3,365

Trivia Question:

What is the significance of the above number as it relates to the United states and specifically my home state of Oregon?

NO GOOGLING!

UPDATE - Bumped to 4/8:

Nice try, all my readers. You got close. The answer:

3,365 is the number of miles in U.S. Highway 20, the longest road on America. It starts in Boston, Massachussetts, and ends at its intersection with U.S. 101 in... yup -- Newport, Oregon.

Crossed Fingers and Bended Knees Would Be Appreciated

I haven't said anything until now, because I didn't want to get my readers' (and especially my own) hopes up, but last Tuesday I had a job interview. The interview went well, and the place seems like a good match -- Northwest cuisine, they're looking for part-time cooks for now, they especially need AM positions filled, and the chef is passionate about, among other things, charcuterie. Until I graduate, it'd only be a few hours a week, but it's a foot in the door, and it's located close to Hayward Field, where the Olympic Trials will be held later this spring, so I'm sure after graduation there'll be plenty of time available for more work.

Please see the title of the post for my reason fortelling you all this.

UPDATE 04/07/08:

I GOT THE JOB!!!!!

The chef called just before 9 PM tonight, and offered me the job. I go in tomorrow to talk about my schedule.

Thanks to everyone who put in good thoughts and prayers.

Quote of the Day

"Sometimes, thinking of my own objectivity, I wonder whether my perception
of the left as mentally challenged is simply a product of my own,
generally-conservative point-of-view. Then there are times like these when I
realize that the true lefties really are seriously messed up in the head."

- Ragnar Danneskjold, posting over at Blogfather Rusty's.

The post is on the vitriol spewed over at DU regarding the death of Charleston Heston. He was a better man than any of his detractors. Rest in Peace, Taylor.

Random Geneaology Stuff

I got a call from dear old Mom this week, who has been doing some research on the family tree. She specifically focused on her father's ancestry, and she came up with some interesting facts:

At least part of the German side of her father's family came from Schleswig-Holstein, though we also suspect Bavarian ancestry. On the Irish side, the first Barron in America was born in Ireiland in 1751, location unknown at this point. I can also trace my lineage to the Scottish Clan Campbell now, as well as to victims of the Cherry Valley Massacre. In addition, I now know I had an ancestor serving in an Ohio regiment in the Civil War, and can trace the path of my family across the U.S. -- from New York, to Pennsylvania, then Ohio, to Kansas, New Mexico, California, and finally through me and my son to Oregon.

What's particularly interesting is the coincidence of that family history with that of my FATHER'S family, which traces a similar path -- Off the boat from Germany at Baltimore in 1750, then on to Pennsylvania, where rather than being massacred, an ancestor participated IN a massacre, then to Ohion, Arizona, and California. And yet despite similar places, the two families have no known connection until my parents met.

Thoughts of a Typical Right Person

So Barack Obama has added more fuel to the Race-and-Politics fire that is the Democratic primaries with his comment calling his grandmother a "typical white person". I have noticed a couple of my fellow conservative Bloggers comment on this, but I also noticed that the Clinton campaign jumped on it right away. And it brought up an interesting point in my mind. Throughout this political season, whenever either Obama or Clinton have made a blunder, any response by conservatives has been labelled a right-wing smear tactic, motivated supposedly by racism or sexism.

Yet the two camps of liberals -- both the official campaigns and the rank-and-file supporters -- have been just as quick to jump on those same incidents. Nothing I've heard any conservative say in response to these well-known incidents has been any harsher than what the liberals have said about ueach other. Why do you think that is?

I'll tell you why *I* think it is. I think it's because that's all the two have on each other. The rhetoric in this country for some time is that our political campaigns should be about issues and not be personal attacks, but personal attacks are all Clinton and Obama have of substance on each other ARE personal attacks. On the issues, each is hard-pressed to prove significanlty different from the other. They both espouse domestic policies that are blatantly socialist, foreign policies that place being liked over being secure and hold American sovereignty hostage to international politics, and social values that devalue unborn life and place identity politics ahead of common sense and true equality. They both pander to the same special interest grouups on the Left, so they really can't outdo each other regarding their Liberal Bona Fides, so the only thing they have left is to try to tarnish each other.

The beauty of this from a conservative perspective is two-fold.

First of all, I've stayed away from much political blogging this election cycle, simply because I've been disappointed in my own party -- both in the actions of elected Republicans, and in the choices made in our own primaries. But when push comes to shove, I'd still prefer unenthusiastically supporting McCain to seeing either Clinton OR Obama elected. And despite some failings, he certainly does offer positions on several important policies that are in contrast with the Democratic candidate, whomever that may be. He's holding the line on a lot of foreign policy and security issues, although he still disappoints me regarding the border. He's taking a tough stance regarding mortgage bailouts, and I think he's smart enough to recognize that the economy is not his strong suite, and will recruit good policy folks to inform him.

Secondly, and this may be a bit mercenary of me, but he can focus on those issues, and rise above personal politics, while still reaping the benefits of the nasty personal politics being practiced by the Dem candidates on each other (see my "Qoute of the Day" a while back). They're doing such a good job of pointing out to voters why the other is unqualified, all McCain need to is point out his own qualifications, and harp on the issues.

Absolut-ly Not

A tip of the toque to Michelle Malkin via Gully at Resistance is Futile!

Absolut Vodka has an ongoing ad campaign called "In an Absolut World", wherein they portray images of the way things would be if the ultra-cool, with-it people who drink their vodka had their way.

Apparently, that includes the "Reconquista" of the American West by Mexico. One of the ads shows a redrawn map of North America, with Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, California, and Colorado, as well as parts of Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, and Oklahoma, ALL as part of Mexico.

The ad was only run in Latin America, but the agency was stupid not to think it would be spread all over the internet lickety damned split. Even (or should I say especially) Mexican-Americans find it offensive.

And if the ad itself wasn't bad enough, check out their half-assed attempts at explaining and apologizing -- apparently in response to the huge backlash.

Sorry, Absolut, too little, too late. As one commenter pointed out, perhaps Swedish-based Absolute should run an add where Scandinavia is part of the Soviet Union, or where Sweden's neighbor, Norway, is still occupied by Nazi Germany. Wouldn't those be a hoot? The money quote is in the comments of an unrelated post in the Absolut World Blog:

OK, Sweden may have sold out a few countries in World War II, but it was not
meant to offend or disparage, or advocate an altering of borders, lend support
to any anti-Allied sentiment, or to reflect immigration issues. They were truly
sorry and understand that the action has offended several nations. This was not
their intention.To ensure that Sweden will avoid future similar mistakes, they
are adjusting their internal foreign army approval process for invasions that
are developed in local markets. This is a genuine and sincere apology, and
super-serious.

My first reaction was that not only will I boycott Absolut personally, but I will see to it that when I own my own restaurant some day, neither it nor any product owned by its parent company is carried in my bar, and I was pleased to read a comment on Absolut's website from at least one other restauranteur who feels the same way. Thanks to loyal reader and fellow blogger Patrick at Born Again Redneck, I have a handy list:

Spirits
Absolut
Seagram’s gin
100 Pipers
Amaro Ramazzoti
Clan Campbell
Imperial
Pastis 51
Ararat
Wild Turkey
Royal Salute
Tia Maria
Suze
Royal Stag
Ruavieja
Wyndham Estate
Powers
Campo Viejo
Hiram Walker
Passport
Café de Paris
Becherovka
Don Pedro
Olmeca
Aberlour
Wisers
Montilla
Presidente
Soho/Dita
Pernod
Wyborowa
Something Special

Wine-based aperitifs and fortified wines
Ambassadeur
Bartissol
Dubonnet
Sandeman Port
Byrrh
La Ina

Australian wines
Jacob’s Creek
Wyndham Estate

Argentinean wines
Graffigna
Etchart
Colón
Santa Silvia
Balbi
Mumm Espumante

Other wines
Almaden (Brazil)
Domecq (Mexico)
Tamada (Georgia)
Old Tbilisi (Georgia)
Long Mountain (South Africa)

Champagnes
Mumm
Perrier-Jouët

Sparkling wines
Jacob’s Creek (Sparkling)
Café de Paris
Lindauer
Mumm Napa
Mumm Espumante
Carrington

New Zealand wines
Montana
Stoneleigh
Lindauer
Church Road

Spanish wines
Campo Viejo
Marques de Arienzo
Siglo
Azpilicueta
Ysios
Viña Alcorta
Palacio de la Vega

Chez Chay

Last term was my last term working in the Renaissance Room, our student-run restaurant. The class that covered this was Restaurant Supervision, and it was pretty much self-explanatory -- we were the supervisors, the first years were our workers. Aside from the seasonal dinner events, it was our main contact with the first years, and overall, they were a great bunch to work with. Even though I'm nowhere near as close to them as to my classmates, I enjoyed getting to know them.

Which all leads me to a really cool thing that happened today. Last term, I was bragging to them about The Lad's enthusiasm for cooking. Today, I bumped into two of them in the library at school, and one of them said, "Oh, I have something for you". She left, and returned a few mihutes later with The Lad's first cookbook.

It's awesome, since he loves Disney almost as much as cooking. Remy from Ratatouille is the guide, and the recipes are all themed after various characterts, TV Shows and movies. It's not Haute Cuisine, to be sure, but it's easy, and fun, and they DO teach things like nutrition, safety, and even Mise en Place. He insisted on it being his bedtime story tonight, and he's already eying a couple of recipes he wants to try.

Me? Proud? What makes you say that?

Spud Stud

As I mentioned, during the height of the lunacy I refer to as "Winter Term", I was tagged with a food meme. The basic requirements were that the food be "peasant" food (or the American equivalent), that it be delicious, simple, cheap to make, and not too healthy.

I think the ideal dish would be my mother's fried potatoes. I was blessed with a heritage of poor working class folks on both sides of my family -- my maternal grandmother was a Dustbowl Arkie, her husband a working rancher, sailor, and plant supervisor. My father was a pastor, a sailor, a firefighter, a ranch hand, and grew up the poor son of an alcoholic carpenter/singer/migrant farmer. So I grew up with cooks who new how to really stretch a food dollar, and make very little go very far and taste very good. The following recipe is a reflection of my mother's southern roots and my northwest childhood:

Pan Fried Potato Rounds
2 lb. russet potatoes (here in Ore-Ida country, that can be as 2 or 3 potatoes)
Salt TT (To Taste)
Pepper TT
Onion Powder TT
Garlic Powder TT

Scrub and rinse the potatoes, but do not peel. Slice crossways into 1/4" thick rounds, rinse again.

Fill a 10" cast iron skillet to 1/4" deep with oil, this recipe tastes best if at least some of the oil is replaced with bacon fat. Heat over high heat. Once the oil is hot, lay the potatoes in the oil and cook on high heat, turning occasionally so that all sides get browned and crispy. If you turn them too often, they'll turn mushy. Too seldom and they'll burn. Once the potatoes are golden brown and crispy, reduce the heat to low and cover, cooking 10-15 minutes or until the centers are fork tender. Season to taste with the salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder, serve hot.

To this day my mouth waters just THINKING about these potatoes.

In the spirit of this being a meme, I'm tagging Ken at It Comes in Pints, Maximum Leader at Naked Villainy, and Ted at Rocket Jones.

That Figures

I managed to clear the financial hold and register for classes today, and one of the general requirement classes needed to graduate, First Aid (covers our PE/Health requirement as well as being specifically required for the program) is full. In addition, the Math class I need won't let me register because it says I don't meet the prereq's (I DO TOO!), and I'll bet you anything by the time I clear that up tomorrow, it will be full. I also got a Prereq block on Culinary Leadership (our capstone class), so tomorrow will be spent, like today, at the college -- while on Spring Break.

Oh, and even if I DO get into those classes, my schedule (not 21 credits but only by 3 -- yup, 18 credits) once again precludes any work this term.

Whee.

UPDATE 03/25/08:

Yup, spent all morning and part of the early afternoon on campus getting as much of this mess straightened out as possible. Things went from bad to worse to better....

I managed to get the holds lifted from my Culinary Leadership class and Math class -- they were related, and had to do with the math. I took the placement tests more than a year ago, and usually in that case the school requires a retesting. I git that waived, and added the classes -- though I still have to crash First Aid. At that point I was barely keeping my promise to myself -- I was up to 20 credits. Hey, 20 isn't 21, to be fair. In addition, that meant I had to drop a culinary class to squeeze the general classes in under the maximum, then get clearance next week to re-add the culinary class. Like I said, bad to worse.

Then I went to talk to my academic counselor to double-check on my academic progress, I'd hate to finish this term and find out that I had missed a requirement. Unfortunately, she didn't have my records with her, so I'm going to have to go back to see her. But she did clear me to take 20 credits. Woot, I think, is the term. In the meantime, I also brought up the fact that I attended school at a community college in San Diego in the 1990's, but was under the impression that it was too long ago for the credits to transfer. Not so, said my counselor -- they should indeed. And since I took Geometry, Trig, and Statistics in San Diego, as opposed to the remedial math rewuired for the program, all I had to do was traipse over to testing to take an extra level of the math placement tests, and I was able to drop the Math class I'd just registered for. Furthermore, the 155 and 200 level English classes, as well as that astronomy class, all can be used in lieu of the scinece class I was registered for. DRopping those two classes were a relief on several levels: they accounted for 7 of those 20 credits, which translates into roughly 7 hours less busy stress, $511 of tuition, and Lord only knows how much in books. Overall, things are looking up. I've got my application for graduation filled out and turned in, and am sending off a transcript request to San Diego Community College District tomorrow. Now all I have to do is get the cooperative education paperwork from my boss from last summer, contact the farmers I plan to use for our spring dinner, clean the house, crash First Aid, and I'll be all set next week.

Such a relaxing Spring Break....

So Far, So Good

Today's the day by which the professors are supposed to post our grades. I've checked online, and so far, 5 of my 7 classes have been posted, and they're all A's.

Update 03/24/08:

Final tally: 6 A's, and a B+. Missed it by that much.

Five Down, One to Go

Note to self: NO MORE TWENTY-ONE CREDIT TERMS!!!!!

Today I finished off the last of two major projects and five, count them five, final exams. Spring Break officially starts this weekend, but for me, it begins tonight -- such as it is. I'll be spending the week looking for a job for next term, trying to wrangle up the $400 I need to pay off this term before I register for next, and make sure I register for the right classes to graduate in June.

I know I've been really neglectful of my blog this term, and I feel badly -- my readers and the fellow bloggers who link to me have become something like family to me -- it's amazing how close one can feel to people one's never met in person. But between a winter dinner that had me pulling my hair out (the terrine kicked ASS, thank you), a business plan for a fictional restaurant, a menu and prep list and firing schedule for a fake catering event, and countless quizzes, tests, and a field trip all term, I was a bit... swamped.

I'm also aware that I've neglected at least one tag, and at some point I plan to do something about that, though I'd rather take a few days off before doing anything food-related that's also an assignment.

Next term will be interesting. So far I only have 9 credits of required culinary classes, but the general ed requirements I have brings me up to 15, so we'll see. I definitely won't be attending 21 hours -- I may have that many credits, though, but about 6 of those will be Co-op credits for work done in industry.

I hope to blog a bit this break, but next term, no promises.

Something About Oxen and Goring

A tip of theToque to Tree Hugging Sister at Coalition of the Swilling.

Nancy Pelosi takes her job as Speaker of the House so seriously, she's taken to speaking out of both sides of her mouth.

The controversy over the Pentagon decision to award a $35bn refuelling tanker
contract to EADS spilled into the presidential race yesterday, when a senior
Democrat suggested that John McCain, the Republican nominee, was responsible for
the deal being "outsourced" to a European company.

Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic House speaker, said Boeing had been on course to supply the US Air Force with tankers until Mr McCain "intervened".
"My understanding is that it was on course for Boeing before. I mean, the thought was that it would be a domestic supplier for it," Ms Pelosi told reporters.

"Senator McCain intervened, and now we have a situation where the contract may be - this work may be outsourced."

Well, yes, Ms. Pelosi, Senator McCain WAS instrumental in stopping the Boeing deal. but what you seem to be... forgetting(?)... is that the reason he opposedthe deal was because it was dirty:

The air force originally chose Boeing to supply it with 100 tankers. But
Congress cancelled the deal after it emerged that Darleen Druyun, a former top
air force acquisitions official, had held illegal job discussions with Boeing
while still negotiating the deal. Ms Druyun admitted boosting the value of the
deal to help Boeing.

Mr McCain has pointed to his aggressive investigation into the Boeing
deal as evidence that he is willing to stand up to powerful corporate
interests.

The tanker scandal claimed the career of former Boeing chief executive
Phil Condit. Ms Druyun and Mike Sears, Boeing's former chief financial officer,
were sent to jail.

Sounds like just the kind of Washington Insider dirt Pelosi wants to reform:

Break the link between legislation and lobbyists by passing lobby reform.

But why is she attacking McCain for doing just what she advocates on her own website? It couldn't be because he's running for president on the ticket of the party she opposes, could it? It couldn't be, as one commenter at the coalition points out, that Boeing's plant is in a region represented by members of her own party, could it?

What a hypocrite.

Quote of the Day

A Tip of the Toque to Salena Zito.

"We have already seen the first campaign ad that John McCain is going to run this year. It just so happens that Hillary Clinton is the one that ran it."

- Dan Schnur, Professor, Political Science, UC Berkeley

Smug Alert

After my last post on the passing of a humble servant of God like Larry Norman, I feel bad bragging, so I'll preface it:

The Pate is still kicking my butt. I'm thoroughly exhausted. I'm having to create an appetizer with over 300 servings, and I'm doing it from the ground up, with very little assistance. I startedf at 11:30 AM, and by 6:30 still had only managged to cook down the apples and puree them and the meat (albeit, around 20 lbs total of the stuff) -- no slicing of the backfat, lining of the molds, no baking runs. Argh. I love charcuterie, but after this I'm sticking to sausage and cured meats. I'm sick of Pate.

And to top it off, that 6:30 finish (including dishes) put me 30 minutes late for my marine biology class, where we had our second of two tests, this one over cnidarians, the various phyla of worms, and mollusks. Here comes the moment of self-congratulation: I still finished faster than half the class.

Roll Away His Stone

A tip of the toque to my Good Friend the Reverend Doctor:

Larry Norman, 'The Father Of Christian Rock' Passes Away

Monday, February 25, 2008
Source: CMSpin

Larry Norman 4/8/47 - 2/24/08

Larry's amazing amount of dedication and work throughout his life is a
testiment to his love for his Maker. He will be missed but a celebration
of his life can live on through the vast collection of his music. For
those new to Christian music, you owe it to yourself to discover what is the
Larry Norman legacy.Here is a letter posted on http://www.larrynorman.com/ by his brother
Charles detailing the events:

Our friend and my wonderful brother Larry passed away at 2:45 Sunday
morning. Kristin and I were with him, holding his hands and sitting in bed with
him when his heart finally slowed to a stop. We spent this past week laughing,
singing, and praying with him, and all the while he had us taking notes on new
song ideas and instructions on how to continue his ministry and art. Several of
his friends got to come and visit with him in the last couple of weeks and were
a great source of help and friendship to Larry. Ray Sievers, Derek Robertson,
Mike Makinster, Tim and Christine Gilman, Matt and Becky Simmons, Kerry Hopkins,
Allen Fleming and a few more. Thank you guys. Larry appreciated your visits very
much. And he greatly appreciated the thoughts, wishes, support and prayers that
came from all of you Solid Rock friends on a daily basis. Thank you for being
part of his small circle of friends over the years. Yesterday afternoon he knew
he was going to go home to God very soon and he dictated the following message
to you while his friend Allen Fleming typed these words into Larry's
computer:

I feel like a prize in a box of cracker jacks with God's hand reaching
down to pick me up. I have been under medical care for months. My wounds are
getting bigger. I have trouble breathing. I am ready to fly home.My brother
Charles is right, I won't be here much longer. I can't do anything about it. My
heart is too weak. I want to say goodbye to everyone. In the past you have
generously supported me with prayer and finance and we will probably still need
financial help.My plan is to be buried in a simple pine box with some flowers
inside. But still it will be costly because of funeral arrangement,
transportation to the gravesite, entombment, coordination, legal papers etc.
However money is not really what I need, I want to say I love you. I'd like to
push back the darkness with my bravest effort. There will be a funeral posted
here on the website, in case some of you want to attend. We are not sure of the
date when I will die. Goodbye, farewell, we will meet again.

Goodbye, farewell, we'll meet again
Somewhere beyond the sky.
I pray that you will stay with God
Goodbye, my friends, goodbye.

Larry

Thank you to all of you who were so nice to my brother over the years.
Kristin and I will post funeral information in the next day or two. Right now
we're not able to function very well, but the whole family is here... our mother
Margaret, our sisters Nancy and Kristy, Mike Norman and his new wife Tiffany,
and Silver.We miss him beyond words. Thank you for everything.

Peace to you all in Christ,

Charles Norman

Resquiat Im Pacem, brother. Thanks to you, the Devil DIDN'T have all the good music.

UPDATE:

Friend (at least that's what I consider him), reader, and commenter Joel eulogizes him better than I could, and there's a great observation by WordGirl in his comments.

The thing about Larry was that he didn't start out to be a "Christian Rocker" -- he was a rock star who found Jesus. His music wasn't "CCM", it was Jesus Rock -- a guy who had found the Lord using the medium he knew best to express his newfound faith. There were a lot of musicians like that in the early days, it wasn't until my generation (the kids wedged between the Boomers and the X'ers) -- raised in the church but still wanting our rock and pop -- came along that we started seeing it go the other way and see church kids make modern music. Unfortunately, something got lost along the way. But if you want to hear some music -- albeit dated, but still good -- that really changed the modern Church, I'd recommend listening to some of the artists from that earlier wave. And the four I would most recommend, with our now passed brother leading the list, would be Larry Norman, Keith Green, Randy Stonehill, and Phil Keaggy.

If You Pray...

We got an email from one of TFR's oldest and best friends. I can't go into details, but her husband took a big career-related blow this week. It's a shame, because they're both really good people -- she's definitely a better friend to TFR than I am a husband, and they deserve better news than this.

I know she reads my blog, so to her I say, we're thinking of you, hon, and you're in our prayers.

I'd appreciate prayers and good thoughts for them from the rest of my readers.

Up For Air

Sorry for the even-worse-than-normal lack of posts lately -- I've wanted to, but we're in the run up to our winter fundraiser (The Classic Cuisine Dinner), and I've been working on developing and fine tuning the dish assigned to me. I'm on the appetizer team, and our dinner is highlighting regions of France. My dish represents Normandy -- it's a Terrine Pate de Canard aux Pommes et Champignons. It's been a frustrating experience -- all three of my dry runs have produced less than satisfactory results. The recipe we started with was for a cold mousseline, not a terrine, and I've had to adapt it -- because my Chef de Parti (and classmate) decided that the actual terrine recipe we had was too complicated and expensive. So we've taken a chicken liver recipe, switched it to a duck liver recipe, converted it to a different cooking style, and added new ingredients, including Calvados and chanterelles -- so much cheaper and simpler than just following a purpose-specific recipe in the first place. Grrrr....

Admittedly, I have made mistakes in the execution of the recipe and its permutations since then, but that just adds to my frustration. The dinner is Thursday, and I start prep work on the final run on Monday. I'll let you know how it goes.

Pun Fun

Recently in our Restaurant Supervision class, we studied the topic of sexual harassment, and the two main forms of harassment were covered: Quid Pro Quo harassment, which is the offering of employment or advancement in exchange for sexual favors, and Hostile Workplace harassment. But in the professional kitchen, there is a THIRD kind: offering food in exchange for sexual favors. In seafood restaurants, this is known as Squid Pro Quo.

New Quote of a Lifetime

"I be chef like da-da."

- The Lad

(after three years to the day, at that. No, dammit, I just got some onion in my eyes from cooking. Shut up.)

Quote of the Day

A Tip of the Toque to Princess Haiku.

"Everyone is a visionary if you scratch him deep enough. But a Celt is a visionary without scratching."

W.B. Yeats