

Due to some design issues, the performance of indexing online exchange stores used to be very expensive.  Some enterprise customers using online mode for email were even told to disable email indexing.  With this release we've improved the performance of that scenario by orders of magnitude (our initial performance numbers are amazing but we won't have official results until after we've been able to run the beta on a larger number of corporate environments).

Which brings up an unsung hero in this whole process, my tester Saurabh.  Saurabh and I have dug deep into some really crazy scenarios over the past year, trying to fix every last bug we could.  It's amazing how many Outlook/Exchange configurations you can have!  Saurabh has been a trooper throughout, long nights included, finding and testing very thoroughly.  It's been a great experience and I hope it brings added stability to you!

So go out and install today, and remember to send feedback and error reports!

Today is Pi Day so in honor of the day, I think I'll make some homemade Pizza Pies!  So remember to take a moment for that crazy radical number of pi today at 1:59:26 (3/14:1:59:26 ).

Here is Good 'ol Eli with a Homemade Pizza

I'm actually beginning my plans for a wood burning oven in my backyard.  I've been thinking about it for a long time and have the spot picked out and everything.  I recently found a great site that sales a plan for a gorgeous oven!

Recently my friend Brian made some great comments about our new company Eye Mateys here: Eye Patches for kids

We are learning a ton from this experience selling soft felt eye patches for kids with Amblyopia and Strabismus.  We saw the other patch sites out there and felt they didn't offer the sort of experience that we've come to expect in an online company.  We plan on continuing to improve our site and the sorts of information and services that we offer.  Most of all, we want to sell the highest quality and "funnest" patches on the web.  We also feel that by selling directly in Dr's offices as well, we will be able to reach a higher market and connect more directly with our customers. 

One of the big future projects is the work around spotlights.  We would like children who come to enjoy their new fun patches to have the excitement of seeing themselves online through our spotlight center.

 

Well, we been at it again.  This time with an 11 course dinner.  Our trusty photographer had the flu so the pics didn't turn out like they should, but it was all very yummy.  Luckily, Adam was nice enough to take pics with our camera.  Thanks Adam!

1st Course - Amuse Bouche

The first course was a savory sorbet.  I really love savory sorbets as they get your palate going in such a smooth and sophisticated way.  This was a beet and honey sorbet with tarragon.

Holly and I Plating the Sorbet 

2nd Course - 1st Appetizer

This appetizer was a foie gras pate, smooth sheep's milk Italian cheese, dried plum, and parmesan crackers made in my pizzelle maker.

3rd Course - 2nd Appetizer

This appetizer was a Braunshweiger, olive, pimento pate, formed into a rose and served with a chevre kale tartlett.

4th Course - Seafood

This was a sauteed scallop with scalloped potatoes, leaks, and mushrooms, all served in a white cheddar sauce and garnished with a caper and some sauteed tree mushrooms.

5th Course - Pasta

This picture doesn't really portray this dish very well.  These are homemade pancetta spinach 3 cheese raviolis with a roasted red pepper cream sauce.  It is served with a parmesan cheese crisp and balsamic vinegar reduction.  Also, not seen in any photos, we served some sourdough mini-loaves made from my homemade sourdough start.

6th Course - Pork Belly

Probably one of the more challenging courses of the night for some of our guests, yet also personally one of the best, was the slow braised pork belly with slivered gingered sugar peas and a roasted peach with cardamom creme fraiche.  Top Chef and Casey deserve the recipe that inspired this dish.  Though I did make several changes, manly in the preparation of the pork belly and the slivered sugar peas.  I also removed some of the garnishes, showcasing the pork more.

7th Course - Palate Cleanser

After such a heavy course we then moved on to the palate cleanser which was a blood orange-cranberry sorbet with thyme.  It was sweet yet "zingy" and a favorite of some of our guests.

8th Course - Salad

The salad was inspired by a salad done at a restaurant called Blue Hill at Stone Barns.  It is a green bean, pistachio, golden raisin salad with slivered mushrooms and a green garden gazpacho.  It is topped with a warm hazelnut encrusted egg that has been soft boiled so that when you break it open, the soft runny yolk mixes with the vinegary gazpacho and created a sort of a dressing.  It was cool, refreshing and yet elegant.

9th Course - Main

Sadly, this pic doesn't do the main course justice, this is a roasted rack of lamb topped with a chianti-lamb reduction and breaded in a kalamata olive tapenade, served with an asparagus risotto.  It was wonderfully tender and succulent.

Prepping the Rack of Lamb

10th Course - Dessert

For dessert we had a cocao nib panna cotta with a blueberry red wine syrup with a hint of cinnamon served with a milkless chocolate mousse.  We have a blast making the caramel spiral and hazelnut spike that we used as garnishes, they looked really cool.  The panna cotta is one of my favorite desserts now, we got it from Alice Medrich's book Bittersweet. 

11th Course - Petit Fours

For the final course we finished with a Chocolate Truffle made with Belcolade Peruvian Single Bean Chocolate.  I garnished with lavender so that when you picked up the truffle, you would smell the lavender, yum, yum.  Holly's truffle's are about perfect at this point!

It was so yummy and fun, but now I'm beat!

We've finally launched our site, www.eyemateys.com, where we sell eye patches for Amblyopia patients.  Children with Amblyopia and Strabismus can wear our nice soft felt patches with fun graphics (appliques).  Joseph has been wearing these patches for a long time now.  He loves the fact that they are fun and unique.  He would choose a frog or a firetruck.  It made it easier to get him to wear them.  He hated the sticky eye patches.  The felt ones that Holly makes are great because they fit over his glasses.  Please feel free to check out the site, blog about it, etc.  We'd love the publicity and hits!

Today Holly had an ultrasound for the baby and they did a 3D ultrasound.  It was so cool to see the baby this way.  Since the baby is still only 9 ounces, it is kind of funny looking but also so amazing.  I'm really happy and excited.  Check it out.  You can also download it directly at our website (eyemateys.com) Baby In 3D

We arrived in Utah and finished our trip this day.  It was a nice and uneventful trip.  I actually slept this time (I didn't sleep on the way in, I must have been more tired or used to traveling).  On our last leg of the flight we watched Ron Burgundy (as recorded off the TV, on my portable MCE).  So here we were, watching the movie and listening via headphones, and we kept laughing out loud on the flight.  People were giving us dirty looks and everything, but we didn't care.  It was funny and we were tired.

Holly, looking happy to be able to see our kids!

We had so much fun and the trip was so memorable but we were definitely happy to be back and see the kids.  My dad picked us up at the airport and upon arrival we hurried and changed and slipped into the back at church.  Kaitlyn saw us and yelled at the top of her lungs in the middle of the meeting "MOMMY!!!".  It was great!

Leaving Argentina - Second Try!

We got up and packed again.  We didn't really have anything planned for that day so we kind of walked around and relaxed.  We went to a laundromat and had our clothes washed.  In a way, it was really nice.  We had been so busy during the final days of our trip that we hadn't had much relaxation.  This day we just relaxed, shopped, and was almost mugged. 

I had stepped into a bookstore, looking for a cookbook (which I never found).  In the mean time, a guy started to eye Holly's backpack.  As we walked down the sidewalk he started to follow us (I, of course, was oblivious to all of this).  When we stepped into another bookstore, he turned around and walked off.  Crazy.

We went to La Florida, which is a big road in the city that has been converted to walking only.  It was really touristy and packed with people.  We didn't buy anything and we weren't that impressed.

Check out the living statue

This guy does those cool spray paint paintings as seen on YouTube

We grabbed some final empanadas and alfajors, then made sure to arrive at the airport with plenty of time this time.  Because we weren't trying to get there during a traffic jam, instead of taking 1 hr 30 mins like the night before, it only took about 20-25 mins.  Se la vie!

Today we got up early and packed in preparation to fly out.  We had a nice breakfast of pastries and juice at a little coffee shop then caught the subway to Barrio La Boca.  We hit the classic tourist location "El Caminito" which is a flea market of sorts.  We figured before going that we had seen so many flea markets by then that it would be lame, but in the end we really like it!  It had a lot of atmosphere and there was actually a lot of nice souvenir stuff.  We ended up buying the majority of the stuff we brought back for people there.  Holly also bought a really nice purse there.

We stopped at a little cafe and had some crepes with dulce de leche.  It was a TINY place, no more that 10' by 15' in floorspace.  Inside, there was a tango band playing live music in the corner, and a pair of tango dancers improvising on in the tiny space.  They were so great!  They moved through the tiny space, around the waiters and customers, it was really great!  I caught this picture during their dance (not "posed").

All of our frustration from the night before was gone.  We were happier to see this display than anything pre-choreographed.  What fun.

We then went on to geocache a bit more (especially since we had been skunked the night before).  After wandering around for a while, we found that the monument we were searching around was the cache!

We then went to the national cemetery in Recoleta.  It was a great site full of tombs, vaults, cats and owls!

Eva Peron's gravesite

We then went to a great buffet Argentine BBQ (asado) place.  We ate until we hurt then staggered out to catch a cab to the airport.  Just our luck, it was a Friday evening, there was a big rainstorm, and it was the beginning of a long holiday weekend so the traffic out of the city was CRAZY.  We also chose the one sane cabby in the city, who wouldn't drive fast.  We got the the airport about 55 minutes before our flight and they wouldn't let us in!  After fighting, yelling, raging, and going all the way to the top, they still wouldn't let us on.  The biggest problem was that it was Kaitlyn's second birthday the next day and the next flight was 24 hrs later. :(

There was nothing we could do.  We caught another cab and headed back to the city.  This cabby was great.  We went hotel shopping (at that point we were upset and not in the mood to stay in a crappy hotel again) and after some searching, our cabby took us to a hotel where his friend was working and got us in to a great room at almost half off!

It was a really nice room and made us feel more at home at such an upsetting moment.

We got up and had a great breakfast in our room, then got a ride out to a nearby town where we could catch the bus.

While we were there, we stopped by an old bar/cafe.  It hadn't changed in decades and still had that old fashioned feel.

We then caught a bus into Buenos Aires, it was beautiful!

Traditional Kiosk

We stopped and got some great pizza (this is the sort of pizza that I missed, fresh olives, boiled egg, palm hearts, pickled peppers, love it!)

We walked down the center of "Avenida 9 de Julio" which is the widest street in the world, we counted 29 lanes.  This obelisk is right in the center.

We really loved the architecture.  This it the National Cathedral where San Martin is buried.

"La Casa Rosada", like the white house.  The Balcony in view is the location where Eva Peron gave her famous speech.

I just love this silly shot of Holly with the national seal.

We spent the rest of the evening geocaching (unsuccessfully, I might add) and walking around through Puerto Madero.  We went back to our hotel, which really stunk, it was cheap but by far the ickiest of the trip.

We then dressed up and went out to see a Tango show.  We searched all over and could never find one!  It was crazy.  We kept taking cabs all over the city and no-one even knew where to take us.  We finally found some, but they were kitschy, tourist traps, priced for foreigner (read: EXPENSIVE!).  We gave up and ended up eating at a nice upscale restaurant for a fraction of the price, but we were pretty bummed about missing the tango shows. 

We arrived early in the morning in Zarate, a town in the outer province of Buenos Aires.  We were there to go to a horse ranch.  We arrived in town and walked around the town for a while. 

The Garbage Man

We then took a taxi out to the ranch (estancia).  When we were within a mile or so of the place, we arrived at a road that was washed out by mud.  The cabby wouldn't take us any further so he called ahead to the place and left us by the side of the road.  Since we were quite a bit further south, the climate felt cold.  Poor Holly was freezing!

We waited for a while in the cold then decided to walk it.  We carried our luggage on our backs and picked our way down the muddy road.  About half way down the road a car came by and stopped and gave us a ride.  Thirty seconds after we got in the car, along came a wagon from the ranch to pick us up. 

When we arrived, it was well worth the trouble.  We were assigned a nice little cabin.  It was well decorated and even had satellite TV and a stocked fridge.  We bathed (yuck after the night on the bus!) and shortly thereafter the other guests arrived.  We had a small breakfast then went out to ride!

Me, drinking Mate

Riding was a blast.  We both took to the horses quickly (we had more experience than the majority of the other guests).  We rode all morning then came back to a wonderful Argentine Asado (BBQ). 

After lunch we went out again, then came back to more food (the merienda or afternoon tea).  Then it was time to relax!

We sort of hung out and relaxed the rest of the evening.  We ended up being the only guests that stayed the night that night so after everyone left, we went back to our cabin, watched a movie, and dined by candlelight.  When we went back to our cabin a fire had been lit and they asked us what we wanted for dinner.  Later the maid served it directly in our room!  I think it is safe to say, this was the favorite day for both of us!

We got around to updating our bingo cards.  The new things were all seen in Corrientes Capital.

• Plants on a power line (we wanted a pic but it didn't turn out!)
• Diario (Newspaper boy's call)
• Chipa Caliente (Get yer hot cheese bread!)
• Garbage House (that says it all)
• Gypsy (...she's a gypsy...)

BINGO!

For Day 8

• Pig head, side of beef in a butcher shop
• Huge mosquitos everywhere!!!

Today we got up, spent some time visiting and shopping in Resistencia then took a taxi over the bridge to Corrientes, Capital.