Category: Items of Interest

Hunger Games Victory

Photo by Tara Witten
Photo by Tara Witten

Earlier this month, our resident chef, Ben Witten, mentored a team from GrayHair Software to victory in “The Hunger Games”, a charity cooking event that raised $15,000 to support child nutrition programs at the Food Bank of South Jersey.

The contest provided seven teams with a typical box of food from the food bank. Audience members could also “buy” (i.e., make a donation) additional items to help their favorite team.

The GrayHair Software team produced a breakfast hash that they called GrayHair Sunrise:

“We made an autumn vegetable hash with apples and topped with a sunny side up egg, sprinkled with basil and feta.” – Valerie Capasso, GrayHair Software (Kelly Roncace in South Jersey Times)

The dish surprised the judges by surprise with the simple elegance of its flavors.

As Ben’s brother, I am not surprised. I can see his influence as a team mentor. While I have never had this particular dish, I have had eaten many varieties of vegetable hash that he has prepared for breakfast. They are simple. They are elegant. They are flavorful. And, they all taste like victory.

SOURCE: South Jersey Times (Kelly Roncace) and my proud sister-in-law.

In which, Rep. Rice plays to my vanity

I know it is boring, but it is my policy to publicly post any correspondence I receive from one of my elected representatives, especially the form letters. This one is from Representative Tom Rice, who represents those of us living in South Carolina’s House District 7, on the topic of NSA domestic spying.

In addition to voting the way I wanted him to on HR4870 to stop funding for certain NSA surveillance programs, Representative Rice called me “Dr. Witten”. No one ever calls me “Dr. Witten”, including most of my students. Continue reading “In which, Rep. Rice plays to my vanity”

Martin the Warrior

Martin the Warrior by Stormbringer (All Rights Reserved - Used With Permission)
Martin the Warrior by Stormbringer (All Rights Reserved – Used With Permission)

This one is for my brother, Ben, who was a huge fan of Brian Jacques’ Redwall series of books. Martin the Warrior is instrumental in the founding of Redwall Abbey, for which the series is named.

The books are classics and I cannot wait to share them with my daughters. The Frogger is already a fan of David Peterson’s Mouse Guard graphic novels. So, the talking animals of Redwall won’t be a big leap, but I hope she won’t judge the Redwall books for not being as gritty as she her usual fare.

Predictably, one of Ben’s favorite aspects of the Redwall books was Jacques’ lush descriptions of the food:

Every one of Jacques’s books contains a feast prepared by the anthropomorphic woodland creature of Redwall Abbey. The spread alway seems to contain a delectable mix of real and imaginative dishes that leave the mouth watering. Among my personal favorites: Shrimp and Hotroot Soup, Deeper ‘n Ever Tater ‘n’ Turnip ‘n’ Beetroot Pie, Meadow Cream on fruit and pastries, Damson Cordial, and the cellarhog’s famous October Ale.

My favorite characters were the hares of the Hare Border Rangers and the otters*, who are apparently fond of Shrimp & Hotroot Soup, as one should be.

*They are good guys in the Redwall series, which is a bit unusual for an apex predator.

HT: The Brothers Brick

Rosetta Rendezvous, commemorated in LEGOs

by Stefan Schindler (All Rights Reserved; Used with Permission)
“Rosetta – arrival at the comet” by Stefan Schindler (All Rights Reserved; Used with Permission)

After a ten-year odyssey, the ESA Rosetta spacecraft rendezvoused with Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in early August. In honor of this momentous series of events, we wanted to share this delightful LEGO model* from Stefan Schindler (Stefan has been featured here before). Continue reading “Rosetta Rendezvous, commemorated in LEGOs”

Letter from Senator Lyndsey Graham on Net Neutrality

If Senator Tim Scott’s form letter on Net Neutrality didn’t say much, Senator Lyndsey Graham’s says even less. Unlike Senator Scott’s, only the first paragraph is subject specific. The final three are his form letter boilerplate. Senator Graham isn’t staking out a position. He is simply defending Congress’ power relative to the FCC, something he is usually loathe to do when it comes to the executive branch. Congress can act to declare internet service providers as common carriers; but will they?

I’d like to add a brief moment to address Senator Graham’s office on the matter of etiquette. Senator Graham and I are not on a first name basis.  Continue reading “Letter from Senator Lyndsey Graham on Net Neutrality”