Nevada Day (orthodox)

As many of you may (or may not) know, as of 1998 Nevada Day has been officially celebrated on the last Friday of October. However, today is the actual Nevada Day. Enjoy!

State Motto: All for our country

State Locomotive: NNRy Locomotive #40

Nevada State Tartan: Yes, we have one of those

Things I have a Severe Soft Spot for

This is by no means a comprehensive list. I just need to air some of these. I wish that I had at least one good reason for liking any of these items as much as I do, but I don't. Don't judge me:

Gas Station hot Dogs-

The longer that a hot dog has been on one of these roller grills the better it is. I don't go for any of the other stuff, like the jalapeno cheddar dog or bahama mamas. Just the good old beef dog that has been quietly waiting for me all day. Mmmmmmm

Mariachi Bands-



Yes people, that just happened. I'll pause while you regain your composure. ----------------  I don't care what they're playing or where I find them, but a live mariachi band is something not to be missed. (stay tuned for the report on the planned trip to Baha)


Station Wagons-

I have no idea why I love these. Some of you might find this soft spot particularly odd as you know me to purchase and drive Volkswagens almost exclusively. Once again, I can't explain it, it just is like the phases of the moon and the changing of the tide. My parents recently bought one of these:

I love it. Granted, as cars go this one has some glaring deficiencies. The interior rattles, the finishes feel cheap, the seats are insufferable, and did I mention I love it.  L-O-V-E   I-T!

Really Odd Music Videos-

Is it black and white? -Check
Does it have two hags of questionable gender cackling and rolling tires down the road? -Check
Mariachi Band? -Double Check

I can't resist, just one more-

Poached Pears as Dessert Guests

(Please Note: I am a terrible food pornographer.) 

Perhaps it was the bag of pears I insisted on picking at the church ranch; perhaps it was the concussion that I inflicted upon myself while I was folding laundry; most likely it was the suggestion of a fellow foodie that drove me to try and poach pears.

It took a good half hour of haggling over which pears were in the sufficient state of ripeness, not to mention a good hour the night before at the grocery story trying to procure the correct spices. The spices in which the pears were poached smelled fantastic. The chocolate sauce made with baker's chocolate, cream, and a little honey was,... well I won't cheapen chocolate with poorly chosen adjectives. In the end, while it looks decadent, I ended up with a pear in my ice cream and chocolate sauce. It wasn't bad, but it didn't thrill me. I'm willing to try again so I if anyone has a great recipe for poached pears please share.

The 2012 Beetle Got Awesome

The last New Beetle was totally bogus. The 2012 Beetle is much cooler for a number of reasons a few of which I will mention here:

1. They dropped the name "New Beetle" and just call it the "Beetle".
2. It's not a hemispherical bubble (like the New Beetle), it's actually shaped like the old Beetle.
3. Those wheels are quite possibly the coolest thing I have seen on a new car in years. 

I haven't laughed so hard

Squirrels and Derailments

Some of you may have been wondering what became of the filthy foxes that I posted about earlier this summer. I am happy to report that the battle is over and I won. I will admit to nothing, but know that they are gone...  until next spring at any rate.

In the mean time a new enemy has infiltrated the foundations of a number of buildings in the rail yard. Squirrels. Mean, conniving, relentless squirrels. They don't actually live in the rail yard, they live across the street from the depot in some big pine trees that surround the old superintendent's house. I suspect that they moved over about the time that I ran the foxes off. So, I have unwittingly found myself wrapped up in the intricacies of nature and the natural order of the food chain. Nonetheless! I will prevail. 

Hopeful I will have better luck against the squirrels then I did on my first rail speeder ride this past week. Rail speeder look like this:

I spent about eight hours in a safety class, took a 2 hour long test, and spent a morning being instructed on how to operate one of these speeders. We are getting ready to do some pretty extensive track upgrades at the railroad; as part of that the railroad management wanted an inventory of the their track structures done. Some of these track structures are only accessible from the track right-of-way itself. I volunteered to walk, but they insisted that the speeder would be more effective. After all of that training I had been on the speeder a grand total of five minutes before I managed to fling the thing off the track. My downfall? Switches. During the class there was a good hour or so on switches. "Oh I know how to work those", I thought to myself, "I had a toy train. It's not rocket science." Apparently, it must be. I had left the shed where the speeder was stored and I was reversing to a switch at the other end of the yard. Naturally, I had my head craned around to see behind me. As I got closer to the switch I eventually noticed that the switch was set against me, but unfamiliar controls meant that my reaction time wasn't quick enough to get the contraption stopped. A few shorts moment later and I was sitting in the dirt. The track crew and master mechanic showed up and helped me set the speeder back on the track and I was off, not without a good bit of teasing though. In fact, by the time I got back to the yard that afternoon the whole railroad had heard about it. Yeah, they're going to keep bringing that one up for awhile. Live and learn.

Next Best Thing

As some of you may know one of my favorite books ever is "Catch 22" by Joseph Heller. A few months ago a friend of mine lent me this book and said it was pretty funny. First off, I can't begin to describe the brilliance of this book. This is the only work of this author who died before the book was ever published. Sometime after the author's death his mother took the book around trying to get publishers to pick it up and it ended up winning the Pulitzer. Fare warning, if you did not like "Catch 22" you will not like this book. However, if enjoyed that WWII satire then you will love this book. I can't believe I hadn't read it sooner.