according to jeff

When you find yourself in the Cannon Falls, Minnesota, area (as you undoubtedly will), be sure to stop by the Hi-Quality Bakery. My family is partial to the peanut butter twists, and often brings home a half or full dozen. However, my favorite is the raspberry jelly-filled long john with caramel icing. You can’t really go wrong with either one.

I just happened to be there yesterday morning, when I met my friend Tim for a donut and coffee. Tim is in full-time ministry and is quite a technology guru. Surprisingly, though, he’d never tried a peanut butter twist from the Hi-Quality Bakery. We remedied that situation.

While there, I commented to one of the staff that I didn’t see a chocolate-covered cake donut with peanuts. What do you suppose happened? Yes, indeed, she offered to dip one special for me. Within just a few moments, I had a freshly dipped, chocolate-covered, peanut cake donut. You just can’t beat small town service like that!

October 28, 2008
Red Wing, Minnesota

(The top number is unleaded gasoline; the middle number is for E85.)

Last week I sat in on a choral conducting class at Coe College, where four students were directing choral pieces to show their choral conducting skills. One of the students, my son, introduced me as his “high school choir teacher.” This introduction took my by surprise, but it was a pleasant surprise.

For the past eight years, I’ve directed a choir of homeschooled children from Cedar Rapids and the surrounding area. We began the first year with under 30 students, and this semester I have a few more than 60 students participating. Over the years, three pianists have volunteered their time weekly as well. It has been a wonderful experience.

My training is all “on the job training” — though perhaps an “apprenticeship” would sound more impressive — as I’ve enjoyed singing in church choirs through the years. I learned the most from Charles “Chuck” Moeller, now a missionary in Russia, and God has used many to encourage and teach me. And the most recent encouragement was being introduced as my son’s high school choir teacher!

My typical Friday includes lunch with my Laridian associates. This past Friday, our choice was Mulligans.

Mulligans is located on Old Marion Road, close the Kool Moo and the former location of Wildlife Habitat. Several restaurants have occupied this space, and Mulligans is the newest incarnation.

The decor is “television warehouse,” meaning that there are lots of televisions and open ductwork. Unfortunately, most of the TVs were tuned to Judge Judy look-alike shows. I’d expected more sporting or news channels. One feature that I liked is the tall tables; these give me a rare opportunity for my feet to dangle!

The menu is pretty standard fare — appetizers, sandwiches, wraps, burgers. I opted for the Guiness BBQ Burger (or something like that), and it was pretty standard fare, too. In pretty much every aspect, this was a typical lunch experience.

This past week, I solved a small problem with the help of a Impact Acoustics™ 3-Play™ High Performance Component Video/Digital Audio Selector.

The Problem: I have three devices capable of outputting component video; however, my Yamaha AV receiver has only two high definition component video inputs. I either had to choose a device to use with less-capable video, or find a way to provide three signals into two inputs.

The Solution: The Impact Acoustics 3-Play selects one of three audio-video signal inputs into a single audio-video signal output. The video inputs are all component video (three cables per input). The audio inputs can be digital optical or the typical two-channel stereo.

Impact Acoustics 3-Play Rear View

This model — which I found available at Amazon.com for much less than the full retail price — does not auto-switch. Some more expensive models would detect a signal on one of the input lines, and automatically switch that signal to the output. This model has a simple 3-button selector on the front panel that works just fine. (A remote control is also provided, but I don’t need yet another remote control to fiddle with.)

I’m currently running two devices through this switch, so I have room to add a third device. (For extra credit, can you guess what my three component video providers are?) So far, it has worked great.

The 3-Play has a sleek, black finish that matches most modern components. If I could improve anything, it would be to make it as wide as a typical AV device, perhaps by putting all of the inputs/output jacks on the same row, instead of using two rows.

This past Saturday, a group of teachers from our church went to Galleria de Paco in downtown Waterloo, Iowa.

Galleria de Paco

This (apparently famous) restaurant features a replica of Michelangelo’s artwork from the Sistine Chapel by graffiti artist Paco Rosic. Yes, the ceiling features the famous artwork of the Sistine Chapel, but this time painted with 5000 cans of Krylon spray paint. I’ve not been to the Sistine Chapel, so I don’t know how this compares to “the real thing.” However, I can say that it was pretty cool. It definitely provided an elegant setting for a meal.

Galleria de Paco is gaining national and international attention. The entrance also features numerous newspaper articles from Seattle, Chicago, and, yes, Iowa, extolling the artwork. The proprietor, Mr. Rosic (the artist’s father), told us of a tour group from England that vacationing in Florida and flew up to Waterloo for the sole purpose of eating at this restaurant.

So, if you’re looking for an good meal in an unique setting, consider the Galleria de Paco as a place to go.

My typical Friday includes lunch with my Laridian associates. This past Friday, our choice was the newly remodeled Thai Moon.

A recent renovation has been completed, and Thai Moon is open once again. The new interior is a little more elegant, and includes a sushi bar. The only drawback to the new decor is the cabling for the on-wall televisions. Hopefully, this part of the remodeling just isn’t quite complete yet.

Regular readers may recall that I’ve previously stated that the Thai Moon is one of the top Asian restaurants in our area. Since the Thai Moon lunch menu didn’t change with the decor, this is still the case. I often have the “Evil Jungle Prince” or the “Mongolian Beef” or the “Lemon Grass Chicken” — all of which are excellent — but decided to try something new: Pork with Long Beans. This spicy dish wasn’t disappointing, and I would happily try it again.

I’d suggested Thai Moon to a friend looking for a nice restaurant for his daughter’s birthday dinner, but, alas, Thai Moon was being remodeled then. I’ll have to let him know that he can try it out, now!

Baseball is a great game, it’s playoff season, and I’m on the Rays bandwagon.

Yes, I’d have preferred to still be rooting for the Cubs, I’d like to have seen the Angels beat the Red Sox, and I’d hoped that the Twins would best the White Sox.

But since I don’t have strong feelings about any of the teams that are still left, how can I decide who to root for? Well, I have a few guiding principles to help me:

1. Never root for a team with devil or demon in its name.
2. Never root for a team from San Fransisco.

And, what do you know, my principles came through! Until last year, the team from Tampa Bay was known as the Devil Rays. According to my tightly held principles, I was obliged to root against them.

But this year, the team has dropped devil from its name, and is known as simply the Rays. My principles not only allow me to now root for them, but encourage me to do so. Wouldn’t it be cool for the Rays to succeed in the year that they dumped the devil?

I saw one of these today, in the greenbelt behind our house.

The one I saw was perhaps 3 feet long, plus or minus — it’s hard to gauge the size of a snake when it’s slithering to away — and perhaps as round as a nickel, or maybe a little bigger.

It was pretty cool, though it did give me a start.

I thought this was an interesting editorial in World Magazine:

Roosevelt vs. Wilson
McCain and Obama have a lot in common with two former presidents