Procyonidae and Sciuridae

In the past couple of weeks, I've had some nice encounters with wildlife who just happened to be eating or looking forward to eating birdseed that we put out for them. For these night shots, it's the first time I had tried out the ISO 200 setting on raccoons. On the same evening as I took these photos, I also saw one of the groundhogs that they've been feeding. FIFO, who, with the help of a spray water bottle, has been conditioned to tolerate raccoons, squirrels, does not like groundhogs or opossums. That's putting it mildly.

These raccoons are on my parents' deck. I think the maximum number I've personally seen is seven at one time. When the babies are tiny, they are particularly adorable. I've never been too concerned about rabies, because, with rare exceptions, they've looked rather healthy. I, however, don't exactly go out of my way to pet them either. As I've mentioned quite some time ago, I've only seen one raccoon on the deck at my house. I think my parents' place is just more popular due to its proximity to the Eno River.
Here is one of my very own squirrels. I was outside on my deck and this one was too interested in the cups of seed I was holding to run away.

ACME Blogging: Brunch

It's been several days since my last post about ACME Food & Beverage Co. We can't have that, can we? I was actually not feeling well enough to go there tonight, so my parents brought back take-out, which was nice.Last weekend, while my brother was visiting, we had to go at least once since it's one of his favorite restaurants, too. I was very happy to go there for brunch, since we usually seem to end up going there on Sunday mornings for special occasions. My plate of eggs benedict was likely the best servng of eggs benedict that I'd had there so far. There was plenty of hollandaise sauce, the poached eggs were perfect and the fries (substituted for roasted potatoes) were wonderfully crisp.My mom had this beautiful serving of French toast with maple syrup and fresh blue berries.

Afterwards we had the opportunity to go across the street and sign an impeachment petition. That's one stop shopping for you. You've got to love Carrboro... My mom signed it. I tend to only cross the road if there's food on the other side.

Upton Tea Imports

I wasn't going to blog at all tonight, because I'm still firmly under the weather and wasn't feeling up to it. Then I remembered that ordering some tea filters had been on my to-do list for some time now and there's nothing quite like ordering something off the web to perk me up a bit.

Once I placed my order, I thought it was imperative that I immediately inform my readers about Upton Tea Imports, located in Hopkinton, Massachusetts. Thanks to my brother, who gave me a teapot and a tea sampler back in 2004, it is the best place I know of to buy tea and "tea accessories". They have a huge selection of teas and you can buy 15g samples for $1 to $1.50 each or much larger quantities once you've discovered what you prefer.

At work, I don't have convenient access to a sink, so making coffee isn't practical. Without having a good place to rinse out anything, taking in my teapot wouldn't make a lot of sense either. Upton's, however, has these nifty disposable filter bags for individual cups or mugs for brewing loose tea. They also sell a clip with a chain to make the filters easier to use. This all opens up a whole world of teas to me.

I've been addicted to Bigelow's Plantation Mint for some time, but when I've had my dose of caffiene, I'll be trying my samples of Hibiscus Flowers, Honeybush Vanilla, Peach Melba, Organic Ginger Root and Cinnamon Plum. My brother also recommended Moroccan Mint green tea, so I'll be trying that, too. I also have most of a 125g package of Chinese Yunnan black tea that he ordered last Christmas. Once I try all those things, perhaps I can experiment with the hundreds of other varieties of caffienated tea they offer.

Acute Viral Nasopharyngitis Redux

The last time I was sick, which appears to be last October, I never dreamed just how many hits I would get just because my post was titled "Acute viral nasopharyngitis?"

In fact, if you have a blog and you care about its popularity, I recommend getting sick and blogging about it. It's worth it. That's what I'm telling myself, because my aforementioned sore throat slowly turned into a full-blown head cold late this afternoon and evening.

It's all for the blog.

No, I will not sell my used tissues. Find a young child if you want to be infected for the sake of your blog.

Literary Lifehack: Still Successfully Stirring

In mid August, I wrote about my so-called "Night Owl's Literary Lifehack", where I used the anticipation of reading for 15 minutes as motivation for getting up in the morning. I have to say that it has worked beyond my wildest dreams. I've gotten up immediately, every morning, except for today.

I've been fighting off a sore throat since late Saturday night and I've felt gradually sicker, although not severely so. This morning I thought that perhaps my reading time would be better spent resting. When my second alarm went off, I felt as if I would really benefit from getting some adequate rest today by actually *gasp* taking a sick day. It would be my first whole sick day in the two years that I've worked at Duke.

When I woke up again, it was almost six hours later. When I looked at my alarm clock, I expected it to say some time after 9am, but instead it was after noon. I must have been right about needing some extra sleep.

Speaking of extra sleep, one thing I've learned since I started getting up on time is that it's important to go to sleep earlier in the night as well. That alarm filled or snooze alarm interrupted sleep is still more restful than getting right up. I know if I get a decent amount of sleep every night, I'm a lot happier and less cranky, so it's important to adjust accordingly.

Coincidentally, this morning I would have finished my first book since experimenting with my "lifehack". Of course, if I'd noticed yesterday that I only lacked two pages, I might have finished yesterday anyway. Tomorrow, assuming I'm up to it, I'll start a new novel to read for the next month or two. This way I also truly get to savor a novel that most people finish in a couple of days or less.

Back for Seconds: Blu

My friend, AN, and I were trying to decide where we should go to dinner last night and I limited our choices to places that at least one of us had never been before. I'd only been to Blu Seafood & Bar once before and I really liked it, so I thought her first suggestion was excellent.We shared two appetizers and a salad, which turned out to be just about the perfect amount of food. The citrus cured salmon, above, was very good. I liked the citrus flavor with every bite. It was served with mashed avacado on crisp pieces of toast. I put the salmon on pieces of their deliciously soft bread and it was lovely.I'd ordered the greens, tomatoes, feta, pita, shredded cucumber, mint and lemon vinaigrette salad before and, as I'd predicted, I thought we should order it again last night. It's just a perfect salad.We ordered the mussels, which were in a moderately spicy citrus broth. It was truly fantastic and we dipped our bread in the broth afterwards. There was enough left such that I debated whether I should take the few tablespoons of liquid home, but I decided it was too much trouble. Just the fact that I thought about it says a lot, though. Finally, we enjoyed the masterpiece that I'd been dreaming of trying ever since I was there in July. The chocolate fondue, for two, is decadence at its best, but I'm betting it's comparatively healthy as desserts go. It came with exquisite dark chocolate, pound cake, blueberries, strawberries, dried mango, bananas, dried papaya and thin slices of granny smith apples. I don't like raw bananas and AN doesn't like strawberries, so it worked out perfectly.
Overall, Blu impressed me even more this time than before. The service was impeccable and friendly. It's a great place to actually have a conversation, because the background noise is not excessive. Also, it was fun to chat with Chef Tim Lyons while we were eating, because we were seated close to their open kitchen. I hope to eat there far more frequently in the future. Once every couple of months is not enough.

Barbecue Pilgrimage: A&M Grill

Whenever my brother comes to visit, we have to go to at least one barbecue joint. For the last couple of visits, we've gone to A&M Grill, in Mebane. They have high-quality pit-cooked barbecue, but I have mixed feelings about their tomato-vinegar based barbecue sauce, because it's on the sour side. Their coleslaw is also laden with vinegar. On occasion, I'm in the mood for a ascerbic sandwich, but yesterday was not one of them.

Instead, I ordered a bowl of brunswick stew with a side of onion rings. The stew was somewhat thick with thoroughly shredded chicken and vegetables. The overall effect was slightly sweet. I enjoyed it a great deal and will make it my meal of choice there. Their onion rings are consistently excellent, but greasy. What good onion rings aren't greasy?

I didn't try any hushpuppies, because I had more than I could eat already, but they are always good there. Their sweet tea was also good. It's not Refectory sweet tea, but it was drinkable. I just can't drink the syrup like I used to.

Yet Another Taverna Nikos Update!

Brightleaf Square was hopping again tonight, which was good to see. My brother is visiting this weekend and I dragged all the family members to Piazza Italia who hadn't been there before. It was just an excuse to have another order of Mezzaluna di Pesce and try out more gelato flavors.

After dinner, I stopped by to peer in the dark windows at Taverna Nikos. I found out that they are just waiting for permits. Apparently, while Bill Bakis will still own it, he is setting up a new corporation for the restaurant. This is taking more time, since he has to deal a bit more with the city than he would have otherwise.

Soon the wait will be over!

It's Gone To The Dogs

As I've mentioned numerous times, I don't eat beef, for a variety of reasons. Since I love hot dogs and most sausages, that used to seem almost depressing. Fortunately, I've recently found excellent substitutes.

Pauly Dogs, on Duke's campus, introduced me to veggie Morningstar Farms hotdogs, which I find just as good as beef hot dogs, but so much healthier. I've become a Pauly Dogs addict, since Pauly has come up with such creative combinations of toppings. I just hope he'll offer some vegetarian or non-beef chili someday.

Aidells makes all natural chicken and apple sausages, which are superb. The sweetness of the apple and fruit juices obliterates any bitterness from the chicken. They are free from preservatives, hormones and antibiotics. 160 calories for a large 100g link doesn't seem too shabby either. They even microwave well. Around here, Aidells sausages are available from CostCo and Harris Teeter. According to their website, they actually have 22 varieties, but I don't know how many of those are easy to find.

Arrr! Humor in Software Development

At work today, it was hard to avoid the fact that it was Talk Like a Pirate Day, even if one wanted to. People were talking like pirates during meetings, between meetings and while talking about meetings. It be a lot o' fun.

Today Blackboard,Inc. announced that they were releasing two new language packs for the latest version of its software, one for Pirate Language and one for Pig Latin. I found one article that also has some good quotes from some Blackboard, Inc. employees with whom I've had the pleasure of working.

Blackboard, Inc. has received some criticism for this, because it was assumed that they could be working on bug fixes or enhancements that their customers have requested. I, on the other hand, think it's great. It is so refreshing to see a sense of humor exhibited in such a staid and sober arena as software development. Generally the people who would be producing such language packs are not the ones likely to be working on bug fixes, but even if they were, is it such a bad thing for employees to get to work on something fun occasionally? I would imagine that it actually makes their serious work more efficient and productive.

Now, back when I studying to be a software engineer when I grew up, I was the project team member advocating things like "crash" buttons explicitly designed to make our applications fail spectacularly combined with humorous or nonsensical error messages. I think it was a complete coincidence that these brainstorming activities also included my fellow team members' plans to FedEx me to Guatemala.

Today is also the 25th anniversary of the smiley, which seems highly appropriate. :)

Two Perfect Evenings

We have been having the most fantastic weather that could be imagined. After 75+ days of 90 degree heat, I was beginning to wonder if it would ever be nice again. It's been the perfect weather for leisurely enjoying a meal outside, too.

On Sunday, I was able to spend about five hours relaxing, eating and playing guitar on my friends' patio, in Durham. My friend's parents grilled chicken, veggies and bison burgers. The burgers were a real treat, since I don't eat beef. For me, the evening's culinary highlight was a salad that JA made with salad greens, mozzarella, fresh figs, watermelon and homemade balsamic vinaigrette. I had my first Mallomar for dessert. Apparently they only sell them up north during the fall, but they are very good and surprisingly light. For those who haven't seen them before, they consist of marshmallow and graham cracker covered with a thin layer of dark chocolate.

Last night, I got to spend the evening talking with friends over dinner at Piazza Italia. I hadn't seen them in a while, so we had so much to talk about. It was great taking advantage of the restaurant's outdoor seating for hours and it definitely made me appreciate the recent renovations at Brightleaf. We went inside to have our servings of gelato, each having two flavors in our "small" cups. I chose chocolate and orange this time. I didn't take any photos of my meal, because I couldn't resist ordering the Mezzaluna di Pesce again.

On one of these fine evenings, I hope my readers will take the time to relax and eat outdoors, too. Fall is such a beautiful time of the year, even before the leaves start to turn.

Sunday Brunch with Skeedaddle

I was going to take the night off from blogging since I got home on the late side, but I couldn't resist posting a couple of photos from today's Skeedaddle concert at Nosh.

It was a delightful way to spend my morning and early afternoon and I think Hugh, Anastasia, Steve and Fred had just as good a time as I did. My giant pancake, eggs, bacon and fruit were great, too.

How Much For That Froggie In the Window?

Last night, just as I was getting ready to turn the lights off and get ready for bed, I noticed this frog on the window next to my front door.

I think it was another Gray Tree Frog (Hyla chrysoscelis or Hyla versicolor), similar to the one I saw a few weeks ago. It had the same light gray patch underneath the eyes and a large orange patch on the thigh, which I couldn't see on the previous one. I almost considered making a short movie of it, but I was too sleepy.

It's Raining Over Here!

Only a few readers who are also amateur radio operators will truly appreciate the title of this post. When Skywarn nets are activated, there are invariably people who call in with their radios and announce that it's raining where they are. During severe weather, reports should generally be limited to reports of hail that is dime sized or greater, tree and structural damage, flooding and funnel clouds.

In any case, it certainly has been raining over here and it seems rather significant. I can't recall a time when people were more excited about rain. I got e-mails saying that I should go outside on the quad and enjoy it. People came up to my cube and said, "Look! Lenore! It's raining! I'm wet!" We've had the hottest summer on record in terms of how many days we endured above 90 and we hadn't had widespread rain in months. The swarms of yellow jackets on campus were very cranky while I was attempting to eat my lunch today. We needed this.

While I was driving home, it was really coming down and there was quite a bit of water standing on the road, but we probably only got half an inch or so. We need so much more.

Food For Thought

Before I forget entirely, it's time for another poll. First, let's examine the results of the first one.
Thanks to those of you who answered. It took a long time for anyone to answer B, so I wondered if this question were a no-brainer for most people. I, however, took a comparatively long time to answer. I had to sleep on it. I mean, just how bad is the food and how good is the company? I have friends with whom I've flat out refused to go to certain eating establishments, particularly chains. Although, if I haven't seen the person in a long time, I'll eat just about anywhere. So many possibilities went through my mind while trying to answer this question.

What if the food were live larvae? That leads me to my next poll question, which is a little more concrete. Check it out.

Sensational Skeedaddle and Sustenance

This Sunday, an incredible event will occur. It's somewhat akin to the moon and several planets aligning on a clear and cool summer evening. On Sunday, September 16th at 11am, everyone will get a chance to hear and watch the talented musicians of Skeedaddle perform while simultaneously eating Nosh pancakes.

Back in May I wrote about what a wonderful time I had seeing Hugh and Anastasia perform in their band, Skeedaddle, so I am truly looking forward to listening to that toe tapping music once again while having an excellent brunch at Nosh. I hope many of my dear readers will take the time to stop by to enjoy that groovy combination with me. If you don't feel like eating breakfast, then I heartily recommend the SRP pizza, substituting chicken for beef. They also sell both IZZE and locopops!

Observing 9/11 At Duke

Today was more thought provoking than I anticipated. On my way to lunch today, I passed by the rows of flags on Duke's main quad, commemorating those who died six years ago. I thought about how many more flags there should be for the soldiers and Iraqis who have died since then. If all of the deaths were commemorated, then the original set would seem small by comparison.

I chose a shady spot to enjoy my veggie Pauly Dog that just happened to be near the tent of the 9/11 conspiracy theorists. I could not have asked for a more interesting view. Of all of the theories that have been proposed so far, it is only the one purported by the Bush Administration that I am certain that I do not believe. It's not as if they exactly have a stellar track-record for honesty, now do they? I rarely underestimate what people will do for greed and the administration has shown very little regard for human life.