this and that - oregon aug 2015

August 14 I sailed the wildest wind this year in the Gorge. We call days like this nuking with liquid smoke. There were dust storms occurring in mid and Eastern Oregon.


I received this suspicious looking mail. At first glance it has all the signs of a scam. As I carefully checked the toll free phone number on the web I was later quite sure it is a legitimate due diligence notice from Citi, for a $300 unclaimed prepaid card that belongs to me. I call them and was able to ascertain it is a legitimate letter from Citi. I do remember I did not receive a performance cash (brownie points) award from my former employer. I proceed to return the stub to acknowledge my claim by mail. A few weeks later a check of $300 arrived.

the price of quality dried squids has skyrocketed in recent decade and I seldom buy them anymore

i am still looking for a few real and nice looking ramen bowls - like the ones used in ramen shops in Japan, but they are next to non-existent in retail market

i used the butane grill to grill these salted mackerel - the salting concentrates the flavors by dehydration

mackerel has a lot of good Omega 3 - this snack cost $2; delicious; the easiest way to eat them is just pick the meat off the bones with fingers

Aug 14 would shape up to be an excellent and wild day of windsurfing in the Gorge - if you are a high wind junky.

dust storm on highway

this was where I sailed that day, Arlington in central Oregon

the paid wind sports forecast that day - the bottom row was for Arlington

the haze was caused by blowing dust; and i at one occasion felt grits of sand particles in my mouth while in the water

this is the wind speed log of the day with peak (red), average (blue), and green lull (green); of course it is only indicative as the speeds on the water varied significantly from the location of the sensor

There are a number of photos of my sailing photos of my sailing that day before the wind increased a lot more. My sail has HR-7 number and is lime green with blue. The sail in photos were taken is a 3.5 square meter. I had to change down to a 3.1 square meter later and even with that the peak gusts could be over 50 mph.

The next day I sailed at another site with not as strong wind.

this Mini Ninja butane stove and the French mild steel skillet is my most used cooking equipment on the road

salmon and spinach

curry chicken with rice, and spinach

salmon with zucchini

home made salmon burger

salmon with pan fried potato

smoked brisket with zucchini

this soda cracker reminds me of my youth

this is a Chinese grocery store in Portland

in the US cities it is very difficult to find good quality Chinese sausages; these are and from Brooklyn, New York but you have to buy 5 pounds

the store also has good quality dried squids

i have been shopping for a leaf blower to replace the one that is not repairable; i narrowed down to two final contenders - Stihl DB55 and the Makita BHX2500CA

the Stihl is the biggest bang for the buck and is tried and true performer; however I really want to give the 4-stroke Makita a try despite of less performance, heavier, and cost $30 more (20%)

actually there is another contender; this Hitachi is very light and seems no lack of power and can be had for circa $103; what's wrong with the photos below?

the short nozzle in both make the tool useless - note the blow angle; and yes it is the same human model for both brands - the green Hitachi, and orange Tanaka

 pork bone broth with watercress

making toast with a stove top toaster

i think this is the best one that is really a designed product; i can achieve more even browning than most home electric toasters

camping out in full moon two nights ago after a day of very strong wind sailing at Arlington again; this was the day the rare August storm pounded the NW Pacific coast and ruined the Hood to Coast finish line event site

taking good night photos with smart phones is next to impossible; i will resume carrying my Canon DSLR again

salmon with lots of Asian long beans