Travel Pete's Journal: Basements, Kids & Mental Health

Wendy's Frosty

Good for what ails ya...

Max has been sick with a high fever the past couple days. He's just coming out of it and getting interested in eating again.

We decided to take it easy, and as I was driving around I remember something that always seemed to go down well...

The Wendy's Frosty (with "nutrition" data).

mmmm.... Not that I don't enjoy the Arby's jamocha shake from my 15-year-old working the drivethu days.

But the Frosty's a classic, once-a-year splurge. This year, it was Max's turn to enjoy. He did!

Admittedly, it's all tainted by my growing disdain for the quality of product coming out of fast food these days, but I still managed to enjoy a few bites myself as Max wolfed the sugary Frosty down with amazing speed.

I won't go around saying it was a "treat" because it's hard to see fast food as a treat. It was, at the very least, an excusable lapse from good nutrition in favor of getting a few calories and some liquid into Maxwell's dehydrated body after a bout of 103.5F fever.

Mmmmm.... getting better never tasted so good!

The Wiggles

The true Australian Super-group! Men without hats? NO, it's the Wiggles brightly colored children's show.

And they're coming to your town.

And you WILL bring your children to the show.

And you WILL pay much dollars for the opportunity.

The Wiggles have been around since 1991, but became famous in the US when they were picked up by Disney Channel in 1999. They've been making millions entertaining kids ever since.

The basic format: 4 guys in colored shirts (always the same color) and a cast of funny characters including Wags the dog, Henry the Octopus, Jacque the Shark, Dorothy the Dinosaur, Captain Feathersword and more.

They do very short skits combined with a lot of songs where they dance.

See them at The Wiggles Official Website

Kids love it. Max liked them when he was an infant, then lost interest for 6 months or so, and now that's he's 2 and can dance and follow along and sing, he's all over watching them again.

So, like I said, we got tickets to the show, along with 4 other children on our neighborhood block alone.

Max sort of enjoyed the show. With 4000 kids there, it was a bit intimidating and interesting and so he watched the other kids a lot. Turns out he loves Wags the Dog (who knew?).

It also turns out he was coming down with an illness...

Yup, we did the Tylenol trick to get him through the show and he perked up halfway through, but as of last night he had a 103.5F temperature, poor little guy. So, quite the trooper at the show, when we got home, he just wanted to lay in Mama's lap and that was that.

So, a long night, a little vomit, some worried parents, and one sick little guy sort of wondering what hit him.

This morning he's still not great, but Tylenol and a full dose of chocolate milk seem to be having him bouncing back up, even with the fever.

Such is the life of a parent. Surprisingly, not too bad :-)

Vitamin Supplements

It was only a year or so ago that the AMA (American Medical Association) finally weighed the evidence and decided that vitamins are healthy, and not just a once-a-day money waste.

Turns out a lot of studies are coming in and there's a lot more going on than just the multi-vitamin!

Cholesterol's the new bug on the block, and heart health is getting more interesting by the day.

Multivitamins - Good for all sorts of stuff, and keeps your body supplied with the raw ingredients it wants even when your diet isn't perfectly balanced -- like on Monday through Saturday.

Baby Aspirin - Low-dose aspirin is seen as one of the fantastic miracles of the 20th century. Studies have shown it can reduce 2nd heart attacks by up to 34% and even lowers the risk of dying DURING a heart attack by 23% (when taken during the attack and afterwards). To calculate whether you should consider taking aspirin as a daily regimen, check out the CSPI site. It appears aspirin inhibits clotting, a factor in heart attacks. BTW -- 81mg is just as good as 325mg they say for daily use, but use 325mg during a heart attack, it can reduce clotting within minutes, which is critical. Better yet, there's no patent on aspirin, so it's cheap cheap!

If aspirin's the wonderdrug of the last century, then Lipitor and other statins that lower cholesterol--mostly lowering LDL, the bad cholesterol--certainly are the 8th wonder of the 21st century. My guess is that everyone should be on it, but I'm not a doctor (and Lipitor isn't paying me any endorsement fees) so I'll hold off on that one. As an example, my overall cholesterol, on just 10mg Lipitor daily, went from 198 to 136. Wow!

Further, my Dad told me to start Lipitor early, because he is projecting that longer-term studies that are starting to be completed will show that such drugs have benefits to younger people as well, and so you may want to consider starting in your 30s, not your 40s or 50s.

If you don't want a prescription drug for lowering LDL, consider taking Phytosterols (Plant sterols). Found in pine trees and soybeans, nuts, grains and oils, manufacturers concentrate them in supplements or stuff like Benecol, the cholesterol-lowering butter product, and a new version of Minute Maid OJ. The FDA even allows them to label such products as "helping to prevent heart disease." The article I read in Nutrition Action recommends at least 800mg a day of the substances, which is quite a bit.

Fish Oil -- or more specifically, Omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oil. Make sure you actually get 800mg-1,000mg of actual DHA and EPA per day, I guess. The capsule may say 1,000mg, but the two active ingredients may only be 300mg per tablet, so take a few extra. Fish oil is now being found to have the ability to lower deaths from heart attacks -- good stuff!

The next chapter in this drama is probably involving raising HDL (the good cholesterol). So far, statins such as Lipitor basically only lower LDL. So, what's on tap for this next phase?

Good ol' Niacin in heavy doses. But, you'll want to talk with a doctor about it since Niacin in high amounts is reallllly powerful with some tough side effects.

For more information, consider subscribing to the Center for Science in the Public Interest's newsletter.

Good health to you!

Soccer & Whiplash

Ouchie, as I say to my son. "Daddy got a big ouchie playing soccer yesterday, that's why he's taking two medicine pills this morning..."

"Yeah, Daddy looks baddd this morning."

Okay, Max didn't really say that, but his serious expression as he attempted to understand my ouchie was touching, sincere... and a bit humorous.

I laughed. OUCH!

Turns out I got whiplash going up for a header and getting generally knocked around at last Sunday's outdoor soccer game. I felt fine Sunday afternoon, but Monday morning I couldn't move my neck! It was embarrassingly painful, especially when I tried to laugh. I had to lift my head off the pillow with my hands just to get to the Ibuprofen...

But, well, it's Saturday, so time to do some stretching and get ready for another whiplashin' tomorrow for my soccer game.

Yep, turns out that for Soccer, I'll go to (relatively) great lengths to ensure I'm fit enough to at least play. Generally, I'll be in pain, but once warming up the muscles I'm okay to play for 90 minutes, then it's back to icing down and popping pills.

Hmmm, maybe I really AM into this soccer thing. They should put together, like, a professional league or something... :-)

Major League Soccer. Who knew?

Well, I did, of course... BilFish's Rapids' photos webpage. I'd link you to the Colorado Rapids website, but it's not up. Almost as embarrassing as the whiplash.

Wine Tasting Notes (& Cappuccino?)

So, wow....

Just took my first wine class. 3 hours, 6 wines, 1 nose. Phew! So much smelling my nose is still twitching a bit!

I attended "Red Wine Detectives" to help move from my position as a sewer of wine to more of a connoisseur of wine, at least reds.

It was really good for me as a beginner. At the beginning, I had a terribly frustrating time putting names to wines (6 wines unmarked, we had to differentiate based on smell and color from our short descriptions). Towards the end of the class, I had at least a better sense of how different the varietals were (i.e. Cabernet Sauvignon was really quite different from the Pinot Noir).

The main varietals we tried were: Cab Sav, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Sangiovese (in a Chianti), Gamay (in a Beaujolais Classico), and a Grenach blend from the Rhône region of France. We also had a sparkling red Shiraz as a sort of treat, I guess you'd say.

I think the Pinot Noir was the big surprise for me in terms of excellent enjoyment level. It was Robert Mondavi Winery (their higher label wine), 2001, Pinot Noir, Napa Valley of course.

I was very surprised at how the smells all seemed to blend together at first, but after having them described, and having about 15 samples of the smells on hand (i.e. strawberries, vanilla bean, anise, mushrooms, pepper, butter, cherries, blackberries, etc.) I could at least start to sense a multitude of smells blending together in my mind.

Wine glass note: We used very small wine glasses for the smelling, which was difficult -- especially after the instructor brought out 2 monster-sized red wine barrels, err, glasses. With the small glasses, you run out of smell before you are done smellin'! The big glasses gave a much more complete snapshot of the aroma.

Upon arriving home, I attempted to follow up on my recent education with a Merlot-Cab Sav blend, Les Terres De Benoce, a vin de pays D'oc region of France, 2001.

It was a darker, garnet red with hints of purple in it. I swear I smelled asparagus. Some cherry (of course, most reds have some cherry smell). Not woody, but perhaps earthy. Surprisingly light body, given the color and high acidity (acidity: pucker factor, salivating feeling on sides of tongue) and high tannin levels (tannin: that sort of dry, rough feeling I get in the front of my mouth when I swish it around). Very smooth on first sip, but a longer finish as you let it really touch your palate. Still a very light red for a merlot/cab sav blend.

Dang, I could get to love this "wine vocabulary" crap!

All around a pleasant experience, and really a way to delve into the depths of wines and begin to tell them apart. I've put a special cap on the wine for the night to remove the air, so we'll see how different it tastes after resting a day.

Excelenté!

Or Cheers as I like to say.

P.S. -- This morning I tried my new nose on my Nespresso coffee. It's a new flavor for 2004 from the Yunnan region of China. What I'm finding is that upon initial smell, well, the odor is coffee. But then I sort of start thinking of possible smells: chocolate, earth, melon, etc. and suddenly I can say "Yes, that's right" or "No, not quite that smell."

Not that I'm suddenly a nosy expert, it's just a good technique to try and give your brain something to sort on. BTW - the Yunnan is lighter in color, sort of caramel, medium-body on the tongue, and an earthy, melon-y type of sensation I get.

Good stuff.

Benefits of Donating Blood

Well, there are two. Benefits. Of donating blood.

First, the benefit you know about: it helps people in need.

Second, there are well-understood health benefits to you when you donate blood.

First, there's the mental benefit of knowing ya done good. Nothing like it in the world. Right after giving 16oz of blood I'm a bit giddy and light-headed. I assume from the joy of helping others.

And now, there's some discussion that there really are physical benefits to giving up a pint of blood every 56 days (give or take).

First, it's a weight loss program!

Second, there's the benefit of draining extra iron out that you don't want. There are theories that say that men retaining extra iron is what helps increase heart disease risk.

Third, well, okay, it gets a bit fuzzier here, but I've read that by replenishing old, inelastic blood cells with newer, fresher ones you've simply got better blood that is less likely to stick, or get caught, and form clots and cling to artery walls reducing blood flow.

Read this CNN article for a good encapsulation of most of what I've read the past few years and what I've found on the Internet regarding the subject.

CNN discusses health benefits of donating blood.

Tell 'em Travel Pete sent ya!

Irish Citizenship -- But Why?

My ears perked up recently when an in-law was discussing the possibility of gaining Irish citizenship. In this case, US-Irish dual citizenship.

But, why? you may ask. Indeed. As we mature and have family, our roots become more important. This, indeed, is the genesis of the idea. Really, it's the important reason.

Another reason? Fun. I mean, it'll be like St. Patrick's Day all year long!

For those of you not swayed by family and fun...

Two Words: European Union. EU.

When you are an Irish Citizen, you are (or at least I still assume) also a citizen of Europe.

Basically, instantly, you can get all the benefits of such citizenship. Property ownership becomes infinitely easier. Getting health care and other insurance is easier when you are overseas.

You can work in the EU without applying for visas and and being hassled. You can get unemployment and long-term health insurance after you've been working for a while in any EU country (currently 15 countries, soon to be 25).

For us, the idea tags along with the concept of possibly moving to Europe. Maybe for 6 months, maybe for a couple of years. But if we did, how would we cope? Well, we'd, uhhh, hmmm.

That's where Irish Citizenship comes in handy. It's about options as much as anything else.

In an act of extreme generosity, the Irish government is, for a time, allowing children not born in Ireland, but who are children of Irish Citizens, to become citizens!

So, for us, it's time to start gathering originals. Birth, marriage and death certificates from Ireland and Illinois and Colorado and a dozen more forms, all originals of course. Sheesh! Lots of forms, but it could very well be worth it.

Update 6/29/05: She got it! Ms. O'Neill's a Full Irish Citizen!

Sounds too good to be true? It's not. But there's a lot of work involved, and they aren't just giving these things away.

First off, consider visiting The SIDHE website which more fully explains membership benefits for US dual citizenship holders.

Here's a link to Ireland's US Embassy website which has some great info on the process, eligibility, costs, the fact that you don't need to pay some intermediary website to attempt this, etc.
Irish Embassy website citizenship info.

Finally, a few notes from what we've learned so far:

1. The application says that your parents have to be citizens. BUT, your parents are AUTOMATICALLY citizens if any of your grandparents were born in Ireland. That means that you can claim citizenship if any of your grandparents were born there.

2. The top link to SIDHE ends with an application to pay them $25.00 to get you all this info. This isn't necessary. You simply write to your local embassy. See this embassy webpage to find out which is your branch.

3. Can US Citizens hold dual citizenship? Seems so. You can NOT lose US citizenship without explicitly declaring that you WANT to give it up, and filling out the proper form, of course. See this US State Department webpage for official-sounding government details.

4. Is this expensive? I heard it could cost $1000 or more.

Nope, that is not true. It'll cost:
A. Self-addressed stamped envelope sent to the Irish Embassy for your state.
B. approx $150 application fee to the Irish government.
C. Cost for certified originals of all forms, about $100 if you don't have them, usually $10-$15 per form.

5. How long does this take? About 2 weeks for the embassy to respond. Then about 4-6 weeks to gather certified forms, then the website says anywhere from 6 months to 1 1/2 years to have your application approved or denied. So, anywhere from 8 months to well more than a year in total. In our case, it took about 16 months to receive final word she was granted citizenship.

6. My wife Kathy is the one applying. Unfortunately, based on recent changes to Irish law, I don't automatically (as her husband) get citizenship anymore. It used to be that I would have. I'd have to live there with her for years... Ditto our sons Max & Liam.

7. The General Register Office is where you can go to get an application for birth and death certificates in Ireland if needed.

About.com has another good minisite with info.

Slainté!

2nd photos of Spring!

They pop up to provide some beautiful color early each spring while our tulips and other flowers are just getting started.

The purple crocus' are prolific around the base our our aspen trees in the front yard.

1st pictures of Spring

This poor robin is very proud of himself and likes to impress the ladies.

(bonk)

He keeps fighting the other "big guy" birdie hanging out in our trees--rather, in our window reflection. (bonk)

Yep, the light reflection from the window causes him to keep flying at the window to get the "other" bird. So far it has been a tie 99 out of 99 times. The ladies are getting restless.
(bonk bonk)

We keep trying different stuff to keep the bird off the window. (bonk) So far, newspapers hung up and turning on inside lights are only marginally effective.

But, hey, sure is a pretty bird! I wonder if it is the same couple of birds each spring?

(bonk)

The Nespresso Lifestyle

More Nespresso News:
Nespresso Tips 2006!
Nespresso Price Hike 2005
More Tips 'n' Maintenance
Tips 'n' Maintenance
Nespresso Lifestyle & How to Order
----------------

Fitting that this entry be put in the "Lifestyle & Home" category, methinks.

So why do I bring up coffee on this fine Monday morning? Obvious -- My next order of coffee capsules arrives via the magic UPS bus this afternoon.

Mmmm... Let's talk about the Nespresso Lifestyle...

MY STORY
Last summer we spent time in the South of France for the wedding of some good friends of ours.

During our stay in Le Pal--the bride's family farm & resort they operate for about 4 months each year--I would drive down to the main farmhouse kitchen every morning from our apartment to get the baguettes and pain au chocolat for the day. They don't eat day-old bread in France. Week old? Fuhgeddaboutit. I'd also loiter around for a bit and have an espresso served up by my main man Flor (the bride's father and all-around great guy).

It was a wonderful experience to have enjoyable, consistent espresso from this strange little machine he used.

It was called Nespresso, and I quickly associated the wonderful capsules and flavors that eminated from it with my enjoyable, peaceful, culinarily salivating stay in France.

Then I was sad, for I was going home to the U.S., and they weren't letting me take the little machine with me.

But, wait, there's a light at the end of this tunnel! A couple years ago, the Nespresso Club moved into the US market after exclusively serving Europe for some time.

I was in luck! I quickly went through the math and decided that I could have Nespresso every day for the same price as one Starbucks moment a week. I even like it better, get to make it at home while my son eats breakfast, and have never looked back. In fact, my Dad & Peggy recently joined the Nespresso Lifestyle and they, too, love their life! (since then I've added more family and friends to the lifestyle)

When you get the Nespresso machine, you then have to use Nespresso's capsules. So, you really are buying into the Nespresso Lifestyle. But that's okay, I really like the lifestyle!

Nespresso has 9 flavors, 7 plus 2 decaf (2005 update: and now 3 Lungo large cup varieties as well as 2 "special" edition varieties a year) and it's wonderful to have them all on tap, from the super-light and enjoyable Volluto to the dark and robust Ristretto. Every flavor is great, Decaffeinato Intenso is wonderful, and my favorite is the purple capsule, Arpeggio. The machine is, well, machine-like in its consistency, which is something I always strove for with my $50 espresso maker, but never, ever achieved.

Also, with 19 bars of pressure, the Nespresso system produces the magic "coffee créma" which is frothy coffee, not cream, and is the secret behind great European coffees. It also has a nozzle for on-demand milk froth and steamed milk. Enjoyable, fantastic. Easy clean-up, no muss, no fuss, good stuff.

ORDERING THE NESPRESSO EXPERIENCE ™
Are you enjoying your first Nespresso Experience (tm) Yet?

I just got "The Moments of Nespresso" in the mail, a bunch of recipe cards for more great drinks... :-)

Check out the Nespresso Lifestyle when you get time. Sign up for an account, order yer nespresso D150 (or one of the funky, expensive models) and off ya go!

It takes 2 days to deliver (if you order online early enough in the day).

I'd suggest getting:
1. D150 Nespresso maker: approx. $199
* includes 1 sleeve (10 capsules) of Cosi and 1 sleeve of Decaffeinato
* includes 2 espresso (small) cups & saucers
* includes the sampler box with 2 capsules of each kind (18 capsules total)
* my Dad purchased the cappuccino cups, they are very good ones, wide mouth, just the right size.

My favorite machine version is the D150. I like the manual lever and look. You might like the more expensive "electronic" version or their funky, ultra-mod looking ones.

2. Cappuccino milk kit with the aluminum jug and chocolate sprinkler: $26.95
Cheaper to buy the aluminum jug at a place like Bed, Bath & Beyond, but this IS the Lifestyle, so go ahead and buy here if you want.

3. Capsule holder tray that goes under the D150: $13.95
* This is a must. Makes the machine look cooler, and is the best and cheapest way to store capsules. Ignore the very expensive alternatives for this, they take up more counter space you can't afford to lose!

4. Order some coffee!!! Each sleeve of 10 capsules (equals 10 cups of espresso or cappuccino) is $4.50. Shipping is $4.95 per order. So, ordering 100 capsules is $45.00 + $4.95. Ordering 200 capsules is $90 + $4.95. (Update 2005: coffee now $4.90 per sleeve and $5.95 s/h per order)

THE COMPETITION
So, yes, we've joined the Nespresso Lifestyle. Now corporate Global is joining in on the fun, too. Well, Nespresso is Nestlé, so I should say other corporate Global is joining in.

If you think Nespresso is a bit indulgent ($180 for the machine and $.49 each drink capsule), then you'll appreciate that more options and some competition are entering the fray for your coffee-luvin', sumptuous lifestyle of morning and evening drinks.

There's the Germanic-sounding Keurig system which my next-door neighbor has. But, it's a coffee maker, not an espresso/cappuccino system. Also, I think the word "keurig" is Dutch for excellence, and the company is American. It's good coffee, I've tried it, and they also can get Celestial Seasonings™ green teas.

Then there's the Senseo home coffee system by Sara Lee, recently introduced and only available for pre-sale on Amazon.com. Capsules are about $.25 each. Again, it looks like they only make coffee, not quite the Euro-experience. (Update 2005: now on sale everywhere... Having used one, I am very unimpressed. Shoddy design, poor coffee)

Finally, Proctor & Gamble has come out with a clone of the Senseo system (or vice versa, not sure who was first) called Home Café.

Whatever you choose, choose to enjoy life!

More Nespresso News:
Nespresso Tips 2006!
Nespresso Price Hike 2005
More Tips 'n' Maintenance
Tips 'n' Maintenance
Nespresso Lifestyle & How to Order

Home Owners' Associations

The HOA - Home Owners' Assocation.

One of the great inventions of modern American suburbia.

Okay, maybe not the invention, but we've certainly taken ownership of the concept.

I've heard a lot of tales (from my Dad, my friends, my next door neighbor, just about everyone) regarding the contentious dealings that go on in the common HOA. Especially apartment HOAs, they sound scary to me.

I became President of our HOA. Why not see for myself how this work?

As it turns out, an HOA of 21 homes shouldn't be that big a deal, and it's not. We have limited dues, no common areas, and provide no services, so it's more ideal than anything else.

What we do have is a history of some egregious neighbor relations. However, a few neighbors moved and all has been copacetic. It's now our job to ensure things stay that way.

So far, so good. We had another annual meeting recently, with decent attendance. Comments were basically that "even our disagreements are civil," and that's exactly what I hope can continue.

What I've found is that just getting together occasionally and waving at your neighbor and saying hi are a great palliative and wonderful way to keep communications open and conflicts down.

This leads to a result of a better neighborhood, better neighbors, and a more peaceful castle to live in.

So, next time you're involved, think about what you want to get out of your HOA, not who you can argue with. You'll really appreciate the added peace and quiet this engenders.

Summer Projects: New Pantry

It's time to start a new series on home improvement, seeing as how my list for 2004 has grown considerably. From painting and redecorating rooms (we recently tackled the master bedroom) to putting up replacement blinds, from painting the fence and house to nourishing our budding landscaping, from a new 1000 bottle wine cellar to remodeling the basement patio, from, well, you get the idea, it'll be a busy year!

My first project after we reorganized the master bedroom was a quick weekend deal.

Basically, we stored coats, hats and winter junk in this double sliding-door closet. It's not very deep (22"), but it's wide, and just off the kitchen.

When I was out of town, my wife Kathy cleared the closet and redistributed what turns out to have been just a lot of crap to other parts of the house. Much of it apparently made it to the Goodwill and Garage Sale piles as I haven't seen some of it since.

After a lot of internal debate about how complicated to get, I finally decided to slap on a coat of paint (color: Cornerstone, kind of a sublime wheat color), build 3 extra shelves across the entire space to complement the existing one, and call it a day.

A few days later, and a couple of holes through walls to allow the FoodSaver (see my earlier post on the FoodSaver, yummm!) to have power, and it was finished.

I used fiberboard with a laminate faux-wood surface to ease even that bit of possible polyurethaning. The toughest part was simply dealing with non-straight walls, but caulk took care of that.

Here's the order of construction:

Buy:
$22: Paint, 1 gallon, Behr Satin finish, Cornerstone
$30: 3 laminate-covered fiberboards (cut: 2 59"x16", 1 59"x12")
$5: MDF 1"x3" board, about 22 feet for this project
$4: Screws, #8 x 2" and #6 (thinner) x 1.5"
$4: Colored Caulk (I used a tan caulk that looks really nice and blends in great with the wood-laminate look and the wheat-colored paint.
----------
Total Cost: $65 plus labor and tools I already had.

Tools used:
a. Handheld cordless circular saw for final cuts (and safety goggles)
b. handheld cordless 18v drill
c. level
d. pencil
e. painting supplies
f. small workbench for holding wood as I cut
g. studfinder (buy a good one. I didn't, and when I got a good one as a gift, I suddenly appreciated it)

How-to: (At least, how I DID!)
1. Remove closet contents, remove garment hanging pole and doors.

2. Find studs for sturdy screw placement, measure how many shelves (I went for 4) and where they would be spaced (I wanted one at waist-height as a work surface for vacuum-sealing foods). Check for studs first. As I discovered, some of the side MDF boards were too short to reach a stud, so I had to re-cut more that were a bit longer than the shelf to reach the security of the stud.

3. Cut MDF board, which will act as the platform rail (back and sides) the shelves will sit on. So, for each 16" shelf, it was 2 14.5" side sections (which I cut a triangle off the front edges to make it look slightly sleeker) and a 59" section.

4. Place MDF evenly, use a level and pencil to get this one realllly right. Mark spots for where screws should go into studs. Screw it in with the #8 x 2" screws.

5. Paint everything.

6. Measure and final-cut your shelves, then pre-drill small holes in each shelf where screws will go through the shelves and into the MDF to hold the shelves down tightly to the MDF rail.

7. Add boards, screw down to MDF.

8. Caulk all around the top edge for a nice, seemless surface, using caulk to also cover where shelf and wall don't quite meet perfectly.

Smile, you're done.

9. Crap, no you aren't. Drill 1" hole through side wall to feed FoodSaver plug through to power outlet just the other side of the wall.

10. Reattach one sliding door.

Now smile, you're really... wait... yes, you're done!

A few pictures on the transformation are here.

1000 Bottle Wine Cellar Part 2

Well, not part 2 exactly. Now that I've convinced myself, my wife, and perhaps a few friends (whose eagerness is suspect) that I should construct a 1000 Bottle Wine Cellar, I have begun the real dirty work of full-on research.

A comment on the original post by reader Jaser really sums it up: "Anything that gets better by me doing nothing, is a great idea. The more you procrastinate, the more it's worth.... just don't drink it before its time!"

Knowledge, education, fundamentals, lots of work. All these words are scrubbing up against each other in my frontal lobes, lubricated by, of course, a glass of nice red wine.

Our current favorite wine is San Felipe's Merlot, 2002. I'd love for it to be 2000, or even 1997 or earlier... but we drink it too fast, and we don't have a cellar to age it properly.

Hence the project.

First I looked for online resources. There's a guy with basically a one-page website selling an e-book on wine cellars.

“One barrel of wine can work more miracles than a church full of saints.”
-Italian proverb -- this quote is the most interesting part of his website.

Then, of course, Amazon.com ads pop up. Books on how to build and design wine cellars! Looks like a couple good options here, and a couple of ooold options, like, from the 70s and shit.

Finally, there are further websites where you can buy pre-made racks to install in your new wine cellar. These actually seem to have the best initial advice on wine cellar construction, since they need you to build one to buy their racks!

About.com has a fun wine rack made out of PVC as well as some good basic tips on aging and storing wine.

Then I found two salivating websites:

Vintage Cellars

Wine Cellar Innovations

Lots of pictures and descriptions and products to get me dreaming about a 500 square foot, inlaid wood and tile extravaganza!!!!

Which raised the first real question I need to solve. Should I start with a really nice, well-constructed sitting-room quality Wine Cellar or should I first focus on a cellar that is functional -- i.e. it ages wine appropriately.

Hmmmm.... Tune in as I engage myself in a quest to discover the answers to this and more!

Coooking injuries

I've just finished taking a cooking class.

It's great except for the injuries.

Yerp. 4 classes, 3 injuries, 2 burned hands, and 1 sliced fingernail.

Actually, counting burns alone adds up to more than once per class session.

1. I burned my left hand while washing up at our first class. Stupid, I know. The lady in front of me turned on hot only, and it was fine for her, but had heated up decently by the time I got to the sink.

On the plus side, I didn't scream (much).

2. I steamed my other hand while opening our oven. I was making our patented sweet potato fries. Sliced like potatoe chips, then tossed with olive oil, garlic and salt and baked for 20 minutes, they are fantastic). And steamy. The potatoes had given off a ton of super-heated steam. for me to blast my hand with when I went to add the entrée to the oven.

On the plus side, I didn't drop the shrimp.

3. Cutting up garlic, suhhhh-LICEEEE through the nail. Ouch. Apparently, I'd listened when my instructors repeated, time and again, that "sharp knives are safer than dull knives." Well, fooey on that. Sharp knives hurt bad and slice fast. I ended up minus one nail for several weeks.

On the plus side, I didn't bleed on ALL the garlic, so I could use some of it for my chicken and dumplings soup/stew concoction.

So, there you have it. Cooking is fun, and dangerous.

Common Errors in English

What a great site about
Common Errors in English writing!

I ain't lyin', neither!

Cheers.

Grass is greener...

This whole debate about whether I'm happy with the direction America is going and the direction I'm going in America is possibly a "grass is greener over there" issue.

For example, I was admiring the natural resolve and willingness of my buddy to go to great lengths to heat his home. He bought a wood-burning furnace (that also can use fuel oil). I saw first-hand the scars on his (and his wife's) arms as they worked the firey furnace in cold Connecticut in January with a foot of wet snow on the ground. Seemed real earthy to me, I had a lot of respect for that.

When I told him about this his response was (paraphrased): Yer jealous because I'm standing around either in my garage with a tiny 35Kbtu heater or in my basement with an overblown 200Kbtu wood burner, drinking my sorrows, achy cold muscles and scars away with scotch or in some terrible occasions, grain alcohol.

Hmmm... I guess that sitting in an outhouse dumping shit into a smoky burner for warmth while downing 190 proof hell and worrying about having the tip of your penis fall off from frostbite isn't quite as attractive as I'd imagined... :-)

Very natural, though.

Let me quoth from the wood-burning furnace Charmaster website bible: "The Charmaster is simple in concept..."

The devil is always in the details.

Magazine Overload

Despite recognizing "MO" or magazine overload for what it is, and despite working to limit our magazine and newspaper subscriptions through a form of active laissez-faire (we actively resist sending in those re-subscription forms incessantly mailed to us), we still have too dang much to read!

But, it's not our fault. Really.

For example, I drop down to the Sunday paper only so I can be considered an old-growth tree-hugger kind of guy (and not hurt my back hauling the 100lb recylcing bin out every few weeks).

What do they do? They counter by giving me the rest of the week (except Monday) for free! Then they tend to add Monday anyway.

To add insult to injury, my well-meaning neighbor gave me a free subscription to our weekly rag, the Golden Transcript. But, I got him back the next year by returning the favor... :-)

I dropped our Skiing subscription which I read for the "ski lifestyle" (having two snowboards, one kid, another kid on the way and no skis, I figured this was acceptable). The industry responds by sending my wife a free subscription.

I let our National Geographic Magazine lapse, but then we gladly accept a gift subscription of Cooking Light from Peggy & Dad.

Sheesh! Will it never end?

Uhhh, nope.

We also got a gift subscription to AdBusters from my best friend Tom Collins. Not just a fantasy drink, but a real buddy.

Who else do I have to blame? Well, myself.

I renewed my PC Photo subscription and spread the joy, giving a free copy to my Dad & Peggy.

We still get Time, although I let their free subscription to Sports Illustrated drop after the 6-month trial (great writing, totally don't need it).

Then I went and re-upped for Wired to stay current on technologies of tomorrow. (sarcasm implied)

Finally, my Dad had re-gifted Red Herring Magazine and Child magazine to us (they got freebies from frequent flier miles). Two more! Ouch. But, Red Herring went out of business. Yea! But Business 2.0 took it over and is sending me 2 years worth of their magazine. Boo....

Yep, it all continues, like a runaway snowball, like a train with no brakes, like a bad analogy on a roll...

Phew. So, I solved MO, finally; at least, temporarily. I increased my en-suite reading (i.e. European term for full bathroom in your hotel room) time to at least an hour a day.

Done!

Youth of Today Goin' to Hell Fast!

Seems like the headlines most people are familiar with lately.

There's a serious amount of talk about teens, sex and popular culture today.

I won't say debate or discussion because it's limited to snide comments and assumptions that crazy-sexy kids are dressing and acting out today, and how this really is bad for them, and how they are all running around having sex all the time.

My mom recently was telling me about an Oprah where she managed to give the impression that every teenager thought sex was like shaking hands, and they were doing it everywhere, all the time, with no regards to their future.

Well, seems like the times they is a changin', I'll agree to that. But not how most people think.

The New York Times reported a couple weeks ago that "Teen pregnancies, abortions fall in 2000."

Teen pregnancies down... Yep, those darn kids are out of control, and sex on TV must be an end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it problem...

There's so much bad news out there based on misperceptions, that it's important to also understand that the country isn't quite ready to implode just yet.

The Times quotes from data produced by the Alan Guttmacher Institute. This link takes you straight to the article, which says that teen pregnancy rates have dropped for the 10th straight year.

Read the article for more specifics, as well as an available PDF file for download with breakdowns for each state.

Since 1990, abortions have been cut almost in half, from 43.5 per 1000 teen women to 24. That's significant.

Since 1990, overall pregnancy has declined 28%. Those are huge numbers.

I'll repeat what I said earlier: to me, there's so much bad news out there based on misperceptions, that it's important to also understand that the country isn't quite ready to implode just yet.

Essentially, even as crime and other bad stuff is decreasing, reporting of such crimes and problems has greatly increased on the 5pm Nightly News Police Report. It's a shame.

Another headline in the Denver Post a couple days ago goes even further. It says, "Teens' abstinence, contraception (use) up."

For example, birth rates over the decades... rated as # of births/1000 women for women ages 15-19.

50s ---- 80
60s ---- 97
70s ---- 70
80s ---- 53
90s ---- 62
Today - 43

Hmmmm, from a high of nearly 100 to a low today of around 40. Damn. Apparently all this sex education stuff is working. Kids are seeing the world around them and apparently deciding they don't want to bring kids into this world the wrong way, and don't want to get AIDS.

Bravo!

FoodSaver food vacuum-packing system

Spending time with Dad & Peggy finally convinced me that it's time to join the FoodSaver vacuum-packing revolution.

That and all the damn frost-bitten food in my extra freezer that I won't get to enjoy.

Apparently, there are a couple other systems (FoodSaver says they are the "original"), but it took some searching and an article on vacuum sealing to help find the competition.

All I saw in stores was FoodSaver (@ Target, Kohl's, Sear's, CostCo, Sam's Club, etc.). Anyway, I bought one. But, there were definitely issues to consider before jumping in.

First issue: Cost
It's an expensive investment, and you need to be sure you'll use it, but I got a great deal on the system from Kohl's during a 25% off coupon sale thingee. I got the FoodSaver 800 for $97 and a 3-roll pack of 11" wide x 18' long rolls for $18.75 ($.35/foot is the cheapest I've seen anywhere for this amazingly expensive material, apparently it's made with gold. Who knew?).

You'll notice the bags are really expensive, I've seen the average price per foot at around $.45-$.50. But, you can reuse the bags, or so they say. I haven't tried yet, but I've seen Gramma Peggy do it and it works pretty good. Bags also go well in the dishwasher, apparently. My experience is that they flop around, try just hand-washing them.

Next, there's convenience in using the FoodSaver. Here's my results with several food items:

Blueberries: Verrrry juicy, so blue juice ends up in the vacuum chamber for you to clean out. Annoying. But, it worked.

Pretzels: bready & cheap. The problem here is simply that the bags are actually more expensive than the pretzels. So, no real point in using the bags for this large, fluffy items.

Crab Legs: Got them from Alaska, very expensive, definitely a key use for the FoodSaver. But, they are also pointy, so they went through a couple bags. I wrapped them extensively in paper towels. This worked to hold the sharp bits in, we'll see how it works when I finally defrost a bag.

Dry salami in fridge: We don't eat it very often, so for even stuff like this that will last a while, I still think it's worth it. No problems sealing, and now it'll last and be fresher and not dry out further.

Breakfast sausage: perfect, and now available to me anytime. Broke the package into 3 parts, FoodSaver'd two for the freezer and put a normal ziplock of them into the fridge for this weekend. We normally have turkey bacon, but Kathy's pregnant and not liking that stuff right now.

Asparagus: First blanched (boiled, then shocked in cold water) for a few minutes, then vacuum sealed. Worked okay, but I blanched too long, it was too soft (basically, fully cooked).

Final thoughts:

There is an inconvenience to pulling it out each time and setting it up. You'll really want to have a dedicated area for using the system.

It makes purchases of massive amounts of food at warehouse clubs (e.g. CostCo) more palatable and absorbable for a smaller family (but we're growing!).

The FoodSaver is also good for freezer organization. Firms everything up and makes it stackable and easier to fit more food in while simultaneously making it more accessible and easier to find.

Boiling: I tried it with my asparagus that I blanched. The boiling part was just fine, but there were two issues. First, I blanched too long before vacuum-sealing, so the asparagus was too soft, and 2nd, I prefer a bit of crispiness on the outside, so I still had to put them in the oven. Taste was great, and it was easy to find the slim vacuum package of asparagus in the freezer.

I was even able to reuse the bag for the remainder of edamame (soybean pods usually associated with eating Sushi) that we pulled out of the freezer last night for another meal.

Oh, and no, you can't use regular ziploc bags, the air doesn't fully come out of them before it closes. Also, the plastic is a bit thin and doesn't seal right using the heat sealer.

Finally, you need to weigh all this against the cost of NOT using the bags...

Me? Well, I just threw away probably $100 worth of items from the freezer because they had incurable freezer burn. Sandwich meat, cheese, steaks, and some fish. Dang. So, there's the cost of the system right there for ya!

Definitely worth it, my understanding is that this will also improve flavors for foods that you freeze for a long time. Obviously, I've only had the device a few days so can't confirm this, although I have spoken directly with people who can confirm it.

1000 Bottle Wine Cellar

Could be a reasonable idea, even for budding wine lovers like us.

Okay now, stay with me.

Here's the theory, and I've almost convinced myself (easy) and my pregnant wife (difficult) that this theory holds as much water as...anyway.

1000 Bottle wine cellar. Wow, sounds extravagant and crazy.

First, assume you'll be wanting wine to age up to 10 years or more. Sounds good, given how little I know about wine. Second, assume you have space... In my case, I've got an unused, dark corner of the basement butting up against concrete walls on 3 sides - a perfect, otherwise unusable space, with constant temperature, no light or air movement, little vibration, etc...

So, 1 room, 10 years, 1000 Bottles.

Math: 1000 Bottles = 100 bottles/yr * 10 years

Let's start there.

At 100 bottles per year, that's about 2 bottles per week. Not crazy, given that a bottle is around 5 drinks (comparing to 5% beer or 40% liquor), so 10 drinks a week for two adults, and in the future, watered-down table wine for the EuroYouth with meals I guess.

The cost, assuming $12-$15/bottle, is $1350 a year for liquor. Not bad, really, when you figure that the bottles will be valued at as much as $75-$200/bottle when you are done with them.

Actually, though, there's less than 2 bottles per week.

Let's envision actually having wine worth that much. What could happen?

A. 3 bottles/yr
You are invited to parties. You bring a great bottle of 1994 DuBlaupt Cabernet Sauvignon. You're a hit, you've provided $100 gift of good taste, and it only cost $12.

B. 5 bottles/yr
Your father visits. There's a few extra bottles that week.

C. 5 bottles/yr
You have a dinner party or holiday party. Boom, there's an extra few bottles.

D. 3 bottles/yr
You have a wine tasting. Shish-boom-bah! There's another few bottles.

E. 5 bottles/yr
Suddenly you have the popular wine-drinking house...I mean, neighbors begin to appreciate you as a person.

F. 4 bottles/yr
Oops, now it's cooking time with the good stuff. As you cook better, you use more wine. Known fact. Some of it even goes in the food.

G. 10 bottles/yr
You decide to save a few extraordinary bottles for later.

That's 35% (35 out of your 100 bottles) gone right there!

So, now you barely have more than 5 bottles every month, just 1.25 bottles a week, which is a pretty easy mark to hit for general purpose drinking.

Finally, there's an assumption you have to have the entire 1000 bottles cellar filled the first year - you don't. You can build them up slowly over more than 10 years, so again you have less than 100 bottles available.

And, wah-lah! There you go, 1000 bottle wine cellar makes perfect sense. You get bottles of wine that taste like $20-$200 but only pay $12-15 each.

Happy tasting!

BTW - I'm thinking about this for a Spring project for the house...Whaddya think?

Wüsthof Classic knife

Mmmm.... just bought the Wüsthof Classic 8" Chef's knife, $90.

Wow, it's like a whole new world of sharpness and fun. My first work has been simple mincing and chopping of green onions, peeling oranges and the like, nothing super tricky, but the ease of use and results have been fantastic.

Basically, I've learned that I use 2 knives - a big one and a small paring one.

I'd say get at least one good one so you can compare your current assortment of odds 'n' ends knives such as what I have used.

NOW I realize what a great knife can do.

I picked the Wüsthof over the Henckel for two reasons. Ultimately, they seemed very similar, but the Henckel was heavier and had a thicker handle, which seemed a bit less comfortable to my grip, as well as my wife's smaller hands.

There's not a Wüsthof website as far as I can tell, but this website at least gives some info on the Wüstof knife-making history.

Good cooking!

Tasty Benefits: A Culinary Education

Classic Techniques of cooking (my 4-Saturday class, see February 15, 16, 23, 24 journal entries for more details).

This class provided a really broad and eminently useful understanding of cooking techniques that I've not only applied on a daily basis, but that I now recognize when I watch chefs on cooking shows.

I was watching a cooking show recently. Before creating a soup, the chef suggested you brown some of the veggies to get extra flavor out if you don't have a long time to let them simmer.

Translating to the language of EuroChefs (e.g. French), you'd sauté the initial mirepoix (2 onions, 1 carrot, 1 celery stalk) and let it get to the point where it's soft and sweating a bit and then add as the basis for your stock to elevate the flavor.

I've already used this when doing Chicken and Dumplings. The recipe just said to throw in some veggies. I quickly realized that this was a basic mirepoix they were asking for and I could spruce up the dish not only by creating a good mirepoix and later adding a bouquet garni (parsley stems, bay leaf and thyme for a basic garni) but by finishing off with minced garlic and parsley at the end for a flavorful chicken soup base.

It's becoming obvious when reviewing recipes handed down by the folks and grandparents that these recipes were guidelines designed for people who already know how to cook. I'm sure that they didn't need to say "sauté the mirepoix" because they already knew that. Later in the Chicken and Dumplings recipe, it says you need to add oil to the dumpling batter, but then below doesn't bother to list when! Obviously, it's assumed you know what you are doing as a chef.

A touch of geography: Mirepoix is also the name of a town in Southern France that we visited last summer, really wonderful. For images of that part of the world, see Fisher's in France, Summer 2003.

Just back from Vacation

You'll notice a short lack of entries. I was gone for a week and a half with my kid down to Phoenix to visit the grandparents.

At Grampa's, it was okay, because I had high-speed 'net access and could handle posting almost daily. Then, of course, I went to Gramma's where there's a tin can and two strings: not conducive to the typist and blogger.

Anyway, that's why a few posts are missing.

I'm also sorry to say that my favorite fish passed into the realm of Neptune this past evening.

Fishy, ummm, we'll call him Harry, had a full life as a beta in a bowl. He (obviously a male since he was named Harry) had a good life. Given to me as a present several years ago at Christmas in a vase with a plant, he lived years beyond any other fish I'd ever been associated with.

The morning light streaming through our patio door lit his dwelling in a lovely way, so I thought to take a picture, only to find that this would be, instead, his memorial photo.

Harry Fisher. R.I.P. 2004

Painting Indoors: Why bother? and Tips for enjoying it

Repainting your rooms in warm, bold colors.

Now you see it on all the home shows such as the BBC's Changing Rooms.

Kathy and I have found that there are a few tips that will make it, if not fully enjoyable, then quicker to do and something you'll find immensely worthwhile as a wonderful, inexpensive way to redecorate your house.

I would go so far as to say that for us, it's been the defining difference in truly enjoying the time we spend at home in our rooms.

Check out our Redecorated Rooms to see what we've done recently.

Presenting:
THE FISHER'S INDOOR PAINTING KWIK 'N' EASY TIPS

1 Taping...
a. Tape everything, and use the expensive blue painter's tape. It lifts up more easily and tears away less of the paint.
b. Paint as soon after taping as possible, and remove the tape right after painting the final coat to reduce ripped paint. Most tapes are rated for 2-3 days, but I've found anything longer than a day causes undue sticking.
c. Pull the tape away at right-angles to the wall (i.e. pull it towards you, not straight up if you are pulling up tape on the baseboard). This reduces the likelihood of pulling up long tracts of paint on the wall.
d. Tape is for baseboards, cabinets, and door trim. Don't bother to tape the ceiling, you won't need to (read the next tip).

2. Edging
Use an edger. It's a 3x5inch rectangular painting tool, about $3.50 at stores. It has two wheels on one side to keep that edge of the brush from touching, so it runs along ceilings, baseboards and wall edges. A fantastic way to do ceilings with really clean, straight edges.

I suggest using the edging tool first, and then using rollers and brushes to cover up as close as possible to the edge.

Home Depot sells the Shur-Line Paint Edging Kit for $3.89 and refills are $2.87 for 2 pads.

3. Throw away equipment
There are times to recycle and clean. Painting isn't one of them. The trade-off is that you trash a few extra items, but you don't run paint down the drain and into the municipal water system.

This is the #1 tip for enjoying the painting process. I've estimated that this can add approximately $10 per painting experience. It's generally worth it.

What disposable items should you buy?
Edging pads
Rollers
Plastic paint trays (fit inside the metal paint tray for stability)
Small brushes for touch-up
Thin plastic drop cloths (can use 2-3 times, then throw away because the paint it's picked up can start to peel off and fall on the floor)

4. More tips:
a. Don't do multiple colors on walls if you can help it, especially if you have raised surface spackled/textured walls
b. Bold colors - you've seen it on the shows, it's true. We've gone with generally compatible warm colors, see our pages for new/old pix
c. Get into the project. Think of the room as a theme, then go with it. Find a piece you like (art, pottery, bedspread, whatever) and plan colors around it. We used the blue from a Toulouse-Lautrec piece for our TL guest room, then framed a few TL postcards and added a primary yellow painted chair a lá Van Gogh to the room for fun.
d. Try to paint in one day, or in the evening and finishing the next morning.
e. Wait at least a few hours between coats or else you're just re-wetting the first coat and not adding a full layer on top of it.
f. Buy more paint than you think you'll need. It's good to have leftovers for touch-ups and an extra coat if you need it. Going to the store again is a pain.
g. Since you are disposing of a lot of stuff, buy the cheapies for most things (like rollers and brushes), there's no need to go expensive as they don't have to hold up very long.