Jess, did you see apparently the surgery went well?

Yay shrift!

New random cooking question: I bought the Trader Joe's frozen croissants, and it turns out they want me to proof them uncovered on the counter overnight or some shit. I'm not that psyched about having them sit out like that. Do you think it would work in the fridge? For twice the time? Or in a tupperware? Or something?

I'm teary all over again and filled with envy of E and his Best Job In The Entire Universe, Jess! (I violently disagree with his assessment of the Christmas episode; but, then, I am, as Hec frequently reminds me, extremely wet).

New random cooking question: I bought the Trader Joe's frozen croissants, and it turns out they want me to proof them uncovered on the counter overnight or some shit. I'm not that psyched about having them sit out like that. Do you think it would work in the fridge? For twice the time? Or in a tupperware? Or something?

I just realized that too. Sitting out shouldn't hurt them--unless you're worried about your cat (or other animals) getting to them.

Speaking of animals, calling all guinea pigs:

Do the following instructions easily lead you to the playlist for this book? (I'm trying to be semi-specific for tech-illiterate instructors, while allowing for Apple to change the iStore layout in the next few years).

"To access this playlist, simply connect to the iStore via your iTunes software (available as a free download at [link] Once at (on?) the iStore homepage, you must click on the Music link to access the music department, where you will find a link to the iMix section. Clicking on the iMix link will bring you to the iMix homepage. The Motifs playlist can be found by searching under the iMix name: Motifs."

Sitting out shouldn't hurt them--unless you're worried about your cat (or other animals) getting to them.

Yeah, that's what I'm afraid of. OK, that or bugs.

Hmm. Do you have an electric oven? You could proof them in that (off) overnight. I know not from cats, but most of my proofing is done under a tea towel.

Yeah, that's what I'm afraid of. OK, that or bugs.

In that case, either covering them while they sit out or resting them in the fridge for twice as long should be fine -- the only reason to leave them out rather than baking them right away is that it's a yeast dough that wants one last rise before baking, and those are perfectly okay (if slower) at fridge temperatures.

Cool, thanks.

megan, is that supposed to work now? Because I clicked on iTunes Store (iTunes doesn't show me "iStore") and didn't see anything about iMix. So it seems cleear, but I can't follow those directions.

Jesse, You're right about iStore. That was me not looking and assuming it would be called iStore. Hah!

Basically, you need to do three steps: iTunes store, Music, then iMix (i.e., you only will see the iMix link from the music page, not the first store page).

So I guess that could be made clearer.

Hilariously, I now see that you said "you must click on the Music link," which I just ignored because the main page looked like music. Then I would suggest that you have to search by iMix name, not the general search, because a ton of other stuff came up in the general search for "Motifs."

Megan, IME, you might actually do better with the direct link to the mix: [link] accompanied by a warning that they need to have iTunes installed before they try to access it. The ID number of the specific mix is unique and should stay stable, but the path through the iTunes store -> music -> imix -> etc. has been unstable from one version to the next. As Jesse notes, it's iTunes Store -- a year ago, it was iTunes Music Store, and the iMix link was on the front page -- and that's just the kind of detail that I see people stumble over all the time.

(You can grab me by profile email or IM (greenchickach on AIM) if you want to; I do language-learning technology in my non-Buffista life, and my looni has been heavy into the iPod/iTunes thing. We use a competitor to yours for our elementary classes, but it's nothing personal! Blame the department!)