I'll Be Back

Hang around with me long enough and the weather will come up. I think it's a senior thing. I didn't give a shit when I was twenty. I put on my jean jacket and went out. Might be pouring rain, might be eighty and sunny, might be a foot of snow. Same jacket. We also notice the seasons more. Those of us who are out and about bright and early have noted that it is suddenly not so bright ... so early. Our slippery slide into fall. A buddy (DB) had texted me just before six last week. He had advised that it was a little cool out, but a beautiful sunrise. This is what passes for humour in my circle. It was pitch dark! I knew where he was and was going to text back something pithy about how, last I checked, Stratford was west of Guelph?Then it hit me like a bolt out of a clear blue (I mean pitch dark) sky? Sunrise would be later in Stratford than in Guelph. But, how much later? Inquiring minds need to know. I mean, how long could it take for me to find out?

The Google Machine gave me some sort of watery pablum about the terminator line moving at around 1600 MPH. I'm not falling for that crap. We are men of science. I have an opposable thumb, dammit! What we need is an accurate measurement of how far west Stratford is from Guelph. Not the Google map number, the terminator does not travel the roads. We need the rotational speed of the Earth. Not at the equator but where we live, here in glorious Carneyland. We need empirical data and a calculator. Let's do this!

My house is at 43.55945N -80.24496W. My buddy was in Stratford at 43.34875N -80.99383W. For our purposes (and because I am not that crazy) we will assume both locations are at 43 north latitude. The difference in longitude (80.99383 minus 80.24496) is .748 degrees. Google is telling me that at the equator, each 10th of a degree is 11.1 km, each 100th of a degree is 1.1 km and each 1000th of a degree is 111 meters. That's at the equator. We are 3000 miles north of that. The circumference of the Earth at the equator is 40,075 km. The earth spins 360 degrees in 24 hours (86,400 seconds) so simple math gets you a terminator speed of 464 meters per second. The further north you go, the slower you spin. That's why the Earth is oblate. (Look that one up bitches) There is a formula so I can calculate the circumference at 43 north, but you need cosines, tangents, voodoo and chicken blood. Google took pity and gave me the number. It's 32,523. That's the size of the hula hoop that would fit down over the North Pole and come down to central Ontario, Do the same math as above, you get 376 meters per second rotational speed. Correspondingly, each compass degree is now down to 90.34 kilometers from 111 kilometers at the equator. So, .748 of a 90.34 kilometer long degree tells us that my buddy was 69.86 kilometers west of me. The terminator was moving towards him at 376 meters per second? Do we have all the pieces? Drum roll ...

If we both had an unrestricted view of the eastern horizon, he would see the sun rise three minutes and six seconds after I did. You are welcome.

My Optimum Week

Brussel sprouts were finally on sale, so guess what we made? This delicacy did not require the killing of any frogs. But they were not happy.

We had turkey for Thanksgiving. It was a 13 pound Presidents Choice stuffed & cook from frozen variety. We actually liked it a bit better than the Butterball. A stronger brine perhaps made the meat straight off the bone a little more salty (which we like). It is still way too much food for the two of us, but was only $26. We got five meals out it. Roast turkey, hot turkey sandwiches, soup, clubhouse sandwiches and soup again.

The new flyer is surprisingly good for the week after thanksgiving. I gave you the PC pasta sauces. I have tried those new bespoke brands (Rao's and Carbone), and they are good but nowhere near worth $11 a jar on sale! Save yer money. My favourite cut of chicken was on (boneless skinless thighs) and there is a double bubble on PC thin pizza and flatbreads. Enjoy the last of the glorious weather!

Dive Into the Most Breathtaking Ocean Photos of the Year

The winners of the 2025 Ocean Photographer of the Year competition captured the ocean and its wildlife like you’ve never seen before.

GizmodoEllyn Lapointe

I Am Reading

Mitch Fountain’s review of Cauldron (The Academy, #6)

4/5: I enjoyed this book. It’s almost a summary of all the previous academy books. It references Pricilla Hutchins’ previous exploits and pays special attention to the litany of characters who have died within the series. In almost every case, the author uses inordinate stupidity by his characters both as a means of their death and to move the plot along. This book continues in that fine tradition. They discover an ancient space station right before it is about to be destroyed. Against all common sense, a group of rank amateurs board it, stay past the agreed upon timeframe, and nearly destroy th…

GoodreadsJack McDevitt

We Are Watching

Under 20 World Cup (nice dive by the U.S.), the Blue Jays and the Buds.

Killing Eve on Netflix - I think I got sick of Sandra Oh on Grey's Anatomy, but she can act, and she is funny. Having said that, this really is the Jodie Comer show. She is amazing as a complex, hilarious, flawed hit woman. We have just completed Season One, five stars!

Con Carne

Dad always maintained that real chili was a vegetarian dish designed to use up beans, corn and tomatoes in central America. I was searching for a new recipe and found that con carne actually means with meat? I thought he knew everything?

I certainly make it with meat at my place! The best chili I ever made was for a cook off in Port Perry. It started with a six-dollar steak, circa 1988. That was at $3.90 a pound. Those days are over. Today, the same steak would be just short of forty bucks. Those days are over too! This chili was made with five sketchy (VE) store made meatballs. They had a nice grey pallor and were 50% off. I paid $3.75 for them. The tomatoes and onions were the last out of the garden and this was the best pots of chili I have made in years!

• One pound of ground beef and four hot Italian sausages
• Large green pepper, four or five green onions, some pickled hot peppers. Roughly chop and broil in the toaster oven until the edges blacken
• 1/3 pound of bacon. Brown until nearly cooked; do not drain
• Add one white and one red onion, chopped
• Cook until onions are translucent, set mixture aside in stock pot
• Chop up the peppers & onions. Add five or six chopped mushrooms and once they get going, add your meat. Cook until redness is just gone. All to stock pot.
• Add a can of six-bean medley (undrained), 1/2 can kidney beans (drained)
• Throw the other half a can of kidney beans in the trash
• Add a large can of tomatoes, a can of tomato paste, and Old El Paso chili mix
• A teaspoon each of cumin, coriander, cayenne, salt and pepper
• Bloop, bloop, bloop ... two hours

I adapted this from a recipe on the Spend With Pennies site. One ingredient I ran across in another chili recipe was dark chocolate? In chili? Apparently, it is a thing. I didn't have any in stock, but next time ...

I saw commercial on Fox and thought it was funny ....

... and finally

The terminator is the line between light and dark when viewing any planet from orbit. Google that word, and you are swarmed with Schwarzenegger movie references. Spellcheck even tried to capitalize the word FFS. This is how far we have fallen!!

Mitch & Maddie