Lets Talk Food

   This is Thanksgiving weekend, and we, like many, will be having the traditional "Big Meal" of turkey and all the trimmings on Sunday. Well, at least my wife and kids will. Turkey does funky things to my digestion, so I'll opt for chicken instead. And for desert: Apple pie, since this is how pumpkin pies are made:

   Speaking of food (and beer), an Italian company has come up with a spreadable beer! The product, Birra Spalmabile, is the brainchild of an Italian chocolatier and an Italian brewer. Supposedly, it spreads like a ganache, and tastes like, well, beer! I guess it's almost an adult version of Nutella, and does contain 40% beer:

   Do, you can now, literally, have that "barley sandwich" after all! But don't think you'll be able to get a buzz of this. There's no alcohol in it.

TTFN

Hockey's Back

   The 2014-15 NHL regular season did get underway Wednesday night. I just wish I could care a little more than I do. Not to say I hate hockey, far from it. But it's my somewhat humble view the season simply goes on much longer than necessary.
   Putting it in perspective: If a woman got pregnant last night, chances are she would likely have the baby before the Stanley Cup is hoisted, especially if the final series went 7 games.
   That's 9 months of hockey which, if you're a die-hard fan, is not a bad thing. I don't happen to be as die hard as some fans out there. I don't wear my teams jersey. I rarely watch games on TV. But then again, I rarely even watch TV to begin with.
   At the same time, I totally understand how people get wrapped up in their team, and can talk at great length about statistics, plus/minus numbers etc. And I'll also admit I do get more excited when the playoffs arrive. Even though my team hasn't made it in years.
   But I also think the season does drag on. I mean, when a woman can get pregnant at the start of the regular season and can (statistically) give birth before the end of the playoffs, that may be a bit lengthy.
   Unless you're a die-hard fan. And if you are, I hope your team does well this season, and makes the playoffs. Mine likely won't.

TTFN

A Train Derailment Causes Concern *****UPDATED*****

   26 cars on a westbound CN freight jumped the tracks just west of Wadena, near the tiny community of Clair yesterday morning. The train was carrying hazardous goods, and at least 2 cars containing petroleum products did burst into flame. There were concerns, because several other cars were hauling hydrochloric acid. Fortunately, none leaked.
   50 people in the small community were forced to flee their homes, and as of this writing, they were still waiting for the all-clear to return.
   Transport Safety Board investigators were to have arrived last night, and will be conducting a very thorough review of the incident.
   And, as in other derailments where haz-mats are involved, questions about rail safety and alerting communities about what's being hauled are being raised. One advocacy group suggests rail companies are not doing a good enough job with safety in light of this derailment and the one in Lac Megantic, Quebec last year that killed some 45 people. The group goes as far as saying there are no regulations requiring rail companies to make public disclosures.
   I live less than half a kilometer from a set of tracks, and yes, I am a bit concerned about what's being transported. But I also don't think requiring public notification would realistically work. For example, how much more work would it take for rail companies and shippers to compile the list? And just how would that be made public in the first place? We get quite a few trains through Yorkton on a daily basis, on both lines, so it could become a logistical nightmare.
   The darker side of public declarations is this: Would it not make a haz-mat train a target for terrorists?
   I think more could be done on the infrastructure side of things. Repairing or replacing tracks, rolling stock etc. Sure, it's be expensive, but what do dollars matter when public safety is at risk?

TTFN
*****UPDATE: As of 10:30 a.m, all the evacuees were being allowed back to their homes and surrounding farms*****

The Big Time

   I've finally made it. A recipe I submitted last year has been added to the 2014 GX94 Christmas Cheer cookbook put out by Tonya Cherry. All proceeds from the sale of these stay in the community they're sold in, so I'm thrilled my drink made the grade.
   It's for my favorite cocktail from back in the day before I quit drinking. It's the Manhattan. Take 1 1/2 ounces of your favorite whiskey, add 1/2 ounce of sweet vermouth, a dash of bitters then shake or stir. Pour it in a glass and add a maraschino cherry. Yum!
   Thanks Tonya for adding this, and I hope you sell the cookbooks out (again). And after missing my opportunity to buy one last year, as soon as I heard they were on sale to staff this morning, I snapped one up. I can't wait to see what's in there!

TTFN

Good Morning

   There are certain benefits of having to get up before 4:00 a.m every day. This is one of them. A glorious sunrise starting to break over Yorkton this morning. Other benefits of getting into the office before 4:30: Getting out of the office just after noon. Having the rest of the day to myself to do whatever I want. Surf the 'net. Cook dinner for my wife and myself. Take the occasional nap.
   But it's not always roses. Sleeping in these days means getting up at 6:00 a.m Saturday and Sunday, when I'd like to still be in bed by 7:00. Having to go to bed before 9:00 p.m, especially in the summer when the sun is still shining. And in the winter it's hard getting around after a storm, since city crews are still hard at it clearing the streets.
   On balance, though, I'll stick with getting up early. It's nice to have sunrises like this almost every morning.

TTFN.

Winter Is Coming

   And we didn't need the fictional Stark family from the series Game of Thrones to figure that out this morning. That's what I had on the car when I set out for work this morning, Friday, October 3rd. Admittedly, that can't even be called a 'trace', let alone a 'skiff' or even a 'dusting'. But it's enough for me to once again "thank" one of my grand-fathers for not following his brother to Australia when he had the chance, but came to Canada instead.
   It's also true that what you see on my car can't compare with the storm that hit Alberta last month. I know I really shouldn't complain, but I'm going to anyhow. Last Friday, we were basking in 30 degree heat. This morning, it got down to -6. We went from summer to winter without the benefit of fall.
   I've lived in many parts of Canada, as my career has taken me to places like Peace River, Alberta to Thunder Bay, Ontario and now to Yorkton, Saskatchewan. I'm older, and tired of scraping ice off the car. I'm tired of shoveling snow off my sidewalk. I'm sick and tired of having to put layer after layer after layer of clothes on for months on end. I'm sick to death of hearing about "Polar Vortexes".
   I know winter, at least in the parts of the county I've lived in, is an inevitable certainty. We can't escape it (other that the odd trip to Cuba or Bermuda or Hawaii) even living in Calgary when those warm Chinook winds roll through giving temporary relief. I'm just not ready for it yet. At least not October 3rd.

TTFN

Ebola

   That's it. That's the virus the entire world is talking about right now. Ebola has sickened nearly 7 thousand people in parts of Africa, and killed almost half of them. And it's now been found in North America. A man is in a Dallas, Texas hospital in serious but stable condition after contracting the virus in Liberia. He was visiting relatives in the States when he started showing symptoms.
   Health officials are now contacting anyone who may have been in extremely close contact with him during the flight, while some parents have temporarily removed their children from Dallas
schools after learning five students may have come in contact with the man.
   A lot closer to home, Saskatchewan Health officials say the risk of contracting Ebola is very low. And here's why. Unlike a cold or flu, you need to come into direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person. That includes vomit, blood, sweat, saliva, feces, or urine. Should we be worried about it? Yes. Should we obsess about it? No.
   But already the knee-jerk reactions have set in. As mentioned, parents of some school kids in Dallas have pulled them from class. I hope I'm well and truly wrong about this, but the reaction to the outbreak could reach the point where flights from Africa are either banned, or people put in quarantine until the contagious period is over and/or they show no symptoms.
   What needs to be done now? That should be a no-brainer. Spending on research for a cure. We did it for smallpox, and that disease killed some 600 million people over recorded history. And with the rapid expansion of things like genomes and gene sequencing, it shouldn't take too long to come up with something to at least control any future outbreak and/or come up with a vaccine against it.
   And as scary as it is due to the mortality rate, I'm not going to "lock my doors and stay inside" because of it.

TTFN