It's a New Year

It's the Jewish New Year this weekend, and I'm frankly not feeling it.  This whole election thing is bringing me down.  There's a palpable tension in the air.  Is he up?  Is she up?  This one's marital infidelities.  That one's wife posing nude.  Mud-slinging rhetoric and grandstanding.

Yesterday I got a call from the HRC campaign and they left a message.  I'm sure they were asking for money.  I don't really have money to give an already flush campaign.  Yeah, sure, she wouldn't be if her peeps weren't constantly hitting people up for cash.  She's already got my vote, more and more because she's not Trump.  Good god.  Dumpster fire. 

I would have said that he's like a train-wreck...but in light of Hoboken, that seems insensitive.  In fact, it seems that the more I hear about the Hoboken crash, the more I think it would have been possible to avoid it completely.  So, put your politics aside, and say this name once today: Fabiola Bittar de Kroon.

She was here recently from Brazil.

Her husband was in Pennsylvania on business.

She had just dropped off her 18 month old daughter at daycare.

This shit happens.  This shit happened to me and so it's a bit more prescient.  And, ultimately, by some miracle, my situation got drastically better.  Her family's won't.

I'm going to go donate blood tomorrow in honor of Fabiola and those who were injured in yesterday's accident.  If that's your thing, then I ask you to consider donating in the near future.  It's something you can do that costs you no money and actually is guaranteed to help someone who needs it.

If it's not your thing, money always helps.  Find a non-profit to contribute to.  My favorite charities are the American Red Cross, the Livestrong Foundation, and the Gates Foundation.  You can sit idly by, or you can do a little something for someone else.  I encourage you to choose the latter this weekend and start your year (if you celebrate) in the right direction.

A bleak future

It’s been 15 years since President Trump was elected and, while it seemed that there was an end in sight, his ability to do an end-around on the constitutionally provisioned 2-terms per pres. has resulted in, this, the second great depression.  But, I digress…because we’re moving to Canada!  Now that the kids are overseas at university, it should be a fairly easy move.  We’re renting the auto-truck and the only complication is the fact that charging points along the way to Ottawa aren’t in the best areas when you need to spend 6 hours somewhere.  Doesn’t matter.  I’m most excited about returning to a 4-season schedule.  Since we haven’t gotten snow in the last 10 years, most of the migratory species stopped migrating.  We now have a dry season and a rainy season with temperatures never going too far south of 45 degrees or north of 120.  At least the trees in Canada still turn colors in the autumn and it’ll be nice to see blue jays again, though, they’re not as prevalent as they once were.

The new house will be small.  Most of our savings went to finance public school for the kids in the 20’s, which, during Trump’s second election, became pay-to-play.  Luckily the kids were in High School so we only had to pay for 4 years total.  But, it was almost as draining as when they were in day-care.  Times change.  Anyway, it’s a two bedroom house with a direct connection to Hudson Bay.  Probably the best water in the Northern Hemisphere.  What we didn’t spend on the house, we spent on the water.  The arctic ice melt keeps it cool, and scientists believe that there’s more freshwater than seawater now which cuts down on the desalinization bills, reduces pipeline corrosion and, all in all, the flavor is unbeatable. 

Also, the people are super nice.  Just north of Ottawa is where all of the southern California people relocated to when Lake Mead and the adjacent aquifers ran dry.  It was far cheaper to relocate than to buy water.  And, the Canadian government and economy has improved to the point that Canada is now the 5^th largest economy due to technology job growth here...that and the ability to grow crops.  There’s even a mini Haight there in Gatineau on the other side of the river.  The Grateful Dead will never die!  Combine how kind the Canadians typically are plus the environmentally minded people from California and it’s going to be a really nice place to live…and no ex-Floridians to worry about. 

Poor Florida.  When Miami’s levies broke and the Gulf of Mexico expanded all the way up to Orlando, people mostly moved to parts of Georgia, Alabama and the recently annexed Mexico.  I guess they can start taking down the wall now.  Couldn’t have happened to a nicer people?  Anyway, I think there are still a number of people living in the Disney Dome which stretches all the way from Apopka on the north to Kissimmee on the south.  I’ve never been, but the pictures remind me of the City of Atlantis or Truman Show.  There’s water on all sides and the Disney property smack dab in the middle.  The dome is nice because it allows them to have far milder rain and weather than the constant hurricanes that run through there.  It’s temperature controlled, and all of the tech Disney used in the parks has been retrofitted to allow them to live, including air-handling and soilless horticulture.  Even Walt’s cryogenic technology was incorporated.  Hell, the Dome itself filters out all of the extra harmful UV from the Sun as well as act as a passive solar panel which powers all of the utilities and then some.  Once atmospheric nitrogen levels max out in 5 years and we all need masks, people will be dying to get into Disney.  Maybe literally!

Anyway, we’re completely packed and waiting to go.  I’ve got my new camera for those birds that I used to see when I was young.  I’m not sure if the market will be fruitful for yet another nature photographer, but I do know that kids today who are interested might get a kick out of hearing about the animal’s original habitats.  Who am I kidding, most of them are likely on their way to the Mars colony and they’ve got most species in place there already.  I don’t think anyone could have predicted this during the 2016 election cycle.  I didn’t vote for him, but I’d never go on the record saying that after all the dissenters were jailed along with members of the press.  Anyway, Heil Trump.  Hopefully my next post will have a picture of a cardinal! 

September Apologies

My most sincere apologies.  I'm a bit distracted these days.  Why?  Well, if you've been living under a rock with your hands over your eyes and thumbs in your ears, you probably aren't aware that Apple dropped a new iPhone and iOS, and it's also the beginning of American Football, A.K.A. Giants Season, Fantasy Season and Meat Season...to be explained.

First, the phone.  This is something I've written about before, albeit peripherally.  In addition to releasing the new iOS with an improved music app, the new iPhone 7 is devoid of a headphone jack.  Most people know that certain pairs of luxury headphones have been going bluetooth anyway, so this is relatively unsurprising.  However, as an audiophile, I think this has possibilities.  The iPhone isn't the highest quality music player due to a rudimentary DAC or digital/analog converter built into the device which heavily influences the quality of sound reaching your ears.  Combine that with (most people's) sub-par head/earphones and lousy MP3 quality and you have the perfect combination for an audiophile's nightmare.  All hope is not lost though.  Those of us who have already invested in decent head/earphones, can atill use a lightning jack through an adapter that Apple is providing, in box, with the iPhone 7.  With it, you can plug your normal headphones into the dongle and then the dongle into the iPhone.  Eureka!  This opens up the possibility that someone, somewhere, will create an adapter/dongle with it's own DAC, superior to Apple's on-board solution.  And, those of us with phones that have a lightning port (iPhone 5 and up), may benefit from this as well.  So, there's that.  I want one.  Make one for me.

Onto Football: it's not just me.  A Business Insider report from 2014 echos SportsMediaWatch.com's statistic that shows that "...of the 50 most watched sporting events in 2013, 46 (92%) of the events [were] NFL games including a whopping 35 regular season games."  Why?  It's basic supply and demand.  You've got 17 weeks in the regular season in which each of the 32 teams only play once a week for a maximum of 16 games between Thursday and Monday nights.  Many times it's fewer due to bye-weeks.  Teams are solely located in major (mostly) metropolitan/urban markets where fans (and people) tend to be concentrated.  There are exceptions, but, for the most part, you're looking at a fan base that's not likely to travel, who only gets home games a maximum 8 times a year.  Contrast that with baseball (162), basketball (82 games) or even hockey (82 games).  It's really hard to get excited about one specific game until your team gets closer to the "finals."  This is why the NFL reigns supreme: every game counts. 

Sports Illustrated, in a January 10, 2016 article insists that there's no ceiling for viewership.  With every major network poised to get a piece of the action at (average) 20 million viewers across all of their games on any given Sunday, it's no wonder why, unless it's a championship, sports is largely missing from the major networks.  You can argue that Monday Night Football is on ESPN, but it was flexed there some years ago from Disney's other major holding: ABC.  And where there's viewers, there's advertising and money to be made, and reason why the networks hype the shit out of NFL games being broadcast.  Get excited or else (read: cash is king). 

And, then there's Fantasy Football.  God bless.  Again, I've droned on about this before, here, here, and here.  But it begs to be repeated (until you begs me to stop), that Fantasy has grossly widened the NFL's overall appeal.  Sure there's Fantasy Baseball, but, as previously mentioned, way too many games to keep track.  Fantasy Football is a concise contest with far fewer games and far larger margins of error, demanding you to be uber-familiar with all 32 teams, or you'll lose.  Simple as that.  Once again, I'm sporting 3 teams in as many leagues.  My brain is awash in last week's injury reports and this week's projections.  On top of that, this weekend is the Giants home opener, and the first time I get to tailgate in 9 months.  Time to get my meat on.  This week, against the New Orleans Saints, I'll be stirring up some Cajun seafood dirty rice and beans.  The logic for the menu lies here.  And, while it's a coin-flip as to whether it'll work, I plan to be so full by the time I enter the stadium that, besides water, I won't be buying their overpriced offerings...that is, unless the Boy comes with me, and then I'm sure I can be suckered into some post-meat ice cream.

Time to make the dough, nuts!

So, since our San Francisco trip, I’ve been obsessing about sour dough.  After a little research, I decided to give it a go.  Unlike other breads, sourdough receives it’s trademarked taste from a fermented mixture of yeast, water and flour, AKA “starter.”  And, once you make some, you can keep the yeast happy (and living) by feeding the beast a couple of times a day and discarding or using some of the mixture in recipes.  Right now I’ve got a healthy 2 ½ cups of starter at the ready, perpetually living on my counter top until I tire of sourdough.  Note: it’s not going to happen.  LONG LIVE THE SOURDOUGH!

To that point, thus far, I’ve made 6 loaves…(I may have a problem) two of which were inedible (too salty), and the balance have only gotten more sour after periodic experiments based on tweaks to the starter.  When the yeast eats the flour, the natural byproduct is alcohol, and so there’s a sweet spot as to how long should you let it eat and produce alcohol before you use it in your bread.  I like to get a healthy half-inch of the juice before I introduce more ingredients: salt (in hind-sight use sparingly), more flour, more yeast and some vegetable oil. 

I’ll let you know that I’m not into being a messy guy, so the next part I did, begrudgingly.  But, I’ve been told it’s very therapeutic.  The making of the dough, which is supposed to be on the sticky side, is best when you’re hand kneading.  The first time I lost my wedding ring, but after another bunch of loaves, I carefully remove it and place it in my pocket before getting into the mix.  Actually, to tell the truth, the first couple of loaves I made in the bread machine…and they were good, but not nearly as tasty as the one I made by hand.  You can say the extra ingredient is love…but I say it’s fingernails.  Anyway, after a number of rises and beat-downs of the dough, it’s ready to bake…and this is my favorite part.  After about 10 minutes in the oven, the house starts to smell like freshly baked bread, and everything I did before is totally worth it.  It’s intoxicating.  The resulting loaf, cooled to a temperature just warm enough to melt butter (no margarine or I’ll de-friend you) is nothing short of divine. 

Why am I writing all of this?  Because, I think tonight, I may be making my last loaves, numbers 7 and 8.  It’s time.  As good as it is, and, honestly, as easy as it is for me to do now, I think it’s safer if I end things here, or else I should really set up a sourdough stand in front of my house, quit my job and bake all day.  Wait a minute…that would be awesome.  However, I think I enjoy it like I do because I don’t depend on it for fiscal sustenance.  What would be smart would be to turn my attentions to other fermentation novelties…yes.  Yes.  I see it now…August Fall Pumpkin Imperial Ale.  Time to get a big pot for the next obsession!

 

Starter Recipe:
2 cups of wheat flour

2 cups of warm (preferably filtered) water

1 packet of dry yeast

Mix together

time...about 3-5 days

Note 1: if your mix starts taking on any color other than the original color of your flour (red, blue, etc.) dump it out and try again.  Let's not be nuts about this people...no mold please.

Note 2: use only a glass or ceramic vessel for your concoction.  Plastic = no good.  

Note 3: Cover, but not completely because that baby will explode due to resultant fermentation gasses. 

Bread Recipe:

1 Cup of Starter

3/4 Cup of warm (preferably filtered) water

1 Tbsp of sugar

1 Tbsp of dry yeast

3 cups of bread flour

3 Tbsp of vegetable oil

2 Tsp of salt (I prefer sea salt)

1 fingernail (optional)

Take 1 cup of the starter and place it in a bowl with 3/4 cup of water, 1 tablespoon of active dry yeast and 1 tablespoon of sugar.  Let it sit for about 10 minutes.

Then, add 3 cups of bread flour, 2 teaspoons of salt and 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil and kneed and let rise for 30 min, and kneed and let rise 45 min.  Shape and bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes.

Bread!