Recently, I had to help someone get back into their Windows XP PC but had forgotten their password. This is an easy problem to resolve if there is another administrator account on the computer for which they do know the password (just login and use User Profiles to edit the password of the forgetten user's password). The next easiest solution involves using a Password Recovery Disk, which is only available if you made one before losing your password (but most people who forget passwords don't plan on forgetting them).

I couldn't use any of those options, so had to resort to other more roundabout methods. In this case, booting from a Linux CD, logging in as root (to have administrator equivalent access), and editing the password (in my case, just clearing it to no password). Once that was accomplished, I booted into Windows, logged in as administrator (with no password), and changed the password to one they could remember. Luckily, Petter Nordahl-Hagen has put together a relatively small CD Image that helps accomplish just this.

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How to Reset Your Windows XP or Windows Vista Password If You Forgot It

Dinner: Ever since we had the Roast Sirloin Ciabatta sandwich last week at Cafe Bistro, we've been wanting to go back and order it again. We started off with the Roasted Beet Salad with Candied Pecans.

Then we split a Turkey & Mushroom Panini.

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What I Ate: September 19, 2010 (Nordstrom Cafe Bistro)

Dinner: We decided to try Sushi Zushi (1611 W 5th St # 105, Austin, TX‎ - (512) 474-7000‎). The menu is insanely large (probably over 90 different rolls available in addition to an long list of hot dishes) with choices ranging from stir-fried to raw, traditional to inventive, and bare bones to heavily sauced. We decided to play it relatively safe tonight since it was our first time at Sushi Zushi.

We started with a Seaweed Only Salad ($4) (they have a large variety of seaweed salads available). This tasted just as we expected.

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What I Ate: September 18, 2010 (Sushi Zushi)

Lunch: Leftover Chinese Food

Dinner: Chicken Critter Salad from Texas Roadhouse. It may not look pretty, but it's a pretty tasty (and large) salad for $9.

Lunch: I ate the leftover steak with mushrooms and green beans from Ruth's Chris for lunch.

Dinner: We had to make a late night trip to Kyle, so we stopped at Steak 'n Shake for a quick dinner. I had the Guacamole Steakburger with Fries.

Dinner: Went back to The Odd Duck Farm to Trailer (1219 S Lamar Blvd, Austin, TX‎ - (512) 695-6922‎), this time with Jeff Potter after he gave his Cooking for Geeks talk at Whole Foods Global Headquarters.

grilled half of quail with texas rice, apple and cheddar

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What I Ate: September 15, 2010 (The Odd Duck Farm to Trailer)

Dinner: After the Cooking for Geeks event at Conjuncture (where Jeff Potter, the author of Cooking for Geeks, was supposed to deliver a talk except his plane had to make an emergency landing and he did not make it; I ended up making an impromptu talk about sous vide cooking at home so the attendees would have something to listen to), I took a couple of the attendees to The Odd Duck Farm to Trailer (1219 S Lamar Blvd, Austin, TX‎ - (512) 695-6922‎).

Marinated Tomato and Melon with Basil, Chipotle and Goat Feta

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What I Ate: September 14, 2010 (The Odd Duck Farm to Trailer)

Dinner: We went to Asia Cafe (8650 Spicewood Springs Road #114A, Austin, TX‎ - (512) 331-5788) where we once again ordered a bunch of food to eat over the course of the week.

Beef Chow Fun, Bok Choy with White and Black Mushrooms, Yang Chow Fried Rice

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What I Ate: September 13, 2010 (Asia Cafe)

Dinner: Tina and I headed over to Uchiko (4200 N. Lamar, Ste. 140, Austin, TX‎ - (512) 916-4808‎) for our second dinner there. Lighting was a bit mixed (making for poor photos) until I constructed a wall using menus and finding a spot shaded from window light.

They brought us an amuse of compressed cucumber in a Spanish white anchovy vinaigrette with basil flowerettes. Very crisp, very flavorful.

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What I Ate: September 12, 2010 (Uchiko, Nordstom's Cafe Bistro)

Dinner: We decided to go to Ruth's Chris Steak House (107 West 6th Street, Austin, TX‎ - (512) 477-7884‎) because it keeps coming up in conversations about steak and steak houses (as in: "So they make a good steak? How does it compare to Ruth's Chris?"). We've eaten at quite a few steak houses (Peter Luger in Brooklyn really is the best so far) but never a Ruth's Chris, so we decided it was time.

They have a special oven at Ruth's Chris which supposedly runs at 1800°F (980°C). They took me back through the kitchen to see the ovens which are pretty much just triple wide and extra deep salamanders with roll out grills that come all the way out to access steaks placed in the back. I was unable to verify the temperature because my IR thermometer maxes out at 900°F. I was also not allowed to take pictures of the oven.

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What I Ate: September 11, 2010 (Ruth's Chris Steak House)