My physical grace simply amazes me

Last weekend The Wife and I cleaned the hot tub which involves draining it, hosing it out, etc and then refilling it. Once it is being refilled we have to add various products because we have such hard water (helps to keep the minerals from depositing on the hot tub and in the pipes). To facilitate this process we had removed the cover, folded it in half, and placed it on the lawn about a foot away from the concrete slab upon which the hot tub rests. I was walking around the tub pouring in the first bottle when I suddenly found myself on my back staring up at the beautiful blue sky. Apparently I caught the edge of the slab, slammed down on my right knee (giving myself road rash right through my pants without tearing my pants...), and then proceeded to roll across the cover. Of course, no one was filming this because it was totally an America's Funniest Home Videos money shot. I managed to not spill the bottle of hot tub additive and found it happily bobbing, open end up even, in the partially filled tub. At the time, I was focused mainly on my knee because that was what hurt but it was very apparent on Monday morning that I had pulled/strained muscles all along my right side. My trainer was very understanding on Monday night (and quite concerned - asked if I had hit my head etc) and helped me stretch things out. We even had to make adjustments for my shoulder on Thursday night. For those of you who know me IRL, you know that I am prone to this sort of amazing display of physical grace. This one was simply better than most of my displays... I am such a tool.

Beef Stew Recipe

We made this in the crockpot today and it is the first crockpot beef stew recipe that I've liked.

1 lb stew beef, cubed
1/4 c. flour
1.5 T olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 carrots, cubed
1 turnip, cubed (if you don't have or don't like turnips, use another potato)
2 potatoes, cubed
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1/2 t salt
1/2 t sugar
1/2 t lemon juice
1/2 t Worcestershire sauce
1/4 t ground black pepper
1/4 t paprika
2 c. lower salt beef broth

Dredge beef in flour and cook in hot oil until browned on all sides. Put all ingredients in crock pot, cover with foil, then add lid and cook on high for approx. 4 hours. Remove bay leaf before serving. If the stew is not as thick as you like dissolve a tablespoon of cornstarch in a tablespoon of cold water and stir to dissolve. Add to stew and mix well. Let stew cook for another few minutes to thicken. Taste for seasoning and adjust as necessary.

What Major League Baseball can do to fight ALS

A few days ago I read this "My Turn" in Newsweek and I thought "I like baseball, I love the Phillies, I should write to them and ask them to champion this." Then I thought "Hey, why not ask friends who are fans of other teams to ask those teams to do it too?" So, here we are. Here is the idea (from Michael Goldsmith who has ALS and is an Orioles fan):

At some point, we talked about what Major League Baseball could do to fight ALS, and I realized that next July 4 will mark the 70th anniversary of Lou Gehrig's famous farewell speech at Yankee Stadium. Since his retirement, more than 600,000 Americans have shared Gehrig's fate, as medical science has made virtually no progress toward finding a cure. Through the years some players and a few teams have occasionally helped raise funds, but Major League Baseball has never taken comprehensive action against ALS. Defeating ALS will require the same type of determination, dedication and drive that Gehrig and Cal Ripken demonstrated when they set superhuman records for consecutive games played. With this in mind, why not make July 4, 2009, ALS-Lou Gehrig Day? Dedicate this grim anniversary to funding research for a cure; every major- and minor-league stadium might project the video of Gehrig's farewell, and teams, players and fans could contribute to this cause. An event of this magnitude has the potential to raise millions, dwarfing the relatively scant sums that ALS walks, rides and similar small-scale efforts have produced.

Today, completely by accident, I found out that Curt Shilling has a blog (http://38pitches.com/) and has raised money for ALS (Total Raised for ALS $135,300 - I think this is the 2008 total) so I'm going to write to him too.

So here is what I am asking everyone to do:
1.) Write a note to the team of your choice (major league, minor league, independent league, little league, I don't care as long as it is baseball) asking them to champion creation of "ALS-Lou Gehrig Day" on or around July 4, 2009 and every year thereafter in ballparks around the country.
2.) Ask the team to commit to raising money for ALS on that day from players, coaches, and fans - recommend that they pass out self-sealing envelopes that fans can fill in with credit card info or include cash and drop in boxes around the stadium or take home and mail (teams are already doing this for things like All-Star voting). They can address the mailers to The ALS Association or baseball can set up their own foundation (but going with one already in place makes the most sense to me and donations are likely tax deductible.)
3.) Ask your family, friends, and co-workers who are baseball fans to do the same.
4.) Leave a comment indicating what team you wrote to and follow up with a comment if you get a response.

I don't know anyone personally who has ALS but it's a crappy disease (yes, I know, all diseases are crappy) that shortens lives. I can't begin to explain how it affects the lives of those who have it but if you want to read about what it is like to have ALS you can click here.

Thanks.

Mr. Goldsmith - I wish you the best and I hope for a cure that comes in time to help you.

Election Day

At 6 PM this evening nearly 80% of registered voters in my precinct had voted. However, my gamble to wait until after work to vote paid off. I walked in and only had to wait about 5 minutes. The Wife and I continued our tradition of voting and then going to the local diner for dinner. Now we are watching The Saturday Night Live Presidential Bash on the DVR and waiting for returns to come in. I am intentionally avoiding the networks. We are going to watch Indecision 2008 with Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert at 10 PM.

Facebook has sucked me in

I've discovered Facebook and it has sucked me in. It has also sucked away the few minutes I have to blog and any and all creativity that I might use to blog. The parents (and the sister) are here this weekend and we've had a nice time together. The weather blew the plans for yesterday as we were going to go to a outdoor festival. Dad was sick (bronchitis) when he arrived so it was probably better that we just stayed home and he was able to rest. He announced this morning that he was "cured." At the moment we are waiting for The Wife to get up so we can all go to breakfast. I must have coffee.

Tonight Gay = Happy Again

At least in CT...

From the CT decision:

"Interpreting our state constitutional provisions in accordance with firmly established equal protection principles leads inevitably to the conclusion that gay persons are entitled to marry the otherwise qualified same sex partner of their choice," the ruling said.

"To decide otherwise would require us to apply one set of constitutional principles to gay persons and another to all others. The guarantee of equal protection under the law, and our obligation to uphold that command, forbids us from doing so. In accordance with these state constitutional requirements, same sex couples cannot be denied the freedom to marry."

Unfortunately The Wife and I don't live in a state that permits it but wow it makes me happy to read the CT decision.

Trainer

I got yelled at by MTG today. I was having a bad day at the gym and she said "You're not taking care of yourself, are you?" She's right. I'm not drinking enough water, I'm not getting enough sleep, I'm drinking too much caffeine, and my diet is boring and repetitive. I was too sore to walk on Tuesday and last night just got away from me. I'm having a major internal debate with myself this evening - watch rest of VP debate, then go in hot tub or just bail on debate and go in hot tub to get to bed by 10:30. I'm finding Palin really condescending and shit, she cannot say nuclear. She's another nukular pain in my ass.

The Omnivore's Hundred

Here’s what I want you to do:

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.

4.) Post a link in comments at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes (those of you who know me, know that I do not eat raw tomatoes in any form, yeech.)
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn,or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV - BRING IT ON!
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

So I've eaten 55 of these things and there are 7 that I would never willingly/knowingly eat. To replace those I will add 7 less usual things that I have eaten: wild boar, dried salted fish ovaries from Sardinia, heart (BLECH), intestine (BLECH), tripe (also BLECH), a variety of sushi (both raw and rolls) and sashimi, and raw mussels.

Sore knees

I continue training towards my 5k goal but at the moment my knees are getting in my way. Perhaps it is the change of season but wow, do my knees hurt. It makes me grumpy. Of course, when this happens there is a little voice in the back of my head that says "remember how bad it got a few years ago..." and that makes me get a little panicked. It's quite stupid really but sometimes I find it hard to shut off. I also wonder if my knees are telling me I'm not getting enough sleep? Again, all in reference to a few years ago when not getting enough sleep set off a pattern that took months to fix. All this talk of sleep reminds me, it's time for bed. I stayed up WAY too late last night watching the Steelers eek out a win over Baltimore.

How to get around the "Sarah Palin Phenomenon"

From Sean Quinn at "fivethirtyeight.com"

“Sarah Palin is very likable. There’s nothing wrong with liking her. But this isn’t a zany sitcom where a friendly, plucky Everywoman with dangerous ignorance on foreign policy gets to be vice president. Americans don't deserve someone too scared to do a press conference. Fun for a TV show, but running the country doesn't permit second and third takes when you mess up the scene."

This is the most intelligent thing I've read about how to get to people who are reacting viscerally to Sarah Palin. Go read the whole thing.

Post-trainer thoughts

Yesterday my trainer, Grace (MTG), asked me how I had been feeling after my workouts. I said I had been a little sore the next day but nothing terrible. Then she informed me that it is time to increase the amount of weight I'm lifting. I'm a little nervous. Right now by the time I finish, for example, doing the one-armed pec fly I feel like my shoulder is about to break. The concept of more weight is rather daunting. But I have to say I trust MTG completely. She certainly knows what she is doing and she knows exactly how far to push me. Of course, after last night's workout and more crunches than I have ever done in my life, I'm sore.

As to progress towards 5k - the plan for the next month is to workout on Mon/Thurs and walk at least 45 minutes W/Sat. I plan to walk on the treadmill on Wednesdays because I am just not a morning person and by the time I get home and have dinner it is too dark :-( to walk outside now. I can walk outside on weekends and the half-mile circuit at the cemetery is a good place to do it. I saved enough Coke Points to get a $100 Nike.com gift card so I am designing a custom pair of shoes at NikeiD.com. I have wide feet so I have a limited number of styles to choose from but I'm having fun. I think I have to go try on a pair of the style I want to get before I actually buy them on the website.

A goal

I have a goal. I would like to walk a 5k next Spring. I've been working out with a trainer for 3 months now and I've started walking on my own. Today I walked 1.5 miles (in 80+ degree weather and high humidity...I'm sort of an idiot that way.) I have larger goals than the 5k but one step at a time. I'm going to try to chronicle my walking here because I'll never write it down anywhere else. Today was a pretty good walk - my left foot was sore and my upper back got sore towards the end (the Rack of Doom [TM Kate Harding] causes the problem when exercising - if anyone has any good sources for LARGE sports bras with good support please leave a note in comments.) I think I need arch supports and that will probably help the sore foot. I spent the afternoon making tomato sauce from 9 lbs of tomatoes (CSA) and I still feel ok. My knees are a little sore but it isn't too bad.

Creatures in the walls

The Wife and I had the following conversation via IM today....

Bean: Everything ok?
The Wife: Oh - the squirrel is now in the corner with the kitchen sink.
Bean: I think the squirrel is building a home and an office. or a home and a weekend home.
The Wife: I think probably an office and media room. If it has a bigger TV, I'll move in with him. BRB
The Wife: Big crash from basement - think squirrel is unhappy w/his accomodation. Should I remove the cover to the window, or just wait for Erlich
Bean: Remove cover and cut plastic - maybe he'll leave on his own.
Bean: Bill squirrel's agent for damages.
The Wife: no problem - but how will we know if he's left? Then to pay for the trap?
Bean: Make a small cut - if it gets larger we think he went out through window. Then block off again.
Bean: Squirrel is probably late for work. Stayed in all weekend watching sports and eating cheetos.
The Wife: Where did he get the cheetos? I want some!!
Bean: I presume he went shopping on his way home from work.
The Wife: brb - off to remove window cover.
The Wife: ok deed is done.
Bean: What do you think keeps crashing?
The Wife: now, he's napping. The last time it was those wooden shelves, could be anything on the table. Won't know till I'm down there, but don't really want to go down with a loose squirrel.
Bean: Chicken.
The Wife: Yes, absolutely.
Bean: Well at least he comes out of the wall occasionally. Even if we do have to trap him. I was beginning to think he had no intention of ever coming out again.
The Wife: Ehrlich just came & set up the trap. The squirrel apparently has been chewing on a wire (under the dining room) - once the squirrel is caught we will need to have the electrician in. Seriously, I think we should consider buying one of those traps then we won't have to pay $200+ each year to catch something. Maybe a Christmas present from your folks! I blocked up the window again because I didn't want him calling his friends & family to join him.
Bean: JC on a raft. I have to go to my meeting.
Bean: I'm back. Any more from our friend in the basement?
The Wife: He's hanging around the fireplace (Emily is watching for it now). Was the JC about what I said, or your meeting?
Bean: The JC was about the squirrel chewing on the wire. He's hanging around the fireplace? He's in the wall over there now?
The Wife: yes. (presumably under the fireplace).
The Wife: I don't know if the passive trap is going to work, but I don't have any better ideas.
Bean: Is there food in it?
The Wife: I think the guy put some sort of squirrel enticement goo in it. I haven't been down there.
Bean: The squirrel has to be getting hungry.
Bean: He hasn't been out in days.
The Wife: He told me where the trap is & that we would hear the squirrel when it was caught (they get very angry) & we should call them whenever it is caught. Or the copper & insulation are filling junk food.
The Wife: Although he has moved away from his "comfort zone."
The Wife: He just jumped over by the kitchen - Emily's still watching the fireplace.
Bean: Emily is slow these days.
The Wife: It seems to be doing laps now.
The Wife: If Emily showed any emotions, she'd be very excited.
Bean: maybe he'll get tired and fall down. Clumsy squirrel.
The Wife: ...and stagger to the trap.
Bean: Yes, exactly.
The Wife: Can squirrels swim?
Bean: I suspect they can, at least for short distances.

UPDATE: It was not a squirrel. It was a GROUNDHOG. Apparently they can climb. Little bastard.

Chocolate Stout

At the request of the MIL who had one in Australia I have brewed a chocolate stout. I did some research and came up with my own recipe.

Pat's Polish Stout
1 can Mr Beer St. Patrick's Irish Stout Beer Mix
1 can Mr Beer Creamy Brown Extract
1.5 oz unsweetened baker's chocolate
1/2 c. brown sugar (packed)
Liquid Stout Yeast
2 gallons spring water

Brew according to the Mocha Cherry Stout recipe on Mr Beer.com (obviously minus the cherries). I plan to let it ferment for 3 weeks then bottle. I'll let it bottle condition for 8 weeks. So it should be ready to drink by Halloween - seems like just the right time for a stout.

I think I sprained my obliques

I have been working out with a trainer since late May. I go twice a week for an hour and generally I'm pretty worn out and a little sore when I get home but normally feel pretty good the next day. All this changed on Thursday when the trainer got out the boxing gloves. It's Saturday and I'm still sore. Last night, we were watching the Olympic opening ceremony at a friend's house and it hurt to laugh. It hurt a lot. I have to do yard work tomorrow so we'll see how I hold up. I think it will make my trainer very happy that she has succeded in breaking me. She did make a point of saying, when she got out the boxing gloves, "This isn't get even with the trainer."

Cherry Wheat Beer

Last weekend I bottled the cherry wheat beer. When I did the pre-carbonation taste test (you always taste before you bottle to make sure the yeast have consumed the bulk of the fermentable sugars, if it tastes like flat beer, you are good to bottle) I discovered that I had potentially the best beer I have brewed thus far. I'm really eager to taste it. It has been carbonating for a week now and I'm really tempted to put a bottle in the fridge so I can try it tomorrow but I think I'll have an even better result if I wait until next weekend. This is the toughest part for me of home brewing. When it is in the keg I know it isn't drinkable so I sort of forget about it but when it goes into the bottles it suddenly becomes BEER! and I want to be able to taste it.

I still need to brew the Chocolate Stout. I think as long as it is ready by Thanksgiving the MIL will forgive me. If I get it in the keg tomorrow we should be ok.

To Wii or not to Wii, that WAS the question

Yesterday we took the plunge and bought a Wii (ordered a Wii, it should arrive this week.) We also ordered Zelda and Table Tennis games along with the Sonic Smash that came as part of the "bundle." I have a small beef with Toys r Us. It is all over their website that they have both Wii consoles AND MarioKart in stores NOW! Well both are not true. If you have it in SOME stores say that. I made the drive to buy a Wii and they didn't have it. I am also still in search of MarioKart for a friend's son. We promised it to him as a birthday present but I think it will be more like a second Christmas present by the time we locate it. So now you want to know why I suddenly decided to buy a Wii. Well, it is the mother-in-law's fault. She got one a month or so ago and when The Wife had her stroke the MIL brought it with her when she came to stay for a few days. I got hooked and I only played one night. I really like the sports games (hence the table tennis purchase) and The Wife, who is much more of a gamer than I, likes the action/adventure games. I suck at them, hence they are not my favorites. I suspect I will become rather adept at boxing. I may even have to buy the Wii boxing gloves. I am a marketers dream right now with this thing.

What a week

Those of you who know me IRL, know what a week I've had. The Wife had a mild stroke on Tuesday. She has been rapidly improving since then and should be able to come home today or tomorrow. She'll get speech and physical therapy as an outpatient and should make a complete recovery with time. It's been a brutal week especially coming on the heels of the events of last week (work-related). I had such high hopes for this weekend in terms of yardwork etc (low humidity, cooler temps, rain this week) but I'm just too pooped. I'm going to try to get some things done inside that have been neglected this week (folding laundry, sorting through a giant lump of mail) and also face the mountain of work that remains to be done. I need more hours in the day right now (longer weekends would be nice too.)

Whoops

As I mentioned, I brewed a cherry wheat beer last weekend. Unfortunately, I had a beer'splosion on Sunday night. I used too much yeast. When I went to bed on Sunday it was bubbling like mad and dripping a little foam down the side of the brew keg so I put a few paper towels under the keg and thought it would be fine. The Wife couldn't sleep and came downstairs for a snack. She heard a strange noise, did some investigating, and discovered that the beer was spewing all over the dining room wall. She moved the keg into the sink, put a cookie sheet up against it to contain the spew, and wrote me a nice little note. Fortunately she knew not to open the keg so the beer should be fine. I can bottle it on August 3.

More Random Bits

Today is the last day of my vacation. I am not looking particularly forward to going back to work. I know no one really does but some crap went on last week when I was out that is likely going to make work life tougher on me in the near and perhaps longer term.

The Wife and I made the most of the last 3 days of the vacation. We went to see "Smart People" on Friday at the local art theater (we are members and hadn't used our free passes this year so free movie for us and 2 drinks and a giant tub-o-corn for $5.50.) Yesterday we spent the day with friends, played Wii (first time for me) with their 8- and 11-year-old boys, and ate like kings (homemade empanadas, skirt steak, grilled chicken, and my home-brewed beer). Today we puttered around the yard and I brewed a Cherry Wheat beer. I can bottle it in 3 weeks.

The dog pool was christened today - the dog had a blast. We got her to go into it by throwing one of her toys in and then she discovered that she liked it. She would race around the yard and then hop into the pool on her way past at full speed. It was pretty funny. Now she is pooped and draped over the ottoman.

and the Phillies won and will go into the All-Star break leading the NL East. GO PHILLIES!
Well I can't ignore work email any longer - time to face the music.