General

I’ve started a new website called EndOfTheCredits where people can enter movies and specify if it is worth waiting until the end of the credits (see how this is clever?) to see if there is more movie or out-takes.

I waited until the end of the Jackie Chan/Jet Li movie and there was nothing. I guess it needs to be only a Jackie Chan movie for him to include out-takes and stunts gone awry.

I did my first HPDE event with the Triangle Z Club/Tarheel Sports Car Club at VIR this past weekend. It was a lot of fun, and I’m planning on doing this again. On the last day, I blew Turn 1 and spun. The rest of that session was awful, but thankfully my instructor told me not to worry about it.

Back in 2006, I convinced a number of my friends to go on a trip together, but as it happens, four of them decided they couldn’t go. So it was just me and my friend Chris who went, which was probably better that way. We decided to go to Ireland, so we bought tickets in January. Neither of us knew much about Ireland except that we wouldn’t have to learn a foreign language.

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I will get some this weekend when Ethan and Beth drive up!

2 cups sifted flour
5 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 tblsp sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups milk
3 tblsp oil

Stir until blended. Makes 2.5 dozen (4″-6″ diameter) or 1 dozen (6″-7″ diameter)

Ingredients:

Crumb crust:

3/4 c. graham cracker crumbs
3 T. melted butter
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 T. packed brown sugar
3 T. chopped nuts.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix all crust ingredients. Press
into the bottom and a few inches up the sides of a 9″ Spring-form
pan. Tightly wrap outside of pan with heavy-duty foil to prevent
leakage when baking in water bath later. Bake crust 10 minutes.
Cool completely in pan on wire rack.

Pumpkin Filling:

2 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
1 1/4 c. sugar
1 can (16 oz) solid-pack pumpkin
3/4 c. sour cream
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground allspice
1/4 tsp. salt
4 large eggs

Directions:

In large bowl, with mixer at medium speed, beat cream cheese until
smooth; slowly beat in sugar until blended, about 1 minute, scraping
bowl often with rubber spatula. With mixer at low speed, beat in
pumpkin, sour cream, vanilla, cinnamon, allspice, and salt. Add
eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition.

Pour pumpkin mixture into crust and place in large roasting pan.
Place pan on oven rack. Carefully pour enough boiling water into
pan to come 1 inch up side of Spring-form pan. Bake cheesecake 1
hour 10 minutes or until center barely jiggles.

2 c. sugar
1/2 c. shortening (can be substituted with butter)
1/2 c. butter

Cream together
Add: 1 c. milk
2 eggs
3 mashed bananas
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. soda
3 c. flour
2 tsp. vanilla
1 c. chopped nuts (I have used chocolate chips or a combination of the two)
Beat for 3 minutes

Directions:

Pour into 2 large greased and floured loaf pans or 4 small pans.
Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees – or until test done.

Tip: Grease pans and line with waxed or parchment paper. Loaves will come right out.

It seems like just yesterday I was still in college flying to NYC over Christmas Break. It was there that we stood on top of the Twin Towers marveling at the view.

May the views be evermore majestic.

To buy the freshest bread at The Fresh Market, look at the lower left of the price label. There will be a single number from 1-7. So, if you are buying the bread on Wednesday and the label shows 3, then that bread was baked on Tuesday.

Now you know the rest of the story. And knowing is power. And power is the amount of work done in a specific amount of time.

Pictures of Amanda, Lee, and Cecilia when they graced me with their presence.