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Light Fixture

Happy Lunar New Year

Well, yesterday was technically the first day of the Chinese New Year. But it's kind of a multiple day thing, so no worries. Today you should be nice to all dogs, since the second day if the new year is supposedly the birthday of all dogs. Us Chinese are smart. Anyway, for good karma go eat some noodles and dumplings, and give your dogs a rest.


Like Q...


...and K.

Cooking, Eating, Living

One of my (many) hobbies is eating, so naturally another one of my hobbies is cooking - although half the time I have no idea what I'm doing. And as you know, another one of my hobbies is photography, so here are some lamb chops I made the other day:


Broiled lamb chops with a red wine reduction. With lamb, keep it simple. Anything past salt and pepper should be carefully considered. Then again, I'm a lawyer, so you might not want to take culinary advice from me.

I enjoy making and eating simple and savory foods. Yes, I suppose I enjoy "fine" dining, exotic flavors, and molecular gastronomy, but in the end I prefer food that has a minimum of ingredients and a maximum of flavor. Like life, I care less about nuance and subtlety than I do about being straightforward and honest. You should also know that my nickname used to be "Garbage Mouth" due to my indiscriminate eating habits, so...yeah.

Dead Trees and Dad Walking Dogs

I'm against using real pine trees as Christmas trees (we use a fake one that Cathy has been using for years), but if you do, the least you can do is recycle them:


There was a tree recycling drop off site down the street. I've never seen someone so happy to see so many dead trees.

Two more old photos: my dad and the dogs taking walk. They are from the past Thanksgiving, and I posted one from the walk in this previous post. They are all pretty much the same thing, but I still like them:


Riverwalking. One nice thing about having a dog is that you are forced to take walks on a daily basis. Taking time to think and explore your surroundings is always a good thing.


Checking out the Chicago River. Knowledge: During the early 1900's, Chicago actually reversed the flow of the river so that it flowed away from Lake Michigan instead of into it. I think it was to protect Chicago's source of fresh water. I also read somewhere that during colder seasons, only the surface of the river flows away from the lake and that at deeper depths, the river still flows into Lake Michigan.

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Fig. 1


Fig. 2


Fig. 3

Grant Park

More old photos. A pair from an after-work walk through Grant Park during last fall. I'll spare you obligatory photos of The Bean. For now.


Pritzker


Crown Fountain and some dude.

Chicago is in the midst of some crazy cold weather. I was wearing a neck gaiter walking back from work and moisture from my breath froze into little icicles on my eyelashes. The only other time that has happened to me was on a stupidly planned solo backpack trip one winter using 3-season gear. I think I shivered for 4 days straight.

Dragonfly and a Pond Memory

Another backlogged photo post:


Dragonfly in my parents' backyard. Interesting thing here is that the reflection on the compound eye is roughly hexagonal. I know that the tens of thousands of individual ommatidia the eye itself is composed of are generally hexagonal.  The similarity in shapes must be related, and also probably has something to do with the shape of the eye itself.  Answers anyone? If you are still reading this science crap, you are a winner.

When I was a kid, I used to go fishing at these little ponds in my neighborhood. As I would cast and re-cast my lure, I remember watching bluetail damselflies (which look like miniature dragonflies) fly around. They'd hover over the algae patches, land on my fishing pole, compete for mates, and just hang out with me as I zoned out. Good times damselflies, good times.

Flowers and Paper

I have a folder of photos I never posted but wanted to post at one point. So I'll be posting them starting with this post. Post.


We kept just two of the many, many dozens of roses I proposed with. Some say it's bad luck to keep dead flowers around...


But I think it's worse to just throw something away.


Mom Lee and Cathy looking over paper at Hollander's in Ann Arbor. I sat in the corner and nodded approvingly, providing invaluable moral support.

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Nothing to report...


Tasty holiday treats prepared by Cathy.

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