Category: Uncategorized

You are Charles VI of France, also known as Charles the Mad or Charles the Well-Beloved!

A fine, amiable and dreamy young man, skilled in horsemanship and archery, you were also from a long line of dribbling madmen. King at 12 and quickly married to your sweetheart, Bavarian Princess Isabeau, you enjoyed many happy months together before either of you could speak anything of the other’s language. However, after illness you became a tad unstable. When a raving lunatic ran up to your entourage spouting an incoherent prophecy of doom, you were unsettled enough to slaughter four of your best men when a page dropped a lance. Your hair and nails fell out. At a royal masquerade, you and your courtiers dressed as wild men, ending in tragedy when four of them accidentally caught fire and burned to death. You were saved by the timely intervention of the Duchess of Berry’s underskirts.

This brought on another bout of sickness, which surgeons countered by drilling holes in your skull. The following months saw you suffer an exorcism, beg your friends to kill you, go into hyperactive fits of gaiety, run through your rooms to the point of exhaustion, hide from imaginary assassins, claim your name was Georges, deny that you were King and fail to recognise your family. You smashed furniture and wet yourself at regular intervals. Passing briefly into erratic genius, you believed yourself to be made of glass and demanded iron rods in your attire to prevent you breaking.

In 1405 you stopped bathing, shaving or changing your clothes. This went on until several men were hired to blacken their faces, hide, jump out and shout ‘boo!’, upon which you resumed basic hygiene. Despite this, your wife continued sleeping with you until 1407, when she hired a young beauty, Odette de Champdivers, to take her place. Isabeau then consoled herself, as it were, with your brother. Her lovers followed thick and fast while you became a pawn of your court, until you had her latest beau strangled and drowned.

A severe fever was fended off with oranges and pomegranates in vast quantities, but you succumbed again in 1422 and died. Your disease was most likely hereditary. Unfortunately, you had anywhere up to eleven children, who variously went on to develop capriciousness, great cruelty, insecurity, paranoia, revulsion towards food and, in one case, a phobia of bridges. [Goodyear]

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<a href="http://www.rumandmonkey.com/articles/bio.php?authorid=2" title="Satire - Author Bio">Goodyear, Owen</a>. &ldquo;<a href="http://rumandmonkey.com/widgets/tests/lunatics/" title="Rum and Monkey : Satire, personality tests and web toys">Which Historical Lunatic Are You?</a>&rdquo; <i><a href="http://rumandmonkey.com/" title="Rum and Monkey : Satire, personality tests and web toys">Rum and Monkey</a></i>. 2003. <a href="http://rumandmonkey.com/widgets/tests/lunatics/" title="Rum and Monkey : Satire, personality tests and web toys">&lt;http:// rumandmonkey.com/ widgets/ tests/ lunatics/&gt;</a> (8 December 2003).

Breakfast this morning was cold cereal and a glass of orange juice. I weighed in at 161 pounds.



<ins datetime="2003-12-08T14:38:00-05:00">I walked over to the Telecommunications Building and back this morning, then I walked to the HUB for lunch &mdash; all told, about four miles. I had a Panda Bowl of tofu with string beans, vegetables, steamed rice, and a fortune cookie.</ins>



<ins datetime="2003-12-08T18:34:00-05:00">Dinner was homemade beef stew and a <a href="http://www.sierra-nevada.com/beers/celebrationale.html" title="Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale">Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale</a>.</ins>

We are going to continue our research on what to plant in our garden next year. Today we cover… 

Bell Peppers

• At 64 days, Gypsy is an early, exceptionally productive pepper. Its sweet, tasty, medium-thick walls make it ideal for use in salads or frying. Elongated 4- to 5-inch 3-lobed fruits can be used when yellow-green at early maturity, or left to ripen to orange-red. Plants are 18 to 20 inches tall and are tobacco mosaic virus resistant.
• King Arthur matures in 67 days. It is resistant to bacterial leaf spot, tobacco mosaic virus, potato virus Y, and tobacco etch virus. Dwarf plants provide leaf cover for jumbo 4½-inch square green and red fruit.
• Jupiter¹ matures in 70 days, making it the earliest nonhybrid bell. It is tobacco mosaic virus resistant. Matures in mid-season with abundant yields of large, thick-walled fruit. It’s huge! Great for stuffing, freezing or fresh out of the garden.
• Bell Boy matures in 72 days. It is tobacco mosaic virus resistant. This excellent pepper is an old standard. It is considered one of the best all-purpose early bell peppers. Sturdy, vigorous plants bear a heavy crop of large, blocky, mostly 4 lobed peppers which can be used when a deep glossy green or left to turn bright red. Fruits are uniformly large, thick walled and fine quality.
• Big Bertha matures in 72 days. It is tobacco mosaic virus resistant. Glossy green to red fruit reach 7 inches long, with thick walls and a firm shape. The plants offer great coverage for the maturing fruit, and are vigorous all season.
• Valencia matures in 72 days. Resistant to bacterial leaf spot, tobacco mosaic virus, potato virus Y. Robust plants bear abundant quantities of 4½-inch square green to bright orange fruit with a symmetrical shape and thick walls that keep their firmness even when ripe.
• X-3R Wizard matures in 73 days, producing green to red fruit. It is resistant to bacterial leaf spot and tobacco mosaic virus.
• X-3R Camelot matures in 74 days. It is resistant to bacterial leaf spot and tobacco mosaic virus. It produces 4½-inch square green to red four lobed fruit with thick walls.

---

&sup1; Jupiter is <em>not</em> a hybrid

Breakfast this morning was scrambled eggs, hash brown potatoes, and a glass of orange juice. I weighed in at 161 pounds. Lunch was a <a href="http://www.sierra-nevada.com/beers/celebrationale.html" title="Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale">Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale</a>. Gretchen and I made French onion soup for dinner and accompanied it with another <a href="http://www.sierra-nevada.com/beers/celebrationale.html" title="Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale">Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale</a> and a half of an apple for dessert.

The first seed catalog arrived today. It was from the <a href="http://www.vermontbean.com/" title="Vermont Bean">Vermont Bean Seed Company</a>. As such, I guess it is officially time to start thinking about what next year&rsquo;s garden will look like. I am going to use the <a href="http://pubs.cas.psu.edu/freepubs/uj250.html" title="Pennsylvania Vegetable Variety Recommendations for the Home Gardener and Bedding Plant Grower/Garden Supplier">Pennsylvania vegetable variety recommendations</a> from the <a href="http://www.cas.psu.edu/" title="PSU College of Ag Sciences">Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences</a> as I guide to help in my selection.



You can find some interesting varieties through the <a href="http://www.all-americaselections.org/" title="All America Selections Offical Web Site winning seed selections">All-American selections</a>. You can also get seeds on the Web from:

• W. Altee Burpee Seed Co. [3]
• Harris Seeds/Garden Trends [5]
• Johnny’s Selected Seeds [6]
• J. W. Jung Seed Company [7]
• Park Seed Company [10]
• Stokes Seeds Ltd. [12]

Tomatoes

The <a href="http://www.burpee.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=556&amp;itemType=PRODUCT&amp;iMainCat=13&amp;iSubCat=1864&amp;iProductID=556&amp;iSubSubCat=1864" title="Burpee - Tomato Bush Early Girl Hybrid">Bush Early Girl</a> is the earliest of the recommended early tomatoes at 60 days. At 4 inches across, it supposedly has the largest fruit and is very flavorful. It has a compact 18 inch, self supporting bush. The <a href="http://www.stokeseeds.com/cgi-bin/StokesSeeds.storefront/3fd23c6f00864d902747cf366ce306ce/Product/View/343A&amp;2D1" title="343A Ultra Sweet Vft">Ultra Sweet</a> staker, is another early tomato at 62 days. It supposedly produces 10 ounce, flavorful, red meaty fruit. It is resistant to verticillium wilt, fusarium wilt, and mosaic. The <a href="http://www.johnnyseeds.com/catalog/vegetables/detail2.html?edit_id=483&amp;cat_id=459&amp;parent_id=458&amp;prodname=First%20Lady%20II%20(F1)&amp;name=Indeterminate%2FStaking&amp;top_name=Vegetables&amp;subcatname=Tomatoes&amp;topcatid=1&amp;page=1" title="Johnny's Selected Seeds: Vegetables: Detailed Product Information">First Lady (II)</a> is another recommended early tomato at 65 days. A staker, it supposedly sets clusters of delicious, midsize (5 to 6 ounce) globe-shaped fruit with deep red color inside and out. They are smooth, medium firm, and seldom crack. It is resistant to the alternaria stem canker, fusarium wilt, nematodes, tobacco mosaic virus, and verticillium wilt.



In the Early/Mid category we have <a href="http://www.jungseed.com/detail.cfm?SKU=00175" title="Celebrity Hybrid">Celebrity</a> at 70 days, <a href="http://www.parkseed.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StoreCatalogDisplay?storeId=10101&amp;catalogId=10066&amp;langId=-1&amp;mainPage=prod2working&amp;ItemId=5433" title="Park's Gardens: An early, extra-large beefsteak tomato with huge yields and good adaptability.">Big Beef</a> at 73 days, and <a href="http://gardeners.harrisseeds.com/cart/detail.asp?subcat=90&amp;product_id=0852" title="Harris Seeds - Product Detail">Better Boy</a> at 74 days. Celebrity and Big Beef are resistant to verticillium wilt, fusarium wilt, nematodes, alternaria stem cancer, mosaic, and stemphylium. Celebrity is determinate and crack resistant, producing 8 ounce fruit. Big Beef is indeterminate and produces 10- to 12-ounce beefsteak fruit. Better Boy is resistant to verticillium wilt, fusarium wilt, and nematodes. It is an indeterminate, producing 10-ounce fruit.



For main season varieties, we have Mountain Delight at 76 days, <a href="http://www.burpee.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=590&amp;itemType=PRODUCT&amp;iMainCat=13&amp;iSubCat=243&amp;iProductID=590&amp;iSubSubCat=1865" title="Burpee - Tomato Burpee's Big Girl Hybrid">Big Girl</a> at 78 days, and Delicious&sup1; at 79 days. Big Girl supposedly combines the quality of Big Boy with resistance to verticillium wilt and fusarium wilt, producing 12- to 16-ounce, smooth, crack-resistant fruits with mouth-watering flavor.



Finally, in the paste varieties, we have <a href="http://www.burpee.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=481&amp;itemType=PRODUCT&amp;RS=1&amp;keyword=paste" title="Burpee - Tomato Viva Italia Hybrid (Paste)">Viva Italia</a> at 72 (80) days and <a href="http://www.burpee.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=1432&amp;itemType=PRODUCT&amp;RS=1&amp;keyword=paste" title="Burpee - Tomato Roma VF">Roma</a>&sup2; at 75 days. Viva Italia is supposedly the best tomato for soups and ketchup. Vigorous determinate plants, resistant to verticillium wilt, fusarium wilt, nematodes, anthracnose, and stemphylium, yield an abundance of 3 ounce fruits. Roma is the classic paste tomato. Determinate plants, resistant to verticillium wilt, fusarium wilt, and anthracnose, have bright red, plum shaped, paste-type fruits with meaty interiors. 

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&sup1; Delicious is <em>not</em> a hybrid



&sup2; Roma is <em>not</em> a hybrid

This morning’s breakfast was a half of a grapefruit, a glass of orange juice, and a piece of toast made from Gretchen’s raisin bread.



Lunch was crudit&eacute;s &mdash; a couple of cut up carrots, celery stalks, and cauliflower florets, served them with a little of <a href="http://www.newmansown.com/4a3_creamyc.html" title="Newman's Own - Creamy  Caesar">Newman&rsquo;s Own Creamy Caesar</a> as a dip &mdash; and a <a href="http://www.sierra-nevada.com/beers/celebrationale.html" title="Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale">Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale</a>.



<ins datetime="2003-12-06T19:08:00-05:00">Dinner was spaghetti with <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_20175,00.html" title="Food Network: Tomato Sauce">roasted tomato sauce</a> that I made with tomatoes from our garden this summer and froze, and a small green salad and a <a href="http://www.sierra-nevada.com/beers/celebrationale.html" title="Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale">Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale</a>.</ins>

Breakfast was half of a grapefruit and a glass of orange juice. I weighed in at 162.



<ins datetime="2003-12-05T16:48:00-05:00">Lunch was a repeat of <a href="http://www.personal.psu.edu/staff/m/h/mhl100/2003_12_01_journal.html#id107056494466579988">yesterday</a>, adding navy beans, cauliflower, cucumbers, and hard boiled egg. I rode the bus over with the rest of the guys from the office &mdash; it appears to be the first big snow storm of the year &mdash; but I walked the mile back to the office. It was still snowing, but it was fairly warm, so it was not that bad.</ins>



<ins datetime="2003-12-05T19:08:00-05:00">Gretchen made her saut&eacute;ed onion and pepper pizza for dinner, which we split, with 1&frac12; <a href="http://www.sierra-nevada.com/beers/celebrationale.html" title="Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale">Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale</a>s.</ins>

<a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB10693598953418200,00.html?mod=Tastings">WSJ.com - Tastings</a>: What makes an everyday, all-purpose wine glass good?

1. Clear, unadorned glass.
2. A nice, long stem so we can hold the wine without warming it, and gently slosh it around.
3. A capacity of at least 20 ounces. We only pour a little wine into the glass, of course, but this size allows us to swirl it as much as we want, to get some air into it, and it also feels comfortable and generous in our hands. (Read the fine print in catalogs to see how big a glass is. Even tiny glasses can appear large, sort of like a lizard made to look like a dinosaur in those old horror movies.)
4. A gentle curve at the top, to focus the aromas.
5. Thin glass, because we want to taste wine, not glass.
6. A reasonable price.

An indoor kitchen herb garden will add interest to your meals and color to your window sills… and help satisfy that urge to garden during the cold, wintry months ahead.

Most culinary herbs require at least five hours of sun per day. You can use a sunny window, provided the reflected heat is not too intense. If you don’t have a window with direct sunlight, put your pots of herbs in a spot with plenty of light, then move them into the sun for a few hours whenever possible.

Fluorescent lights or special grow lamps also work if left on about 14 to 16 hours per day. Place the lights 12 to 18 inches above the tops of the plants. If the light source is too far away, insufficient light will reach the plants, and they won’t grow.

You must also consider temperature and humidity. Most herbs need daytime temperatures of 68 to 70 degrees F with 30 to 50 percent humidity. To increase humidity, place a dish of water near the plants.

Pot your herbs in a potting mix of vermiculite or equal parts peat moss, garden loam, and coarse sand. Any container will do as long as it has good drainage.

Sow the seeds according to the package directions, but no deeper than two times the diameter of the seed. Some easy-to-grow annual herbs that can be transplanted to your garden next spring include basil, dill, oregano, chives, coriander, and anise.

After planting, soak the bottom of the container in a pan of water until the surface is wet. Or spray with a mister until well-watered.

Place each container inside a plastic bag to create a “greenhouse,” leaving the top slightly open to allow some air and moisture to escape. Set in a fairly warm location (65 to 75 degrees F) out of direct sunlight until seeds germinate.

Germination should start in two to three weeks. At that time, remove the plastic, and move the container to a cooler area (60 to 70 degrees F) where it will receive good light but not direct sun. Gradually increase the amount of sunlight by moving plants every few days. Turn for even exposure to sunlight. Continue to water, but don’t overdo it or the plants may rot.

Thin your herbs when the seedlings have two sets of true leaves. If you started herbs in flats, this is the time to transplant them to individual pots. Use a soil mix that’s richer than the medium used for germination. A good mix is two parts garden loam, one part coarse sand, and one part sifted peat moss.

Herbs generally need little fertilizer but will respond to some. Use a soluble fertilizer such as 5-10-10, and apply at half strength, based on label directions. Over fertilized plants often have a poorer flavor than those grown at a more moderate rate. [Perry]

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Perry, Leonard. &ldquo;<a href="http://pss.uvm.edu/ppp/articles/herbs.html" title="herbs">Window Sill Herb Gardening</a>.&rdquo; <i><a href="http://www.uvm.edu/~pass/perry/" title="Perry's Perennial Pages">Perry&rsquo;s Perennial Pages</a></i>. 24 November 1998. <a href="http://pss.uvm.edu/ppp/articles/herbs.html" title="herbs">&lt;http:// pss.uvm.edu/ ppp/ articles/ herbs.html&gt;</a> (4 December 2003).

Breakfast this morning was half of a grapefruit. I weighed in at 160 pounds. I walked over to <a href="http://www.hfs.psu.edu/unionstreet/Piccalillis.htm" title="CFA">Piccalilli&rsquo;s</a> at lunch and had a salad of iceberg lettuce, broccoli, carrots, tomatoes, cheddar cheese, green peas, chickpeas, croutons, and <a href="http://www.hellmanns.com/" title="Hellmann's">Hellmann&rsquo;s</a> fat free red raspberry vinaigrette dressing. The walk was maybe three miles round trip.



<ins datetime="2003-12-04T18:42:00-05:00">Dinner was two servings of Gretchen&rsquo;s home made turkey noodle soup with garlic bread and a <a href="http://www.sierra-nevada.com/beers/celebrationale.html" title="Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale">Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale</a> with a half an apple for dessert.</ins>