Third Ramadan Tea

Tomorrow's tea will have an Oktoberfest feel. NR is heading away for a couple of weeks, to Germany and then to St. Petersburg. Let's start her trip off right!

Oh, by the way, today marks the 15th anniversary of her Coming to America! Congratulations!

Report Bugs

NR did her duty today and filled out one of the paper bug reports that we have hanging in the lab.

It was the first time in the several months that they've been hanging there that we received one.

Unfortunately, it wasn't actually a bug.

A year already?

It's been a year since our Mojito adventure? Wow, how time flies.

Vice Presidential Slackage

We're going to have to do without WL this week - Doctor's orders.

Who knew that commuting could be so terrible for the back?

Well, slacking has always done wonders for us - we hope it does wonders for you, too. Get well soon.

Happy Moon Day!

It's Moon Day today and someone was kind enough to bring two (TWO!) kinds of moon cakes in for everyone to enjoy!

Thanks, XN!

HSI is (over) two years old!

Sorry we missed the actual anniversary of the blog - apparently it was too inauspicious to notice, what with the party going on and the kitchen calendar being wrong and all.

(Though we guess being late with our anniversary is now a tradition around here).

Autumnal Equinox Passed

As of 5:51 AM EDT this morning.

Happy Fall, everybody!

Second Ramadan Tea

Same as the First Ramadan Tea - except for a faint Cinqo de Mayo feel.

(...and yes, Sufis do observe Ramadan. Though they are more likely to whirl while doing so.)

French Fries are from Belgium!

That explains everything!

Next they'll tell us that poutine is from Nova Scotia.

Calls for a Breakup Grow Ever Louder in Belgium

New York Times, By ELAINE SCIOLINO, September 21

BRUSSELS, Sept. 16 — Belgium has given the world Audrey Hepburn, René Magritte, the saxophone and deep-fried potato slices that somehow are called French.

CEO explores career shift - considers return to modeling.

RD was spotted today with a current Edmund's Optics catalog. He was featured on its cover. Considering his success as a hand model, perhaps it should not be surprising that he'd attempt the next step.

Good luck with the new career - we're just happy that you've got enough time to pursue two of them!

(Also, we can see why you'd be featured in the "Maximize Contrast" issue!)

Hickory Nuts?

No, WL, nothing so exotic as hickory nuts in our back yard - only acorns...

Today is AZ's Anniversary!

Is her review done?

Edit: AZ pipes up:

AZ said...

To set the record straight, once again, this is not a picture of me!

I'd be happy to give up a picture of me, I just need to be asked.

:)

So this isn't you either?

Huh

Keyes is in

Now the race gets interesting...

First Ramadan Tea

For tea today, there will be the following available:

Bloody Marys
Greyhounds
Cape Codders

Various cheeses, including the garlic loaf.

Hope to see you at 4:00...

Something to consider on Election Day

Ramadan / Rosh Hashanah

For the third straight year, Ramadan and Rosh Hashanah have started at the same time.

Happy New Year, and Happy Ramadan!

Internet Cafe

The Internet Cafe has received a significant upgrade. Now if we could only find a better monitor.

Enjoy it responsibly!

And speaking of Anarchists

BD made another appearance, and drew the usual large, adoring crowd, at this year's (relatively late) summer outing. He's got quite a following. (AJG was escorted by PM's wife J, who tried at times to pass herself off as SG).

SM and HD were not there. Both had "prior commitments". TS didn't make it either - something about a baby shower to go to. Whatev.

The food was good, the ice cream great. (Though they should hire an operations consultant to optimize traffic flow next time).

There was no speech this year, and no freebies. RG modeled another of his fantastically acerbic T-shirts. VS made it back from India, and RA from the outer banks (just ahead of Gabrielle, darn it!).

CC's oldest 2nd oldest seemed to be younger than she was last year. Only the girls used the pool, due to the cool, gray weather.

A delegation made its way to the waterfall, which was a wan shadow of its usual self.

Anarchists do have a sense of humor!

At least Minnesota anarchists do...

... And since it's Friday....

How about a little Friday Cat Blogging?

Horses on the beach

Day 5: Sorry, no fish in space, just winged horses...

Did you know that there are wild descendents of Spanish Mustangs that freely roam the top tip of the outer banks? Really, it's true. (Though we wish we had known that they were Spanish when we met them - we could have made our introductions more easily. ("Hola! Como esta?"))

But we get ahead of ourselves.

This day started as all OBX days do, with a trip to Stack 'em High. What was different about this day was the visit to the Kitty Hawk location (and its gift shop), rather than the usual Kill Devil Hills location. We ordered the crabcakes and eggs, which were quite good, rivaling even the pricier ones from last night. We prefer the KDH location, though - so will likely return to form tomorrow. They know us there, and it's much more capacious.



After a bit more shopping - (which was completed today!) - we headed up to the upper portion of the outer banks. There's a town there called "Duck", and the street names all seemed to be named after waterfowl. Whimsy abounds. There's also a lighthouse there, the Currituck Beach Lighthouse - which is open to the public. Luckily we arrived before it closed, and were able to climb to the top. The view was expansive, but demure.



After the usual lighthouse experience, we headed to pick up a jeep which we took up to the top of the outer banks to stalk the wild horses. Our rental agent, knowing that we hailed from Massachusetts, was relieved that we'd driven in snow - which is much like the sand we were about to drive in. He was right, the sand was a lot like snow - but in places a lot bumpier. Don't tell the road crew's chiropractor. The horses that we met, despite the language barrier, were quite tolerant of the tourists. They even posed for a few snapshots...



After the drive back down the beach and back to civilization, we dropped the jeep off, and continued South. After a final quick souvenir stop at Super Wings, we headed back to "Penguin Isle" for dinner. A favorite of the road crew, it still features a cranky maitre d', a great view, an attentive waitstaff, and really good food. On this occasion there was even a visiting fox as entertainment. We had the blackened tuna and blackened sea scallops, which were outstanding. They were good enough to allow us not to notice that the rice was exceedingly pedestrian. We won't even mention the broccoli - as it was not consumed. Desert was delectable. The port was tawny. The merlot was actually not very good - but that's more our fault than theirs.

Tomorrow looks to be a hang around the ranch sort of day. Work on the sunburn. The ocean beckons. Without a hurricane nearby, it's been looking pretty tame these days.

News Flash: Museum of Confederacy to split

Must be something about Southerners...

Flying Fish

Today (Day 4) was the day of the flying "fish".

First, because they are so darned friendly, morning saw us at Stack 'Em High again - this time with a bigger crowd - around 11:30.

Next was a trip to Kitty Hawk Kites, where we signed up for a 3 O'clock Dolphin Jet Boat tour, once the jet ski idea was quashed. Unfortunately, both of their boats had "technical problems" so we didn't get going until 3:30. Fortunately, the dolphins waited for us. Many were seen. They love to ride the wake of the boat, and our captain didn't disappoint them. Nor did he disappoint the roller coaster or log flume aficionados among us either. Turns out that running a boat at high speed again and again across the wake of another has distinct resemblance to both of those carnival rides.

To end the day, we ended up at Flying Fish Cafe. The crabcakes were very good, the Four Vines "Maverick" Red Zinfandel ("Temperance, like Chastity, is its own punisment") was frankly overpriced, but the black-bean salsa was extraordinaire. Also, we have it on good authority that the scallops with soba was very good. Also the Haddock.

Tomorrow? Perhaps fish in space.

Y'awl come back now, you hear?

OBX

Thanks to the road crew, we (meant both royally and colloquially) have a laptop - which means that the blog will be updated more than it would otherwise.

So, vacation...

Day 1: Atlantic City. It turns out that there are no restaurants outside of casinos here. So we gathered our courage and wandered into the Showboat casino. Boy, what an exciting place! People everywhere playing the slots. Such noise! Such light! The road crew lost about $2.50 before becoming bored and leaving.

We ate at Casa Di Napoli. We (royally) had the sea bass. It was not quite as good as at Romaine's, although it was more expensive. This sea bass was baked - which is probably not quite the best way to prepare it. Presentation upon something not referred to as moroccan couscous was very nice. The sangiovese was young, but still enjoyable. The road crew had some kind of ravioli, which we understand to have been more than adequate.

While you're in Atlantic City, be sure to take in the wind farm. Six or eight stately scissorhands grace Route 30 east into Atlantic City - it's worth seeing.



Day 2: The Cape May - Lewes Ferry and the final 6 hour drive to OBX. Turns out that the Ferry has two (2!) bars - and the aft bartender (Tom) is quite accommodating, if a bit hard of hearing. A Rum and Coke and a Jim Beam and Coke (without the coke), and we're on our way south. Gas is cheap in Delaware, at around $2.58/gallon. It rises further south. Cruising onto the outer banks around 7:30, we check into the hotel, and head back to one of the highlights of the last trip, the Outer Banks Brewing Station. This time, the Catfish Jambalaya was nice, but not inspired. Perhaps it's better with their beer. We'll have to check that out sometime soon.



Day 3: Cape Hatteras. A late start put us at breakfast at 12:30 at "Stack 'em high", a local tradition. Expect about $ 15.00 a person for breakfast - unless you're very careful. The blueberry pancakes were delectable, and the coffee respectable. The bacon was, well, it was bacon...

After a bit of souvenir shopping, we headed south to Cape Hatteras, where we arrived just a bit too late to climb the 198 feet up to the top of the tallest masonry lighthouse (in the US?). We like it in it's new position. It was moved back in 1999 nearly 3000 feet to its much more prestigious digs.

Dinner was at Owens' restaurant. As befits "the only restaurant on the Outer Banks still owned and operated by the founding family", the cuisine was unadventurous. We had the yellowfin, which was definitely serviceable, as was the almondine. The shaved ginger was a nice touch. We won't be going there again. Far too stuffy.