Double Tall Iced Mocha, Lite on the Chocolate

November 23, 2004

Morning Commute

Filed under: /seattle — @ 12:58 pm

On Nov. 4 there was a bustle of police activity on the sidewalk near my office in Greenlake. Not paying much mind, I went into to the office where my coworker informed me that someone committed suicide on the sidewalk outside our office. There is a bar that runs from a telephone pole over to a fence on the local junior high school parking lot, which someone had used to hang them self.

It was pretty chilling to walk under that bar on my way to lunch later in the day, thinking about what had taken place. Since then there has been a cross w/some flowers place on the telephone pole, some notes of sympathy and blessings, some from people who lived in the neighborhood, who did not know the person.

I felt the need to post a entry about it. Over the past couple of weeks it has become a part of my morning commute as much as a cup of coffee. Almost every morning I walk by the spot, to see if the flowers and cross are still there, to see if there are any additional notes left by people. A brief morning reflection to put everything into perspective. I may feel stressed about something I have to deal with at work, I might be tired, I may not feel well. But every morning, I have this brief reminder that these little things that sometimes weigh heavy on my mind, are in the big picture not very tough at all.

While I have no idea what pushed this person to edge, I can imagine it must not be a very good feeling to be convinced that such a drastic action is the only way out. So guy on the sidewalk whoever you were, I dont know if it solved your problems or ended your pain the way you hoped, but it has made a mark in my morning commute.

November 22, 2004

Corn Chowder and Cornish Game Hen

Filed under: /food — @ 5:17 pm

It has been a while since I spent a Sunday cooking. Lately I have been on a soup kick, eating soup with almost every meal. So Sunday I decided to whip up a huge pot of soup and some dinner.

After looking through my various cookbooks I finally decided on a Corn Chowder recipe out of the Joy of Cooking. I consider this book a must have for any wanna be home chef. The recipes are generally basic but have always turned out better than expected. Probably though the most valuable part of this book, is the great lengths it goes to teach basic skills ( sautee, bard, stir-fry, taking apart a whole chicken, making stock etc…) that are required to cook consistently good food.

While I was picking up the ingredients for chowder at Safeway, I came across the game hens and decided they would make a good main course. Except for the corn (ended up using organic, canned, whole kernel corn) I used all fresh produce and spices.

For the corn chowder I started off with:

  • Fresh chopped celery
  • Fresh chooped red onion
  • Fresh diced red potatoes
  • Salt Pork

    I chowed the pork, and then added the onion and celery. Once the onions were golden brown, I threw in the potatoes, a bay leaf and some water to simmer for about an hour.

    After the potatoes were soft, I added some milk and paprika. After some more simmering I added the remaining milk, corn, and some flour. At this point I had to keep a close eye on the soup. Once the milk is in its imperative that you dont let the soup boil or you will scorch the milk.

    Soup is done, I have found it tastes best after letting it sit over really low heat for another hour.

    For the game hens, I just coated them in melted butter, stuffed them with onions and garlic, and let them cook for about an hour at 350.

    All in all everything came out better than I anticipated. The next time I make the chowder I will probably skip the pork, so I can share it with my vegetarian friends.

    Pictures

  • November 13, 2004

    Drag Race NYC

    Filed under: /bike — @ 4:24 pm

    I have gotten some shit for listening to Guns and Roses on my ipod while riding my bike. I feel that this video from Lucas Brunelle’s site vindicates me. Came across it here, while checking out the Seablogs Aggregator.

    I am watching it from the comfort of Terminal 6 in JFK Airport, NYC. Only about 7 more hours before I am home!

    November 9, 2004

    Nashua, NH (<a href="http://www.rudymayer.com/pages/moneymag.html">Best place to live in 1996?</a>)

    Filed under: /travel — @ 12:26 pm

    So I have been back in Nashua since Monday. I have been catching up with some friends spending the later evenings at the Nashua Garden (named after the now gone Boston Garden. Its kind of nice to be able to pop in after not being home for two years and see old friends.

    Today I made a suprise appearance at my friend Peter’s office. While I was there I got to check out one of his more recent inventions, the Mojo Putter. Also to my suprise Peter has started working on providing an ariel photo/video service using remote control airplanes (pictures here). The planes are really cool, and are totally electric, traditionally remote control planes are gas powered.

    Friday night I spent in Portsmouth w/Alex and Speck, we then traveled into Boston the next day, and spent the night in Cambridge.

    It has been a great trip so far, going out to dinner tonight with some friends, and I fly to Florida at 8:30am tomorrow.

    November 7, 2004

    Boston

    Filed under: /travel — @ 12:49 pm

    Ok well the first round of pictures are online. I have not organized them or anything, but I figured y’all are dying to see them.

    November 1, 2004

    Bike Ride and Bicycle House Photos

    Filed under: /photo — @ 5:51 pm
    Went on a Bike ride (photos) yesterday. Found this Bicycle decorated house near my office last week. Notice not only the bicycles adorning the house, but also the linux bumper sticker on the truck.