The Kaizar Dispatch

My Blog has Moved!

2011-07-25T20:08:00.000-07:00

Loyal readers, my blog has moved. Blogger has made life difficult with a terrible editing and photo interface. I was able to export all of my blogs to date to the new blog, so not all is lost. I am in a better place now, please come join me.

http://kaizardispatch.wordpress.com

2011 Doo Dah Parade

2011-07-04T19:30:00.000-07:00

Today was the 28th Annual Doo Dah Parade, right through my neighborhood. As best described by the Short North Gazette:

"The first Doo Dah Parade was July 4th (rain date July 3rd) in the year of our Emperor 1984. It was slated to start at one o'clock from Goodale Park - then to meander through the neighborhood, through the drive-thru at White Castle, down High Street and back to the park. The UnOrganizers of the Parade were nervous; it was 12:30 and only a handful of participants had arrived. All that money spent on beer and security and two color posters - all for naught. But wait! Over the crest of the hill, a flash of light reflects off a tiara. A kazoo rings through the still summer air. Huzzah, they have come! Quick, before they change their minds, the parade takes off! Oh, but look at the time! It is only 12:40! Since the parade proves to be only twenty minutes long, those who arrive on time to witness this wondrous event missed it. A fitting start for a homage to the absurd and the silly and puncturer of the pompous and punctual.

Thus, in 1984, a year that also saw the beginnings of the Gallery Hop, the Doo Dah Parade was born. We did not originate the name or the concept, but we did make it our own. And kept it our own. We (actually Andrew Klein, attorney at law and tax preparer 614-299-6139) had the incredible foresight to register the Doo Dah name. So when Upper Arlington, a humorless realm of green front lawns, decided to usurp our fairly stolen concept and name - we sued 'em. Then the Emperor commanded and we obeyed and invaded and conquered 'em just in time for the 6 o'clock news - much to their chagrin and befuddlement.

The Parade has its roots in the deep need of every neighborhood to parade itself. It helps if you own a fire engine, because then you are halfway there already. Do it on the Fourth of July, throw in a few cute kids, their dogs and bikes, make everything red, white and blue and you have got it. Good, but could be better &endash; what about all those people who inhabit the deep dark drinking dens; wouldn't it be a hoot if they were coaxed out into the daylight at high noon, blinking, their pallid skin blindingly white, turning quickly to deepest red (which of course makes them blue). And all those people with an opinion about everything, and all those people who deep down just wantto be noticed, and all those people who like to watch all of the above. And its all free as in freedom, as in come on down and feel free to join in, join up. Past years have treated us to the Beer Belly Brigade, Marching Fidels and Flamingos, men in tights, transvestites, kazoos, a tuba, lawn mowers, golf carts, political satire, bad taste, red, white and blue dogs, weird bicycles, Gandhi on roller skates, the Pope and a potbellied pig, in case you are looking to steal some inspiration."

The National Association for the Advancement of Colorful Old Hippies

Transportation Security Administration - lots of groping

Batman!

The Doo Dah Marching Band

The Marching Fidels

The Tea Party - Mad as hatters!

That Car club

The Columbus Italian American Club - going for try number two this year at the worlds largest meatball.

Minature horse

People of Walmart - see peopleofwalmart.com

Rocky Horror Fishnet Mafia

Woofie for Governor

Tressel - local humor, OSU football coach Tressel shown here as blind to the blatant ethical lapses of his players

Random Wacky People

The Strawberry Statement by James Kunen

2011-06-19T08:13:00.000-07:00

I have been reading a book written in 1968 by a nineteen year old student at Columbia University. He was involved with the takeover of administration buildings to protest University involvement in military research among other things. It is an interesting read, more than anything because it is the product of a funny, smart kid. Some choice quotes:

“In the summer following high school I made the ‘let’s-see-how-tough-you-are-kid’ scene at a place called Outward Bound in Oregon.

Tuesday, August 16, 1966: Up at 5:30am to climb mountain on a breakfast of tea and honey. No exultation at reaching peak; if you decide to turn around ten yards short of the top I’d consider it a twenty-yard shortcut and fine with me.”

---

“No, I have no statement to make at this time, except I’m still on the waiting list in a lot of ways.”

---

“My friends and I became preoccupied with the common nostalgic assertion that ‘these are the best years of your lives’. We could accept the fact that the college years are exhausting, confusing, boring, troubles, frustrating and meaningless – that we could take in stride; we’d seen hard times before. But that everything subsequent would be worse was a concept difficult to grasp and, once grasped, impossible to accept.”

---

“I went home to my apartment and my roaches. The roaches are a bit of a problem. We each have our areas. I have my corner, and they have the rest of the apartment. Except they always come into my corner.”

---

“A university is not a democratic institution,’ Professor Deane began, ‘When decisions begin to be made democratically around here, I will not be here any longer.

Commenting on the importance of student opinion to the administration, Professor Deane declared, ‘Whether students vote ‘yes’ or ‘no’ on an issue is like telling me they like strawberries.’

I like strawberries”

Cooking it up Tajine Style

2011-06-11T09:53:00.000-07:00

My Mother recently surprised me with an early Birthday present - a fire engine red Tajine by Emile Henry. This is a great gift and was quite a surprise. Last year I had dinner in a Morrocan restaurant after touring the cathedral in Chartres, France. The restaurant served these large savory dishes cooked in a Tajine. The food arrived at your table in large, deep ceramic platters that were scalding hot. It was delicious and fun.

A Tajine is a heavy glazed ceramic cooking vessel that originates in Morraco. It consists of two pieces. The bottom is a round, deep dish that resembles an oversize apple pie dish. The top is shaped like a tall cone that perfectly fits over the bottom dish. It can be placed in the oven, but usually is meant for the stove top or traditionally over a fire. The tajine is meant for slow cooking. A little liquid is added to each recipe which when heated turns to steam that circulates around the food in the ample room created by the cone. It is a combination of steaming and sauteing. Cooking time varies but is generally several hours. The long cooking time allows the food to be fully infused with the herbs and spices used in this type of cooking.

Last weekend I tried out a Berber Tajine Vegetable Dish. It consisted of layers of onion, potatoes, turnips, zucchini, tomoto, and carrots with lots of spices. After two hours of cooking, the vegetables were soft and very flavorful. The ginger, pepper, cumin, rosemary, and thyme (from Elly's garden!) really came through. Elly gave two thumbs up. Fresh baked bread serves as a good side.

Asakura, Tokyo, Japan

2011-03-31T18:45:00.000-07:00

I had the opportunity to spend Sunday afternoon strolling around a very interesting neighborhood of Tokyo called Asakura. Asakura is the best approximation of what Tokyo looked like hundreds of years ago, with narrow streets and tiny stores surrounding beautiful temples. Here is a tour of my experience in Asakura.

After exiting the metro, I soon found myself at the Kaminarimon Gate. Hanging in the gate is a 220 pound lantern. Gods of wind and thunder reside at the gate and are an impressive sight.

Right next to the Kaminarimon Gate is the Tokiwado Kaminari Okoshi, which is a 250 year old maker of rice sweets. They were tasty, though to me were odd.

After passing through the gate, you reach a long straight street full of tiny shops. They sell everything from touristy souveniers to very nice artwork. Radiating off in every direction were more tiny streets with more shops and restaurants. I could have spent days wandering, it was really fun.

At the end of the street you pass a traditional Japanese garden designed in the 17th century full of peaceful statues. Then you reach a large incense burner surrounded by people "washing" themselves. It is supposed to be healthful to cleanse yourself with the incense. I waved some smoke over my head for good measure and good health.

Overlooking the garden and incense burner is the Sensoji Temple, the oldest temple in Tokyo. Built in the 7th Century, the Temple is home to a golden statue of Buddhist goddess Kannon, which was apparently pulled from the ocean by fisherman.

In front of the temple are several covered areas where you can determine your fortune. For 100 Yen ($2), you shake a metal canister until a stick falls out. On the stick is a number. You match that number to a drawer in a long cabinet full of hundreds of drawers. Inside each drawer is a fortune. The first time I tried, I got a terrible fortune, appropriately named "The Worst Fotrune". After the experience I had the past three days (earthquake, sitting forever in a plane, sleeping on the airport floor, taking three whole days to get to my hotel), I did feel like I had the worst fortune. I didn't like the fortune though as an indicator of my future though, so I decided to try again (I was informed in Chinatown in San Fran that this is perfectly acceptable). I pulled what is labeled the Regular Fortune. It was better. Inside the temple, I realized that the official fortunes are given out there, so I decided to try one more time, just to see what my "real" fortune really is. Again, in spite of the hundreds of fortunes I pulled the "Regular Fortune" so that must be it.

My fortune is as follows: "When spring comes, withered tree blooms so charming. The sweet smell fills in the wood field and the sky. Your fortune will go developing your chance. The bright moon comes to shine among the fading clouds. Meeting a person of high social status, his help will bring you a happy life.

*Your request will be granted. *The patient get well soon. *The lost article will be found. *The person you wait for will come. *Building a new house and removal are both well. *Marriage and employment are both well. *To start a trip is well."

Past the temple are a variety of shrines, gates, and pagodas. They look like the traditional Japan that I really hoped to see. It was fun to wander through the shrines and ponder how old they are. There were many tourists admiring the buildings. I almost forgot that this country had just experienced a major crisis and still was facing a long road to recovery.

Eating my way through Asia

2011-03-26T13:42:00.001-07:00

While my trip to Japan and China was short, I did have some great food. I try to eat what the locals eat when I can, and on this trip I had some really interesting, unique food experiences. Below I feature some of my favorite food.

After many delays and an uncomfortable traveling experience, I was so happy to find a little stand in the Hokkaido airport that sold containers of sushi. It was an unusual breakfast for me, but to the Japanese much more usual. The fish was very fresh though and with the rice actually made an excellent breakfast the was gentle on the stomach. Cost: $11.30.

Living in the airport for a day, waiting and hoping I would eventually leave for Japan, I had my first noodle bowl in a small café in the Hokkaido airport. A clear broth, some noodles, and fried tofu slabs on top. There was also a pink marshmallow which I still am confused about. The soup was sweet, hearty and satisfying. I really enjoyed it. Cost: Free, courtesy of Delta airlines.
The next day, I did some sightseeing in Tokyo. I was not very hungry that morning, so I avoided the big American style buffet in the hotel. Instead, I got a cream puff in the subway. It was warm from the oven with a seriously rich cream filling. I stood in the subway, making a mess of myself from all the powdered sugar and started to really enjoy this trip. Cost: $0.80.

I went to an old section of Tokyo called Asakura. After a few hours of walking around, I was very hungry but a bit unsure where to eat. I strayed a bit from the tourist areas and found a narrow street lined with tiny restaurants. None of them had any signs in English, so eventually I picked one at random and sat down. This place was tiny. They had about ten seats total plus a small bar in front of the kitchen. The kitchen was the smallest restaurant kitchen I have every seen. Everything needed to be coordinated so the three people in the kitchen did not knock each other over. The cook was stationed by a small stove tucked in the corner. A woman washed dishes at a small sink right next to the stove. A steep stairway led upstairs to what likely was storage. A few shelves held bottles of saki. They seemed a bit surprised that a westerner had come to dine with them, but they quickly had a menu in my hands. The menu had a bit of English, combined with limited English spoken by the waitress. I told her to make me something good. A little while later they delivered chicken on skewers with a sweet teriyaki sauce, accompanied by a cold Asaki beer. Cost: $6.00.

The next day, in downtown Tokyo I want to a local noodle shop with my work colleagues for lunch. Noodle shops are great and I wish we had something like it in the US. I ordered a Golden mushroom soup. You sup the broth with a large broad ceramic spoon and eat the noodles with chopsticks. You can see by the picture that it was good. Cost: about $10.

That night I flew to Shanghai, China. I stayed in a small Chinese hotel and I think I was probably the only Westerner there. The front desk staff spoke no English, but the rooms were only $32 a night. In the morning there was a breakfast buffet set up that consisted entirely of Chinese foods. No bacon, eggs, and hash browns. There was no coffee, in fact there were no drinks at all. There were steam dumplings, vegetables, noodles, rice noodles and fruit slices. It was a simple but good breakfast, of course eaten with chopsticks. Cost: Free, included in the price of the hotel.
The next day I had the chance to spend a couple hours in Shanghai, exploring the Yu Garden area. While exploring alleyways a bit outside the tourist area, I stumbled upon a street lined with outdoor food vendors. There were so many choices, but I was drawn to a man making fresh bread turnovers stuffed with turnip greens, onions, and spices. They were cooked over a propane flame in a big covered flat pan. Fresh and steaming, I hope to learn to make these myself. Cost $0.40.

A little while later I stopped by the JR Dumpling shop because I was still a bit hungry. The shop was tucked under a staircase in a little alcove. It was piled high with stacked steaming baskets over boiling water. There were many different varieties, but all the signs were in Japanese. So, I selected at random. Inside was a spiced meat that was tasty. No better than the frozen dumplings I buy in Columbus, but good for the price. Cost $0.80.

Walking from work to the hotel the next day I stopped by a woman cooking potstickers at the side of the road. These dumplings were being made fresh, boiled then fried. A line of people were waiting to be served, which is always a good sign. They came with a sweet soy sauce which made it possible to eat all eight. Cost $0.75

That night was my last night in China and I decided to go to a Chinese restaurant (hah!). I went to a very busy place that had about thirty tables, all full. The menu was all in Mandarin, but there were pictures. I picked out Ma La Tofu and a hot and sour soup. They arrived at my table covered in red spicy peppers. It was so hot I could not eat it. My stomach turned to fire and I started worrying about vomiting. I ate a bit, washed it down with a cold beer and headed for the door. I was worried that I would offend them by eating so little, but they did not care. They were happy that I got up so they could seat the next customer. Cost: $4.35.

Japanese Plastic Food

2011-03-26T13:34:00.001-07:00

In my travels sometimes I run into something so fantastic I have to mention it here. While walking through Tokyo I noticed most of the restaurants have food sitting out front with little price signs sitting in front. It looks good and gives you an idea of what is on the restaurant menu. But the interesting thing is that the food is made of plastic. All sorts of food, from soup, to shrimp, to noodles, to pizza. All looks so real that you have to look carefully to distinguish as fake.
I noticed plastic food all over the place. It was at the airport restaurants, small little cafes, even large formal restaurants. I liked it as it gives a quick easy way to see how much food you get at what price. I have not seen anything like it anywhere else in the world. It seems like a good idea, but perhaps the complication is that you need some very talented artists to produce this food.

Trip to Asia – Part 1 – Earthquake in Japan

2011-03-21T00:28:00.000-07:00

You do not always need to go looking for trouble, sometimes it comes to find you. Life can take a left turn at the most unexpected times. I cannot explain how I came to be caught up in the worst disaster to hit Japan in modern times. Perhaps it was bad timing. Perhaps it was simply that if you travel enough you tend to get caught up in the problems of you adopted countries, both large and small.

I was on a flight from Detroit to Tokyo for my first trip to Asia. Work had me going to Japan and China to meet some people, take a few plant tours, and conduct some planning for the upcoming year. It promised to be an interesting trip and I was looking forward to it.

The flight from Detroit to Tokyo is a long one, lasting almost thirteen hours in total. As we were nearing the end of the flight and going through preparations for landing, suddenly the captain made the announcement that there had been an event on the ground and that the airport in Tokyo was closed. A few minutes later he came on and said that there had been an earthquake, that it seemed to be a big one, and that we were being diverted to a small airport in the north of Japan in Hokkaido. Of course everyone on the plane was alarmed and had a million questions, but being in a plane, we had no access to any information. It was only once we landed in Hokkaido that I was able to turn on my cell phone and get some information. At that time there was just a short article on CNN saying that there had been a large earthquake.

Our plane was directed to park on the runway and there we sat for twelve hours while air control tried to figure out what to do with us. I counted at least ten other large planes also on the runway that had likewise been diverted. The situation was confused and we were low on the priority list as at that time Japan was dealing with many much more serious issues. I watched the sun set for a second time outside my window and settled in for the wait. No food was served and I spent most of the time sleeping and watching movies.

Finally they decided to allow us into the airport, at around 4am. We sleepily went through customs and immigration and were handed blankets. The airport was full of people sleeping on the floor. A large group clustered around the only TV, watching to see what the latest news was of the quake. At that time there were still only a few sketchy details on the tsunami and the ultimate death toll. Despite searching high and low I could not find an ATM that worked or any food, so I resolved to make the best of it. All the hotels in the area were full. I tried to sleep, but it was difficult with the many people walking around and the bright lights.

At around 8am the domestic side of the airport opened up and I was able to find a working ATM and a few food shops opened. I discovered that the Japanese do not eat a breakfast anything like a western breakfast. They eat noodles, rice, fish, that sort of thing. I was so hungry at that point, that anything sounded good. I ended up purchasing some sushi and an iced tea and I happily wolfed it down.

The hours passed by and I waited for news on my flight. At that point it was unknown how long we would be stuck in Hokkaido, but it was very likely that it would be a while. I found a lounge with free internet and soft drinks for $10 and I gladly parked myself there for much of the day. The Japanese lived up to their reputation for being orderly and clean. Despite an overflowing airport, the facilities stayed in very good condition throughout the day and there was no loss of patience.

That night Delta passed out meal vouchers and I had my first meal at a noodle shop. I selected a mushroom soup with fried tofu, which was very tasty. At this point it had been several days since I showered, changed clothes, or had a good sleep, so I was starting to get worn down. At 11pm, my flight finally departed to Tokyo and I slept the entire flight.

Arriving in Tokyo, I found that it was so late that all trains and busses had stopped running. My only choice was a $400 cab ride to my hotel. It was worth it though, as I was not about to spend another night wandering the cold hard floors of an airport. All in all, my situation could have been much, much worse. I was not on the ground when the earthquake struck. Many people lost their lives and property.

Restaurant Bla Bla

2011-03-09T19:08:00.000-08:00

Every time I visit Rotterdam in the Netherlands, I try to stop by Restaurant Bla Bla for dinner. Bla Bla is located in the Delfshaven neighborhood, where I lived for a month last year when work sent me on special assignment. It is a strictly vegetarian restaurant that maintains a small menu focused on what is available fresh depending on the season.

When you enter the restaurant, the first thought is just how small it is. The restaurant is located in a tiny, narrow canal house. There are about eight tables on the ground floor and two more upstairs on a balcony, sharing the upstairs with the kitchen. It is cozy and intimate and very comfortable. The menu is written on a chalk board behind the small bar specializing in organic Dutch beers. Beware, there is no english menu, but the staff are more than happy to help explain what is on offer.

The menu generally consists of three main meals, each consisting of around eight courses. Each meal has a theme. When I was there last time, the themes were Indian, Mexican, and Dutch. All the food shows up at once, piled high on a plate. It is fun to eat around the plate, sampling each item and pondering what makes it so good. I would not hesitate to bring my meat eating friends to this vegetarian restaurant as the food is interesting, filling, and so very good.

I selected the Indian meal and it was a treat. The meal included samosa, tabouli salad, cauliflower with cashews, dal, salad, curried eggplant, basmati lemon rice, and poppadoms. It was excellent and filling. I have eaten in vegetarian restaurants all over the place but few are as inspired as Restaurant Bla Bla.

Water Tower - London, Ohio

2011-02-19T05:36:00.001-08:00

Solid, steady and huge, this water tower dreams of competing with Big Ben and seeing parliment.

Watching the ships roll in, then I watch them roll away again

2011-01-15T08:11:00.000-08:00

My office in Rotterdam overlooks a large harbor where they unload container ships in a constant frenzy twenty-four hours a day. There is no hint what is being transported, just that it is speedily on the way to customers somewhere on the European continent. Everything comes via container ships – cars, bananas, new stereos, everything. The ships are stacked high with containers that are delicately removed by cranes the size of ten story buildings. Large specialized container carriers move the containers around, stacking them in neat rows. On the side closest to my office, there is a line of waiting trucks ready to carry the containers to their final destinations.
As each ship approaches the harbor, it is swarmed with small tugboats that gently pull it to the dock in the correct position. It takes four tugboats to put the larger ships in place. Each ship is different, various colors, lighting, sizes, and cargo arrangements. Each ship takes between two and twelve hours to unload and reload, then it moves on to the next destination. Most of the ships coming to this port are going between various European ports, though of course there are ships coming from Asia and North America.

I found a fascinating web site that makes watching the harbor ten times more fun (http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/default.aspx?level0=100). It tracks every ship in the harbor and provides information on the name of the ship, where it has come from, and perhaps where it is going. Looking at this web site, it is amazing just how many ships are in the immediate area.
As an example, I selected a ship that would be very visible from my office window called “Pluto”, a cargo ship registered in the Marshall Islands. You can pull up the basics on the vessel as well as a picture gallery uploaded by carge ship enthusiasts (yup, they exist). I was able to track the vessel itinerary over the last three days. Pluto came from the North Atlantic, south around the UK, and over to Rotterdam. Unfortunately, the history does not go far enough back to track where the current load originated.

Water Tower - Zanesville, Ohio

2011-01-04T19:16:00.000-08:00

POTD - Awesome house in Spring Valley, OH

2011-01-04T18:44:00.000-08:00

How many items can you spot in this picture that scream country livin?
1. Plywood over the window
2. Sticker on the door with a picture of a handgun and the words "I Don't Call 911"
3. Electrical wiring outside the wall.
4. Two skulls hanging over the door
5. Gasoline container, saw, random wood, and stolen electric pole bracket piled around.
6. Padlock on the front door.
7. Wooden fish on the air conditioner.
Anything else?

POTD - Buckeye Trail 2 miles south of Xenia, Ohio

2011-01-03T20:13:00.000-08:00

Picture of the Day - I hiked a 14 mile round trip segment of the Buckeye Trail today. The entire segment was along the Little Miami Creek on an old decommissioned railroad bed. It was cold but the sun was shining and it was good to move around a little after over-eating for the last month.

Water Tower - East Muskingum, Ohio

2011-01-03T19:28:00.001-08:00

Water Tower - Cedarville, Ohio

2011-01-03T19:23:00.000-08:00

New picture of a water tower previously featured. The picture was taken with the sun directly behind the tower for an interesting lighting affect.

Bob Dylan

2010-11-06T08:14:00.000-07:00

Alive and still kicking, his concert in Columbus this week was really good. A nice mix of older and newer songs. Bob even bopped around a bit and he seemed to be enjoying himself. The first time I saw Bob Dylan, around 15 years ago, he barely moved around at all and looked to be on deaths doorstep. It is good to see he has got his groove back.

In the pictures, Bob is in the white hat on the left.

Water Tower - Cape May, New Jersey

2010-10-19T20:36:00.001-07:00

2010 Columbus Marathon

2010-10-19T17:38:00.000-07:00

This weekend I volunteered at the Columbus Marathon. Attracting 15,000 runners, this is one of the largest marathons in the country. The weather was perfect and many people showed up just to cheer on the runners.

Marathons are interesting events to work because you never really know what sorts of injuries you may face. There are always a few falls resulting in cuts and scrapes. Sometimes there are heart attacks - we had two of those this year. Detroit Marathon had three runners die on the course last year. At the finish line some of the runners collapse and need to be assisted. There is a quiet room set up with cots and IV lines all set up. We didn't have anything too serious that we personally dealt with, which is just fine with me.

POTD - Heron on the Scioto River

2010-10-19T17:33:00.001-07:00

Picture of the Day - Heron on the Scioto River

Columbus Italian Festival

2010-10-10T14:33:00.001-07:00

This weekend was the Columbus Italian Festival, going strong for 30+ years. This is a fun festival with great food and music. It takes place in a small neighborhood called the Italian Village close to downtown Columbus. The neighborhood is centered around the 112 year old St. John the Baptist Cathedral.

A highlight of the fesital is the parade down High Street. The parade is one of the best in the city in size and participation. Some of my favorite parts of the parade include:

The Knights of Columbus, leading up the parade

The Marching Bands!

The Oven for the World's Largest Meatball (more on that later)

Police and Fire

The Hare Krishnas

The food was great. There were all the foods you might expect at an Italian Festival, including Pizza, Calzones, Canolli, Italian Ice, and Pasta. Did I sample? You bet.

One notable feature of the Festival was an attempt to break the world record for the largest Meatball. The record is held by a German town for a meatball in the 740 pound range. To beat this record, a custom made cooker and over were built. Over 1200 pounds of sirloin were added to cups of salt, pepper, and garlic powder. This giant cooked for three days awaiting the glory of the weight in. Once the temperature in the middle reached 160 degrees, it was ready. Guiness was on hand to certify the results. Unfortunately, they fell short of the the projected 850 pounds. The final tally was 655.5 pounds, enough to beat the North American record. Best of luck next year!

Trdelnik

2010-10-05T18:18:00.000-07:00

While wandering the streets of Prague I made a wonderful discovery. There is a pastry that is only made in that part of the world available in little shops in narrow alleys. It is called the "Trdelnik" though sometimes it is also called the "Trdlo".

The Trdelnik is made by rolling flat a strip of sweet dough. The dough is then wrapped around a wooden or metal stick known as the Trdlo. The stick with the dough is rolled in sugar, cinnamon, perhaps even nuts. It is then set above an open flame to rotate and slowly cook. The dough is evenly cooked because all sides are heated during the rotation. The sugar melts and gets carmelized.

Once done, the Trdelnik is perhaps rolled once again in sugar for good measure, then slid off the stick. It is then ready for eating, all at a price of around 50 CZK or $2.50.

Trdelniks come from the town of Skalica, Slovakia. They are still made over an open wood fire there, in the traditional old fashion.

The Pub, Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic

2010-10-04T19:05:00.001-07:00

The Pub is the sort of place that could never exist where there are strong liquor laws. The basic concept is that it is a bar where you compete to see what table can drink the most beer. If it sounds dangerous, it is because it is.

At the center of every table is a beer tap with a computer controller. Before drawing a beer, you enter your number and the computer keeps track of how many liters you have had. This is aggregated by table and projected on the wall. It gets pretty roudy, with each table trying to outdrink the other tables.

When I was there we were in serious competition with a table full of Germans and a table full of Czech teenagers. Hard competition and we would have lost if we stayed long. The teens started strong but then slowed down. The Germans started strong and just kept drinking more and more. It was obvious they were going to come out on top. Unless of course another group showed up to challenge them.

So there you are drinking to compete with these other tables when tables from other cities start appearing. The Pub is a chain and there are locations throughout the Czech Republic. So, you not only compete with the people in the city you are in, but also with tables of drinkers throughout the country.

Sadly, the last time I was at the Pub they no longer served food and it appeared that the beer tanks had been removed. It looks like the location in Karlovy Vary is going our of business. Just as well, I made our team look bad anyway with my measly totals.

The Salt Cave, Birdie Hotel, Pardubice, CZ

2010-09-26T08:16:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while when I am traveling for business, I run into something really unique. Sometimes funny, sometimes confusing, sometimes just a great picture. Last week I was staying in the Birdie Hotel in Pardubice, Czech Republic. It is a small place with about 20 rooms, a decent restaurant, and a golf theme. Odd, considering that there is no golf club in the area that I saw. There is something very unique about the Birdie though. It has a Salt Cave.
The Salt Cave is a man-made room with salt encrusted on every surface. Some strategically hung strings of Christmas lights complete the atmosphere. Apparently it is pretty popular. So popular that I never got in to see it since there was always someone in treatment. I stole these pictures from the hotel web site.
You may be asking, what exactly do you do with a salt cave. Good question. You are supposed to sit inside on the lawn chairs for a 45 minute treatment. The idea is that it is healthful like sitting near the ocean. It is supposed to be good for your skin and lungs.

From the web site: "The combination of serene music, the sea air, and colored lights amid glittering salt crystals from the Dead Sea, the Black Sea, Pakistan, and Polish Klodawa will do wonders for your body and soul."
"The cave, covering an area of 70 square metres, was created using 40 tons of salt. It is equipped with 17 adjustable French beds, inhalation fountains, and salt-falls. Just 45 minutes, which is the time of one session, has the same beneficial effect as 2-3 days spent at the seaside."

"Salt is more precious than gold, and we are ready to provide you with the conditions you need to relax and restore your vitality for the next day. The unusual place and atmosphere will restore your health, vitality, and mental and bodily condition."

Open every day from 10am to 7pm. They even have a little gift shop selling salt crystals for healthful healing at home.

Two crutches, One leg

2010-09-06T08:07:00.000-07:00

About three weeks ago I started having severe pain in my left knee. It was a sharp pain accompanied with some grinding feeling. It all started when I went out for a run and couldn't go more than twenty steps. Knee pain is a fact of life for me, so I mostly ignored it, waiting for it to get better. I stopped running but I still rode my bike to work, walked miles on the weekends to the farmers market and baseball game. I carried on as usual expecting quick recovery.

The problem was that my knee didn't get better, in fact it got worse. I finally agreed to go see me doctor and he immediately sent me for an MRI. A few days later I got the news that my tibia is fractured as well as got only knows what other soft tissue damage. All from running!

The treatment is basically to stay off my leg to let it heal. So, for the time being I have a brace and I am hobbling around on crutches. I have a follow up appointment to see what comes next, but hopefully with care it heals on its own without any more aggressive intervention.

On crutches, I am still doing most of the things I normally would. My boss was nice enough to let me work from home for a few days. Last week I was on vacation, so mostly I sat around and took it easy. We went with my family (parents, sister, brother, their families) to Cape May Point at the southern end of New Jersey. Despite being on crutches, I still got some fishing in and went to the Wildwood boardwalk.

I am thankful to not be in a cast. I am hoping for fast healing since one of my main hobbies is to walk and I am starting to feel cooped up. This coming weekend I am scheduled to go to the Czech Republic for business, a trip that will be much harder on crutches.

The Tables Are Turned: Elly goes to Vancouver

2010-08-07T16:49:00.001-07:00

This past week, I (Elly) left Mike at home to hold down the fort while I went to a conference in Vancouver. I stayed a few days afterward to see the city. Besides the incredible weather (sunny and mid-70s every day!), there was a lot of interesting things to see. If you have the opportunity, I'd highly recommend a visit.

Convention Center

The conference itself was at the Vancouver Convention Center. Those of you who watched the 2010 Winter Olympics coverage might recognize the pixilated art right outside:

as well as the "outdoor" version of the Olympic torch:

I am pretty sure the larger peak in the background is Grouse Mountain -- home of the "Grouse Grind", where hikers go straight up to the top in a grueling 1.8-mile hike ending in excellent views of the city. Unfortunately, later in the week when I was able to get out of the city, there was too much smoke from forest fires in the north to make a "view" worth the hike. Here you can see the difference between the smoke on Wednesday late afternoon (left) and Thursday mid-day (center and right):

The Convention Center is adjacent to the Vancouver sea airport. All day, you could watch the sea planes take off and land.

The inside of the convention center was pretty cool. In addition to various works of art, the walls were constructed to look like piles of wood, so in one direction they were all smooth, but in the other direction looked like slightly staggered ends:

The convention center itself is also very "green" -- literally with a green grass roof that you can see here if you look very closely in this view from Stanley Park.

Stanley Park

My first excursion was a late-afternoon bike-ride around Stanley Park, which is a huge park on a near-island in the northwest of the city. This was a great adventure, and I would highly recommend bike rental in this very bike-friendly city. If I'd had more time, I might have kept my bike to see some other parts of the city, too.

I first biked the approximately 8 km (5 miles) perimeter of the park (all on a bike path), and then rode around some of the trails that cross the interior of the park. Probably the most-visited attraction here is the Aquarium, which I skipped. Second is probably the display of totem poles:

Most of these date to the mid-to-late 20th century, with the later ones being replicas of older ones. While I feel a bit like a cultural gawker, the art on the poles is positively beautiful. In their original purpose, the poles would be placed in front of family houses (huge affairs that would house large extended families), and would identify the family that lived there -- sort of like a name on the mailbox. The carved figures often represent some even in the lives of ancestors of the current residents, although it seemed that sometimes the person would still be alive when the pole was carved. Before visiting Vancouver, I had assumed that the art on the poles was "sacred" in some sense, and depicted spiritually oriented things. Now, I am left entirely unclear on the matter. There are other pieces of northwest native art that are clearly spiritual (for example the masks used in rituals), but these poles seemed a little more like domestic art to me. As a last note on totem poles, one plaque that I read did note that only those who were allowed to have the information would understand the story depicted in the pole. This explained the often frustrating experience of looking at a pole, and having the description say something like "bear with human figure sitting between ears" -- almost totally uninformative.

The next site along my trip was a replica of the figurehead of the S.S. Empress of Japan. This ship carried goods back and forth from Japan and China between 1891 and 1992, and seems to be a symbol of Vancouver commerce. As you can see from the huge container ships in the harbour, Vancouver is still a huge center of shipping.

My trusty steed with the Lion's gate bridge in the background:

Chinatown

Whenever I visit a city with a Chinatown, I make a point of going. I love Chinese cuisine, and find it fun to browse the nick-knack shops. Vancouver seems to be a bit different from the other Chinatown-cities I've been to. Since it has such a large Asian population, it seems the best Chinese cuisine is not actually located in Chinatown. The meal I had with colleagues at a dim sum restaurant near the convention center far outpaced the fare I had in Chinatown proper. The endless groceries, bakeries and shops were exactly what I expected.

Like many of the communities in Vancouver, Chinatown closes down some streets to vehicular traffic on Friday night for the Night Market. This was much less exciting than I had expected, with the main offerings being cheap imported "stuff". Nevertheless, the city's support of pedestrian areas is fantastic -- I wish Columbus would shut down High Street for the monthly gallery hop. It'd make the experience much more pleasant.

Lynn Canyon

On Thursday morning, the conference ended and I headed north to Lynn Canyon. It was fairly convenient to take a city bus there (although you do need to walk the last km from the bus stop). On a side note, the Vancouver public transit system is highly efficient and friendly. You buy tickets at kiosks or on busses that are good for about 2 hours. Then, on busses, you simply show your valid ticket (transfer) when you get on. For the larger transport (the sky train or sea bus), you just need to be prepared to prove that you paid if you get stopped by a transit authority. The system seemed to work very well. Coming from Columbus, which has a modest at best public transport system, I am often impressed with well-oiled public transport machines.

Anyhow -- I thought Lynn Canyon was known for its suspention bridge:

It is actually known as a natural water park, as you can see from this view from the bridge:

If you look carefully, you can see a gaggle of teenaged boys standing at the bottom of the waterfall, watching as the boy in the blue standing near the top of the waterfall (a little to the left) prepared to jump into the pool below. He eventually got up his nerve, and seemed fine afterward. A little upstream is another jumping pool that is a bit less tall, but just as harrowing, as there's only about a 6 foot square area in which to land safely in the water. You will be dashed on the rocks if you miss. As I saw many rangers walking around, this swimming activity seems to be sanctioned. I did not get in, but may have waded around if I'd been wearing more water-friendly clothes.

Instead, I hiked around the park, and up to a lookout that was too smokey to warrant a photo. However, I was constantly reminded of the different scale of nature in the northwest. I kept catching myself thinking that I'd better hurry to be sure to get out of the woods before nightfall. But, I would think this because the shadows were long and the light dim. Actually, the shadows are long because the trees are HUGE, and the light is dim because the forest is quite dense. No worries -- I was exhaustedly riding the bus back to civilization well before sunset.

Museum of Anthropology at UBC

My last day I took the long trip out to the University of British Columbia to see the Museum of Anthropology. It was well worth the trip. I learned so much about the lives and art of Northwest Native people. One of the things I learned about was the pot-latch, which is a big feast that one family/group hosts for all the other families/groups in the area. It would not be unusual to have more than 100 people at the feast. A bit feast requires a big serving bowl. In the left photo there is a three-bowl "train" with wheels that would have ostensibly been used to serve food. The photo on the right gives you a sense of scale, where the train is on the far right (with some other collosal bowls). However, the plaque says that at least in more modern times, these bowls would not have actually been used to serve food, but instead would have been carried (rolled) around the village as an announcement that the feast is to begin. There are older vessels on this same scale, though, that would have been carved in the form of the "wild woman" (the plaque never said why she was wild), and the part of the bowl that you got served from would indicate your status.

Also food-related, much of the food was steamed by partly filling a wooden box with water, then adding red-hot stones and the food to be cooked. The boxes were built from one plank of wood, which itself was steamed to bend into a box-shape, and then tied to stay in place. They end up looking like the boxes in the photos above, but would not have been decorated. The Northwest people were also master mariners (depending on fish for much of their sustinence). They would build canoes by hollowing out a tree trunk, and then also steaming it until it got soft enough to spread the seating area wider. The examples they had in the museum would probably have held two people on each bench. Here I thought that they needed to find a giant tree.

The museum also has an extensive collection of smaller objects both from the northwest and throughout the rest of the world. If I'd had more time, I could have spent all day there.

I'm not quite sure why, but the museum also houses some contemporary artwork. This includes works by Bill Reid -- probably the most famous "contemporary" Northwest native artist. The centerpiece of the Bill Reid collection is his "The Raven and The First Men". It depicts the legend of the trickster Raven finding the first men inside a clam shell and coaxing them out into the world. That is, the story of creation of the Haida people. This was a very clever (ironic?) commision from Bill Reid, who knew before conceptualizing the piece that it would be displayed on top of the gun turret that was necessarily incorporated into the architecture of the museum. I suppose Bill Reid is also a trickster.

Prague, Czech Republic

2010-07-22T23:31:00.000-07:00

Prague is easily one of the best places I have visited. It has a lot to see and do, yet is compact enough to see on foot in two days. With over one thousand years of history and many recent conflicts, it is an interesting place. There are so many details and so much beauty, you feel like you could spend a lifetime noticing interesting new things. The buildings are covered with sculptures and detail. The shops have some very interesting souvenirs. And there is great beer at every turn.
The history of Prague started in the 900’s with the establishment of the first imperial dynasty, the Premyslids. A name perhaps forgotten by recent history, they ruled for four hundred years and were responsible for shaping much of the ancient history of Prague. Many years of religious and ethnic conflict shaped the city. Even recent history has been eventful with occupation by Nazis followed by many years of communist rule which only ended in 1989 with the Velvet Revolution.

The Vltava River passes through the center of the city. On one side is the old town, the Jewish quarter, and much of the active town. On the other side the town rises sharply uphill towards the castle overlooking the whole area. Several large parks frame some of the other hills. The Czech Republic is not yet on the Euro and is generally less expensive than you will find other cities in Europe to be. The people are very friendly and the food is excellent. Some of the key sites I really enjoyed include:

Old Town
The center of the city revolves around the section known as Old Town. This area is home to many of the most popular attractions. Many of the streets are closed to cars and the area is flooded with tourists. It is a good place to find a nice souvenir shirt or painting. On an edge of the Old Town I found the Powder Gate, which was built in 1475 and used to store gunpowder in the 1700’s. The ornamentation on the Gate is beautiful.
The Municipal House is home to many shows and performances. It is an excellent example of the Art Nouveau style you see throughout the city.
The center of the Old Town is the Old Town Square (Staromestske namesti). It is surrounded by incredible buildings. On the day I was there, the Hare Krishna’s had a music festival that made an interesting contrast to the very European buildings.

On one side of the Old Town Square stands the Church of Our Lady before Tyn. Started in 1363, this church really is very impressive. The many gothic spires immediately draw your attention regardless of where you stand in the city. Inside, the hundreds of paintings and carvings overwhelm your senses. It is a beautiful church well work a visit, even for those of you who feel like you can not stand another European cathedral. Old Town Hall was established in 1338 and has presided over many changes. You can climb up the stairs to the top of the tower for a great view of the area. On one side of the town hall is the Astronomical Clock. Build in 1490 and perfected over the next hundred years, it still attracts large crowds. The inventor had his eyes gouged out once he was finished, so that he could not build another one, and I am pretty sure there is nothing like this anywhere else. The lower clock tracks the days of the year. The upper clock shows the time of the day, the position of the sun and moon, and the current zodiac sign. At the top of each hour, the clock starts with a statue of a skeleton pulling a rope that reaches high into the mechanism of the clock. This triggers all sorts of movement, including various statues moving, the twelve apostles moving past open doors, and chiming. It is impressive and the crowd roars with approval each hour, even five hundred years later in the age of YouTube, MTV, and Generation Me.

Jewish Quarter
Home to the Jewish population in Prague, limited to a fairly small area to worship, live, and bury the dead. The population grew and thrived until the Nazi takeover of Prague. During that time over 60,000 Jews were killed in the many concentration camps in the area. The resulting Jewish population is much smaller, but determined to take care of the history that is here. They did not allow photographs in many places, so you will have to go there yourself to see.
The cemetery is the most impressive part, with layers of gravestones very close to each other. The Jews were limited to a very small part of the city, so they quickly ran out of room to bury the dead. They solved this problem by covering existing graves with layers of dirt and burying people on top of each other. Each time, they would move the existing gravestones up to the upper layer. As a result the cemetery is a riot of gravestones at all angles and ages. The oldest grave is from 1478 and the youngest is from 1787.
Jewish tradition is to place stones on the gravestones of those that you love. It shows that there are people who still remember you. Rabbi Low is buried in the cemetery and still attracts many visitors. Rabbi Low is associated with the story of the Golem.

There are many synagogues to visit in this area of the city. Many are quite plain, but they all are interesting. One was used as a storehouse of Jewish memorabilia by the Nazis in preparation for what was to be a museum of the Vanished People. The most ornate synagogue is the Spanish Synagogue, in the Moorish style popular in the 1860’s.
If you visit, be sure to stop by the Pinkas Synagogue, which has the names of all of the Jews killed by the Nazis etched on the walls. Room after room is covered with names, with birth dates and death dates. Whole families are listed. It makes quite an impression.

Prague Castle
The Prague Castle stands over the town and has been home to royalty for over six hundred years. Similar to London, there are guards at the main gate. The changing of the guards at the top of every hour is impressive and draws a large crowd.

Inside the castle is the St Vitus’s Cathedral, huge even by European standards. It is home to the tomb of Good King Wenceslas, who was murdered just outside the church. Ensconced in silver is the tomb of St John Nepomuk, who was a martyr that attracted a large following in Prague after his death.
Charles Bridge
Charles Bridge is certainly one of the most famous and beautiful in the world. Lined with statues and bookended by towers on each side, there is so much detail to see.
Midway along the bridge there is a bronze etching depicting the murder of St John Nepomuk, which is a lucky if you touch it. Consider me lucky.
Food and Drink
I would be remiss to not mention the food and drink in Prague. The food is heavy and leans towards meat dishes with dumplings and brown sauce. Of course, you can get Chinese or Italian or Turkish, but if you want authentic, it is meat and dumplings. I found a little café in a side street where I had goulash just like mom used to make. The total price was $4.50 including tip and a half liter beer.
This is a culture the reveres beer. Beer is everywhere and it is quite excellent. One night we found ourselves in the Golden Tiger. The Golden Tiger only serves one type of beer (Pilsner Urquell), and you do not even need to order. As soon as you sit, the waiter brings large beers. He proceeds to bring new beers until you place the beer coaster on top of your glass. You sit at large tables with other people and generally everyone has a very good time. We shared out table with some honeymooners from North Carolina and three German high school students.

Loket, Czech Republic

2010-07-07T17:46:00.001-07:00

This was my first time in the Czech Republic, a notable fact since my last name and part of my family comes from here. I landed in the Prague airport and proceeded late at night to stay in a very small town with the name of Loket. Loket has a 12th century castle that was established here because of the excellent defensive position the natural terrain provides.
The wide, deep river forms an almost complete circle around steep sided mountains. At the top of the mountain is a beautiful castle with tall walls and a central keep. I can not imagine that it was every taken by force, the cliffs are so steep. Perched around the castle are a variety of houses, small pensions, and a couple cafes. At night it is completely silent here.
A stroll through town revealed much of that charm that I was missing so badly in Italy.
We stayed in the Cisar Ferdinand Hotel. It is an old hotel in the best of the European Grand Hotel tradition. The hotel brews a brown beer that is excellent for drinking while sitting on the side patio.
The breakfast room of the hotel is covered with old photographs of military officers. Some photos includes wives and family.

There is a crest that is repeated throughout the hotel, on the curtain rods, painted on the side of the building, over the bar, etc. I noticed in the breakfast room this crest created entirely out of beetles. Kind of nasty but certainly the product of a dedicated person who must have had a lot of free time.

Milan, Italy

2010-07-07T17:45:00.000-07:00

I spent a weekend in Milan before proceeding to the west of Italy near the border with France. Milan did not charm me as it does many other people. Generally, I found it to be very warm and it lacked the old world European charm that really draws me to this continent. Even in the oldest parts of the city look as though they were constructed in the 1930’s. It is strange since I believe Milan escaped the bombs that changed the face of so many other European cities during WW2.
I walked all over the city and noted a few particularly impressive sights. On top of the list is the Milan Cathedral (Duomo). Very, very impressive, certainly one of the nicest I have seen. The view from the central plaza is incredible, with hundreds of spires reaching towards the sky. The church is a dazzling white and is covered in sculptures.
The inside of the cathedral was a but different from others that I have seen as it was lined with large paintings today that are worth a fortune. Under the chancel is the treasury which houses relics from a Saint.
I did stop by the La Scala opera house, famous the world over. It is named after my favorite restaurant in Columbus. It was not open, but it was interesting to see. It was not nearly as impressive from the outside as it was from the inside.
There is a large castle in the middle of the city, built to protect the city inhabitants in very different times (Castello Sforzesco). It is a very large castle, clearly meant as much for show as for defense. The dark black color contrasted nicely with the bleached look of the rest of the city.

I stayed in this very odd Golf Club over the weekend. It was very formal and I clearly did not belong. I was told that the grounds outside the hotel were restricted and I was only allowed to wander out after dark. The rooms were very dated, but my room did open to a roof top patio which provided a nice place to sit and enjoy the night sky. The food at the club was excellent and it was fun to be served by tuxedo clad waiters.

POTD – Shower Alarm

2010-07-07T17:44:00.000-07:00

Picture of the day – Cord pull in the shower in Italy to signal an emergency. Apparently a common fixture all over Italy.

Nuremburg, Germany

2010-06-26T15:21:00.001-07:00

Nuremburg is the sort of city that you envision when you think of Germany. A large castle, narrow streets lined with half-timbered houses, street cafes bustling with people laughing and drinking beer. I had dinner in a busy outdoor beer garden which was a fine way to kill a couple hours. The city is in the Franconian region, known for hearty food such as grilled finger-sized sausages, sauerkraut, and brown bread. You order the sausages by just saying a number so they know how many to bring. The pretzels freely available here are excellent and rival the Philadelphia street corner specials. The most significant and historical buildings are clustered in the circular Altstadt. Many of the streets are pedestrian only and there is an excellent regional subway system. The city can be explored in one day and it is possible to see most of the key sites on a two mile loop through the altstadt.

Nuremburg currently has about a half million residents. The city is about one thousand years old, having become a Free Imperial City in the 1300’s. From 1356 onward, each new emperor had to convene his first meeting with the princes of the empire in Nuremburg. This was called a Reichstag. The important, powerful history of the city as well as its classic German architecture led the National Socialist Party which brought Hitler to power to make this its rally site and headquarters six hundred years later. Much of the city was destroyed by Allied bombing during WW2, but the city reconstructed or restored many of the most important buildings.

Stadtbefestigung – The city is surrounded by a 5km network of walls and towers. There are four main gates that are massive and require a walk past a variety of defensive fortifications (arrow slits, openings above to drop hot oil).
Mauthalle – Once one of the twelve civic storehouses to protect the population in times of crisis, this building consists of three stories plus another five stories under a steeply pitched roof. Built in 1498, the building now houses a variety of stores and the Barfusser restaurant in the basement.
St. Lorenz Kirche – Constructed from 1270 to 1470, this gothic church is the largest in the city. Flanked by twin towers, this church is visible over much of the city.
Heilig Geist Spital – Established in 1339, this hospital complex was the largest ever gift from an individual in the Holy Roman Empire at the time. Extended out over the river when they ran out of space, this building is still beautiful and is only a small part of a much larger complex that no longer exists.

Hauptmarkt – The main market square is large, surrounded by cafes, and has been used as a market area in the city since 1349. During the summer there are still stalls set up selling fresh flowers and fruit. In one corner stands the Frauenkirche, the oldest church in this part of Germany and in constant use since 1358. The church is beautiful, covered with statues and featuring a large ornamental clock. In the other corner is the Schoner Brunnen, the Beautiful Fountain. Built in 1396 to resemble a gothic spire, it includes 40 statues that reflect the world view of the Holy Roman Empire.
Kaiserburg – Looming on a hilltop on the northern edge of the city is the thousand year old city castle. Home to Holy Roman Emporers for over five hundred years, the castle complex grew and expanded to include countless towers, a very deep moat, and all manner of defensive structures. The walls were at least 25 feet thick.

Handwerkerhauschen – Surviving examples of the tiny houses that the workers in the city used to squeeze into.

Pilatushaus & Tiergartnertow – The square between the half timbered House of Pilate and the tall square defensive tower is full of cafes and was bustling when I went past. I stopped in a small place to try a Rauchbier, translated “smoke beer”. This beer is made with smoked barley and has a distinct mesquite flavor. I have always wanted to try this type of beer but it is only available in a few places the world over.

Albrecht-Durer-Haus – Built in 1420, this was the home to renaissance painter Albrecht Durer in the early 1500’s. It is the typical Nuremburg style, constructed from sandstone on the first floor and half-timber above.

Weinstadel – Originally erected to house lepers, this building is another fine example of what makes Nuremburg special. It is reached via a wooden bridge near where the city executioner lived in seclusion since his job was considered dishonorable. People avoided contact with him out of fear of contamination.

Dinner in Leipzig, Germany

2010-06-26T15:19:00.000-07:00

We made a quick trip to Leipzig to take a quick look around, have some dinner, and watch a bit of the world cup. Leipzig is a medium sized city and has some really nice pedestrian areas lined with cafes.

Had dinner at a cafe in the close packed Barfussgasschen (Barefoot Way).

Germany played Serbia and took the win. This country is gripped with football fever and it is fun to be a part of it. The restaurants patched electric lines together to show the game outside. Around each cafe there was a large group of fans yelling and having fun.

Merseburg, Germany

2010-06-24T14:39:00.000-07:00

I am on a two week trip for work that is taking me to some new places. Over the course of those two weeks, I will set foot in four countries – Netherlands, Germany, Italy, and the Czech Republic. Unfortunately, I have a lot of work to do in a very short time period, so there will not be much time for sight-seeing.

I flew into Nuremberg, Germany and drove three hours north through some very beautiful country to get to my destination this week. The first hour of the drive reminded me of West Virginia, with lots of rolling hills, sparse population, and many deep forests. As I progressed north and made my way onto bigger highways the terrain turned into gentle rolling hills covered by crops of various sorts. I noticed quite a few wind turbines, the Germans have really jumped in with both feet in trying to reduce oil and coal dependence.

My first week is in a little medieval town in Eastern Germany called Merseburg. I have not been able to much information about this town; it does not seem to be much of a tourist destination. This is surprising though as the town is quite beautiful. It was a major city center six hundred years ago holding a strategic position above the Salle River.
Merseburg has the feel of a resort town that the tourists forgot. The flowers are planted, the streets are clean, the castle and churches are restored, but the streets are empty. There are only a few restaurants in town, two of three left me wishing that I did not eat. My hotel is nice though and the air is cool and fresh.
Old ruins abound in the town. There is an old, stone cloister that looks as though it is haunted. On the edge of town is a crumbling cathedral with an amazing large bell tower that is hiding a water tower.
The streets are narrow and lined with some classic half timber German buildings.

Central in the town is the Merseburg castle, built in the 1600’s. It is distinguished by high stone walls, a deep moat with drawbridge, and a high position overlooking the river. Many high towers with black pointed roofs and crosses stick out above the castle. I believe it was never actually attacked, so it largely served a ceremonial purpose.

There is one important story concerning the castle and a bishop that lived there in the 1700’s. The story is that the bishop took off his valuable, jeweled ring and placed it on a window sill one day while washing. He forgot about the ring and later returned to the room to retrieve it, but it was gone. Knowing that his loyal servant of many years was the only person with access to this area of the castle, the Bishop knew the servant had stolen the ring. Despite misgivings about it, the Bishop had the servants head cut off, even though the servant maintained that he was innocent. A few years later there was a terrible storm that ripped the roof from one of the towers. When the laborer climbed to the top to begin repair, he found a raven’s nest cradling the Bishop’s ring. In his despair, the Bishop declared that forever more a raven would be kept caged in the castle dungeon. While over the years the raven was moved to a more humane outdoor cage and given some company, there is still a raven caged on the castle grounds.
The Merseburger Dom is a large cathedral built into the castle wall. From the outside it is impressive, but it is only open for visitors when I need to be at work. The Dom was stared in the 1400’s and only completed two hundred years later.

In front of the castle is a nice park with formal gardens that used to host royal balls. Opposite the castle is the garden house, a large building designed especially to house large outdoor events. Today it is still a popular spot for weddings.
The city hall was built to echo the style of the castle, with high spires topped with black roofs.

2010 Columbus Rescue Run

2010-06-19T21:25:00.000-07:00

Each year PetPromise holds a 5K run to raise money for humane solutions of pet overpopulation. They fund sterilization clinics, shelters, and education. The cause is a good one that just about anyone could support.

Elly, Sammy and I attended. Elly to run the 5K, Sammy and I were there for the free bagels and ice cream. It is the first run I have seen where dogs accompanied their owners on the run.

We had a good time until balloons started popping and Sammy went into sheer panic mode. She hid under the bagel table and wouldn't come out.

Elly can in 59th place out of 430 women racers, completing the run in 30 minutes and 42 seconds.

Sammy was a bit confused why everyone was running when there were no balls being thrown.

POTD - Columbus Asian Festival

2010-06-19T18:17:00.000-07:00

Picture of the Day - Columbus Asian Festival. All I can really say is yum. Amazing delicious food. It is not often I get a great sticky rice, and there it was in abundance. On an unrelated note, a call during this event was my first time treating a stroke victim. Another exciting event was a drive by shooting while we were packing up at the end of the day, though luckily the shooter was better at pulling a trigger than hitting anything.

Columbus 2010 Pride Parade

2010-06-19T18:10:00.000-07:00

Some events are just too fun to pass up. Now that we live in the trendy part of town, it is possible to walk to all sorts of madness (more on the move in a future post). One weekend a year is reserved for the Pride Festival, a celebration of all those who are not straight. It is a fun festival, but the masterpiece is the parade. It is over the top and there are some sights just not fit for this blog. That being said, here are some of the sights I managed to record on film (digital film that is).

All sorts of people marched in the parade. Some were allies.

Bruno showed up and got drafted into pulling around this lovely lady.

The flaggots were very popular and brought to mind my old marching band days. The coordinated movements were impressive and the crowd roared in approval.

The Macy's balloon showed up.

One of the floats was occupied by the queens of the Festival. Like the royalty they are, they primped and ignored the approving crowd.

And finally, the float the best sums up the event. Really, we mustn't forget that we are in Ohio, a state that is mostly farms and wide open places. This float was pulled by an ancient Farmall tractor. Check out the interesting guys in the foreground.

Big Green Tractor

2010-05-31T15:12:00.000-07:00

Combine the Academy of Country Music 2010 Duo of the Year "Brooks & Dunn", with up and comer Jason Aldean, a bunch of Ohio cowboys, and large amounts of Coors Light, and you have yourself quite a show. Last weekend I worked with the Red Cross at the Last Rodeo concert, the final tour for Brooks and Dunn. Country music definitely has a big following, even in places like Ohio.

It was a busy night with several fights, falls, and overconsumption of alcohol. I was kept busy but got to watch some of the show. I am not much of a country fan, but I did enjoy it. Certainly the crowd was a lot of fun to watch.

The preferred dress of the night was as follows: Boots, Jeans, Flannel Shirt cut off at the shoulders, No shirt underneath, Cowboy hat, extra Beer tucked in back pocket.

Race for the Cure

2010-05-30T18:33:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Elly ran the 5K in our local Race for the Cure. It was a zoo with about 50,000 participants, many dressed up in pink for the occassion. Total funds raised has not been disclosed however it was clearly over $1 million based on the number of participants and the many corporate sponsors. It is a good cause and this is a legit charity, so it is great to see so much support.

All along the course there were bands set up to entertain the runners (and walkers) as they made their way through downtown Columbus. Along one two block stretch, Harleys were lined and revving their engines. It sounded cool but it was hard to breath through all the fumes.

Picture of the day goes to a rather large Harley rider who was giving the runners a high five.

POTD - Girl walking her Dinosaurs

2010-05-28T14:33:00.000-07:00

Picture of the Day - Girl walking her Dinosaurs - Seen in a shop window along Oude Binnenweg, Rotterdam.

Your Head as a Cup of Tea

2010-05-25T15:07:00.000-07:00

"There's an old analogy to a cup of tea. If you want to drink new tea you have to get rid of the old tea that's in your cup, otherwise your cup just overflows and you get a wet mess. You head is like that cup. It has a limited capacity and if you want to learn something about the world you should keep your head empty to learn it. It's very easy to spend your whole life swishing old tea around in your cup thinking it's great stuff because you've never really tried anything new, because you could never get it in, because the old stuff prevented its entry because you were so sure the old stuff was so good, because you never really tried anything new..........on and on in an endless circular pattern."

- from Lila by Robert Pirsig

OSU Mens Baseball

2010-05-22T18:02:00.000-07:00

It has been perfect spring weather and what better way to enjoy the outdoors than a baseball game. Tonight Elly and I provided volunteered for the Red Cross at a OSU Mens Baseball game. Our main task is to watch for foul balls to see if anyone gets injured. I am happy to report that the game was uneventful and that OSU won.

POTD - Llijmas Monitored Parking

2010-05-19T18:30:00.000-07:00

Picture of the Day - Llijmas Monitored Parking

Every day I park in the Llijmas Monitored Parking lot. It is a bit out of the way but it only costs $2. It is not in a good part of town, but people generally leave me alone. The lot is monitored during the day by a very skinny, elderly, black man. He is friendly but doesn't say much. I wonder if he owns the lot. It hardly seems worth it to pay a security guard to watch over 39 parking spaces. While parking there my car has never been touched, a better track record than some of my colleagues who park close in to work but pay $6 a day. Next to the parking low you can find two competing pawn shops - Levs Pawn Shop and Uncle Sams Pawn Shop. The other buildings in the area are abandoned.

I did a search on the internet machine for "Llijmas" and the only result was a shady limited liability company. The letters were all separated by spaces which makes me think that it stands for something. Perhaps "Little Lillie Is Just Mad About Something".

Fort Jennings International Airport

2010-05-18T19:32:00.000-07:00

Out hiking a few years ago we ran across the Fort Jennings International Airport. No lines, no security, no limits on baggage. No planes either.

Cape May NJ 2008

2010-05-13T18:35:00.000-07:00

This summer we will be revisiting an old favorite vacation spot. It is so nice that some places really do never change.

By the way, the Hippies Were Right.

Remembrance of the Dead

2010-05-04T11:56:00.000-07:00

Today is the Remembrance of the Dead in the Netherlands. It is a National holiday to remember those killed in wars since WW2. Flags everywhere fly at half mast. Ceremonies are held throughout the country and there is a two minute period of silence beginning at 8pm. During those two minutes, TV broadcasts are turned off, public transport stops, and silence prevails. After those two minutes, bands play the national anthem and the flags are raised. Tomorrow is liberation day.

Childhood Memories - Treasure Box

2010-04-22T19:31:00.000-07:00

A few years ago my Mother passed along to me a big box full of random treasures from my childhood. I grew up in the days before kids had entire rooms full of toys, so perhaps my toys mean a little more to me. I have been sorting through the box and found a number of interesting memories, some of which are worth sharing.

My first wallet - Spiderman circa 1980. Likely this wallet never held more than $8 at one time. At the time I believed I would always use this wallet, even as an adult.

The seashell rock - this rock was delivered to my bedside by the Tooth Fairy after losing a tooth at World End State Park in rural Pennsylvania. It looks suspiciously like the rocks near the river, but you can tell it is authentic because how many rocks have you ever seen that look like a shell?
Scouts regalia - I was in the cub scouts for about five years in the 1980's. Unlike most of the organizations I was (or was not) part of in those days, I did like the scouts. The kids were nice and I like camping.
Pinewood derby metal - the annual competition all scouts are familiar with, the pinewood derby car races. Usually the kids with engineer fathers who sculped bullet shaped cars won. My father let me do most of the work on the principle that this was not meant to be something that he did. He made sure I did not cut off my fingers and gave some pointers on aerodynamics, but otherwise he let me be. This sort of learned self-reliance has served me well as an adult. This particular year I came in second place and got the silver metal.
Fishing tackle - once when we were going to go fishing I decided to make my bait. Having no idea what it is that fish eat, I made bait out of a block of wood painted like a fish. It looked kind of neat but didn't catch anything at all.
My first badge - I always dreamed of becoming a police officer. Even as a very young kid I wanted to be a cop. It still bothers me that I did not follow that path.

Paris, France

2010-03-28T17:33:00.000-07:00

Paris is a city that has so frequently been featured in movies, print, and as a character in books, that everyone feels that they know something of it, even if they have never been within five thousand miles. I had my first opportunity to see Paris last weekend, and it lived up to much of the hype. It is a huge city full of five story tan apartment buildings in the French Federal Style (iron railings on the windows, block tan stone, roofs of slanting blue slate, many decorative elements). It sprawls in every direction and is very big. It is a city of mixed heritage, everything from the die hard Frenchman to the recent immigrant from Ghana. The variety of people makes for good food.
Speaking of food, we did have some great meals while in the city. One restaurant featured tarts of all different varieties. They were delicious and full of many ingredients tucked into a warm fresh crust. Another restaurant featured fondue and I ate enough cheese coated bread and potatoes to feel it in the morning. There was also the memorable pizza in the small restaurant on the first floor of our hotel. Combined with a jug of wine, it was the perfect end to a long day of strolling the city.
Travel around the city is easy if you ditch the car. The train and metro system is very good as well as reasonable. We had a two day unlimited pass that cost twelve euros, really an excellent deal considering the heavy workout that it received. The metro winds under the streets of the city. The underground metro stations are full of long winding tunnels going up and down stairs, splitting off in countless directions. Without the signs to lead the way, no one would ever find a way out.

We stayed in La Terminus Hotel, which is near the end of the train line, hence the name. It was a good hotel considering the bargain price of 49 euros per night. As mentioned above, the pizza shop run by the Manager was a nice touch. A hint if you ever stay there: to turn on the TV, press and hold the “4” button.
Rosa
We rented a car in Rotterdam to make the journey. When picking up the car, the rental agent looked a little uncomfortable when handing over the keys, explaining that the color was a bit bold. This Fiat 500 was unlike any car I had seen before. Colored in a bubble gum pink, it drew attention everywhere we went. We got many double takes and people slowing down to take a look. In Europe, cars are usually muted colors, so this car stood out even more. It looked like Barbie and her friends should be driving. It was a good car though, and it added yet another fun detail to a good trip.

The Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower is huge and is just as impressive during the day as it is at night. The tower is the size of an 81 story building and has been towering over Paris since 1887. The line to get to the top took about two hours, so we just strolled underneath among the sellers of memorabilia, the ducks, and the confused tourists.

Notre Dame
Notre Dame is distinctive and beautiful. Filled with stained glass, rosette windows, and carved stone. The outside has one of the most extensive collections of gargoyles in the world, bristling from every corner with menacing faces. There are also hundreds of carved statues outside the church. Construction started in the year 1160 and the design was on of the first to include flying buttresses.

Congress
In the great tradition of my blog, I found congress, twice!

Avenue des Champs Elysses and the Arc de Triomphe
The famed avenue, full of high class stores and people looking good. Busy and full of energy, it is fun for a street that mostly features stores. At the end of the street is the Arc de Triomphe. Inside the Arc is a winding staircase leading to a museum and to an observation deck on top of the Arc. The view is fantastic, especially at night. I thought it interesting that the museum did not see it fit to include the famous photo of German troops marching through the Arc during WW2, there is a bit of denial in the French character.

The Latin Quarter
In the Latin Quarter you find the classic winding, narrow ancient streets. Small stores and restaurants line the streets, which are closed to motor traffic. We were there on market day, which means all the shops had lots of merchandise out in front for sale. It was busy and lively. We even stopped in a small church along the way and listened in on a Roman Catholic mass given in French. Outside the church there was accordion music and dancing, many people having a good time.

The Louvre Museum
The famed home of the Mona Lisa also houses hundreds of thousands of other works of art. Considered the treasure house for the French people, the wide variety of art certainly makes for an interesting visit. The museum houses large collections of art from Europe going all the way back to a period of time called pre-history. There are small sections for American and Asian art, but they are clearly not a focus. We visited the Mona List and then headed to Roman and Greek art galleries.

Paris, France

2010-03-25T15:14:00.001-07:00

Some videos I shot this weekend in France.

View from the top of the Arc de Triomphe, see down the Champs Elysees and the Eifel Tower lit up.

The Eifel Tower at Night

The Louvre Museum

Chartres, France

2010-03-25T14:50:00.000-07:00

In the center of this very old town about one hour south of Paris stands a cathedral of world renoun. The Chartres Cathedral is nine hundred years old and boasts some of the most beautiful stained glass windows in the world. Construction lasted about 150 years, and little has been done to the cathedral since about the year 1260. The Cathedral avoided the wars and fires that have claimed so many other cathedrals throughout Europe.

The cathedral features flying butresses, gargoyles, and a labyrinth at the center for contemplative pacing. The stained glass windows live up to their fame and are quite beautiful.

Like all good ancient catholic churches, this cathedral even has a valuable relic. Featured near the back of the church, encased in many layers of glass and protected by iron bars, is a cloak that they claim was worn by Mary. The Mary. Recently they carbon dated it and it actually is from the first century.

Leiden, The Netherlands

2010-03-14T14:41:00.000-07:00

It is hard not to love Leiden. It is beautiful, with an ancient feel, lots of canals, and a Saturday market that can not be beat. It is a very tourist friendly town, with a tourist office right next to the train station and a very helpful two hour loop marked throughout the town to see all the highlights.

The oldest reference to Leiden goes back to the year 860. This town of just of 100,000 features Leiden University, one of the oldest schools in Europe. They had their incoming student orientation this weekend, so I had a lot of company in town. The heyday of Leiden was in the 17th Century, so it is much smaller and less important than it once was. It is still a great place to visit.

In the center of town is De Burcht, a circular castle built upon a man made mound of earth. You can go up and walk on top of the wall and get a great view of the city. In the center of the castle is a very deep well that according to legend reached to the ocean. Stories of bodies dumped in the well winding up on the beach were popular, though untrue.

A visually stunning cathedral near the center of the city immediately draws your attention. The Hooglandse Kerk was built in the 15th Century. Unfortunately, it was not open for visitors, so all I could do was circle the outside.

Leiden was the refuge for the Pilgrims after they left England in their search for a place free of religious persecution. From 1609 to 1615 they made their home here, many teaching at the University. The Pilgrims found their children turning too worldly "Dutch" and decided to leave. In deciding to leave, the Pilgrims left Leiden, headed to Delft via the canals, then on to Delfshaven where they took the Speedwell to the New World. Well almost, the Speedwell took on too much water so it was traded for the Mayflower in England. The canal below is where the Pilgrims departed Leiden, first passing under the stone bridge in the direction of Delft.

Haarlem, The Netherlands

2010-03-14T04:06:00.000-07:00

This large town is the namesake for Harlem, the famous namesake in New York City. The NYC Harlem was settled by many Dutch who originated in Haarlem and I imagine felt a bit homesick. Haarlem is due west of Amsterdam and a 50 minute train ride north of Rotterdam. It is a popular summer destination due to the proximity to the ocean and some popular beaches.

I found Haarlem to be an interesting town of winding streets and small shops and restaurants. Because I was there on a Saturday, the market in the central square was very active. I bought 250grams of freshly roasted cashews to munch on as I strolled the city.

Other than the great, interesting streets and winding pedestrian shopping district, there were only a few buildings that really drew my attention. Many of the most distinctive buildings surround the central square (the Grote Markt). The city hall is large and at one time was more impressive, but it burnt down in the early 1900's. There is a very old meat market building that I just could not get a good picture of. The brick and stone structure is very old and still in use, though no longer as a meat market. You can still see the carved decorative heads of cattle in the stone.

The most impressive building in the city is the Sint-Bavokerk Church. Built in the 1500's this building is very impressive and houses some interesting historical items. There is the organ that was played by both Mozart and Handel. There is the pronouncement issued when the town was under seige by the Spanish in the late 1500's. The pronoucement declared among other things that cats and dogs are now to be treated as food. This church was missing the impressive stained glass windows you would hope to see, it is not clear whether the windows were damaged over time or if they were never added.

I also went to the Haarlem Historical Museum, which though an ernest attempt was hardly worth the 4 euro admission fee. There was not much about the history of the city, considering the city is almost a thousand years old. Everything they had fit into one room. There was a separate display on the production of linen, which used to be an important industry in the are, but this only kept my attention for a few minutes.

An impressive structure worth noting is the Amsterdamse Poort, the only remaining gate from what used to be a series of walls and gates around the city.

Blaak Market

2010-03-11T13:17:00.000-08:00

Every Tuesday and Saturday there is a large market in central Rotterdam. It is in a section called Blaak (pronounced Block). Blaak is an interesting part of the City, home to the famous cube houses, the pencil building, and a tram stop that looks like it would be a part of the Jetsons.

There are over 400 vendors selling everything you could want at very good prices. Those loyal readers who followed my blog two years ago will remember some posts about the markets I enjoyed in Uruguay.There is something special about open air markets. There is the thrill of discovery and the satisfaction of getting a good deal. The edibles tend to be extremely fresh and generally anything on offer is in season. Some highlights of the market include:

Cheese of course. Many varieties, great prices, and delicious

Fresh fish, cleaned at your request. Prices were very good and the fish was about as fresh as is possible without catching it yourself. There was a huge variety on offer, easily over 100 varients of fresh seafood.

The famous Stroopwafels, available only in the Netherlands. These "Syrup Waffels" are consumed by the millions by the Dutch and I can understand why. Stroopwafels are two paper thin wafels (cookies) that are pasted together with a very thin layer of carmel. You have not lived until you have had a fresh warm Stroopwafel straight off the grill. The carmel forms long strings that are a bit messy but cause extreme happiness.

Hats, clothes and fabric. Where else can you find a shirt for one euro?

The little pancakes called "Poffertjeskraams". These are similar to pancakes but cooked in a big pan with deep circular grooves. Each Poffer comes out egg shaped, with a chewy center. They are delicious right off the grill.

Fresh fruit and vegetables of every variety. The prices were about half what they charge in the supermarket.

And of course it would not be Dutch if there was not a wide selection of beautiful flowers.

A Feast for One

2010-03-07T03:42:00.000-08:00

The Dutch are serious about fish, wanting it fresh and as close to whole as possible. In America we are so used to all of our food being sliced, diced, and pre-packaged, it is sometimes easy to forget where that food comes from. It is also easy to forget the impossibly large amount of work that goes into delivering food to the plate.

While walking throught the Saturday outdoor market (see separate post), I decided to do as the Dutch do, and push my comfort boundaries a bit. Before I put much thought into it, I stepped up to a fish seller and purchased a large tilapia. He cleaned the fish a bit, descaled it, and wrapped it neatly into white paper. Cost for the fish = 3.30 euro. I found a lemon and took my prize home.

Cooking a whole fish is surprisingly easy. Deciding when it is done is surprisingly difficult. To prepare, you start by rinsing the fish inside and out, then sprinkle with salt and pepper, again inside and out. Then, for some seasoning, smear some melted better, chopped garlic, lemon, and parsley inside the fish. The directions called for wrapping in foil, but I didn't have any here so two bowls nested over each other had to do.

I cooked the fish for about 50 minutes, longer than expected but it seemed about right. I am clearly not good at filleting, as I got surprisingly little meat for such a large fish. There was no way two people would have been satisfied. Paired with a fresh red pepper, some whole grain bread, and brussel sprouts, I had quite a feast though. In all honesty it was not worth all the work and cost, I would have been happier with my traditional cookery at half the price and lots of leftovers. An interesting experiment though.

Pilgrim Fathers Church

2010-03-06T12:49:00.000-08:00

Just across the canal from my apartment is a rather plain looking church. The church drew my attention with the chimes the regularly can be heard. The sound of the bells makes me feel like I am in old Europe, it is very pleasant.
The church has a long history, particularly relevant for American visitors. It was the launching point for the Speedwell, the ship that took the Pilgrims to America. The church is a stark white color inside, but there are a variety of interesting stained glass windows. The church was fortunate to escape the bombing during World War 2 that leveled much of the rest of the city. Currently there is a brewery next to the church called "The Pilgrim".

From the website of the church:
"On July, 21st of 1620 a group of English religious dissenters first living eleven years in Leiden decided to become Pilgrims and cross the wide waters to America, where they might worship God in their own way and still be Englishmen. Their journey started in Delfshaven, in that period leading a prosperous existence as the main harbour of the city of Delft. In that harbour a ship awaited them, the Speedwell, that was bound for America.

According to the chronicles the Pilgrim Fathers knelt down in prayer on the quay near the church, that was later to be named after them, the Pilgrimfathers' Church.

Historical research shows that US President Barack Obama is descended from the Pilgrim Fathers who left the Dutch town of Leiden in 1620 to found the Plymouth colony in Massachusetts. Mr. Obama is the seventh American president directly descended from the Pilgrim Fathers.

The history of the Pilgrimfathers' Church goes back as far as 1417, when the Roman-Catholic church of St. Anthony was consecrated on this site.

The oldest known depiction of the church dates from 1512. During the Reformation the church came into Protestant hands and was altered to suit its new function.

The most radical rebuilding took place in 1761. At this time the church was heightened considerably and was given its present facade with the bell-shaped gable. Much later, American visitors gave it its third name: Pilgrimfathers’ Church."

I find it interesting that there are no longer active services in the church. The only hours posted are for visitors. It looks like the Pilgrims were right to flee, religion has died in much of Europe.

Naughty Naughty Night Shop

2010-03-05T12:06:00.000-08:00

When my landlord was giving me the key to my Rotterdam accommodation he was nice enough to pull out a map and show me some of the landmarks in the neighborhood. He pointed out the grocery stores, some good restaurants, and some nice areas to walk around. As he was making his way across the map a couple times he paused, looked me right in the eye, and pointing at the map said "And here is a good Night Shop". The first time he said this I didn't really notice, but by the third time I was starting to wonder what his impression of me must be. I did not know what a Night Shop was, but being in Holland I suspected that it either was a place to get drugs or sex. It seemed a little weird to focus so much on these places, but I guess me being a guy traveling alone he thought I might be interested. It stuck in my head though as kind of odd.

Tonight while walking from the Metro to my apartment, I passed a Night Shop. It turns out that they are 24 hour convenience stores as normal as any American 7-11. Good indeed to know where they are!

The American in the Room

2010-03-05T12:04:00.000-08:00

My Home Among the Windmills

2010-03-04T13:33:00.000-08:00

I am again stationed in Rotterdam for the month of March. This time I did a little more research into living accommodations, hoping to do a little better than the Hilton. The Hilton is the most luxurious place to stay, but it is hard to be happy in a little hotel room for an entire month. While searching on the internet machine, I located a small hotel, completely unique to this part of the world.

The B&B is the little house in the middle with "eyelashes" above the windows on the second floor.

Bed and Breakfast Delfshaven is located in the historic area of Rotterdam, one of the few areas of the city that escaped the Germany bombing and subsequent firestorm during WW2. It is a residential community of narrow canal houses, apartments, canals, windmills, and boats. The boats are all occupied as residences, which is very interesting. I can not imagine there are many other cities where a large number of residents can respond to global warming by pulling up anchor and sailing to somewhere warmer and less flooded.

The Bed and Breakfast is not quite a B&B as it does not serve breakfast and it is not located in an old victorian house like you would expect to see in the US. It is instead on the first floor of a very narrow canal house, the owner lives on the second and third floors. I love the fact that there is a full kitchen and space for up to five to sleep. I have already had one dinner party, though I managed to give myself food poisoning. The view from the front window is fantastic and could be from another century. It is also very convenient to the metro line that brings me to work. There is even a little back patio with some bikes for use.

Delfshaven is full of good restaurants and many ethnic grocery stores. I feel a bit more connected with the community here and certainly more happy and relaxed.

Porto, Portugal

2010-01-24T09:22:00.000-08:00

I found a cheap ticket and decided to spend the weekend soaking up the sun in Porto, Portugal. The sunny weather, warm breezes, and blue sky was a welcome change from the grey, cold weather to be expected this time of the year in Rotterdam. Porto is an ancient city located along the coast. The terrain is rugged with many streets quite steep and houses built clinging to cliffs. Running along the base of the city is the Douro River- wide, slow moving and perfect for reflecting the city. Many of the buildings in the historic section of the city are many hundreds of years old (I saw some with dates back to the 1700s) and most had some decorative tile coving the outside. Porto has not suffered from the massive fires and wartime bombing that have erased the history of so many other European cities. The streets are narrow and twisting and lined with all sorts of interesting shops. The lack of chain stores meant that small, traditional family owned stores continue to flourish. The butcher has whole pigs hanging in the window, the baker has flour on his hands, and the fruit seller only stocks what is best this time of year.

I was lucky to be joined on my weekend expedition by Tom, a friend and colleague who has proved to be an agreeable traveling companion on previous trips over the years to Berlin and Brussels. Travel is always more fun when you have someone of like mind to share it with.
The day started with a coffee in Café Majestic on the pedestrian shopping mall Rue de Santa Catarina, a historic eatery with a stunning interior. Mirrors and chandeliers and statues are framed by marble and carved wood and velvet. The waiters all wear tuxedos. It is a throwback to Parisian Cafes of a hundred years ago.
We then walked a few blocks to the chaotic Bolhao Market. Fresh fruit, seafood, meats, and just about anything else you could want were on offer. The market has been operating in this location for many, many years and you could imagine that it has not changed much. Some interesting sights: An old woman using a hatchet to split a pigs foot for a customer to enable easier cooking; mounds of garlic, some braided; piles of oranges which proved delicious; and piles of fish caught that morning.
A short distance from the Bolhao Market is the Avia da dos Alindos, a plaza stretching five blocks which is surrounded by beautifully ornate buildings covered in sculptures. The city hall sits on the north end of the plaza and can not fail to impress. It is here that the decay of the city also comes into clear view. Some of the most beautiful buildings have broken windows and pigeons residing inside. The glory days of Portugal were over 400 years ago during the golden era of exploration.

After winding through the streets of cobblestone and heading down towards the river, we came to the Sao Francisco Church. Started in the year 1210 and not completed until the 1400’s, this building is incredible. The walls are covered with hundreds of wood sculptures plated in gold. The sculptures depict various biblical stories and are incredible in their detail and beauty. I was not as impressed by the lack of stained glass windows and by the very plain catacombs. This is certainly one of the oldest buildings I have seen up close. It is hard to imagine what combination of luck, strength, and care allowed this building to survive so many years in such good condition. No photos are allowed in the church, so unfortunately you now will have to go to Porto to see for yourself.
No trip to Porto is complete without a river cruise. The city is beautiful when viewed from the river with steep cliffs rising up and small houses clinging to the sides. The bright colors bring South America to mind, though really South America is most likely an imitation of this part of the world. The fifty minute cruise passed under six high-level bridges and took us all the way to the Atlantic Ocean.

My stomach told me that it was time to eat and what more appropriate dish to eat than seafood. We walked around looking for the right place, but so many restaurants were loaded with tourists and did not grab me. Finally in desperation we walked down a little alley filled with the sounds of locals sitting in doorways and kids playing. Down Rue de Forte Taurina we found the Restaurante Adega do Conde, a family run establishment in a small, ancient building. We ordered the Rice with Monkfish and Prawns for two. It came in a deep pot brimming with a seafood broth. The prawns and monkfish were incredibly delicate and fresh. With a bottle of house wine it made an excellent meal and my favorite memory of Porto.

Along the river is a street called the Cais Da Ribeira that is lined with very old buildings on one wide and the river on the other. It is the hip place in the city with a variety of restaurants and bars and lots of outdoor seating. It looks like it used to be an old warehouse area which has been repurposed over the last couple hundred years.
Looming over the city is the Dom Luis I Bridge, called the Eifel Tower of Porto. It is an elegant, iron structure with two levels hundreds of feet apart. We walked over the bridge to the far side of the river where the Port Wine manufacturers are located.

Port Wine is named after is home of Porto, having been grown and produced here for hundreds of years. There are manufacturers and warehouses lined along the shore. A few miles up the Duoro River is where the vineyards are location. Small bars offer Port and chocolate tastings. We decided to take a tour and tasting with one of the larger manufacturers, Sandeman, which was established in 1790. The tour took us through the dark cellars full of barrels of varying sizes. Port is a fortified wine that is best aged. The better ports are aged between 10 and 40 years. The tour was ok, certainly not as good as some of the winery tour I experienced in Napa Valley, but it was still fun and it was nice to try two of their ports - a white and an aged tawny. I liked the tawny more than expected and it inspired me to try some more ports in the future.

After waiting out a rain storm in a little bar nibbling olives and cheese for what turned out to be dinner, we headed back to the hotel for an early bedtime. We had to be up at 4am for our flight at 6, the downside of the cheap flight!

A Far Country

2010-01-24T06:50:00.000-08:00

On my assignment here in the Netherlands I have many quiet meals and nights alone in my hotel room. As a result, I have been reading books at a rate of two per week. This week I finished a novel that I found in the Hilton lounge titled "A Far Country" by Daniel Mason. The book essentially was about migration forced by hunger. There was a passage that really struck me. It spoke to my fears of one day seeing my knowledge and skills lose value in our rapidly changing world.

"She had a vertiginous sensation that she was back in Prince Leopold, on the days the men of her village met the foremen from the road companies, the construction firms, or the big coastal plantations.

What can you do? the foremen would ask, and the men tallied off on heavy callused fingers: I can hunt, I can track, I can walk through the night without stopping.

Then the foremen shook their heads and said, Why would I need a hunter when I have cattle plantations? What else can you do? I can turn a grindstone in a sugar mill, I can cut, I can carry pounds of cane.

But the sugar mills are going, it's all factories now, What's worth a couple oxen and a millstone in the new age? I always was a farmer, I can farm even the worst, I can dig and find fertile soil where others see only stone, nowhere is there land I can not grow.

That means little on the coast where the great fields give two crops every year, We need men who know fertile land, not that worthless land of yours, Tell me, man, what else can you do? I can gather stones, make walls, homes.

Stones? I know which cactus to eat, and the leaves from which trees, I know how to collect ants and cook them, I know where starch roots are found.

These are skills for scavengers. I can grow corn, manioc, yams.

On your little farm, you mean, you can grow those on your little farm, But no one has need for little farms anymore, Tell me, man, what else can you do?

Brugge and Antwerp, Belgium

2010-01-20T10:35:00.000-08:00

This post has been guest written by the lovely Mrs. Kaizar.

I am honored to be the first “guest blogger” for the Kaizar Dispatch! After the long flight and short train ride, I joined Mike in Rotterdam last week. Mike had a “surprise” dinner planned for me, so I braved the icy streets to meet him about 20 blocks away. As Mike has mentioned before, the Netherlanders do not know how to deal with winter water. People had been walking on the snow for quite some time, and I imagine they were surprised when the resulting slush all turned to a fairly thick, but smooth and slick layer of ice. I had several close calls, but arrived at our rondevous point dry and on two feet. Unfortunately, it was so cold that Mike's clever surprise -- a cruise on the Pannenkoekenboot (Pancake boat) -- was canceled. So we will have to try again in March, since the pancakes here are awesome. They are about half way between a pancake and a crepe. There is also something called Poffertjes, which are my new favorite food. They are made from pancake batter (spiced with cinnamon?), but cooked in a special pan so that they are a little bigger than an American quarter, but very puffy and moist. Sprinkle some powdered sugar on top, and I am in heaven.

Over the next couple of days I spent time beating the jet lag (read 'sleeping in') and exploring on my own. I saw lots of cool modern architecture that Mike has already written about, and ate lunch overlooking the old boats in the old harbor. It was lovely. In the end, I only saw the eastern part of the city, and I look forward to seeing the western part next time. I also plan to revisit some of the buildings that are closed for January. (Go figure -- Rotterdam in January is not a major tourist destination!) One building that wasn't closed, and was one of my favorite finds in the city is the main public library. Housed in an interesting modern shell, this is six floors of multipurpose wonder. In addition to the expected books, it includes a theater, a discotech, a cafe, an online school, a strictly enforced quiet study area, and a chess center. The latter was like nothing I have ever seen. There are several computers on which you can watch famous masters' games, and then you can try your own hand at one of a number of small boards or the giant set in the first floor lobby. Not only was it interesting to watch two obvious chess masters go head-to-head, it was amusing to watch them try to wave off the two benches full of the peanut gallery that gave a steady stream of unsolicited advice.

Saturday was a day in Brugge, Belgium. When I travel, I tend to enjoy visiting churches. I have several motivations for doing so, one of which is that they tend to be the oldest and most well-preserved buildings in town. This is not so in Brugge. Here is a whole village that is preserved in time. While I did visit two of the many churches (including Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk -- who can pass up a visit to an original Michelangelo statue?), my favorite part of our time there was simply wandering the streets, feeling like a citizen of the 16th century (thankfully minus the muck).

At the center of town is the bellfry -- the tower-like building that currently sports the town clock and previously was used to house the town documents -- very valuable items in a time when it was important to prove that the town had its own charter. Unfortunately, the documents were all destroyed in a fire anyhow. The bellfry was also apparently (and ironically) used to alert the townspeople to fire with a large trumpet alarm. 366 twisty steps later, we also viewed the town from above. We didn't see any fires, though. We did see the amazing clock works that includes an automated 47-bell ringer that reminded me of a giant player piano.
I agree with Mike that if you are coming to Belgium, Brugge is a must. It certainly lives up to its UNESCO World Cultural Center status. If you do go, I highly recommend a small pub (whose name I unfortunately forget) located on Gevangenisstraat across from the park. Their specialty baked pasta (spaghetti and lasagnia) in a comfortable casual setting made me feel like a local.

My last full day here we spent in Antwerp. Like Brugge, this city also has preserved a lot of old architecture, but unlike Brugge this work is predominantly wealthy, with many buildings covered with gelt carvings and other details. The main figure in town is the artist Peter Paul Rubins (known for his "Rubinesque" women), who contributed several paintings to the main church (Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal).

This cathedral dominates the city with the tallest tower in the "low lands". One look at it, and you can see why the townspeople decided that one tower would be good enough and scrapped the other four in the original plans. As is, the building took nearly 200 years to complete. Unfortunately, several cultural upheavals have stripped almost all the original art from the cathedral. Fortunately, in recent years the cathedral has begun to re-acquire some of the original works (supplemented with pieces from the same period), and are undertaking an extensive restoration project. As a result, we saw many beautiful paintings and carvings within the amazing gothic architecture. I doubt that the stained glass was original, but the windows were also very nice. Knowing Dutch would have helped immensely with the interpretations.

We also saw the oldest buildings in town, which is a medieval castle that dated back to the early 13th century. Since the interior has been converted to a maritime museum, we weren't too disappointed to find it closed on Sundays.
Tomorrow I hit the airport for the long trip home. But, before I go, I want to comment on the one constant in all three of the cities I've visited. This is the constant fear of collision with a wheeled vehicle. There are bicycles everywhere, and by law they have the right of way. Cars are more careful (since it's always their fault if they hit you), but I am totally baffled by the road/not road distinction (or lack thereof). I had planned to finish my blog entry with a photo-quiz where you, the reader, would have to guess whether the pictured throughway is a road for cars or not. But, I scrapped the idea when I realized I would have a hard time finding places that looked like they might be roads but were not. Cars simply drive everywhere -- even places that look all the world like sidewalks to unsuspecting Americans. So, when you are ambling, look out!

Traffic notwithstanding, my trip has been wonderful. Many thanks to Mike for putting up with me and my Pannenkoeken cravings, and agreeing to share my trip with you.

Delft, The Netherlands

2010-01-09T12:38:00.000-08:00

This weekend, I headed north to Delft.

The Dutch countryside north of Rotterdam. Flat, empty, and crisscrossed by canals.

The bicycle parking outside the railway station was incredible. There must have been thousands!

Delft is a medium-sized town approximately 12km north of Rotterdam with an extensive history dating back almost 1,000 years. While it has suffered from two massive fires and one explosion of the town armory, much of the old city is in good condition and dates as far back as the 1400's. Delft feels like a small Amsterdam, with its many canals, pedestrian shopping areas, and outdoor cafes. I decided to explore Delft today because it is easy to get to and it is very cold, so I wanted to be able to get back to my hotel quickly if need be.

Look Ma, people are skating on the canals!

To get to Delft, I took the National Railway, which cost 6 euros for a round trip ticket and took about fifteen minutes. The Delft railway station is central and I was easily able to walk to all of the places I visited. The best part of Delft was the old buildings and beautiful canals. It is a very scenic town that is best enjoyed by taking the time to walk around and explore.
Royal Delft Dutchware
My first stop of the day was to Royal Dutch Delftware, the last remaining Delftware factory in what used to be a thriving industry. The company was established in 1653 and quickly established a distinctive blue and white technique that became the hallmark of this town. The porcelain is based on designs and techniques that the Dutch explorer brought back with them from China during this period of exploration.

The tour consisted of a walk through the manufacturing areas, including where the pottery is formed and baked, fired, glazed, and ultimately finished. Delft employs seven full time painters who handpaint all of the designs. It takes ten years of training and work before a painter is considered a master painter and assigned to the most important pieces.

One of the most distinctive products that Royal Delft makes is a tulip holder. In the 1700's tulips were incredibly expensive and a very popular way for rich families to show their wealth. These tulip vases are still available and are now the very expensive part. I considered buying a small vase in the gift shop but I found that even the smallest items were 75 euros or more. Too rich for my blood, though it was beautiful.
Oude Kerk (Old Church)
Built in 1246, this church is along the main canal and has a collection of beutiful stained glass windows. The floors are lined with crypts from notable citizens, including the artist Johannes Vermeer. The church is crowned with a high brick spire accented with four towers. It is the second tallest structure in the town.

The tower is plainly leaning at an angle. The best theory as to why is that the tower was built over a partially filled in canal. The fill appears to be somewhat unstable.
The stained glass windows have been replaced a number of times due to fire. In 1654, the town armory exploded, which destroyed all of the windows in this church and the New Church in addition to killing hundreds of citizens. Currently there are 27 significant stained glass windows, depicting various biblical scenes.
Nieuwe Kerk (New Church)
The New Church was started in 1396 and finished one hundred years later. It is in a cruciform shape. It is topped with a high tower and is constructed with a combination of brick and stone. The tower has been hit by lightning twice, triggering the fire of 1536 that destroyed much of Delft. Each time, the church was repaired and put back into service. Congregations still worship in the church to this day.
The royal family has long had a close relationship with this church, starting when William of Orange was put in a mausoleum here. William was the first in the line of the House of Orange, the royal family dating back to the 1500s. Since that time, much of the royalty has been buried in a crypt underneath the church.

Johannes Vermeer Museum
The world famous painter (Girl with the Pearl Earing) was born in Delft in 1632 and lived his entire life there. Vermeer had a total of 15 children and painted 37 paintings that are known. The museum has prints of his paintings, no originals, which was disappointing but not surprising.

It was interesting to see the prints of all of the Vermeer paintings lined up. It was possible to see how his style evolved over time and he learned to incorporate successful elements in each future painting. Vermeer is renouned for his grasp of light and how to depict it in his paintings.

Settling into my (temporary) new Home

2010-01-07T12:13:00.000-08:00

I have been "in country" for almost a week now, settling in to my stay in the city of Rotterdam. It has been extremely cold and snowy. The sidewalks are coated with ice. The country does not have salt to spread because these conditions are abnormal. According to one account I heard, the convoy of trucks that were sent to Germany to get salt have been stuck in the snow. Life continues as normal though, there are just as many bikes wheeling around the city now as when the weather is warm.

Each day I commute by the metro to the industrial suburb of Pernis. Pernis is home to harbors, shipping containers, and chemical plants. I have been assigned an office on the top floor with a great view of one of the largest ports in the world. While talking on the phone (which I do way too much), I like to watch the ships being unloaded and the containers being stacked. What is in them, who knows? They likely came from Asia. It is a hive of activity 24 hours a day.

In order to get some exercise, I like to get off the metro well before my stop and walk the rest of the way. It is helping me to learn the city and allows me to vary my diet by introducing me to new restaurants. Today, on the way home I walked past Nemo, which is a 'Coffee' Shop, which is code for pot. I have seen these shops in Amsterdam, I didn't realize that Rotterdam also had a fair share of them.

Some people have been asking me what I eat here in the exotic Netherlands. My diet has been heavily skewed towards dairy, as a cheese sandwich is often my meal of choice at lunch. For dinner I have more options, and I have taken advantage of some of the excellent ethnic food in the city, preferring it over the local food. The dutch places generally do not have vegetarian choices, other than cheese sandwiches. Tonight, I got Chinese takeout, veggie udon noodles. Delicious when washed down with a Heineken!

One of my biggest challenges has been the language barrier. At work everyone speaks English, but sometimes I am afraid that what I am saying is being misunderstood. Understanding the words and understanding the meaning are two different things. The Dutch language is hard because it is so different from English and even German, which I have a basic grasp of. The words give no hint to their meaning they are so different. See the door below. It probably says something like 'fire door' or 'keep clear' but I have no idea. This is a bigger deal with restaurant menus, which I can not read at all. I am very depending on finding wait staff who speak English and can help me out.

The City of Rotterdam

2010-01-06T13:03:00.001-08:00

Work has dispatched me to another far flung location - the city of Rotterdam, located near the coast in the flat, industrious country of the Netherlands. I will be here all of January and back again for the month of March. I like to travel so I consider this a lucky assignment. I has been over a year since my last long trip (to Uruguay) and I have had the itch to get on the road again. So here I find myself in another foreign country, thinking of learning a new language, and try to figure out the basics like where to wash laundry and how to find a good vegetarian meal.

This has been a very cold and snowy week in Europe. It does not usually get this cold or snow this much, but I guess I brough the weather with me from Columbus. As I do not have to drive here, I do not mind the weather so much. Rotterdam has excellent public transportation, so it is easy to get on the Metro and get to work with very little exposure to the outdoors. I like to walk, so I find myself slipping and sliding around as I try to navigate the ice covered sidewalks on my expeditions to see interesting buildings or find a good place to eat.

Rotterdam is a port city dominated by the harbors, boats, and canals that have shaped living in this city for centuries. Up until it was passed up by Shanghai in 2004, Rotterdam was the world's busiest port city. Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands, with a population of about 600,000. The city is believed to be over 1000 years old, protected by dikes built in the 1200's. Much of the city was destroyed by the Germans during WWII, and it has been rebuilt in a very modern style. There are still historic areas, but not nearly like what you might find in other European cities.

This is my third trip to Rotterdam. I am living in the Hilton hotel, so life is fairly cushy. Security at the airport was much more extensive than last time I was here, due to the recent attempt to bomb a flight from Amsterdam. The flight with the incident is the flight I take home, but I do not dwell on these sorts of things. The way I see it, I am safer here since I do not have to fight the traffic on the snowy, slippery road of Columbus this time of the year. That, and I do not risk injury fighting with Sammy for the TV remote.

I plan a series of blog posts on the neighborhoods of Rotterdam. I will also be doing some travel on the weekends. So far I am planning on The Haag and Delft in the Netherlands, Brugge in Belgium, and perhaps Porto, Portugal. I work hard to turn the hardship of travel and being away from home into an adventure and learning experience. I am lucky to have the support of a wife who does not mind my wanderlust and always is waiting for me when I return home.

Return of the Festiva - or How I Finally Benefited from the Government Giveaways

2010-01-01T18:57:00.000-08:00

When I was 17 I acquired a classic beater car designed to last only a few miles at a low risk for a new driver. The car was a 1988 Ford Festiva with 64,000 miles for the princely sum of $2,000. I ended up keeping the car for six years, putting almost 100,000 miles on it. It was a great little car that even inspired a song that needed to be sung to help it get over hills and mountains. Once the cost of repairing the car seemed unreasonable, I gave the car to a friend who lived in the car inspection-free state of Ohio. The Festiva continued to serve for many more years, working on an organic farm. The last time I saw it, the car was in the middle of a farm field buried up to its axle in mud helping with harvest.

Fast forward eleven years. The replacement for the Festiva is likewise on the edge of death. I never really liked the Ford Escort, but it was decent cheap transportation. It has recently developed a multitude of problems that were draining my wallet. At some point you need to say enough is enough and set it out to pasture. We took the Escort for our long Christmas pilgramage to Massachusetts over the last couple weeks and it was clear that the end was near. The engine ran poorly, the car was burning oil, and the gas milage was terrible. We knew that it was time.

I am a fan of cheap, small cars. This is in part because I do not believe in borrowing money to buy a car. The purchase of a $40,000 car is extremely painful if you need to hand over a wad of cash. I like small cars because I think they are fun to drive, they are easy to park, and they generally get great gas milage. We have been evaluating the options.

On Monday, GM announced a fire sale on Pontiacs, a brand that they decided to discontinue. The $6,500 incentive offered seemed too good to believe. We headed over the the dealership and walked away with a new Pontiac G3 with only 15 miles on it. Total out of pocket cost including tax: $9,500.

The new G3 is remarkably similar to the Festiva. Both are white, small hatchbacks. They feel similar while driving. I have really missed the Festiva and it is nice to have the reincarnated version back.

What I Did With My Christmas Vacation

2009-12-28T20:24:00.000-08:00

Thanks to my Brother in Law Joe for lending me a small number of his many weigh lifting trophies for this picture!

On The Road

2009-12-24T05:46:00.000-08:00

There are few things as boring as a long road trip. We are traveling from our home in Columbus to visit my sister for Christmas. She lives in the northern wastes of Massachusetts a stones throw from New Hampshire. It is a beautiful area of the country, but it is also unfortunately a drive of 750 miles.

A trip of this magnitude does offer some opportunities for great discoveries. As loyal readers, I will share with you the treasures I have seen so far.

A car with antlers!

A tanker truck full of coffee!

A dog that likes pizza for dinner!

8. Columbus, Ohio Water Tower

2009-12-12T19:36:00.001-08:00

Northwest Columbus along route 270.

7. Columbus, Ohio Water Tower

2009-12-12T19:35:00.001-08:00

Near the intersection of routes 161 and 270.

6. New Albany, OH Water Tower

2009-12-12T19:33:00.001-08:00

Keep Austin Weird

2009-12-10T19:42:00.000-08:00

I just got back from a four-day training in Fraud Examination. It was a good week – the training was excellent, I got upgraded to first class on the flight back, and the hotel put me on the club level which comes with all a fancy little room with all kinds of snacks. The training was in Austin, Texas, my first time there. A few observations on Austin.

Austin can get really cold. I was expecting warm Texas sunshine. Instead it was cold and rained most of the time. Not cool, not cool at all.

Austin is a party town. The main industries are the state government and the colleges. It is not all that different from Columbus. There are bars all over the place and these kids know how to kick loose. Many of the bars are clustered on 6^th street. It is just one big bar after another, block after block. Not really my scene, but it was fun to see.

As part of my training, we visited the National Fraud Museum. It was small but well done. If you are geek and into this sort of thing, plan a special trip to Austin. They will welcome you with open arms.

The food is excellent. I ate Tex-Mex constantly and could not get enough of the homemade, fresh salsa. One restaurant reminded me of Uruguay with its outdoor mesquite barbeque set up for cooking. You could smell the wood smoke a block away. In Uruguay, this is very common both in restaurants and in private homes. I think I will always associate the smell of meat cooking over wood fire with cool nights beside the ocean in Uruguay.

5. Weirton West Virginia Water Tower

2009-11-30T18:51:00.000-08:00

4. Hopedale Ohio Water Tower

2009-11-30T18:43:00.001-08:00

Best in Show

2009-11-30T18:19:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to volunteer with the Red Cross for a Dog Show. Over and over I kept thinking about the movie "Best in Show" due to all the similarities. The dogs were bored with the whole affair, the owners were obsessed, and the judges could not be more serious. I had a great time and they even provided free lunch.

For those of you who have not been to a dog show, here is how it works. The dogs are divided up by breed. Each breed competes in little caged areas. They walk around the edge of the pen. They stand still with tail held aloft. They run around. All while the judge watches. Honestly, all the dogs looked the same to me. But, somehow the judge picked the best of each breed. The best then proceeds to the next round.

The next round has the winner of each breed compete within their group. The groups are sport dogs, toy dogs, etc. The winner of each group then goes to the main ring for the selection of best in show. The whole thing took about two days. Luckily I was there for the last six hours, so I saw the crowning of the champion.

Unlike horses, I don't think dogs understand they are competing the they do not seem to care whether they win or lose. Mostly they are interested in the steady stream of treats handed out by the owners. The owners were extremely competitive though. They brought RVs to sleep in the parking lot and it was clear that this was just one step on the road to glory (Westminster). Having a dog that is ill behaved, I can appreciate all the time and effort that these people put into these dogs. That being said, I was happy to just be able to show up for a couple hours, hand out a couple band-aids, enjoy the show, and then head home.

Ohio to Erie Trail

2009-11-04T19:53:00.000-08:00

Touring by bicycle has seemed like an interesting idea to me for quite a while. I like to travel, but in a car you tend to miss all the fun interesting stuff along the way. I love little towns, farm fields, community festivals, and wide open spaces. A few weeks ago I decided to give bicycle touring a try by riding from Cincinnati to Columbus on the first half of a trip across Ohio. The distance between the two cities is about 130 miles (though in my planning I messed up and assumed 180 miles).
I wasn’t sure exactly how long it would take me to cover 180 miles. I planned on three days, two nights, an average of about 60 miles per day. This is a bit slow, but I was not sure how much my body could take day after day. Certainly the third day would be much harder than the first. Elly was nice enough to drive me down to Cincinnati and drop me off next to the trail.

The trail starts out in a small metro park just outside the city limits about ¼ mile from the Ohio river. For the first 75 miles I followed the Little Miami Scenic Trail, most of which is built on an old railroad grade. I climbed the small elevation out of Cincinnati and immediately entered a forested area. The trees were turning gold, red, and brown and the air smelled like fall. I felt good, my legs were anxious to get moving. I had strapped quite a bit of camping equipment to the back of the bike, but it did not feel like too much of a burden.

The first town I came to was Loveland, Ohio. I was barely large enough to notice. The distinguishing factor was a large brick factory right alongside the trail that was abandoned many years ago. Little towns usually have the feel of a patient on life support. It is hard, but the young people leave for opportunity. There was a nice downtown that I quickly biked past. Some people sitting outside at a café pointed at me, it was fun to be mysterious and interesting.

I continued north, past King’s Island, a large amusement park very popular in Ohio. I did not see the park but I could hear the roller coasters. The trail was about 10 feet wide, paved, and in good condition. There were some people on the trail but there were long stretches when I had it to myself. After another 10 miles I reached Morrow, Ohio. Morrow did not have much to distinguish itself, but it did have a very nice public restroom right along the trail. Thank you Morrow!

Just north of Morrow was the largest collection of Harley riders I have ever seen. They were everywhere. A couple times I had to stop my bike and walk around great groups of rides walking slowly along the trail drinking beer. They made way for me but sadly no one offered to share any beer with me. A mile later I had the trail to myself.

I planned to have dinner in Corwin, Ohio then ride a few more miles until I reached the Frontier Campground. When I reached Corwin I was disappointed to see a lack of restaurants. This was bad news as I was out in the middle of nowhere and it was getting late. Ten miles to get dinner was not an attractive option. I was settling into the thought of eating my emergency packaged food (blah!) when I decided to call Elly to see if she could find anything on the internet. Problem solved, just ¼ mile away there was another town (Waynesville) with a pizza shop.

Anyone who travels with me knows that I have good luck in finding interesting things to do and fun places to eat. It takes me longer to get places, but it is a good time. Pulling into Waynesville, I could not believe my luck. That very night was the Ohio Sauerkraut Festival! There were about 200 booths all selling various sauerkraut items. I feasted on fried sauerkraut balls, fried oreos, and sauerkraut pizza. It was a great Festival and I thank Waynesville for the friendliness extended to the hungry, tired stranger on the bike who clearly did not belong.

My stomach full and my spirits lifted I sprinted the seven miles to the Frontier Campground. I should say, I sprinted to the place where the campground was supposed to be. Bad news, it was nowhere to be found. I kept riding up and down the trail looking but I never did find it. The sun was disappearing below the horizon and it was getting cold. I had lights on my bike, but I did not want to keep going, especially knowing that there were no other campgrounds anywhere near. I rode until I reached Spring Valley, Ohio. Spring Valley is a small collection of houses and a tiny main street with one store. They did have a nice big park though that I made my home for the night. I set up in a quiet, dark corner and tried to be as unobtrusive as possible. Lights out was 9pm and I was happy to snuggle up in my sleeping bag as I tried to ward off the 33 degree temperatures that night.

I awoke the next morning at 5am cold but in good spirits. My plan was to get everything packed up and get out of there before the sun came up. A minor bike repair took nearly a half hour in the dark, but I was on the road by 6:30, heading north. The trail consisted of long straight stretches through farm fields. It was cold and lonesome land, but it was beautiful. I rode the twelve miles north until I reached Xenia, Ohio. Xenia is a larger city as evidenced by the many fast food restaurants, a public library, and a profusion of banks. I asked a local where the best place to get breakfast might be. She recommended a biscuit and gravy place that sounded like heaven to my cold and hungry stomach. I put aside my vegan diet and prepared to feast. Horror of horrors, it was closed and I could not bring myself to eat in one of the fast food restaurants, so with a heavy heart I pointed my wheel north and continued on. One fun thing is that the local Chamber of Commerce was shooting a promotional video and I will be featured. Look for the hungry bicyclist in red riding past the Xenia Station. Pulling out of town I also saw a large Turkey Vulture that appeared to think I was going to be his nest meal.
About ten very flat and straight miles took me to Cedarville, Ohio. Cedarville is a cool little town with a great coffee shop. They accommodated my hunger and sent enough coffee my way to bring a smile to my face. The sun came out, it started to warm up, and life was good. Pulling out of Cedarville I realized there was nowhere I would rather be at that moment.

I continued on through the vast farm fields. I passed corn, soy, and wheat. There was a hog farm I passed outside of South Charleston that smelled so bad I started to have dry heaves. I rode fast and put it behind me. I kept going until I reached London, Ohio where I stopped for a short lunch and some time to give my butt a rest. At that point in the trip I started to feel the strain of the distance and my butt was getting uncomfortably numb. I also realized that I was close enough to Columbus to make the push to sleep in my own bed that night. A few miles outside London, the bike trail ends and it was all road riding the remaining 25 miles. Road riding is less fun. People in cars are rude, they yell and act like idiots. Someone threw a soda at me but luckily missed. I caught up with him a few miles down the road and stopped and stared long enough to make him feel very uncomfortable. It is best not to mess with someone who slept the night before in a town park in the frigid cold, then got denied biscuits and gravy.

I made it home in time for dinner that night. Overall it was a great trip and I am looking forward to part 2 of the journey up to Cleveland. I did manage to blow my knee out in the final ten miles and I am still suffering pain from that. My new touring bike was excellent and I am really happy with it. Next time I will pack less, plan to cover more miles, and get a new knee.

Columbus Marathon

2009-10-22T18:48:00.001-07:00

Running a marathon seems like an impossible idea to me. I have always hated running, much preferring the low impact exercise of a bike. It is easy to envy the long lean bodies that runners work so hard to achieve. Runners seem a little crazy to me, this past weekend that was confirmed.

On Sunday was the 30th Annual Columbus Marathon, hosting 15,000 runners. The marathon starts downtown and winds all through the various neighborhoods of Columbus. It is amazing how much ground 26.6 miles covers. The course went from urban downtown through city parks, to quaint German Village, past Ohio State, up to the inner suburbs of Upper Arlington, the wound back down to downtown. A great course matched only by the leaves on the trees in many fall shades.

I volunteered with the Red Cross to staff one of the many first aid stations along the route. We were warned up front that the worst injuries would be psychological. This proved accurate. One runner blew her knee out and completely lost it when told that she would not be able to run the remaining 11 miles of the race. She described her pain as 10 out of 10 and could not put weight on the knee, but she refused to quit. There were various other similar incidents. One runner was taken away in an ambulance after an episode of hysteria when she realized that she could not keep going.

The sacrifice required to train for an event like a marathon is incredible. Practice calls for years of steady training and caution. All runners suffer injuries that constantly nag. It is a brutal sport, especially when the biggest reward is personal satisfaction. A runner who completes the marathon walks away with no more than a T shirt and a few pats on the back from friends. I was happy to end the day with no serious injuries. The Detroit Marathon the same day experienced three runner deaths due to heart attacks.

3. South Charleston Ohio Water Tower

2009-10-15T18:51:00.000-07:00

Giving Back

2009-10-15T18:19:00.000-07:00

A mentor once shared his philosophy on remaining happy in life by periodically evaluating where you stand with career, family, and community. If you sense an imbalance in any one area, likely you are due for an adjustment. Serious dissatisfaction in one area likely impacts all parts of your life. When a friend hates his job, I know about it even though I may not work with him. Likewise, when a work colleague is having issues at home, usually it spills over in some way to work. It works in the opposite way too. Being seriously thrilled about home life may help a person cope with a miserable work situation. What is bad for one person is great for another, so it is impossible to generalize where on the scale a person should aim for.

This philosophy resonates with me. I see in myself the need for interesting work, a good home life, and the feeling that I am part of making the world a better place. When I chose to become an accountant, I knew that these parts of my life would necessarily be separate. The four years that I worked for a socially responsible start-up is perhaps the only exception. Otherwise, I have been actively involved with non-profits during my off hours. This was disrupted when I moved from Pittsburgh to Columbus three years ago. The non-profits I worked with in Pittsburgh were all local and by moving I broke my link with them.

I struggled to find my next volunteer opportunity for two years, considering one idea after another. Over Christmas my Father in Law suggested that I look into the Red Cross. This proved to be the direction I needed. Quickly I got involved with the Columbus Red Cross First Aid Service Team. So far this year I have worked providing first aid at seventeen varied events. Last week the Red Cross invited me to take additional training so that I can take a more senior position in the organization.

It is a relief to feel like I am giving back to the community. It is fun and important work that we do. Usually we are the first on the scene of injuries, accidents, and medical problems. It is a serious role that we play, which is good for me because I am a serious person. Free access to a variety of interesting events is a plus as is the appreciation people have for the help that we lend.

Ohio State vs Wisconsin - October 10, 2009

2. Wilberforce Ohio Water Tower

2009-10-13T19:38:00.000-07:00

1. Cedarville Ohio Water Tower

2009-10-13T19:34:00.001-07:00

Giant Puffball Mushroom

2009-10-13T18:58:00.000-07:00

Regular readers of this blog know that we subscribed to a CSA this year. Overall, it has not been a great experience as the quantity of the food has been way short of expectations. In addition, there have not been many surprises in the form of food that you can not normally find in a supermarket.

This week was a bit of an exception. We received some slices of a Giant Puffball Mushroom. Now, if you are thinking what the heck is a giant puffball mushroom, well I was thinking the same thing. I was a little worried that the farmer was trying to kill us all. See the picture above that I found online of what one of these mushrooms looks like. Clearly it is giant.

When eaten, it tastes like a combination between mushroom and tofu with the texture of compressed marshmallows. You can slice it and cook giant slabs. I cooked my slab like a piece of beef, adding some balsalmic vinegar, rosemary, salt, and pepper. It was quite delicious and made for a very interesting meal.

Blog post number 101!

2009-06-25T19:10:00.000-07:00

How is it possible that I am already up to 101 blog posts? It seems like just yesterday I was toying with the idea of starting a blog thinking in the back of my mind that I would probably run out of things to write after about ten posts. Here I am now breaking the 100 barrier in less than 10 months, which equals one blog post every three days or so. I hope you have been enjoying it as much as I have.

One of the reasons I started my blog was because I have always suspected that a lot of interesting things happen to us every day. Looking back we remember mostly the big stuff, but not all the little things that give our lives color. The blog is my way of documenting some of the color in my life. It has been a good year for me full of unique experiences, there are not too many blogs based out of Uruguay!

Volunteering with the Red Cross at the Ohio State University spring graduation.

Columbus 2009 Pride Festival

2009-06-21T17:39:00.001-07:00

It was an exciting weekend. I volunteered with the Red Cross first aid team at the 2009 Columbus Pride Parade and Festival. The Festival occupied Goodale Park in downtown Columbus. Thousands of people attended, I was amazed at what an event it was. The parade went right through downtown Columbus part the State House and up to the Festival. There were floats, bands, and all kinds of interesting marchers in the parade.

The Festival is about showing pride in being gay, lesbian, or transsexual. While most of the participants were just like the participants in any festival, this festival has drag queens and nudity. It is unlike anything I have done with the Red Cross. There were a couple people who were not happy to see the Red Cross there as the Red Cross as a policy does not accept blood donations from gay men. This is perceived by some as anti-gay. We were able to engage the people who challenged us by explaining that we were volunteers who were there for the safety of the crowd.

We were pretty busy as it was a hot, sunny day. We handed out lots of band-aids to parade participants who had blisters. There were a couple more serious incidents such as a woman who had chest pains and a man who was stung by a bee who had a strong allergy to stings. No paramedic transports though and everyone ultimately left our first aid tent smiling.

CSA - week 3

2009-06-21T17:34:00.000-07:00

The amount of vegetables we are getting in our CSA has jumped this week. It is about what I would expect at this time of the year. My biggest complaint is that the portions of each vegetable are rather small. This week in our basket we found:

- Italian herb bread

- Millet honey muffins

- Kale

- Arugula

- Radish

- Swiss Chard

- Two head of lettuce

- Bok Choy

Monday with Eric

2009-06-18T19:02:00.000-07:00

My volunteering with the Red Cross took me to the Eric Clapton concert on Monday night. I have not seen Clapton live before and I really was looking forward to it. The ticket cost was a bit higher than I am willing to pay (yes, I am very very cheap) so getting in free as a volunteer was a good way to go. Free of course meaning that I had to get there really early, leave late, and work through the concert. It is fun though, I like helping people who need help.

Clapton was performing with Steve Winwood. Unfortunately the two of them sounded like cats yowling. Out of tune, painful to listen to. Clapton did win me back with his performance of "Layla" which was awesome and made the whole thing worth while.

Elly checking out the concert, you can see the reflective stripes on her Red Cross vest

It was a pretty quiet night from an injury perspective. There was a heart attack which was taken care of by the paramedics. We handed out a few band-aids and a few cold packs. My main role was to expertly show people how to use the aspirin machine in the hall. I am surprised there were not more injuries as alcohol was flowing freely throughout the event.

So they say it's your Birthday

2009-06-18T18:53:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my Birthday. In some ways a Birthday is a non-event for me. I do not get worked up about getting older and really don’t care aboutanyone who might. I consider physical health the key factor in getting older, as I believe health is a more meaningful indicator than the number of years you have been hanging around.

I do like a little celebration simply because it is a good excuse and I have a hard time getting away from my to-do lists to relax unless I have a reason. Elly was nice enough to bake me a “cake”, which really was bread that spelled out Happy Birthday Mike. I prefer bread to cake, so I was certainly pleased. I got some nice gifts, the best being my fancy new Hines Ward Steelers jersey. Gow Stillers. And some friends made up a special picture for me that is incredible (see link).

As I am very goal-oriented, I inevitably use annual events like Birthdays to measure progress. Standing back, this has been a year of stretching my abilities and comfort zones. Spending months in Uruguay and Germany fundamentally changed my perspective and taught me a whole new set of skills in enjoying people who I have nothing in common with. A change in jobs is always somewhat traumatic, but so far my transition has been overwhelmingly positive in part because of the new challenges I face. Despite this year being characterized by a world rocked by problems, family and friends are all doing well. I found a non-profit to volunteer for (RedCross) that I am really enjoying, which helps to satisfy my need to giveback.

CSA - Week 2

2009-06-14T19:29:00.001-07:00

This week in the CSA our yield increased a bit. It is still far below what I would consider a good deal, but this is to be expected this early in the season. One really positive aspect of the vegetables we are receiving is that they are very fresh and taste much better than what you get in the market. I have been really impressed by the taste and the quality.

This week in the CSA, we received:
- radish
- beet greens
- kale
- tiny bok choy
- mullberries
- rhubarb stalks
- loaf of chibatta bread

Backyard Garden - Week 7

2009-06-14T18:49:00.001-07:00

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)

2009-06-10T18:37:00.000-07:00

Elly and I decided to subscribe to a CSA this year. For those of you not familiar with a CSA, the concept is pretty simple. You pay an upfront fee at the beginning of the summer to a farm. In return you receive a weekly basket of food that they produced for around 20 weeks over the growing season. There are various types of CSAs, such as veggie, fruit, bread, meat. Usually, the harvest is light in the beginning and at the end, and heavy in the middle. You share the risk with the farmer that if it is a bad year you get less, but if it is a good year you make out well. Our experience in past years has financially worked out really well, especially since we eat tons of vegetables.

We subscribed to a veggie and bread CSA with Frijolito Farm. This is an urban farm that is run by a small family. They are trying to minimize ecological impact by growing vegetables in the city near the consumers. It is their first year running a CSA, which makes this a little riskier. In return for $575, we will be receiving a weekly basket with vegetables and a fresh loaf of bread.

We were part of a CSA a few years ago when we lived in Pittsburgh. It is fun because you never really know when you are going to get each week. We were forced to try new vegetables and really expanded our horizons when trying to figure out how to use some uncommon items.

This past Friday we picked up our first basket. As expected, it was pretty light. It contained beet greens, radishes, mulberrys, and a loaf of Italian bread.

Backyard Garden - Week 6

2009-06-09T19:48:00.001-07:00

Pumpkin Gnocchi With Sage Butter

2009-06-02T18:04:00.001-07:00

From: www.italianfoodforever.com

Note: Be careful not to overwork or overknead the dough; you simply want to incorporate the flour into the pumpkin puree

Ingredients:
1 (15 oz.) Can Pumpkin Puree (drain excess water)
Salt & Pepper
Dash Of Nutmeg
2 3/4 Cups All-Purpose Flour
1/3 Cup Melted Butter
6-7 Finely Chopped Sage Leaves
1 Large Clove Garlic, Minced
Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese

Directions:
1. Mix together the flour, pumpkin and seasonings to make a soft dough.
2. Add additional flour if the dough is sticky or does not hold together.
3. Divide the dough into 6 parts, and on a lightly floured surface, roll each piece into a rope about 1 inch in diameter.
4. Cut the rope into 1 inch pieces and roll each lightly along the floured surface.
5. Continue using up all the dough in this fashion. Place on a lightly floured baking sheet. You can refrigerate the gnocchi until you are ready to cook them.

Sauce:
6. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a slow boil.
7. Place the butter in a small saucepan and heat.
8. Add the garlic and sage.

To Cook:
9. Cook the gnocchi in lightly salted boiling water for until the gnocchi rise to the surface and float.
10. Remove from the water, mix with the butter sage sauce, and serve topped with the freshly grated cheese.

A Well Earned Vacation

2009-06-02T10:44:00.000-07:00

This week I am enjoying some time off of work. Traditionally, I am really bad a actually taking my vacation time, but this year I am trying really hard to at least take some of it. Having a project to work on has helped, though it feels like less of a vacation.

I am working on scraping and painting my back deck. The deck is this unnecessarily huge addition that the prior owners had put on. It is large enough for quite a party. Unfortunately, they had a single layer of the cheapest paint put on the deck, which is now peeling off. Thus my long term project of scraping off all the old paint and staining it with some higher quality stain that hopefully will not come off any time soon. It is hot, dirty work that is generally unpleasant.

I have reserved the most dangerous part for my vacation. There is a trellis over the deck that needs a thorough scraping and two coats of stain. I can get to some of it via a ladder, but there is a layer at the top which I can only get to from above. I built a wood bridge that enables me to walk around supported on the strongest parts. As I sit up there scraping away the whole thing lightly sways. Over the weekend I finished phase one (scraping) and yesterday I started painting. If I finish the trellis this week it will be a miracle and a large step forward in completing the whole project.

Sometimes I catch myself thinking that I work hard so that I can pay someone else to do this work. It has never really been my style to pay someone else to do work that I could do, so there I am up in the rafters.

Backyard Garden - Week 5

2009-06-02T10:24:00.001-07:00

The hot weather is really starting to kick in and the garden is loving it. We have had a perfect combination of heavy rain and sunny days. The tomatoes are responding by doubling their size in just one week. The many flowers promise good yields. The onions look very healthy. The garlic has pushed up even higher, reaching about 3 feet.

Backyard Garden - Week 4

2009-05-24T22:26:00.000-07:00

The last week has been quite warm and the garden has responded favorably. The tomatoes are growing at a furious pace! I saw a flower on one of the plants today, which means that the beginnings of fruit is not long now. The spinch is growing and looks happy. Even the onions have really perked up and are a great green color.

In the herb garden, the sage put up beautiful purple flowers that can't help but draw your attention.

Columbus Asian Festival

2009-05-24T22:01:00.000-07:00

Continuing our tradition of hitting up all the local festivals, we went to the Asian Festival on Saturday. We attended in the capacity of Red Cross volunteers, manning the first aid tent. I am happy to report that there were no major incidents while we were there, mostly lots of band-aids for people with poor footwear and a couple bandages for scrapes and bruises as a result of falls.

The Asian Festival features the foods, handicrafts, and art of the many countries lumped together as Asia. It is a well attended festival, with a very diverse crowd. The park it is located in is not in a great area of town, but the many police in attendance seemed to keep things under control. The two features of the festival are the performances and the food. There are three stages featuring a wide variety of acts from martial arts to interpretive dance. There are a lot of talented people here in Columbus.

The food was spectacular. I was worried that the festival would mostly have overpriced fast food, like many festivals. Instead, it was a showcase of much of the best ethnic food in Columbus. There were even many vegetarian options. I ate well and too much!

One interesting event was a sport somewhat like volleyball. The main difference is that you can only use feet and head to hit the ball, no hands. This forced a variety of acrobatic moves to spike the ball with flying feet. Interesting and physically impressive.

My New Apron

2009-05-23T08:29:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Elly for a fancy new apron. Custom made to my specifications. Now I can train for Top Chef in style!

The High Cost of Staying in Touch

2009-05-23T08:21:00.001-07:00

I am someone who scrutinizes every cent that goes out the door. I work hard for my money and I know that the only chance I have at retiring some day is to save money now. I believe my generation will be the first generation in a hundred years that can not retire due to a lack of social security and retirement savings. There will be exceptions – those who have good pensions and those who managed to save. I hope to be one of those exceptions.

I am actively working on trying to figure out how I can reduce my cell phone bill. I am paying $65 a month (almost $800 a year!) for two phones with nearly unlimited minutes. This seems like a decent deal, but we make very few calls. Most of our calls tend to be to family or end of day “Are you going to work all night again?” calls. I have a cell phone from work, so I do not need my personal cell phone for work purposes. We gave up a home phone years ago, electing to go entirely cell based.

There are not many options for reducing the cost. Most of the standard cell phone companies charge around $35 a month per line for a minimal account, so there would be no advantage in downgrading to a lesser plan. There are pre-paid cell phones, which may be a good option. I do not know much about how they work out from a cost perspective. I have also been thinking about getting a home based landline again and dumping the cell phone entirely. Last time I had a home based phone it was around $25 a month for the line plus any long distance charges. This is contrary to current trends, but I am kind of a contrary sort of person.

Backyard Garden - Week 3

2009-05-23T08:08:00.000-07:00

Week three in the garden saw a lot of action. We got flowers to make the front of the house look nice and a bunch of herbs for our kitchen herb garden. The herb garden is now planted with chives, rosemary, dill, oregano, basil, and sage. These are the herbs I work with the most in the kitchen and it is nice to have them on hand. They taste so much better than the dried variety. I am hoping to learn how to dry them so I can have a year round supply of herbs from the garden.

The vegetables survived a cool week that saw temperatures go all the way down to 37 degrees. The tomatoes continue to grow, the onion is starting to look really healthy, and the spinch has sprouted. It is shaping up to be a good year in the garden.

Backyard Garden - Week 2

2009-05-11T17:39:00.001-07:00

Over the last week not much has changed with my garden. The weather is still somewhat cool, so the garden is growing slowly. I am happy to report that so far all the plants are healthy. The tomatoes have grown about an inch and my spinach has just begun to sprout. Over the next week I hope to get my herb garden cleaned up and planted with some basil and parsley.

Chinese Restaurants

2009-05-09T07:14:00.000-07:00

I just finished up a book by Chinese-American author Jennifer Lee entitled "The Fortune Cookie Chronicles". In the book she attempted to find the roots of the success of Chinese cooking in the United States. There are more Chinese restaurants than McDonalds, and you can find one in nearly every town. It is always a joy to me to pull off the highway in the middle of nowhere and to see the familiar neon lights of the local Chinese restaurant.

I am passionate about Chinese food. It is my favorite food, especially since I started eating vegan a year and a half ago. Dairy is very uncommon in Chinese cuisine and tofu is a popular meat substitute. The disappointing things is that most Chinese restaurants have strikingly similar menus and mediocre food. I gave up Chinese buffets a couple years ago and I hesitate to go in most of the little shops along the highway. I wondered how is it that the food in these places is so different from the noodles and delicious meals I had in New York’s, Philadelphia’s, and San Francisco’s Chinatown. The short answer is because the local Chinese restaurants sell American Chinese food based on a common menu that has evolved towards what Americans like. This means lots of meat, fat, salt, sugar, and oil.

General Tso’s chicken is a great example of this. Jennifer Lee traveled to China to see if she could find General Tso’s chicken there, perhaps find the root dish. She was unsuccessful. The Chinese apparently are much more vegetable focused and do not favor thick sugar syrups on their meat. Besides the fact that meat is expensive and tends to be used as a spice, not the main ingredient.

There is a chapter on fortune cookies that highlights just how non-Chinese our “Chinese” food is. Fortune cookies are based on a cookie invented by a Japanese immigrant living in San Francisco. There is nothing even remotely Chinese about them. When they are sold in Asia, they are referred to as American Fortune Cookies.

Most American Chinese restaurants are owned by individual families. The father manages the kitchen while the mother keeps the front of the house in order. The kids fill in where they are needed. All work seven days a week and do not take vacations. There is a thriving market for Chinese restaurants in the recent immigrant community. Working a few years in a place like New York City provides the capital to purchase a restaurant in Georgia, Texas, or Ohio. The purchasers generally do not care where the restaurant is located as their view of the United States is limited to either New York or not New York. The goal of all this hard work is to give the kids a good education and perhaps a much better life, one not spent working sixteen hour days in front of a hot wok.

(pictures in this post come from the internet, not original)

Backyard Garden - Week 1

2009-05-06T17:19:00.000-07:00

One of the highlights of each year is eating fresh tomatoes straight from my backyard garden. I have been growing tomatoes for around eight years now and I have yet to have a bad harvest. I decided this year it might be fun to track the growth of my garden as well as what I am able to eat out of it.

In addition to tomatoes, this year I am growing garlic, onions, and spinach. I have had mixed results with onions and spinach in the past but I have high hopes this year. Every year I have a great garlic harvest which supplies about 2/3 of my usage. This is quite a bit considering I cook a lot at home and most of my food has at least some garlic.

I am feeling constrained by the small amount of garden space I have, though I have enough space for my "essentials". This summer I will likely work to expand the garden so I can accommodate peppers, beets, beans, squash, and perhaps even some pumpkin.

Total cost for the garden this year is as follows:

Spinach seed- Free, left over from last year
Onion sets- $1.50
Tomato plants- $2.00
Manure- $13.70
Garlic- Free, stored from last year
Organic Fertilizer - Free, pulled out of storage

Total Cost to Date: $17.20

Total Harvest to Date: 0