Month: April 2004

The other day while sitting on the porch we saw another sure sign of spring. The bat is back in the bat house. We know because there is a little pile of bat droppings under it. Maybe this year it will find a mate.

After a long hard day, edging the driveway, seeding a pasture, and planting some trees, it was finally nice enough to have dinner on the porch.

In other signs of spring, the Magnolias on campus are in bloom.

Whatever this is, is doing… Well, whatever they do in the Spring.

Even the fish in the marine tank at the HUB seem pretty happy Winter is finally over.

• Sunday, April 11, 2004
  • Weight: 155 pounds
  • Breakfast: mushroom/potato tart, orange juice, and coffee
  • Lunch: a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
  • Dinner: marinated grilled pork chops, roasted winter vegetables, coleslaw, two cups of coffee, two Sierra Nevada Pale Ales, and a hand full of peanuts
• Monday, April 12, 2004
  • Weight: 156 pounds
  • Breakfast: a slice of cherry pie and two cups of coffee
  • Lunch: a Act II Kettle Corn Flavor Mini Bags Microwave Popcorn and four peanut butter sandwich girl scout cookies
  • Dinner: a salad, roasted winter vegetables, and a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
• Tuesday, April 13, 2004
  • Weight: 156 pounds
  • Breakfast: half of a white grapefruit, a glass of orange juice, and a cup of coffee
  • Lunch: a tall coffee and a croissant from MacKinnon’s Cafe in West Pattee Library and a Big Grab® Lays KC Masterpiece Barbecue Flavor Potato Chips from The Creamery while waiting for the bus in the rain.
  • Dinner: two bowls of chicken rice soup, three slices of garlic toast, and a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
• Wednesday, April 14, 2004
  • Weight: 154 pounds
  • Breakfast: half of a white grapefruit, a glass of orange juice, and a cup of coffee
  • Lunch: 2 peanut butter sandwich girl scout cookies, a bag of Act II Kettle Corn Flavor Mini Bags Microwave Popcorn, and a Penn Stater Sub from the Penn State Sub Shop.
  • Dinner: half of a thin crust sautéed onion and pepper pizza and two Sierra Nevada Pale Ales
• Thursday, April 15, 2004
  • Weight: 154 pounds
  • Breakfast: hash brown potatoes, a glass of orange juice, and two cups of coffee
  • Lunch: Subway Meatball Marinara sub, a peanut butter cookie, a Big Grab® Lays KC Masterpiece Barbecue Flavor Potato Chips, and a Dr. Pepper
  • Exercise: 3.12 miles (6613 steps)
  • Dinner: a salad, two slices of garlic bread, and some peanuts
• Friday, April 16, 2004
  • Weight: 156 pounds
  • Breakfast: half of a white grapefruit, a glass of orange juice, and a cup of coffee
  • Exercise: 1.97 miles (4183 steps)
  • Lunch: Panda Express Sushi — salmon, tuna, shrimp, and four California rolls — and a Creamery Creamery Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream Cone.
  • Dinner: sausage, peppers, and onions, boiled potatoes, two glasses of Bella Sera Pinot Grigio, and some peanuts
• Saturday, April 17, 2004
  • Weight: 156 pounds
  • Breakfast: toast with strawberry jam, orange juice, and coffee
  • Lunch: a bowl of potato leek soup and a glass of Bella Sera Pinot Grigio
  • Dinner: three grilled chicken fajitas and two glasses of Bella Sera Pinot Grigio

Setsuko Yoshizuka, over at About Japanese Cuisine has this to say about chopstick etiquette:

It’s important to use chopsticks properly when you eat Japanese food. It might take some time to practice, but it’s worth learning it.

Basics: How to Hold Chopsticks:

Hold the upper chopstick with the index finger, the middle finger, and the thumb.

Put the other chopstick between the bottom of the thumb and the tip of the ring finger.

Move the upper chopstick only when you pick up food.

Bad manners:

• Waving chopsticks above food dishes.
• Sticking chopsticks into food instead of picking them up.
• Picking up a cup/bowl with the hand that is holding your chopsticks.
• Sucking chopsticks.
• Sticking chopsticks vertically into a bowl of rice.
• Passing food from your chopsticks to somebody else’s chopsticks.

How to Pick Up Chopsticks:

1. Pick up chopsticks by the thumb, the index fingers, and the middle fingers.
2. Support the chopsticks by the other hand.
3. Hold the chopsticks properly.

Extra Tip:

When you finished using disposable chopsticks (wari-bashi), put them back in the bag and fold the bag in half. This indicates that they are used.

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Yoshizuka, Setsuko. “Chopsticks Manners.” About Japanese Cuisine. 14 April 2004. <japanesefood.about.com/library/weekly/aa051401a.htm> (16 April 2004).

People in the United States are reportedly trying to eat smaller portions, reducing cholesterol and trans fats intake, and seeking more fruits and vegetables.

Food Technology magazine says its current cover story, “The Top 10 Functional Food Trends 2004,” referenced numerous studies that focused on U.S. food buying and consumption habits.

Late-night snacking is on the wane, fruit and vegetable consumption is growing, and more school lunches are being packed at home, Food Technology said. [United Press International]

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United Press International. “Americans Making Healthier Food Choices.” KSL NewsRadio 1160. 14 April 2004. <radio.ksl.com/index.php?nid=104&sid=87508> (14 April 2004).

Direct evidence has now been found to show that trilobites — among the most diverse of fossil animal groups — were eaten by other ancient sea creatures.

Scientists discovered cracked trilobite body parts in the gut of a 510-million-year-old fossil marine animal…

“There are a variety of other explanations for the presence of the trilobite parts in the gut of this fossil. But they are all less probable than the simplest one, which was that they were actually eating these things.”

…Other, indirect evidence of predation on trilobites has been known for some time.

Bite marks in the animals are common, with many more appearing on the right-hand side than the left-hand side — an observation that has not yet been fully resolved. [Rincon]

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Rincon, Paul. “Trilobite was ancient snack food.” BBC News. 14 April 2004. <news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3622091.stm> (14 April 2004).

It was a miserable gray rainy day and I got really depressed… but then Gretchen made chicken rice soup and later there was this rainbow.

“We don’t take one-and-a-half-hour lunches anymore,” says Parisian Geraldine Desailloug. “The French now eat convenience foods like the English. [Their] sandwiches are very popular.”

Madame Desailloug — who works for Food From Britain, a development consultancy for UK food and drink producers — says that though the French still tend to look down on [British] cooking, they are becoming increasingly enamoured of the great British culinary invention of placing fillings between two slices of bread…

The most pronounced upsurge in sandwich consumption occurred when the French working week was cut to 35 hours in 2000 — meaning business had to be squeezed into a shorter day.

“It caused a lifestyle change,” says Jim Winship of the British Sandwich Association. “People couldn’t afford to sit in restaurants for hours in the afternoon as they had before.” [BBC News]

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BBC News. “Vive le sandwich anglais!” BBC News. 6 April 2004. <news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/3603353.stm> (12 April 2004).

From the Centre Daily Times: Burning beef shuts down Pennsylvania Turnpike for hours

A truckload of black Angus beef clogged one of Pennsylvania’s main arteries Friday morning.

A trucker hauling a trailer of beef fell asleep at the wheel and crashed into a center barrier in Bedford County, setting the trailer afire, state police said. The accident shut down all eastbound lanes of the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

The Internet knows everything…

There is a six-point formula to the proper thank-you: Learn it, know it, memorize it — and it will never fail you.

1. Greet the Giver

   Dear Aunt Sally,

   That’s the easy part, but you’d be surprised how many people forget it. Dale Carnegie taught us people love to hear their own names and Direct Marketing is sure we also love to read them in ink. That’s right, ink. Blue-black is always the number-one choice, but black will suffice in a pinch. Don’t let a whimsical marker color be the most stunning part of your note: instead let the words sing without the amplification of rainbow hues. Even if your handwriting is poor, you must still hand-write your notes. Do not type them or, worse, use a word processor. No excuses.

2. Express Your Gratitude

   Thank you so much for the slippers.

   This first paragraph seems like it would be the easiest, but it is actually the most complicated. Beware the just writing trap. You are not “just writing to say” as in I am just writing to say; that’s stating the obvious. If the giver is reading, clearly you have already written. Therefore use the present-perfect tense, which essentially means write as if whatever you say is happening in the moment.

   Also — and this is important — never directly mention money. “Thank you for the hundred bucks” could instead be “Thank you for your generosity.” All cash denominations become “your generosity” or “your kindness.” If you feel the giver overspent, the farthest you can go is appreciated: “Your generosity is appreciated,” or “It is such an extravagant gift — your kindness is appreciated.”

   If you’re writing to thank someone for an intangible (such as them putting you up at their place while you were in town for the weekend), first define what the intangible thing is, and then make the gift sound as attractive as possible. In other words, don’t say: “Thanks for letting us crash at your place.” Instead say: “Thank you for your hospitality.” Don’t worry if it sounds too simple; the point of writing the note is to create a simple expression of a heartfelt sentiment.

3. Discuss Use

   It gets very chilly here in the winter, so they will get a lot of use when winter comes.

   Say something nice about the item and how you will use it. Let’s say it’s something you actually love and use incessantly — then say so: “Ever since I got the slippers I have only taken them off to shower and go to work. I’d wear them to the office if I thought I could get away with it.”

   But don’t lie, even though some etiquette books may tell you it’s okay. After all, there’s always a truth that can be extracted. Let’s say you hate the slippers. How to say thanks? Find the one thing about them that’s nice and discuss it — but don’t get carried away. “They are such a lovely shade of blue’ works, and is more honest than “These slippers make my heart sing like a choir of angels,’ which is overkill. If it was a gesture, like letting you stay at their place, you can follow the lines of “It’s so nice to make a personal connection while traveling. I really appreciated my time with your family.”

   If the gift was cash, allude to how you will use the money, but do not itemize your planned purchases line by line, instead simply say: “It will be a great help when we purchase our new home/toaster/lava lamp/whatever.”

   You can get arty here, but not flowery. It’s a fine line. Small, realistic statements like “I put the flowers on the kitchen table and they are still looking fresh and beautiful after a week,” or “I don’t know which is more fun, actually using the Cuisinart, or reading recipes and thinking I could do that in the Cuisinart!” Having fun is alright, so have at it.

4. Mention the Past, Allude to the Future

   It was great to see you at my birthday party, and I hope to see you at Dad’s retirement in February.

   Why did they give you the gift? What does it mean to your relationship with the giver? Let the giver know how they fit into the fabric of your life. If it’s someone you see infrequently, say whatever you know: “Mom tells me you’re doing great at Stanford, and I hope we cross paths soon.” If it’s someone you’re in regular contact with: “I’ll call you soon, but I wanted to take time to say thanks.” If it’s some errant family member you have little or no contact with, simply go with “You are in my thoughts and I hope you are well.” Nice, right?

5. Grace

   Thanks again for your gift.

   It’s not overkill to say thanks again. So say it.

6. Regards

   Love,
   Leslie

   Simply wrap it up. Use whatever works for you: Love, Yours Truly, With Love. Then sign your name and you’re done.

What’s Not There

Any news about your life. This isn’t the time to brag about your new job, a hot girlfriend, or number of surgeries. The thank-you is exclusively about thanking somebody for their kindness. While you may want more than anything to show them once and for all you amounted to something, this is not the forum. Save that for your annual Christmas letter. [Harpold]

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Harpold, Leslie. “How to Write a Thank-You Note.” The Morning News. 1 October 2003. <www.themorningnews.org/archives/how_to/how_to_write_a_thankyou_note.php> (17 April 2004).