Random Notes from a Crank

Yesterday, I prepared some cheese-stuffed, bacon-wrapped jalapenos. I went out to start the grill and discovered, eventually, that my grill is dead. I've had it for a long time, and I've needed a new one for a while. The second burner was all corroded and rusty and barely pumping out any heat. For the past few months or so, I've been grilling with one and a half burners. 

I got the grill, if I remember correctly, as a gift for one of my first fathers' days, back when we lived in South City (St. Louis). As much as that fact holds sentimental value, I'm really like my new grill: four burners, a fully functioning side burner, and an electric start mechanism.

It was fairly easy to put together. Except I missed one part of the directions. After I had it all put together, for some reason I couldn't get the electric starter to work. Curse words were used. Then Mrs. Nasty noticed a AAA battery on the ground, smiled mockingly at me, and leafed through the directions to discover that I hadn't put in the battery for the electric starter. Typical move by this here hombre. 

I like maps and atlases, which I've prattled on about before. I also like learning about dialects. This map, the "Full Scale Dialect Map," combines my interests in both. My dialect region, where I grew up, is the Western North. Mrs. Nasty hails from southwest tip of the Inland North dialect region because she's originally from Cedar Rapids. My kids are growing up in the Central Midland region. 

I've been catching up on my magazine and academic journal reading lately. "Letting Biodiversity Get Under Our Skin" by Rob Dunn was featured in Utne, but here's the link to the article in Conservation if you're interested. Dunn provides information about the "possible link between biodiversity and human health."