Month: November 2008

Eugene

Michelle, Ella and I finally got our butts down to Eugene to visit Joe and Linds who moved there back in August. Ella was quite good in the car and was rewarded with a cat that was the same size as her to play with. She followed Quasi (the cat) around most of the weekend and even helped him eat his dinner (though at 26lbs, he didn’t need Ella’s help). Their place is great and they’ve clearly been busy with projects which I’ve been watching and hearing about, but the pictures didn’t provide a seamless view of the house. Room placement and stuff all makes sense now.

We all went to the Science Factory and I think we all enjoyed it equally. There was some frustration on the part of us adults because we’d be working on some puzzle and a 7 year old in footie pajamas would nudge in and take over. Sure, the place is “for kids,” but it was plenty of fun for us as well.

Lindsay joked that it was her first time being able to cook for us this year since we normally dined at our place because of the toddler. We ate very well, and I can’t wait to make the gnocchi dish we had with spinach and cheese. It was only the second gnocchi dish I’ve had, and I must admit I’m quite enamored.

Now it’s your turn Hughes.

Mysteries solved

Barley was barking at the window as usual, chipping pieces of paint off the trim in his insane desire to keep everything safe. This time however, he was at a different window. After calling him off a few times, I got up to investigate and noticed the cause for both the ruckus, and why the bird seed keeps disappearing.

[qt:/movies/squirrel.mov 853 480]

I shooed him off but he came right back as soon as I sat down.

Mock Duck

Tonight I used a wheat gluten product known as mock duck. It’s a brownish blob formed into a miniature duck-ish shape complete with dimples that works as source of protein when you’re out of duck. I picked it up after coming across it in a recipe for squash curry that sounded good. Tonight was my night to cook, so I walked by Vieng Lao on my way home from work and picked some up. They also have mock chicken, abalone and oyster, but I didn’t see any mock turtle.

Anyway, it wasn’t bad by any means, though duck would have been much nicer. I managed to make a curry that didn’t bomb, and I’ve got lots of leftovers for tomorrow.

Tomorrow

This has been a wild 2 years of election fervor. Tomorrow we’ll know (hopefully) what the next chapter for the United States may look like. Nothing is certain, and I’m cynical enough do have real doubts about the Democrats ability to accomplish anything, but I do honestly believe that tomorrow will shape America’s place in the next century.

It is not clear what station our country will hold in the future. We have moved from an ideological superpower to an agricultural and industrial superpower to a military and an idea superpower, and as the events of the last month have rippled through markets around the world, it has proven we’re a debt superpower.

I think tomorrow is important in this respect: Our example tomorrow will show the rest of the world our intentions as a nation. We will select one of two directions to move our nation. One choice will signal we want to remain the same. One choice will signal we’re ready for something different. In a world where our impact has been so huge, and the response to us has increasingly soured, we need to recalibrate. It is time to leave behind the jingoism and mental isolationism that has planted us like a stick in mud. We must lead in to the coming century, not jockey for relevance.

Tomorrow, we need to elect Barack Obama.