Sunday, December 03, 2017

Advent begins


On the first Sunday of Advent the HOPE candle is lighted.



13 comments:

  1. Inside the Special Counsel’s Office [Click] "secure office suite." Ya gotta love it!

    ABC News Suspends Reporter [Click] Sounds proportionate.

    And Then There Were Nones: How Millennials’ Flight From Religion is Transforming American Politics [Click] Hmmm…. I have joked that if politics are a measure, I must be a Millennial. But in my family I can see several of the social influences that this article posits as explanations for the religious and political tendencies of Millennials. Maybe it is no more than an example of the foolishness of trying to force stereotypes on people according to their "generations."

    --Alan

    P.S.: listener--thanks for the reassurance that the floaters eventually go away (that's what Wikipedia says, too). A couple of years doesn't seem too bad, although a couple of days would be much better! Given how viscous the vitreous humor is, one wouldn't expect rapid clearance of such things. I will make a point of not banging my head against walls, tables--or anything.

    P.P.S: The weather prediction has changed; no prospect of rain. So I will try to get one or two trees pruned tomorrow/today = Sunday.

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  2. As I type this, I am enjoying a cup of instant decaffeinated coffee--Mount Hagen brand. I recall my folks verifying the allegation that if one first dissolves instant coffee in a bit of cold water and then adds the hot water, it tastes significantly better than stirring it straight into hot water. So I dissolved it in cold water, added more and heated it in the microwave oven. Tastes pretty good, and checks about every box imaginable. Arabica coffee, shade grown, organic, free trade, and caffeine extracted without use of solvents such as ethyl acetate or methylene chloride. $9.99 a jar on sale at Whole Foods, which is also the best delivered price at Amazon.com and allegedly works out to about 15 cents a cup.

    BTW, I had only once before been into Whole Foods, a long time ago. Granted that it is in a well to do part of town, it sure looked like their target audience and their patrons were, shall we say, upscale. I honestly felt uncomfortable--like I didn't belong. It is a completely different vibe from Trader Joe's. (Trader Joe's had a well-regarded decaf instant, but discontinued it.)

    This Mount Hagen instant is better tasting than most restaurant coffee. I'm not one to add sweetening or milk to my coffee, but I could imagine them being OK with this.

    --Alan

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    1. Sure Whole Foods is "upscale". They're a typical Republican company pretending to be better than everyone else. In fact they use prison labor to raise their tilapia and pay them 74 cents per day for the work. Just knowing that should make you fell less "I don't belong" when you have to go in there for your coffee.

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  3. Alan, to be clear, I did not suggest that the floaters go away. They do not. I affirmed what your ophthalmologist said, that your brain learns to ignore them. So it isn't the eye fluid that does the deed, it's the brain. I think my brain wasn't very swift about it.

    I'm tickled that you like the instant coffee I recommended. IMNSHO, it really is superior. I love that it's so quick to make and there is NO waste at all, no filters needed, etc..

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    1. A thousand pardons, listener! It didn't sink in that you recommended it! I arrived at it independently, reading reviews of decaf instant on the Internet, and looking for some that was decaffeinated by a clearly harmless method--also available locally if possible, in addition to tasting at least OK. I shall have to scroll back and restore my memory!

      --Alan

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    2. Well, there it is, big as life! Refreshed my recollection, it did. Tomorrow I shall try less of the Mount Hagen instant per cup (I have been using a rounded teaspoonful), and also weigh (I have access to a fairly sensitive balance) both level and rounded teaspoonsful to verify how many cups can be made from a jar. Report to follow.

      --Alan

      P.S.: It had been so long since I used instant coffee that I just tore the seal off the top and threw it away, rather than cut it in half to make it easier to get a level teaspoonful.

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    3. That is so funny!

      And there you were so carefully planning which coffee to choose, while I simply stumbled upon it, as it was the only free trade instant coffee to be found at the new local & small supermarket two miles from my house...! Yes, I agree and would say that a very *slightly* rounded teaspoonful is perfect.

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    4. Yes, medieval music is very fine. I looked at our nearest supermarket for interesting instant decaf, but no luck. Found Hagen at a branch of an upscale "natural food" store for twelve dollars and something; then at Whole Foods for $9.99 on sale, which was tolerable for an experiment; later found that Walmart carries it, at least online, but I won't be buying it there. Might investigate Sprouts on the way to or from work tomorrow. Found it on Amazon at $7.83 per jar if one orders six, with free shipping.--Alan

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  4. It rained a bit here Sat. PM/Sun. AM; definitely a cold front passing through. I got one persimmon tree pruned--the season's new growth was up to about nine feet.

    Alan

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  5. Just noticed this—will have to watch.—Alan

    SNL White HOuse Christmas Cold Open[Click] ‘The Ghost of Witness Flipped’

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    1. We watched it on Saturday night (Live) and thought it pretty good in spots. The rest of SNL, though, wasn't really worthwhile. We miss the early days of SNL with Gilda, Chevy and Belushi.

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  6. Hey! We found some snow today! We ventured to Greensboro, Vermont to Green Mountain Monastery to hear Vermont's women's vocal ensemble sing medieval music, accompanied at times by Fyre and Lightning Consort. Powerful, lilting, haunting, uplifting and perfect for this time of year. (Think: Loreena McKennitt.)

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