During the month of January, I took some time of from my beloved beer and explored a variety of flavors of tea. The best place for buying tea around here is A Southern Season – a swanky gourmet food store in Chapel Hill. They sell 2oz and 4oz bags of their loose-leaf tea blends and you can’t beat that for freshness and flavor. Here are some of the flavors I explored:

Paris Tea: A delicate, vanilla flavored black tea with a touch of bergamot and blackcurrant

Green Dragon Tea – green tea with lemon peel, marigold petals, golden chrysanthemums, passion fruit and lemon flavors

Ginger Lemongrass Tisane – lemongrass, licorice, ginger root, peppermint, lemon peels, black pepper

Evening Chai – Cinnamon chips, cloves, black and red pepper, lemongrass, green cardamon, ashwagantha, ginger root, cinnamon  and clove flavors

Organic Orange Ginger Tulsi – Tulsi herbs (Holy Basil), candied pineapple, candied papaya, apple bits, carrot bits, rose hip petals, sallow thorn berries, orange peels, flavoring, multivitamins

I also really enjoy the Republic of Tea flavors Jasmine Jazz and Moroccan Mint Green Tea.

The various green tea flavors are really my favorite – lightly sweetened with agave sirup I can drink them all day long. The Paris Tea has pretty much replaced my third cup of coffee in the morning. In the evening, the lemongrass tisane or the tulsi tea really wrap up a day quite nicely.

This afternoon we went to see the famous viol player Jordi Savall play his 300-year-old, 7-string bass viol at Durham’s Baldwin Auditorium.

Savall is the world’s most accomplished viol player of our age. Before him, these instruments and their music had been all but forgotten. Since 1965, when Savall discovered the viola da gamba, he has been at he center of the revival of the viol family of instruments.

These instruments were popular in the Renaissance and Baroque eras and they are all played upright, like a cello or a bass. They are quite different from the more popular violin family of instruments: they are fretted with movable frets and they have 6 or 7 strings; their backs are flat, not curved and their shoulders sloped, not square and they have c-holes, not f-holes like the violin.

Most importantly, the viol is usually tuned like a Baroque lute. However, during the English and Celtic second half of the concert, Savall actually re-tuned his instrument to the lyra-viol tuning and to the bagpipe tuning appropriate to that style of music.

See below a video of Savall playing the bass viol (solo and with his ensemble)and discussing music and musicianship (in French).

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I am happy to report that for the fifth year running, I successfully completed the Great Beer Quest and acquired my allotment of the Special Release bottles of Sexual Chocolate Stout. Once again, we froze our butts off in 20-degree temperatures camping out on the sidewalk in front of Foothills brewery in Winston Salem, NC.

Around 10:30 I picked up Dan and Derek and we drove to W/S. We arrived at the brewery around 11:30 to join the tail end of the release party (and 10-year anniversary party) and had our first glass of this year’s Sexual Chocolate Stout. And our second. And our third …

At 2:00, we set up camp outside and settled in for the short, chilly night, huddled around the little propane heater I borrowed from my neighbor. I was tired and actually slept for several hours. I woke up around 5:00 and those three hours until they opened the bar were long and cold. Once we got in, we got a breakfast beer and a sausage biscuit (that’s a southern thing) but this year they charged $2 for the sausage biscuit! (last year they were on the house). At 10:00 AM we each got our 6 bombers and then we pretty much just left and drove home.

Interesting publication by the Population Reference Bureau. According to their estimates 6.5 percent of all humans who lived in the last 50,000 years were alive in 2011!

Wie viele Menschen haben jemals gelebt? Die Wissenschaftler des Population Reference Bureau schätzen daß in den letzten 50 Tausend Jahren 108 Milliarden Menschen gelebt haben. Das bedeutet daß im Jahr 2011 ungefähr 6.5 Prozent aller Menschen jemals am Leben waren. Unglaublich!

How Many People Have Ever Lived On Earth? 108 Billion

Year	Population	Births per 1,000	Births Between Benchmarks
50,000 B.C.	2	–	–
8000 B.C.	5,000,000	80	1,137,789,769
1 A.D.	300,000,000	80	46,025,332,354
1200	450,000,000	60	26,591,343,000
1650	500,000,000	60	12,782,002,453
1750	795,000,000	50	3,171,931,513
1850	1,265,000,000	40	4,046,240,009
1900	1,656,000,000	40	2,900,237,856
1950	2,516,000,000	31-38	3,390,198,215
1995	5,760,000,000	31	5,427,305,000
2011	6,987,000,000	23	2,130,327,622

 

NUMBER WHO HAVE EVER BEEN BORN	107,602,707,791
World population in mid-2011	6,987,000,000
Percent of those ever born who are living in 2011	6.5

Source: Population Reference Bureau estimates.

A new year and another 11foot8 boxtruck canopener:

This one is a “classic canopener” – the crash beam just peels back the roof of the box and drops it behind the truck.

This is truck crash # 82 since April 2008. All the videos are posted on my website 11foot8.com

2014 brought us many changes: new jobs, new critters and a new school for Jacob. 2014 also was the year when both our kids officially grew over our heads. Jacob is now taller than I am, and Julia is taller than Laura.

Right at the beginning of the year, Henry the cat moved in with us. He was an indoor cat all his life and the great outdoors was a bit daunting for him. However, recently he has started venturing out more. He seems to like hanging out on the deck, and sometimes he follows me out to the pasture and watches me feed the horses. Still, his favorite thing is sleeping on the couch. Henry is an Abyssinian cat and we got him from Laura’s brother Peter, who moved to Costa Rica.

In January, we also had quite a bit of bird-related drama. A dog killed most of our neighbor’s chicken and chased our emu Sidney out of the pasture. I had to drive around during a snowstorm looking for the bird, and for a while, a Sheriff’s deputy even tried to help. After several days we found the emu and managed to catch him and take him home in the trunk of the Mercedes. In February, during yet another snow storm, Sidney got out again, and we had to chase him down and catch him, again. Later that spring, we got another emu, Darwin, but then Alice got out and we did not manage to catch her, so we were down to two emus, again.

On March 28, we bought another horse – a 5-year-old Rocky Mountain mare by the name of R U Madison Saint. Our elderly gelding Wally has ligament problems, and we can’t ride him much any more, so Laura got herself a healthy, young mare, whom she can train and push to do more intense stuff, like hunter paces and endurance rides. In the nine months Madison has been with us now, Laura has turned her from a good, but “green” horse into an excellent, well-trained trail horse. She trailers easily, she is confident and relaxed on the trail, and she is now fit enough to keep up with our older mare Cleo, who is a real speed demon on the trail.

Well, and then there are the goats. In August, we bought two goats, Sassy – a Kiko mix (the brown one) – and Snoopy – a Boer mix (the black and white one). Snoopy was a wedding present to our neighbors, who got married August 30th. Our neighbor Nick and I built an enclosure out of an old horse shelter on their property, and we keep both goats there.

The two goats are quite a dynamic duo and they love climbing on stuff and Snoopy especially loves to jump over, onto and off of anything. They are quite bonded to me and when I am out, working around the house or the pasture, I often let them roam freely, so they can browse on whatever tasty plants they can find, like tree saplings (they love the pine saplings) or ferns or acorns or just some grass. And sometimes we go on walks in the woods or in the neighborhood.

So lots of excitement around the animals this year. But we had other excitement, too. Laura quit her job at Duke in June and spent a few months consulting and growing our own start-ups, 11foot8 and Heathenn Lamps into small, but profitable businesses.

Laura also took Julia on a tour of several universities this fall. They visited Duke, the University of North Carolina and American University. Julia liked American best and we really hope that she’ll get in and can study there. But of course, Duke or Carolina would be great, too. The college selection and application process is really pretty intense and complex. It was (and is) stressful, even though Julia has excellent grades and Laura was really able to guide her through this process. I can only imagine how hard it must be for some kids whose parents can’t help them with this, or have no interest. Even with help, this process is challenging.

During the summer, Julia also had a bit of a dry-run for the college experience. She spent 5 weeks at the Governor’s School, which was fun for her because she got to hang out and study together with smart kids from all over the state. And it gave her some experience with campus life, having a room-mate and living in a dormitory.

Jacob started High School this fall and after a week at his assigned school we got a call from DSA that he got accepted off of the wait list! So we pulled him out of Northern High and he had to do 2 days of placement tests and then he started classes at Durham School of the Arts. Besides DSA’s status as one of the best High Schools in the state, it is nice that Jacob can play the bass in a good orchestra program and it is really nice that classes start at 8:45 and not at 7:30, like at his assigned school.

On November 16, Jacob and I went on a little road trip to Washington to meet with an old friend of mine and his wife and daughter. They were visiting New York and Washington from Germany and I had not seen him in almost 10 years. Jacob is studying US history, and he had never seen the capital, so this was pretty interesting to him and he agreed to keep me company during the 9-hour round trip that day.

Me? Well, work has been super-busy, as we are building the Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development. My boss of 13 years, Dr. Angold, is retiring and as of today, I officially work at the Autism Center under Dr. Dawson. That’s pretty exciting! I ran another Bull City Race Fest half marathon in the fall. That was fun. On Nov. 28, I had my traditional Black Friday party – albeit without a keg of the usual Sexual Chocolate Stout. Still, a good crowd showed up and fun was had :)

All fall we were quite social, going to Halloween parties, anniversary parties, baby showers, and hosting and attending several neighborhood bonfires.

However, my favorite social event and historic occasion of this Year of the Lord, 2014, took place in June and July.

All I can say is  W E L T M E I S T E R !!!

We hope you all had a great start for 2015! We gave the old year a nice send-off with a big bonfire.

We sat around the fire with the neighbors until well after midnight, grilling hot dogs and potatoes and drinking beers.

This year, I spent a lot of time listening to Ambrose Akinmusire’s album The Imagined Savior Is Far Easier to Paint. Gorgeous album. In this live performance the quintet plays some songs from that album, and some other songs. Relax. Enjoy.

Our driveway on a crisp, sunny evening in November.
Unsere Einfahrt an einem sonnigen Novemberabend.

Julia and Cleo getting ready to ride out.
Julia und Cleo bereiten sich auf einen Ausritt vor.

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Herlinde Kölbl has been photographing Merkel since 1991.

Very lucid, well-written story by Gorge Packer in the New Yorker about the German chancellor:

German politics was entering a new era. As the country became more “normal,” it no longer needed domineering father figures as leaders. “Merkel was lucky to live in a period when macho was in decline,” Ulrich said. “The men didn’t notice and she did. She didn’t have to fight them—it was an aikido politics.” Ulrich added, “If she knows anything, she knows her macho. She has them for her cereal.” Merkel’s physical haplessness, combined with her emotional opacity, made it hard for her rivals to recognize the threat she posed. “She’s very difficult to know, and that is a reason for her success,” the longtime political associate said. “It seems she is not from this world. Psychologically, she gives everybody the feeling of ‘I will take care of you.’ ”

…

“People say there’s no project, there’s no idea,” the senior official told me. “It’s just a zigzag of smart moves for nine years.” But, he added, “She would say that the times are not conducive to great visions.” Americans don’t like to think of our leaders as having no higher principles. We want at least a suggestion of the “vision thing”—George H. W. Bush’s derisive term, for which he was derided. But Germany remains so traumatized by the grand ideologies of its past that a politics of no ideas has a comforting allure.

…

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This one’s a little bit out there … fun, harmolodic interpretations of some Thelonius Monk classics. Happy Friday!

Harmolodic Monk – at Why Not Room, NYC – Oct 5 2014

Matt Lavelle – alto clarinet, trumpet, flugelhorn
John Pietaro – vibraphone, frame drum, percussion

(DEUTSCH) Last weekend was super busy and fun. Saturday, Laura and I went to a Bar Mitzvah – or rather a B’nai Mizvah (plural) for the twin boys of one of the professors I work for. We attended the service in the morning, and then returned for the party in the evening. Great fun!

Sunday, Jacob and I got up at 5:00 AM and drove to Washington, DC, to meet with an old friend of mine from Germany. He had emailed me a few weeks ago that he was planning a trip to New York with his wife and young daughter. I had not seen him in 9 years and not yet met his wife or their daughter, so I was keen on catching up with them. We decided that Washington would be a good place to meet, since it’s fun for them to visit and not too bad a day trip for us.

Jacob had never been to D.C. at an age where he would remember, and so he agreed to come along and keep me company. At 10:30 we arrived at Columbus circle, where they were staying, and we had breakfast together. Then we then went on a long walk on the National Mall, visited the Washington Monument, the WWII memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial and walked around the White House. After that, we had an early dinner around 4:00 at Gordon Biersch on 9th Street. Around 5:00 PM, we said our goodbyes and then Jacob and I headed back to Durham, where we arrived at 9:15. A long day, 550 miles of driving, but definitely worth the effort.

Laura and Julia spent Sunday morning riding in the last hunter pace of the season by the Red Mountain Hounds. So the girls had fun, too!

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Breaking News from the Telegraph’s Alan Tyers:

Hell will host the 2026 football World Cup after a Fifa report found “no reason” to overturn the controversial underworld destination’s successful bid.

A 666-page report seen by The Telegraph concluded that Fifa had acted ethically in awarding its showpiece tournament, and suggested Lucifer be compensated with “a really nice wristwatch, one with diamonds and everything” for having been put through an “unnecessary and upsetting” grilling.

Critics had cited the soaring temperatures of fiery damnation as a major concern for a summer sporting event, and accused the damned hordes of carrying out human rights abuses. But during a “fact-finding mission”, Fifa executive committee members found Hell to be a “first-rate facility”. “I could spend an eternity here,” noted one delegate.

Fifa was particularly impressed by “Hell’s well-organised system of circles where fans can listen to vuvuzelas” and watch England take on Germany in a penalty shoot-out until the end of time. One exclusive circle will even offer comfortable spike-style seating and a chance to enjoy the Fifa biopic United Passions (starring Tim Roth as Sepp Blatter) on a loop. ITV has won the sole broadcast rights in the UK, with Andy Townsend providing analysis.

Read the rest on the Telegraph’s website …

Today is the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall – one of the most important historic events in my generation’s lifetime. Ironically, this watershed event was precipitated by a simple, clerical error. To me, the events of November 9, 1989 are profoundly German: a tired, overwhelmed official –  Günter Schabowski –  reads from the wrong memo and accidentally makes the historic announcement that all East Germans are free to travel to the West, effective immediately. This announcement prompts tens of thousands of citizens to rush to the checkpoints to stubbornly insist that the government honor the new policy, even though it’s clearly bogus. The border guards have no clear orders that night, except to stand their ground. And then one border officer- Harald Jäger – makes the lonely decision to disobey his superiors and orders the gates opened, instead of ordering his soldiers to shoot. Jäger’s decision cascades into this historic event, as all the other commanders of the checkpoints follow his lead and allow the East-Berliners to freely cross into West Berlin for the first time in 28 Years.

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Let me introduce you to Sassy and Snoopy. They are our two female goats. The brown one is Sassy and the white one is Snoopy. Sassy was born March 10 and she is a Kiko/Spanish goat mix and her sister Snoopy was born March 18 and she is a Boer/Spanish goat mix. I bought them on Aug. 29 and on Aug 30 we presented Snoopy as a present at our neighbors’ wedding.

Subsequently, we fixed up an old horse shelter on the neighbor’s property and built a fence around it, as a habitat for the two goats. Our neighbor Nick built the gates, I set the fence posts, we ripped some pine logs for the fence boards. Then we bought a 100-foot roll of horse wire fencing and built the fence you can see in the photo below.

In the end we got a pretty fine and low-cost goat habitat out of this. The goats seem to like it just fine, although they also really like to go for walks around the neighborhood.

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(Auf Deutsch)

Sunday, I ran a half marathon (21.0975 KM/ 13.1094 mi) at the second annual Bull City Race Fest here in Durham. It was a beautiful fall weekend and when I arrived at the venue at 6:30 AM, temperatures were just below 50F/10C and temps had gone up to around 60F/16C by the time I left at 11:00 AM.

4,594 runners competed in one of  the three races in this event: 1 mile race, 5 mile race and half marathon. Last year it took me forever to find a parking spot, so this year Laura dropped me off near the American Tobacco Complex at 6:30 and then she picked me up after the race. That was so much easier than trying to find parking! I hung out for a while inside the ATC (where it was warm) and hit the restroom around 7:00 and then warmed up and got ready for the start. At 7:25, I took off my shoes and stuffed them in my backpack and at 7:30 off we went!

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The state of North Carolina can no longer prohibit two consenting adults from getting married. Not because they are of different race or ethnicity, nor because they are the same sex. U.S. District Judge Max Cogburn ruled today that the state laws prohibiting same-sex marriage are unconstitutional.

“The issue before this court is neither a political issue nor a moral issue,” Cogburn stated in his ruling. “It is a legal issue and it is clear as a matter of what is now settled law in the Fourth Circuit that North Carolina laws prohibiting same sex marriage, refusing to recognize same sex marriages originating elsewhere, and/or threatening to penalize those who would solemnize such marriages, are unconstitutional.”

All About that Bass …. Meghan Trainor Cover

Kate Davis – vocals and upright bass
Dave Tedeschi – drums
Scott Bradlee – piano
[Update]Check out Kate’s amazing version of Just One Of Those Things

So … it’s Labor Day and the gas grill is busted. What to do? Fire up the hobo grill, of course! My half-barrel burn barrel came in really handy today. We lit a fire in the barrel and chucked some charcoal on top and grilled our chicken kebabs and sweet corn – old school. This worked so well, that I think we’ll do that again. It takes a while for the fire to burn down, but with a bit of planning – no sweat.  And the kebabs are so much tastier!

What else? Goats, of course! Friday we bought two goats and one of them was a wedding present for our neighbors on Saturday. The goat was a big hit at the wedding. Nick and Emily really liked the goat, and a bunch of the guests came to check out the goat. Both goats were born in March. The brown one March 10 and the the white one March 18. They are real charmers! They are both female goats and they grew up together, so they are buddies. We’ll keep them together, too. Eventually, the plan is for them to live together in one of the old horse shelters on the neighbor’s property.

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The sailing stones of Death Valley were one of natures curious and vexing riddles. How do the stones move to leave their distinctive trails? I wrote about this phenomenon a few years ago. Now I found the answer in this YT video published today: