J. D. Salinger

When J. D. Salinger died on January 27th, I was tempted to announce it in a post a la Soupy Sales. But it was front page news so I didn't bother. Today, there is an interesting article in the Post Gazette about the man. So, for anyone who was greatly influenced by the Glass family (like me and the woman who wrote the article) and who normally does not read the Post Gazette, you will not want to miss this.

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Monopoly
1. B & O Railroad
2. Pennsylvania Railroad
3. Reading Railroad

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Renaissance
1. Botticelli paints "Birth of Venus"
2. Da Vinci paints "Mona Lisa"
3. Gutenberg prints bible at Mainz

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Miscellanea
1. Number of cities with over 1 million people in 2005
2. Number of events in the 2008 Summer Olympics
3. Number of floors in Burj Khalifa (Burj Dubai), world's tallest structure

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Quantity Measurement
1. Gross
2. Ream
3. Score

Vacation ideas

I've got two great vacation ideas for everyone.

First, there's the longest sled run in the world, known as the Wildkogel Rodelbahn, at Ski Arena Wildkogel in Neukirchen, Austria.

The run is almost 9 miles long and involves an over-4000 foot vertical drop. The really nice thing is that half-way down, you'll find a slopeside tavern, just in case you need a little Dutch courage to get down the rest of the hill. See Ski Arena Wildkogel.

The second possibility is a place called "Drive a Tank," in Waseca, Minnesota, where you can do just that. For a few hundred dollars, they'll let you drive around a British FV-433 Abbott for an afternoon and fire a few rounds (blanks only, sorry). And for a few extra hundred dollars, they'll let you drive over and crush a car or two. The advertising says that it's great for couples, so I think we have the perfect honeymoon destination for James and Ali. As they say, a couple who drives a battle tank together, stays together. See Drive A Tank.

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American presidents
1. Grover Cleveland
2. James Polk
3. Martin Van Buren

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Military rank (U.S. Army)
1. Captain
2. Colonel
3. Major

Humpty Dumpty

What important word is missing from the Humpty Dumpty rhyme?

(Maybe this is an old question, but it's the first time I heard it)

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Area of Lakes
1. Caspian Sea
2. Lake Superior
3. Lake Victoria

Silencing John Yoo

Since Johns Hopkins is near and dear to my heart and John Yoo sucks (an understatement), this video is a pretty good.

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European diplomacy
1. Congress of Berlin
2. Congress of Paris
3. Congress of Vienna

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Potpourri

Human body
1. Femur
2. Fibula
3. Humerus

Carnival

I don't think my Fat Tuesday was as good as it could have been, here are the rest of the pictures at The Big Picture.

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Measurement

Linear Measurement
1. fathom
2. furlong
3. rod

Happy Fat Tuesday

Enjoy! We'll be trying the pancakes tonight, let you know how they go.

From Jason Kottke's Blog

"After discovering the recipe for Robie's Buttermilk Flapjacks in a magazine a year or two ago, my wife has been making them for breakfast most Saturdays and they are, no foolin', the best pancakes I've ever eaten. They are fluffy and moist and delicious. Here's what you do.

Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl, whisk, set aside:

2 cups flour
2 tbsp sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp fine salt

Combine the wet ingredients in a second bowl, whisk:

2 cups buttermilk
4 tbsp melted butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 beaten eggs

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and whisk until just combined. Fry in a pan with butter. Top with maple syrup and devour.

Don't skimp on the ingredients here. Use real butter and real vanilla extract, but especially real maple syrup and real buttermilk. Depending on where you live/shop, actual buttermilk might be difficult to find. The term "buttermilk" formerly referred to the liquid left behind after churning butter but nowadays refers to a cultured milk product not unlike drinkable yogurt. The only real buttermilk we've been able to find (in VT and MA) is Kate's Real Buttermilk; even at the NYC Greenmarket, the best you can find is cultured buttermilk made with whole milk. At least attempt to avoid most grocery store buttermilk; it's made from skim milk with added thickeners and such, basically buttermilk without any richness, which is, like, what's the point? Oh, and no powdered buttermilk either...it messes with the texture too much. The point is, these are buttermilk pancakes and they taste best with the best buttermilk you can get your mitts on."

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History

Early England
1. Compilation of the 'Doomsday book'
2. Norman conquest
3. Thomas Becket murdered

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Potpourri

Signs of the Zodiac
1. Libra
2. Sagittarius
3. Taurus

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Measurement

Distance of planets from the sun
a. Jupiter
b. Saturn
c. Uranus

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History

U.S. Territory Acquisitions
a. Alaskan Purchase
b. Gadsden Purchase
c. Louisiana Purchase