Rock out, anyone?
Huntsville's annual Big Spring Jam is the last weekend in September. No, holding the festival in autumn doesn't make the name ironic. The festival is held in Big Spring Park.
I didn't go last year because Rose's homecoming fell on the last weekend of September, causing me to miss a performance by 70's super-band Foreigner. Though I won't become as cold as ice, nor hot blooded, the lineup this time around looks even awesomer - well, if you're big into classic rock like this guy. Kansas, .38 Special, The Guess Who, and the ever lonely Three Dog Night. And yes, I have been curious to know what Hootie's been up to (blowfish not included). And who (excluding Jenny) doesn't love the upbeat tunes of The Presidents of the United States of America? But what am I most excited for? Fucking STYX! Tighten the jib my friend, 'cause I'm gonna sail away.
Yeah, there's some crap too. Some country, a little hip-hop, and some rock groups I've never heard of / cared about. But there are three stages, so avoiding Cowboy Troy won't be a challenge. And all the bands I love are headlining. Sweet.
If anyone wants to visit said weekend (Sept 26-28) and rock out like a beer-drinking robot, you can contact me at my usual number/blog/email/facebook. I can get discounted weekend passes where I work - though they're only available for about another weekish. We'll have a futon waiting in the den, and beer waiting in the fridge.
P.S. Oh frak! Kansas and Presidents of the USA are playing at the same time. Mind-making must ensue.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Friday, September 12, 2008
Banana Trivia
You may remember how annoying I find bananas to be when they ripen too fast. I recently read some food trivia, and amongst them were a couple banana facts . Supposedly, if you separate your bananas when you get them home they'll take longer to ripen. The scientist in me feels an experiment coming on. I'll publish my results in Popular Science, and perhaps Banana Digest.
The other banana fact? If you peel them from the bottom, you won't get all that stringy stuff. I'll test the validity of that banana fact tomorrow morning.
Science! I do feel compelled to share my scientific research and hypothesis for banana fact the former. I haven't found any verification online about separating your bananas, but I have found suggestions to keep your bananas on a banana hanger - not to be confused with a banana hammock - to slow down the ripening process. The banana is a climacteric fruit, which means the hormone ethylene catalyzes ripening; and while ripening the fruit also produces ethylene gas (how circular). Other climacteric fruit are peaches, tomatoes, you know - anything that rots. Nonclimacteric fruits (apples, pineapple, etc.) do not exhibit the increase in respiration nor the rise in ethylene production, which is why they keep much longer and don't go mushy on your countertop. Basically, climacteric fruits are picked and sold before they're ripe, and nonclimactic fruit are ripe on the shelves. No paper bags required for apples, right? So, the reason putting peaches, bananas, etc. in paper bags is to contain the ethylene gas thereby raising its concentration, which quickens ripening. I assume the banana hanger allows the gas to dissipate much easier thus slowing the ripening process. I hypothesize that by separating the bananas you are also allowing the gas to dissipate more easily. Perhaps storing them in front of a fan would be a further benefit. I've also read not to store fruit next to each others because they'll ripen mucho fastido.
As for banana fact the latter (peeling from the bottom). That's just witchcraft.
The other banana fact? If you peel them from the bottom, you won't get all that stringy stuff. I'll test the validity of that banana fact tomorrow morning.
Science! I do feel compelled to share my scientific research and hypothesis for banana fact the former. I haven't found any verification online about separating your bananas, but I have found suggestions to keep your bananas on a banana hanger - not to be confused with a banana hammock - to slow down the ripening process. The banana is a climacteric fruit, which means the hormone ethylene catalyzes ripening; and while ripening the fruit also produces ethylene gas (how circular). Other climacteric fruit are peaches, tomatoes, you know - anything that rots. Nonclimacteric fruits (apples, pineapple, etc.) do not exhibit the increase in respiration nor the rise in ethylene production, which is why they keep much longer and don't go mushy on your countertop. Basically, climacteric fruits are picked and sold before they're ripe, and nonclimactic fruit are ripe on the shelves. No paper bags required for apples, right? So, the reason putting peaches, bananas, etc. in paper bags is to contain the ethylene gas thereby raising its concentration, which quickens ripening. I assume the banana hanger allows the gas to dissipate much easier thus slowing the ripening process. I hypothesize that by separating the bananas you are also allowing the gas to dissipate more easily. Perhaps storing them in front of a fan would be a further benefit. I've also read not to store fruit next to each others because they'll ripen mucho fastido.
As for banana fact the latter (peeling from the bottom). That's just witchcraft.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Cory Salem, 1987-2008
Update 09/11/2008
Jenny and I returned from Cory's funeral yesterday. It was a really rough trip - about 20 hours spent in my Honda Fit over a 36 hour period - but months from now we would have deeply regretted not making the effort had we decided it was too far to attend. It was comforting to see such a great number of people attend - there weren't enough seats for everyone at the church. Rose-Hulman filled two buses, and there must have been at least another thirty cars in the procession. I think it touched, maybe even overwhelmed, his family to see how many people really cared for Cory.
And I have a little anecdote. As we all (should) know, a funeral procession trumps everything but an emergency vehicle. Jenny and I drove the second-to-last car in the procession. In driving to the graveyard, we passed some minor accident which required a cop to control (but not necessarily direct) traffic as our side of the road was reduced from two lanes to one. Well some chick in the right lane must've grown impatient as a line of 30+ vehicles cut in front of her, and so she edged slowly forward and... cut me off. She cut off a funeral procession. Bitch! But what was I to do? flip her off? lay on my horn? Didn't seem appropriate, especially next to an accident. Fortunately, the cop witness this skankosity and stepped into the slow-moving traffic and pointed at the chick, "You! Stop!" A car of Pikes were in between the action and must've gotten confused, because they stopped; and the cop said "Oh no, you go ahead. But YOU!" pointing at the girl, "You pull into that parking lot right now! You just cut into a funeral procession!" and the girl reluctantly pulled into some restaurant's lot. It's one of the few times I thoroughly enjoyed seeing a traffic cop yell at somebody.
Original 09/04/2008
Last I saw Cory was at dinner before the Pike Indy bar crawl, and we sat across from one another; and he was so excited (relative even to his own personality) because he just bought a motorcycle - and he went on and on about it. Later, I asked when would he be turning twenty-one, and he told me the day before school begins, and we talked about how exciting it is to turn twenty-one. Now, not two months later, I learn that he died in a motorcycle accident? on his twenty-first birthday? Perhaps it isn’t irony, but I can’t relinquish this uncanny feeling - that the topics of our last conversation are also circumstances of his untimely death. The only condolence I receive from this tragedy is that he was experiencing the motorcycle he enjoyed so much, and he reached the birthday he waited so long for. And I am glad that we just so happened to sit across from one other at that dinner in July.
Seldom does one meet a person with the charisma and energy that Cory possesses, and seldom still does one get to befriend such people. As with every man he had his faults, but Cory was a good man and a good friend. He brought joy to this world, and to my own life. He had great humor and even greater character. We were looking forward to having a drink out together at homecoming, which is now not too far away; but it seems, if there be a life after death, we’ll have to wait much longer for that drink.
I keep remembering the “Oh my gosh! It’s George Mills!” that Cory would shout so enthusiastically every time I visited last year, or the neon sign I helped hang in his room - probably because those are memories only the two of us share. I’ll miss you and remember you, Cory Salem. May you rest in peace.
Jenny and I returned from Cory's funeral yesterday. It was a really rough trip - about 20 hours spent in my Honda Fit over a 36 hour period - but months from now we would have deeply regretted not making the effort had we decided it was too far to attend. It was comforting to see such a great number of people attend - there weren't enough seats for everyone at the church. Rose-Hulman filled two buses, and there must have been at least another thirty cars in the procession. I think it touched, maybe even overwhelmed, his family to see how many people really cared for Cory.
And I have a little anecdote. As we all (should) know, a funeral procession trumps everything but an emergency vehicle. Jenny and I drove the second-to-last car in the procession. In driving to the graveyard, we passed some minor accident which required a cop to control (but not necessarily direct) traffic as our side of the road was reduced from two lanes to one. Well some chick in the right lane must've grown impatient as a line of 30+ vehicles cut in front of her, and so she edged slowly forward and... cut me off. She cut off a funeral procession. Bitch! But what was I to do? flip her off? lay on my horn? Didn't seem appropriate, especially next to an accident. Fortunately, the cop witness this skankosity and stepped into the slow-moving traffic and pointed at the chick, "You! Stop!" A car of Pikes were in between the action and must've gotten confused, because they stopped; and the cop said "Oh no, you go ahead. But YOU!" pointing at the girl, "You pull into that parking lot right now! You just cut into a funeral procession!" and the girl reluctantly pulled into some restaurant's lot. It's one of the few times I thoroughly enjoyed seeing a traffic cop yell at somebody.
Original 09/04/2008
Last I saw Cory was at dinner before the Pike Indy bar crawl, and we sat across from one another; and he was so excited (relative even to his own personality) because he just bought a motorcycle - and he went on and on about it. Later, I asked when would he be turning twenty-one, and he told me the day before school begins, and we talked about how exciting it is to turn twenty-one. Now, not two months later, I learn that he died in a motorcycle accident? on his twenty-first birthday? Perhaps it isn’t irony, but I can’t relinquish this uncanny feeling - that the topics of our last conversation are also circumstances of his untimely death. The only condolence I receive from this tragedy is that he was experiencing the motorcycle he enjoyed so much, and he reached the birthday he waited so long for. And I am glad that we just so happened to sit across from one other at that dinner in July.
Seldom does one meet a person with the charisma and energy that Cory possesses, and seldom still does one get to befriend such people. As with every man he had his faults, but Cory was a good man and a good friend. He brought joy to this world, and to my own life. He had great humor and even greater character. We were looking forward to having a drink out together at homecoming, which is now not too far away; but it seems, if there be a life after death, we’ll have to wait much longer for that drink.
I keep remembering the “Oh my gosh! It’s George Mills!” that Cory would shout so enthusiastically every time I visited last year, or the neon sign I helped hang in his room - probably because those are memories only the two of us share. I’ll miss you and remember you, Cory Salem. May you rest in peace.
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