One way to spell relief

As some of you may know, the house where Allie and I live was put up for sale some time ago. We were given this information by our landlady about 1 day before the sign went up and about 1 month after resigning the lease. She had kicked out the tenants below when their lease expired but kept us on without telling us to make the property more sell-able. The thing that had us most worried was that the lease we signed is set to expire the day before our wedding. Suddenly we thought that maybe we were going to end up married but without a home.

Well, last week the house sold. And yesterday we met our new landlord and were invited to his housewarming. We totally lucked out. He doesn't want us to leave, he doesn't want to raise the rent, and he wants to do some much-needed improvements to the house.

In addition to being a nice guy that sounds like he'll be conscientious of the folks living upstairs, his brother is married to somebody I played ultimate with in Vancouver! His brother and sister-in-law weren't at the housewarming, because they're in Kauai for the winter (poor suckers). But his mother is flying to Kauai today and is all excited that we know her other son. So we basically went from being complete strangers to practically friends of the family in, oh, I'd say about 5 minutes.

Phew.

In Memory

Jeremiah was a fellow oceanographer, a fellow ultimate player, and a friend. Shortly after I left Hawaii, he married a former resident of my home there. The soon-to-be newlyweds gave me one of the most beautiful leis I'd ever seen on my last night on the islands before moving back to Canada.

A few years ago, Jeremiah left oceanography to become a science teacher at a local high school. He thrived in that role.

Earlier this week, however, he lost his life suddenly while on a field trip. From the sounds of things, he just jumped into the water on a free-dive, and that was it. He didn't resurface. By the time rescuers could get to him, it was too late.

That is the tragic news that greeted me this morning when I checked my email.

I am a little stunned today. And a little saddened. When I first got the news of his death, I didn't know what had happened but I had a feeling the ocean was involved. He was a child of the islands, and had a connection with the ocean. If there is any solace in the story of his death, it is that he was sharing his passion for the ocean environment with his students at the time.

I was not only a friend of his, but also of his wife and his father, both of whom also played ultimate. On more than one occasion, we hung out on the ultimate field when the night's games were over and the lights had gone out, sharing beers and sharing stories.

Today, my thoughts are with his wife and his young daughter. He was a positive influence in so many lives, and will be dearly missed by many.

calls for sanctions?

On the anniversary of Rafik Hariri's assasination, and just after the bus bombings in Lebanon, the March 14 Coalition wants to impose sanctions on Syria?? This is nuts.

Ice Ice Baby

Another cool shot from NASA's Earth Observatory:


The image has 6MB worth of detail so you can really zoom in! This is a shot of the Sea of Okhotsk (which is between Siberia and Kamchatka for all the Risk players in the room). Cold arctic outbreaks, like those that put the Canadian prairies in deep freeze from time to time, cause intense cooling sessions over this sea. When the ice - which must be almost 100% pure fresh water for it to keep its crystalline form - removes fresh water from the sea, the enhanced saltiness of the water left behind is actually enough to cause that water to sink. This heavy water will sink to the bottom of the sea, and then cascade down into the deep ocean, like a slow motion water-fall. (Interestingly the same thing happens in the Mediterranean Sea because evaporation removes water but leaves salt behind.)

A neat feature of the image is that you don't really see clouds until the wind (which is blowing offshore) gets past the ice and starts blowing over the water.

Let that flame burn

Since we cannot let sween be without his lovey wife, and as it only seems right that he can have his cake (meaning his wife) and eat it (meaning his cake) too, I bring him (and you)

FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE

This recipe was given to me by my sister and copied out almost verbatim here. So, without further ado...

have all ingredients at room temperature before starting

preheat oven to 325F

grease an 8" round cake pan (NOT a springform it will leak) and line with a wax or parchment paper circle on the bottom. (pan should be deep-ish 1 1/2 to 2" deep)

In a large heatproof bowl, combine:

1 lb. semi or bittersweet chocolate (the cake will only be as good as the chocolate so don't use bakers chocolate or chips - I used one of those big gold bars of president's choice bittersweet - it's 1 lb, yummy, and is only about 5 bucks)

10 tbsp (1 1/4 sticks) butter, cut up

Set the bowl in a large skillet of barely simmering water and stir often until the chocolate and butter are warm, melted and smooth. (I hate doing it this way (although it's the proper way) and I think the boiling water risks getting a drop of water in the chocolate which, FYI, is what makes it 'seize up' when it gets all dry and thick and grainy, if you have ever experienced that - it's a chemistry thing you can read up if you want. The idea is it has to melt very slowly and not get above a certain temperature, so if you just melt the chocolate and butter in a heavy saucepan with the heat on very low and stirring often, you will be fine)

Remove melted chocolate from heat and whisk in:

5 large egg yolks

Set aside. In another large bowl, beat on medium speed (or whisk if you're feeling up to it) until soft peaks form:

5 large egg whites

1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

Gradually add, while beating:

1 tbsp sugar

Beat until the peaks are stiff but not dry. Use a rubber spatula to fold 1/4 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture, then fold in the remaining whites. Keep folding gently until there are no more streaks of egg whites. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Set pan in a large shallow baking dish or roasting pan (you can get a disposable one if you ain't got) set the dish in the oven, and pour enough boiling water into it to reach halfway up the sides of the cake pan. Bake for exactly 30 minutes; the top of the cake will have a thin crust and the interior will still be gooey. Set the cake pan on a rack to cool completely, then refrigerate still in the pan until chilled or overnight (remember it tastes better the next day). To unmold, dip the cake pan in a pan of boiling water or hold over a stove element just till the cake can be inverted onto a plate (you may want to run thin knife around the cake to help detach it from the pan). Peel of the paper. The recipe says flip it over again, but I think the bottom makes a nicer top cause it's smooth. Make a doiley, etc. and sprinkle icing sugar through a sieve just before serving (if any 'sweat' has formed on the cake as it warms up, just press a paper towel to absorb it before sprinkling the sugar).

Serve with coulis and whipped cream.

COULIS:

Put in a blender or food processor:

1 pint strawberries or raspberries (or 12 oz frozen dry-packed berries, thawed)

3 tbsp sugar

1 - 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Puree until smooth then strain through a fine meshed sieve with a spoon. Taste and add in more sugar or lemon if needed. Can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.

This title is perfect apart from its imperfections

My supervisor is someone who labours over coming up with good titles for things. Papers, theses, email subjects, you name it. He always wants to get the point across as accurately as possible in as few words as possible. And he's taught me to follow that model to some extent, though admitedly I don't labour over titles of posts here all that much. Anyway, coming up with good titles can be quite the art and at times it can become an obsession. It is in this context that this headline is either terrible or amazing:

SAR Interview

About a week ago, I mentioned a crazy Search and Rescue story. At the time, an interview from CBC radio was unavailable. Well, now it is.

And also, as more of an update, a letter from the rescued man.