A Few Quick Notes 254

-Today was a pretty beautiful day. Not only was there no precipitation, but the skies were clear and the wind was low. Additionally, while cold, it wasn't particularly unpleasant or unreasonable. It seems that our luck is not to hold as rain is predicted for later in the week.

-Much to my surprise I received a pressure cooker for Christmas. I guess the idea is that beans can be cooked rather effectively in such devices, though I have not yet tested this assertion, which might help me overcome my inability to properly cook beans.

Maybe even more importantly, it seems that, if the claims on the box are correct, such devices should really reduce the required cooking time. The recipe booklet included with the pressure cooker is even so bold as to suggest that it can cook potatoes in only 10 minutes (which would be pretty amazing). Their claim that they can cook a whole turkey in 25 minutes is also pretty impressive.

Anyway, today I managed to put the device into service when I cooked beef stew for dinner. Though I didn't notice an incredible reduction in cooking time I think that it is likely that in the future I would apply more heat, thus building the required pressure more quickly, and thus starting my time savings at an earlier stage. I think what may have most impressed me about the experience was how much steam was released once I eventually decided to release the pressure. If I recall correctly, steam spewed out of the valve for several minutes once opened.

-Neil and I had an Ultimate game last night. Almost as soon as the game started it was clear we were outmatched and were likely to lose the game. Anyway, the eventual result was that were beaten more soundly than we have ever been beaten as a team before. Hopefully next week's game goes a little better.

-Though the selections have not been formally approved by the Graduate Coordinator, as of this evening I have finally decided which courses I will be taking this semester. The unfortunate part of my schedule, aside from the back to back seminars, is the 8:30 AM class. Maybe I will be able to shake my aversion to mornings for the duration of the semester.