Killed a solid 12 hour today, first event too. Usually get the shop to myself on those days, where I nurture a near-obsessive method of organizing to keep chef happy. 200+ wedding. Back of the groom's house! Had to bring our own lighting which kept popping breakers and it was a plated event which did set the chef's mood more or less restrained in terms of savage outbursts ambiguously thrown as the evening grew; towards the owner of course, a CIA grad who is generally calm during the fire. Owner is still quite one tired bastard though.

Spent hours bouncing between random prep and slamming dishes in hose water (which kept me sharp until the green all girl waitstaff got bored - one griped about not wanting to stand around and by then it was time to shut it down) Wound up wearing an apron like a hijab to keep the mosquitoes off my neck during the dish times. First time shucking oysters today - there is a strange element I find when prying those interesting bivalves apart. Always had an odd thing about most shellfish too. I generally don't care for lobster. They eat shit. Then again so do I in a way. Steamers aren't fun for me though - that texture again! Never had an oyster but I know how to clean them with the quickness. And I respect the edges - quick, careless movements'll sure learn ya...

Great food overall though - tonight included deep fried mini reubens, pulled pork sliders, duck spring rolls (the uncooked translucent "southeast Asian" kind). Destroyed it unloading the van too at the end - back at the shop - even though when I opened the back door *WHACK!* right in the shin comes out 5 oval plastic platters trying to save em as they slide.

Tomorrow I clean the grease trap. Day before I undid the pipe that leads into the grease trap cause the 1/2" opening (from a 3" pipe) got jammed; middle and right sink barely was draining, plunger to little avail. I maintained well enough composure when I gagged as the chef was standing over me laughing and apologizing when the aroma of rotten food and grease wafted into my eager face. Sometimes when I think about making that gagging noise I want to make it louder to make myself laugh at how the sound well, sounds!

Just to post something on the front page, here's a summary I wrote on this essay concerning and explaining the events that lead to Enron's bankruptcy. Ask questions, and I'll explain to the best of my ability. Lots of details were left out for the sake of brevity.

Open Secrets, an article by The New Yorker essayist Malcolm Gladwell, addresses the evaluation and analysis of Enron's practices prior to their bankruptcy claim, the release and processing of information, and the differences between considering a given problem to be a puzzle or a mystery.

The first section overviews the sentencing of Jeffrey Skilling, former president of Enron. He had resigned from his seat and his company had declared bankruptcy. Skilling was convicted of fraud after a controversy arose addressing Enron's financial practices. His sentencing trial heard several arguments which vilified his character, essentially labeling him as a greedy drunken liar. He was sentenced to 24 years in prison.

Gladwell explains the difference between puzzles and mysteries. Determination of the location of Osama bin Laden is considered a puzzle because its problems are due to lack of information, whereas the effects of a post-Hussein Iraq are considered a mystery because of the unsolvable aspects of predicting the future and the methodology behind the solution of such a problem. The prosecuting trial, Gladwell argues, treated Enron's bankruptcy as a puzzle when they ought to have treated it as a mystery.

The second section focuses on mark-to-market accounting, the process of projecting values of yet-to-be-gained income into a business' stock reports. Wall Street Journalist Jonathan Weil reported his findings that Enron had $747 million of unrealized money by the second quarter of 2000. Other journalists had taken notice, Enron's stocks had fallen, and the company declared bankruptcy.

Special-purpose entities (SPEs) are partnerships designed to avoid heavy interest rates on bank loans via conveyance of assets. Enron used SPEs within its own structure and with mediocre assets. Documentation of these exchanges have been demonstrated to be so filled with information that summaries of summaries of summaries still exceed 200 complex pages. There is simply too much information to process.

The question is begged, Whose responsibility is it to process these records? Andrew Fastow, Enron's chief financial officer and a key organizer of their SPE stratagem, did not understand the economic impact, Gladwell says. Because of journalists' inability to keep up, it is said that a company's responsibility to disclose documents is an anachronism.

Gladwell uses the example of prostate cancer diagnosis to contrast the apparent bias toward mystery (as opposed to puzzle). In this case, prostate cancer diagnosis has become less accurate because of changes in the diagnostic process that attempts to predict its likelihood with a large margin of error. While many critical issues are necessarily puzzles, it is argued that mysteries have become the predominant focus.

Dependence on information and its processing alternatively relies upon its transmitters (in the case of puzzles) and receivers (e.g. interpreters, in the case of mysteries). Gladwell cites that Enron has not paid income tax for four of its five last years. This is because the IRS does not interpret projected income (via mark-to-market accounting) as dollars earned; no money has actually been gained. A study at Cornell University revealed that Enron was utilizing a risky strategy in shaping its reported income. It was recommended to sell any stock in Enron.

Purchase discount dildos here. Try our new George Michael cockmold dildo! Available for a limited time!

Give my Icelandic friend a listen: http://soundcloud.com/siggidor i

*Editing this article. ~nrr

Just received a new email, and as such, I'm tagging the following URL's here.



http://siggidori.bandcamp.com/ track/theme-for-ian
http://soundcloud.com/siggidor i/theme-for-ian
http://www.last.fm/music/Sigur d%C3%B3r+Gu%C3%B0mundsson/_/Th eme+for+Ian/

Frankly, I haven't even listened to them yet. But knowing him, it'll be good. Again, just wishing to spread his artistry amongst we here, in the States. Artists, support artists. Just kinda that KISS method.

If you're a member of the NRA, you'll find the following to be interesting reading. If you're not a member, or just anti-guns, I thought I'd throw it out here for debate.

1. Mexico's Gun Supply

2. High-Capacity Clips

Frankly, I believe our government will be coming after the munitions. Technically, ammunition is not protected under the second amendment. They could create a 'sin tax' on it. Same as with alcohol or tobacco. Or, they'll make it a nightmare of red tape to purchase. Either way, they'll make it cost prohibitive. Those are just two of the reasons I stockpile ammo for my various firearms. I know... just color me paranoid. However, paranoia is nothing more than an Acute awareness that others Really Are out to get you.

Folks, the laws are already on the books. They just don't or can't enforce them. That's not MY problem. I'm a hard working, red blooded, legal, United States citizen. I abide by our laws. I have the right to carry legally for personal self defense. I've jumped through the hoops to do so and passed the litmus test per the rules administered.

My current PDW. The tactical spot and laser light are for nighttime defense at my bedside.

Last Saturday was unusually warm for mid-November and I spent the morning digging the carrots I planted on the 4th of July. We've had such a great growing season this year that the carrots are big..... almost too big but they are very sweet. I brought about 20 lbs into the kitchen after I hosed them off to fill up the fridge. The other 80 or so pounds I buried in a pit in the garden and covered the site with a mound of oak leaves and a canvas held down by cement blocks. I'll be able to dig them anytime through the winter.

The only things left in the garden are parsley, rosemary and cilantro, the latter will be used next week for grilled shrimp with cilantro dipping sauce, a favorite of ours. After that, I have the winter off.

All of my other crops have done very well: corn, tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, squash, snap beans, chard, lettuce, beets, cukes and all the herbs (one variety in particular) but none compared to my crop of lima beans.



Lima beans, both pole and bush varieties, need hot weather. The coast of Maine is not disposed to extended periods of hot weather and I keep trying to grow limas because I love succotash, a combination of corn and limas. The recipes are almost unlimited. My successful years can be counted on one hand out of the last 30 or so attempts.

This year, by chance, I not only bought seed for the bush variety, I also bought seed for two pole varieties. I had no expectations of success. I just wanted to try.

Well, it turned out to be one hell of a crop thanks to global warming or chance, I don't know.

So....... we canned a bunch, froze a bunch and dried a bunch and I will be happily farting my way through this upcoming cold Maine winter.





Growing our own food is one of the most fulfilling things we do in our life. We hope you will try it too. What you eat you are. My first 2011 seed catalog arrived today!

Maybe the pics will work if Dean fixes it. I know I uploaded them correctly.

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