30 November 2013
Nashville
Nashville is probably best known as being the center of the Country & Western music universe. It is home to the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Grand Ole Opry (a weekly country music concert held since 1925) and has a ratio of cowboy boots to regular footwear that I have not seen outside of Texas. Nashville has its own conrtibution to the culinary canon with "hot chicken", which you can learn about here: Downtown Nashville and surrounding neighborhoods are reasonably easy to travel around without a car. In fact my mode of transport was this: I did get…
30 August 2013
RVing in Wichita Falls
For the annual cycling pilgrimage to Wichita Falls this year we took an RV. This one had all the bells and whistles you need on a long drive, including: This mode of transport is mighty comfortable but not very environmentally friendly, or cheap to run. Until driving this vehicle I didn't know why they had limits on the amount you could spend at a gas pump as I've never been anywhere near those limits. However with this beast we were filling up regularly (averaging around 8mpg!!) and always hitting the limit: One top tip when packing up an RV after…
28 May 2013
Bridges Everywhere
By 1911 Pittsburgh was the nation's 8th-largest city, accounting for between a third and a half of national steel output. Andrew Carnegie, from Dunfermline, founded the Carnegie Steel Corporation which eventually became US Steel (still the 15th largest steel producer in the world, as of 2014). And, like Iowa with it's corn in everything you eat and drink, Pittsburghers (as they are known) used a lot of steel to make a lot of bridges, like this: You can see more steel along Pittsburgh's Allegheny river here in the opening scene from the 2012 Jack Reacher movie: One notable person from…
05 May 2013
Gasping to Shiner
The Spoetzl Brewery in Shiner is the oldest independent brewery in Texas. Founded by German and Czech immigrants in 1909, the brewery is named after its first professional brewmaster, Kosmos Spoetzl. Every year, riders gather in Austin to ride 100 miles from there to Shiner on the Great Austin to Shiner Pedal (GASP). The annual event started in the 1970s and at one point included a Houston-Shiner route in conjunction with the main Austin to Shiner route (making it GHASP) although that is no longer available. For a pre-ride or post-ride night out may I recommend some of the great…
20 February 2013
Double Double
When in California a Double Double comes from In-N-Out Burger. When in Alberta, a Double Double comes from Tim Horton's (more about them here). A Double Double is double cream, double sugar and is the de facto way to have coffee here. Also, don't forget to get the 24oz size: This is because, once you get your coffee in, say, Edmonton, and you are driving to, say, Cold Lake (180 miles) you will probably not see anything for the entire journey. Well, maybe one gas station: But no Tim Horton's. Oddly, this gas station sold clothing. I guess because it…
21 December 2012
We have assumed control
While many people were concerned that December 21 2012 marked yet another end-of-the-world event, Rush nerds fans worldwide were excited about the prospect of marking 2112 at 9:12PM on December 21 2012 (2112 on 2112). Why? Today also marked the re-release of the classic album, originally released in 1976. The album's first side tells the story of a dystopian future in the year 2112 when the Priests of Syrinx determine the content of all reading matter, songs, pictures. The re-released vinyl album contains a hologram that can only be viewed while the record is playing:
30 November 2012
Do the Loco Moco
The Island of Hawaii is the largest in the island chain of the state of Hawaii. Hawaii is famous for many things, including being the birthplace of President Barack Obama. Oh, unless you are Donald Trump, Joe Arpaio or any of the 'birthers' who believe a less obvious story, that Obama was born in Kenya and the evidence of his birth was planted in a Hawaiian hospital and the local newspapers so that one day a Muslim-Fascist-Socialist-Communist could become President of the United States (or something like that - I don't have a tin-foil hat so I don't get all…
20 August 2012
A Habitat Fit For Humanity
Habitat for Humanity was founded in 1976 to build "simple, decent, and affordable" housing. Homes are built using volunteer labor and Habitat for Humanity makes no profit. Habitat for Humanity has helped construct, rehabilitate or preserve more than 800,000 homes since its founding. Former President Jimmy Carter has been a well known volunteer and supporter since 1984. Local groups round up volunteers to build in their area. This is a partly-completed example I worked on with the Montgomery community: Volunteers do everything from framing to roofing to siding. The electrical and plumbing work is done by paid contractors. Work hours…
16 August 2012
Gateway to the cheese curds
A whole entry in Wikipedia is dedicated to Wisconsin city nicknames. Cambridge is “the umbrella city” (more appropriate for the original Cambridge, I suspect), Bear Creek is “Home of the World’s Largest Sauerkraut Plant” (!) and Eagle River is the “Snomobile Capital of the World” - which all makes you wonder a) who keeps track of these things? and b) is someone somewhere currently trying to build a larger sauerkraut plant? Five cities have cheese in the title, which frankly is disappointing considering how big a part of Wisconsin life cheese is. Wisconsinites are commonly called “cheeseheads” because of the…
01 August 2012
Thousand Islands
Vaudeville star May Irwin said that a dressing containing chopped vegetables reminded her of the Thousand Islands in the St Lawrence River and so Thousand Island Dressing was born. There are actually 1,864 islands in the St Lawrence River, some just a bit of rock, some with single inhabitants and some a bit grander: This is George Boldt’s Castle. George was also a key part of the Thousand Island Dressing story. May Irwin shared the recipe with him who was, at the time, a hotelier and the rest, they say, is history. One one side of the St Lawrence River…