We will be packing in a couple of hours, and are taking off tomorrow morning at about 9:00 AM. We will land in Hong Kong about 6:30 PM on Friday, November 2. Remember – Asia bound, add a day. State bound, subtract a day. Flight time is about 19 hours, elapse time is about 22 hours.
When you start a trip like this you surrender your free will to the airline industry. You can’t make any changes, and you pretty much have to just do what you are told. It is not that much fun, but at the same time it is not really time “lost” because it is more like you are in suspended animation.
We will be picked up by the hotel (an indulgence, indeed. But this is a vacation!) at the gate and escorted through all the complexities of immigration into Hong Kong.
SO think of us winging our way over the North Pole tomorrow. And the day after that.
October 31, 2007
October 30, 2007
Pink Salt Blocks to cook on!
October 21, 2007
Shibboleth
I am in London. I am between obligations - one ended Friday here, and other starts Monday evening in Oslo. So what do you do in London? Call up and old friend and go to the Tate Modern.
The feature show at the Tate is something called Shibboleth by Doris Salcedo. Here is a picture of my friend Keith at the exhibit:
It was really something to see. It is a crack that goes down about a meter in spots into the concrete floor (or is that a cement floor, Matthew?) of the museum. The museum itself used to be a power plant, so this is one BIG floor
We also went to the British Museum yesterday to make sure that the Rosetta Stone is still behind glass. It is.
Then we met my younger sister, who is coincidently enough here this weekend also, for a drink in a pub. They have very good beer here.
Other than that, it was just a lot of walking around. The weather cooperated by being coolish but not cold, sunny and not damp. Overall, an excellent time to kill a weekend here.
(But the truth is I would much rather be home with my sweet ever-lovin')
The feature show at the Tate is something called Shibboleth by Doris Salcedo. Here is a picture of my friend Keith at the exhibit:
It was really something to see. It is a crack that goes down about a meter in spots into the concrete floor (or is that a cement floor, Matthew?) of the museum. The museum itself used to be a power plant, so this is one BIG floor
We also went to the British Museum yesterday to make sure that the Rosetta Stone is still behind glass. It is.
Then we met my younger sister, who is coincidently enough here this weekend also, for a drink in a pub. They have very good beer here.
Other than that, it was just a lot of walking around. The weather cooperated by being coolish but not cold, sunny and not damp. Overall, an excellent time to kill a weekend here.
(But the truth is I would much rather be home with my sweet ever-lovin')
October 19, 2007
October 17, 2007
How does your Zip Code compare?
ZIPskinny - Get the Skinny on that ZIP
We are in 77006. We have a lot of "Bachelors" and unmarried people.
We are in 77006. We have a lot of "Bachelors" and unmarried people.
October 16, 2007
The Right Brain vs Left Brain test | PerthNow
The Right Brain vs Left Brain test | PerthNow
I could only see her going clockwise. So I am right brained!
I could only see her going clockwise. So I am right brained!
October 14, 2007
October 12, 2007
People!
Doreen was working late (ish) last night, and we had not been out for a drink alone together in a while. So we decided to try a new little wine bar that just opened this weekend down the street called SoVino (South American wines according to their tag. We didn’t have any of those. Not that we don’t like them, we just didn’t see any we wanted to order.) We walked over there about 7:10, and sat outside as the temperature is starting to cool off in the evenings.
We started with a couple of nice glasses of California Sparkling Wine. But this post is not about the wine or the food. It is about a fellow patron.
We had just been sipping our wine for a while when this skinny dark haired woman comes bouncing out of the restaurant. She has a cigarette in hand (Houston recently banned smoking in all indoor buildings – bars included) looking for a place to sit down. Inexplicably, one of the busboys had just placed a “reserved” marker on the table next to us (there were several empty tables) and she said, “Oh, this table is reserved!” and we told her to go ahead and sit down. There were no people coming to that table for a while.
SO she sat, and she chatted. And I mean chatted! She told us that she was about to sell a house that she had owned with her ex-husband, and she had a three year old kid, and oh my! did she ever want to move back to Austin! And he ex-husband was from east Berlin, and you know he was really good with the cats when they had cats so she thought that he would be a great father and he was an extremely talented bio-mechanical engineer and now he was in sales but he was moving back to Germany because he couldn’t take the stress and she just had ristoline and goddAM but that hurt and her father moved out of his condo so she could move in because her ex husband was satying in the house and did she mention that she was closing on her house tomorrow?
Whew.
They her fiancé came outside, looking like an imperious controlling, demanding jerk and said, “Karen, the doctor was wondering where you were.” She hopped up and went inside.
Not more than five minutes later she came back outside and asked if she could sit with us!
We said sure, and she proceeded to tell us how “Lance” (her fiancé) was really a nice guy but he was under a lot of pressure because he left his big law firm for her and opened up his own practice and he has to do all the copying and phone calls and scheduling himself and he is working on a really big case and she wants to move into West Univeristy with him because he has a nine year old daughter and they need to go to good schools and Lance’ parents are living in the house that THEY should be living in but they aren’t moving and they are getting married in Napa in November and it will only be a small wedding and she had to give her two dogs away and don’t you dare judge me because you don’t have a three year old kid and I am allergic to dogs and Lance has a dog and he is now living in a condo and her father is giving away the dogs tomorrow and she is very sad about it and if you don’t approve why don’t YOU take the goddamed dogs and I met my ex at a New Year’s Eve party and he was really nice and smart but growing up in East Germany down weird things to you and I only smoke two to three cigarettes a day.
Check, please.
Nice to meet you, good luck, and enjoy the rest of your life!
Whew.
October 11, 2007
Don't worry about the issues! What color are the canditate's eyes?
Is Eye Color the Key to the White House? - Freakonomics - Opinion - New York Times Blog#more-1960
There are some interesting comments down below on this blog as well.
There are some interesting comments down below on this blog as well.
October 8, 2007
October 7, 2007
Dinner with a spy?
Last night we had a delightful dinner with Jim and Gary to celebrate Jim’s birthday. As usual, they had some interesting friends there as well. One is the managing partner for Baker and Botts – a woman from Mississippi who still carries an extra strong southern accent. She can be very entertaining.
They also had three neighbors over for the dinner.
It was a great meal – we started with a pink Veuve Clicquot champagne with some cheese straws, and several selections of nice artisanal cheeses.
The three neighbors were a mother, father, and their daughter who had recently graduated from Northwestern with a masters in Journalism. She was moving to The Hague to work for a non-profit organizations that helps journalists do good deeds in third world countries.
Her father, who must have been in his mid to late 70s had been an executive at Gulf Oil. But his earlier work history is what intrigued us.
He served in the US Army during WWII (he must have been very young) and as soon as he got out he went to the Harvard Business School. After graduating from there, he went to work for the US Foreign Service. Now, I don’t know about you, but when I hear US Foreign Service in the early 1950s I think of only one thing – CIA.
He started his service in Copenhagen (you know, part of that alliance thing) and the was posted to Saigon in 1953. The Quiet American! While he denied any association with covert operations, well, that is what he would have to say.
After Saigon he was posted to Phnom Penh! What a coincidence. Doreen and I are heading to PP this November.
While he stayed with his story about being only a Foreign Service employee, you could see that he was dying to tell the true story.
Maybe after a couple of drinks we will get to the bottom of it all.
They also had three neighbors over for the dinner.
It was a great meal – we started with a pink Veuve Clicquot champagne with some cheese straws, and several selections of nice artisanal cheeses.
The three neighbors were a mother, father, and their daughter who had recently graduated from Northwestern with a masters in Journalism. She was moving to The Hague to work for a non-profit organizations that helps journalists do good deeds in third world countries.
Her father, who must have been in his mid to late 70s had been an executive at Gulf Oil. But his earlier work history is what intrigued us.
He served in the US Army during WWII (he must have been very young) and as soon as he got out he went to the Harvard Business School. After graduating from there, he went to work for the US Foreign Service. Now, I don’t know about you, but when I hear US Foreign Service in the early 1950s I think of only one thing – CIA.
He started his service in Copenhagen (you know, part of that alliance thing) and the was posted to Saigon in 1953. The Quiet American! While he denied any association with covert operations, well, that is what he would have to say.
After Saigon he was posted to Phnom Penh! What a coincidence. Doreen and I are heading to PP this November.
While he stayed with his story about being only a Foreign Service employee, you could see that he was dying to tell the true story.
Maybe after a couple of drinks we will get to the bottom of it all.
October 4, 2007
When I lived where
My brother Chas recently posted on an e-mail thread all the places he has lived. I went into a little more detail, and here are the different cities where I have spent at least three months:
| Start Date | End Date | Location | Start Age | Years |
| July 1957 | August 1975 | Appleton, WI | 0 | 18 |
| August 1975 | June 1976 | Madison, WI | 18 | .75 |
| June 1976 | August 1976 | Marcona, Peru | 18 | .25 |
| August 1976 | January 1976 | Madison, WI | 19 | .5 |
| January 1977 | August 1977 | Greenville, IL | 19 | .5 |
| August 1977 | June 1978 | Madison, WI | 20 | .75 |
| June 1978 | December 1978 | Kemmerer, WY | 20 | .5 |
| December 1978 | June 1980 | Madison, WI | 21 | 1.5 |
| June 1980 | July 1981 | Houston, TX | 22 | 1 |
| July 1981 | July 1982 | Denver, CO | 24 | 1 |
| July 1982 | April 1993 | Houston, TX | 25 | 10.75 |
| April 1993 | January 1995 | Caracas, Venezuela | 35 | 1.75 |
| January 1995 | October 1996 | Singapore | 37 | 1.75 |
| October 1996 | Present | Houston, TX | 39 | 11 |
October 3, 2007
October 2, 2007
October 1, 2007
The Recipe
French-Style Pot Roast (after Cooks Illustrated)
This takes about 5 hours
A medium-bodied, fruity red wine such as Côtes du Rhône or Pinot Noir is best for this recipe. The gelatin lends richness and body to the finished sauce; don't omit it. To prepare this dish in advance, follow the recipe through step 7, skipping the step of softening and adding the gelatin. Place the meat back into the reduced sauce, cool it to room temperature, cover it, and refrigerate it for up to 2 days. To serve, slice the beef and arrange it in a 13 by 9-inch baking dish. Bring the sauce to a simmer and stir in the gelatin until completely dissolved. Pour the warm sauce over the meat, cover it with aluminum foil, and bake it in a 350-degree oven until heated through, about 30 minutes.
Serves 6 to 8
| 1 | boneless beef chuck roast (4 to 5 pounds), pulled apart into 2 pieces and fat trimmed |
| 2 | teaspoons kosher salt |
| 1 | bottle red wine (750 ml), medium-bodied |
| 10 | sprigs fresh parsley leaves |
| 2 | tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves |
| 2 | sprigs fresh thyme |
| 2 | bay leaves |
| | Ground black pepper |
| 4 | ounces bacon , preferably thick cut, cut into 1/4-inch pieces crosswise |
| 1 | medium onion , chopped fine (about 1 cup) |
| 3 | medium garlic cloves , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 1 tablespoon) |
| 1 | tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour |
| 2 | cups beef broth |
| 4 | medium carrots , peeled and cut on bias into 1 1/2-inch pieces |
| 2 | cups frozen pearl onions |
| 3 | tablespoons unsalted butter |
| 2 | teaspoons sugar |
| 1/2 | cup water , plus 1/4 cup cold water to bloom gelatin |
| 10 | ounces white mushrooms , wiped clean, stems trimmed, halved if small and quartered if large |
| | Table salt |
| 1 | tablespoon unflavored gelatin (powdered) |
1. Season meat with kosher salt, place on wire rack set in rimmed baking sheet, and let rest at room temperature for 1 hour.
2. Meanwhile, bring wine to simmer in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook until reduced to 2 cups, about 15 minutes. Using kitchen twine, tie parsley sprigs, thyme sprigs, and bay leaves into bundle.
3. Pat beef dry with paper towels and season generously with pepper. Tie three pieces of kitchen twine around each piece of meat to keep it from falling apart.
4. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Cook bacon in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp, 6 to 8 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towel-lined plate and reserve. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons fat; return Dutch oven to medium-high heat and heat until fat begins to smoke. Add beef to pot and brown on all sides, 8 to 10 minutes total. Transfer beef to large plate and set aside.
5. Reduce heat to medium; add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to soften, 2 to 4 minutes. Add garlic, flour, and reserved bacon; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add reduced wine, broth, and herb bundle, scraping bottom of pan with wooden spoon to loosen browned bits. Return roast and any accumulated juices to pot; increase heat to high and bring liquid to simmer, then place large sheet of foil over pot and cover tightly with lid. Set pot in oven and cook, using tongs to turn beef every hour, until dinner fork slips easily in and out of meat, 2 1/2 to 3 hours, adding carrots to pot after 2 hours.
6. While meat cooks, bring pearl onions, butter, sugar, and 1/2 cup water to boil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and cook until onions are tender, 5 to 8 minutes. Uncover, increase heat to medium-high, and cook until all liquid evaporates, 3 to 4 minutes. Add mushrooms and 1/4 teaspoon table salt; cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are browned and glazed, 8 to 12 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside. Place remaining 1/4 cup cold water in small bowl and sprinkle gelatin on top.
7. Transfer beef to cutting board; tent with foil to keep warm. Allow braising liquid to settle about 5 minutes; then, using wide, shallow spoon, skim fat off surface. Remove herb bundle and stir in onion-mushroom mixture. Bring liquid to simmer over medium-high heat and cook until mixture is slightly thickened and reduced to 3 1/4 cups, 20 to 30 minutes. Season sauce with salt and pepper. Add softened gelatin and stir until completely dissolved.
8. Remove kitchen twine from meat and discard. Using chef's or carving knife, cut meat against grain into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Divide meat among warmed bowls or transfer to platter; arrange vegetables around meat, pour sauce on top, and sprinkle with minced parsley. Serve immediately.
9. Guard remaining meat against canine predation.
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