WWII Monument at Night

The new (2004) WWII Monument in DC is really striking, even more so at night. My father served in the Army, in the Corps of Engineers in occupied France and Germany. Many of the DC monuments bring to mind the terrible cost of war. I wish there was some way we could invest all the effort we spend killing each other into something more productive...

Washington Monument, 5 friends, 10 PM

So there we were, a Frenchman who's living and working in Japan, an Italian living in Germany, and three US citizens of varying heritage, looking for an Ethiopian restaurant. On the way we walked through the Mall on a beautiful, warm, calm night. What brought us all together? A shared interest in robotics. But that's another story.

Chef Ken, and Smashed Potatoes for 180

Chef Ken, a former professional chef, came out of retirement to oversee the making of a turkey dinner for 180 at the Salt Lake City First Baptist Church. I volunteered to be the Smashed Potato Guy. Turns out that 60 lbs of potatoes is too much for 180 people, 40 would have been fine (that's 4 oz per person on average). So now you know the Magic Number.