Dragon Age – It’s The Awesome!

New Computer – Check!

Now I need a new game to play on this computer.  Out comes Dragon Age, by Bioware.  I have been tracking progress on this game since it was first announced something like 4 years ago.  I love all things Bioware.  The love affair started with Baldur’s Gate.  Then came  Neverwinter Nights and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.  I loved those games so I was excited about the new Dragon Age.  They were working in it but couldn’t get a publisher or something along those lines so it wasn’t being pushed.  Then all of a sudden Bioware came out with Mass Effect.  That game was awesome too, but I have still been waiting for Dragon Age.  But now it’s out!  Convenient timing that I just finished building a new computer isn’t it? ;)

I really do enjoy video games.  I would take a month off of work and play video games from wake to sleep every day if I could.  I am always looking to get Michelle to play some games too.  Every once in a while she shows an inkling but her patience / dedication always seem to falter.  I think, subconsciously, the reason I try to get her to play is so that I don’t feel guilty for wanting to play so often.  I am now learning that getting Michelle to play also has its downside.  I got her to create a character and start up in Dragon Age.  It’s all over.  She’s hooked.  Now I have to actually share time playing with her.  That is not easy to do when I have no time as there is.  Not to mention when I have to do actual homework on my computer, then none of us can play.  Plus, who watches that boy of ours when we both want to get sucked into the game.  The dog?  When’s he going to start pulling his weight?  Michelle would probably be blogging about the game herself, if she wasn’t so distracted by playing it.  I’m not even sure that when I leave for work during the day that she doesn’t just lock the boy up and start playing.

So, anyways, I’m not really going to review the game or anything here.  There are plenty of places for that.  Let me just say that so far, it is living up to its hype and I haven’t even really gotten into the heavy plot aspects and I can already see myself playing it over a couple times.  Bioware simply makes the best storied games out there, hands down.

–Ries, can feel myself being sucked in, even from a distance.

Recipe: Pasta with Broccoli, Anchovies, and Chile

This recipe is from a pregnancy cookbook my mom gave me when I was pregnant with Gideon. Ries loves anchovies, but I never really knew what to do with them, other than slapping them on pizza. This recipe manages to be light and delicious, without the anchovies overpowering everything. The anchovies add just the right amount of zing.

This dish sits well and can be served hot or at room temperature.

Penne with Broccoli, Anchovies, and Chile
modified from The Healthy Pregnancy Cookbook

one bunch of broccoli or 2 broccoli crowns
7 oz of pasta, penne or other shape
3 tablespoons olive oil
7 cloves of garlic, minced
dash of red pepper flakes
1 can anchovies, chopped
1 large can of sliced black olives, about a 1/2 cup
2 c. Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Trim broccoli and cut it into “trees.” Steam the broccoli until it is tender, then drain.

While the broccoli is steaming, put the water on to boil for the pasta. Cook the pasta until it is just done and not too soft. Al Dente. Reserve a bit of the water from the pasta.

While the pasta and broccoli are cooking, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat, add the garlic and pepper flakes. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until garlic starts to smell. Add the anchovies, stirring, and cook until they start to break up in the oil. Add the broccoli and 1 tbls of the water from the pasta to the skillet. Stir until the broccoli starts to break up and the water evaporates. Add the olives to the broccoli mixture and stir. Turn the heat off of the burner.

Drain the pasta and add it to the mixture in the skillet with the parmesan cheese. If your skillet is too small to stir everything well, transfer everything into a large bowl to add the pasta. If the pasta was done before you needed it, drain it and stir a couple tbls of olive oil over it to keep it from getting sticky.

Serve immediately.

They Do Not Appear In Nature

Every day, I think Gideon learns 5 new words. He is constantly saying things I did not know he knew. This morning he busted out with the word “eggs.” As I was scooping dog food, he counted the scoops before I did, “One. Two. Three. Fhdjsfh.” He just makes this noise for four and if we count above three or four, he just starts over at two or three.

I was going to let him watch Sesame Street this morning, instead of more Animal Atlas, and all went well for a couple minutes… Until Cookie Monster showed up to eat all the oatmeal cookies. Gideon did not like him! Then Elmo and some other puppet thing showed up. Gideon kept shaking his head saying, “No. No.” with a worried look on his face. Even after the “monsters” were gone, he did not want to watch Sesame Street anymore.

It was funny. Ries said it was because he knows those things do not appear in nature and are thus not natural.

We went back to Animal Atlas.

Happy Fall

IMG_1006

Originally uploaded by Wandering Eyre

Pullo and Gideon pose with the pumpkin my Grammy gave Gideon. It is small enough for him to carry, so yesterday he dragged it everywhere while saying “Punky! Punky!”

It was adorable.

Recipe: Pumpkin Spice Muffins

It is finally “cold” here in Houston. I am using quotes because cold here is 60 degrees. People start busting out sweaters and scarves at any temperature below 70 degrees. The arrival of Fall, finally, inspired me to to bake these muffins, a coffee cake, and some bread today. Well, the weather and the fact that my Bible study class is in charge of breakfast for the entire group tomorrow. Still…

These are like little spice cakes, delicious, and perfect with coffee or tea in the morning. Slap a little cream cheese frosting on these babies and they could do double duty as desert.

Pumpkin Spice Muffins
modified from Cooking Light 2007

2 1/4 c. unbleached flour
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. raisins
1 c. packed brown sugar
1 c. canned pumpkin
1/3 c. yogurt
1/3 c. oil (vegetable, olive, or whatever you normally use)
1/4 c. molasses
1 tsp. vanilla
2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 400.

Combine flour and next 6 ingredients in a medium or large bowl. Add raisins, stir, and make a well in the center.

In another medium bowl, combine brown sugar and the next 6 ingredients. Stir until well combined.

Pour the brown sugar mixture into the flour mixture. Stir until just moist.

Spoon batter into greased or lined muffin tins. Fill 3/4 full. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Baking time will vary depending on muffin size. This batter will make 24 mini muffins and 6 regular sized muffins.

New Computer – OS?

Sorry for boring you with posts about my new computer.  This will probably be the last for a while.  I may do another one when I get around to overclocking it.  But that will be a first for me so I may put it off for a bit.

Today I will just mention my fun (frustrations) with Microsoft’s certification process.  If you don’t know already, Microsoft just officially released their new operating system yesterday.  Windows 7.  Luckily, since I am a student at UH right now, I can get a copy of it for just $20.  Unfortunately, I found out at the time of purchase that it was only an Upgrade version, meaning I had to have a valid activated Windows OS already installed on my computer.

I had a plan to get around this snag.  Michelle has plans to wipe her laptop clean and install Linux on it.  I encourage the idea and am excited to watch / help Michelle move into the world of open source.  Anyways, I figured that I could use the product key of her Windows XP system when I install Windows 7.  After all, it is as if we are removing the Windows XP from her computer and installing it on mine, then upgrading it.  We just skipped the step of actually installing the XP on my computer, which is not needed anyways since you have to do a clean install over XP anyways.  I don’t think there is anything illegal about that and it seems like a reasonable action.  However, at the end (note I said end) of the Windows 7 installation, when it asked for the product key and I entered her XP key, it told me that it was an invalid key and to reenter.  That’s it.  I was stuck with nothing else to do.

So, I still have no operating system on my new computer and it lies there dormant just waiting to be utilized.  I finally gave in and purchased an OEM version of Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit) on New Egg for $109.99.  I am dissapointed because that is a lot of money and I would install Linux on it myself if I didn’t want to game on this machine.  For those of you who don’t want to do the math, that brings the total price of my computer, including monitor and operating system, to $1,490.74.  I’d say that’s pretty good since I bought my Alienware (w/o monitor) back in 2002 for $3,000 at the same relative level of performance for the times.

–Ries, unsuccessful at working the system

Botched Seams

A post in which I attempt to sew a few things.

I should start out by saying that I do know how to sew. I have, in the past, successfully sewn many things. Today, though…

Yesterday, I cut two yards of fabric into the parts for two pairs of pajama pants for Gideon. One print was a nice dog print and the other had frogs and lizards. Today, after Gideon went to sleep, I set up the sewing machine and sat down. It was then that I realized I had cut the panels on both yards wrong. If I were to sew them together, one side of the pants would be printed and the other side would be the unprinted underside. There is no way to salvage that, really, so that is two yards in the scrap pile.

I called my Mom to confirm my mistake.

Next I cut the fabric I bought to make Gideon some pants for his pirate costume. This time, I cut them correctly. Whew. I put the backs together and the fronts, respectively and sewed the inside seam together, which I vaguely recalled as being the next step.

Wrong. By sewing up the inside seam, and the ahrder to ri I sewed up what should have been two legs. I also used small straight stiches, the better to hold and the harder to rip out as well. I put those aside to rip the seams out later. At least those are salvageable.

Since I had botched all the pants, I decided to a try the vest next. This was to be an easy affair, with very little seams because I want it to look raggedy. I was only going to sew the sides and shoulders, leaving the arm holes and bottom unhemmed. I cut the vest using a shirt as a pattern. I think it turned out well. I proudly sewed up the sides and turned it right side in to admire my handiwork.

At this point I realized I had sewn the arm holes closed.

*headdesk*

I cut behind the seams and made arm holes. I reinforced the seams so they would not come undone. Gideon, by this time, had woken from his regrettably short nap. I had him try on the vest. Made some adjustments and I think it looks pretty good.

While Gideon ate lunch, I ripped the seams from the sad pirate pants. I will attempt to sew those tonight after Gideon goes to bed. Hopefully, this time I will not make such a mess of it.

The worst part of this is that I feel, not mad or frustrated, but tired and defeated. I used very precious nap time resources on a mostly, useless endeavor.

Animal Atlas is over, and thus my computer time is as well.

New Computer – Hardware / Price

Without further ado, here are the components inside my new computer and how much I paid for them.

• Processor:  Intel Core i5 750 – $199.99
• Motherboard:  Asus P7P55D Pro – $169.99
• Memory:  Crucial 2x 2GB DDR3 1333 – $74.99
• Video Card:  Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 1GB – $154.99
• Hard Drive:  2x 1TB Samsung Spinpoint F3 – 2 x $79.99
• Optical Drive:  Lite-On 24x DVD +/-RW w/ LightScribe – $30.99
• Case:  Antec 1200 – $119.99
• Power Supply:  Corsair TX750 – $119.99
• CPU Cooler:  Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus – $37.55
• Keyboard:  Microsoft Comfort Curve 2000 – $22.94
• Mouse:  iHome USB Wired Red Laser Mouse – $22.97
• Monitor:  LG 23″ Widescreen LCD Monitor w/ TV Tuner – $264.74

With the exception of the Monitor (Fry’s) and the Optical Drive I got everything from New Egg.  The prices listed include tax and shipping charges but not mail-in rebates.  I did send in for a $20 one for the power supply.

Guts of the new computer

I put these all together without any issue.  It took me about 6 hours but I took my time, watched TV, and spent time with my wife during the process.  Unfortunately, I don’t yet have an Operating System for it.  I found out the student version of Windows 7 that I planned to use was only an upgrade option.  Now I have to find a solution.  I will probably write another post when it is complete.

New Computer – History

The first computer I ever bought was a cheap Compaq, during a 1998 day-after-Thanksgiving sale. That computer quickly outgrew it’s usefulness and 2 years later I decided I would try to build my own computer.

Building a computer seemed fairly easy, and generally it was, but there was some frustration along the way. At the end, I probably didn’t get exactly the computer I wanted but I did learn a lot. However, the next computer I bought was from Alienware.

Alienware is a little overpriced but I feel that they do provide a great product (I’d rather overpay for an Alienware than for a Mac).  That computer has lasted me 7+ years without problems. However, it was a poorly timed purchase because it was just before PCI-Express ports came out for using graphics cards so it uses an AGP port and it uses RDRAM, which for simplicity terms was a losing RAM memory format.  As a result, I have not been able to upgrade that computer in any meaningful way.  The only problem this creates is that I have not been able to install any new games in the last couple years.  Civilization IV and Guild Wars were the last new games I installed.

That has been okay because I convinced my wife a while ago that I needed an Xbox 360 and a Playstation 3.  So far, I can’t even find the time to play the games I do have on those systems as well as the other ones I want to get.  However, I have been jonesin for a new computer for a long time and I think I have done a fairly good job of being patient.  Especially since before this stretch, I was getting a new computer every 2 years.

In anticipation of a new computer I went ahead and bought the case that I wanted over a year ago. I have been checking prices and reading articles now for probably 2 years and keeping spreadsheets on what parts I want to buy and how much they cost.  Of course, given with the way the market changes so quickly that spreadsheet has evolved plenty over time. As a matter of fact the day I finally made the majority of my purchase I changed my mind on motherboard at the last minute.

So finally, at the beginning of this month I have saved enough money (after relinquishing enough to buy my wife a Kindle) to buy the computer I want.  Tomorrow, I will post the details of the hardware components.

–Ries, finally getting his fix

Pumpkin Ale

IMG_0883

Originally uploaded by Wandering Eyre

This will be ready in time for Thanksgiving. It is in the brewing fridge, aging, and keeping the cider company.

Training Parents

Gideon is getting bossy for one with so few years, but occasionally, his bossiness is appreciated.

Last night, Gideon and I had finished dinner and I was sitting on the couch. It was about 7:15. He came over, patted my arm, and pointed to his room. I asked him to, “Show me.”

He led me down the hall, pointing. Gideon walked right up to the rocking chair and pointed again.

I asked him, “Are you tired?”
“Yes,” he answered, nodding and smiling.
“Do you want milkies?”
Again, he nodded and smiled.
“You can go to bed if you want.”

At that he walked into the hall, where he could see Ries, who was still eating, and said, “Bye-Bye,” and walked back to me.

I fed him and he was asleep by 7:35.

I think he has us trained.

Recipe: Hearty Beef and Tomato Stew

I made this last night and it was delicious. I love tomato based soups and stews so this one was just right.

Hearty Beef and Tomato Stew
adapted from Cooking Light

2 tsp olive oil
2 lbs sirloin steak, stew meat, or similar, trimmed and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 c. celery
3 gloves garlic, minced
1 tbl tomato paste
1 1/2 c. beef broth
4 c. sliced carrots
4 c. potatoes cubed
3/4 red wine or grape juice (or cranberry which was what was in my fridge)
1 tsp thyme
1 can 28oz crushed tomatoes, undrained
1 rosemary sprig
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in a large stew pot or dutch oven. Add beef, cook over medium high heat for 5 minutes, or until browned. Remove from pot, set aside, and leave the drippings in the pot.

Add onion, celery, and garlic to the pot and cook until onion is almost transparent. Add tomato paste and cook 1 minute, stirring frequently.

Add beef broth and bring to a boil.

Add carrots and the next 7 ingredients. Put the beef back in the pot as well. Bring the mixture to a simmer. Cover and cook 1 hour and 15 minutes. Stirring occasionally. Discard rosemary sprig (which will be only a twig by this point) and bay leaf.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with warm bread, crackers, cheese, or all alone.

It’s Full, Please Change Receptacle

Today is Tuesday. Tuesday means Gideon and I head up to church. I go to a women’s Bible study and he goes to childcare for 3 hours. He loves playing with the other kids and is rarely sad to see me go. Today, he actually cried when I picked him up because he had to leave the slide behind.

That’s right. I now rank somewhere between a plastic slide and Goldfish. *sigh* Being a mother is thankless.

Gideon’s tell when his diaper is wet or dirty is to play with the velcro tabs. He does occasionally succeed in unhinging one side of his diaper but this mostly happens when he is sans pants.

Today, they took the kids for a walk outside during childcare. The ladies noticed that Gideon’s pants looked funny (he had on cotton shorts today). Suddenly, they saw little turds dropping from his diaper onto the ground! He had unhooked his diaper and was dispersing his poop outside.

Perhaps he was tired of having poop in his diaper. Perhaps he was marking his territory. Less likely is my other theory that he was leaving a trail to get back to the building.

Ries said that this reminds him of the scene in Shawshank Redemption where Andy is dropping rocks and gravel into the yard from his tunneling efforts.

On a side excrement note, Gideon peed in the potty today! It was a time for great rejoicing and then he demanded we get back to book reading.

Dental Hygiene is Important

Dental Hygiene is Important

Originally uploaded by Wandering Eyre

Gideon likes to “brush” his teeth with us and I snapped this one morning while he was keeping Ries company.

After an absolutely terrible Sunday, involving very little sleep, a passel of crying, and some teeth trying to make their appearance, Gideon slept through the night last night. It was heavenly.

As a result, we are both happy and rested today. Gone is the whiny sadness that plagued my house yesterday. I like this toddler better than the one I had yesterday.

The teeth have yet to appear so we are still working with four.

Gideon is sitting in my lap, but I detect an unpleasant aroma emanating from the area of his diaper. Time for waste cleanup duty.

Recipe: Malted Apple Cider

I love hard cider. The real stuff. Not that stuff that passes as cider at most bars. I like traditional style English ciders. With that in mind, I went looking for a cider recipe and found this one. I modified it a bit for my purposes.

I usually do not post recipes that are untasted, but I thought I would make an exception for this.

Malted Apple Cider

3 gallons apple cider, pasteurized, unfiltered, no preservatives
2 lbs Amber DME (dry malt extract) plus 1/2 c. for starter
1 lb turbinado suger
1.5 gallons of water plus 2 cups for starter
English Cider Yeast (WLP 775) from White Labs

The day before brewing, I made a yeast starter by boiling 2 cups of water with a 1/2 cup of the amber DME to make a wort. Bring to a boil and let boil for 10 minutes. Put the lid on the pot and allow wort to cool to room temperature. In a sanitized jar, place room temperature yeast and room temperature wort and swirl or shake to mix. Place sanitized foil over the mouth of the jar and let it sit on the counter until it is time to brew the cider. Room temperature should be in the range of the mid 70’s to about 78/79. Swirl the jar whenever you go into the kitchen.

Put the three gallons of cider in the fridge or in another cold area of your house.

The next day, bring 1.5 gallons of water and 2 lbs of amber DME to boil in a sanitized brew kettle. After achieving a boil, keep the boil going for 30 minutes. Stir it often and keep an eye on it so you do not have any boil overs, which are messy and wasteful. We keep the lid cracked to help with this.

After 30 minutes, rapid cool the wort using whatever method you prefer, down to about 160 degrees. At this point, add 2 gallons of the apple cider and check the temperature. You want the temperature to be about 80 degrees when you pitch the yeast. Place the mixture in the primary fermentation vessel (be that bucket or whatever). Add the last gallon of cider (we added it this way because our kettle does not hold all 5 gallons). Check the temp again then pitch the yeast starter from the day before. You can use some water to get all the bits into the primary fermentation container.

Depending on the yeast you use, this next information will differ. The English Cider Yeast likes a temperature range of 70-75 degrees. We are using a carboy as a primary fermenter and we are not going to rack it to a secondary. We will just let the yeast do its work and take some gravity readings to determine when it is done. We are expecting it to take a couple months or more.

The starting gravity was 1.062 which gives this batch a possible 8% alcohol content at the end. So far, it has been chugging along beautifully. We will let you know how it progresses. Below is a picture of the cider, on the right, with the pumpkin ale in the carboy on the left. The pumpkin ale is in secondary fermentation and will be bottled this weekend.

pumpkin ale and apple cider

A Remembrance of Days Past

It is strange how life reminds you of your past in the least expected ways. I found out today that the daughter of a friend had her baby 14 weeks early. They are in the NICU with their little boy and he has good days and bad days. Today was a bad day for him.

A couple of days ago, another friend called me for new Mommy advice and I realized that her baby is as old as Gideon was when we finally brought him home. Some of the things she has struggled with, like that grueling 3 week growth spurt, we never struggled through. I think then we were still trying to get off the ventilator.

Every single day I am thankful for my child. There are not very many days that I forget the first 5 weeks of his life, that he . I never, ever forget he is a gift from God given to this family to care for. Even when he is whiny, clingy, and Mr. Sad-My-Teeth-Are-Bothering-Me boy who got up at 4 am this morning. 4 am!

I still love him.

We took a nap together today and that made us both a bit happier.

There must be one drop left…

There must be one drop left…

Originally uploaded by Wandering Eyre

We went to St. Arnold Brewery a couple weeks ago and I caught Gideon sucking the beer flavored air trapped in Ries’ glass.

He walked around for about 10 minutes, tilting up that glass, and hoping against hope.

Observations on Gestation

Observations in which two seemingly unrelated things are brought together.

On Sunday, we started a batch of Pumpkin Ale that will be ready in time for Thanksgiving. Cornucopia!

Gideon watches one TV show a day, Animal Atlas. He likes to watch the animals. This morning, the episode was on animal babies and it informed us that the gestation period of a rabbit is 4 weeks.

As Ries was walking out the door, overhearing the rabbit fact, he turned to me and commented,

Our beer takes longer to brew than the gestation period of a rabbit.

Yes indeed.