Our friend John Ramsey just sent us a series of photos and captions that suggest themselves perfectly for a blog post, and so we have our first (as far as I can remember) guest blogger.

First off, John is the owner/chief artisan at the Deep Landing Workshop,  home of “drop dead elegance” custom lighting. I tell you this in case you’re in need of some elegance. And really, who isn’t?

But this post really isn’t about custom lighting. Instead, it’s about how to weather a hurricane, according to John. Here’s what he recommends.

“From the freezer, take the last cupcake from the hoard Robbi left at our house last year.”

“Put a square of Lindt dark chocolate with roasted almonds on top. Or whatever lies in the larder.”

“Microwave for 15 seconds.”

“Because the chocolate didn’t get soft enough in the microwave, torch it. It doesn’t hurt if the frosting gets a little caramelized.”

“Top with some whipped cream, which I always have in the can in case the power goes out.”

“Lap it up.”

Matthew again. Let me count the ways in which I admire John.

1) He has an emergency stash of really old cupcakes.

2) He is not afraid to eat them.

3) He appreciates the power of microwave-based melting.

4) He has a blowtorch.

5) He is not afraid to use it.

Let’s have a round of applause for John, who is making his blogging debut and who surely has a host of new fans. My only regret is that it is too awful outside to drive to John’s right now to share whatever it is he is eating (or blowtorching) right now.

Sometimes a hurricane brings out the best in a man, and sometimes, this makes another man more than a little jealous.