In the News Recently

I'm a caffeine addict. I've been drinking coffee since a college girlfriend first got me to drink a few cups while studying for exams. I was such an addict at some points during my college career that I measured my consumption not in cups per day but in pots per day, as some of my friends could attest. When I tried to quit cold turkey after landing my first job, I had severe headaches and blurred vision for the first few weeks. Since then, I've returned to my caffeinated ways, adding the frequent cup or two of earl grey in with the coffee, but I've never tried to relive my glorious college consumption.

You're probably wondering why I mention that little factiod. Well, it's because of articles like this that claim that the cure for baldness lies in copious caffeine consumption. So, what do I think of these claims?

Yeah, right....

***UPDATE*** As you can see below, Wally is/had been drinking enough coffee to put him into triple digits, and it didn't do anything for him (click to enlarge).

I reiterate: yeah, right....

Smile

So when you are feeling blue or having a bad day I have a sure fire way to make you smile. Pop in the DVD Monsters Inc., and watch the short film extra- "For the Birds". If you don't have the movie you can down load it on iTunes.

Because I Have Nothing Else To Post

For your fun and amusement.*

*I should probably note that it was Amelia who found it, so if you get fired for playing at work, blame her :P

Ummmm... Ew?

We realized almost immediately after we got married that neither one of us enjoyed a particularly wide variety of foods. So, the past few years, we have had "foods of the year" and have learned to like foods such as tomatoes, fish, shrimp, and green beans. Yeah, I know, we're really wild and crazy with our new foods, aren't we? Well, we still haven't chosen a new food this year, so when Amelia was out looking for a veggie for dinner tonight, she chose something new. Brussels sprouts.

I don't think we'll be trying that particular experiment again any time soon...

Crafty

I started a craft project for the year. Each month will have their own little border and cute graphic. I thought you might like to see "January". It is hard to see in the picture but the top right corner and above the scarf are snowflakes.

The Regulator Station Clock

At long last, Amy and I set aside our lack of handy-person experience and attempted to hang the clock that my dad made for us and gave us at Christmas. With the help of Dad and the great people at Roush Hardware up the road, we finally got it hung.

It's a spiffy addition to our kitching/dining room, dontcha think? Thanks again, Dad!

The Potato Flip Diary #5

The Quest For the Perfect Flip

A much better effort.

The Players

The Pan	7" cast iron skillet, well seasoned
The Ingredients	Russet potato (~7 oz peeled and shredded) White onion, ~2 oz Pepperoni <1 oz Salt and pepper Shredded cheese (<1 oz)
The Fat	Vegetable oil, ~ 1 tsp

The Plan

After shredding the potato, rinse in cold water then pat dry. Saute the onions in a small amount of oil, add to the potatoes and pepperoni mixture, then add the remaining oil to the pan, add the potato mixture and fry 5-6 minutes per side, flipping in the middle, then cover with shredded cheese and bake in a 350 degree oven until the cheese melts.

The Results

Significantly better than last time. Rinsing the potato removed a lot of starch, which kept the potatoes from sticking so badly to the bottom of the pan. Unfortunately, they also didn't stick so well to each other.

The Verdict

On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being hash browns and 10 being the "perfect flip," this experiment ranks: 1 (hash browns).

Lessons Learned

I want to thank MUD for suggesting rinsing the potatoes the last time I tried. I had thought that it might help, and his suggestion was all the validation I needed to try. On the plus side, the stickage was minimal. Now I need to figure out how to get the right amount of stickage to get the potatoes to stick to each other, but not the pan. I'm considering cutting up and then boiling the potatoes, then cooling and shredding. I'm hoping that some of the starch will be removed, but not so much that I end up with hash browns again. But, I'm heartened. This was much better than my last attempt.

Amelia Has Once Again Proved...

... she is the boss of me. She beat me again, 2-1, at cribbage.

That's the last time I teach her a fun game :P

Our Weekend

Wow, were we busy! Since Friday, here's what we've done:

1. Visited Amelia's one-time neighbors, who were like a third set of grandparents for her and her sister
2. Visited Amelia's parents for her mom's birthday
3. The Bald Man went on a bachelor party for long-time friend Cooper, with Xabu and Cooper's older brother, Dr. Who
4. Visited The Bald Man's Gramps and played several games of SkipBo
5. Went to Cooper's wedding, where The Bald Man played amateur videographer, and Amelia snapped some pictures
6. Attended the reception for Cooper's wedding
7. Watched The Ball drop with Xabu and Piglet (and then promptly fell asleep)
8. Found only one geocache on our "Caching Anniversary" (it was too cold and wet to do any serious caching)
9. Finally returned home to our lonely kitties.

We had lots of fun. Amelia took a great picture this weekend, too :)