We got together. There were 4 Shack siblings in one place.
Here is a photo of a Shack combo-family.
Monthly Archive for November, 2008
Homegrown tomatoes in late-November?
I had always wondered how the grocery suppliers made such mediocre tomatoes that were so anemic, mealy and impervious to bruising. How could they be so dramatically different from the homegrown ones we love so much? Well, I was able to replicate the process through dumb-luck. When I took out our tomato plants in mid-October I saved a bunch of the sizeable green ones to use somehow. I thought I might pickle them or fry them. In the end I put them in a brown bag in the basement, and over the course of weeks, one by one, they became close to red in color and softened. I have eaten them and they are exactly as good as the ones they sell at the store, which is only okay. So that’s the secret, pick them green and hard and give them a long time in transit to warm up in color.
London (harder, better, faster, stronger) from David Hubert on Vimeo.
Who knows how I stumbled across this, but it is such better version of the time lapse stuff I like to make. I like the color especially. Makes me want to learn Adobe After Effects and use the DSLR more. The panning is done in the digtial edit in post-production. Even though I should be working on other things, I’ve been teaching myself two new editing apps lately. It’s been fun to tinker with it again. A good escape…
Columbia Bromleigh 3 speed
Sometime in summer I saw this bike show up on the sidewalk at our local thrift store. I had watched a lot of bikes come and go, but this one I couldn’t pass up. The unusual thing about it is that it’s my size. I rarely see men’s bikes that fit me, so when they do, I look to see if it’s something I can use. This is a 3-speed with a Sturmey-Archer hub. I love the simplicity of the drive-train. With the flat world I live in, three speeds is fine for just about everything. In fact, I have really only used 2 gears so far.
I have been riding it with Ollie every night and it has become a good bike for those rides. Once I rode it home from work and it seemed like a long distance for the ergonomics of the bike. So, I’d say it’s a good bike for less than 10 miles.
When I picked the bike up I realized that the bracket that holds the back break had come unwelded from the seat stay, so I fixed it with a dab of JB Weld. Luckily, the glue is almost exactly the same color as the paint, steely grey.
I fine tuned the shifter, greased the chain, adjusted the kickstand, and swapped out the seat. Now it’s a great ride for around town. Since it has fenders I think it will be a great bike for wet days. The lack of derailluer makes it a good choice for the salty winter roads too. If I have to lock it up somewhere (due to limited space on the bus bike-rack) I can afford to leave it anywhere (I’ve only invested $30, so far).
A few upgrades that I have in mind would include:
add mudflaps to the fenders to eliminate all spray
either get the wheels trued or get a whole new wheelset
new side pull brakes, the current ones were cheap quality even back in the 60s
new stem like the one I put on the Fuji to bring the handlebars higher
rear rack and collapsible baskets for grocery trips
Oven-roasted brussel sprouts
We planted about eight brussel sprout plants this year. As the season progressed, I wasn’t sure if we had been successful. The plants sprawled all over the place and slumped over on each other like a pile of puppies. Some of them didn’t have large sprouts, so I was expecting to only harvest from a couple plants at the end of the season. During the summer I made a few small harvests and the eating was good. Last weekend we were ready to take the plants out so I harvested everything that was left on the stalks. I even harvested the ones that were only the size of grapes. I am glad that I did because they are excellent. In the end, I’d say we harvested about 10 lbs. of brussel sprouts this season. I love them. I’d recommend growing them if you have the space. If you stake them, they’ll work with your space even better. I’m all about cruciferous, and right now broccoli and brussel sprouts are at the top of my list for producing a lot of good food. Incidentally, they can protect you from cancer, namely colon cancer. Go sprouts!
How I’ve been cooking my cruciliscious veggies:
1.) Tossed in olive oil and salt & peppered, then roasted in the oven on a sheet tray for 15 minutes at 350 F.
This method concentrates the flavors.
2.) Rinsed, placed in a medium ceramic bowl, covered with a plate and microwaved for 2 minutes. Let them sit in their own steam for a few minutes, then butter, and finally grind some salt and pepper on them.
This is so easy, I can always have them on the table with everything else.
I was talking with the Middle School age kids at church about the general election and how our faith impacts our participation in democracy. The students felt that faith impacted all the issues in the election, from the economy to war. In conclusion we noted that God has already chosen our next president, and that He is in control. It brought me back to something I had read by John Piper (via Brother Luke) about voting as if you are not voting. Some healthy detachment from this world, and attachment to something greater… hard to find in the hype and hysteria that we encounter all around us.