Food and T.V. sets

Last night's dinner was amazing. We went to a friends house a few blocks away and partook in a semi pot luck event. One of the highlights was the sausage and apple stuffing made with three different kinds of sausage, bread and apples. It was unique and fantastic. The bird was great, and the squash, potatoes and pies were also extra special yummy. The rolls also went quickly. After overeating and imbibing, we headed on home so my wife could get some sleep before helping open one of the local big box stores at 5:00. She pulled an extra long shift (05:00 - 16:00) and her register pulled in over $32,800 during that time. Folks, that is ONE register at ONE Walmart. She has often commented how chaotic the crowd can be on "black Friday" and how they RUN through the aisles to get the item they want before it is sold out. This level of chaos became all too apparent this morning at another Walmart some 2,000+ miles to the Northeast when one of the openers was trampled to death when he tried to open the doors. According to reports, the doors were destroyed by the crowd in the process. It is nice to know that we value television sets, vacuum cleaners and mass produced DVDs of last years movies over life. This reminds me of crowds at rock concerts as well as parents in third world countries who sell their children into prostitution so they can buy some idiotic brain numbing appliance. We can no longer judge them, now that we are willing to kill in order to save a few bucks on a T.V. We need to get a grip and realize this is all materialistic crap, and refocus on the important things - friends, family, and health, including whatever spiritual health one chooses. F'ing IDIOTS!

A Fusion Meal -- No Wait It Isn't After All

My daughter was off today for the Thanksgiving break, so I burnt a vacation day to stay home with her. My wife was off at work, and I decided to make use of some leftover grilled salmon, cream cheese, and some attachments for the Kitchen Aid. We wound up making some home made ravioli stuffed with a salmon and cream cheese mixture. She enjoyed being able to help feed the dough through the rollers, and use the stuffer attachment. She is getting old enough that her assistance is actually helpful, and is more than welcome. Our daughter decided to eat at the table, instead of on the TV trays, (this happens about 2X a month) and volunteered to set it. She also decided to use chopsticks for said ravioli. We allowed this, and I thought it strange until I remembered the origin of pasta. Still, the squares were a little slick for the dining implements since they were covered in a simple white sauce. Try it sometime

I'm Dreaming of a White Thanksgiving.

As we zoom in on the end of "Ninth Month", the weather is finally getting cool and damp at the same time. Before you gentle readers pull that crap about November being the 11th month on me, consider SEPTember, OCTOber, NOVember, and DECember. Sometime in the future, I might comment on how these are the 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th months when their names indicate otherwise. In returning from my Bozoish tangent,the weather sites are using the "S" word, but not mentioning anything about accumulation. In the dead of winter, this would be eyebrow raising as it usually results in 2 feet or more, but this early in the season it usually means little or no. On the other hand little spread over several days can amount to more than some. Unfortunately, because of my early Christmas present, there will be no snow down here. The peaks, however are already showing a dusting.

Thus Starteth a Short Week

Monday strikes. Being a short week due to the holiday, I am trying to finish a normal week's worth of stuff in two days. My daughter does not have school on Wednesday, and the normal kid care avenues are also unavailable, thus I will need to burn a vacation day and make the week even shorter. So far I have been successful. There is plenty of work to be done to make the days fly. I even have a number of things to keep me occupied at home.

Time flies for bar flies.

Friday night we wound up kidless, and thought we would use the opportunity to slip on down to the Tavern for a couple of drinks. So with dinner finished, we headed out for a quiet evening. An hour later we were still there, Two hours later we were still there, Three hours later, one of our friends bought us a round. Four hours later another friend bought us another round. Somehow it was Saturday and we were still there. This would not be blogworthy if we were 15, 20, 25 years younger, but we arent, and haven't been in a bar that late in MANY years. Fun times, but we sure felt old later in the day. In other news, my wife decided to spring my Christmas present on me early. A snowblower. How cool be that? Just in time for possible snow for turkey day.

Did We Move To Someplace Like The Bay Area Or London Overnight?

We awoke this morning to the faint smell of wood smoke in the house. This sometimes happens on colder mornings if our neighbors fired up their wood stoves. I suspect it seeps in through the vent above the stove, or maybe the dryer vent. Other than that we have a pretty tight house. The smell was stronger in the living room and kitchen. This was still no real concern; it was WOOD smoke, not house fire smoke. As I went outside to feed the dogs, I noticed I could barely see houses 50-75 feet away due to the smoke. The odor also nearly knocked me down, and I had the urge to look for a crew wearing yellow nomex shirts, and carrying firefighting tools. This was like a thick fog, but stinkier and was definitely NOT due to a neighbor. The smoke from nearby burning of slash piles, or a prescribed burn had settled into our area and created a thick haze that reminded me of the wild land firefighters saying: "The blacker the booger, the greener the paycheck." This would be fine if I were digging fire line, but in my current life it is: The thicker the smoke, the blacker the lungs, the sicker the stomach and the poundier the headache. I just keep reminding myself that this is all for the best and will keep us safer from the time WHEN a wildfire does threaten Flagstaff. Remember: it is WHEN, not IF.

Should Have Moved To Paha Sapa (It's Lakota)

A couple of days ago, I finished reading Rolvaag's Giants In The Earth, a story about Norskie settlers on the eastern Dakota prairie in the 1870's. It is similar to On The Banks Of Plum Creek, but slightly more fictional, and written for a more adult audience. It struck me interesting that the settlers had a burning desire to band with like folks. When others would pass by the settlement, it was vital that they too be of Norskie stock, largely due to language issues. Not only was it vital that newcomers be Norskie, but from the right part of good o' Norge. I also found it strange that they longed for the milder winters of the northern Norway coast, or even Minnesota. We complain when we need to travel a mere six miles on snow packed roads to buy something we don't need from the department store. Imagine running out of wood and other heat sources, and food for both livestock and people and spring is still 2 months away. The landscape is covered with 3 feet of snow and another blizzard is brewing. There ain't no snowplow. Oh, and you really need a doctor. Skis were even pointless with that much snow. The women in the story kept wondering what the hell they were doing out there, and the men kept looking further west, further into the wilderness, further away from concentrated populations. This could not have been easy for those who settled the great plains. Kudos to them. And to those who were before who did not view wilderness with fear and negativity - more kudos.

Another Day, Another "NO!"

What arrived at work today?

36 100 ml graduated cylinders
40 vials of capillary tubes
1 case of small nitrile gloves
1 case of medium nitrile gloves
1 case of large nitrile gloves
1 case of extra-large nitrile gloves
2 medium-large boxes of assorted supplies that I have not unpacked yet.

What didn't?

2 20 liter drums of acetonitrile. It seem there is a WORLDWIDE SHORTAGE of the solvent and only "preferred customers" can get any. To make matters weirder, "preferred customer" refers to those who frequently order acetonitrile, not those who order lots of other goodies on a regular basis, with an occasional order of acetonitrile. I guess the world has discovered the joys of acetonitrile, and refuse to call it Methyl Cyanide. That would simply scare many users away and leave more for us. I get the fun of telling researchers they probably can't get any, but I will keep searching for a vendor who will see things my way. There are grad students who have work to finish, and the supplier's attitude of "you don't order enough of it." flies as well as a rock swims. Let's hope the vendor rep can intervene. Oh, I'm not paying more than $20.00/liter either.

Horny Truckers On Our Highways

As we were driving to town in the pre-dawn darkness this morning, a car carrier passed us. As it did so there came the annoying blare of a car horn. We weren't drifting into his lane, and he wasn't drifting into ours, so we were a little confused and simply watched the shiny new cars from soon to be bankrupt companies pass. Shiny, pretty, new cars. The vehicle following it passed us as well, but didn't look or act miffed about anything, so the confusion continued. The sound came again. Once the carrier was fully past us, the mystery was solved. The car alarm of the back most mini van on the upper deck had been activated. Beep beep beep went the horn. Blink, blink, blink went the tail lights. Then a pause for a few seconds before the cycle continued. Our entertainment continued until the carrier headed up the ramp and headed east on 40. Beep beep beep, blink blink blink into the soon to be rising sun.

It Seems To Be A Word - Gotta Love It

Having little to do this evening, I decided to attend a "barking dog" meeting at the local fire station. Actually the one in Kachina, but still local. The woman from the Coconino County Health Department (read animal control) briefly talked about the ordinance covering barking animals, then listened to the onslaught of vingettes. Vingettes of dogs at large, agressive dogs, people who walk dogs off leash in the forest, vindictive neighbors, and even vocal canines. I found it odd that only 30% of the dog bit involved barking dogs; you know that topic the meeting was supposed to be about. The crowd was less than satisfied with the ordinance and wanted a new one. Some wanted to know if they could sue nearby owners of barkers due to a reduced "quality of life." There was no clear answer from the woman from the county. She kept trying to keep it focused on BARKING, but some in the crowd were intent on discussing a shooting incident involving an agressive dog, resulting in a dead person. The reality of living in the county, and Kachina/Mountainaire in particular hit home with disappointment, and gasps were heard from many when one woman stated that her neighbors have FOUR dogs, and most residents here have AT LEAST TWO. She wanted statistics on the number of dogs out here. Her arithmophilia was contageous and others soon asked about dog license records. The obsession continued to grow. The question was eating them all: just how many dogs are there in Kachina Village and Mountainaire. I refrained from telling them to multiply the number of people by four. Yes the barking is a problem, and sometimes the barking level is off the scale, but I prefer that to the constant yapping into cell phones by some of my neighbors. It is to the point that I can not sit in my own yard without listening to someone's private conversation.

Third Time Is A Time

I decided to be a slob and make this a four-day weekend. I must confess I was only semi-wise with the time. I washed the kitchen floor, dusted the plant shelves, or at least tried to. This is a project that is done so rarely that it is nearly pointless. Since it is nearly pointless it is done rarely, which makes it nearly pointless. I also made 3 batches of croissant dough. Roll roll roll chill chill chill roll roll roll etc etc etc. I have 1-1/2 batches ready to do whatever with and 1-1/2 batches scored and ready to form into croissants all freezing in preparation for turkey day. Yes I know I can just buy the things, or even do the canned stuff, but the pain in the ass is well worth it when the diners bite into one and utter "These aren't Pilsbury, are they?" Besides, rolling chilled dough borders on a workout. Unfortunately, flour gets everywhere. EVERYWHERE! At least I was ambitious enough to make extra dough so, as I mentioned earlier, I can make other croissant dough based goodies on shorter notice. The pain in the ass factor for making 3 batches is only 50% greater than a single batch. I also support the dairy industry by using lots and lots and lots and lots of butter. Seriously, each batch uses 4-1/2 sticks of butter. I cut mine down to 4-1/4 - as if it makes a difference at that point. Even when they don't turn out well, they surpass anything available in this mountain town. So try it sometime, and make your own.

Another Missed Opportunity

It seems to be time for another Bond marathon on the ol' idiot box. The movie of the moment is Diamonds Are Forever which is one of my favorites. My wife and daughter went to see High School Musical III with a couple of other girls and their mom; I was informed it was a girls only outing. Imagine my disappointment at not getting to watch a sporting event break into a big song and dance number. How will I recover?
Oh, to H. I did remember, but don't like to bring it up. I prefer to have it be "another day" and not the day we all lost something. Time to find a Blackhawks game and scream at the TV for those who used to.

Don't Abuse The Opportunity

The people of the united states have spoken for change, but the popular vote shows just how tough the job for President Elect Obama will be. There is now the risk that the Democrats will copy the Republicans and abuse the control of the executive and legislative branches of our government. It is up to us to make sure they do not. Control of these branches does not mean the people want the Democrats to do whatever they want. We have the opportunity to keep the democrats from punishing big business, small business, and the wealthy while opening the door to opportunity for those who have been denied a future for so long now. (It will be up to them to go through the opened door.) On the other hand Arizonans have decided to write bigotry into the state constitution. Although this does not change the current situation, it uses the constitution to guarantee that basic rights are only for the special ones. I guess fear still rules.

Rant Rant Rant Rant Rant

It is finally election day, and I am avoiding watching any returns for at least another hour. Despite my respect for the so called maverick, I find myself preferring the Senator from Illinois. This is largely due to the demaverickization Senator McCain has gone through over the past two to three years. Instead of taking a centrist approach to positions, he has moved far to the right in order to appease the far right portion of the republican base. In short he has become more of a gelding. His selection of Governor Palin pushed me offer the edge to the left. I would love to watch a hockey game with the woman, but when she spews statements about what God gave the United States (oil, natural gas, wind, etc.) and what we are entitled (mandated) to do with it, I realize that if she is allowed influence in the Oval Office, that science will be set back another 30 years. Given the past eight years that would place technology in this country somewhere in the middle of the twelfth century. We can not advance as a society when our leaders ridicule or ignore chemistry, physics and biology. That is part of the reason I have looked to the left. There are others, but I am more moderate on those views. I seriously believe that if the right retains control of the executive branch, we will live in fear, lose freedoms, and return to the days of destroyed federal and state constitutions ala Arizona proposition 102. I'm as mad as hell over this crap and did something about it. I voted.

Take Your Daughter To A Game Day

I realize it has been a spell since I blogged at all y'all. It has been a mostly normal week, except for Saturday night when we met some friends in Phoenix for a Coyotes game. One of the two we met for the game was unaware of the personality change I go through at a hockey game, and he was certainly unprepared for the effect hockey has on our daughter. Neither was all of section 201, most of whom seemed humored by a nine year old girl screaming at the players. Most. There seemed to be a seat in the row in front of us that was equipped with a stick that penetrated the sphincter of the man sitting in it. The crustier his glances at us, the more I wanted to tell our little sports fan to keep yelling. I avoided the urge, and just let Kim be Kim. She was in rare form telling the Coyotes "Bash them into the boards, you're allowed to do that in hockey!" So to the lifeless blob in front of us, Lighten up, get a life, and start living it.