Highlights of this day in history: OPEC starts an oil embargo; American troops defeat the British in the Battle of Saratoga; The Loma Prieta earthquake hits the San Francisco Bay Area; Al Capone convicted of income tax evasion; Arthur Miller born.
Other notable October 17th events include:
1604 – German astronomer Johannes Kepler observes a supernova in the constellation Ophiuchus.
1781 – General Charles Cornwallis offers his surrender to the American revolutionists at Yorktown, Virginia.
1814 – London Beer Flood occurs in London killing nine.
1888 – Thomas Edison files a patent for the Optical Phonograph (the first movie).
1907 – Guglielmo Marconi's company begins the first commercial transatlantic wireless service between Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada and Clifden, Ireland.
1933 – Albert Einstein, fleeing Nazi Germany, moves to the U.S..
1956 – The first commercial nuclear power station is officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II in Sellafield,in Cumbria, England.
1979 – Mother Teresa awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
2006 – The United States population reaches 300 million.
2007 – The Dalai Lama receives the United States Congressional Gold Medal.
MNTS was born on this day in 1988.
ReplyDelete/that's right...she's 21!
//everyone get offa the streets, she's going out to celebrate "21" with her friends!
///shudder!
My uncle was on the bay bridge during that earthquake and my aunt was on the Nimitz freeway.
ReplyDeleteWe all knew that, and were panicky watching the news coverage. As it turned out, they were both ok -- they had gotten past where the roads collapsed.
MNTS?
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday!
Hey, would somebody mind sitting on the can for a while to warm up the seat for me?
ReplyDeleteMNTS? Happy birthday, but who is that?
ReplyDeleteHey, would somebody mind sitting on the can for a while to warm up the seat for me?
ReplyDelete*quietly leaves through the back door*
I think the technical term is "bog warmer."
ReplyDeleteOh crap -- my identity has vanished again into the faceless masses!
ReplyDeleteMeanNastyTwentySomething!
ReplyDeleteShe used to be MeanNastyTeenager but she graduated... ;-)
Yup. 5 avatars and then we all become Soylent Green.
ReplyDeleteYup. 5 avatars and then we all become Soylent Green.
ReplyDeleteAh yes. Disturbing but oddly satisfying.
Oh crap -- my identity has vanished again into the faceless masses!
ReplyDeleteIt's that littleoldlady. Ruling over us with an iron fist. No individuality is allowed.
I've got kitchen utensils and I know how to use them!
ReplyDeleteGEEPERS! :-)
My arsenal
ReplyDelete/be afraid!
Stimulus Math: $533,000 Per Job Saved or Created?
ReplyDeleteObama team makes it official: Budget deficit hits record. By a lot.
/you go Obama, borrow that money, spend, spend, spend!
Wow.
ReplyDelete/be afraid!
ReplyDeleteA GARLIC PRESS?!? NOOOOOOOOOO!
And now that MeanNastyTwentySomething, next in line for the throne, is of age we will suffer twice the cruelty as they ruthlessly crush any dissent to further the stranglehold they have over our fruitcup.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was living in Germany back in 89-91 I had a tiny little kitchenette and had to learn to cook with only the crudest of tools. My full range consisted of:
ReplyDelete1 skillet
1 small saucepan
1 pot for boiling water
1 good carving knife
1 wooden spoon
1 spatula
1 soup spoon
My meals were largely dictated by the vicissitudes of what was available at the local market. Since my fridge was the size of a toaster over, I couldn't keep much more in it than a bottle of wine, a couple of beers and a half-dozen eggs and maybe a chunk of cheese.
That was one of the best educations in cooking technique I ever had.
Fruitcup? HA. She haz ur beer!
ReplyDelete/me, I could care less ;-)
...although I had a Sam Adams for the first time the other day. I do believe I've finally found a beer that I can drink!
ReplyDeleteNOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteTHE TYRANNY MUST END!
Fight the Power! We must unite. Down with ....
dragged from the room by two burly retainers
The winners of the Wellcome Image Awards (scientific imagery).
ReplyDeleteThe mouse head is so cute!
I like the aspirin crystals.
ReplyDeleteThey look like a piece of copper artwork...
ReplyDeletePakistan army launch offensive on Taliban
ReplyDeleteMore than 30,000 Pakistani soldiers launched a major ground offensive in the main Al-Qaeda and Taliban stronghold along the Afghan border early this morning (Sat).
The offensive in South Waziristan follows months of airstrikes intended to soften up militant defences that have also forced tens of thousands of civilians to flee. The push is due to focus on ridding the region of the Pakistani Taliban, a network opposed to the U.S.-backed Pakistani government.
The full-scale operation also comes after two weeks of militant attacks that have killed more than 175 people across Pakistan and ramped up the pressure on the army to take on the insurgents.
It is the army’s fourth attempt since 2001 to dislodge Taliban fighters from the lawless tribal region of South Waziristan, and an intelligence official said the latest effort could take up to two months. The three previous attempts ended in negotiated truces that left the Taliban in control.
/no hudnas, try winning this time
So, uh, what did you do to Geepers, littleoldlady?
ReplyDeleteI think it was my kitchen utensils....
ReplyDelete/have grinder, will ...um... GRIND! ;-)
"try winning this time"
ReplyDeleteNoooooo! There can be no victory! We can't win!
/
/have grinder, will ...um... GRIND!
ReplyDelete*gulp*
Good morning everyone!
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday MNTS! Gawd, I don't remember what it was like to be 21 - except I wouldn't want to do it again.
Hey, Lucius! I found time last weekend to read Julia Child's autobiography. I didn't find it so anti-American' _ I think she just preferred France - by a LOT!
Hone is in the house
Golly! You guys don't think I would actually use deadly utensils on my FRIENDS...do you?!
ReplyDeleteAttila -- I read a portion excerpted in some foodie mag. It was probably excerpted to make her seem that way -- that sort of thing plys well with the liberal sorts who usually buy those mags.
ReplyDeleteHmmm...
ReplyDeleteHai, Honey! :-)
Well, um, *looks at feet*...Geepers still isn't back...and uh, well...PUT THE PEELER DOWN, LOL!!!
ReplyDeleteFrom the Dept of You Can't Make This Stuff Up
ReplyDeleteOil company sued for £160,000 over dead beauty pageant camel
The three-year-old black camel was grazing in a desert pasture about 150 miles west of Ahsa when it fell into a large hole dug to store crude oil.
Now the owner, Abdullah al-Saiari, is suing the oil giant Saudi Aramco for £160,000 in compensation for his prized camel.
Mr Saiari told the Saudi Gazette: "She was part of the Camel Beauty Contest."
What's wrong with your feet, Scotti?
ReplyDelete/picks up peeler....
Lucius
ReplyDeletethat sort of thing plys well with the liberal sorts who usually buy those mags.
I've decided that Mastering the Art of French Cooking is an exercise in masochism. In her biography she wrote about learning how to scramble eggs, but she didn't give details. So I pulled down Mastering to look it up - jeez, Louise - that woman was obsessive.
*runs screaming from the room*
ReplyDelete*runs back*
Breakfast time...Have a great day, everyone!(next time I'm bringing my egg beater, lol...)
*runs away again*
For Honey
ReplyDeleteByebye, scotti! ;-)
ReplyDeleteAs was typing that last remark, my white sauce started separating. Oh dear. But I saved it.
ReplyDeleteMastering French Cooking is an exercise in masochism no doubt. I once wrote a little essay on that point on a blog-that-shall-not-be-named.
The thing I still have to master is timing -- making sure everything gets ready at the right time.
Only a scot would bring an egg beater to a garlic press fight.
ReplyDeleteI really have to go to the post office...but do I REALLY want to mail soggy packages?
ReplyDeletelol
ReplyDeleteHis scrambled egg technique is - according to Julia - EGGSLACTLY wrong!
I dunno...made ME hungry!
ReplyDelete/then again, I've been hungry all morning.
//hey! wasn't somebody supposed to bring me a cheese pocket?!
Two eggs in bowl, scramble, 30 seconds in microwave, scramble, 30 seconds in microwave.
ReplyDelete/scrambled eggs
Lucius
ReplyDeleteThe thing I still have to master is timing -- making sure everything gets ready at the right time.
In order to facilitate that I did two things - I learned to do all the prep work FIRST - what the French call mise in place, I believe.
The other thing I did was when it was time to replace my old stove, I got a new one with a warming drawer. That has simplified my cooking life enormously.
Morning, folks!
ReplyDeleteI'm all hobbled up this morning and moving slower than molasses in January. I think I'm going to have to buy some much better pillows for my bed 'cause the ones I have make my back ache.
*grumblegrumblegrumble*
Ok, this is troubling. I stumbled across it yesterday - still haven't finished reading all the comments - there must be 30 pages worth, but quite a few interesting links to follow up on in there.
ReplyDeleteThis is about Obama's trip to Copenhagen re: climate change treaty. Lord Monckton gave a speech in which he warns about this being a back door/trojan horse scheme to impose global gov't and about Obama's temptation to cede US sovreignty.
Obama Poised to Cede US Sovreignty
At [the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference in] Copenhagen, this December, weeks away, a treaty will be signed. Your president will sign it. Most of the third world countries will sign it, because they think they’re going to get money out of it. Most of the left-wing regime from the European Union will rubber stamp it. Virtually nobody won’t sign it.
I read that treaty. And what it says is this, that a world government is going to be created. The word “government” actually appears as the first of three purposes of the new entity. The second purpose is the transfer of wealth from the countries of the West to third world countries, in satisfication of what is called, coyly, “climate debt” – because we’ve been burning CO2 and they haven’t. We’ve been screwing up the climate and they haven’t. And the third purpose of this new entity, this government, is enforcement.
'Morning, Trixie! :-)
ReplyDeleteI think you need the Bloody Mary cure...
Good morning (as it is) Miss Trixie.
ReplyDeletehave some coffee and fruit cup.
Morning Miss Trixie!
ReplyDeleteUm, have you tried feather pillows?
(We've been discussing techniques for making scrambled eggs)
Good morning all y'all! From a cold (47 degrees, going up to 54 degrees) and very rainy Charlotte!
ReplyDeleteI do think Charlotte is going for the title of Seattle of the East.
Anyway, Me and Mom are doing ok today, and I hope all of you are as well.
Hi real.
ReplyDeleteIt's miserable here in Northern Virginia too. Has been for 3 days. Molly refuses to go out in this slop, so she now has a raging case of cabin fever.
Honey --
ReplyDeleteDoing prep first is essential. We have a fairly small galley kitchen. At first I despised it, but I'm really getting to enjoy it (though I wish I had more counter space -- who doesn't?) If I'm planning a "big" meal, I usually like to start about four hours in advance getting the kitchen straightened up, doing prep, and then putting on soup and starting the items that can either be precooked or left to go for a while. Once that's all done, I clean the kitchen (again) to get everything set for the final prep.
Getting a new stove helped a good deal; we also have a convection oven that's great for keeping things warm. My timing issues generally derive from small people or large people who don't know how to tell time and get home 2 hours late.
Mornin' Real.
ReplyDelete47 degrees? Balmy. It's about 42 here, and I doubt we'll see 50.
Fractured lyrics: I always thought this song was called Love, Rain on Me
ReplyDeleteSoggy Morning, realwest! :-)
Lucius
ReplyDeleteGalley-style kitchens are wonderful for imposing discipline (try cooking a a boat sometime - that'll learn ya!)
I'm not very patient with people who I've spent hours in the kitche for and they are disrespectful.
I have been known to dump an entire spread when someone took a 20 minute phone call as we were about to sit down.
He ate popcorn for a week.
Ach, guess who finally tottered down the stairs after staying up to watch baseball?
ReplyDeleteThink I'll go feed the thing.
Feather pillows? Hmmm ... hadn't thought about that.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking about scribbled eggs, Lil Miss needs hers. With a little cheddar, of course.
{{realwest}} Morning, luv. I'm glad to see you here and you sound in good spirits.
Sorry to post and run but I will be back - I need a nice hot, soaky shower to warm up and massage my sore muscles.
Honey -- harder for a guy to get by with that, unfortunately. We don't control the handle on the funski valve.
ReplyDeleteOn another note, I'm convinced that the people who came up with the "open plan" kitchen idea did not have kids. Actually, given that practically every interior designer I've met is gay, that's a pretty safe assumption.
Tell Molly I said hi! ;-)
ReplyDeleteI think I need a nap...
Atilla
ReplyDeletetry cooking a a boat sometime
Don't know if I'd ever have an appetite that big ... :P
/couldn't resist - BBIAB :D
Pretty amazing that I can lose $7K on a covered call contract that expired out of the money today.
ReplyDelete/Fidelity's math seems to be a bit fuzzy this morning
The trick to boat cooking is to make sure that you invite only people who get seriously sea sick and then serve lots of hard liquor before dinner, along with terrifying appetizers -- squid en gelee, for example, or individual soufles with calves brains. Everyone will be so sick that it doesn't matter what you serve -- you can rave about it later and they'll have to agree because they won't want to admit that they can't hold their liquor and get sea sick.
ReplyDeleteFidelity's math is always fuzzy.
ReplyDeleteThat's why I never trusted her when she said it was her "safe time."
ReplyDeleteHey again Y'all - just hadda kick start the damn heater - my bones just ACHE in this weather.
ReplyDeleteAnd I don't get what the big deal is about scrambled eggs for cryin' out loud!
Geez, when I lived in Manhattan, this is how I got scrambled eggs "Hello, Deli? Gimme an order of scrambled eggs - 3 of 'em please, side of WELL DONE bacon, hash browns, english mufffin,
STAT! Thanks Gus, how the hell are you doing today? Yep, that's it. Thank you!" sixty seconds, TOPS.
Good morning Miss Trixie - HEY!!! Where are my *smooches* today, huh?!?
ReplyDeleteSheesh, you get busy for a week or two and everyone forgets protocol around here!
New thread up ----->
ReplyDeleteScrambled eggs, according to Julia (from Mastering French Cooking, p. 125
ReplyDelete7 eggs plus 2 egg yoks
4 tsp water or milk
2 TB softened butter (for pan)
1 1/2 to 2 Tbss softened butter or whipping cream (for last step)
"Beat eggs in the bowl with seasonings in liquid for 20 to 30 seconds just to blend yolks and whites. Smear the bottom and sides of the pan with the butter. Pour in the eggs and set over moderately low heat. Stir slowly and continually, reaching all over the bottom of the pan. Nothing will seem to happen for 2 to 3 minutes as the eggs gradually heat. Suddenly they will begin to thicken into a custard. Stir rapidly, moving pan on and off heat, until the eggs have almost thickened to the consistency you wish. Then remove from heat, as they will continue to thicken slightly. Just as soon as they are of the right consistency, stir in the enrichment butter or cream, which will stop the cooking. Season to taste, turn out onto the platter, decorate with parsley, and serve.
I'm not moving to the new thread until Miss Trixie sends me the smooches she forgot!
ReplyDelete