Recently, I've had to deal with web browser cookies a lot, and, in one case, I had to read several cookies using JavaScript. I looked up how to read cookies and JavaScript and found out there's no built in function that parses out the value of a particular cookie key - you have to write your own function or copy an already written one. I grabbed one from a popular website that provides HTML and JavaScript lessons and tutorials, but then discovered that it was providing the wrong cookie value for this one particular cookie I was trying to read. I tried another function from another website and same problem.

The cookie I was trying to read started with the same name as part of the name of another cookie already set. For example, I was looking for "targetcookie" but an earlier cookie of the name of "the_wrong_targetcookie" exists. I got the value of "the_wrong_targetcookie" instead. I looked at the functions I had grabbed and it was pretty easy to see that the string searching implemented was too simplistic to work in all cases. (Another solution could have been to change the cookie names, but I wasn't the one setting the cookies. The API I was working with dictates the cookie names and both cookies were set by that API.)

Click here to read the rest of
Accessing and Reading Cookies in JavaScript correctly

Lunch: I made myself open-faced smoked salmon sandwiches out of an everything bagel (from Whole Foods - it was dense - I didn't like it) sliced in half topped with Philadelphia brand whipped cream cheese, capers, fresh cucumbers, and a bunch of smoked sockeye salmon.

Dinner: I cooked dinner tonight: Chicken Marsala with Mushrooms (see recipe on Cooking For Engineers) served on capellini with olive oil with a side of baby spinach salad with roasted beets and capricho de cabra ("whim of the goat" cheese) dressed with a balsamic vinaigrette.

Lunch: Tina cooked pork ribs in a soy sauce cooking liquid and served it with broccoli stems and corn.

Dinner: I joined some Austin food bloggers for trivia night at Flying Sauce Draught Emporium (815 W 47th St # 100, Austin, TX‎ - (512) 454-8200‎).

Click here to read the rest of
What I Ate: June 23, 2009 (Flying Saucer Draught Emporium)

Lunch: Two leftover Domino's ExtravaganZZa Feast Pizza slices (followed by a bowl of cherries).

Dinner: Pan fried pork, shrimp, and garlic chive dumplings (and later boiled dumplings).

Lunch: Cissi's Market (1400 S Congress Ave, Austin, TX‎ - (512) 225-0521‎). On Sunday's they serve brunch, so we tried a couple items on their brunch menu.

Batting Club Sandwich The BAT (house-cured bacon, arugula, and tomato on grilled sourdough) with roasted turkey and avocado with gaufrettes (their thin, super-fine weave waffle cut potato fries) ($14). The bacon was overpoweringly salty compared to everything else in the sandwich. (Also, the tips of the bacon pieces Tina ate were a bit burnt.) Once past the bacon taste though, the sandwich was pretty good.

Click here to read the rest of
What I Ate: June 21, 2009 (Cissi's Market)

Lunch: We took Tina's parents to Asia Cafe for lunch and met up with Braden and Kelly who drove up from San Antonio to spend the day with us. We ordered seven dishes:

Squid Roll with Green Chive $9.25 - good texture but mild flavors

Garlic Sprout with Twice Cooked Pork $8.95 - great

Click here to read the rest of
What I Ate: June 20, 2009 (Asia Cafe, Domino's Pizza)