I’ll be the judge of “disruptive”.

Flying used to seem a lot funner back when you could pack your carry-on with local beer and wine and back before anxiety about missing flights turned things sour for me. But one of the things I still do like about flying is the view from above and the chance to pick up local papers. I like reading newspapers and look forward to cruising the departure lounges on layovers and the first class cabin when deplaning, picking up the news others have discarded, always hunting for an interesting local paper in lieu of something bland like the USA Today. Last week I flew to New Jersey and was happy to scrounge discarded papers from New York, Colorado, and my favorite paper of all, the San Francisco Chronicle. The leg from DIA to EWR had a decent-sized first class, and as I was one of the last to get off I just went down the aisle picking everything up. (Rich people too cool to throw their trash away?) When I got to the hotel at night, while waiting for dinner, I scanned through my loot and glanced at The Wall Street Journal, normally semi-interesting at best, but there, under the heading “MANSION”, was a five-column picture of something that looked awfully familiar: the Wren House.

The Wren House, as I have heard it called – Wren being the owner’s daughter – is a single-family home more than a year in the making which occupies a corner lot about eight blocks from where I live in Rose Park and which I bike past about four times a day. Rose Park is about a mile from downtown and stocked almost exclusively with modest (think 900 square feet) post-war Craftsmans and bungalows, although lately there has been a spate of additions, new second floors, and tear downs (four of which are within a block of my own house). Tear downs are tricky business; the original home was obviously insufficient, but what replaces it, especially in an older neighborhood of small homes on small lots like Rose Park, takes a lot of hard to fit in. There are notable exceptions, but the Wren House is not one of them. 

My issue here is not entirely with the Wren House but also with the Wall Street Journal, which wrote an interesting but odd story. The M3 feature had four photos and roughly 25 inches of copy; the copy contained intriguing details, such as home’s building price (about $2 million), the cost of the home’s German-made sound-proof glass ($300,000), and the owner’s occupation (computerish whatnots). There were also some choice quotes from the owner and from the journalist: (a) "’I like disrupting things, changing it up, but not to the point where it's distasteful’"; (b) "’I thought this house would add something to the community.’"; (c) “’We knew it would be a little controversial. But we wanted to expose people to modern architecture—right where they could see it,’"; and (d) “Since the home was finished in March, they say they haven't heard any complaints.”

I like houses and buildings and architecture, and believe they have to be interpreted in context. The Wren House is impressive and a work of art, but in the context of Rose Park, the Wren House has all the charm of (and a remarkable resemblance to) an electrical substation. Where the journalist came up with (d) above is a bit of a mystery, as none of the neighbors were quoted in the story, and the only local to make an appearance other than the owners is the director of the Missoula Art Museum, which hopes to host a fundraiser in the house. What was the writer expecting exactly? Picketing? Prayer vigils for the un-built?

Did the writer even make it to Missoula? I took these photos this morning:





(My apologies for the picture quality. The sun is kinda low these days.)

Here’s the story:

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303763804579182130505692414
And here’s a link to a photo gallery accompanying the online version of the story:
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303789604579195853968234872
And here’s a picture of a baby asleep in the back seat with a fig newton in his sweaty palm:

Craigslistillionaire.

missoula craigslist > manage posting

Posted: 2013-11-04, 11:15AM MST

Baby Bullet - $30 (Missoula)

Your baby's Pavlovian response will kick into high gear when she sees the gourmet meals you crank out with this gizmo. The Baby Bullet is a pint-sized food processor that allows you to make your own delicious, cheap, and healthy baby food and thereby skip the chemical-filled pricey goop that passes for "baby food" at the grocery store.

This practically intact set includes: the food processor, a larger batch bowl, a smaller cup, two blades, 12 dial-a-date storage cups/lids, two cup tray holders, a spatula, and the make-your-own popsicle trays. There is even the Baby Bullet recipe book (sample recipe: Banana Puree -- one banana, half-cup of water, blend until desired consistency). (I say "practically intact" because the tall skinny storage container somehow melted in the washing machine one day. Also, one of the cup lids spent about 5 seconds in the garbage disposal late one night, so it's a bit tattered.)

In case you were wondering, here is how it works. Take, say, a sweet potato, cook it, and then put it in the Baby Bullet (you can follow the recipe, or just wing it). Puree it, perhaps using water, to the "desired consistency". Use the spatula to pour it into the small cups, which have a cool little thing that allows you to spin this plastic part around until you get to today's date, and then that lets you know how old the food is. (The dial-a-date is not really all that useful because your baby will slurp up this stuff so fast it won't have the chance to spoil.) Anyway, one sweet potato can fill three or four of the little cups. When your little baby is hungry, just grab one of the potato-filled cups out of the fridge -- mindful of the dial-a-date, of course -- unscrew the cap, commence feeding, and bask in the warm glow of successful parentage.

We used this for more than six months. To prove how well it works I will display to you my two-year-old son, who is above-average in height and weight, knows at least 23 words, and will dismantle the entire contents of a bookshelf if left alone for more than five minutes.

*Pro tip: I have on good word, though have not investigated for myself, that the Baby Bullet can also make pretty decent purees for any of you who may be short on molars, and can, in a pinch, mix up a fair margarita.

Location: Missoula it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

Posting ID: 4171048130

Posted: 2013-11-04, 11:15AM MST

Updated: 2013-11-08, 3:33PM MST

email to a friend

Avoid scams, deal locally! Do NOT wire funds (Western Union, Moneygram). Beware cashier checks, money orders, shipping, non-local buyers/sellers. More info

Posted: 2013-11-04, 11:28AM MST

Little Tikes baby swing - $5 (Missoula)

I'll be honest, babies swinging is both good and bad. It's good because babies like to swing, it makes them happy, and so that makes you happy. It's bad, however, because the little buggers can't seem to ever figure out how to make the swing go themselves, and so there you are, having to stand there giving them a little shove every few seconds, all the while thinking that the way the swing was supposed to work was that the babies would sort of occupy themselves for a while leaving you to go and do something truly fun, like rake leaves.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Anyhoo, this one is in great condition.

Location: Missoula it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

Posting ID: 4171086352

Posted: 2013-11-04, 11:28AM MST

Updated: 2013-11-08, 3:32PM MST

Avoid scams, deal locally! Do NOT wire funds (Western Union, Moneygram). Beware cashier checks, money orders, shipping, non-local buyers/sellers. More info

Water year: in a desert?

Thursday night marked the end of the water year here. Nov. 1, 2012 to Oct. 31, 2013 was fairly quiet, but had some notable distinctions. Unfortunately, this weather season saw the demise of both my rain gauge and my max/min thermometer, so some of the figures here are estimates, though I did compare them against NWS MSO data and found mostly strong correlations.

• This year again there were no days where the temperature went below 0.
• Summer was warm and dry, while the fall of 2013 (so far) was cool and quite dry.
• Rain fell on at least one day during every month of the year; snow fell during six months.

The most interesting figure, I think, is the total precipitation when compared against the number of days that saw precipitation. The observation period saw 9.84 inches of total precipitation (a desert, indeed!) though precipitation of one form or another fell on a surprising 136 out of the last 365 days. Yes, a lot of those days saw just a trace. Here’s the rest:

• Number of days with .01-.09 inches of rain: 50
• Number of days with .1-.99 inches of rain: 19
• Number of days with 1.00+ inches of rain: 0
• Number of days with a trace-.9 inches of snow: 61
• Number of days with 1-5.9 inches of snow: 6
• Number of days with 6+ inches of snow: 3
• Number of days with freezing rain: 2
• Number of days with blizzard conditions: 0
• Number of days with both rain and snow falling: 12
• Total rainfall: 6.49 inches
• Total snowfall: 43.6 inches
• Snow water equivalent: 3.35 inches
• Average snow density: 7.6%
• Last freeze: May 25
• First frost: September 20
• Growing season: 117 days

If the figures above seem unlikely, that’s because most of the low-precip days were just a trace of snow or .01 inches of rain. The large number of days with precip but the low total precip is largely a function of the orientation of the Missoula Valley and the fact that the valley is shadowed from the biggest, wettest storms.

Here’s a picture of a boy at his recent baptism:

And hiking with the baby:

Day of the Dead

This was the fourth year in a row we went to this event, which starts downtown at the Xs and ends at Caras Park. And even after four years I feel that this event is not just the best spectacle in Missoula, but the best event I have been to at any time anywhere in the world. The parade and subsequent dance are equal parts Sidewalk Dixieland Quartet, Southern Death Cult Big Tent Church Revival, and Zombie Homecoming Parade. Pictures don’t really do it justice.

Best of Zim gospel right here:

Panopticon.

Meadow Lake, Mission Mountains:

Crystal Lake, Mission Mountains:

Kilbrennan Lake:

Petty Mountain:

The incredible Yaak River:

Lily Lake, Idaho:

Lower Miner Lake, Beaverhead Mountains:

Hub Lake:

Below Trapper Peak, Bitterroot Mountains:

The Bitterroot from the crest of the Sapphires:

Undisclosed location in the Mission:

Wallowas:

Wallowas:

Near La Push, Olympic National Park:

Hurricane Ridge:

Wallowas:

The Rattlesnake:

The Mission from Red Butte:

The Missoula Valley from the Death Star:

Near Hoodoo Pass along the Stateline:

The Clearwaters in Idaho:

(Click on the images, then to expand click on the magnifying glass.)

Mise en place.

Everything in its place.

At his namesake lake on the edge of the Scapegoat.

After a week of highs in the 40s, a 63-degree afternoon feels like it might as well be 90. Seeley Lake.

Wildlife blind a long the upper Clearwater. All we saw was a stupid deer.

What part of ‘party’ don’t you understand?

Glacier Lake: too cold for a swim.

Beached at a not-so-secret island on Lake Alva.

Midway through a 2,400 vertical foot mountain bike descent from University Mountain to my garage.

Missoula.

Crystal Lake.

No pictures, please.

Naptime on the climb out of Crystal.

Meadow Lake, Lindy Peak.

Mommy’s 5k.

Party: Mardi Gras beads and chocolate cupcakes.

The end of fall.

Western Montana does a lot of things well, but in general fall is not one of them. Most vanish under lingering heat, early snowstorms, persistent smoke, or neverending drizzle. Not so 2013: a late-September snow broke the warmth and ushered in nearly four continuous weeks of Chamber of Commerce fall – highs in the 50s, lows in the 20s, blue skies, snowcapped mountains, and memorable foliage. Going by the forecast, it’ll be a distant memory by Sunday.

This is warmer:

(People from the interior of Democratic Republic of Congo (the old 'Zaire') continue to stream into Kinshasha, but in this case they bring their dance with them. The concrete-and-plastic bar this is filmed in reminds me a lot of the hotel I wound up in after I was discharged from the hospital in Mombasa. Nevermind. This video is so incredibly kickass it defies coherent description. I believe the dude with the cowboy hat is Mputu Ebondo 'Mi Amor', and the dance is from the Songye, who live in the very center of DR Congo. The music is dubbed 'Congotronics' -- electrified traditional music.)

Because who doesn’t want a satay recipe every once in a while?

“Chicken on a stick! Of course I want one.” That comment came from Whitney on Sunday but I think it’s a fairly common sentiment. Chicken on a stick is the national go-to snack dish/dinner in Thailand, a country that has perfected the art of food stuck on sticks, poured into plastic bags, or wrapped in banana leaves.

Pre-made satay sauces are easy enough to come by, I guess, but not particularly cheap. This recipe won’t win bragging rights at the night market in Udon Thani, but I think it does well enough considering it’s made with mostly regular around-the-house ingredients.

1. Take some bamboo skewers and marinate them in water for about an hour. I used a coffee cup to hold them under water otherwise they just float to the surface.
2. Chop 4 cloves of garlic and 4 small dried (or fresh) red chilies (seeds removed). Drop a few tablespoons of sesame seed oil in a pan and heat; add the garlic and chili and cook until fragrant.
3. Put the chili/garlic mix in a food processor and pulse for a minute. Add about 1 cup of chunky peanut butter, and then some soy sauce and lime juice. Mix it up good.
4. Take 2 chicken breasts, and pound each until decently thin. Then use kitchen scissors to slice the breasts lengthwise so they are like 6 inches long or so and a quarter-inch wide.
5. Remove the skewers from the water and thread the chicken on them. If you wound up with extra odds and ends pieces of chicken, add those pieces to the skewer as bonus chicken. Take the satay sauce and spread it all over the chicken and let it sit in the fridge for an hour or two. All told, you'll probably have 15 skewers' worth of chicken.
6. Now this is actually the hard part. Fire up the grill and place the skewers on the grates. The first thing you will notice is that any peanut butter that falls off the chicken and on to the burner will flame up considerably. The chicken has to sit on the flame long enough to cook (duh) but not so long that the skewers catch fire. A few probably will, but that just proves that you are a suburban American trying to be cool and not a Thai street vendor.

See? Babies like satay too.

Transcript of a letter not sent to The Missoulian on Oct. 10 because Laura said it was a bad idea and she was probably right.

Editor:

The current government shutdown should offer President Obama the chance to do what’s been needed to be done for years: suspend the Constitution and dissolve Congress.

Many people suggest we “throw the bums out”, and I’m all for this, but due to gerrymandering, most of the bums never get thrown out (although our own Denny Rehberg was one notable exception). Because congressional seats are drawn to be safe, the bums actually just get bummier.

It’s been a while since the House of Representatives has done anything useful. Once set up with the noble notion of representing “the people”, this group of intellectual lightweights is simply no longer needed. Just trash it.

The Senate does on occasion serve a purpose, but not in its current configuration, which favors career politics over rational thought and money over common causes. I’d recommend replacing it with a true citizen-led system similar to jury duty selection – say, everyone who registers is eligible to serve a term, you’re called up for a set period, and it’s possible to claim hardship and defer your seat to others.

I understand that my plan will cause unemployment in America to increase by 535, but I think most of these guys would be eligible for job training assistance. They voted to fund that, right?

Jeff Schmerker
Missoula

Morning in America

Even before Laura vetoed this, I had already self-edited the final paragraph, the gist of which was that while the Constitution was temporarily off-line someone could take about five minutes and rewrite the stupid Second Amendment so it made sense.

Lately I’ve had the radio alarm set to Bill Bennett’s ‘Morning in America’. Despite having an AM talk show, Bennett is sometimes not completely irrational, yet there he was the second morning after the shutdown, saying: ‘This is good. This is unity for the party.’ Did he see this ? I’m long past the point where I will ever vote for another Republican, but still I think having such a weak party is bad for the two-party system. (Which, when I come into power, will be done away with, of course.)

I guess this guy did not see that poll, either. But he’s probably not the type to give a shit.

Some people have better things to do, I guess.

In this morning’s paper, instead of my letter to the editor, was this quote, from Richard Layne, who is about to embark on a three-year quest to hike the Continental Divide across Montana on snowshoes.

‘Before David, before Solomon, even before Abraham, there was snowfall on the Continental Divide and the horrific conditions I get to see when I go out. I get to see what was here 10,000 years ago. That means more to me than anything else.’

Anyway, here’s a picture of a baby climbing a mountain: