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United States, North Carolina, Carrboro, English, Paul, Male, 56-60, All Music, All Food.

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Friday, January 17, 2003

Mushroom Trek - The Next Generation This kit also came from Southern States. It had been moved to a distant shelf to make room for Radio Flyer sleds. They'll probably go back again because most of the snow had melted by the time the store opened. The left side of the photo shows the surface of the innoculated straw compost, the right side is the moisted compost "casing" placed atop the packed straw. This is kept covered with plastic in the closed box for a couple of weeks to allow the spores to propagate to the surface.   A sales clerk at Southern States said he'd been thinking about growing some himself. I told him I had bought one before Thanksgiving. He asked if they had grown okay, then sensing even before I spoke that I am a smart ass, he quickly recovered, saying, "No, of course they didn't, why would you need a second one if they had grown?" I think a lot of people are interested in giving these a try because, like the first time, a couple of folks in line with me struck up a conversation about mushrooms as soon as they saw the box. There were only three types available this time, colossal white, colossal brown, and classic white (in a smaller box for $14, the "colossals" are $20). No portobellos, no shittakes. Bummer, shittakes are my favorites, very chewy, also the most expensive in the supermarkets at $6-$7 a pound. 3:22:26 PM    comment []

Carolina Morning This is the last picture taken with the Kodak DX4330 I purchased at Best Buy on January 3, 2003. The LCD display went wacky sometime between then and January 6, when I tried to take a picture on the bus from Narita to the New Otani Hotel in Tokyo. I returned it this morning and got a brand new DX4330. Can you believe they closed schools here because of this little snow? Of all the airports where there was snow or threat of snow, O'Hare, Narita, Incheon, only at RDU was there even a suggestion that we couldn't land. The snow is mostly gone now, but it is still colder here now than it was at any place on my trip. 11:30:36 AM    comment []

I picked up this lavishly-illustrated book at the Incheon Airport for 25,000 won, making at least a token effort to overcome my functional illiteracy of Korean food. Many ingredients, like sesame leaves (for kimchi) or laver, will be nigh impossible to find in the US. I'm looking forward to putting names on the foods I've eaten the past week. 6:59:11 AM    comment []

This mustard-crusted salmon fillet may not look like a feast. It is, in fact, airplane food served on AA 154. What made it special was that flight was bringing me back to the USA. During the last 10 days, I have collected more bows than many legitimate monarchs and it has gone to my head. I bought a purple robe and a fake gold sceptre and later this morning plan to do some shopping. First, I'll buy a bullhorn, probably at Radio Shack. Then I'll head over to Best Buy to return the digital camera with the broken LCD. "Bow! Bow before me for I am your king...In hoc signo vinces!," I'll bellow, waving the fake sceptre with secret crucifix tip, "You must bow, bow now, I command thee, scurvy-ridden scum! I am your king, returning from the Far East, and you must worship me!" Some folks get a little annoyed at all that bowing in Asia. Not me, I've grown accustomed to it. 5:53:49 AM    comment []