Alton Brown Played in Peoria

I'd been keeping an eye out on Alton Brown's Edible Inevitable tour. I hate to admit it, but I was hoping the price would drop a bit (ticket cost more than my normal concert ticket), and if it did, that I could talk Mom into going with me. As I scrolled through my twitter feed over lunch yesterday, I was pleasantly surprised to see a discount and booking signing announcement.

I didn't have enough time to talk Mom into going with me, so I headed down to the Civic Center to see about getting an autographed book for her. Sure enough, Alton was there for an impromptu signing, but there was no merch to be had. I explained my plan to him, and he urged me to buy a ticket to the show, so I could purchase a book when the merch table was setup. When the star of the show takes the time out of his day to meet fans for free, and suggests actually seeing the show, well, you gotta follow through... so purchase a ticket, I did!

I've been living on rabbit ears for quite some time, so it's been years since I've caught Alton on TV. Actually, probably since I lived at home over 7 some odd years ago. I was heading into the evening with a clean slate and without seeing any sort or preview, no expectations. Below is a photo of the sock puppets that helped pass the last 15 minutes up until showtime. They represented yeast, yes, yeast. They bopped in and out of the screen belching and farting to music from the likes of the Looney Tunes. Yep, right up my alley!

Alton was kind enough to share some of the secrets he's learned about cooking over the years. Can't say I ever thought about doing anything remotely like what he shared in the photo below, but it sure as heck made for a laughter inducing story. Even more entertaining was his story surrounding "Don't Leave Out the NaCl!" Who knew that 120lbs of bread dough (without salt) could fill up an entire empty dumpster on a steaming hot day in Texas?

As he began the show, Alton mentioned that he wouldn't be doing and demonstrations that he does on TV. If that's the case, then what would he be showing us? Well, his inventions that take food making processes to the 1,000th power!

Below is his Jet Cream contraption, in which the audience voted to have him make chocolate ice cream. Place creamy chocolate milk in one "fire extinguisher" and take another loaded with CO2, then shoot them simultaneously into an makeshift enclosed tube... and presto-chango, you get carbonated chocolate ice cream. Luckily for the audience, the duct tape held up on the prototype and they didn't get showered in what I can only imagine would be chocolatey snowflakes.

The last demonstration started with a story of a young child's Christmas wish of a an Easy Bake Oven. After being denied by Santa, he took matters into his own hands and purchased the Easy Bake. Always looking to take things to the next level, he upped the wattage of the light bulb and sadly melted the interior. After dreams of what could be, many years later the MEGA BAKE was invented!!! Alton and an audience member were able to bake 2 fresh made pizzas in under 4 minutes!

The Mega Bake Fun Facts are listed below. One bank of lights points up and the other down, which creates a tunnel through which a conveyor belt moves. It was of utter importance for the audience member to continuously turn the ship steering wheel, so the conveyor belt would allow the pizza pies to get an even bake and not burn.

If you have the chance to see Alton's tour and you enjoy any of the following:

     - Story telling

     - Comedy

     - Live music

     - Cooking

Then I strongly suggest you buy a ticket... discounted or not.

In need of a sarcasm font

Chances are that if it's not working, broken, missing, or needed, then my coworkers will eventually seek me out. That comes with the territory of a small business and having worked their 10+ years.

Today's issue had to deal with our emails being down at work and then a request to get some detailed information about our Campaign Monitor account, which we use for email blasts.

To my surprise, they did not have an online support function where you can chat with a representative. I was unable to find a phone number to call, but I have found that to be somewhat typical for online services.

I felt like I had a fairly specific question and it would be best to converse with someone, so other than wasting my time scouring the Help and FAQ area of their website, my only other option was to submit a form, in which they will respond via email. (Remember our email was not working.)

At this point I was frustrated, so I opted to post a snarky tweet, in hopes they might see it and give me a number to call.

And so begins a round-robin of tweets. For the record, I even followed them, in hopes they would follow me back, so we could direct message. I suppose I could have requested that, but figured their rep would have seen my follow. And being one not to mix work stuff with personal stuffs, I wasn't going to submit any requests from my personal email.

With my last tweet, I didn't have it in me to start an Abbott and Costello sketch... "But I can't email you because my email doesn't work". I have a feeling I could still be going round in circles with this person.

I also opted not to be completely and utterly rude, but my last tweet totally needed a sarcasm font. I really wanted to #SMH (#Shaking My Head) or #EyeRoll them, but goodness only knows who was behind BZ's posts.

Sunday Snow Day

Seeing the forecast Saturday night for around 9" of snow made me smile. I didn't have any plans Sunday, so it would be perfect to get outside and enjoy the fluffy white stuffs. When I woke up this morning, there was at least 5" already on the ground. 

Around noon I bundled up in a couple layers and headed outside to clear the driveway. I can only imagine what this member of the peanut gallery was thinking as I shoveled by way down the slushy, snow covered driveway.

When I made it around to the front of the house, I found the other half of the peanut gallery. Is he showing concern for my well-being in the cold, snowy weather, or befuddled as to why he didn't get to join me in the front yard.

My motivation for shoveling snow is the opportunity to make a snow angel before retreating inside to the warmth and hot beverage. The depth of the sticky, wet snow made it a bit difficult to carve out my angel this year, but under the circumstances, I think I did pretty good.

This is as clear as the drive gets. Over the years I've learned that clearing out the end of the driveway will eventually result in an icy dip that vehicles get stuck in. And sidewalk is a lost cause, as Trefzger's Bakery does a nice job piling their plowed snow on it.