If I have neither food processor or food mill, do you have an alternate suggestion? Will a blender work? Potato masher? Prayer?

Either really. Blender if you want it really smooth, potato masher if you want it chunkier.

Vortex, you could also press them through a coarse-screen strainer (NOT a colander).

I have one of these. I don't know where it is, but I have it.

Or, since it's just two apples, mash them up with a fork (which I know you'll have to hand).

I add a dab of butter, a lot of cinnamon, a little bit of brown sugar (particularly if they're tart apples), and simmer till soft and then eat without mashing. It's one of my kids' favorite things and they don't eat apple sauce.

Guess which one will get prioritised?

Procrastinating on the internets, if you're anything like me when faced with competing deadlines.

I bought what I thought was a pork roast this weekend. Turns out that it was "picnic sliced". So, I have five big slabs of pork, kind of like ham steaks. I will sautee one of those tonight, deglaze the pan with some apple cider from the farmers market, and serve with the aforementioned applesauce. Hmm, I have some fresh ginger, maybe I'll grate some into the apples along with the cinnamon. I wonder if I have any star anise, that would be great, too.

I am still trying to post my paper on arxiv. To post, I need approval from someone who already has a certain number of papers up. There is only one person in my department who meets the requirement. So I asked him, and he said he would, but he keeps asking me to explain why my advisor can't do it, and he won't do it until my advisor says it's OK, and my advisor is not answering emails.

Oy, Hil. Someday that place will be entirely behind you and you will have all new obstacles. Whatever those may be, at least they won't be this advisor.

So I asked him, and he said he would, but he keeps asking me to explain why my advisor can't do it, and he won't do it until my advisor says it's OK, and my advisor is not answering emails.

Oh, I've been here, as the professor asked to do it. I know that you are in a bad position (and totally legit in your request), but I've been burned by shady students trying to do an end run around requirements through my kindness.

Will the advisor answer emails from his colleague?

Is it really too much to expect that if I send an "Are we meeting at our usual time on Wednesday?" email early Monday afternoon, that I should get a response sometime before Tuesday night? It's not like this is a difficult question to answer. Options are "yes," "no," and "I need to figure out my schedule, so I'll get back to you by _____ and let you know."