"A little resolve is what I need now."

A couple weeks ago I reconnected with one of my uncles. He retired from the Army special forces a few years back and works at a Lowe's managing the tools and hardware department. After catching up with what each of us has been up to the last four or five years, he asked me what my goals were.

This took me by surprise a little bit, as it's been a long time since I thought about goals, much less set them. Part of the reason for this is that I've been a "path of least resistance" liver for a while now. Another part of the reason I haven't set any goals is that I'm content. Now, I know that my contentment can easily be identified as complacency, but I'm going to be nice to myself.

While I haven't set goals previously, I am going to, because goals are good. Plus, I think that goals are better than resolutions. Re-solution implies that there is a problem, while a goal says nothing about where you are, but everything about where you want to be.

Excelsior!

Pirates of Penance

I was listening to Led Zeppelin Four (Runes) today at work, and the part in "Stairway to Heaven" about buying the stairway to Heaven made me think of their dig at the sale of indulgences by the Roman Catholic church. I don't remember the name of the guy that sold indulgences who got under Martin Luther's skin, but it was enough for him to make a big stink about it.

This got me thinking of how you can buy carbon offsets now. What makes them any different than indulgences? And who will be this generation's environmental Martin Luther, propounding a heavenly environmental grace?

Two More Recommendations and a Request

Haagen-Daas held a competition for a new flavor sponsored by Gourmet magazine. Apparently there were 5000 entries. The winner is Carmelized Pear and Toasted Pecan. I really like it, and if you see it in your grocer's freezer section, have a pint (or two).

My second recommendation is also fruit based. This summer I read a book about how the New World and Old World meeting affected what we eat. In one of the later sections of the book, the author profiled different foods that are from around the world and are now being grown in the US. He had no end to his praise for cherimoya. "As you can tell, I think they're the nuts." That is a close paraphrase. He did say he thinks they're the nuts.

I don't think they are the nuts, but I likey, enough to consider it worth it to pay 6 bucks each to ship from CA. But you might be able to find them in your local Asian market, though they are from Chile.

And the request. My sister was reading one of those Sunday paper insert rags, maybe USA Today, and saw an article that mentioned Blik wall decals. One of the customizations they have available is to submit text to them and then be able to put it on your wall. So what text do you think we should put on our wall? I'm guessing anything more than a paragraph would be too much.

"Asking what you think about Helvetica . . .

is like asking how you feel about off-white."

I watched an excellent documentary with Netflix' Watch Instantly feature. Helvetica is about the oh-so-pervasive font, but it is also about how we communicate, and it is also about the people who decide what we need to communicate. I definitely recommend it. Below are some of the people that were interviewed in the film. My favorite is Erik Spiekermann. Matthew Carter was also excellent. There are plenty of clips on YouTube if you want to check them out there too.

Erik Spiekermann, David Carson, Wim Crouwel, Matthew Carter, Hermann Zapf, Michael Beirut, Tobias Frere-Jones, Jonathan Hoefler, Neville Brody, Stefan Sagmeister, Experimental Jetset, Michael C. Place

My Name is Merle

Hello Sphere o' Blog,

My name is Merle. I am a striking grey cat with some hints of orange hair around my white feet. There is a bit of a striped pattern to my coat which only adds to my splendor. I'm currently curled up directly on Daniel's feet, which will incapacitate him until I move, but I don't care. I spend a lot of time sleeping on his or Marcy's legs. Other hobbies include spanning distances 2 to 3 times my body length in order to see out the window. I assure you that I'm quite the athlete. What is the secret to my peak physical condition? I believe, like Daniel, that every day should start with a healthy breakfast. That is why I wake him every morning around 8 AM so that he can serve me my Purina Cat Chow Indoor Formula with Vitamin E and half a spoonful of Special Kitty chicken dinner. My preferred drink is toilet water. I've been fascinated by toilets since I was a kitten, and now I'm quite adept at slaking my thirst at the Porcelain Prince. While that might seem pretty macho, sometimes I forget that I don't have front claws. This occasionally causes problems when I'm trying to jump up on a chair. That is all.

Charmed I'm Sure,

Merle

PS I'm still on his feet.

Food and Friends

So yesterday, I was grumpy, but I wasn't the only one. Turns out Angela was too. So it was fortuitous that we had planned to meet that evening to go to Ivanna Cone. And even better, we expanded our plans to include supper first at Bread & Cup. Angela copied me and got a bowl of their spiced lentil soup with a hearty half of a beef sandwich (it really was a lot of meat). We differed in our beverage of choice. She got their hot chocolate and I got a pint of the Nostradamus Belgian brown ale. I really liked it, and if I'd taken a bit more time with it, I would have appreciated the port notes more.

After eating past our fill there, we went to Ivanna Cone. There was a wonderful flavor I hadn't seen before: Cranberry-Peach. Their eggnog was spot on too.

And while the food was most excellent, it was the company that alleviated the worries of the day. Thank you, Angela.

O Nival Night

I like many Christmas songs, so I've turned to my local soccer mom radio stations more frequently to catch their Christmas format. Today I went to church, and while driving there, O Holy Night played on the radio. The line that I never noticed before that I really like is "Till He appear'd and the soul felt its worth." I was disappointed to find that the 1985 version of The Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal doesn't include the song.

But back to that lyric, it seems to encapsulate the majesty and power of Jesus so efficiently, reflecting its own eloquence. That Jesus came to save all souls and that they recognized not only His ability to save, but also His glory, wells up in them a value previously unknown. His presence carries twofold meaning, that he is there to die for them, and because he is so great, they are also great.

After church, I went to Grateful Bread with Karen, Angela, Katie Carlson, and Ben Yancer. Their menu item of the day was Moroccan Chili Soup. It was very tasty, but not for everyone. Before I got there, Karen was in line and an elderly woman came in and asked if that was the only soup they had. Karen responded that probably it was, which was greeted with disappointment by the woman who whimpered, "It's too spicy for me." as she left.

Then I took a nap and it was Toaster Streudel at Ben and Ashley's. I could only stay there for about an hour though, because I had plans to play Guitar Hero at Hans' with one of our student workers and Lindsay, his girlfriend and my friend. Guitar Hero is a fun game, and I recommend it.

I was watching The World Stands Up on BBC America and a half Native American comic said that for the Indians Thanksgiving Day is called You're Welcome Day. The other thing he said that caught my attention was, "My father is unique. He has a brother who is his identical twin."

Tomorrow I try to make a woven lattice top apple pie.