Kansas = Cold

There seems to be an invisible line just across the Kansas/Oklahoma border. We crossed it just before Christmas, headed to Wichita. Within minutes, the ponds were frozen over, and patches of snow began to appear. The temperature dropped to a frosty, well, less than 40°. That's cold enough for me, whatever it was.

Being born in Iowa, you'd think that the snow and cold would be second nature to me. Not so. Northerners can keep their cold, the heat is fine with me.

One thing that folks in the North do have, which I am jealous of, are basements. We don't get them, unless you have it custom made. Then, it also depends on whether or not your land can take one. The water table might be too close to the surface, so I'm told.

Regardless of the water table proximity, my house will have a tornado shelter. That's just good sense in Tornado Alley. Jarrell was the lesson.

Braun Shaver

This is one fine machine. A gift from my wife for Christmas, this is my first rechargeable shaver since a Remington about 15 years ago. It shaves close, cleans itself, is easy to use, looks good, and tells me how much battery life it has left.

My main concern was razorburn, but it doesn't seem to be causing much. The mild irritation it does bring will probably dissappear in a few weeks as my skin adjusts.

It's probably no surprise that a blade gives the closest possible shave, but it's nice to be able to get damn near as good a shave at anytime in half the time.

MP3 Players

A pretty neat little toy, this here mp3 player is. This was a Christmas gift, and I've already ripped a hundred songs or so from my cd's to it. It weighs about 3 ounces less than nothing, and doesn't skip. Plus, you don't have to carry around any cd's or tapes.

Right now, it's got some White Stripes, some Big Ass Truck, some Beck, some Mars Volta. Heck, it's even got a bit of Gwen Stefani. It should burn through a AAA battery after 18 hours, but there ought to be some rechargables out there.

Rock on.

Smokin'

The carmaker Koenigsegg of Sweden recently produced the world's fastest production car. The CCR, at less than top RPM's, broke the McLaren's record of 231mph for a record speed of 241 mph. This record was made at a circular test track in Italy, but they suspect that a measured run at a straight track in Germany might give them the space needed to approach or exceed 250mph. It's not a Porsche, but that's ok.

Brazos Postponed

A few posts ago, I mentioned that a trip to the Brazos was in the works. That ended up not panning out, but a couple friends of mine did go. We expected that one or the other would happen- lots of debris, or no debris. As it turns out, there was no debris. The flow that nearly peaked 25,000 cfs swept the place out, and they even had a hard time finding firewood.

There will be more trips out there once it starts warming up. I'll let you know how it goes.

Talking Turkey

Thanksgiving - a time to look back upon the year and our lives, to think of our family, all that we hold dear, our love, our many blessings, and to recreate some of the finest foods ever to be made.

We had some family in from out of town, and all of us gathered at my sister-in-law's house just a few miles from here. There was plenty to eat, many children ready to help you run off some calories, and Madagascar played on an endless loop. Do you like to...MOVE IT?

It was decided that we would forego the typical turkey and opt for a fried gobbler from The Cajun Turkey Company. They fully cook their turkeys with an injection of Geaux juice (get it?), and shrink wrap it in foil. All you have to do is thaw it, and throw it in the oven for about an hour. The turkey is juicy, tender, and tasty, with zesty cajun spices and a hint of orange for zing.

Another good choice was the ham from Whole Foods. Their hams have no Nitrates or Nitrites whatsoever, and are incredibly lean. A couple of the kids who never eat ham were more than happy to come back for seconds. Again, fully cooked, just throw it in the oven for about an hour.

There were plenty of side dishes to adorn the plate. One of our nephews cooked up two beautiful pumpkin pies, which nearly stole the show with a bit of whipped cream on top. Another sister sent some positively sinful Baklava to the occasion. All natural candied yams and royalty-grade creamed spinach top the list, but there is so much more than I have space to describe.

One final thing that should be noted, however, is the beer of choice for the night. Samuel Adams' Winter Lager was a perfect fit for the rich feast. Creamy, with a soft hint of molasses, it brought a tremendously satisfying touch of sweetness to every part of the meal.

Hope your Thanksgiving was grand, and filled with family and friends.