Canadian Beer Drinkers Threaten Planet

No Duh!

Here's the science:

Old, inefficient "beer fridges" that one in three Canadian households use to store their Molson and Labatt's contribute significantly to global warming by guzzling gas- and coal-fired electricity.

Heres' the sermonizing:

"People need to understand the impact of their lifestyles," British environmental consultant Joanna Yarrow tells New Scientist magazine. "Clearly the environmental implications of having a frivolous luxury like a beer fridge are not hitting home. This research helps inform people — let's hope it has an effect."

All I have to say is that a beer fridge may be a frivolous luxury, but so is holding two week long environmental conferences in Bali. Or maybe they actually had a math program calculate the distance from each attendees position and determined Bali was the closest locale? I think not.

Wait a minute, a British (female!) environmental consultant, thinks drinking cold beer is a frivolous luxury? Huh. I guess drinking warm pints would be fine. Or switching to wine spritzers or vodka crans or whatever the ladies are drinking nowadays. And we could sure cut down on our carbon output if we switched off TV when sports was on, too.

p.s. Did she consider that all of our hard work drinking beer is just to lock up excess carbon into the carbon sinks commonly known as beer bellies?

We are pretty boring

The real life "Turtle" from Entourage has passed away. His real life nickname was "Donkey." No explanation given, none wanted. The photo does bear some resemblance to the fictional Turtle. What I would really like is a look at the real life Johnny Drama, Johnny Alves. An image search was fruitless and could not find any video clips of him from Mark Wahlberg's Marky Mark's Workout video.

While Entourage is good, I'll go that far, I am always waiting for them to break away from droop-eyed, I-probably-need-a-punch-in-the-face Vince and the guy who reinvents Mike Seaver as a player in the movie biz. I'll take Drama, Turtle and Ari and spin the other two off into two minute webisodes.

Most of my viewing has been of Battlestar Galactica. I just finished Season 2 and had begun Season 3 when I ran into Karl. He was upset that they got away from the core - Humans vs. Cylons - to politicize it ( If I remember correctly. Feel free to correct me, Karl ). I told him that I was okay with that. And then I finished the season. Yep, he was right. They chose the topical and headline-relevant over the original and hot-topic irrelevant. I'll stick out the 4th season, I guess, but in the meantime I'm gonna learn Cylon. Hey, Kevlar, I bet I can become fluent in Cylon before the end of the season. Case of beer. Whaddya say?

Britain searches for a national motto - Read them all, but my favorite is "Dipso, fatso, bingo, ASBO, Tesco." Your suggestions are most welcome, especially Taiwan's favorite Brit entertainer, Brit Paul (or anyone who wants to pose as him).

Pool B Wrap

The Philippines advanced to Pool A action this weekend by tying Thailand 0-0 this afternoon. That left them 2-0-1 to finish first.

I saw the game this afternoon. Thailand's pitcher, the one Dean and I saw pitch 6 plus innings Tuesday night vs. Hong Kong, took a 1 hitter into the tenth. Jeez. There wasn't even anyone warming up in the bullpen. Made the Philippines offense looked pretty anemic. Then again they probably are. For advancing, they get to play Japan Saturday night. They also beat Pakistan 2-0 and HK 4-1.

Thailand finished second at 1-1-1. In addition to the PH game they beat HK 8-4 and lost to Pakistan 5-3. Dean and I caught the TH-HK game Tuesday night. Truly some ugly baseball. Scattered moments of brilliance and excitement, but mostly just cold beer, cold wind and bad baseball. We left after the 7th.

HK finished 3rd at 1-2. They beat Pakistan tonight 8-6(I just got back). Down 6-2 in the 6th they loaded the bases with no one out and failed to score. They did it again in the 7th and this time got a bases clearing triple to pull within one. In the 8th they got 3 more to get ahead and seal it. They suicided in the last run. It wasn't pretty but they got him in.

Good on Pakistan for coming out. 0-3. Deep green unis with racing stripes. Too bad they had they meltdown in the late innings. I was rooting for them tonight. Dean was too until he started the HK rally in the 7th with his loud and profane exhortations for them to pick it up and make a game of it. To their credit, Pakistan played pretty well defensively making only 1 error.

HK was the worst fielding team I've ever seen. They need infield practice in a large way. They gathered in a big circle in front of the dugout after each inning to listen to the manager's pep talk. All players removed their caps when facing him. They ended their huddle with one of those everybody get your hand in there on top of everybody else's and make a big whooping GO TEAM! shouts before descending into the dugout. Though a night game, the manager wore sunglasses the entire game and took over coaching third in the late innings against Pakistan.

There was a lot of shouting and chanting and chatter by all the teams from the dugouts on every play. They reminded me of little league teams with their enthusiasm.
The mixtures of Thai, Cantonese, Tagalog, Urdu and English easily drowned out the crowds of 80 to 100 people. It was cold weather baseball though. Prob 14 degrees with the wind chill.

Admission was free.

We still saw people peering in through the barred gates on the second floor though. (?)

They had ball boys running around after foul balls in the stands. When a fan got one they were asked to hand it over. I've never seen the like. Baseball blasphemy. Is this because there was no admission?

A Canadian in a Montana Jail

A death-row Canadian inmate in Montana is taking the Canadian government to the Federal Court of Canada. Here's a summary that includes Indians, booze, drugs, a less than stellar defense attorney and a valuable lesson that it's probably best to come down off those drugs and booze before making a guilty plea and asking the judge to kill you.

Bread, any thoughts? And you can't start billing yet, can you?


Anyone wanna split anything from Costco? I was looking at the Quatro Cheese and 3lb. bucket of sour cream among other things.

Montana Grandmas in Court (contiued)

Going with the new theme of the week, this article from the Missoula Indendent details what happens when Montana Grandmothers go bad (in this instance they become meth dealers).

A great funny

Lawyers should never ask a Montana grandma a question if they aren't prepared for the answer. In a trial, a Missoula prosecuting attorney called his first witness, a grand motherly, elderly woman to the stand. He approached her and asked, " Mrs. Jones, do you know me? " She responded, " Why, yes, I do know you, Mr. Williams. I've known you since you were a young boy, and frankly, you've been a big disappointment to me. You lie, you cheat on your wife, and you manipulate people and talk about them behind their backs. You think you're a big shot when you haven't the brains to realize you never will amount to anything more than a two-bit paper pusher. Yes, I know you. " The lawyer was stunned! Not knowing what else to do, he pointed across the room and asked, " Mrs. Jones, do you know the defense attorney? "
She again replied, " Why, yes, I do. I've known Mr. Oneil since he was a youngster, too. He's lazy, bigoted, and he has a drinking problem. He can't build a normal relationship with anyone and his law practice is one of the worst in the entire state. Not to mention he cheated on his wife with three different women. One of them was your wife. Yes, I know him. " The defense attorney almost died. The judge asked both counselors to approach the bench and, in a very quiet voice, said, " If either of you f*cking idiots asks her if she knows me, I'll send you to the electric chair. "

Brit Paul Week Continues

If I remember correctly, Brit Paul is a Queenspark Rangers fan. This list of quotes from their former manager has some true nuggets. My favorite (about a recent dryspell for the boys):
"I feel so unlucky right now, if I fell into a barrel of boobs I'd come out sucking my thumb."
Oh those wacky lads from across the pond.

BP Live in Paluwan

My fav English comedian spins one in Paluwan.

Brit Paul El Nido Sandwich Joke
Uploaded by ryanator

IBAF Asia Cup

Asia Cup starts Tuesday in Taichung with Pool B games. All games will be played at the new Intercontinental Stadium. Pool B consists of the weaker teams, Thailand, Philippines, Hong Kong and Pakistan. Winner of Pool B gets to play in Pool A with traditional baseball powerhouses Japan, Korea and Taiwan next weekend. The winner qualifies automatically for the '08 Olympics in Beijing. Second and third place teams will advance to an Olympic qualifier to be played in Taiwan next spring.

Tuesday at 1 pm, Pakistan vs. Philippines and at 6, Hong Kong vs. Thailand (which I could possibly attend if anyone wants to go out there and drink beer with me)

Wednesday at the same times features Thailand v. Pakistan and Philippines v. HK. (I can't make these games)

Thursday sees Thailand v. Philippines and the evening game has Hong Kong v. Pakistan. I may get Thurs afternoon off due to exams at Wei Dao so I might take the boys up there for a daytime game. I'm curious to see what Pakistani baseball looks like so I may take in that game too.

No games Friday.

Saturday 12/1 at 1 pm Taiwan v. Korea. The evening game is Japan v. the Pool B winner. (I may hit the evening game) I've been told all Taiwan games are sold out but I bet if you really wanted to get in you could go stand in line and still get a seat. Not me though. I can't stand the horns that go with a full on Taiwanese crowd. I'll watch on TV with the sound turned down.

Sunday 12/2 in the afternoon has the Pool B winner vs. Taiwan. The evening game is going to be the main game I want to see in this tourney, Korea v. Japan. Both teams are sending their A squads and should be played in front of maybe 200 people. 500 tops. Be there!

Monday 12/3 the tourney wraps up with Korea v. Pool B winner at 1 and Taiwan v. Japan at 6.

There's no championship game per se though Monday's games could well be must wins for one or all teams.

The winner will be decided on wins/losses/runs allowed and run ratio.

See yall out there.

Link to Chinese schedule.

Wiki rundown.

BigEl, Ponce

This article is worth a read just to give you some things to look for on YouTube. I checked a couple of the fights and they are definitely an enjoyable way to procrastinate.

Turkey Day in Montana

I decided to kick off my holiday at midnight. Went out for a smoke and realized the gibbous moon was shining bright off the snow. A clear night in winter is rare in these parts -- usually nighttime is reserved for clouds and snowfall. I had read an article about some comet in the northeast sky, so I thought I would take a gander. Problem is there was a big mountain in my northeast sky. Wearing my trusty corduroy coat, I determined I needed to see this damn comet. And so I started a small hike.

At this point it was a mere 5 degrees (F, roughly -15 C), no big deal for a mountain man like myself. As I ascended the hillside, the snow was sparkling like an old man's eyes at the thought of a childhood sweetheart. Compelled by the beauty of the night, I continued up to the ridgeline. However, I had not planned on this moonlit escapade. I had planned on a five minute smoke. Wearing pajama bottoms, sneakers, a long sleeve T and my trusty cord jacket, I pressed onward, oblivious to the cold that was biting my ears. After 30 minutes I made the line and glimpsed to the northeast sky. While I could make out something nebulous, I remained unconvinced that I was contemplating cometness. I pressed on.

Why I pressed on I'm not sure. I was sweating and freezing simultaneously. My lungs were burning from the cold. My eyes were frozen in place. My runny nose had become caked with icesnot. the moon was not going to get less dim (thereby giving me better comet viewing). The extra height was not going to put me any closer to the comet. And yet still I climbed.

When i reached the summit of the hill I was left with two choices. Go over the hill and down into the canyon or return home. Had I brought my trusty sled, I might have descended into the canyon. But I couldn't imagine going downhill twice, I would become a popsicle for sure. So I glimpsed to the northeast sky once more and started the trudge back to my little cabin. The descent, while less taxing on the body, was a great challenge on the mind. I was frozen solid. By the time I got back, it was 2am. The thermometer read -5 (that's -20C). I cranked on the electric blanket, made some tea and stood by the embers of a now decrepit fire. And then I realized something. I never got my smoke.

Thanksgiving cake

We had been planning to celebrate both Thanksgiving and my niece-in-law's birthday on Saturday. But my wife got a call at 6:00 telling her that Joanne's birthday party would be held tonight, now, 7:00 on Thursday, in one hour. I was on my way home anticipating a supper of steak and pizza and unaware of the change. I was not receptive at all to this change. My wife, a 9-year veteran of dealing with me griping about eating anything, anytime at her folk's house, played the only card guaranteed to shut my mouth and make me act civilly - a promise that we would be in and out within one hour.

Hour 1 - We have been waiting the arrival of, well, everybody except my mother and father-in law. Joanne, her mother, bro and sis-in-laws are absent. A little strange considering everyone except sis-in-law lives there. Pops hears JinMen mentioned on the TV and starts on his tale of being denied the opportunity to be stationed there during the '49 invasion attempt and the '58 bombardment.

Hour 2 - Joanne and her mother arrive. Sis and Bro do not. It's best not to ask questions, even in English, about them. Sis is estranged and semi-homeless. Bro is just deranged and completely hopeless. We decide to start without them. We do not decide to do anything about it, though. The table remains empty. Conversation does not flow. It drips - occasionally. Only Pops keeps up his end of the conversation, though I can't understand much of his JiangSu accent. My wife pretends she can't either and can't / won't translate (still on about JinMen and some colonel, I think.

Hour 3 - I must of dozed off. The table is filled. Finally! Pears, apples, persimmons and vegetarian crab. I think this explains my anything, anytime position quite well. However, Joanne is there and her wonderful laugh and beautiful smile make me abandon my selfishness. We bring the cake / main course to the table and let Joanne blow out her candles. Thank God for Joanne not dawdling, for if she waited a few seconds more, we all would be dead.

There was another blow out that followed Joanne's, my mother-in-law's. Seated around a low table, she remained standing to my right. What she let pass - no, pass does not convey the true brute explosive force that erupted from her backside - was the truest, most accurate instance of onomatopoeia I have ever witnessed - FART. Like a flash/bang grenade, her outburst left my speechless and immobile, much to my horror. As she was standing and I was sitting, my face was just inches away from ground zero. Only Pops had the foresight to station himself in the corner of the room at his desk. As quickly as possible , though still much too slowly - I stood and passed the browned fruit and locked myself in the bathroom while I used every type of cleanser there to rid me of the attack. Whether they worked or not is moot. In my mind, I keep hearing the phrase, Odor is particulate. Odor is particulate and am afraid nothing can scour my mind well enough. Well, maybe a lot of Gold Medals or some Gao Liang.

Kilotons

They're not just for measuring nuclear weapon yields anymore.

According to this article from 2006, Taiwan imports more than 300,000 kilotons of fruits and vegetables in a year.

Top three source countries were USA, China, and Vietnam.

That's a lot of broccoli and apples! (which by the way, you don't want to ship together, because broccoli makes a ton of ethylene that will make the apples rot faster.)

Fake Eggs in China

This is old news, but I found a cool blog post that explains how the fake eggs were made and has photos.

Hearsay

Dear Bread,
Out-of-court statements are of suspect trustworthiness and probative value because the

declarant was not under oath at the time the statement was made, and the declarant's

perception, demeanor and veracity are not subject to cross-examination in front of a jury that

can judge the credibility and weight to be given to the statement.

How is the oven?

Ocean, beach, pool, hot tub

Not 2 bad for the 2nd night stay in Phuket......................
And this was the best they could do!

EW

Hearsay

Just wanted everyone to know I aced my Hearsay exam today. Average score: 33% My score: 100%. Sometimes it's hard to be humble (not that I try). For those of you wondering what in the hell hearsay is and why I'm writing about it (Kevin), I wish I were you.

Finally, A Bonds Article Worth Reading

To all the Bonds' haters out there, of which there are many, I think this article sums up my feelings to a tee. Let it be known I am no fan of Bonds, at least not the Bonds of the home run. And I still remember cheering Sid Bream around third and being stoked that Bonds' throw was, um, a little off. But the pervasive nature of drugs within baseball culture was known by everyone, from the owners on down. And yes, Mr. President, this means you and your Texas Rangers.

The greatest Astro ever, Jeff Bagwell, went from being a doubles hitter in the BoSox minor league system and expendable for a tired old reliever to being one of the most feared bats in the N.L. When the league belatedly instituted its drug policy, he and many other titans of the sport remarkably went on diets and shed 30 pounds (see BigMac, Pudge, Giambi). Now that steroids are out and HGH is in, we see Tori Hunter cranking out 35 homers in a contract year. Gee, you reckon he'll be back to his standard 25 next year?

Barry Bonds has enough bad about him that we can boo him independently of steroids. But that swing, that was and is a thing of beauty. You take Ken Griffey circa 1996, I'll take Bonds. And yes, I think Junior is as guilty as Barry.

great plains and alaska tribes photo exhibit

There's a photo exhibit on the North American Indian at the Science Museum on Bo Guan Rd. The photos were bankrolled by JP Morgan and were taken by Edward S. Curtis early in the 20th century to 'document traditional native life before it went extinct' (or finally got wiped out by the white man, whichever came first). Though they're beautiful pics (gallery) be aware of the context of times he was living in,
"Curtis documented some aspects of the customs and lifestyles of American Indians of the trans-Mississippi West. The publication of Curtis's work, highly romanticized and most craftily staged, exerted a major influence on the image of Indians in popular culture. Curtis is reported to have retouched some of the photographs in order to remove modern objects, adding to the popular illusion of Native Americans as a primitive people."

and for further reading on the a plight of the American Indian in the late 19th and early 20th centuries read David R.M. Beck's (University of Montana) excellent essay, The Myth of the Vanishing Race

Cuba - U.S. final Sunday 16:30.

DWayne showing the game?

Deano coming back from the North?

WC Semis

US vs Netherlands

Japan v. Cuba

Netherlands hit a solo homer in the top of the 9th to tie Taiwan 2-2 and ended up winning in it the 11th 6-3. The US beat Korea 3-1. Cuba body slammed Mexico 6-0 and Japan shut down a hot Aussie team 3-0.

I don't work on Monday and am going to have a rib eye steak.What about you?

Well, that was nice. Two weeks of very limited Internet time. No blogs, no email. Only a few peeks at sports and a 30 Rock download. Now to check out what's been happening. Back in a little while.

Wow, lot's of baseball. Haven't been but D-Wayne got me a shirt. On with the post.

Let's start with meat, specifically, beef. The wife and I visited Costco last Sunday. I intended to go to the grand opening on Friday but mistook the huge, unmoving line outside for the line to enter the store. Turns out it was just the line for the 10 free eggs and motored away. According to initial reports in the Chinese language media, the Taichung Costco set records with the most memberships - around 50,000 as of Saturday - and the most single day memberships sold - 22,000.

Well, we bought. Shrimp, 2 kilograms of maple bacon and 3 lbs. of steak. I'm sure we bought other things, but I grabbed my steaks and just roamed the beef section while my wife finished up her list. The beef is good. Good cuts, well trimmed and clearly labeled. They offer U.S. prime and select beef. Prime of course is the best with the most marbling which affects flavor, tenderness and juiciness. Select is next, with slightly less marbling but still more than adequate for the average guy's needs. We bought Select Rib Eye Steaks cut about 1 1/2 inches thick, maybe a tad more. This is an important consideration when broiling a steak. Anything under an inch will probably be cooked to well done before you can pull it off the grill - assuming you are using a very high heat, as you should. Cooking the steak at lower roasting temperatures will not give your steak a seal that locks in the juices. The lower heat will also take longer to cook. Remember this rule of thumb with beef: Tender cuts need to be cooked quickly over high heat. Tougher cuts need lower heat to allow them to become tender and the flavor to fully develop. Therefore, if you're using chicken temperatures for a rib steak, you're gonna be doing a lot of chewing. So if you don't have the proper tools, don't even attempt this:

There is a good amount of food - maple ham, sausages, beef bakes... - produced by a Taiwanese company, K & K Foods (碁富食品股份有限公司) that, if I'm translating this correctly - 本公司為美商在台分公司 - states that they are a Taiwanese branch of / for an American company. Their website is still under construction, but this page says they have been supplying companies such as McDonald's and Burger King since 1987. I have tried their maple ham and found it very good. Nice and thick, not too lean. So, don't be put off by the brand. Give it a try and let me know how their other products rate.

world cup update

The preliminary rounds are over. The remaining games will be played in Taipei starting tomorrow.

Quarter final matchups have the US vs. Korea (who finished with the same record as Canada but advanced because they allowed less runs. That or because they beat the Leafs in head to head action). That winner will play the winner of the Taiwan - Netherlands game at noon. The winner of Australia vs. Japan will play the winner of Cuba vs. either Panama or Mexico, depending on which site you read. The IBAF site reads Mexico. Wiki says Panama. Panama beat Mexico 3-2 in the 11/9 game and allowed 28 runs to Mexico's 32.

UPDATE: There seems to be some question as to the eligibility of 5 Panamanian players because they weren't insured for the tourney. So they forfeited 2 games, dropping them out of 4th place, making it a Mexico-Cuba matchup. Explanation here.

I'm Back from China

I'm actually starting to like Dongguan/Shenzhen. They have spaghetti bian dangs and you can get romaine lettuce at some restaurants. I even managed to find imported German hefeweizen tall boys at about NT$ 40 per can!

This trip I did not have the vegetable withdrawl symptoms I used to have after an extended China trip, where I'd end up in the Champions restaurant in HK airport lusting after vegetable soups and salads. Unfortunately, that means we will probably be doing business in outer Mongolia next, because I have a theorem that states:

The competitiveness of FOB costs for products is in direct inverse proportion to the availability of romaine lettuce.

I had a great time with some ex-customers who wanted me to maybe help them with QC inspections...I got to visit their factory with them and yell at people who were not my own suppliers. It was refreshing and it combined well with a hangover I might add. The latent anger you feel from the hangover gives your directives a harsher, no-nonsense edge.

sunday night baseball

Japan v. Panama. Sandy's write up on Honeybees. Pics of everybody. Dwayne and Trey, AJ and Sian were there too. And Hoagie from Changhua. Ivo had fun with Trey. I got a foul ball while holding Burl. Pics of my Expos hat! Didn't drop the baby or ball. Boo-yah! When I showed it to Ivo he promptly hurled it 3 rows down. Thanks to DWayne for retrieving it. Caution when giving rare balls to 2 year olds. Good beer. Sparse crowd. No horns. No whistles. Thank Zeus! Japan won 6-2. Panama got 5 hit til the 8th or 9th when they finally scored.

And to Karl. I was relating this story to a 7th grade girls' class yesterday and when I told them that Panamanian players were good at digging, because of, you know, the canal ???? Blank stares all around. I showed them where it was on the map and explained how ships could pass through between the 2 oceans by way of the canal and didn't they say to me,

"Oh! Teacher! The shui3 gou1!"

baseball I've seen

I made it to 2 world cup baseball games over the weekend at the new intercontinental stadium off Cheng De Rd. The stadium appears to be fully operational, complete with merchandise vendors, corn dogs and Taiwan Beer for sale. There's even what seems to be a makeshift McD's on the outside ground floor just before the ticket booths. It also has a fine ramp for strollers or wheelchairs. No problem taking in your own beverages either, of course. Lots of parking so long as Taiwan's not playing. All around a fine ball park. I'm ruined for the old one on Shuang Shr. Which, I heard, was built by the Japanese during the occupation. Possibly the 20s or 30s. Anyone know to confirm this?Anyway, I love that this ballpark is in Taichung.

Saturday: Japan vs. US. Met up with old Chang Hua friends Tom, Paul and Johnson who I found outside sitting and giggling around a pile of empty Heinekens. Light crowd. We sat on the US side. US scored 3 in the first. Japan got one back in the 5th(?). The US tacked on 2 more in the last of the eighth to seal it, 5-1. Japan actually loaded the bases in the ninth sending the potential tying run to the plate before he was retired. Both teams hit the ball well, good defense and pitching on both sides.
Fun, light hearted crowd. There was a young American girl who waved a full size starless US flag with a peace symbol on the blue every time the US recorded even an out. If you saw her on TV, I was the guy a couple rows back and off to the left wearing the Expos tricolor. Tom said he found the peace symbol offensive and when I suggested that a tank would be a more appropriate, Tom just started giggling again and said "Fuckin' right." I eventually went to the men's room and ran into Les Arthur and John Kuhel. John plays weekly in Tainan in a league and was actually wearing his Factory Cats uniform, hoping to track down US hitting coach Reggie Smith after the game to get a few pointers.

I had been in touch with Dean-o prior to the game and found him sitting with that crew completely absorbed by the game, beer in one hand and what looked like a potato wrapped in tin foil in the other. He was on the aisle so I sat down on the step next to him and said, "Hey Dean! How you doing?"
He looked over at me with a big grin and with his opposite hand just kinda pawed my shoulder a few times and said, "Ryan! I found you!" It was around this time that we heard that the beer vendors had sold out. I thought of my last two Kirins under my seat and decided to head back before the wolves sniffed them out. Dean-o insisted I take a sandwich back with me. He handed me the potato shaped thing he had been holding and said, "Take it!" When I got back to my seat Tom asked what it was and when I told him it was a potato, did he want it, he snatched it out of my hand and tore it open informing me that it was not potato, but a sandwich! He asked where I got it so I recounted my story and told him about Dean. Did he know Dean? No, Tom doesn't know Dean. Just then, Tom gestured two sections down to a guy wearing a blue hat approaching the US dugout from the stands, hands cupped over his mouth and shouting something onto the field. Tom says, "Hey, that guy's really into it." I looked around and exclaimed, "That's Dean! That's the guy! You're eating Dean's sandwich!" Tom just leaned back, chewing, and said, "Good sandwich. What's he yelling about? This is fun!"

Dean was probably yelling "The legs feed the wolf!" repeatedly. Though I could be wrong.

We hit Joe's Bar after the game and didn't stay too late. Paul and Tom had to drag Johnson out of there, he was having a blast. Joe's is a lot like his Chang Hua bar, wooden interior, drinking games, TV on Cinemax and bar snacks. No rock n roll though, Joe seems to be liking the House music.

___________________________________________________________________________________

I'll write about Sunday's game tomorrow. It was a family affair.

___________________________________________________________________________________

John, did you hit COSTCO on opening day? Get your eggs? I saw some madness on the news Friday night with reaching, pushing, grabbing for these eggs. They must be good freakin' eggs! Looked like a refugee camp save for all the people looked pretty well fed.

Tom said he drove in from Changhua, drove around the block, and drove straight home.

Shocking Result

Texas only defeated the pink ladies by sixteen this year. Maybe next year J-Ho.

world cup baseball

I hope to hit the Japan-USA World Cup Baseball game tomorrow night up at the new stadium at 6 pm. My family may or may not join me, we're not sure yet.
Tickets shouldn't be a problem judging by the abysmal attendance I've seen on TV this week. Taiwan eviscerated South Africa last night in front maybe 200 people. There were maybe 50 in the stands for US-Mexico game the night before. I expect Taiwan's afternoon games will sell out (apathy be damned!), Saturday vs. Spain and Sunday vs. Mexico, if everyone isn't at COSTCO all weekend. Sunday night at the new stadium has Japan vs. Panama, which should also be a nice quiet game. Leave a comment if I should look for you or gimme a buzz.

Angie's Fleeing The Authorities!

Our good friend Angie (aka Gangy Angie, aka The Sudbury Strumpet), boozehound extraordinaire, is taking off next Friday, so we will get her hammered one more time. Well, until Sunday anyway. Soon to be known as The Big Bash, it goes on Saturday, the 3rd. That's tomorrow. Kicks off around 7, last chance to get her to take her top off.

The TONKA II issue vol I

Built 4 boyhood........

In news (well, news to me) of the shitty, Canadian coastal cities are continuing to flush raw sewage into ocean. Victoria in particular, despite the coming Olympics in 2010, is reportedly proud of this decision. Article here.

The people behind POOP are hoping to get some changes done. Go POOP! I wonder if there's a Halifax branch.
______________________________________________________________________________________

Also, still think global warming is a myth? Read this...

Is Global Warming a Hoax?

Food Time

Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs hosted a party for 60 foreigners to choose their favorite Taiwanese dishes and snacks. First the results.

Top 5 snacks
1. Oyster omelet 蚵仔煎
2. Pearl milk tea 珍珠奶茶
3. Crispy salted chicken 鹽酥雞
3. Steamed pork dumplings 小籠湯包
5. Taiwanese meatballs 肉圓
6. Braised pork on rice 滷肉飯
Other LESS favorite choices
Stinky tofu 臭豆腐, Thin oyster noodle 蚵仔麵線, Chicken on rice 雞肉飯, and Shrimp rolls 蝦捲

Top 15 dishes
1. Scrambled egg with dried radish 菜脯蛋
2. Sauteed chicken cubes with dried chili 宮保雞丁
2. Sauteed spring onion beef 蔥爆牛肉
4. Deep-fried mushrooms 酥炸香菇
5. Mud crab with rice cake 紅蟳米糕
6. Steamed grouper 清蒸活石斑
6. Stir-fried Chinese cabbage 炒高麗菜
8. Three-cup chicken 三杯雞
8. Bitter melon with salted egg 鹹蛋苦瓜
10. Roast mullet roe 烤烏魚子
11. Sour and spicy pig intestines 五更腸旺
11. Buddha jumps over the wall 佛跳牆
11. Rice wine chicken 燒酒雞
14. Hakka stir-fry 客家小炒
15. Sesame oil chicken 麻油雞

Looking at the list I realized that there were several dishes that not only have I never tried, I've never heard of. So, I will set out in search of these dishes, eat and document as many as I can stomach and see if the 60 Taipei foreigners have a clue. After all, they are in Taipei.

If you look at the first #2 you will see sauteed chicken cubes with dried chili. That is more commonly known as Kung Pao Chicken ( or Gong Bao, as I use). This is a dish that I have had many times and is quite easy to make. I would like to give you a little variation that a buddy and I came up with several years ago and served it successfully at another friend's restaurant: Gong Bau Popcorn - 宮保爆米花.

Ingredients: oil, dried chiles and popcorn

Method:

• Choose a pot, dutch oven, stock pot or any thing big enough to yield a big batch of popcorn. It needs to be thick so the popcorn won't burn.
• Use oil with a high smoking point such as corn oil. Olive oil won't do. Heat to medium-high and add the dried chiles.
• Stir as they cook. Remove after they turn dark but not completely black. The oil is absorbing the chile oil and heat which will flavor the popcorn. You don't want to add a burnt flavor to it. You can add the chiles back later, but if you leave them in with the popcorn they will char and create a fumes and smoke that will knock you down.
• With the chiles removed, turn up the heat to high and let pot and oil raise their temperatures.
• When the oil starts to lightly smoke, add 1 or 2 kernels, cover and close. Wait for them to pop.
• After the 2 kernels have popped, add popcorn to cover the bottom. A little extra is okay but you don't want 2 or 3 layers of kernels.
• When popping begins, you can shake the pot a little to prevent any burning. You know best about the range you cook on. I use a gas range and find it great for this.
• When the popping slows down to single pops, remove from heat.
• Stir, add the chiles if desired and salt.
• Enjoy.

Football

For most of you who know me, you probably feel that I've been a little bit quiet on the site. Frenchie hasn't been posting images of a great team. There hasn't been any derogatory remarks made towards the Cowboys or even the Giants or any defense made of a team currently only at 3-4. Even though this team is going to roll over the Cowboys this weekend in Dallas, no comments have been posted to this effect. But ladies and gentlemen, I have to tell you that I wake up every Sunday, surfing the channels to watch the play of the best NFL team I have ever witnessed play. My point is, no team in the NFC will stand up to this team making it inevitable that the Pats will win the Superbowl this year. There is not point bolstering about my Eagles. Perhaps my team will end the streak for New England on the 25th of November, on their way to a 10-4 finish but it won't matter. New England is going to clean up this year and when they meet the Eagles in the Superbowl for the second time, it's gonna be messy. The Pats are awesome and I hope everyone gets a chance to watch the Indy vs. New England game this weekend because like they did with Dallas, New England is going to dominate.

My next point is the "Mississippi Miracle" which is the best touchdown play of all time. For those of you who haven't seen it yet, have a look I think there are more latteral passes than i can count. This has been on the highlight reel every night on the sports news and it's so sweeeeeeeeet!



Finally I'll make a couple predictions and I hope to hear what you think about the greatest team ever.
NE 38 INDY 14
Philly 24 Dallas 10 YEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSS!

BTW does anybody want to go in and buy the town of Albert on Ebay with me? It's in Texas (John's?) and for a town I'd say the price is right.

P.S. Could someone post that photo of D-wayne and John in dresses for old times sake?