Is it just me or is the entire sinestrosphere just goofy? They're in a perpetual contest to out-lefty each other, and, as far as I can tell, it's a forty-thousand-way tie.
- Ace, Ace of Spades HQ.
That pretty much sums it up.
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Quote of the Day
- Ace, Ace of Spades HQ.
That pretty much sums it up.
Anyone Have a Defibrilator I Can Borrow?
Just got off the phone with TFR. As soon as I answered it, I could tell something was very wrong. She was fighting tears, and I could hear it. And just as instinctively, I knew that the something wrong was concerning The Lad.
The conversation began:
Me: Hello?
TFR: Hi Honey...
Me: What's wrong?
TFR: Chay fell off the changing table!
At this point my voice was mirroring hers, right down to the barely suppressed tears.
Me: Is he OK?
TFR: He has a big lump on his forehead...
Me: Does he need to go to the doctor?
TFR: No, but he's going to have a black eye and he won't let me keep ice on it.
The rest of the conversation was mne reassuring TFR that it was just an accident and didn't make her a bad mother. I'm obviously very sorry for my little boy, but equally relieved that he's going to be ok. This was the first real brush with danger he's had since coming off of the monitors at 1 month.
Now if I can just remember how to breathe.
The conversation began:
Me: Hello?
TFR: Hi Honey...
Me: What's wrong?
TFR: Chay fell off the changing table!
At this point my voice was mirroring hers, right down to the barely suppressed tears.
Me: Is he OK?
TFR: He has a big lump on his forehead...
Me: Does he need to go to the doctor?
TFR: No, but he's going to have a black eye and he won't let me keep ice on it.
The rest of the conversation was mne reassuring TFR that it was just an accident and didn't make her a bad mother. I'm obviously very sorry for my little boy, but equally relieved that he's going to be ok. This was the first real brush with danger he's had since coming off of the monitors at 1 month.
Now if I can just remember how to breathe.
Scotch Tasting: Oban
In all the chaos of this weekend's family crisis, I almost forgot to mention that Friday night, I had the opportunity to sit back, relax, and try the first of the single malt Scotches in the tasting sampler I received for Christmas. I thought I'd share with you my impressions.
Bear in mind, these aren't the impressions of someone who's received any training in the proper teminology of Scotch tasting. So if the language seems a little unsophisticated, bear that in mind.
I started with the Oban 14 Year. Here is what the official tasting notes that come with the set have to say about it:
Dating back to 1794, Oban is one of Scotland's earliest distilleries. The clatter and steam of the coal fired engine that once drove the malt mill and steering for the mash tun have long departed. Yet the smells of barley, malt, and whisky maturing in sherry casks remain.
Here are my impressions, written down as I sipped the dram. I'll expand each one into a whole sentence, but leave them in the order they came to me:
The first thing that came to mind was how warm this Scotch tastes. I was also reminded of the first impression I got the first time I ever drank Oban, which is that its taste and aroma remind me of the aroma of new, high quality leather. This also came through in the way it evoked the scent of parchment or old books. It was spicy, and I thought I caught a hint of chocolate in its aroma. There was a lingering astringency to it, and I also picked up the smell of pipe tobacco smoke. I tasted banana at the back of my mouth. I was a little put off by how hard it hit my nose after it was in my mouth. The flavor hits the reeof of the mouth as much as it hits the tongue, and fills the whole mouth. There was no sweetness at all that I could taste in this Scotch, but there was a richness to it.
Next up:Dalwhinnie 15 Year Cragganmore 12 Year.
Update:
Perfect Timing.
Bear in mind, these aren't the impressions of someone who's received any training in the proper teminology of Scotch tasting. So if the language seems a little unsophisticated, bear that in mind.
I started with the Oban 14 Year. Here is what the official tasting notes that come with the set have to say about it:
Dating back to 1794, Oban is one of Scotland's earliest distilleries. The clatter and steam of the coal fired engine that once drove the malt mill and steering for the mash tun have long departed. Yet the smells of barley, malt, and whisky maturing in sherry casks remain.
Oban is the West Highland malt, matured for 14 years. A singular, rich and complex malt with the merest suggestion of peat in the aroma, slightly smoky and with a long smooth finish. These pleasing characteristics position Oban somewhere between an Islay and a Highland malt.
Here are my impressions, written down as I sipped the dram. I'll expand each one into a whole sentence, but leave them in the order they came to me:
The first thing that came to mind was how warm this Scotch tastes. I was also reminded of the first impression I got the first time I ever drank Oban, which is that its taste and aroma remind me of the aroma of new, high quality leather. This also came through in the way it evoked the scent of parchment or old books. It was spicy, and I thought I caught a hint of chocolate in its aroma. There was a lingering astringency to it, and I also picked up the smell of pipe tobacco smoke. I tasted banana at the back of my mouth. I was a little put off by how hard it hit my nose after it was in my mouth. The flavor hits the reeof of the mouth as much as it hits the tongue, and fills the whole mouth. There was no sweetness at all that I could taste in this Scotch, but there was a richness to it.
Next up:
Update:
Perfect Timing.
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
At Last...
An honest liberal:
Thanks for the Memory to Blogfather Rusty.
We know, Joel. And as much as I loathe you for saying so, I have to give you props for admitting what your fellow moonbats won't.
I DON'T SUPPORT our troops....
- Joel Stein, L.A. Times
Thanks for the Memory to Blogfather Rusty.
The Worst of Times, The Best of Times
This past weekend was chaotic. We had to leave Springfield at 11 PM Saturday night to respond to a family emergency in Portland. Didn't get home until 9:30 last night. Yesterday's posts were from my SIL's place in Portland.
It's interesting that it should occur on Saturday, since that was the one year anniversary of the day The Feared Redhead's water broke -- 6 weeks ahead of schedule. thus began the two most eventful weeks of my life, full of fear and sadness and frustrations and eventually joy and pride beyond my feeble attempts to describe it. What started with the worst night of my life ended in one of the best -- the birth of my son.
And through it all, my Sister In Law put her life on hold to come down here and help out while TFR was in the hospital, awaiting the arrival of The Lad. Despite the far less pleasant circumstances this weekend, I'm glad I could do the same for her in return.
It's interesting that it should occur on Saturday, since that was the one year anniversary of the day The Feared Redhead's water broke -- 6 weeks ahead of schedule. thus began the two most eventful weeks of my life, full of fear and sadness and frustrations and eventually joy and pride beyond my feeble attempts to describe it. What started with the worst night of my life ended in one of the best -- the birth of my son.
And through it all, my Sister In Law put her life on hold to come down here and help out while TFR was in the hospital, awaiting the arrival of The Lad. Despite the far less pleasant circumstances this weekend, I'm glad I could do the same for her in return.
Major League
Thanks for the Memory to Sailor Republica.
It looks like my candidate for governor, Jason Atkinson, has finally received national attention and national support. Go give it a read.
It looks like my candidate for governor, Jason Atkinson, has finally received national attention and national support. Go give it a read.
Monday, January 23, 2006
St. Filibert Bless Us
I'm probably a bit biased since they grow here, but all my life, my favorite nut has always been the filbert. That's what most Oregonians call hazelnut. It's an older European word for the nut, named so because they're harvested close to the same time of the year as St. Filibert's Day. Oregon is the nation's top producer of the nut, growing about 99% of the US crop. In fact, I live about a mile from the nation's oldest commercial filbert orchard, Doris Ranch. Worldwide, the top producer is Turkey, but the Oregon crop gives them competition. In recent years, we've had a problem with Eastern Filbert Blight, a fungal infection that came from the east coast (thanks ever so much) and for which there is currently no solution except the destruction of the infected orchard. Let's hope we get a handle on it.
One of the things I've grown to appreciate about filberts is their versatility. Their rich, mild flavor goes equally well with sweet or savory foods. I've used them in desserts, in salads, in main courses, and of course, they're popular as a flavoring for coffee.
It's been a while since I blogged on any new recipes, mostly because life has been too hectic for me to experiment with any. But this weekend, I tried two new ones, both of which went over well. Both used filberts. They neet some tweaking before I consider them ready to post here, but I intend to try them both again as soon as possible. One was a pork medallion recipe using a grannysmith apple and filbert stuffing, the other was crab ravioli with a filbert pesto. The medallions were perfect, but I'd like to work on a reduction sauce for them next time. The pesto was also almost perfect, but the ravioli needed something -- mainly something to mic the crab meat with to make it hold together while scooping it onto the ravioli dough.
So for those of you who enjoy my recipes, sit tight -- I'll get more to you ASAP.
One of the things I've grown to appreciate about filberts is their versatility. Their rich, mild flavor goes equally well with sweet or savory foods. I've used them in desserts, in salads, in main courses, and of course, they're popular as a flavoring for coffee.
It's been a while since I blogged on any new recipes, mostly because life has been too hectic for me to experiment with any. But this weekend, I tried two new ones, both of which went over well. Both used filberts. They neet some tweaking before I consider them ready to post here, but I intend to try them both again as soon as possible. One was a pork medallion recipe using a grannysmith apple and filbert stuffing, the other was crab ravioli with a filbert pesto. The medallions were perfect, but I'd like to work on a reduction sauce for them next time. The pesto was also almost perfect, but the ravioli needed something -- mainly something to mic the crab meat with to make it hold together while scooping it onto the ravioli dough.
So for those of you who enjoy my recipes, sit tight -- I'll get more to you ASAP.
Friday, January 20, 2006
Thursday, January 19, 2006
Recipe Blegging
That's right, blegging, not blogging. I'm looking for suggestions and help with preparing a specific dish.
As part of a renewed effort to lose weight and be healthier, and in addition to eating smaller portions and less red meat, The Feared Redhead and I are trying to use as many organic foods and organinc or free range meat as possible in our diets. That's easy to accomplish here in Eugene/Springfield, as we have a local chain of grocery stores (Market of Choice) that fall somewhere in the gray area between a regular grocery store and a health food store, and thery have an excellent meat department for such things (wild salmon and steelhead, free range meat, including buffalo, etc.). Yesterday while I was in the store, I noticed a sausage that intrigued me. It's a raw sausage, in natural casing, made from cranberries and free range lamb. The links are fairly long. like kielbasa or linguica. I'd like to try my hand at it, but I'm stumped for a good recipe. I'll try to think of something, but any suggestions would be appreciated.
As part of a renewed effort to lose weight and be healthier, and in addition to eating smaller portions and less red meat, The Feared Redhead and I are trying to use as many organic foods and organinc or free range meat as possible in our diets. That's easy to accomplish here in Eugene/Springfield, as we have a local chain of grocery stores (Market of Choice) that fall somewhere in the gray area between a regular grocery store and a health food store, and thery have an excellent meat department for such things (wild salmon and steelhead, free range meat, including buffalo, etc.). Yesterday while I was in the store, I noticed a sausage that intrigued me. It's a raw sausage, in natural casing, made from cranberries and free range lamb. The links are fairly long. like kielbasa or linguica. I'd like to try my hand at it, but I'm stumped for a good recipe. I'll try to think of something, but any suggestions would be appreciated.
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
No Bad Hair-esy Day for Me!
Thanks for the Memory to Samantha at Uncle Sam's Cabin.
| You scored as Chalcedon compliant. You are Chalcedon compliant. Congratulations, you're not a heretic. You believe that Jesus is truly God and truly man and like us in every respect, apart from sin. Officially approved in 451.
Are you a heretic? created with QuizFarm.com |
Friday, January 13, 2006
The Power of Uff Da Compels You
Thanks for the Memory to Ace of Spades HQ.
As if Jesse Ventura wasn't bad enough:
More here.
The Feared Redhead is from Minnesota. I'm just going to file this away so I can show it to her the next time she gives me grief about Oregon weirdness.
As if Jesse Ventura wasn't bad enough:
Satanic vamp for Governor
From: ReutersFrom correspondents in Minneapolis
January 13, 2006MINNEAPOLIS voters, who eight years ago elected a former professional wrestler as their governor, may find a self-proclaimed vampire on the ballot for the office this year.
"Politics is a cut-throat business," said Jonathan "The Impaler" Sharkey, who said he plans to announce his bid for governor on the ticket of the Vampyres, Witches and Pagans Party.
More here.
The Feared Redhead is from Minnesota. I'm just going to file this away so I can show it to her the next time she gives me grief about Oregon weirdness.
A Link About a Link
Thanks for the Memory to Blogfather Rusty at the Jawa Report.
For those that claim there was no Saddam/Terroristm link.
Not that I've ever argued that such a link was the reason, or even the most compelling reason, for the war. Just saying.
For those that claim there was no Saddam/Terroristm link.
Not that I've ever argued that such a link was the reason, or even the most compelling reason, for the war. Just saying.
Though I Dream in Vain
My best friend Brian (aka known as "Lurch") knows full well that while I'm not the physics nut he is, I do take a passing interest in astrophysics (he's a quantum man) and astronomy. So when he comes across articles that he thinks will be of particular interest to me, he sends them my way.
Today when I got to work, an email from him was waiting for me with a link to the following article:
All of which is very cool. And I'm sure that Lurch thought it would be particularly of interest to me because of this:
(bold added by me)
Unfortunately, the person at NASA who wrote that article either isn't familiar with the Oregon climate, or forgot what time of year he's talking about. I'm sure that east of the Cascades it'll be visible, but on this side of the mountains, the only way anyone in that viewing arc will see it is from a plane. For those of us poor schmucks on the ground, the only thing we'll be watching fall from the sky is a lot of little drops of water.
Oh, well, I still hope we collect some cool data.
Today when I got to work, an email from him was waiting for me with a link to the following article:
STARDUST ON FINAL APPROACH FOR LANDING
NASA's Stardust mission return capsule will land Sunday, Jan. 15, at approximately 2:12 a.m. Pacific time (3:12 a.m. Mountain time) on the Utah Test and Training Range. Stardust is completing a 2.88 billion mile round-trip odyssey to capture and return cometary and interstellar dust particles to Earth.
All of which is very cool. And I'm sure that Lurch thought it would be particularly of interest to me because of this:
The Stardust capsule will be visible from parts of Nevada, Utah, California, Idaho and Oregon when it returns on Jan 15 at 2:57 AM MST (09:57 UTC).
(bold added by me)
Unfortunately, the person at NASA who wrote that article either isn't familiar with the Oregon climate, or forgot what time of year he's talking about. I'm sure that east of the Cascades it'll be visible, but on this side of the mountains, the only way anyone in that viewing arc will see it is from a plane. For those of us poor schmucks on the ground, the only thing we'll be watching fall from the sky is a lot of little drops of water.
Oh, well, I still hope we collect some cool data.
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Combining Today's Themes and Memes
I went looking and found a quiz:
You are Book, the Shepherd. Your mission is to
bring the Good Word out to the heathens and to
act as a spiritual guide. Your faith can
withstand any logical assault and your hair can
scare even the most hardened soldier.
Which Firefly character are you?
brought to you by Quizilla
You are Book, the Shepherd. Your mission is to
bring the Good Word out to the heathens and to
act as a spiritual guide. Your faith can
withstand any logical assault and your hair can
scare even the most hardened soldier.
Which Firefly character are you?
brought to you by Quizilla
One More Reason to Appreciate Marrying a Redhead
I can tell (or link to) the best blond joke ever without fear of domestic disharmony.
Michael, There's a Meme Up Ahead!
Thanks for the Memory to the LlamaButchers (Baywatch, huh? Posers).
Knight Rider Hasselhoff You are Knight Rider Hasselhoff. You kick ass, you're dead sexy, AND you are the proud owner (or perhaps life partner) of a talking black Trans-Am. What else could one ask for? Take this quiz at QuizGalaxy.com |
Parenthood Cliches
Today's cliche is "They grow up too fast!"
Well, yeah, they do. Two weeks from tomorrow will be The Lad's first birthday. And already there's a part of me that misses how tiny, how new he was, how sweetly he lay in my arms. What I DON'T miss is the lack of sleep, and the constant worry that comes with caring for a preemie. And while he's gone from a cuddly bundle to an active, stubborn, wiggly 1-year-old, he's a fun, bright, loving, sweet 1-year-old. I've started calling him my little M-109, because he's now self-propelled and he's definitely an area effect weapon. He has a vocabulary of 3 words (hi, dada, and baba). He's eating solid foods, and likes the flavor of barbecue (that's my boy!). At Christmas time, we had to buy him his first sippy cup.
When he first becam mobile, we weren't sure how he was doing it, because it went on for some time before we actually witnessed it happen -- we were only able to observe the end result. We'd put him in the middle of the Turkish carpet, turn away, and when we'd look back, he'd be at its edge. I suspected tectonic/seismic activity or some sort of wind or other meterological phenomenon, The Feared Redhead was advocating an aliens/levitation theory. Eventually we realized he was scooting. The scoot has evolved into a sort of semi-scoot/semi-crawl, where he puts one leg in front of himself and one behind, with the one behind being in a typical crawl stance (knee to the floor, sole facing backwards), and then uses that leg and his hands to pull himself along.
But now the fact that he's developing so quickly has caused us some concern (beyond the obvious realization that our living space must be rearranged with logistics, not esthetics, in mind). We've seen him begin to make the first halting moves towards standing -- he is able to push up with his hands and get his knees off the floor. But he hasn't actually started crawling yet. And we've read studies that indicate that babies who skip the crawling stage have developmental issues later on -- crawling is supposed to develop all sorts of motor skills. So I'd like to see him crawling soon.
But aside from that, he is the most beautiful little boy I've ever seen. See?
He's a little shy, but once he warms up, he's a flirt, and he's already differentiating between the sexes and devoting his attention to the ladies. He's also amazingly strong, and has on one occasion (unintentionally) made daddy bleed (apparently babies are excellent head-butters). I'm already trying to teach him more words, words that will serve him (and me) well later on: Free Agency, First Round Pick, Signing Bonus....
Ultimately, as much as I miss the newborn stage, I'm having the time of my life getting to know him, seeing his personality develop, interacting with him as a tiny little human being.
And even when he's no longer my baby boy, he'll always be my son.
Well, yeah, they do. Two weeks from tomorrow will be The Lad's first birthday. And already there's a part of me that misses how tiny, how new he was, how sweetly he lay in my arms. What I DON'T miss is the lack of sleep, and the constant worry that comes with caring for a preemie. And while he's gone from a cuddly bundle to an active, stubborn, wiggly 1-year-old, he's a fun, bright, loving, sweet 1-year-old. I've started calling him my little M-109, because he's now self-propelled and he's definitely an area effect weapon. He has a vocabulary of 3 words (hi, dada, and baba). He's eating solid foods, and likes the flavor of barbecue (that's my boy!). At Christmas time, we had to buy him his first sippy cup.
When he first becam mobile, we weren't sure how he was doing it, because it went on for some time before we actually witnessed it happen -- we were only able to observe the end result. We'd put him in the middle of the Turkish carpet, turn away, and when we'd look back, he'd be at its edge. I suspected tectonic/seismic activity or some sort of wind or other meterological phenomenon, The Feared Redhead was advocating an aliens/levitation theory. Eventually we realized he was scooting. The scoot has evolved into a sort of semi-scoot/semi-crawl, where he puts one leg in front of himself and one behind, with the one behind being in a typical crawl stance (knee to the floor, sole facing backwards), and then uses that leg and his hands to pull himself along.
But now the fact that he's developing so quickly has caused us some concern (beyond the obvious realization that our living space must be rearranged with logistics, not esthetics, in mind). We've seen him begin to make the first halting moves towards standing -- he is able to push up with his hands and get his knees off the floor. But he hasn't actually started crawling yet. And we've read studies that indicate that babies who skip the crawling stage have developmental issues later on -- crawling is supposed to develop all sorts of motor skills. So I'd like to see him crawling soon.
But aside from that, he is the most beautiful little boy I've ever seen. See?
He's a little shy, but once he warms up, he's a flirt, and he's already differentiating between the sexes and devoting his attention to the ladies. He's also amazingly strong, and has on one occasion (unintentionally) made daddy bleed (apparently babies are excellent head-butters). I'm already trying to teach him more words, words that will serve him (and me) well later on: Free Agency, First Round Pick, Signing Bonus....
Ultimately, as much as I miss the newborn stage, I'm having the time of my life getting to know him, seeing his personality develop, interacting with him as a tiny little human being.
And even when he's no longer my baby boy, he'll always be my son.
Shiny
Guess what arrived in the mail from Amazon yesterday?
I've finally got my DVD's, you can't take the sky from me.
Expect reviews to follow within a few days.
UPDATE:
Thanks for the Memory to The LlamaButchers.
A Serenity sequel? The Shininess just keeps getting... well, shinier.
I've finally got my DVD's, you can't take the sky from me.
Expect reviews to follow within a few days.
UPDATE:
Thanks for the Memory to The LlamaButchers.
A Serenity sequel? The Shininess just keeps getting... well, shinier.
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
Bumper Sticker Bull S.... Consider the Alliteration
Thanks for the Memory to Russell at Mean Mr. Mustard 2.0.
The bumper sticker I specifically have in mind is the one that says, "Pro Family, Pro Child, Pro Choice."
The next time you see it, remember this quote, directly from the NARAL blog:
Oh, yeah, that's pro-child.
The bumper sticker I specifically have in mind is the one that says, "Pro Family, Pro Child, Pro Choice."
The next time you see it, remember this quote, directly from the NARAL blog:
I could not be more sick and tired of the intolerable misogynist position that women should (a) suffer horrible emotional debilitation over the supposedly traumatic decision to excise a few parasitic cells from our personal organs..(bold text added by Russell)
Oh, yeah, that's pro-child.
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