Man Can Cook #9 - Gumbo du Fontenot

If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time you know that I am an inveterate San Francisco Giants fan. If you didn’t know it, now you do. Of late, a diminutive utility infielder named Mike Fontenot has been performing mightily for the Giants. Hitting in the 3-hole and playing out of position at short stop and doing a better than average job of it. When you hear an interview with Fontenot you can’t miss the unmistakable patois of the Bayou. Fontenot is from Louisiana and hearing him speak got me all sorts of nostalgic for New Orleans and drove me to the kitchen to whip up a batch of Gumbo in his honor.

The Annoying Co-Worker Chronicles - Ep2

So I'm wearing a new pair of shoes today and they squeak. Sort of a lot.

I had to walk through finance 3-4 times this morning and in doing so I passed by a guest cube that is used by auditors or short term contract number-crunchers. This contract  number-cruncher lady who is not well liked pipes up on my last trip by about the squeak. Curious, I stopped and asked, "Excuse me?" and she replied, "Your shoes. They're reeeeally loud and annoying and it's distracting...and rude...um...I'm trying to woooork."

I looked her in the eye for a second to try and determine if she was serious or just kidding whilst pondering my reply. A number of possible retorts went through my mind but I settled on the following; "I'm sorry. I don't really like to bring it up but I have a prosthetic lower leg. The covering on the prosthesis tends to squeak. I mean, it's not skin, it's silicone right? So I apologize if it bothers you, but if it's any consolation, I can assure you that missing a leg is something of an annoyance to me as well."

Enjoy your workday!


(no...I don't have a prosthetic leg)

Osama Bin Laden is dead. So why am I not happy?

On 01 May, 2011 a US SpecOps team flew into Abbotabad, Pakistan then hunted down and killed Osama Bin Laden. Good news right? So why do I not share the unabashed joy seen in people celebrating the event last night in front of the White House, in Times Square and elsewhere?

A poignant sentiment mis-attributed to Dr. Martin Luther King; "I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy."  

Similarly, Mark Twain once said;  "I have never wished a man dead, but I have read some obituaries with great pleasure" 

Dr. King didn't say it but whomever did might be a better man than I. I'm leaning more toward Mark Twain on this. Osama Bin Laden is directly responsible for the death of thousands of Americans and Citizens of other Nations around the world....

List of attacks perpetrated by al-Qaeda

...I knew 15 of those people. But still, I don't feel like celebrating for a number of reasons.

The main reason is that I know this doesn't change anything. Osama Bin Laden was a sub-human. But his was not a unique character. There are scores of equally vile bastards around the world. Any number of whom have similar, if not greater evil in their hearts. Any number of them ready to continue what Bin Laden started. As you read this it is highly likely that somewhere in the world someone is plotting to avenge the death of Bin Laden. That son of a bitch is going to have to die too. Where and how does it end? 

I think though that the primary reason for my lack of celebration is that I am appalled at the people scrambling to claim "credit" for this success for whichever political affiliation they espouse. Listen jerkoffs, this isn't about Bush or Obama, Democrats or Republicans, it certainly isn't about scoring "Political Points" and I'm nauseated by you if you think otherwise. This is about us. All of us. We all shared the losses incurred from each of al-Qaeda's attacks against us and our allies. We all shared a desire and commitment to bring Bin Laden to justice. That desire and commitment has been satisfied and if there is any credit to be granted it is to the brave Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, Coast Guardsmen, Civilians and in particular to the SpecOps Operators who carried out the end-game to over 10 years of efforts to rid this planet of Osama Bin Laden.

Osama Bin Laden's last moment was spent hiding behind a woman while looking an American in the eye. A cowardly killer extinguished by honorable men ensuring justice has been served.

There's no cause for celebration here. We should be pleased at the news, but sobered by the fact that all of this is due to events that ended the lives of thousands of innocent people and that their loss will not be our last.

Scratch Restaurant - Mountain View, CA

As a Mountain View resident I was pleased to see something going in on Castro other than another lousy Thai joint or another low-end Chinese joint or another lousy Asian fusion joint. Scratch has taken over a space that has been something of a Bermuda Triangle for Mountain View eateries. Nothing has done well in this space. But then, the previous occupant, U-Wink was probably the worst restaurant concept I've ever seen. It had to have been someone's tax shelter, it was doomed before they finished painting the sign.

We've had dinner at Scratch four times since their soft opening on New Years and meet friends at the bar for drinks and appetizers on a semi-regular basis. On our first visit I was shocked to see that they had not one, but four bartenders behind the well-stocked bar. I didn't understand why at first but soon realized that all their cocktails are mixed "from scratch" (get it?) without mixer guns and pre-made jugs of cocktail "bases".

Photo Essay – The Magnum Opus of Antoni Gaudi, La Sagrada di Familia

By most accounts La Sagrada Familia (Basilica and Expiatory Church of the Holy Family) stands as the finest work of one of the great icons of modern architecture, Antoni Gaudi. The inspiration for the project came from a prominent Catalan bookseller, Josep Maria Bocabella. A devout Catholic, Bocabella was inspired by an 1872 trip to the Vatican to champion the construction of an iconic Cathedral as a means to encourage greater church attendance in Barcellona. 

(the above photo is borrowed from bearcave.com because the pic I took from this angle had an ugly bus in the foreground. the rest are mine)

Outdoor Gear Review; Wenonah Adirondack 16' Canoe

Length: 16' (487.68 cm)

Gunwale Width: 35" (88.9 cm)

Maximum Width: 36" (91.44 cm)

Waterline Width: 34.75" (88.265 cm)

Bow Depth: 19.5" (49.53 cm)

Center Depth: 13.5" (34.29 cm)

Stern Depth: 16.5" (41.91 cm)

Rocker: Minimal

This is our first Canoe. We acquired it from California Canoe & Kayak at Jack London Sq. in Oakland. Keith Miller - the owner of California Canoe and Kayak is a great guy and was trying to offload this one and a couple of others that were previously sold to the Save The Bay Foundation. Essentially he rented it to us for a pittance and said if I like it I can keep it for $300. Since it was in pretty good condition we took him up on it.

The Adirondack is designed as a medium volume "performance tripping" boat. The boat is light on initial stability particularly unladen which lends to its efficiency and glide. Secondary stability is quite good though and very confidence inspiring. The boat tracks well and glides easily yet it remains relatively agile with two paddlers. I had no trouble handling the boat myself on my first solo experience and first river experience on my 7day Green river trip. The boat will turn well from the middle, and ferrys easily as well. However, with it's minimal rocker and unflared stems it is by no means a whitewater boat. In class I or flat moving water though it is very capable.



The boat will easily swallow a long weekends worth of gear for two for somewhat luxurious camping. If one were to pack lighter than we usually do it would be fine for at least a week long trip. Loaded as such it is very stable and still maintains generous freeboard and rides dry in up to 2' following wind swell.

As a solo-boat it's tricky. I weigh 220lbs and with the boat unloaded it is just a sail in any kind of wind. You go 2' sideways for every 1' forward. In contrast, when loaded for my 1 week trip on the Green River in Utah I had no trouble in the considerable afternoon desert winds. Though the boat did ship a little water in a 1-2" head-on wind chop. I found the boat manageable, but unpleasant in those conditions and was able to brace the boat when encountering the occasional broach wave refracted off the canyon walls.

Ours is the Tuff-Weave Flex Core layup which weighs in at 54lbs. I have no trouble tossing it up on my shoulders to carry it or getting onto the roof of the car.

Photo Essay - Mercat de La Boqueria de Barcelona

Kathy and I recently spent a little over a week in Barcelona in celebration of her birthday. We were looking for a city in Europe that neither of us had visited that was large enough to keep us busy for an entire week. We were more than satisfied with our selection.

One of the highlights of the trip was a visit to Mercat de La Boqueria de Barcelona, or simply La Boqueria. It’s an absolutely enormous public market just off La Rambla in the old part of town. It dates back to 1217 when tables were set up outside the old Gothic city gates for local ranchers to sell meat to the citizens of the city. Today La Boqueria resides under a massive open sided roof structure covering an area roughly equal to 3 American Football fields and I’ve been told that it’s the largest open air market in Europe. It makes Seattle's "Pikes Place Market" look like your local grocery store.

La Boqueria offers a cross-sectional view of the best of Mediterranean ingredients. Seasonal, mostly local, fresh and astonishing in variety. 

The widest variety of goods is found in the market’s fish sellers. The Mediterranean sea is, to this day one of the most vibrant commercial fisheries on the planet. It’s bounty is placed on display in mind-numbing fashion