THE WEISS CHRONICLES

Friday, July 30, 2010

Another Nightmare

I dreamt that I was at a wedding the wedding meal was peanut butter chicken. The image is from an actual recipe for this. It is a nightmare for me because I dislike the taste and even the smell of peanut butter.

We had recently responded positively to a wedding invitation.

One thing I can say about the recipe is that it is pretty easy.
Here it is:

Directions

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken pieces, and cook until chicken starts to turn white. Add the onion, mushrooms, and red pepper flakes. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes.
Pour the tomatoes and chicken stock into the skillet, and simmer for about 10 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Stir in peanut butter, and cook stirring constantly until the sauce thickens. This should only take a minute or two. If the sauce is not thickening, you may stir in more peanut butter.

posted by Martin Weiss # 5:21 PM

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Martin Gets the Boot

On July 23-24 I used some new shoes for the walk to and from the synagogue.

I damaged my left foot. On July 25, I actually needed a cane to walk (with some Vicadin I could have been Dr. House).

July 27, I went to the podiatrist. There seems to be no fracture. I am supposed to wear a protective boot for a while to reduce the risk of an additional injury.

I took Wily Coyote to see the podiatrist and pointed out to here that Wily is a very fast runner despite the flat feet. She was very amused and said, "well maybe if he had orthodics he could catch the road runner".

posted by Martin Weiss # 4:12 PM

Storm Blows Through

On July 25 we lost power about 330 pm. This was just before strong winds and heavy rains hit. We regained power about 130 pm on July 26.

At one point about 300k people in our county were without power. Still on July 27 there are 50k without and many traffic lights are still out. Our county was the hardest hit.

Our freezers did very well. The upstairs freezer (front open) still had lots of unmelted ice in the tray when we regained power.

We did take a monetary hit because it cost us $80 to get tree branches cut up. Some of these were very heavy (up to 12" diameter) and there was quite a few other large branches (none other larger than 4" diameter or so). Our neighbors had hired someone and we got them to stay another hour and take care of our stuff. If that 12" branch had hit the roof, we would be looking at major, major damage. Our cars didn't suffer at all. The image was one sent to the Washington Post by a reader.

posted by Martin Weiss # 4:00 PM

Friday, July 16, 2010

A Decrease in Immortality

My father died about 20 years ago. Every so often he gets mail anyway.

One source of this mail is about his Delta SkyMiles account at American Express (*Account # = 40132116637).

Today, I called American Express and told them to take him off their mailing list.

We'll see what happens.

He still gets mail from GWU (where he got his PhD).

posted by Martin Weiss # 10:04 AM

Earthquake Hits

Well not like the image but an earthquake measuring 3.6 on the Richter scale happened at about 5 am today.

My brother Irwin noticed it as a 'rumble like a truck going by' (he awoke to tend to his dog's needs).

I didn't notice.

The quake was, per this article, centered below Rockville, MD.

posted by Martin Weiss # 9:26 AM

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Matt Capps Gets a Win in the All Star Game

In this year's All Star Game, the only Washington Nationals player threw 5 pitches and got one man out.

It was the end of the AL part of the 7th inning and during their next at bat , the National League got 3 runs giving Capps the win (the NL had only 1 run in the previous 23 innings).

The game had only 3 extra base hits and was the first NL win in the All Star game since 1996.

Also it was the first time a Washington pitcher got the win since 1954. Oddly enough in that game Dean Stone (of the Washington Senators) got only one guy out by throwing Red Schoendienst out when the latter tried to steal home.

posted by Martin Weiss # 11:57 PM

Monday, July 05, 2010

Another Strange Dream

In my dream I got to the synagogue early. I was asked, and agreed to, lead the pesukei d zimra (the introductory psalms and devotional paragraphs that precede the formal call to worship.

In my dream, the gabbai (monitor of the minyan), handed me a prayer book I had never seen before and told me to begin from page 1. On that page were two benedictions (brochot) I had never seen before. One was a blessing for the health and well being of the messiah (a.k.a. moshiah, anointed) and one was for the safety and success of the construction of the Temple.

I complained and said that these should not be said and the gabbai said to do them anyway because of something (I can't remember what).

Then I woke up.

posted by Martin Weiss # 10:55 AM

Many Fireworks Observed

We were visiting Gerry Berg on the evening of the 4th and went to the rooftop of his building about 915 pm.

From there one could see (we think) the fireworks display on the Capital Mall in D.C., the display in Tyson's Corners, VA, the display at Wheaton Regional Park (all quite nice) as well as the one at Montgomery College (not quite so nice) and ones at Leesburg, Poolesville, College Park and others (just a little bit).

Of course we were only seeing a degree or two of arc. It felt like it was in the mid 80s on the rooftop which is certainly bearable.

From Berg's apartment, the Tyson's Corner fireworks were visible through the picture window in the living room.

posted by Martin Weiss # 10:27 AM