It's Fall

We see them on the ocean and in the slough.  It's definitely fall.

Where To Visit In September.

Some people wait till September to head off on vacation because its after the height of the tourist season and before everything slows down for winter.  There are some great places to visit during September.

One great place to head is the Galapagos Islands because September is one of the coolest and driest months and there are fewer tourists visiting.  Furthermore, this is the month when many birds are nesting including the Albatross and the Sea Lions are mating. Furthermore, one can enjoy watching whales, dolphins, or penguins.

If you don't want to travel that far, check out Greenville, South Carolina in the Blue Mountain foothills because humidity is dropping and temperatures drop to the 80's during the day and the 60's at night. In mid September the university hosts a craft parade followed by a huge food festival with chefs, cooking demonstrations, tastings, parties, and live music.  Furthermore, there are walking tours, a park with summer movies, and so much more.

What about visiting Havr, Croatia during September.  Havr is an island located in the Adriatic Sea. By September, the number of tourists has decreased while the weather has gotten nicer.  In addition to wonderful beaches, and a history dating back to 6000 BC, this island also offers a music festival highlighting Croatian music for most of September.  Furthermore, Havr is well known for its wine industry and one can take a tour to learn more about it.

Still prefer staying in the United States, then head for Fort Collins, Colorado where you can find more than 20 craft breweries.  The town has its Historic Old Town area filled with all sorts of restaurants and stores including candy stores, and a vintage trolly running through the area.  In addition to having a strong cultural scene with music, theater, and museums, the town is known for its variety of outdoor actives.  Another great thing about Fort Collins is that it is not that far from the Rocky Mountain National Park and its not far from the Denver International Airport.

Check out the island of Santorini, Greece, located in the Aegean Sea.  It has beautiful cliffs, wineries, villages, photographic areas, and friendly people.  Aside from great weather, the number of tourists is diminishing, making it a nicer place to visit.  Due to its volcanic nature, the soil is perfect for producing well known wines.  In addition, there is a ancient village destroyed by the volcano yet preserved by it.  There is also a food festival hosted by one of the hotels.

If you've never been to the Florida Keys, September is the perfect month to go.  The number of tourists have diminished significantly, temperatures are dropping but its the perfect time to indulge in water activities such as swimming, kayaking, fishing, etc.  This is also the best time to rent a car and drive the overseas highway.

So if you have a couple weeks off and haven't decided where to go yet, check these places out or mark them down for next year.  Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear.  Have a great day.

Radios - Past, Present, and ?

On my walk around town, I pass the health clinic, the fire station, the police station, the troopers offices, the churches, the stores, and the local radio station.  I know this radio station has not been around as long as the longest running one.

In 1886, Henirich Hertz showed that radio waves could both be sent and received which lead to wireless telegraphs aka radios being used at sea by 1891 to improve communications.

Within two years, Nicola Tesla demonstrated the first public wireless telegraph in St Louis Missouri.  About three years later, while Tesla worked on radio signals, Guglielmo Marconi filed the first patent for his version of a radio but the courts found Tesla's claim of having discovered the radio first Creedence and awarded it to him.  In the mean time, Marconi founded the Wireless Telegraph and Signal Company because most radio telegraphs transmitted Morse Code.  In 1899, the first recorded request for assistance came from a ship using Marconi's invention.

Just two years later, the first signal traveled carrying the letter S from Ireland to Canada via the Marconi.  In 1902, Ham radio was born when Scientific American published an article so people could make their own radio's at home.  This increased the number of Ham's to the point the United States Government required all operators register.

During the first decade of the 20th century, someone invented the vacuum tube which amplified radio signals and someone else developed a way for radio ways to carry voice.  This lead to a live broadcast from the Metropolitan Opera House to the various boroughs across New York City on January 13, 1910.

At the same time, radio began growing, there was a total lack of understanding of how electromagnetic waves worked so people often thought these "radio" waves caused children to throw up, caused droughts, made bed springs shake, and even cause draughts.  This didn't stop radio stations from developing.

One experimental radio station in Detroit broadcast the results of the Harding-Cox presidential election to 500 listeners.  Over the coming years more and more things were broadcast including some of the speeches from the Scopes Monkey trial in 1925.  During the same time period, the number of radio sets sold rose from 60,000 to over 1.5 million because radios provided more information faster than newspapers could.  Furthermore, the number of stations jumped from 28 to over 1400 in the two year period from 1922 to 1924.

At the same time commercial stations were expanding, Universities and colleges applied for licenses to broadcast. Of the approximately 200 licenses granted, about three-fourths had disappeared by 1933.  In addition, radio stations began running ads by various companies as a way of funding their operating expenses.  During the Depression, people relied more and more to keep abreast of the latest news, listen to the president bring the nation up to date on things, and listen to all the different types of entertaining shows and music.

By the beginning of World War II nine out of ten families had radios and used them three to four hours a day to keep up on what was happening at each front.  In addition, about a fourth of the cars being produced came with a radio so people could hear the latest news when they traveled or on their way to and from work.  The love of radio continued until the 1950's when television broadcasting began, taking many of the programs that had once been on the radio and producing television versions of them.

At this point, people began predicting the end of radio with the emergence of television but that wasn't right.  Much of this had to do with the miniaturization of parts so radios and broadcasting equipment became smaller and more effective, stations began using data to provide more specialized programming designed to appeal to specific groups and new music emerged across the nation.

Where is it headed?  The internet of course.  Many radio stations broadcast on the internet even though they have physical buildings because they can reach more people that way.  Furthermore, people are able to start their own stations easily and transmit them over the internet.  So there you have it, radio from telegraph to over the air to internet and its still around.

Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear.  Have a great day.

That Costs How Much?

 I live in Alaska which means I pay more for most things because they have to be shipped by plane out to my location.  This can add quite a bit to the cost of anything.  I came across an article on the cost of certain foods that make what I pay seem good.

There is a meat, ribboned with fat that is considered the Champagne of beef called Wagyu Beef.  It's fat melts at a low temperature giving it quite the flavor. A pound goes for around $1300 and when added to fancy dishes, it causes their price to rise significantly.

Another meat, the Bluefin tuna noted for it's tender meat commands over $4000 per pound.  Unfortunately, it is becoming more and more rare due to overfishing.  On the other hand, purchasing Almas Caviar can set you back quite a bit.  This rare caviar from Iran comes in a tin with packaging is made out of 24 carat gold.  Furthermore, if you can find this, it will cost you around $25,000 for one tin.

If you check out the most expensive meals, they usually include either white or black truffles, both are quite expensive.  White truffles can run as much as $7800 per kilo or around $3800 per pound.  Most restaurants use white truffles in scrambled eggs.  Black truffles on the other hand run much less at $1700 per pound and are generally used as flavor enhancers.

As far as fruit goes, certain melons can set you back almost as much.  In Japan, they have a black watermelon that has sold at auction for $6100.  It went for so much because it is one of the rarest types of watermelons so it is hard to find.  Another rare melon is the Yubarki King melon, with a netted greenish outer rind and a nice orange center but the taste is said to be so much better.  These melons can set you back quite a lot because each one is sold at auction.  One melon can go for as low as $6000 each but have fetched as much as $23,000 due to the demand.

Even vegetables can run a lot. The La Bonnette potatoes, found only in one part of France can set you back around $1600 per kilo and the price is on the rise due to it facing possible extinction. The same can be said of Matsutake Mushrooms.  This wild mushroom is also facing extinction so its price is rising and it is now up to $1000 per pound. People want to try it before it disappears forever.

There is even a cheese in Sweden, Moose milk cheese, known for its taste and rarity, that goes for around $500 per pound.  Finally, there is a Red Bird's Nest soup made from saliva. This soup is so rare, it can cost you over $10,000 per bowl.

Each one of these items has a reputation for being either so rare they command a large fee or the the taste is so fantastic, that it commands the money.  It's all a matter of supply and demand.  It is the cost of these individual items that can raise the cost of a meal from $10 to more than most people are willing to pay.  Let me know what you think.  I'd love to hear, have a lovely day.

Belguim Waffles are from Belgium - True or False

Most of us, when we hear Belgium. waffles, think of a thick waffle made out of the same mix you use for pancakes.  Often, the thick waffle is covered with syrup, fruit, and whipped cream.  We assume that because they are called Belgium waffles, they originate in the country of Belgium.  That is not quite true.

Belgium waffles came to America at the 1962 Seattle World's fair.  The Belgian proprietor, Walter Cleyman and his family, had sold them at the 1958 World's fair in Belgium and secured a spot here.  During the run, they sold over 500,000 during the run of the fair and when it was done, he licensed the waffle to a local pancake house.  Apparently, Cleyman visited a local Waffle House to try an American waffle.  He pronounced it good but he preferred his own version better.

 Then at the 1964-65 World's Fair in Queens, New York another Belgian,  Maurice Vermersch, offered the Brussels waffle for sale.  This version used yeast to create a light and fluffy product served plain or with fresh sliced strawberries and whipped cream. The waffle was so popular, they sold up to 2500 per day. Since most people had no idea that Brussels was the capital of Belgium, let alone its location, the family renamed them Bel-gem waffles.

The waffles made their jump to American diners where they were soon made out of pancake mix.  Unfortunately, the product is not as good as the originals and is covered in butter and fruit to make it what we eat today.

In Belgium, waffles are more of a street food eaten with their hands so the Vermersch's refused to pass out forks and knives because that is not how these waffles are eaten.  In fact, you'll find two different types of waffles in Belgium, both are eaten widely there.

First is the square Brussels waffle made from a yeast leavened batter, cooked in a cast iron waffle maker.  This creates a light, fluffy, crispy waffle easily eaten by hand.  The other type of waffle referred to as the Leige waffle, from the city of Leige in Belgium.  This oval waffle is made from a sweet Brioche type dough with thick pearl sugar spheres folded in and the dough is cooked in a waffle iron.  It is much denser, chewier, and sweeter than the Brussels waffle.

What is interesting is the word waffle is first mentioned in Belgium literature back in the 1600's but Belgium waffle does not appear until the 1830's or 1840's. According to UNESCO, waffles were first made in the medieval times by people who sold them outside the churches in Belgium.  During the 19th century, many families opened small shops or booths to sell these marvelous waffles to the public.  Some even opened a tea room or gauferies on the coast.  Over the years, the types of waffles spread across the European continent until it jumped across the ocean in the early 1960's and the rest is history.

Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear.  Have a great day.

School Camp Out

The new school begins the year by having the high school students spend most of the day completing service projects.  I spent time with the group that cleaned the school playground before heading over to the cemetery to pick up trash and cut down willow bushes.  This made the cemetery look better and the kids thought it would be nice to clip the grass at some point.  The other two groups picked berries for the elders and put up a welcome to town sign by the airport, near the beach.

Once the time for service projects ended, we hopped into several vehicles and drove out to the local bible camp located about 20 minutes out.  It was a dirt road the whole way but the kids all knew its location.  When we got there, we set things in the cabins and started dinner.  The above picture was taken out the window on the second floor, near where I stayed.

This is looking towards the road you come in.  Only the truck with food was the only one allowed in all the way.  The others had to park about 15 minutes down the road and people hiked in.  Some folks brought suitcases while others brought backpacks.  I brought a backpack and sleeping bag.

I took this photo from the corner of the porch,  To the right you see the kitchen and dining hall.  The metal roof you see is where they usually do dishes but we used paper plates to cut down on washing.  Every grade level had to cook.  I had the 9th graders and we got to make breakfast which meant we had to be up quite early in the morning, earlier than I wanted to get up.

That evening, the students divided into three groups.  One group, my group, went out to pick blueberries from the tundra.  This picture shows the area we went to pick blueberries.  The other two groups cut up fish and learned more about local plants.  Our group picked enough blueberries to make four pans of blueberry crumble for a late night snack.

These are two of the pans of the blueberry crumble the kids made.  They were a bit tart but I prefer them that way to being over sweet.  All of it was eaten so we didn't have any left over.

On Friday, after cleaning and packing things up, the students participated in an eco-challenge beginning with chewing two crackers and then whistling.  They had to build a shelter with only a tarp, climb around a rock wall tower, and at the end, they had to start a fire to boil water. The first group getting their water to boil won.  

Once the fires were roaring, people cooked the salmon they'd filleted the night before, backed potatoes, and heated corn for a wonderful meal.  The potatoes tasted quite good and everyone's fish turned out perfectly cooked.

We finally got back to town around 4:00.  I went straight home for a nap.  It was fun and I had a chance to get to know the students before I have to start teaching them.  Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear.  Have a great day.

Belief

People believe when you whistle, you make the lights dance.