April 2007

There were 20 posts published in April 2007 (this is page 1 of 2).

Sunriver Weekend 2007

The MNF group made its annual pilgrimage to Central Oregon last weekend. Kris and I joined:

  • Kim and Sabino Arredondo
  • Ron and Kara Kropf (Ron is Kim’s brother)
  • Kristin and Roger Oakes
  • Jeremy and Jennifer Gingerich
  • Jeff and Stephanie Roth (Jeff is my brother)

I think this is the tenth year that Kris and I have joined the group, though some of them have been making trip since the early nineties. We always rent a house and then spend the weekend sleeping, cooking, chatting, playing, and laughing.

In recent years, Kris and I have felt the trip was almost more trouble than it was worth. We were surprised to hear several other people express the same opinion this weekend. Fortunately, this year was relaxing — it was a wonderful trip.

On Friday evening, those of us who arrived early went out for Italian food. I ordered mussels and clams, but was unimpressed. They were cool. They hadn’t much flavor. There was very little broth.

Saturday morning, we were all up surprisingly early. It used to be that most of us slept in, but we were all up by 7:30, and were finished with breakfast an hour later. Kris and I then drove in to Bend to watch our nephew, Michael, play soccer. Michael’s an athletic kid — he’s muscular and wiry at the same time. He scored his team’s two goals. After the game, Kris and I helped Tony work on Michael’s pitching. (He had a baseball game in the afternoon.) Mostly he was too unfocused to pitch like he ought, but when he put his mind to it, he did a good job. Considering he’s only eight years old, I think he’s going to do well.

In the evening, the group assembled at The Blacksmith restaurant. This place is fantastic. I ordered mussels again; they were creamy and delicious. For dinner, I was adventurous: I tried the swordfish, and was pleased to find it a thick, meaty fish. Very good. But dessert was best of all. Kris and I ordered a chocolate sampler plate for two.

“Oh my God,” she moaned at the first taste of chocolate fondue.

“You don’t believe in God,” Sabino teased.

“I do now,” she said. “And it’s in this cup.”

Kim and Sabino rode home with us. We spent the entire twenty minutes rehashing old episodes of The Office, recalling funniest moments and favorite lines. Back at the house, we watched one of our favorite recent episodes, in which the employees are subjected to safety training because Michael, the boss, caused an accident in the warehouse. When Michael decides that office workers don’t get enough respect for how dangerous their jobs are, he decides to feign suicide. Meanwhile, the staff has begun to bet on various things. The funniest bet involves Kelly’s litany about how Netflix works.

Then we all went to bed early.

On Sunday morning, Kris and I went horseback riding. We did this several years ago at Diamond Lake, and we loved it. It’s expensive, and you don’t really get to do much besides sit on the back of a horse for an hour as it wanders well-worn trails, but it’s totally worth it. My horse, Doodle, was belligerent. He kept stopping to eat the new grass. No amount of tugging or kicking could convince him this was a bad idea. Kris’ horse, Warrior, was well-behaved, but a dawdler, always lagging behind the group. On our ride, we got to see a bald eagle perched high in a pine. We were also startled by a herd of deer. Doodle was surprised by them, and started to bolt, which scared the living daylights out of me. Fortunately, he stopped after just a few feet.

In the afternoon, we lounged around in the warm spring air. Most of the men soaked in the hot tub. The women drank mojitos and ate bean dip.

In the evening, Tony came by to see the gang. He stayed for dinner, and we all recounted old stories. Then, again, we went to bed early.

We were all up early again this morning, and it made us realize that we are getting old. “In a few years we’ll all be getting up at 4:30,” somebody said. On our drive home, Kris and I stopped to see Tony and Kamie at the horse cookie factory in Redmond.

We came home to a couple of mysteries. The kitchen chair was placed — seemingly at random — underneath our pot-rack. The basement light was on. A lamp in the living room was knocked over. The cold water in the bathtub was on full-blast and, from the looks of it, had been on for several hours (and likely a couple of days). When we checked the basement, water was coming from somewhere, but we could not find the source. (Naturally we assume that the fact the tub was running for so long had something to do with it.)

We’ve only solved one of these mysteries. Tiffany came over on Saturday to take a bath. She moved the chair so that Max could sit with her. However, she turned off the bathwater before she left. It is my suspicion that Max was playing in the tub (which he does often), and managed to turn on the faucet. This then caused the water in the basement. I also suspect he’s responsible for the broken lamp in the parlor.

In all, it was a great weekend. I did a little writing, but not much. Now I find that I’m behind. I have nothing to post at GRS in the morning!

The Future, Today

Here’s an eye-opening presentation that Dave forwarded to me the other day. I considered posting this at Get Rich Slowly, but couldn’t figure out a way to really make it “stick”. Still, it’s excellent stuff, and I want somebody to see it:

This presentation was originally developed by Karl Fisch, a grade school teacher. Here’s what he writes at his blog:

My administration asked me if I wanted to speak at one of our beginning of the year faculty meetings. I often provide updates on what’s new and different with technology in our building and what teachers need to know to get the year started. But this year I’m really focused on staff development and the “vision” of where we should be headed, so I wanted to do something different.

[…]

I put together a PowerPoint presentation with some (hopefully) thought-provoking ideas. I was hoping by telling some of these “stories” to our faculty, I could get them thinking about — and discussing with each other — the world our students are entering. To get them to really think about what our students are going to need to be successful in the 21st century, and then how that might impact what they do in their classrooms.

Mind-blowing stuff, this. It makes you think about where we’ll be in a hundred years. Speaking of which, over in the Get Rich Slowly forums, kgazeette posted a fun article from 1900 predicting what the world of 2000 would be like. The author actually did a fairly good job (except that he completely missed the advent of airplanes — but then how could he know?).

Here’s a sample:

Automobiles will be cheaper than horses are today. Farmers will own automobile hay-wagons, automobile truck-wagons, plows, harrows and hay-rakes. A one-pound motor in one of these vehicles will do the work of a pair of horses or more. Children will ride in automobile sleighs in winter. Automobiles will have been substituted for every horse vehicle now known. There will be, as already exist today, automobile hearses, automobile police patrols, automobile ambulances, automobile street sweepers. The horse in harness will be as scarce, if, indeed, not even scarcer, then as the yoked ox is today.

In the forum thread, I made my own predictions for one hundred years from now:

A lot of science fiction arbitrarily constructs technology without any regard as to its plausibility. However, I’m a fan of Kim Stanley Robinson’s series about colonizing Mars: Red Mars, Green Mars, and Blue Mars. I think he does an excellent job of extrapolating current technological trends and looking at where things might head in the future.

Here’s one prediction I feel pretty comfortable with: In 2100, the internal combustion engine will be a thing of the past. Oil reserves will be essentially depleted, so that only certain uses will exist for modern vehicles as we know them. (I don’t know what those uses will be.) Depending on whether you are an optimist or a pessimist, you might believe that we will have developed a replacement technology, or you may think we’ll revert to a more agrarian way-of-life.

I happen to be an optimist, so I think that some other form of fuel will be developed. I don’t know if it’ll be sufficient to power the sort of transportation system we have now, though. Maybe everything will be mass-transit. Maybe we’ll have some strange hybrid of atomic-powered trains moving thousands of people at a time, while individual transportation is horse-based once more.

I do believe humans will be living on Mars by the end of the century. I just don’t know which country will be the first to reach it and to set up a base.

I don’t think the U.S. will be the dominant world power.

What do you think life will be like one hundred years from now?

The Ideal Schedule

In David James Duncan’s The River Why, Gus, the main character, decides at a young age that in an ideal world, he would fish 14-1/2 hours per day. He’s still in high school when he formulates the following plan:

The Ideal 24-Hour Schedule

1. sleep: 6 hours
2. food consumption: 30 min. (between casts or while plunking, if possible)
3. school: 0 hours!
4. bath, stool, etc.: 15 min. (unavoidable)
5. housework and miscellaneous chores: 30 min. (yards unnecessary; dust not unhealthy; utilitarian neatness easily accomplished)
6. nonangling conversation: 0 hrs.
7. transportation: 45 min. (live on good fishing river)
8. gear maintenance/fly-tying/rod-building/log-keeping, etc.: 1 hr. 30 min.
9. fishing time: 14-1/2 hrs. per day!

Ways to Actualize Ideal Schedule
1. finish school; no college!
2. move alone to year-round stream (preferably coastal)
3. avoid friendships, anglers not excepted (wastes time with gabbing)
4. experiment with caffeine, nicotine, to eliminate excess sleep
5. do all driving, shopping, gear preparation, research, etc. after dark, saving daylight for fishing only

Result (allowing for unforseeable interruptions): 4,000 actual fishing hrs. per year!!!

I was sick over the weekend. I woke up Saturday with a sore throat, soldiered through the morning, and then threw in the towel, foregoing a blogger meet-up and sundry other tasks. Sunday was more of the same. (I did, however, manage to pull myself together for a dinner with Sally Parrot Ashbrook, a GRS-reader from Atlanta. Kris and I met Sally and Dan at Higgins for a wonderful meal. It can be awkward chatting with virtual strangers, but not so with Dan and Sally.) I woke on Monday still feeling cruddy, so I called in sick to work.

When I woke a second time, at around ten, I felt fine. I got out of bed, sat down at my desk, and I wrote for four hours.

I wrote for four hours, and I wasn’t interrupted once. The phone didn’t ring. Nick didn’t come into the office. Kris didn’t call me to clean my dishes out of the sink. I simply wrote. I finished four entries for Get Rich Slowly, and one entry for foldedspace. (You’ll see it tomorrow.) It felt awesome.

Then I spent an hour running errands, followed by two hours of lounging on the porch with my pipe and some books. The took turns sitting with me. I played a little Wii.

When Kris came home, we made dinner and ate outside at the picnic table. We took a garden tour together, examining the budding grapes and the lanky peas. Later, as Kris watched Antiques Roadshow, I wrote three entries for Animal Intelligence.

At nine, we climbed into bed and watched an episode of Battlestar Galactica.

That, my friends, is close to my ideal schedule. All that’s missing is the first three hours of the day (lost here due to my illness), three hours in which I could exercise and spend time with friends.

It was exhilerating to realize that I could actually work from home, could sit in my office and write, and produce good work. It was the last step in realizing that yes, this is my destiny.

Harry Potter Trailers (including Order of the Phoenix!)

Book One: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

Quidditch! Young Harry, Ron, and Hermione! The good Dumbledore! “I shouldn’t have said that.” A charming, wonderful book, but a woeful film adaptation from Chris Columbus.

Book Two: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Gilderoy Lockhart! The Mirror of Erised! The Whomping Willow! The book is quite good, but the film, directed again by Chris Columbus, suffers from excess.

Book Three: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Puberty! Sirius Black! Dementors! The best scene from any Harry Potter book! And, most of all, a decent director! This is the best film — and book — of the series so far. (Caveat: I haven’t read book six yet.)

Book Four: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Cho Chang! “You’re the boy who lived…” This film had a lousy first half, but the last hour made up for it. It was the first book in the series where Rowling was set free from the fetters of her editors, and the story suffered because of it.

Book Five: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

From childhood to adulthood! Dolores Umbrage! Heavy-handed political allusion! An overlong book, but how will it transfer to film? (I actually think the trailer is quite good.)

Film released on 13 July 2007!

Book Six: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

I have nothing to say about this book because I haven’t read it. (But thanks to obnoxious bumper stickers, I know what happens at the end.)

Film released on 21 November 2008!

Book Seven: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

The last(?) book in the series will be released on 21 July 2007 — you can pre-order it here

Film released summer 2010!

Ten Suit Jackets, Barely Worn

For a guy who never wears a suit jacket, I sure have a lot of them. As part of Project De-Clutter, Kris had me parade before here wearing each jacket in turn. I paraded ten times. Where did all of these come from?

The two I like best were both thrift store finds. They’re both wool sports coats in varying shades of brown and grey. They fit well. They move well. I might even enjoy wearing them! (I don’t think I’ve worn either of them before.)

The second best pair were, I think, donations from Jeremy Gingerich. They’re both the same size and style, just different colors. They fit okay, but are a little tight in the shoulders. As I continue my wellness regimen, they’ll probably actually fit just right eventually. The best part is that they come with matching slacks.

Then there are the four different navy blue jackets I’ve acquired over the course of my life. My father bought me one of them: it was my salesman’s uniform for several years when I was just out of college. It fits well enough, but I just don’t like it. The other two are way too big. (I suspect they’re also thrift store purchases.)

The last two jackets are no good: one is just too big, and the other is my Vernon Dursley jacket from oh-so-long ago.


I make a damn fine Vernon Dursley

Inside the breast pocket of the Vernon Dursley jacket, I found a cigar of the type Jeremy brought for us to smoke at that gathering. In fact, I’ve closed the door to my office and am smoking the cigar now. (It’s only a matter of time before Kris becomes enraged with me for this.)


These cigars were better five years ago, when they were fresh…

My other jackets contained goodies, too. One contained my ticket from Don Giovanni last May. Another contained the cork from a wine bottle. And a third contained banquet tickets from the 1999 Oregon FBLA State Leadership Conference — that was the year I helped Linda Kavan chaperone various events.

In any event, I’m only keeping five jackets, but even that seems like overkill. I’ll keep the two nice sports coats, the two suits from Jeremy, and the navy jacket that Dad bought me. (Though the latter may actually be purged soon, too.)

Project De-Clutter

I’ve been working with my wellness coach, Lauren, again for the past few weeks. Though we both went into this expecting to focus more on physical fitness, our sessions have actually taken a surprising turn toward mental fitness. As a result I’ve been led practice meditation, to determine my personal priorities, to cut back on blogging, and, most recently, to de-clutter my environment.

As most of you are aware, I’m a clutter kind of guy. I accumulate stuff. I always have. When I was a boy, I had what my parent’s called a “rat’s nest” — a closet filled with whatever I could find and hoard. I still have packrat tendencies.

I collect comics. I have several hundred record albums. I have thousands of books. I’ve kept every letter or note ever written to me, from fifth grade until now. (Well, some have been lost, but only accidentally.) I keep every receipt. I gather free literature on roofing, on rototillers, on automobile tires. I collect this stuff, and I bring it all home.

I’m like a black hole for junk.

Obviously, this stuff all needs a place to live. Most of it lies buried in closets and sheds, but some of it — the most recently used stuff — has a tendency to collect in piles on every open surface. Since we moved to this house, we’ve managed to keep the downstairs mostly clutter-free, but the upstairs is a haven for the stuff.

Now, this might not be such a problem — I might be able to live a happy cluttered life — except for the fact that it really detracts from my ability to concentrate. If I sit at this desk and there are papers scattered everywhere, and there are things on the filing cabinet, and the coffee table is piled with books, and there’s stuff all over the floor, well then it becomes difficult for me to focus. I can’t write.

When I complained about my cluttered life at the Get Rich Slowly forums, several readers recommended Clutter’s Last Stand by Don Aslett. I got a copy, but I haven’t been able to read it yet because Kris took it and has had it ever since. It must be pretty motivational, because it’s prompted her to action. She spent the weekend de-cluttering whatever she could.

Though I haven’t had a chance to read the official de-cluttering techniques, I’ve made a start on my own projects. This office is now mostly clutter-free. I do still have one stack each on the filing cabinet, the bookshelf, and the desk, but that’s a vast improvement from before. (And, to be honest, as I look around at these piles right now, I feel the urge to stop and sort them.)

Andrew Cronk goes through periods in his life where he purges things. We’ll get together and he’ll say, “Here, J.D., I have some things for you.” He’ll hand me random stuff: a science fiction book, a computer game, a fishing pole. My understanding is that when he does this, he’s basically de-cluttering his life. Now, for the first time, I can really understand his motivation.

Don’t be surprised if, the next time I see you, I hand you a stack of comic books or some REO Speedwagon LPs.

A Frustrating Phone Call

This is dedicated to Tiffany, who loves these sorts of stories.

* ring *

J.D.: Custom Box Service
Bertha: What size are your medium boxes?
…long pause…

J.D.: Uh, well, we manufacture custom boxes, so we don’t have anything we’d call a medium box.
Bertha: But what size is a medium box? Is it seventeen inches?
…long pause…

J.D.: Well, I don’t know what a medium box is. It might have a side that is seventeen inches, but a box has three dimensions.
Bertha: I know, but couldn’t a medium box be seventeen by seventeen.
J.D.: And how high?
Bertha: I don’t care. I’m putting four coats in it. UPS wants me to quote them a size, but I don’t know it. All I want to know is how big your medium boxes are.
J.D.: Well, we don’t have medium boxes. That phrase doesn’t mean anything to us. We make boxes to order.
…long pause…

Bertha: But they might be seventeen inches right? That would fit four coats?
…long pause…

J.D.: I guess it might fit four coats, it’s hard to say.
Bertha: Well, it does firt four coats. I have a medium box here, and I have four coats in it and it’s ready to ship, but UPS wants to know what size the box is. That’s why I called you. All I need to know is what size a medium box is.
…long pause — J.D. is dumbfounded…

J.D.: Uh…
…long pause…

Bertha: Don’t you have a medium box?
J.D.: No, that’s what I’m trying to say. So you’re telling me that you have a box already. You don’t need a box. You just want to know how big the box you have is?
Bertha: I know what size it is. It’s a medium box. I just need to know the inches. I think it looks about seventeen by seventeen.
…long pause — we’re both getting frustrated at this point…

J.D.: Look. I have an idea. I think I can help you.
Bertha: Good.
J.D. Do you have a piece of paper near you? A piece of typing paper? A piece of notebook paper? Just a standard piece of paper that’s 8-1/2 x 11?
Bertha: Yes.
J.D.: Let’s use that to measure your box.
Bertha: How can we possibly do that. I don’t have a measuring stick.
J.D.: Well, we can use the paper to make a rough guess. The paper is 8-1/2 inches wide, right? If you measure two widths of the paper, that’s seventeen inches.
…long pause…

J.D.: Did you measure it?
Bertha: I don’t understand. All I want to know is how big a medium box is.
J.D.: Well, I’m trying…
* click *

Bertha hung up on me.

101 Things in 1001 Days

A couple of weeks ago at Get Rich Slowly, I wrote about the 101 things in 1001 days project (which I learned about from dienu.com).

The Mission: Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria: Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

Why 1001 Days? Many people have created lists in the past — frequently simple goals such as new year’s resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organizing and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.

Basically, participants create a list of about 100 things they want to do do in roughly the next three years. I think this is an amazing idea, with lots of potential for self-fulfillment. I drafted my list on March 25th, my 38th birthday, but it’s taken me this long to convert it to HTML. Here are the things I aim to accomplish over the next 1001 days:

List updated 31 May 2007

Health and Fitness
14 goals
1. Give up sugar for a week in progress – 3/7 days
2. Eat only home-prepared food for one month
3. Eat vegetarian for one month
4. Get cholesterol to healthy levels
5. Have a colonoscopy
6. Complete a marathon
7. Complete a 100-mile bike ride
8. Play a team sport
9. Do 100 push-ups
10. Bench-press my body weight
11. Complete a one-mile swim
12. Maintain a weight of 170 or below for six months
13. Drink only water for one month 31 May 2007
14. Give up alcohol for three months in progress – 1/3 months

Financial
10 goals
1. Pay off all non-mortgage debt (and keep it off)
2. Fully fund Roth IRA (2006) 10 Apr 07
3. Fully fund Roth IRA (2007)
4. Fully fund Roth IRA (2008)
5. Fully fund Roth IRA (2009)
6. Establish a $5000 personal emergency fund
7. Open a high-yield online savings account
8. Automate bill payments insurance done
9. Automate IRA contributions
10. Get a safety deposit box

Home and Garden
19 goals
1. Get the birds out of the workshop ceiling
2. Repair ceiling upstairs in house
3. Clean all gutters and install gutter guards
4. Finish modernizing the electrical system
5. Build a patio
6. Prune the holly trees
7. Learn how to use the chainsaw properly
8. Finish building the horseshoe pit
9. Hire somebody to paint the house
10. Open all windows that are painted shut
11. Park my car in the garage (this entails a lot of sub-steps)
12. Remove debris file from beneath the cedar
13. Add new spigots outside
14. Get a rug or carpet for the library
15. Acquire some nice office furniture
16. Create home maintenance checklist (and follow it)
17. Erect a hammock
18. Aquire a chipper
19. Set up workshop for woodworking

Personal
11 goals
1. Purge wardrobe of anything I haven’t worn in the past two years in progress
2. Get a massage
3. Learn to shave with a safety razor 15 May 2007
4. Update my address book
5. Sell record collection
6. Get rid of computer books
7. Sell CDs, keeping only hard-to-find favorites
8. Sell comic books
9. Sell board games
10. Hold a gourmet potluck in progress – date scheduled
11. Create the Indispensable Comic Strip Reprint Library in progress

Self-Improvement
7 goals
1. Take a speech-com class (Dale Carnegie?)
2. Take a drawing class
3. Take a Spanish class
4. Take a yoga class
5. Take a cooking class
6. Give a good radio interview
7. Give a good television interview

Adventure
6 goals
1. Get tickets for World Cup South Africa
2. Skydive
3. Go on a trip by myself
4. Go white-water rafting
5. Ride in a hot-air balloon
6. Learn to shoot a gun Kris beat me to this and taunts me about it

Entertainment
3 goals
1. See all Oscar-winners for Best Picture 53/79, though I want to review some
2. See all Oscar-winners for Best Documentary 5/64
3. Bowl 300 on Wii Sports

Photography
3 goals
1. Sell/publish a second photo
2. Digitize all photos
3. Sell $100 of images at iStockPhoto

Reading
5 goals
1. Read all of Proust’s Remembrance of Things Past 1/7
2. Read all of Shakespeare’s plays (no matter what Kris says) 13/37
3. Read all of Dickens 5/17
4. Read all Hugo & Nebula winners in progress
5. Read all Pulitzer winners (for fiction) 7/54

Writing
8 goals
1. Compile and print a Friends Cookbook
2. Sell a short story
3. Sell a poem
4. Sell a magazine article
5. Write a book
6. Publish a book
7. Participate in National Novel Writing Month
8. Digitize all of my creative writing

Work
15 goals
1. Implement GRS forums 15 Apr 07
2. Implement GRS book section
3. Implement GRS tools and calculators section
4. Start a GRS podcast in progress
5. Complete GRS redesign
6. Complete Animal Intelligence redesign in negotiations
7. Move all old foldedspace entries to the new database in progress
8. Launch Success Daily site created — building content
9. Launch Vintage Pop
10. Launch Too Much Cat domains purchased
11. Interview Robert Kiyosaki (or host guest post)
12. Interview Dave Ramsey (or host guest post)
13. Achieve $10,000 web income in one month
14. 1,000,000 visitors in one month to GRS
15. 100,000 RSS subscribers at GRS

I’ll be the first to admit that this is an ambitious list, but I look forward to tackling each item on here. I’ve already finished a couple since I drafted this, and several more are in progress. (I should have the podcast up-and-running in the next month or so.) Some of these will take all 1001 days. Reading Proust? As much as I love him, this is a tall order!

Can you guess which goals I think are going to be most difficult to meet?

Jeremy’s Clams

I’ve been on a clam kick lately. Over the course of a one-week period at the end of March and beginning of April, I had awesome clams three nights. Oh my. How come no one ever told me they were this good?

I’m going to ask for the recipe at Gino’s next time I go back — those are my favorite of the three I tried — but meanwhile I got Jeremy to try to remember his recipe (which was ad hoc to begin with). He basically made up the recipe as he went along, and then he and I tried to reconstruct it over the phone two weeks later. There are bound to be errors, but it’s a good basis from which to work.

Jeremy’s Clams
In a large pot, brown 6-8 oz. of hearty, spicy sausage (he used soppresatta) in a couple tablespoons of fat (he prefers olive oil, but thinks butter would work). Add 3 shallots (or, he said, 1-1/2 cups onions) until they begin to caramelize, then add 5-6 cloves of garlic. Don’t let the garlic burn. When things are browned nicely, add about 1-1/2 cups white wine. Boil to reduce by half. At 1/2 cup of clam juice, 4 cups fish stock, a can of tomatoes, and some a pinch of hot pepper flakes. Bring to a boil. Add 2-1/2 pounds of clams and cook until they open. Distribute clams evenly to serving bowls. Reduce liquid. Add some fresh ground pepper and 2-3 tablespoons butter. Ladle sauce over clams. Serve with garlic crostini.

I did some googling to try to find a a recipe similar to the one at Gino’s. Their dish is more “soupy” than Jeremy’s sauce. It’s a garlic/saffron thing with clams and mussels, served in a dish of broth. (It comes with bread, too.) It’s heavenly.

All I came up with was clams in garlic and wine, which is actually closer to Jeremy’s concoction.

I’m angling for more clam opportunities in the next few weeks. We’ll be dining out with a web acquaintance, with a group of Portland bloggers, with the MNF group, and then probably with Andrew and Courtney. I’ll be hoping for clams every time.

I’m obsessed.