Pie Crust

This is an easy recipe for a pie crust.  You don't need a rolling pin, you'll be pressing it into the pie tin.  Use it for your favorite dessert or main dist.

1 cup + 1 tablespoon flour

1 stick of butter

1 tablespoon cold water

Melt butter in microwave.  Add to flour and stir.  Add one or two tablespoons of water.  (You want pliable dough).  Knead briefly to capture all the flour. 

Press pie crust into a standard 8” pie tin.  Be sure to make crust thin and even along bottom and edges. 

If pie calls for a baked crust, preheat oven to 425º.  Puncture crust along bottom and sides so steam can escape.  Bake crust for 12 minutes or until golden brown.

Kickstarter -- Aqualibrium

Aqualibrium is a project seeking crowd-source funding on Kickstarter.

This project definitely has a lot of the right features that typically has me reaching for the credit card:.

• Grow fresh organic produce anywhere
• Teaching the next generation where our food comes from
• Entertainment watching fish and plants grow.

So why haven't I jumped?  

Am I nervous that my not quite green thumb will show through?   I'll admit, I've killed bonsai plants that survived for years before they met me?

Does the thought of buying fish and reminding myself to feed them give me pause?

Or does the promise of an easy-to-assemble kit with grow lights and doors sound a little too good?

Frankly, it's probably a combination of these.  Fortunately, my hesitation is not universal.  As of October 8th, Aqualibrium has 374 backers and has raised over $92,000 toward their goal of $108,000.  With their funding, they plan to buy the dies needed for their unique indoor gardens.  

It's an interesting plan and would be fascinating to watch fish and plants in an indoor ecosystem.

Dusty Baker out at Cincinnati -- What about the Mariners

The Cincinnati Reds released Dusty Baker as manager today because he just didn't take them far enough in the playoffs.  Wow.  :)

He's been with the Reds for 6 seasons, taking them to a 509-463 record.  The last two years have been 90+ win seasons.  And they're firing him because it wasn't enough.  I guess that's how the other half lives.

As a Mariner's fan, I think he would be a great fit.  The Mariners need a manager who will either have unquestioned credibility or an ability to establish a generational connection with all their young kids.  Baker certainly fits the first criteria.

Recently resigned manager Eric Wedge wasn't the reason the Mariners lost so many games this year and he may or may not have been able to take them to the next level in 2014.  But with Wedge gone, the Mariners need to plan for next year and getting Dusty Baker in the fold would be a great first step.

They Buried the Lead

After viewing a nice interview between Bill Gates and David Rubenstein of Harvard that you'll find here, I realized that everyone publishing the interview completely buried the lead.

All the announcements talked about Gates acknowledging that the key sequence CTRL-ALT-DELETE, was a mistake.  They shouldn't have required that sequence to start up a computer.

That was the most important thing they got out of a nearly hour-long interview.  Really?

Personally, I was much more interested in the evolution of the intense, driven 20-something computer software fanatic into a 50-something self-effacing philanthropist.  You hear stories from the man who casually refers to his friends Warren, Paul and Steve and how those real-life tales changed his life and the lives we all lead.

You seen the consistent playful byplay Gates had with Rubenstein and it brings a previously unsuspected humanity to the myth that time and wealth helped create.

So Long Peanut Man

How do some people touch our lives more than others?

Rick "Peanut Man" Kaminski touched so many in his years with the Mariners.  You can see Rick in action here.

I didn't know him, but I saw him at countless Mariner games and people loved him.  From the regulars he checked in with game after game to the kids who watched in wide-eyed amazement as he casually tossed a bag of peanuts over a section of fans to land right at the intended target.

You could always tell the visitors to Safeco Field when Rick tossed a bag of peanuts 40 feet and you'd hear someone behind you saying "did you see that."

And he taught kids to catch.  Every game you'd see him instructing the little 7 or 8 year old to "hold your hands just like this."  When the peanuts bounced off their hands he'd calmly reclaim the bag, give a little more coaching and make one more throw.

When hands and bag met, and stayed together, you could see the magic sparkle and realize Rick just found another fan.

So long Rick.  You will be sorely missed.

Even the Mustache Can't Break the Run

Manager Eric Wedge, owner of "The Mustache," did everything he could to break the bad streak.  He contributed his mustache to the cause, shaving it off after Saturday's defeat.

But even coming to the game Sunday sans mustache didn't give the Mariners enough.  True, they get out early to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first thanks to a Miguel Olivo home run, but they can't do enough with the hitting machine that is the Boston Red Sox.