the joy of life

Granola Crunchy

2012-01-31T19:52:00.002-06:00

Amongst the name calling and peer pressure of high school I recall one of my best friends commonly referring to certain people as "granola crunch". With apologies to Hannah I have to share the homemade granola that Katy and I made this weekend. I won't share the full recipe since we obtained it from one of the better known spots in Minneapolis through someone very close to us who happens to work there but contact me directly if you need a sample to help you figure it all out.

The basic recipe is to toast oats, pecans and coconut and combine with a molten goo of delicious honey, maple syrup, vanilla and cinnamon, then bake, cool, and add loads of dried fruit. We used cherries, craisins, golden raisins, and apricots. Atop a bowl of plain yogurt this is just about the best breakfast I can think of for a weekday while I catch my daily 10 minutes of Home Improvement on TBS (really, its on from 6-7 am CST, just before The Fresh Prince of Bellair, really).

White Bean Bruschetta

2012-01-29T21:56:00.001-06:00

I know. It sounds kind of gross. That's what Katy thought too when I told her that's what I was going to make for us to bring to an impromptu homemade pizza night with some friend a couple of weeks ago. Fortunately my culinary instincts proved strong (and my memory from having a similar dish at a restaurant a year or two ago) and I got Katy to admit liking something she didn't think would be good (one of my favorite things as a cook).

I didn't follow a recipe at all and don't have any solid measurements but here is a general idea...serve on warm slices of crunchy french baguette:

1 can white beans, drained and rinsed thoroughly
4 diced roma tomatoes
Finely minced red onion
Juice of 1 large lemon
Salt and Pepper
Olive Oil
Capers
Finely chopped parsley

As Papa Hammel would say "what's not to like"?

Eat with your eyes

2012-01-24T17:22:00.000-06:00

Sometime I think about food.

Sometimes I think about food too much.

An interesting thing happened last week in the Ecolab lunch room. My co-worker returned from the cafeteria with yet another one of her "random salads" from the salad bar which contained an item which was hard to identify without the proper context and contact. Let me describe it to you. It was a small collection (perhaps covering 1 square inch) of marble sized white balls which appeared to be covered in a very thin brown sauce and finely chopped leafs of some kind. I asked to try the mystery ingredient and very quickly realized it was mozzarella cheese balls with some balsamic vinegar and some basil. Before I had the chance to share my discovery co-worker also tried a few of the mystery white orbs of nutrition and was at first a vocally concerned vegetarian, wondering if the item was perhaps chicken.

While the above described event may not seem interesting to you it made me think. These days the combination of mozzarella, balsamic, and basil (usually accompanied by tomato) is pretty common. Yet even given full sensory experience of the items it was only with wavering confidence that the ingredients could be identified without prior knowledge. In the day and age in which many people obsess over the most minute of details of the food they eat it was interesting to think how arbitrary (and perhaps down right offensive) some of these things may be at times. It seems at times that the most decisive signal we are given about the food we eat comes externally. Our enjoyment (or self identification) seems to come often not from how an experience (in this case food) makes us feels internally but from how society tells us to feel. To me it is quite conflicting that at on one hand, to some people, food has absolutely nothing to do with survival and everything to with luxury and sensory enjoyment, and on the other hand, to other people, food is survival and nothing else.

I realize the last paragraph strayed quite a bit from the funny idea of having a hard time identifying common foods to the conflict that the different roles that food plays in society creates. But as a person fortunate enough to discuss food as one of the greatest passions in my life I think it's essential to recognize that it is a privilege and not a right to be able to have these types of discussions.

On a note related to the intra-sensory experience that is food check out the great work being done by South Africa's Wimpy Burger to help the blind experience good in a way they never have before. Pretty neat. Think about that the next time you are at a restaurant and you salivate as the server places your food in front of you and you rip it apart with your eyes before ever taking a bite.

Ray Lamontagne -- Three More Days

2012-01-23T12:44:00.000-06:00

God Damnit. If I could I'd hire Ray Lamontagne to follow me around and play the soundtrack to my life.

Something tells me I probably can't afford that.

I have been getting a serious "I need to go to a concert soon" itch lately...hope there is someone good playing MPLS soon...

Roseanne and the Internet

2012-01-19T18:18:00.000-06:00

I'll admit it. I happend to catch a few minutes of Roseanne during the daily mid-afternoon garbage re-runs on network TV while putting away laundry and was reminded of how poignant the show was at the time it aired. Even catching a few minutes of it was enough to be reminded of how much of a departure from the traditional sitcom it was to show the not so impressive side of American families (although admittedly Roseanne was not the first to do this). Regardless I found it smart in how it pretends to be stupid...and was also amazed at just how quickly I could find out exactly which episode I watched and pull up a YouTube video of the segment. Ahh the power of the internet.

Winter!

2012-01-18T18:20:00.001-06:00

It's cold! It's snowing! I played 2 1/2 hours of broomball yesterday!

Hooray!

Punt

2012-01-16T12:46:00.003-06:00

I spent Saturday helping the scouts learn winter camping and survival skills so I didn't get to see the Pats advance to the 2012 AFC Championship game...you can imagine my surprise when I saw highlights which including a 3rd round quick punt from QB Tom Brady.

Oh yeah, he had a few good throws as well (and oh boy that catch from Gronkowski!)...

Hot Water

2012-01-12T13:58:00.002-06:00

Decided to buy myself a little late half birthday present...a new water heater! Woohoo! I know its a little extravagant, but hey, you're only 27 1/2 once!

Mmmm pow

2012-01-11T21:54:00.002-06:00

One of the best ski videos I've seen in a long time. These Nimbus guys keep bringing nothing but their A game.

Aether from NIMBUS INDEPENDENT on Vimeo.

Trail Map

2012-01-09T16:44:00.000-06:00

Another reason I want to be like my parents when I grow up. As my Dad said:

"The blue trails are all on the Y property. The white trails are dble. track and the white dotted lines are single track. The red dotted are yet to be cleared but they are essentially all deer trails and so clearing them is relatively easy.

Mom and I spent time this weekend clearing the first of the single track. It’s very cool – it goes through some really old trees – goes through the old farm dump that I’ve turned into an archeological dig site (very cool finds) and then down along the property line to join the Y trail"

Can't wait for mountain biking on the farm!

Omnifest 2012!

2012-01-05T14:12:00.001-06:00

The Science Museum of Minnesota must know something about these Mayan doomsday calendars because it appears they've pulled out all the stops for this year's Omnifest celebration! Caves! Amazon! Sharks! The Antarctic! Wolves! Seriously. I think I know how I'm spending most of my free time this next month or so. Omnifest goes from Jan. 6 - Feb. 17 so check it out :)

Wolves Omnitheater film - trailer from Science Museum of Minnesota on Vimeo.

Ray Lamontagne -- Be Here Now

2012-01-03T20:32:00.001-06:00

This morning I stumbled upon a video for the first release off the new Jason Mraz album. I have been listening to a lot of Mraz lately and am a pretty big fan --especially of his older and live stuff in which he shows his funkier side. This post isn't about the new song -- called "I won't give up" which I thought was good but not memorable -- it's about a song which I was instantly reminded of after hearing the first 3 seconds of the Mraz song.

It was one of those instances when I knew I had heard almost the same sequence of notes before and was digging through the depths of the mind to figure it out. A few clicks later I lucked out and nailed it. Of course, it was none other than Ray Lamontagne, whose music I just spent an entire weekend listening to. This man is an amazing musician. Dig it.

He's Naaaaaaate!

2012-01-02T19:44:00.001-06:00

Friends -- Once again I make a plea to those who live in Minnesota state congressional district 61B. There is a special election on Tuesday January 10th to replace now state Senator Jeff Hayden. I am writing to urge all of you who live in this district to educate yourselves about the candidates: the DFL nominated Susan Allen and my good friend Nathan Blumenshine. Nate gathered enough signatures to get himself on the ballot as an independent running under the "respect party" platform. This past weekend Katy and I spent several hours speaking to people in the district about the election. We made sure they had a chance to meet Nate as well as learn what he hopes to achieve in state congress.

I strongly believe in Nate's platform of respect for all people but encourage you to form your own opinion and vote for whichever candidate you feel will represent you best. Information about Nate and his opponent, as well as how you can volunteer time or donate to his campaign can be found on his website. If you aren't sure if you live in the district check out the map below.

KEXP Rides Again

2011-12-28T14:56:00.000-06:00

KEXP is an awesome public radio station in Seattle.

Grives & Budo are an awesome musical duo based in Seattle.

It was no coincidence a couple years ago that led the recording of a video that become one of the turning points for my fan-dom of both after seeing Grieves open for Atmosphere a year and a month ago.

Now the two entities for teamed up and released videos of the dynamic duo performing 4 songs off their most recent album "Together/Apart" in studo at KEXP. Very good stuff.

More Kitchen Ideas

2011-12-27T21:35:00.000-06:00

I've spent some time over the past few weeks using Google Sketchup to come up with some different designs for renovating my kitchen. I am pretty sure I want to extend the countertop toward the dining room and create a peninsula for a great cooking and entertaining space. To review here is how the kitchen looks now:

Part of the debate right now is whether to try and shift the "weight" of the kitchen away from one end and more towards the middle of the new space. Using Sketchup I made several different layouts to get a sense for how things would look as I moved the appliances around.The first layout keeps all the appliances in the same place and just adds the peninsula and an extra upper cabinet.

The next layout adds a dishwasher to the right of the sink, moves the refrigerator to the opposite side of the kitchen and puts a large pantry unit where the fridge is now. I like that the pulls the center of the kitchen closer to the peninsula but it might be an issue to have the fridge in the middle with less open space in front of it. This is layout #2.

Another potential design is to move the fridge truly to the middle of the kitchen by putting it to the right of the sink with the dishwasher and a "kitchen office" to the left of the sink and the stove on its own where it is currently located. At this point this seems like a poor option. It really breaks up the counter area and makes a fairly open space pretty cramped. This is number 3.

Learning from the last few designs I moved the appliances essentially to the original locations and reflected the upgrades I would make. I also added a vent hood to the stove. I really like this layout and think it makes good use of the space. This is layout 4.

One thing I don't love about the above layout is the elimination of the pantry. I think this would be a really nice addition to the kitchen and make it that much a better space to cook and entertain. The next two options add a pantry on the same side of the stove, with slightly different cabinet alignment around the stove. Lets call these layouts 5 and 6.

So there you have it! There are a couple other ideas that I haven't demonstrated, such as:

Eliminatig the window to the right of the sink and adding lots more upper cabinets.
Moving the sink to under the window closer to the middle of the overall space.
Moving the stove top to the opposite wall and closer to the peninsula.
Trying to add a double wall oven.
Adding a prep sink near the peninsula.

Whatever you think of any of these ideas, layouts, or anything else I'd love to hear some suggestions. I'm still not sure I'll tackle this project in this summer or even in 2012 but for now I'm enjoying learning the software and getting some inspiration together. Perhaps I'll have some master bedroom designs in a few weeks and tackle that project first!

Back in the Saddle

2011-12-26T18:02:00.001-06:00

The weather might not suggest it but it is in fact winter here in the land of 10,000 lakes. To keep reminding myself of such I practiced two of my favorite indoor winter hobbies on the post Christmas day work holiday today (since there isn't any snow for skiing). With the sun shining outside I spent most of the day inside, baking a delicious load of jalapeno cheddar bread and getting a batch of extra hopped coffee stout beer started. The beer will take several weeks to be ready but the bread is out now and delicious!

Jalapeno Cheddar Bread (for bread machine)

1 1/4 C + 2 T room temp milk
2 T vegetable oil
2 T sugar
1 t salt
2/3 C shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 C diced pickled jalapenos
3 C bread flour
2 1/4 t bread machine yeast

Extra hopped Java Stout (Midwest supply extract kit)

Fermentables: 6 lbs Dark liquid malt extract
Specialty Grains: 8 oz chocolate malt, 4 oz flaked barley, 4 oz caramel 60 L, 4 oz roasted barley
Hops: 1 oz challenger bittering hops (kit called for 1/2 oz), 1 ox tettnang aroma hops
Yeast: Wyeast Thames Valley #1275
Specialty Addition: Peace Coffee Nicaraguan roast

The kit called for 1/2 oz of the bittering hops but upon returning home to find I had been shorted the hops entirely I swung over to the new Northern Brewer location where they only sell hops in 1 oz or greater quantities. Great excuse to go for a hoppier stout as I was originally thinking. The coffee will get added to the secondary fermentation in a week or so...

...the video is obviously terrible quantity...but lets not forgot that at one point Aerosmith was actually a really good band. Of course it's been a while.

Shefzilla strikes again

2011-12-24T21:54:00.000-06:00

I've been eying a dessert in the Shefzilla cookbook for sometime and had a perfect excuse to make it this evening for Christmas Eve dinner. Dad Hammel make a delicious braised beef roast with roasted carrots and potatoes and some incredible butternut squash soup. As a nice light conclusion to the meal I made citrus drenched cake with sabayon and mint. Good stuff. The cake is light, spongy, and not too sweet, and plays a great counterpart to the tart citrus fruit and lucsious sabayon.

The dessert sounds complicated and fancy but nothing about it is entirely difficult. The sabayon takes some attention to get just right but not something the home cook should be intimidated by. Perhaps I'll post the full recipe...or just let me know how desperately you want to make this and I'll get on it.

P.O.S. -- Purexed

2011-12-22T21:46:00.001-06:00

I promise a post yesterday with an update on potential kitchen layouts and hopefully more posts soon with actual words and thoughts and not just sweet music. In the mean time...

Finally...The Hobbit

2011-12-20T23:52:00.001-06:00

Since the beginning I've argued that it was a mistake to have waited to produce The Hobbit and start the trilogy on their own. In a year it won't make much difference. The most important part of the story will have been told.This one's for you, Dad.

Dessa -- Bullpen

2011-12-17T18:59:00.001-06:00

Its becoming increasingly obvious that we are swimming in an embarassment of hip-hop riches here in Minneapolis. Hope I don't miss the Doomtree blowout next year.

Ice Cream Sandwich

2011-12-16T10:33:00.000-06:00

I realize that this information is actually from 2009...which means I am at least 2 years behind on most things tech related...but did you know that the newest Android operating system is called "Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich"?!?! Apparently all of their OSs dating back to 2009 have been named after a different dessert item in alphabetical order. They started with Astro and Bender and then in 2009 came out wtih Cupcake which was followed by Donut, Eclair, Froyo, Gingerbread, Honeycomb, and now Ice Cream Sandwich.

For some reason this really boggles my mind. I don't if its unremarkable or completely insane. Better judgement tells me that its something in between. Only time will tell.

This begs the questions...what is next to come? Lets have fun and try and guess, any ideas?

Jello
Key Lime Pie
Lemon Meringue Pie
Mousse
...

Getting Sketchy With It

2011-12-13T22:24:00.001-06:00

As I mentioned awhile back I've begun to think about how to redesign my kitchen to better suit my needs and make more out of the space. In my previous post I talked about using Floor Planner to generate some pretty basic 2D and 3D models to get a sense of how the space would look and hinted at the idea of knocking down a small section of wall and adding a peninsula in the kitchen. I also talked a bit about Google Sketchup, a software tool that I had looked into a bit which I thought might be useful to get a better sense for some design options.

Well its been a few weeks now and lets just say I've caught the Sketchup Fever. I've spent a good amount of time watching tutorial videos and playing around to the point where I feel pretty confident working in Sketchup's 3D only space and have some decent renderings to share and hopefully get some feedback. Bear in mind that colors aren't exact and that for some reason the flooring is all wrong.

Here is how the kitchen is currently situated. Take note of the small amount of counter space (all of which is underneath cabinets), narrow alley, lack of dishwasher...

The new design centers around eliminating part of the wall between the kitchen and dining room, extending the counters/cabinets on the west kitchen wall past that window and creating a peninsula that sticks out into the space between the kitchen and dining room. Using an overhead view of the current layout this is kind of what I mean...

This would make the space much more open and make the peninsula possible. I see this as a central meeting place in the house so defining it as such would be great. This would also give me lots more storage and work space and allow me space for a dishwasher and hidden garbage and recycling. It would also be visually appealing through the french doors in the living room. Here is a simple layout with this new plan without moving the appliances:

Where things really start to get interesting is when we allow for changing the layout of the appliances. It doesn't make sense to me to have this long stretch of countertop with all of the appliance on one end of the kitchen. One idea is to move the stove to the west wall between the two windows, move the regridgerator where the stove currently is, add a small prep sink near the peninsula, and then put then dishwasher to the left of the main sink. I would then add a large pantry near the fridge...got all that. Either way the possibilties are endless...I'd love to hear some more ideas, let me know what you think....

Powderhorn Pride -- Nathan Blumenshine

2011-12-12T22:25:00.003-06:00

My good friend Nathan Blumenshine is running in a special election for state representative for district 61B and his campaing -- a campaign of respect -- is truly inspiring. If you are live in the district (see map here)I would encourage you to learn more about Nate and the other candidates.

Another great meal at Pizza Nea

2011-12-11T14:39:00.001-06:00

At this point the great Minneapolis neapolitan pizza showdown has clearly been narrowed down to two. Punch Pizza and Pizza Nea are in my mind clearly the standards by with others (Mozza Mia, Black Sheep, Lola, etc.) should be measured. Katy and I had another great meal at Nea last night...and it went something like this:

Unlike our last visit to Nea the restaurant was quite full on a chilly Saturday night and we were welcomed warmly and escorted to what I would say is the most desirable spot in the joint. Tucked beside the doorway looking out onto Hennepin Avenue and the blossoming Northeast neighborhood of Minneapolis we had a lovely spot for a date. The spot is just isolated enough so that the predominant sights are of the outside and anything else illuminated by the candles on the table and the noise of the atmosphere makes for a nice background but doesn't make you strain to hear what your dinner mate is saying. It seems strange to make such a fess about where we sat but it really did set the night off just right.

Again Katy and I went for the special winter pizza. Great decision. This pie came with perfectly seasoned sliced fingerling potatoes, crispy pancetta, mozarella cheese, and sea salt. Pure pizza bianca bliss. With a similar pizza at Lola a few months ago (potato, gruyere, onion, rosemary) I liked it and could have loved it had they delivered on the fresh rosemary. Perhaps Nea succeeded by altering my expecations? I think it was more a matter of proper seasoning and that crispy salty pancetta that did it for me. Give a man what he like...and for this man I want salt on my food! For our second pie to share we went for the Caprino e Teccione with goat cheese, smoked mozarella, artichokes, sun dried tomato, garlic, oregano, and san marzano tomatoes. As I have come to expect from Nea each topping was prepared well and made a great contribution to the overall taste of the pizza. Another succesfull dish.

As I have mentioned before when discussing Nea vs. Punch the crust at Nea just isn't as good as at Punch. While crispier and a more sturdy vessel to hold the wonderful toppings the crust at Nea just doesn't have the flavor as at Nea. I suspect that Punch uses quite a bit more olive oil and salt on the crust itself which while making it sometimes soggy/flimsy adds the flavor I crave. With the dish of olive oil and balsamic vinegar I grabbed from a server to dip the Nea crust in last night perhaps I have found the perfect way to enjoy pizza in the city. Alas I must not be satisfied in my search...at least for my stomach's (and palate's) sake.

Make it Mine

2011-12-09T13:07:00.001-06:00

I can't listen to this song and not get excited. For what I'm not sure...but damnit it's a good one. I've gotta but this concert on DVD.

Holiday Spirit

2011-12-06T21:05:00.001-06:00

I spent part of an incredible Thanksgiving weekend at the Hammel farm foraging the woods for vines and bittersweet stocks. My Father being the incredible man that he is sent me home with 2 home made wreaths from vines he had found and quite the collection of bittersweet stocks. Hmmm...sounds like the perfect recipe for some homemade Chrismas wreaths..

Here are the raw materials, the home made wreath from vines in the woods and just a small sample of all the bittersweet we got.

And the final product! Two beautiful (if I may be so bold) wreaths!

The wreaths will eventually get hung on the front door and the even of the garage but for now the smaller of the two makes a great addition to the mantle and a fun color accent picture.

Breathe

2011-12-05T10:47:00.001-06:00

Looking out my office window at steam rising from office park utilities. Floating above the parking lots. Perfect harmony of the forces of random nature and the laws of fluid dynamics. Or aren't they really the same thing. Shhh...it doesn't matter, just close your eyes and listen to the music.January Rain by David Gray on Grooveshark

Chef/Cook

2011-11-30T12:33:00.001-06:00

Brother Ali -- Picket Fence

2011-11-29T20:33:00.001-06:00

Well, it's been awhile without bringing myself to take "Shadow Of The Sun" out of the CD player in my car as I continue to try and digest the brilliant art of Brother Ali. It is so incredible to have fallen in love with his poetry and music at a more recent part of his career and go back and witness the raw emotions that he was expressing earlier in his career. His musical and story telling have changed tone somewhat over the past decade and each album is a masterpiece unto itself. I can't wait for the new disc and to continue to discover more and more gems from each of his albums.

Picket Fence by Brother Ali on Grooveshark

Mmmmcrepes

2011-11-26T13:04:00.001-06:00

Turns out crepes are an excellent vehicle for Thanksgiving leftover...great lazy breakfast that everyone can eat as the crepes are being cooked and people are standing around the kitchen in PJs.

Crepes
Serves a handful of hungry folks hanging around and munching

2 1/2 C AP flour
1/2 tsp salt
5 eggs
1 1/4 C milk
1 1/4 C water
5 Tbsp melted butter

Combine milk, water, and eggs. Slowly whisk in flour and salt until smooth. Whisk in melted butter. Add ~1/2 C batter to hot and oiled pan and cook 1-2 minutes on each side.

Top crepes with:
-Cream cheese and black cherries
-Turkey in a simple pan gravy and home made cranberry sauce
-Raspberry jam

Dorian

2011-11-22T22:02:00.001-06:00

I am continued to be amazed by the incredible talent that is Brother Ali. Just another example of his genius as a story teller and hip-hop poet. I love the live version but for a cleaner album version to get all of the lyrics go here.

Dorian by Brother Ali on Grooveshark

"Treats and snoozin', snoozin' and treats."

2011-11-21T14:40:00.001-06:00

I'm not breaking any news here...but this is pure awesome.

Sautee

2011-11-17T14:31:00.001-06:00

Pretty neat time lapse video of the kitchen at Tilia featuring one of our cooks David at sautee. Looking forward to getting in their tonight for my brunch prep duties and to someday learn the line.

David Cooking from Nicholas Waldman on Vimeo.

Thanksgiving Breakfast Burrito

2011-11-16T20:08:00.001-06:00

First off let me just say that I don't have a picture because it was just that good. I'll do my best to get one the next time I make this. Which should be very soon.

From the title you should get the basic idea. I'll give a minor recipe description but note that I don't imagine this will ever be made the same way twice (as per the concept of most good breakfast burritos). My version consisted of sauteed onions, jalapenos, corn, and sausage stuffing plus scrambled eggs in a tortilla plus BBQ sauce. Roommate Steve observed and quickly followed with his own version minus onions and adding sweet potatoes and a cranberry cabbage slaw we had in the fridge. I don't even want to think about how good this would be with leftover smoked turkey or else I might run to the store to pick up a bird...

You and I Both

2011-11-15T14:42:00.001-06:00

Pretty sure I'll be spending a decent amount of time at home over the next few days listening to this and other songs from Jason Mraz's "Live at Java Joe's".

Waves of Exhiliration

2011-11-12T07:37:00.001-06:00

It's happening again. I awoke way too early, about 5:30 this morning to light the first batch of coals. By 7:00 all three turkeys were nestled and warming in the smoker. The fireplace has been lit and the music has started. And then it hit me. All the energy and excitement set to take over my home and body feel like an anticapatory time bomb set to go off at any time. Who's ready to celebrate all those things for which we are blessed?

Groceries

2011-11-10T15:31:00.001-06:00

Less than 2 days until Thanksgiving Fest 2011. Preparations have reached a fever pitch.And yes, there are 4 turkeys on that table.

Knucklepuck

2011-11-09T19:49:00.000-06:00

When you think about it isn't the term "Knucklepuck" a misnomer? Clearly derived from baseball's "Knuckleball" it must be meant to refer to a hockey puck which is struck in such a manner to produce an unpredictable flight pattern difficult for the goalie or defensemen from passing into their goal. Now here is my problem with this. In baseball the knuckleball's varied flight is generated by the ball's near lack of spin in all the directions. The ball moves predictably along the x-axis towards home plate but the travel along the y and z axis are much less understandable. Not only does this make it difficult for the batter to predict the direction the ball will travel (other than generally towards home plate) but it also makes the pitches flight more susceptible to turbulence from wind and other factors. In baseball a batter generally recognizes what type of pitch is being thrown by the way the ball rotates (indicated by the movement of the seams) and without such spin (and dictated movement) it is difficult for the batter to succeed in his objective.

The knucklepuck however is not actually void of spin. It is well demonstrated that the knucklepuck has well defined spin along the z-axis as it moves towards it target along the x-axis. As evidenced in the our videos we can see that this supposedly creates fluctuations in flight along the y-axis (resulting in the aforementioned difficulty on the part of the opponents). This is clearly different than the knuckleball which has variance in its flight in the y and z axis and no rotation at all. A standard hockey shot, it should be noted, generally has rotation about the y axis as caused by the curved tip of a hockey stick. So in essence the knucklepuck is really just a transformation from one vector to another which represents rotation. Take that Russ Tyler.

Good News

2011-11-04T14:49:00.003-05:00

Blackstar. 2012. It's really happening :)

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Google Offers is brilliant

2011-11-03T15:10:00.002-05:00

Anyone who is not a fan of the ever imposing Google empire should not read this. For the rest of you get on over to Google Offers. Once again Google has decided to mirror an uber-successful internet rival and just do what they do even better. This service allows for customizable settings that let you to indicate what types of offers you want and where you spend your time. This clearly works on two levels. First it all but guarantees people will be buying more offers (thus making Google even more money) and also helps the consumer get the offers they want without sifting through thousands of worthless offers they aren't interested in. Win win in my book!

And an initial offer from REI that I can redeem online? Yes please and thank you :)

Rabbit Stew

2011-11-02T17:00:00.000-05:00

Fortunately we did not run out of chili at my Halloween party on Monday.

Baseball Nerd Back Again

2011-11-01T14:42:00.001-05:00

Is it sad that "baseball nerd back again" reminds me of this? I don't think so! Whoomp there it is! "Now you take a few breaths, slug some water, and get out there and do it again!"

You are now unsubscribed

2011-11-01T08:28:00.002-05:00

These days we all get lots of email. So when it comes time to unsubscribe from an automated email its nice when its an easy seamless process. Sorry Delta Airline, I don't really need a weekly update on my frequent flyer miles (since I haven't flown since March). Sorry Purchase Party but Groupon and Crowd Cut are about as much daily deal emails as I can handle. Sorry Cottage Grove Rec Dept, I know I signed up for that 5k in 2006 via email (and have asked to be taken off the email list at least half a dozen times since then) but I'm not interested in signing up for the "Take a child fishing day"!

What I found amazing occured this morning when I unsubscribed from another one of these junk email providers. Shortly after unsubscribing from "Plume Blue" (yeah, I'm not even sure that that is) I noticed I had a new email in my inbox. So I clicked on over to gmail and to my utter disbelief noticed a new email from Plume Blue informing me that I had succesfully unsubscribed from their email list. What?!?! Hello, you know what you have been a much easier way for me to be informed that I had unsubscruibed from your email list? How about never receiving an email from you ever again. That would have sent a pretty clear message.

You win some and you lose some

2011-10-28T18:01:00.000-05:00

The Damn squirrels have gotten to my pumpkin for a second straight year. Next year I'm going to do a decorative painted pumpkin, using paint laced with hot sauce and rat poison (just kidding. but seriously.).

On a related note the oak tree on the southeast corner of my garage is f'in beautiful.

More stuff that may only interest me...

2011-10-25T15:34:00.002-05:00

For all you fantasy baseball fans out there here is some info on a new wrinkle to the past time to get us through this off season. A group of writers are holding a slow mock draft. No news there right? Well rather than using current players and seeing how it plays out over the course of the year they are selecting upon every single season in the history of the game we love.

Dubbed "Fantasy Hall of Fame Baseball Draft" the goal is to build the best possible roto team from the greatest single seasons in history. Once a player has been selected the rest of their career is ineligible. For example once Babe Ruth's 1921 season has been chosen no one else can select any of the seasons from the rest of his career. Since the statistics are already compiled and readily available it is certainly an exercise in competitive analysis and strategy. This also allows everyone to see who is pulling ahead of the pack while the draft is going on. I know, pretty cool. And to top it all off the winner get s a free entry into the National Fantasy Baseball Championship main event league ($1400) and second place receives $500. The draft can be monitored on facebook to make it all easier. For interest's sake here are a few of the picks from the first couple of rounds so far:

1.1 Babe Ruth 1921
1.2 Ed Walsh 1908
1.3 Rogers Hornsby 1922
1.4 Walter Johnson 1913
1.5 Christy Mathewson 1908
1.6 Jack Chesbro 1904
1.7 Grover Cleveland Alexander 1915
1.8 Ty Cobb 1911
1.9 Sandy Coufax 1965
1.10 Joe McGinnity 1904
1.11 Rube Waddel 1904
1.12 Lou Gehrig 1931
1.13 Nap Lajoie 1901
1.14 Bob Gibson 1968
1.15 Larry Walker 1997

Pretty interesting so far with lots of pitchers from the dead ball era taking up the first round or so. It's interesting to see where some of the top seasons from the current era fall. In rounds 2 and 3 we have also seen Alex Rodriguez's 2001, Joe Morgans 1976, Mike Piazza's 1997, Sammy Sosa's 1998, Barry Bonds' 2001, Ivan Rodgriguez's 1999, Dennis Eckersley's 1990, and Eric Gagne's 2003. It will be interesting to see where seasons such as Joe Mauer's 2009, Pedro Martinez's 1999 or 2000, or any of Bonds' insane early 2000's seasons end up. While this kind of draft is more novelty than anything else it really can illustrate some of the offensive and pitching trends in the league and point out some of the truly specials outliers to these patters.

Grouse and Apples

2011-10-24T19:25:00.002-05:00

I've come a long ways since the days of not eating meat. Case in point this weekend when Paul shot and killed a wild grouse up in the Minnesota northwoods and I prepared for my friends the next day. It was a fun exercise in cooking given the primitive cabin without running water or a proper pantry but I think it turned out pretty well...

Grouse and Apples -- Grouse lightly coated in flour spices, quick pan fried in hot olive oil. Served with apples cooked in the same olive oil with garlic, spices, maple syrup, and just a touch of vanilla.

The rest of weekend was terrific. We spent a few days in the Buck's cabin on Wilson Lake, pretty much as close to the Boundary Waters you can get without a permit. It's hard not to have a good time when keeping warm by wood burning stove, spending the afternoon in a wooden hot tub powered by wood fire, shooting sporting clays in the north woods, enjoying one of the best early morning walks of my life, and sharing many laughs over card games. I've found myself thinking about how much I love life these days and to be honest I have a hard time thinking back to a time when I've been so happy for such a long period of time. It may be a tad early but again this year I find myself thankful for such an unbelievable amount of blessing in my life.

Cheddar Cheese

2011-10-21T11:21:00.000-05:00

I know this will sound pretty corny but seeing as I've never let that stop me before let me just express how grateful I am feeling for having parents who I love in so many wonderful ways. I'm so proud of both of them for all they have achieved and taken on, and this week I'm particularly proud of my Mom for being an advocate for herself and taking charge of her life. From a place of confusion and anxiety she has emerged a better person, going back to school to follow something she is passionate about, volunteering to help women in need during times of crisis, and now landing two part-time jobs in her field in a matter of a couple of weeks! All in all that's pretty amazing. So Mom (and Dad) congrats on being stupendously, wonderfully, totally, and magnificently awesome!

Oh yeah, and the new cheese soup at Tilia is f'in insane.

Damn straight.

2011-10-20T20:06:00.000-05:00

Atmosphere -- Reflections off 2003's "Seven's Travels". Yeah, it's just awesome. 'Nough said.

"Maybe you should get off the couch and go ride some powder"

2011-10-19T14:58:00.001-05:00

Can you feel it?

Tilia's Angolotti Pasta

2011-10-17T10:28:00.001-05:00

Over the past few months I have had the honor of working in Steven Brown's Tilia restaurant once a week. More thoughts on my experiences are to come soon but for now take a peek at this segment of Steven and one of other chefs Shane Oporto on Kare 11 this past weekend sharing a few of our new fall dishes. Bon Appetit!

Chicken Picatta

2011-10-13T10:34:00.003-05:00

In the nearly 7 1/2 years I went without meat I can only think of only two things I really ever missed. One of them, strangely enough, was hot dogs. The second was my father's chicken picatta. The combination of lightly breaded chicken cutlet and bright lemon sauce was a flavor I always loved growing up. It's true my Dad once tried to recreate it for me with tofu, but let's just all agree that didn't quite work. So when I stumbled upon a recipe recently and discovered Katy had never had the dish I knew I needed to find an excuse to make it for her very soon. Such an opportunity presented itself on a drizzly October day.

I've taken the recipes for chicken picatta, herbed brown rice, and roasted Brussels sprouts from a few places online but none of them are especially unique. Just a few simple can't miss recipes sure to please. The rice and Brussels sprouts recipes are very straightforward so I'll quickly go over them first:

Herbed Brown Rice (serves 4)
From The Neelys via Food Network

Melt 2 Tbsp butter in medium sauce pan
Add 1 shallot (chopped) and sautee until tender
Add 1 cup long grain brown rice and stir to coat
Season with salt and pepper
Add 2 1/1 Cup stock or broth, 1 clove garlic (smashed), and 2 sprigs thyme
Simmer 40 minutes covered
Let sit 10 minutes, remove garlic and thyme, add 3 Tbsp chopped parsley

Roasted Brussels Sprouts (serves 4)
From Ina Garten via Food Network

Clean 1 1/2 pounds Brussels sprouts
Coat in bowl with 3 Tbsp olive oil
Season liberally with salt and pepper
Cook at 400 F for 40 minutes on baking sheet
Outside will be significantly browned. Don't worry, they aren't overcooked.
Serve immediately.

Katy and I really enjoyed the above dishes as sides to the chicken. We eat Brusesels sprouts often and had never made them this way (we normally steam them and then finish in a pan with oil and balsamic vinegar). They were nice and crispy on the outside but soft and delicious in the middle. Making the rice with good chicken stock gave it a rich flavor and was a greatr vehicle for soaking up some of the extra sauce from the chicken.

Chicken Picatta is a pretty straight forward dish. Basically you cook the lightly floured cutlets in a pan over high heat and then deglze the pan with stock and build a sauce from that around butter and lemon juice. Parsley and capers are used to complement these flavors and then the sauce is just poured over the meat immediately before serving. As my Dad always says, "what's not to like?".

Chicken Picatta (serves 4-8)
From America's Test Kitchen

***Note: I prepared 2 chicken breasts rather than 4 but made the whole amount of sauce, normally the chicken wouldn't look like it was swimming in sauce as in the photo above. This wasn't a bad thing though since a lot of the sauce on our plates got soaked up by the rice. This full recipe allows for 2 pieces of chicke per person. I would suggest using smaller breasts if this is your plan. We used large chicken breasts and each ate 1 cutlet.***

Prep:

Cut 4 chicken breasts in half to make 8 thin cutlets
Coat each side of each cutlet with very light layer of flour, shaking off any excess
Season each side of each cutlet generously with salt and pepper
Cut 1 lemon pole to pole, remove ends and slice half of it into thin half-rounds
Juice remaining 1 1/2 lemons
Mince 1 clove garlic OR 1 shallot
Mince 2 Tbsp parsley
Measure 2 Tbsp olive oil (x2), 1 Cup stock, 3 Tbsp butter, 2 Tbsp drained capers

Execution:

Heat large skillet on high for 2-3 minutes and add 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
Cook half of the cutlets in skillet on high for 2-3 minutes on each side without moving
Place cooked cutlets in low oven (200 F) to stay warm
Repeat above steps with remaining cutlets and additional 2 Tbsp oil
Remove skillet from heat and add 1 minced shallot OR garlic clove
Sautee garlic (10 seconds) or shallot (30 seconds) just until fragrant
Add stock and lemon slices, scrape pan and heat on high about 4 minutes to reduce sauce
Add lemon juice and capers and reduce sauce about 1 minute
Remove from heat and melt in butter, swirling to thicken sauce slighlty.
Add parsley.
Spoon sauce over chicken and serve immediately.

Oh yeah, and I would reccomend serving with a bottle of wine shaped like a cat. Finishing the meal with warm apple pie and home made apple chartreuse ice cream seemed to work pretty well too. Life is good.

Floor Planner and kitchen teasing

2011-10-11T15:27:00.001-05:00

First things first. I am not going to tackle the kitchen renovation just yet. I think if I repeat that to myself quietly than perhaps it will be true. So again, as of now I am not planning on tackling the in-the-not-so-distant-future semi-major kitchen renovation/upgrade this winter.

With that being said I have been thinking a lot about what I want in a kitchen that I use all the time and get to design myself. I am planning on adding a dishwasher to the kitchen this winter and then living with that for awhile to see how that influences my vision for the whole space. Lately though I have been spending more time thinking about potential layout changes. I've been using free software from Floor Planner to look at how minor changes to the kitchen and dining space would work. This tool is an easy way to visualize changes in your home and layout projects such as this. Some of the features are less than intuitive and the 3D views are not so great but for now it will do. I am planning to teach myself Google Sketchup before I actually take on this and the master bedroom reno project so I can customize the space and get a better sense for how things look before I start breakding down walls.

Here is a rough set of plans I made to begin thinking about how I could make a couple small changes to make my kitchen and dining room much more functional. Let me know what you think.

The current layout has a kitchen with not enough open counter top and no dishwasher (read countertop taken up with dishes). It leaves a big open (undefined) space between the kitchen and dining room where a lot of people end up hanging out next to the exposed garbage and recycling containers.

My first attempt at a new layout extends the countertop and cabinets on the west wall of the kitchen past the existing window and into the open space. I would add a peninsula of counter top into that space with bar stools for seating. Some of the new cabinets would house the trash and recycling on roll out bases. In order to make the whole area more open and make room for the peninsula I would eliminate the doorway and wall that separate the dining room from the hall that leads to the main floor bath and bed rooms. I am concerned about privacy issues with this space right next to the bath and bed room but this might need to happen if I want this space. At this point I'm not sold that I need more counter and cabinet space but it could make the whole area a much large dining/kitchen area rather than having the two spaces divided.

The 3D rendering does an OK job simulating what the space would look like given the revamped layout. Its hard to tell if it would be too cramped or not; I am hoping that Google Sketchup will do a better job providing these view points.

Leap of Faith

2011-10-10T12:06:00.003-05:00

Yeah, my girlfriend is amazing.

This doesn't really work for an embedded video but I'll work on getting a better one up here soon.

Like Fine Wine

2011-10-06T10:22:00.004-05:00

Many of the songs we all liked as teenagers have stood the test of time. Who knew this would be one of them?
Oh the '90's!

David Gray -- Say Hello Wave Goodbye

2011-10-03T14:34:00.003-05:00

Hard to be stressed out when listening to this song and looking out my office windows at gorgeous fall colors on a better than perfect October day.

Picture This

2011-10-02T21:48:00.001-05:00

In my ongoing quest to turn my lovely house into a wonderful home I've been creating a collage in the family room of some of my sports memorabilia. My initial idea was to have a collection of autographed photos arranged randomly on the wall near the TV in all different frames of the same color. Since its nearly impossible to find frames that are all exactly the same color and distictly different structurally I decided just to buy a bunch of random frames and paint them myself. Since I was repainting the frames anyways I just bought a bunch of second hand frames and some spray paint, definitely saving some money while getting the visual effect I was looking for.

First I laid the frames out on a piece of cardboard in the garage (with both doors open for ventilation. I primed them (without sanding) with Rustoleum Spray Paint Primer and painted them with Rustoleum Spray Paint in white semi-gloss. I did 2 light and even coats of primer and 3 coats of paint (each about 20-30 minutes apart).

The nice thing about working with spray paint is that it dries really fast and is really easy to apply as long as you make sure to keep the can moving and focus on light and even coats. It takes so little time to do a coat I just did this project while doing other stuff around the house and kept an eye on the clock to see when it was roughly time to do another coat.

If you like to experiment with bold colors in your home this type of customization is a great way to add little bursts of color here and there. Its a great way to try new things around the house, especially since you can get used frames for less than $5 each. It is also a good strategy if you are looking for just the right colored frame in a hard to find size like I was while working on this project (more on that below). All in all I got 7 new frames (and used 2 I already had) for a cost of around $22 or so including one can each of primer and spray paint. The sports themed family room is still a work in progress but here are a couple shots of the autograph wall so far.

As I mentioned before I also used the paint-your-own-frame strategy for a hard to find frame size I wanted in a specific color. On a recent trip to Madison, WI with Katy for a wedding I bought a Nikki McClure print that I am totally in love with but hadn't found just the right frame for. I wanted a rich red frame to go with the khaki color wall in the living room but needed a 14" x 18" frame, not easy to find. So I brought my tape measure to the thrift store with me and with just a little looking and painting energy I ended up with a gorgeous custom painted frame for little over $8 including the cost of the paint. I'm pretty sure it would have cost more than that to buy just the glass or have one shipped from somewhere!

The "congregate" print from Nikki McClure sits about knee level right next to the shoe rack and entry way. One of the most important things to me is my ability to celebrate life with wonderful people. As a homeowner I love the times when I can look to my entry way and see a massive pile of shoes of all the terrific people who make my life so sweet. "Congregate" is a great message to greet you at the door.

David Gray and a case of the sniffles

2011-09-28T09:52:00.002-05:00

David Gray is one of those musicians who I keep coming back to (and probably always will). Its been an on-again-off-again love affair since 2002ish and I consider him one of my all time favorites. Like any old friend you can count on his music has been particular helpful today. Its one of those "not sick enough to stay home but just sick enough to make work miserable" days and through it all I'm getting some serious musical therapy from a 1993 standby album, Gray's "A Century Ends". Dig it.

No Bird Sing -- Devil Trombones

2011-09-26T13:45:00.001-05:00

***Oops, just realized I posted this same video twice in a span of a couple week. Guess I really like it.***

I think I might listen to this on repeat for the next hour and a half.

Twins Territory

2011-09-22T15:45:00.000-05:00

It would be a colossal understatement to say that this season has been a disappointment for the Minnesota Twins. Between major injuries to their two best players, major regression from many key contributors, lack of improvement from younger players, and a front office seemingly refusing to use logic and reason in recent years it has brought a team which won the division just a year ago to a team which is about to finish dead last. With baseball gone from the collective consciousness of local sports fan (and apparently shifted to the WNBA playoffs) excitement to see the hometown boys play in the beautiful new outdoor stadium has understandably waned. What was at one time a sold out stadium lined with scalpers getting top dollar for game day tickets has now become a wasteland of supply and demand. However, the Twins faithful is still putting plenty of seats in the stadium and average attendance has only decreased by a few thousand as the season thankfully winds down.

One thing that is surprising though is the ridiculous nature that is a ticket sell off on the popular ticket brokerage site Stub Hub. While Twins tickets generally went for close to (or above) face value most of the season the online stock has plummeted and tickets are now available for less than price of a hot dog. As recently as last week you could purchase tickets for literally less than $0.50. Only four home games separate Twins fans from a long cold winter of no baseball and I urge all of you to go on out and separate the team, at least it won't cost very much.

2011-09-20T14:49:00.003-05:00

My friends and family will tell you I just had a 27th birthday and am living the life of a happy, well-adjusted, successful twenty-something dude.

Don't listen to 'em.

Facebook even says I'm "male" and was born in the great year of 1984 (Cal Ripken Jr. led all of MLB with 10.4 WAR that season) a bouncing baby boy.

They got it all wrong.

The latest empirical data has made it clear. I am living the life of a middle aged stay it home Mom. You might say "Beau, you have a sweet ass beard" or "No, I'm pretty sure you're a guy". But please, this isn't easy for me either. Recent developments have led me to discover a recent love for all things which may be described for lack of a better term as middle-aged-woman's-shit. This post is about one of those things. [Disclaimer: I'm not sexist, prejudiced, or suffering from any sort of gender confusion. I just have a really terrible sense of humor. I'm all man baby (Jerry Springer anyone?)]

Pinterest is a website which allows people to "pin" things which fancy their "interest" on the intrawebs and share them with other people. Imagine its a rainy Tuesday afternoon, the kids are at soccer practice, Dr. Phil is on the TV, and you are browsing the internet for DIY ideas for that new autumn wreath. Or pumpkin pie recipe. Or fun new sweat/scarf combo. You find something you like and want to save the link while sharing it with your pals. So you "pin" the site to the appropriate "board" on your Pinterest account and all your "followers" can view it and do with it what they wish. You can also search the Pinterest database for things other people have saved or just view all the pins your "friends" have saved and see if anything catches your eye.

Now I get that since you can technically "pin" anything nothing about this shouts "Beau reads Nicholas Sparks books while waiting in the carpool lane!" but it's just the nature of the beast I guess. Perhaps I should create a "Nascar" or "Power tools" board or share some Sports Illustrated Bikini sites with my followers and affirm my manhood. But something tells me those things wouldn't get as many "re-pins" as the Ikea curtains I pinned recently. I'm OK with this though, it seems to be a community comprised mostly of women and something tells me I'm getting better ideas for home decor and renovation ideas than if I was trolling the forums on the Maxim website.

In summary Pinterest is a pretty cool site that helps me waste time and be distrated from more important things in life while gathering and sharing some neat ideas for how to make my house into a place I want to live for a long time (as well as some great things to eat in that home). If that makes me a middle aged woman than so be it, bring on the leg warmers and bad dye jobs. As Katy and I say all the time we only have so much time to do all the things we want so "we do what we love, and love what we do". I'll leave the worrying and judging up to everyone else.

"To everyone out there, who's a little different
I say damn a magazine, these are gods fingerprints
You can call me ugly but cant take nothing from me
I am what I am doctor you ain't gotta love me"

-Brother Ali

Mos Def live in Paris

2011-09-19T10:27:00.000-05:00

Oh to be in Paris again. Lots of fun things in the rear view mirror and in clear site ahead of me this Monday morning. Getting the last few outdoor projects wrapped up for now and looking forward to a few indoor upgrades this winter...

Fence and Patio Revival Finale

2011-09-18T22:05:00.001-05:00

With much help from Katy and her Mom, roommates Mark and Steve, and DJ the fence staining is complete and the patio set is all finished! I found some great patio chair cushions at home depot on super clearance and am super happy with how everything turned out. One lesson...you will go through way more stain than you think, especially when staining or painting a newly power washed fence!

Plan:

~~Power wash fence and patio set~~
~~Clean fence and patio set with wood prep solution~~
~~Mend broken fence posts~~
~~Stain fence in Behr cedar natural tone semitransparent weatherproofing stain~~
~~Stain patio set~~

Costs:

Patio set = $50 used on Craigslist
Cushions =$40 on 75% off clearance from Home Depot
Accessories =$10
Powerwasher = Free rental from Erik's dad + $10 for gas
Wood cleaner = $10
4 x 4" brushes = $20
2 x 2" brush = $10
5 gallons Behr semi-transparent weatherproofing stain = $175
1 gallon Behr solid color Redwood stain for patio set = $30

Before:

After:

TC Pickup Sports Wiffleball Wednesday

2011-09-17T20:57:00.000-05:00

The casual pickup sports group I organize called TC Pickup Sports recently hosted a Wiffleball night. As you can imagine it was freakin' awesome. Here are some snapshots from our exercise in being sweet.

Gotta love 'em

2011-09-16T17:51:00.001-05:00

Life is good.

Oh yeah, and Katy put the bunny on the leash. To which Noko promptly replied, "No thanks".

A Major League Achievement

2011-09-15T14:37:00.000-05:00

Congrats to long time Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield on earning his 200th major league victory Tuesday night against Toronto. Now please retire and join the team as a coach to make way for some much needed pitching help. I still remember the summer of 1995 as an 11 year old kid caught up in the excitement of our crazy new pitched and his unhittable knuckler. Its been a long incredible ride and its nice to see one of my childhood heroes reach a milestone. Wakefield is clearly not a Hall of Famer but his place in baseball history and Red Sox lore is cemented forever.

Ahhh football...

2011-09-13T10:53:00.001-05:00

Not much to say. Just pure awesome. It's going to be a fun season filled with lots of calls and texts to Dad and the brothers.

Kristoff Krane -- Hunting For Father

2011-09-12T08:24:00.000-05:00

TC based hip-hop jack-of-all-trades is making his album "Hunting For Father" available as a free download all week. I've seen Kris perform several times and love his shows. Check out a few of his tunes and check out some live stuff on YouTube. Cheers.

Hunting For Father by KRISTOFF KRANE

I want to listen to everything

2011-09-08T14:47:00.002-05:00

It happened again. Sanford uniball onyx micro black pen in hand detailing the steps of a stability study I performed in my laboratory notebook. Phillips SBC HP170 Stereo Headphones on my head keeping me floating above all of it. I start with a few No Bird Sing tunes on YouTube. Link to their facebook page and band website. Listen to a few more songs. Start looking through my YouTube history, check out a Cecil Otter track and then YouTube search a few songs from Dessa. Gotta get back to both records from No Bird Sing I think to myself. Gotta hear it all. Just one more Dessa song first. Grab that spreadsheet off the printer first. Just one more tune.

It's kind of like my computer/YouTube/Grooveshark/the internet become a black hole of wonderful music that I must listen to. You know, in the non-scientific pseudo-meaningful hyperbolic way of describing things as a black hole. Maybe worm hole would be better. Off topic a bit. The point is I get started listening to some music and all of the sudden I realize it's been forty minutes and I have like 8 tabs open and I've created some sort of "8 degrees of Kevin Bacon" type of musical labyrinth in my brain. I want to listen to everything once I discover anything worth listening to, if that makes any sense. And it all culminates when I listen to the same song like 4 or 5 times in a row with my computer and headphone volume turned all the way up, checking every few minutes to see if I can eek a few more decibels out of either, and asking myself "how have I not posted this song on the blog before?". Then I think of all the other incredible songs I've left out (seriously, how the hell have I featured like only 1 Brother Ali song?) my brain basically melts.

So here I am with a mega playlist of some of the tunes that have made me get a bit too excited at my desk and scare the shit out of my coworkers. Many of these I should have posted long ago. Thank You and good night.

And of course as I post some of these songs and videos I begin to get frantic trying to put the perfect ribbon on the post to make sure that all the right things are included. But maybe its better leaving everthing a little imperfect, just a snapshot at a few things, not a all inclusive tell all narrative that begins to cover all the angles. Just let this shit be what it is and get ready for the next wave of excitement.

BCS

2011-09-06T20:38:00.002-05:00

College football (and it just slightly more intriguing big brother, NFL football) is once again upon us and that means amongst many other things the continued sham that is the BCS. Everything else in the universe makes more sense. Except Rick Perry.

Baby Sale

2011-09-04T10:40:00.000-05:00

Katy turned to me while reading the Sunday paper and said "Babies are for sale at target". Sure enough, I logged onto target.com to check it out and found this...

No Bird Sing -- Devil Trombones

2011-09-02T10:51:00.002-05:00

Have a wonderful long weekend folks. Oh yeah, and check out No Bird Sing, a great local hip-hop artist.

Going Home

2011-09-01T14:45:00.001-05:00

Man, hard to believe I've never featured a Brother Ali song as the subject of a post. I've been off the Ali needle for a couple of months but have been listening to "Us" the last couple of days. Kind of feels like going home. Hope to see him soon and start hearing more of that new album he is working on.

And just a quick reminder to keep loving each other out there. It seems I've been surrounded by some serious negativity at work and it makes me sick. Lets remember all things that make this world such a joyous place to live. I feel blessed that I get to celebrate that everyday and I hope those who don't live life the same way will find some inner peace and happiness in their world very soon.

No More Awning

2011-08-27T19:07:00.000-05:00

That was fun.

Definitely the biggest house change I've ever made in 40 minutes. Thanks to Steve for the help. Although the allure of swinging the sledge hammer seemed to make him a bit too giddy.

Garage Floor and Breezeway Cleanup: Part Deux

2011-08-26T09:40:00.001-05:00

A few days ago I promised "after" pictures of the newly patched and painted garage floor and breezeway. So here we go with pictures and final costs.

Plan:

~~Clean garage floor and breezeway with yard sweeper and shop vac~~
~~Patch large holes in garage floor with vinyl concrete patch~~
~~Fill in cracks and smole holes with concrete sealer~~
~~Prime garage floor with concrete primer~~
~~Paint garage floor~~
~~Paint breezeway~~

Costs:

2 x 40 lb bags of vinyl concrete patch = $15
2 x 10.5 ounce tubes of concrete sealer = $5
1 gallon of concrete primer = $20
2 gallons of garage floor paint = $60
1 gallon of patio and porch paint = $0 (already owned)
Brushes and rollers = $10

I didn't really need the second gallon of garage floor paint and only used about a fifth of it but I plan on putting down a maintenance coat every year or two so I figured I might as well buy the paint now and apply a thin second coat since I'll need it sooner than later. I also plan on building/purchasing some sort of work bench, shelves, and other functional/organizational garage stuff.

Garage Before:

Garage After:

Breezeway before:

Breezeway After:

I realize that pictures of painted floors aren't all that interesting but renovations planned for the next few months should be more interesting including finishing staining the fence, patching drywall from AC duct leaking, and possibly a mini-kitchen makeover with dishwasher and some non-structural (or minor) cosmetic changes. The ambiguity with which I wrote that sentence is to keep myself from the temptation of taking on the entire kitchen reno at this point.

Point of View

2011-08-25T14:18:00.001-05:00

I had an interesting experience at one of my favorite restaurants yesterday. Katy and I had an impromptu dinner date at Quang Restaurant with her sister and sister boyfriend last night. For those who have been to QR with me before it is probably my favorite Vietnamese place in the Twin Cities and of the at least dozen times I've eaten there I have had the same meal almost every single time. Well now that I am eating meat again (oh yeah, I gave up the vegetarian thing about 6 months ago for anyone who just had a double take, it was a good 7.5 year run) I decided that rather than the mock duck and tofu noodle salad and tofu spring rolls I've been obsessed with over the past several years I would branch out. So I tried pork sausage spring rolls, shredded pork/pork skin spring rolls, and stir-fried beef noodle salad. I enjoyed the pork sausage spring rolls and the beef noodle salad, even though they weren't as good as my usual choices. My issue though, and the focus of this post, was with the shredded pork and pork skin spring rolls.

Let me make it clear. I never want to eat those spring rolls again. Never. I was scooping up hoisin sauce with chopsticks off my appetizer plate to get the taste out of my mouth. That isn't really the point of this blog post though. The point is that although I found the spring rolls to be absolutely horrid (as did Katy's sister) Katy and her sister's boyfriend really liked them. It got me thinking about the idea of taste and how are tastes evolve and differ from one person to another. In the simplest terms I was amused at how different the reaction to the same food was between four people with relatively similar tastes. But it also reminds me that all over the world there are people with not just different tastes but entirely different lives and points of view than my own and my life can only become more enriched should I learn about them and begin to appreciate the wonders of their world.

Mike Kieger is a crazy man

2011-08-23T07:35:00.000-05:00

Apparently I don't know my friend Mike Kieger very well. If he continues to display such mind blowing skillz I better get more acquainted. When shit goes down these are the kind of talents that are going to help us stand apart from the machines.

Of course the fact that my roommate appears to be drinking beer from a Kemp's ice cream tub probably negates any potential benefit.

Garage Floor and Breezeway Cleanup

2011-08-22T10:51:00.002-05:00

Since Luke, Mark, and I renovated my garage two summers ago I've been planning to finish the job by patching some of the holes in the floor and applying a couple coats of durable garage floor paint. Its one of those projects I've had on my to-do list for awhile been haven't gotten to. Until these past few weeks. I'm nearly done with the project so here is a recap of what has happened and what it left. Oh yeah, and I'm lumping in a cleanup and repainting of the breezeway in with this project.

Plan:

~~Clean garage floor and breezeway with yard sweeper and shop vac~~
~~Patch large holes in garage floor with vinyl concrete patch~~
~~Fill in cracks and smole holes with concrete sealer~~
~~Prime garage floor with concrete primer~~
~~Paint garage floor~~
Build work bench and shelves
~~Paint breezeway~~

Costs:

2 x 40 lb bags of vinyl concrete patch = $15
2 x 10.5 ounce tubes of concrete sealer = $5
1 gallon of concrete primer = $20
1 gallon of garage floor paint = $20
1 gallon of patio and porch paint = $0 (already owned)
Brushes and rollers = $10

I'll make you come back to the site to see the finished product in the next day or two. Here are the ugly before pictures:

Another Day In Paradise

2011-08-21T21:38:00.000-05:00

Beauty

2011-08-19T08:47:00.001-05:00

"When I'm out on the line it really brings out my creativity and for me pushing into the unknown is a big part of what I call fun. Seeing a new part of yourself that you didn't know was there. You know if you're lucky brief moments where you're just seeing everything, seeing the beautiful world, all that's there right in the moment."

-- Dean Potter

Yosemite Falls High-Line from Camp 4 Collective on Vimeo.

Mozza Mia

2011-08-18T14:36:00.000-05:00

Katy treated me to a wonderful date night yesterday complete with a trip to the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum (one of our favorite places in the Twin Cities) and dinner at Mozza Mia, the new(ish) Neapolitan place in the posh 50th and France neighborhood in Edina. I won't go into full review mode but here are a few of my thoughts on the most recent leg of our tour of wood/brick oven fired "craft" pizzeria's in MSP.

First impression: Very chic and pseudo-industrial space. NOT at all intimate or cozy, but if that's what you are looking for their very small patio out back would be ideal. We chose to sit inside to get a good feel of the resto's atmosphere and spy their giant wood fired oven.
MM can seat a ton of people all at once and does take reservations so it would be a good place with a large group or kids or those for whom dinner is just part of their plans and not the whole evening.
Nice beer list with a couple local selections and a neat wine concept with wine sold by the glass-and-a-half carafe.
Really liked the heirloom tomato bruschetta which was a bit different than most variations on the dish. This featured nice grilled bread topped with olive oil, a thick slice of their mozzarella cheese, and a nice slice of beautiful red or yellow heirloom tomato. The tomato was absolutely delicious and although I thought just a pinch of salt really elevated the dish Katy thought it was just right as served.
The cheese platter is a fun thing to share with other people and featured nice variations on mozzarella, smoked mozzarella, cremoso, ricotta, and rollatini. It was served with white beans and gardiniero. The smoked mozzarella was probably my least favorite.
Though a couple of options on the regular sounded just as appealing we decided to go with the nightly special with salami, capers, feta, artichoke hearts, and olives. The pizza was good but nothing that blew my mind. Pros for the pizza were a generous amount of gloriously delicious feta and a crust firm enough to hold the toppings but also chewy and soft. Cons for me were a few very wood artichoke leaves, large pieces of salami that were a bit awkward to eat, and the fact that no matter where I look no one (including MM) can replicate the flavor of the crust at Punch Pizza.

Bottom line is that I thoroughly enjoyed the overall experience at MM and think they probably fall somewhere in the middle of Twin Cities Neapolitan pizza joints. Given the location which dictates slightly higher prices I think Punch or Nea are still better overall but I am excited to go back and see if the Fresca (mozzarella, arugula, pear tomato, cremoso, and balsamic) or Caprino (goat cheese, scallions, leeks, bacon!) pizza can show me the more refined side that MM may have to offer.

Oh yeah, and no sitings of Adam Banks!

Alright, fine.

2011-08-16T08:58:00.002-05:00

I really do like Adele. Her songs are powerful, emotional, beautiful, overplayed. Most of the time I'll listen contently when Cities 97 plays her most recent single but last night I just wasn't in the mood to hear "Rolling in the Deep" for what seemed like the 12th time of the day. So I changed the radio to The Current and started enjoying a pretty funky soul song that I didn't recognize. Then the female vocalist cut in with a great voice and I thought to myself that I was really digging this song. Then it happend. I realized it was Adele. Shit.

She is really f'in great. Not many people will get this but in my mind she is the Mike Stanton of today's music world.

Man that gives me a great idea for a post comparing baseball players and their musical counterparts...is Jim Thome more Bono or Keith Richards?

Like a kid again

2011-08-08T14:49:00.001-05:00

"Heading to Target Field in about an hour to try and catch visitors BP before tonight's Twins game."

Not too exciting of a sentence.

"Heading to Target Field in about an hour to try and catch the Red Sox BP before tonight's Twins game."

One heck of an exciting statement! Especially since its me and Katy's first game with just the two of us and she has agreed to patronize my inner 12 year old to try and get there to watch my heroes practice hitting and such. Time to head home to change into Red Sox garb and grab my glove, a ball, and a pen for potential autographs! Go Sox!

God damn that songs gives me goose bumps :)

Fence and Patio Revival Part 2

2011-08-06T10:26:00.000-05:00

Its been a couple of weeks since I set out to make over my cedar fence and patio furniture and time for a bit of an update. I'm happy to report that I am typing this from my new patio set while the bunny hops around the yard. I have not been so successful though in completing the fence restaining. Deterred my periods of high heat and humid and frequent rain there has been few windows of opportunity to safely paint the fence so that remains on the to-do list. Save findings some neat outdoor cushions and a cool center piece the patio set is finished.

Plan:

~~Power wash fence and patio set~~
~~Clean fence and patio set with wood prep solution~~
Mend broken fence posts
Stain fence in Behr cedar natural tone semitransparent weatherproofing stain
~~Stain patio set~~

Costs:

Patio set = $50 used on Craigslist
Cushions = TBD
Accessories = TBD
Powerwasher = Free rental from Erik's dad + $10 for gas
Wood cleaner = $10
2 x 4" brushes = $20
1 x 2" brush = $5
3 gallons Behr semi-transparent weatherproofing stain = $90
1 gallon Behr solid color Redwood stain for patio set = $30

Before

After

Best of the Best

2011-08-05T20:01:00.001-05:00

I'm paraphrasing here but a statement an MLB Network commentator just made during tonight's Sox/Yankees showdown (both teams are tied atop the AL East) got me thinking. The announcer was talking about Jacoby Ellsbury and explained that although Ellsbury has had quite an excellent season Adrian Gonzalez would likely garner more MVP consideration at season's end. He went on to say however that if it weren't for the former Padres' slugging first baseman Ellsbury would likely be considered the MVP of the Sox thus far this season. Immediately my thought was "WHAT! Are you crazy? Everyone knows Dustin Pedroia leads the team in WAR (a statistic designed to summarize a players overall offensive and defensive value relative to league average players) and is the team MVP!". This begs the question, given a bit more time to reflect who really is the most valuable player on the team? Here are the obvious candidates:

Dustin Pedroia 2B .311 BA/.404 OBP/.483 SLG 15 HR 57 RBI 73 R 22 SB 6.7 WAR

Jacoby Ellsbury CF .319 BA/.376 OBP/.514 SLG 18 HR 65 RBI 83 R 31 SB 5.8 WAR

Adrian Gonzalez 1B .356 BA/.416 OBP/.568 SLG 18 HR 91 RBI 78 R 1 SB 5.3 WAR

Looking strictly at the traditional statistics that have most often determined the MVP over the past century or so (BA, HR, RBI) its clear that by those metrics Gonzalez is the better player. He leads or ties Pedroia and Ellsbury in each of those traditional categories while also leading marginally in OBP and significantly in SLG. For good measure he also leads the three in BB% (and salary). If we look specifically at Ellsbury and Pedroia we can also see why most casual observers would suggest that the speedy center fielder is better than the Pedroia leading him in every category other than OBP.

Well then sounds like Beau was wrong, huh? Well maybe. That pesky WAR thing at the end of each stat line I showed before tells another story. That suggests Pedroia is the most valuable player out of those three. Well, how can that be, didn't we just explain that wasn't the case. Well, here is the thing about WAR, its a statistic developed by the writers of FanGraphs to try and combine all of a player's attributes into one simple metric that can be used to compare that player to every other player in baseball. The statistic takes into consideration offensive and defensive contributions as well as park factors and a positional adjustment. Basically it boils down to “If this player got injured and their team had to replace them with a minor leaguer or someone from their bench, how much value would the team be losing?”

So if we look at WAR we see that although Ellsbury and Gonzalez have had better overall offensive seasons Pedroia has a higher WAR. This is due to two consideratons. First defensive metrics, which is another argument altogether, suggest that Pedroia is the best defender of the bunch. Secondly WAR considers second base to be a more difficult defensive position to play than first base. Second base and center field both carry the same positional adjustment but Pedroia gets the boost over Ellsbury because of his higher defensive rating. So in summary advanced defensive statistics show that although Ellsbury and Gonzalez has clearly been more valuable at the plate (though Pedroia has had himself another excellent season as well) Pedroia may statistically be the most valuable player to the team due to his abilities when the other team is at bat.

Many words have been written amongst Sabermetricians about the validity of advanced defensive statistics and it is true that the community has been quite divided on the subject. Its generally acknowledged that these metrics require a greater sample size than most offensive numbers to show statistical confidence and that wild fluctuations from one year to the next may be less meaningful at first glance. One way or the other each of the players I've discussed have had excellent seasons and are amongst the primary reasons the Red Sox are currently atop the standings. Given the offensive depth on this team perhaps Pedroia's defensive accomplishments make him stand out in a line up of fantastic players. Perhaps not. Either way I think the argument is clear that the difference between the players isn't as obvious as at least announcer would have you think.

Now if we could only find a way to keep the Yankees out of the playoffs!

Brother Ali -- Babygirl

2011-08-02T13:47:00.001-05:00

Perfect for grooving on an odd grey rainy August day. Can't wait to hear what the street preacher comes up with next, until then I'll trust he is hiding somewhere in South Minneapolis getting ready to drop my next favorite album.

BTW I just realized I've never actually presented any of the songs off this album before on "the joy of life". That's a travesty. A damn shame. It's gotta be one of my top 5 hip-hop albums of all time and features 6-7 of my favorites tunes. Incredible. Go listen to Brother Ali's "Us" right now. Life will wait, just do it.

Roasted Garlic Hummus & Jalapeno Cilantro Relish

2011-07-31T21:55:00.000-05:00

I'm posting both of these recipes that I made tonight into one entry because the idea was to create a nice hummus base and a flavor packed jalapeno cilantro concoction that would stand up on its own but also make for a great addition to the hummus. Both of the recipes are based on a few random things I found online but are effectively my own composition (and darn tasty too!). With a giant batch of almond basil pesto done as well tonight officially kicks off my love affair with the gorgeous food processor Katy got me for my birthday earlier this month. The thing is amazing (and so is she).

Roasted Garlic Hummus

1 15.5 ounce can of garbonzo beans, drained
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/2 - 1 lemons, juices
2 large cloves of garlic, roasted
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 Tbsp tahini

Combine all ingredients in food processor and blend until smooth. Add more tahini for a stronger bitter flavor, add more olive oil or lemon juice to make consistency creamier or thinner.

Jaalapeno Cilantro Relish

1 large bunch cilantro, roughly chopped
1 Tbsp dijon mustard
1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp salt
2 limes, juiced
3 jalapeno pepper, roasted over open flame, peeled, seeded, and roughly chopped

Combine all ingredients in food processor to combine. Resulting mixture is a delicious combination of fresh cilantro and lime flavors with medium heat.

Mos Def & Talib Kwelli Are Black Star

2011-07-29T13:17:00.001-05:00

It's been nearly 13 years since this album was released and I'm just now beginning to appreciate it. Right up there with J5 albums of the same era. Well, maybe. It's growing on me. Definition and Re: Definition are brilliant. Set a good tone for the weekend and choose this as your soundtrack.

Chalk

2011-07-26T14:26:00.001-05:00

This is very cool and might be a great addition to the overall vintage/classic/modern remodel I'm slowly undertaking for my home. Not sure where I could find a spot with enough natural lighting to support a dark wall or more but its definitely something I'll keep in mind when I eventually plan the kitchen and master bedroom/bathroom overhauls. Right now I'm thinking it could be a really neat part of a rustic country kitchen with hints of industrial style.

Life Without Limits --August 2011

2011-07-25T22:37:00.000-05:00

It's been awhile (ahem) since I've followed through on a Life Without Limits mission. Okay, so it's been like 6 months. But I'm working on it. But this blog is if nothing else a chance to challenge myself (and celebrate) so with that spirit in mind (and an expensive reminder of past failures in my bedroom) I'm embarking on a mission beginning next week to ride my bike to work every day. That's right. One month independent of driving my car to work. Now if its 110 degrees F outside with a heat index that makes it feel like the inside of a microwave burrito I might beg off or at least get a ride home in the heat of the afternoon, and I reserve the right to drive if the radar shows any sort of tornado signature or some sort of green wall clouds, but with most typical and reasonable August weather I'll be swinging my leg over my saddle and pedaling to work. Cause darn it that bike wasn't cheap :)

I had contemplated doing a month of only CSA and farmer's market food but with weddings, Boy Scout camp, etc. decided against it. Katy and I will still be trying to get to the farmer's market every weekend and cooking up more delicious food like last night's dark chocolate beet brownies and the giant batch of pesto I'm planning for tomorrow.

And yes, I need more ideas! More interesting ideas equals more interesting blog posts equals fewer Grieves, Brother Ali, or Atmosphere posts (well, at least a smaller ratio).

Just Beet It

2011-07-24T22:43:00.001-05:00

Chocolate. Eggs. Sugar. Butter. Beets?

Yup. Guess so. Dark chocolate and beet brownies. Just Beet It. And wow they are indulgent. The word luxurious comes to mind.

Recipe from Adrienne D. Capps of Sacrament Magazine via McKinley CSA.

Servings: 24
Time: About one hour total; 30 minutes active

8 ounces raw beets, peeled and halved
8 ounce unsalted butter (2 sticks)
¾ cup dark brown sugar
¾ cup white sugar
4 eggs
1 ¼ cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon vanilla extract, not imitation
¾ cup white flour
1 cup chocolate chips, preferably 60 percent or more cacao

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a small pot, add beets and cover with water. Heat over medium heat and cook 20–25 minutes until very soft [I found this took almost an hour!]. Drain, puree [to make pureeing process easier I added a little bit of the melted butter and sugar to the beets in the blender] and set aside to cool.

3. In a medium pot over low heat, melt butter. Turn heat to medium-low and add both sugars. Stir until the sugar is dissolved, about 2–3 minutes, and remove from heat.

4. Beat the eggs on medium with a mixer for about 2 minutes. Add cocoa powder, salt, baking powder and vanilla extract, and incorporate well.

5. Add pureed beets and butter-sugar mixture and mix well. On low speed, add flour and then chocolate chips, scraping the sides as needed.

6. Spray a 9 x 13 pan generously with cooking spray, add batter and bake 30 minutes until knife comes out clean or with just a few crumbles. Cool in the pan before turning out onto a cooling rack. Enjoy warm!

I want to move to Denmark

2011-07-22T07:09:00.003-05:00

Usually I loathe acapella music. Something in the blend I guess. Go figure Johnnie. But fuck it this is too good not to post on an early Friday morning. Life is good. Celebrate.

Sorry for the uptick in cursing on the blog lately, I'm an ass sometimes.

Fence and Patio Revival

2011-07-21T09:09:00.005-05:00

Although they must have had the fence's best interest at heart, I mean they did leave a quart of interior stain labeled "fence" in the basement for me, the previous homeowners left me a fence in need of some TLC. Structurally its in excellent shape and provides a secure and nice looking barrier for the yard. Cosmetically it has that weathered cape cod look. Nice on a Nantucket cottage, not so much on my fence. So it was decided that this, the third summer I owned the house, would be the year I thoroughly cleaned and refinished the fence. In order to better enjoy the new fence I decided I'd also upgrade my plastic resin patio set. I found a great wooden set for cheap on craigslist and am refinishing that as well as pairing it with some funky outdoor cushions and decor. Here is the plan and budget:

Plan:

Power wash fence and patio set
Clean fence and patio set with wood prep solution
Mend broken fence posts
Stain fence in Behr cedar natural tone semitransparent weatherproofing stain
Stain patio set

Costs:

Patio set = $50 used on Craigslist
Cushions = TBD
Accessories = TBD
Powerwasher = Free rental from Erik's dad + $10 for gas
Wood cleaner = $10
2 x 4" brushes = $20
1 gallon Behr semi-transparent weatherproofing stain = $30 (Will probably need a second gallon but sticking with this for now)
1 gallon stain for patio set = TBD

For the patio set I'm envisioning a semitransparent or solid redwood stain with colorful and floral cushions and a galvanized metal flower pot as a center piece. Maybe with some daisies to match the cushions. Any thoughts?

Power washers are pretty darn incredible. Aren't they?

Hot Shit

2011-07-19T22:40:00.002-05:00

You know summer has reached further into her bag of tricks and pulled out a real doozy when the dinner bell beckons and I reach for a smoothie and light salad. Managed to stay limber through two softball games, buoyed by some deliciousness earlier in the day.

Strawberry Lemon Banana Smoothie
Handful of strawberries
Banana
Juice and pulp of 1/4 or 1/2 lemon
Few ice cubes
Pretty standard smoothie protocol. Blend until smooth. Thus smoothie. Enjoy. Blue/raspberries would be damn fine as well. Yum.

Summer Salad
Mixed summer lettuce
Juice and pulp of 1/4 or 1/2 lemon
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
Couple of strawberries, diced

Oh yeah. I noticed Root Beer flavored milk at Target today. I'm not even making that up. Seriously people, what the fuck? And we wonder why we have a global health problem?

Heiruspecs -- The Push Back

2011-07-18T13:16:00.001-05:00

This will have to do until I can find a better quality live video...

The best YouTube can do is a video from Winona?

Feather Pluckin' Insane

2011-07-14T22:29:00.000-05:00

Remember how much these guys rocked our socks off in like 1996. Yeah, I totally listened to them for awhile in the lab today while analyzing lab results for my ever-so professional engineer job. Really, I'm 27. So many good memories listening to this music.

Day Lily Day

2011-07-13T16:31:00.001-05:00

Day Lily Day was Monday July 11th...as I continue to expand my perennial flower beds and move stuff around I'll keep a record here on "the joy of life" as to maintain an appropriate amount of lame adult-like nerdery. In other news I've been keeping myself quite busy with a weekend of water skiing and such followed by lots of power washing and house work the last few days. I'll hopefully be able to post pretty soon with before and after pictures of power washing the steps and driveway, repainting the garage floor, refinishing the fence, and refinishing a cool wooden patio set I bought on Craigslist.

It's getting real in the Whole Foods parking lot.

2011-07-11T07:43:00.002-05:00

Brilliant. Brought to you by Fog and Smog film crew.

Squash the beef, increase the peace!

2011-07-08T13:32:00.001-05:00

The best RSE battles that I've seen so far (at least on YouTube) make this seem like the staged PR stunt that it in fact is but it's a fun clip and worth the minute or two it plays. Check out Slug and Faheem going at each other.

Screw it, here is one of my favorite RSE battles that I mentioned before, from Scribble Jam 2000 between Eyedea and Brother Ali. Hard to imagine all the incredible music they put out in the decade or so since. Not just lyrically great but I love watching the dynamics of the relationship between the two and how they interact with each other.

Something old, something new...

2011-07-07T14:27:00.001-05:00

To go along with the lovely antique stand mixer I recently acquired for expanding my culinary abilities I received an incredible food processor from Katy and her parents for my birthday earlier this week. It's as shiny as Latrell Sprewell's rims and powerful as a Hakeem Olajuwon low post move (not sure where the NBA basketball references came from). It looks so beautiful on my counter I almost don't want to dirty it...but then the thought of all the glorious food I can us it to make overwhelms the senses. I can't wait for the first batches of jalapeno cilantro lime hummus or roasted pepper and corn salsa. What a lucky guy I am! Any other suggestions for foods I must process?

Now, where to find something borrowed and something blue for the kitchen?

Sunbeam Mixmaster

2011-07-06T16:05:00.000-05:00

The saying "they just don't make things like they used to" may be an overused expression most commonly heard from people whose ideals of society ignore the social and technological advancement of the past half-century or so. When it comes to kitchen stand mixers however, like the Sunbeam Mixmaster Model 12 (manufactured between 1957 and 1967), the saying couldn't be more appropriate. For the incredible cost of $10 I got this piece of Americana. Although for that price it would be a pretty cool addition to any kitchen as a collector antique I actually bought it for its functionality...that's right, I plugged it in when I got home and it started right up, just like it has for at least the last 44 years.

the joy of life

Granola Crunchy

White Bean Bruschetta

Eat with your eyes

Ray Lamontagne -- Three More Days

Roseanne and the Internet

Winter!

Punt

Hot Water

Mmmm pow

Trail Map

Omnifest 2012!

Ray Lamontagne -- Be Here Now

He's Naaaaaaate!

KEXP Rides Again

More Kitchen Ideas

Back in the Saddle

Shefzilla strikes again

P.O.S. -- Purexed

Finally...The Hobbit

Dessa -- Bullpen

Ice Cream Sandwich

Getting Sketchy With It

Powderhorn Pride -- Nathan Blumenshine

Another great meal at Pizza Nea

Make it Mine

Holiday Spirit

Breathe

Chef/Cook

Brother Ali -- Picket Fence

Mmmmcrepes

Dorian

"Treats and snoozin', snoozin' and treats."

Sautee

Thanksgiving Breakfast Burrito

You and I Both

Waves of Exhiliration

Groceries

Knucklepuck

Good News

Google Offers is brilliant

Rabbit Stew

Baseball Nerd Back Again

You are now unsubscribed

You win some and you lose some

More stuff that may only interest me...

Grouse and Apples

Cheddar Cheese

Damn straight.

"Maybe you should get off the couch and go ride some powder"

Tilia's Angolotti Pasta

Chicken Picatta

Floor Planner and kitchen teasing

Leap of Faith

Like Fine Wine

David Gray -- Say Hello Wave Goodbye

Picture This

David Gray and a case of the sniffles

No Bird Sing -- Devil Trombones

Twins Territory

Pinterest

"To everyone out there, who's a little differentI say damn a magazine, these are gods fingerprintsYou can call me ugly but cant take nothing from meI am what I am doctor you ain't gotta love me"

Mos Def live in Paris

Fence and Patio Revival Finale

TC Pickup Sports Wiffleball Wednesday

Gotta love 'em

A Major League Achievement

Ahhh football...

Kristoff Krane -- Hunting For Father

I want to listen to everything

BCS

Baby Sale

No Bird Sing -- Devil Trombones

Going Home

No More Awning

Garage Floor and Breezeway Cleanup: Part Deux

Point of View

Mike Kieger is a crazy man

Garage Floor and Breezeway Cleanup

Another Day In Paradise

"To everyone out there, who's a little different
I say damn a magazine, these are gods fingerprints
You can call me ugly but cant take nothing from me
I am what I am doctor you ain't gotta love me"