Random Notes from a Crank

Good news for renewable energy. The Washington Post reports that "Huge Wind Farms Use Much Less Land Than You Might Think." 

The article relates something that I've seen here in the Midwest: wind farms and agriculture work together just fine. So I'm a bit perplexed how the article is that ground breaking unless you live on the East coast. 

The article does talk about how turbines could work with existing structures such as roads and other non-agricultural land. 

And they're also reporting that "A Small EV Tax Credit Change Makes Going Electric More Enticing." Where was this up-front $7,500 discount when I was shopping for a new car last year? 

Watching The X-Files reminds me of the lousy designs of sedans that Ford and GM put out in the 90s. Ugly vehicles.

One of the great skits on SNL was Celebrity Jeopardy.

Turd Ferguson...

Music Friday: "Got to Give"

I've been listening to the new Pearl Jam album all week. 

Here's one of my favorite tunes on the new album. 

Musing of the Moment: Tottenham's 24-25 Kits

Footy Headlines is at its usual work. Tottenham's home, away, and third kits were leaked by them here. 

Let's take a look. 

Alasdair Gold and the fellows at WeAreTottenhamTV weighed in on these, but I'll do so also. 

There's not much a designer can do to jazz up a team that wears white for its home jersey. It's safe to assume we're going back to navy shorts instead doing the all white kits like they did this season. 

I like this jersey with the navy sleeves and piping down the sides. 

I'm fond of the away kit. I like the lighter blue with navy, and I prefer football jerseys with a v-neck rather than a crew look. If I were to get a jersey, I'd probably get this one. 

As for the third kit, I like the old-school logo and Nike logo facing downward for whatever reason, but I'm not fond of this mint-green look. If Spurs is going to go with green, I'd prefer they go back to the forest green look we had a few years ago. 

What I really want for an away or third kit is a purple one. 

Random Notes from a Crank

Here are some interesting factoids from the Harper's Indexes from March and May: 

• Percentage of Americans who say that the nation's crime rates are getting worse: 77
• Who say that crime is an "extremely serious" or "very serious" problem in their local area: 17
• Percentage decrease in murders in the United States in the past year: 12
• Percentage change since 2009 in the portion of white evangelical Americans who say that gay people face discrimination: -34
• Who say that white evangelicals face discrimination: +43
• Portion of Americans who say they would not vote for a presidential candidate who has been charged with a felony: 2/3
• Percentage of Americans who say that the United States should spend more money on assistance for poor people: 72
• Percentage who say so when this assistance is called "welfare": 29
• Factor by which low-income Americans are more likely than others to identify as vegetarian: 2
• Percentage decrease in the number of Americans who identify as vegetarian since 2018: 20
• Percentage of Americans who believe they will be harmed personally by climate change: 45
• Percentage change in the total net worth of white Americans since 2019: +26
• In the total net worth of black Americans: -4
• In the total net worth of American adults under 40: +76
• Percentage by which employees who work in person are more likely to be promoted than those who work exclusively from home: 45

Steven Pinker's book, Enlightenment Now, connects to the point that people automatically think crime is always getting worse. 

White evangelicals are the worst. 

We'll see if voters follow through on not voting for a felonious, narcissistic, pathological liar. 

The difference in attitudes about "assistance for poor people" and "welfare" is a classic case of framing language. 

I find it odd that there are fewer people identifying as vegetarian. Perhaps those vegetarians are turning vegan? 

It makes sense that people who actually work with others in person are more likely to be promoted. 

Music Friday: "Wishlist" & "In Hiding"

Pearl Jam came out with a new album today. It's titled Dark Matter. 

I'm not featuring a song from that album because I haven't listened to it yet. 

So here's a couple of songs from Yield that I'm very fond of. 

Fumbling Toward Culinary Talent: Baked Penne with Marinara-Meat Sauce and Cheese

I made this recipe after scoping out some recipes on the Interwebs, and I modified it according to how I wanted to do it. 

Ingredients

2 28oz. cans of crushed tomatoes (I prefer the ones at Aldi because they seem sweeter than other crushed tomatoes I've used.)

Extra virgin olive oil

1 yellow onion, chopped finely

1 stalk of celery, chopped finely (optional)

1 medium carrot, peeled and chopped finely (optional)

3 TB of minced garlic

3-4 TB of dried basil

2-3 TB of dried oregano

1 TB of dried red pepper flakes

2-4 TB of butter (optional)

Kosher salt and cracked black pepper to taste (I like a lot of black pepper)

1 lb. of ground beef

3-4 TB of beef broth (optional)

1 box of penne pasta

9 slices of provolone cheese

Sour cream

Shredded mozzarella cheese

Parmesan cheese

Finely chopped Italian parsley 

Process

The celery and carrot are optional. Sometimes I make my basic marinara with them. Sometimes I don't. 

Coat a Dutch oven or large pot with olive oil over medium-high heat. Dump in the onion, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and saute until well cooked. Reduce to medium heat and put in the garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes until fragrant. 

Add in the crushed tomatoes, basil, oregano, pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Set to low and cover the top with a crack on the side to let the sauce breathe. 

I watched a cooking show a while back, and they advocated for putting butter in a marinara sauce because apparently it's a move some Italians make. It adds some complexity to the sauce. Take it or leave it. 

As the sauce is churning away, brown the ground beef on medium-highish heat. Once fully cooked, drain the beef on a plate lined with paper towels. And then add to the sauce. Add in some beef broth is so desired. 

I usually cook down my marinara sauce for anywhere from 2 to 5 hours with me stirring from time to time. I let my sauce cook for a while and then added the beef and broth about an hour before I was ready to assemble everything. 

Cook the penne pasta and drain. Take all of the pasta and add it to the sauce and mix well. Combine it all together. 

In a large, deep baking dish, add half of the pasta and sauce mixture. On top of it create a layer of provolone slices and smear some sour cream on top of the cheese slices. Then sprinkle heavily with mozzeralla and then parmesan. Add the remaining pasta and sauce mixture and sprinkle the top with mozzeralla, parmesan, and finely chopped Italian parsley. 

Bake at 375 degrees on the middle rack for 20-30 minutes.  

Music Friday: "Mind Riot"

While working on Wednesday, I listened to a lot Soundgarden. 

Here's a song in their catalog that is underrated. 

Random Notes from a Crank

This past week's Kristen Wiig episode of Saturday Night Live was one of the best overall episodes in recent history. The opening skit was hilarious. 

Here's a great part of that episode's "Weekend Update."

"Weekend Update" has always been my favorite part of most SNL episodes. That feature was a template for The Daily Show. 

In good news on the environmental-issues front, the EPA passed a rule that chemical plants will have to curb the toxic chemicals they emit. The chemicals that are being more heavily regulated are carcinogenic and known for the area of the country called "Cancer Alley." Check out "Environmental Protection Agency Limits Pollution from Chemical Plants" in the New York Times. 

The opinion piece, "I'm Jewish, and I've Covered Wars. I Know War Crimes when I See Them," is a must read for what is happening in Gaza. To criticize what Israel is doing is not being antisemitic. It's being a human. 

Music Friday: "What about the Children"

I didn't realize Gary Clark Jr. had a new album until I heard him interviewed by David Fricke's "Writer's Block" program on SiriusXM radio.

I picked up the album this week and have been listening to it almost every day.

Random Notes from a Crank

There's an extensive article in The New York Times about carbon-capture technologies that are being backed my large conglomerates. It's titled, "Can We Engineer Our Way Out of the Climate Crisis?"

The short answer is No. But you can mash the link and read for the various opinions on these ventures. 

Here's a noteworthy statement about these moves: 

“This is a new wave of denial, deception and delay,” said Lili Fuhr, director of the fossil economy program at the Center for International Environmental Law. “You have the fossil fuel industry trying to say we can engineer our way out of this without any major changes to business as usual.”

I discovered that Hulu now has the MLB Network. I'm watching baseball like a drunk on a bender since I haven't had the network since we switched from DirectTV many years ago. 

Of course, I still can't get Marquee Network to watch the Cubs because of Ricketts working with the evil Sinclair Broadcast Group to create the Marquee Network. If I ever switch allegiances to a National League ball club, it'll probably be the Brewers. They were one of my favorite AL ball clubs back when they were in the American League.

Or I guess I could just more closely follow AL teams I like: the Royals and the Twins.

It's hard to switch from the Cubs for me though because I've been so emotionally and intellectually attached to them for so long.

Being a Cubs fan brings with a certain mindset, what one might consider a positive fatalism. You have hope, but you're realistic. The mindset fits with me being a highly skeptical agnostic.

Based on this article in The Washington Post, "Cancun, Cabo, or Puerto Vallarta: Which Mexico Resort Is Best for You," if we go to Mexico again, I'm thinking Vallarta is place to be.