Month: June 2010

Minnesota Tornado Outbreak

Brianne Bilyeu, , , 950 Comments

Last night’s weather was wonky in Minneapolis.  We got about 60 seconds of either hard rain or hail – when we went outside 30 minutes later the ground was dry…  And the sky was yellow.  I mean yellow.  It’s hard to capture a cloudy, yellow sky with a digital camera – all of mine tried to auto-correct – but one of my friends managed to get a good shot and posted it to her FB account:

At 9pm it was so light out that it felt like 6 or 7pm. 

Tornados ripped across many parts of Minnesota last night, but in Minneapolis the weather remained fairly calm.  We did have some high winds in the early evening, but not much else.  At about 9:15pm The Hubby and I went walking in the oddly bright, balmy, 80-degree evening.  We found this telephone booth outside of an antiques shop on Lyndale Avenue.  It looked great with the dark blue, cloudy sky in the background. 

Details from last night’s tornado outbreak in greater Minnesota:

There is already a wikipedia page devoted to the Mid-June 2010 Tornado Outbreak.  Remembering that this is Wikipedia, and knowing that I haven’t fact checked the info, here’s what they have to say: 

Affecting mostly Minnesota and North Dakota, the system produced a total of 62 tornadoes reported across four states while killing at least three people, all in Minnesota.

The page also has a table started that is listing EF#, Location, County, Time and Comments/Damaged caused by the tornados. 

From twincities.com:

A funnel cloud forms near Grand Forks International Airport Thursday afternoon June 17, 2010. A number of tornados were reported in the northern Red River Valley of North Dakota and Minnesota into the evening Thursday. (Associated Press/The Grand Forks Herald: John Stennes)

From Cleveland.com:

A large funnel cloud touches down west of Albert Lea, Minn., early Thursday evening.

Youtube has several videos of last night’s tornados.  I thought this one of a tornado in Winsted, MN by mkastavitch was fairly decent:

And this video by SlayerWalleye (that’s a Minnesotan user name, eh?)  shows some of the devastation caused by a tornado that tore through Wadena, MN:

Minnesota Tornado Outbreak
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On Being Non-Religious

Brianne Bilyeu569 Comments

I sneezed as I was leaving the YMCA this morning.  A woman in front of me turned around, smiled and said “May God bless you, and Jesus Christ also.”  I was a little taken aback, and I said “Wow, you don’t hear that much.”  She smiled and told me, “I like people to know I mean it.  So many people say ‘Bless you’, but they don’t think about what it means.”  Bemused, I smiled and we went our separate ways.

I’m not overly religious, but I’m not overly zealous about my non-religious ways.  I don’t get offended if someone invites me to church, or says “Bless you” when I sneeze (even “May God bless you, and Jesus Christ also”).  Whatever.  The average person is usually acting out of concern for my welfare and means me well.  Hey, I probably believe your religion is mumbo jumbo – rules and ceremonies created in the brains of men and then called laws of a higher being – but as long as you’re not using your religion to hurt anyone or to force people to act or think a certain way, or trying to change history or current politics, or wasting my time or my money – you have fun with that.  Unfortunately, I haven’t found many religions that meet all of those requirements, but if you’re a religious person who meets these requirements, then we can hang.  

 I read a few blogs that are listed on the Atheist Nexuus, I love the FFRF, I am a proponent of the separation of church and state, and I get upset when religion is used in the abuse of human or civil rights.   And while I do identify as a-theistic, I cringe a little when I’m cornered into saying I’m An Atheist.  In the past when I have identified as An Atheist to other Atheists, I’ve been expected to be able to discuss – in detail – why I’m calling myself an Atheist and to share in religion-mocking or book title dropping (I’ll get around to Dennett’s Breaking the Spell and Dawkin’s The God Delusion one of these days, I promise!  They’re on my shelf!  I’ve been busy.).  I’m not well-versed in religions or theology – I just don’t care to spend a lot of time learning much about either of these things.  Thus I don’t have many hard arguments against religions or religious ideology, and I certainly don’t have any arguments – or the desire – to talk anyone out of their beliefs.  The few times I have identifed as An Atheist to a person of religion I’ve been treated to some form of concern, eye-rolling, or hostility – no exceptions.  If they’re not disgusted they want to convert me…or at least they want me to do some “soul-searching”.  By the way, this is a poor argument if the atheist under scrutiny doesn’t believe in a soul.  Can’t you just see it?  “Hey, I’ll search it, but first you have to prove to me that it exists.”

I was raised in a fairly non-religious family – we attended Episcopal services for a little while.  I served as an alter girl – swinging the incense, ringing the bells, holding the wine glass and the plate with the communion wafers.  I got to be in charge of something and wear a uniform, and it was all good fun.  I was part of a youth group, which was great because I saw my first professional musical – Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat – as a result of that.  Looking back, probably the most offensive thing about my religious upbringing was that I went through confirmation classes.  What a joke!  As a society we say a person must be 18 years old before they are allowed to vote in elections or sign contracts, but you’re allowed – encouraged! – to commit your earthly life and eternal soul (should you believe in one) to a religion as a child before you have the ability to reason or think critically.  Seriously…that’s messed up. 

It does seem like my reasons for being atheistic are a more defensible than many people’s reasons for being theistic.  The specific reasons for my lack of belief are numerous, but here are my biggest ones: If there is a God, She/He/It’s obviously not interacting with the world or people in any predictable manner, so why should I cater to or attempt to influence a diety’s actions or mood?  For what other reason would I attend church or pray? I can meditate if I need peace, and I can be good and respect my fellow human beings without the middleman. Should I be concerned for the afterlife or my eternal soul’s final destination?  Please!  Every religion has a different take on how we should act in order to send our soul to where we think it should go.  To deeply believe that any Afterlife is “true” and that it’s “more true” that someone else’s…how presumptuous. 

I don’t want to spend my limited time on Earth trying to understand things that can’t be made sense of.  

Strive to be nice to self, to others and to be happy.  Be concerned with this life. 

I’ll work within these “rules” and fill out the rest from there.

*******

Sneezing woman photo source

On Being Non-Religious

More randomness.

Brianne Bilyeu, , , , , 890 Comments

I had a lovely dinner with friends last night – London Broil, Yukon Potatoes and Tossed Salad with Bleu Cheese dressing – yummy!  Good food, good company. 

~~~~~

Is your Droid sucking all of your battery up in mere hours?  No!  Bad Droid! 

I installed the Advanced Task Killer for Android on my HTC Incredible.  It’s supposed to save my battery life by closing Apps that aren’t in use.  I’m game.  Currently I have been getting about 5 hours of battery life on my phone (sob!), and the charging cord – for car, computer and wall charging have been constant companions.  Hopefully this will elongate my time between charges.

~~~~~

I signed up for my PADI Open Water Dive!  I’ll be taking my final classes at Golden Acres near Stillwater, MN in early July.  Hopefully the weather and the water will have warmed up a bit by then…grumble, grumble.  After the dives at Golden Acres I’ll be a PADI-certified Open  Water Diver, and just in time for Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast! 

We’re getting super excited for our trip – The Hubby and I spent a couple of hours last Saturday flipping through guide books at Barnes & Noble.  We leave for Italy on 7/18/10.  We’ll fly from Minneapolis to Rome (through Detroit – ah well).  When we arrive in Rome we’ll jump right on a train to Perugia, Umbria, Italy where we’ll meet up with Mom.  We’ll spend 7/19-7/28 romping around Italy.  We’ll spend the last three days of July in Rome.  On the way home we have a “forced” overnight layover in…Amsterdam!  We’ll get into Amsterdam at ~5:30pm and leave for Minneapolis at 2:30pm the next day.  Love it!  I’m excited about taking original photos for this blog, and about being able to write up some of our adventures here.  For now, take a gander at these shots from travelers who have gone before me:

 

Amalfi Coast – photo source

Sorrento Diving – photo source

Perugia, Umbria – photo source

Roman Forum, Rome – photo source

Amsterdam Downtown, aerial view – photo source

Doesn’t it look like FUN!?

More randomness.

Where's the Sun?

Brianne Bilyeu, , , 816 Comments

Happy Grab Bag Random Lazy No Prepared Post Monday!

photo source

1)Is it June?  I could have sworn it was June already.  That means it’s the summer time and I want sunshine!  The average June temperature in Minneapolis ranges from about 63-83°C in June and 2010 seems to be on the lower end of that scale, but can I at least have some sunshine?  Brrrr….I wore a coat yesterday!  In June!

Whatevs.

2)  Happy Flag Day!

Wikipedia sez:

In the United States, Flag Day is celebrated on June 14. It commemorates the adoption of the flag of the United States, which happened that day by resolution of the Second Continental Congress in 1777.

Cool poster from June 14th, 1917:

3)  On last week’s Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe I heard about the unfortunate side-effect of a brand of mumbo-jumbo being exacerbated by the South Africa World Cup in the story “Vulture Threatened by Pseudoscience”.

Apparently there is a type of South African traditional medicine called muti which relies on natural products from trees and other vegetation.  Some South African cultures integrate other natural products into their treatments, namely, body parts.  The body parts may come from animal or even human sources.

In the case of this story, the body part in question is the brain of South African vultures, an animal that is already in danger of extinction (7 of 9 South African vulture species are classified as endangered).  Gamblers are smoking the dried vulture brain in hopes of foreseeing the winner of the World Cup.  From Scientific American:

In addition to dreams of winning lotto numbers or sports teams, practitioners say the practice can give users an edge on taking tests or help their business attract more clients.

Photo Source

Don’t eat me, I’m a pretty African White-backed Vulture that eats icky dead things so you don’t have to deal with them!

Where's the Sun?

Where’s the Sun?

Brianne Bilyeu, , , 1,098 Comments

Happy Grab Bag Random Lazy No Prepared Post Monday!

photo source

1)Is it June?  I could have sworn it was June already.  That means it’s the summer time and I want sunshine!  The average June temperature in Minneapolis ranges from about 63-83°C in June and 2010 seems to be on the lower end of that scale, but can I at least have some sunshine?  Brrrr….I wore a coat yesterday!  In June!

Whatevs.

2)  Happy Flag Day!

Wikipedia sez:

In the United States, Flag Day is celebrated on June 14. It commemorates the adoption of the flag of the United States, which happened that day by resolution of the Second Continental Congress in 1777.

Cool poster from June 14th, 1917:

3)  On last week’s Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe I heard about the unfortunate side-effect of a brand of mumbo-jumbo being exacerbated by the South Africa World Cup in the story “Vulture Threatened by Pseudoscience”.

Apparently there is a type of South African traditional medicine called muti which relies on natural products from trees and other vegetation.  Some South African cultures integrate other natural products into their treatments, namely, body parts.  The body parts may come from animal or even human sources.

In the case of this story, the body part in question is the brain of South African vultures, an animal that is already in danger of extinction (7 of 9 South African vulture species are classified as endangered).  Gamblers are smoking the dried vulture brain in hopes of foreseeing the winner of the World Cup.  From Scientific American:

In addition to dreams of winning lotto numbers or sports teams, practitioners say the practice can give users an edge on taking tests or help their business attract more clients.

Photo Source

Don’t eat me, I’m a pretty African White-backed Vulture that eats icky dead things so you don’t have to deal with them!

Where’s the Sun?

Gluten Free Pancakes

Brianne Bilyeu, , 622 Comments

I make gluten-free pancakes at home.  I use a traditional recipe, but substitute in a mix of sorghum, rice and garbanzo (chickpea) flours for all-purpose wheat flour and I reduce the baking powder.  The result is a decent, but slightly drier and firmer, version of a pancake.  But tasty – especially if most carby goodness treats are not an option for you.

GF Flour Recipe
This recipe was given to me by a friend from her sister.  The sister has celiac disease and says she formulated this mix herself.  A google search for “Gluten free flour mix” will yield a ton of recipes, some claiming to be better suited for different types of baked goods.  I usually make about 1/2 gallon of the stuff and keep in it in a container for general use.

1 1/3 cup Sorghum Flour
1/4 cup Sweet Rice Flour (I usually use the easier-to-find Rice Flour)
1/4 cup Garbanzo (Chickpea) Flour

GF Pancake Recipe

I found this recipe on the internet ages ago using a general google search for “pancake recipe”.  I can’t give credit to a specific source anymore, but most of the recipes I found in a recent search resemble this one:

1 1/2 cups flour (GF or all-purpose)
1 tsp baking powder (if using wheat flower, up baking powder to 3 1/2 tsp)
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp white sugar
1 1/4 cup milk
1 egg
3 tbsp butter, melted

Yum, yum, yum!  The Hubby eats the GF pancakes and enjoys them, but sadly, I can’t compete with the traditional buttermilk pancake.

However, The Original Pancake House of Eden Prairie can.

YUM!

The Hubby and I had breakfast at The Original Pancake House (OPH) in Eden Prairie this morning.  He really likes pancakes, and I figured that I could get some sort of egg-based breakfast.  I only cut gluten from my diet about three years ago, and when I was growing up OPH in Tinley Park, Illinois had been one of my favorite breakfast places.  I would always order the Apple Pancake.  For those of you who like pastries of the the apple persuasion, and who haven’t had an OPH Apple Pancake, you must take thee to an OPH location and have one at your earliest convenience – it is the pinnacle of apple+pancake experiences.  The apple is baked into the pancake, but it’s also baked on top of the dough and covered in cinnamon and butter.  Seriously, it adds another hour onto the treadmill, but who cares?

 

This is the Original Pancake House’s signature Apple Pancake...drool…

So back to this morning’s experience:  We get to OPH at 9am and the place is swarming with families – lot of babies and kids, tired looking parents, and patient grandmas and grandpas playing with the kids and cajoling the parents.  This is the last place on Earth I ever really want to be.  I drop the Hubby of at the doors so he can run inside and see how long the wait would be.  I drive in a circle around the packed parking lot – dodging the occasional excited kid or the zombie-looking-mom-with-stroller combo, and twice stopping for some idiot on a cell phone who blithely meanders in front of my car.

I think, Thank goodness I sent [The Hubby] inside – the wait’ll probably be 30 minutes or more and we can go someplace else. I make my round just as he’s coming back outside.  I make eye contact and start to drive forward, already planning Plan B, but he signals me to park and come inside and then dashes back through the doors.

Noooo!  I start to grumble thinking that he’s put us on the waiting list.  He can be much more patient that I am when it comes to restaurants.  He’ll wait 20 minutes in line to eat at one location, while I’d rather drive 20 minutes away and to eat somewhere with no wait.  But I’m a good wife, so I go park the car with only one little sigh and start the marathon trek back to the restaurant.  I even leave the smartphone, the iPod and the Saturday  paper in the car because The Hubby likes to have conversations when we eat out.  What up with that?

I get to the door and end up holding the door for this huge family of 12 (I counted), which isn’t so bad, except one really wound-up kid ends up going in and out three times before being pulled to a screeching halt (the screeching part…that’s literal) by a harried looking woman who I’m guessing is Mom.  I see the Hubby across the lobby-sized waiting area and he motions me over.  I give him my best shoulder shrugging “how the hell am I supposed to get over there” look as I begin sidestepping and weaving my way through the throng.  Inside I’m groaning, how long is this wait going to be?.

But behold, a veritable miracle – he’s gotten us a place at the bar!  We sit down, the guy brings coffee, water and menus, and we’re off.  They’ve got some tasty looking omelettes and sides.  I glance longingly at the Apple Pancake (curse you, gluten!), and then, a glorious phrase leaps from the page:

Gluten Free Batter is available at no charge for most of our pancakes.

Woahhhhhhh…..

Ceiling Cat be praised – gluten-free pancakes!  It looks like OPH started the gluten-free menu in 2007.  I was sad because they couldn’t make me the Apple Pancake with gluten-free batter, but I decided to get pancakes with a spinach, mushroom and goat-cheese omelete.*  I was pleasantly surprised by the pancakes – they were light (but not quite fluffy), and they actually absorbed syrup!  Woo-hoo!  I’ll definitely be going back, especially because there is no extra charge associated with the gluten-free batter.

As *anyone* who follows a GF diet knows, it is possible to find substitutes for our pastas, pizza crusts, sandwich breads and pastries, but by the Flying Spaghetti Monster do we end up paying a ridiculous amount of money for them!  Pizza Luce in Minneapolis/St. Paul serves GF Pizzas, but they’re much more expensive.  A small pizza made with wheat crust may run you $12.  The same pizza with GF crust will cost you $18.  A loaf of regular old sandwich bread may run $3; plan on spending $6-$9 for a GF loaf plus a trip to a specialty bakery.

So, a big thank you to OPH, and I promise never to complain (too loudly) about having to navigate the circus of families you attract every weekend!  I enjoy the quality of your GF pancakes, and I appreciate your willingness to offer GF options free of charge.  We’ll see you again soon!

One more shot of the Apple Pancake:

*As an aside, that’s way too much food.  I don’t recommend doing that unless you’re sharing or taking some home.  Ugh.

Gluten Free Pancakes

Blog Chain Letter

Brianne Bilyeu, 659 Comments

Jana from LearnMakeThink tagged me in this “chain letter” blog post.  I thought it looked like fun, so I’m passing on the chain letter to YOU, all three of my regular readers!  If you have a blog or other form of web-based communication, feel free to write your own chain letter and post it there.  There’s a whole “seeing someone else’s handwriting in the digital age adds some personality/intimacy to the big anonymous electronic blogosphere” kind of deal also wrapped up in this.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was much more thought-provoking to put words to pen and paper – without the delete button and easy typing I did put more careful thought into what I wanted to write before letting it spill out onto the page.  Of course it took me probably three times longer to complete and my hand was cramping up from all that writing by the time I finished!

If you participate I encourage you to also hand-write your letter, take a photo of it and post the photo here.  Oh, and don’t forget to tag the blogs/people you name in #7 somewhere in your post.

  1. Name, Blog name
  2. Right-handed, left-handed, or both
  3. Favourite letters to write
  4. Least favourite thing to do
  5. Write your least favourite word in English
  6. Write your favourite words in any other language you can speak
  7. 7 people in Blogosphere, and what makes them special.  My addition – make the person (ahem, ME) who inspired you to participate in this exercise the seventh person on your list.
  8. Special note – Whatever serious or silly words you’d like to share.

Pharyngula
Blag Hag
Cafe Witteveen
Dr. Steven Novella – Three links in this one
Dr. Mark Crislip – Two links in this one
Skepchick
LearnMakeThink

Blog Chain Letter

Walker Sculpture Garden

Brianne Bilyeu, 2,311 Comments

Ashley and I went to the Walker Sculpture Garden last night.  I love the WSG because:

1) It’s awesome.  It has HUGE works of sculpture art, including a greenhouse and a “hidden” work on the same side of the street as the Walker building.

2) It’s always free!

3) It’s soooo Minneapolis.  Actually – look at my banner and the big cherry on a spoon is what you see – that’s the WSG!

4) It’s a great place to take fantabulous pictures:

View from the floor of the greenhouse.  I think the wires will be overgrown with vining flowers pretty soon now.

Ashley sitting in the main atrium of the greenhouse.

The ubiquitous forced perspective shot – Ashley “holding” the cherry.

Cherry, spoon, rainbow, Ashley.

Cherry on a Spoon, bridge view.

Tunnel canopy at the far end of the sculpture garden.   The canopy will also be covered in vining flowers this summer.

Ashley in the mist by the Cherry.

Mirror Walls provide neat special effects in photos.

Ashley in the tunnel of the “hidden” work over by the Walker main building.

Walker Sculpture Garden