Finding out which DC you logged on to?

If for some reason you are curious to know which DC (Domain Controller) you logged on to then all you need to do is use the LOGONSERVER environment variable. Of course this means your machine is already part of a domain.

The easiest way to see this will be to type the following in a cmd prompt:

echo %logonserver%

Interesting Find #17

Been missing in action for a while – been extremely busy.

  1. Dropbox – store, sync and share your files online via Amazon’s S3.
  2. OAuth – open protocol to allow secure API authorization in a web/fat clients. About time we got the Facebooks and Twitters of the world start implementing this (more details on that another time).
  3. Scott’s ultimate developer and power user tools – the name says it all – very cool.
  4. Microsoft Tags – transform physical media (ads, billboards,product packages, information signs, in-store merchandising, video images, etc.) – into live links for accessing information and entertainment online.
  5. Cucku – another service which backs up your data to the cloud. I personally use WHS + Amazon’s S3 – got about 40 GB on it now. Smile
  6. App Store – view Apple’s app store in your browser instead of iTunes.
  7. Quidco – an ad-free cash-back cooperative that passes on all referral commissions in exchange for keeping £5 a year as an admin fee. Seems to be quite cool.
  8. CloudBuddy – extend you desktop to the cloud (Amazon S3) – in addition to documents you can also use this for Outlook including your calendar, tasks, etc.
  9. Cool Machine Names – I will certainly be looking at this whenever I get my next machine.
  10. gScreen – dual screen laptops; it sure is cool, but is too heavy to be a “portable”. Maybe vaporware as well? If you are skeptical like I am, maybe MaxiVista is the way to go?

Spiced Red Dal

A Dal (Lentil) is quite a staple food at home – not only is it nutritious and health and full of protein, both I and Meenakshi love it. Now the way we usually make it at home is a little different that the version I came across from Yotam Ottolenghi. I tried it and was excellent – different from what I am use to cooking.

The ingredients you need are:

  • 200g split red lentils (Dhuli Masoor dal in Hindi)
  • 1 bunch fresh coriander
  • 1 small onion, peeled
  • 40g ginger, peeled
  • 3 cloves garlic, peeled
  • 1 mild green chilli
  • 1½ tsp black mustard seeds (which is called either Rai or Sarsu in Hindi)
  • 4 tbsp sunflower oil
  • 1½ tsp ground coriander (Dhania in Hindi)
  • 1 tsp ground cumin (Jeera in Hindi)
  • ½ tsp ground turmeric (Haldi in Hindi)
  • ½ tsp paprika (Lal Mirch in Hindi)
  • 10 curry leaves (Kadi Patta in Hindi)
  • 300g ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped
  • 2 tsp caster sugar
  • ½ tsp fenugreek (optional) (Methi seeds in Hindi)
  • 1 pinch asafoetida (optional) (Hing in Hindi)
  • Salt
  • 150g Greek yogurt
  • 75g finely diced cucumber
  • 1½ tbsp olive oil
  • 70g unsalted butter (I skipped this)
  • 1½ tbsp lime juice

Steps:

  1. Wash the lentils in plenty of water, drain and soak in 350ml of fresh water for 30 minutes.
  2. Cut the coriander bunch somewhere around its centre to get a leafy top half and a stem/root bottom half. Roughly chop the leaves.
  3. Put the stem half in the bowl of a food processor, add the onion, ginger, garlic and chilli – all roughly broken – and pulse a few times to chop up without turning into a paste.
  4. Put the mustard seeds in a heavy-based pot and place over medium heat. When they begin to pop, add the onion mix and sunflower oil, stir and cook on low heat for 7 minutes.
  5. Add the spices and curry leaves, and continue cooking and stirring for 3-4 minutes.
  6. Now add the lentils and their soaking water, the tomatoes, sugar, fenugreek, asafoetida and a pinch of salt.
  7. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes, until the lentils are fully cooked.
  8. Before serving, whisk together the yogurt, cucumber, oil and some salt.
  9. Stir into the lentils the butter, lime juice and chopped coriander leaves, taste and season generously with salt. I skipped the butter as there was enough oil originally put.
  10. Divide into bowls, spoon yogurt on top and garnish with coriander.

Here are the results (Yum):

IMG_2911 IMG_2912