apple juice

i just went through my facebook “friends” and removed some people. it’s nothing personal, i just think that friend should mean something… and maybe that something is that we’ve actually spoken in the past 10 years?

“spoken” could even mean that we chat with instant messaging.

spoken does not mean that we play status update racquetball on facebook.

anyway, it’s not that i don’t care to see your updates, or hear your comments on my updates, it’s just simply too much. too much info. all of these technological tools that we have are great at hoarding information, but what are you going to do with it?

or maybe we just need a new etiquette. for example, i post to facebook that i am making chicken soup. instead of receiving a bunch of “i love chicken soup” comments, perhaps i could receive a few great chicken soup recipies.

giving me a bunch of great recipes obviously takes more work on your part, my friends. but that’s what friends are for.

any person can tell me that they love soup. furthermore, any one can look up any recipe, ever. have you seen cooks.com?

but friends know that i love beans, lentils and other legumes. and friends give me the inside scoop on soups with beans.

so in conclusion, if we’re going to be friends on facebook, you’d better be willing to give me some good recipes, and I will reciprocate, because I know that you love different types of cured meats.

friends share recipes.

2008 was a slow year for me in terms of music. Not bad in any way, just a bit slower. I settled in on a few albums and didn’t really go outside my box too much. Here are a few of my favorites (I included some links to amazon if you’d like to pick them up):

These first two are my “saturday morning/raining/sad/tired/quiet/mellow” records.

• Sun Kil Moon – April
• Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago

My “time to dance and party” CD:

• Cut Copy – In Ghost Colours

My favorite album to drive to (and not because the first track is titled “Freeway”):

• Aimee Mann – @#%&*! Smilers

My favorite albums for rocking:

• The Hold Steady – Stay Positive
• TV On the Radio – Dear Science
• Wolf Parade – At Mount Zoomer

And finaly, three local favorites:

• Tapes ‘n Tapes – Walk It Off
• Jeremy Messersmith – The Silver City
• Haley Bonar – Big Star (Billy!)

Did you have any big favorites this year?

Our big Christmas present to one another this year was cross-country ski equipment. We were looking for something we could do with the whole family! Since the family also includes Yeti the wonder dog, we got her set up with some Skijoring equipment at midwest mountaineering.

Yeti is not the most athletic / coordinated dog in the world, but she does love to run and pull, so we figured we’d give it a shot.

First she had to try on the booties, which she was a little unsure of. Ultimately though, she was moving around the house with ease and finding that she had much more traction on the wood floors.

Next, we got out on the skis:

And then finally, some skiing! Yeti did quite well, and I think it will be a fun new sport to do in the winter!

From the outside, there is nothing unusual about the stylish new gray and orange row houses in the Kranichstein District, with wreaths on the doors and Christmas lights twinkling through a freezing drizzle. But these houses are part of a revolution in building design: There are no drafts, no cold tile floors, no snuggling under blankets until the furnace kicks in. There is, in fact, no furnace.

via The Energy Challenge – No Furnaces but Heat Aplenty in Innovative ‘Passive Houses’ – Series – NYTimes.com.

I wonder if this would work in Minnesota?

Most conversations about my car go like this:

“So that thing is a diesel?”
“Yup”
“Um, how’s it start in the winter?”
“Pretty good.”

So, I decided to take a little video. I have an enormous minnesota accent! Do I always have that?

Geez.

Anyway, enjoy me being a nerd.

Many people will tell Mr. Obama that taxing carbon or gasoline now is a “nonstarter.” Wrong. It is the only starter. It is the game-changer. If you want to know where postponing it has gotten us, visit Detroit. No carbon tax or increased gasoline tax meant that every time the price of gasoline went down to $1 or $2 a gallon, consumers went back to buying gas guzzlers. And Detroit just fed their addictions — so it never committed to a real energy-efficiency retooling of its fleet.

via Op-Ed Columnist – The Real Generation X – NYTimes.com.

emphasis mine. The stupid thing is that Ford, GM and Chrysler make more energy efficient cars for other markets! So where are those cars for America?

Two factories in the Irish Republic produce more than 150 million frozen pizzas a year.

via BBC NEWS | Business | Inside a frozen pizza factory.

You have to check out that link and watch the video. Amazing! 150 million pizzas!