Mountain Biking in the Snow

It's more fun than you might think. We got about 3-4 inches of snow and the high today was 23 F today so I did what every normal American would do in my situation, go mountain biking. It was sunny(rare) and not windy (also rare). The trail was pretty well packed and I only wiped out once, but you land in the snow so it doesn't matter, unless the fluffy snow hides a pointy stick or a mountain lion. I lucked out this time. I couldn't believe the number of idiots that were out riding. I also ran across 2 hunters, they scared the shit out of me since their purpose out there is to kill things and I looked like a big antlerless black and yellow deer running through the woods. I heard gunshots quite a few times but I thought "gun season" for deer was over. Maybe someone doing a little freelance work. There is a group night ride on Tuesday so I think I'll go. What are the chances a cool girl goes night riding with the MI Mnt Biking Assc? Zero. It will be a big cold sausage fest. Whatever, it is better than listening to how Obama will ruin the world at work.
PS Ann Arbor is actually pretty nice. Surrounding it? Not so nice.

A whale of a tail

Get it?
This was the only cool looking sculpture/art thing in Perrysburg at their art fair. In case you are wondering, people in Ohio have the worst taste. I should have taken pictures of all the ugly crap and made fun of it but I really liked the tail and I should focus on the positives, right? It's for sale for $12,000. There was a awful horse sculpture made of hunks of steel and it looked like a high school project, also for sale for $12,000. I should make some shitty art and sell it for far too much money. If I make 5 awful looking horse sculptures, I could make $60,000 with a torch and a couple hours. Actually I'll have to take a picture of another piece because I was embarrassed to even look at it, let alone make it. It is a generic piece of granite with a bunch of hardware in it. I was instantly reminded of the famous "Blue Rock with Chandelier in Wood Box" Circa 1992. Now that was art.

Epicurious

Nothing says Ohio like Malaysian freshwater prawns. Some crazy Xmas tree farmer who doesn't have enough to do dug these ponds and raised shrimp for the first time this year. I made a Thai soup with a recipe from Caitlyn who spent two years there. It was pretty good except I couldn't find lemongrass, even at our fake Whole Foods. Or Kaffir lime leaves, which I knew I had no chance finding. So I just poured some Sprite in and figured I got the lemon and lime favors covered (not recommended btw). Here are some pics before I beheaded the poor things. How come I can just rip their heads off their bodies and I don't really worry about it? I don't think I could just pop the head off a rabbit with such disregard. Oh, I also made bread from a recipe from NYTimes food guy Mark Bittman. It is so easy and so good. Go to the web and find it and make it, you'll be a happier person if you do. It takes about a day but 3 minutes of actual work.

Here is my inspiring workplace. Like my computer screens? Note the lack of color, life, decoration, well, anything. And our window looks out to a road and a corn field.

Inspiring Work Setting

Thought you might want to see what my office looks like. I think it is a Behlen building, or it could be.

Murals are bad for the economy

HAhAHAHAHA. Douglas, guess where a new mural is? Piney Branch and New Hampshire, prime mural territory. This is a facet of my Pontiac/Mural Theory of Where Not to Live. Again, it is fairly simple, you do not want to be in an area that has:
A) a high percentage of Pontiac brand cars.
B) Murals
I have yet to see a mural out here but there are far too many Pontiacs to pass the test.
Now, for murals, I believe the penultimate mural is the one that used to be near the Silver Spring Metro, which was taken down in a brazen attempt by Silver Spring to throw off its urban gritty side in a flurry of gentrification. It was superseded by the Discovery mural a block or two up the street, reclaiming Silver Spring a struggling area now with Red Lobster.
Where is you favorite mural? This should be a book, all about murals and the neighborhoods they inhabit. What a fascinating sociological study. Seriously.
Don't take my idea.

Pink House

Here is a picture of a cool house along the river. It's pink. I don't understand, why could we build sweet looking buildings and houses 150 years ago in freaking Ohio and yet everything built in the last 50 years out here looks like shit? The old buildings have all sorts of fancy brick work and extra things that have names that I don't know and they look sweet. Imagine Ohio 100 years ago. Okay, now imagine how much easier it is for us now to do anything and still we insist on crappy quality and mediocrity.

Rite-Aid Theory of Economic Indication

I have a theory that Douglas has heard and it holds a good amount of truth. I wish I had some pictures supporting my theory, I'll have to do a little scouting around here. It is a simple theory, based mainly on the Rite Aid in White Oak but it has many supporting locations as well. Rite Aid is a struggle box. Wherever a Rite Aid is, you don't want to be there. The second you walk into a Rite Aid, you are entering the ghetto. The Giant in White Oak doesn't have that feeling, probably because there isn't a security guard at the entrance. Or maybe it is because you can look into the Giant, the Rite Aid feels the need to block the windows so you can't tell they are being robbed or if there are homeless people in there or something. CVS, well really it's People's Drug but whatever, doesn't have the same poverty stricken feeling. I don't think I'm too off base. If a Rite Aid moves in, well, you should move out.
My next blog will be the introduction of the Mural Theory of Poverty. Douglas likes that one as well.

First flowers of spring

Well, even though there is snow on the ground, the crocuses were blooming Saturday, these were the first flowers I've seen out here. Is it possible that the sidewalks could be slate? Big sections of slate? I'll take a picture of them. I'll take pics of some of the houses around here, some are pretty neat. Alright, back to Seinfeld reruns.

More Maumee

Here are a bunch of fisherman standing right next to each other. Seems a little silly standing next to a bunch of people and fishing. Notice the snow on the ground. Yes, they had a white Easter. I'm making brownies from the Ghiradelli bar recipe. They look way too fluffy to be a proper brownie, damn you cake like brownie eaters! What the hell is wrong with you? Eat some cake if you want a freaking cake, and leave the delicious fudge like brownie alone.

Maumee river

Picture of the Maumee river at flood stage. This is where I'm going to catch my record walleye. The river is dammed 4 miles upstream so the fish can only go that far when they spawn in the spring. Pretty smart.

hurrah for me

I finally figured how to login to my blog and make entries. It's amazing what a few beers and a lonely friday night will do. Good for me. I'm sitting here staring at my fish and wondering what it is like to live in a fish tank. Do they know any better or do they hate me for making them swim in circles? I feel bad now that I've trapped them, but they would just live in some other crappy fish tank so I guess I should just enjoy them. At least they get real plants. Maybe when they get big I'll release them into Lake Erie and see what fun they can have! It is surprising to see Daniel with a beer can for his junk because I have a Coke can! Genetics are a fascinating.