My Photo in a Book

A new kids educational book features one of my photos. This is the photo:

And this is the book, Earth Facts for Earthlings :

The Wife Gets Work

Yeah! After three interviews at local high schools in which either she did not like them or they didn't like her (hard to believe) she had an interview at the closest high school -- it's 3 blocks away!

They seemed to love her and today in a second interview they confirmed that by hirinng her. It could hardly be a more ideal postion for her. Teaching english to 9th and 11th graders. These are the grades she hasd the most experience with and feels most prepared for in terms of lesson plans and reading list etc.

She starts in 2 weeks.

I'm an Ivy league grad.

Apparently. According to Newsweek's "25 new Ivies". Newsweek says little as to what qualifies a school to the new status (other than increased competition to get in). Nonetheless it's nice to see Boston College top the list (sure the list is alphabetical, so what). I always knew good ole BC was just shy of Ivy quality education.

UCLA, Skidmore and RPI are also on the list.

Birthday Cake

Did I find the perfect wife or what?
Look at this cake she made me.

Got rocks in your head?

I call this one "Mount USmore".

Kneel before Zod.

A day at the races

Today is the annual soap box derby. Just 2 blocks from our house. Lots of fun. I heard one six year old boy yelling "American Hot Rod baby!" Sadly another soapbox car was marked "pimp my ride".
The local cops clocked top speeds of 21 MPH on their radar guns.

Welfare

I just have to ditto today's column by Jonah Goldberg - Farm Owners: Welfare Kings
Like Jonah I just travelled the country and was reminded of the beauty and peacefulness of our country's sparsely populated middle section. And though it may seem close to biting the hand that feeds us, I've long thought that the crowd of politician who clamor for the end of welfare entitlements (to poor families) should extend their fiscal concern to elimating the hand outs to agribusiness.

In 2005 farm owners recieved $25 Billion in subsidies (that's welfare). This amount is 50% great that that recieved by familes on welfare.

Read the column.

Gliding

Today my dad took me up in the glider. We climbed to 4000 feet and sailed over the race track, the performing arts center and my house. We could see my outdoor table in the backyard.

About four other gliders were up with us and with only one good thermal updraft to be found all were circling the same spot like buzzards over a fresh kill.

It was very hot in the cockpit. I wasn't prepared for that. My only other trip in a glider must have been cooler weather. It felt like a sauna. We stayed up over an hour and a half and I began to fear heat stroke.

Very smooth landing.

Who Killed the Electric Car?

My friend Chris Paine was on the Daily Show tonight (8/2/06) talking about his film Who Killed the Electric Car
So go see it.

RIP Wild Bill

On this day Wild Bill Hickok was killed. Since our visit to Deadwood, SD we're completely absorbed by the HBO series. We've gone through season one already on DVD and have just started season two. It really adds to our experience just having a sense of the geography. We thought the journey was long and dull at 80 MPH. It's hard to imagine stage coach from Chicago or farther.

We fought the wal and the wal lost!

Last night we attended our first town board meeting. The hot issue is (and has been) the proposed site of a new 230,000 sq ft Wal-Mart super Center about 5 blocks from our house at the intersection of the two busiest roads in town. (a five corner intersection no less).

The no Sprawl Mart forces have been active for about a year (so well in advance of our arrival -- or even purchase of the home) but the town board had only one of nine members against Wal-Mart. They even recently removed a zoning cap prohibiting 90,000 sq ft. or larger stores this made it more difficult to refuse a Wal-Mart plan.

You should know that from here you need drive only 8 miles north to a Wal-Mart or 12 miles south to another if that's your shopping predeliction.

Many of the reasons we chose this town would be undone by a Wal-Mart nearby.
One gentleman cited the late 90's decision of the town of Lake Placid NY to reject Wal-Mart and how they are very happy with the results of the decision today.

When the site proposal came to a vote a motion was made (by a Republican) that it should not even be considered as it is not in keeping with town's master growth plan! The motion carried! Yes!

Our first meeting and -- victory!

For now. Wal-Mart will likely return with a modified plan. Perhaps less sq. footage will appease some opponents. But it's good to know the town council has (finally) heard the will of what seems to be the majority.

Our first guests

Speaking of the greatest chefs I've experienced, I borrowed a dish from Robert Gadsby of Noe (at Omni Hotels) when we had my family over. He calls it a mimosa salad and does not include an orange slice nor does he serve it in a cocktail glass* but I figure with a name like mimosa you should. So I did.
My family (sister, nephews, parents, grandmother -- the chef had to work) seemed to enjoy it. My grandmother gushed that she couldn't believe newlyweds could cook like this. Well newlyweds of er...a certain age.

*it comes along side a small orange frappe

Anniversary dinner

I have one very talented chef in my family. For years I've considered him one of the top ten chefs I've experienced in the world. But last friday we went to his new restaurant to celebrate our anniversary, and he has reached a new level. We tried his 6 course tasting and I'm sure that freed him up to show off and use the best of the ingredients he had on hand but also this new restaurant is giving him more freedom with the menu and is very concerned with top quality all around so we really saw him at his best. I'm now hard pressed to think of even two better chefs whose food I've ever eaten.