How To Make Good Pancakes

Here’s my recipe for blueberry banana pancakes:

  • 1 egg
  • 400 ml whole milk
  • 375 ml flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 2 ripe bananas
  • 400 ml blueberries
  • 25ml vegetable oil and whatever else you need to grease the pan.

Heat a griddle (or a flat pan of some sort) between medium and medium-high.  Mix baking soda with egg and whisk.  Add milk, oil, and salt and stir.  Add first 200 ml flour and stir.  Add remaining flour until the consistency is not too soupy (it should be most of the rest).  Slice bananas thinly and cut into smaller pieces.  Rinse and mix in blueberries.

Pour 1/4 cup portions onto the griddle.  Cook on first side for about four minutes, or until brown on the bottom.  Bubbles may or may not appear, due to fruit.  Flip and cook on other side for three to four minutes or until brown.  If the pancakes are raw in the middle, turn heat down a bit and cook a little longer.

Serves 2 adults, one child.

Quiz Answer

Previously I asked what were the eastern-, western-, northern-, and southern-most states in the United States.  Three out of the four answers are gimmes.  The southernmost state is, of course, Hawaii, where South Point, HI at approximately 18° 54’N.  The northernmost state is Alaska, with Point Barrow weighing in at approximately 71° 26’N.  The westernmost state is also Alaska, but where precisely in Alaska that is depends on how you measure.  The discussion page of Extreme points in the United States on Wikipedia explains that if you use lattitude and longitude, Alaska is the easternmost point in the U.S.  If you use driving direction, however, Maine takes the honor.

Here’s my view: we often refer to China and Japan as “The Far East”, even though to get there from California, one would fly in a westerly direction.  This says to me that the logic behind driving direction isn’t all that sound.  Given my view, what are those eastern- and western-most points?  Google Earth, at least, gives the impression that the westernmost point would be Amatignak Island at 179° 08′ W, and the easternmost point would be Semisopochnoi Island at 179° 45’E.  Again, this assumes we’re talking about states.  We have possessions in various places that I haven’t reviewed.

Market Turmoil

First let’s agree that the acquisition of Merrill Lynch by Bank of America was a horrible move by one or the other.  If Merrill doesn’t understand its exposure, then BoA now has an open exposure.  Otherwise, why would they go running into the arms of BofA at such a turbulent point?  It doesn’t bode particularly well for the industry either, when you have a maniac whacko at the top of BofA.

While President Bush sought to reassure investors that the market would recover, why would anyone believe that he has any understanding of what the market dynamics are at this point?  Ben Bernanke clearly has misread the state of the economy from the outset of his stint as the Fed chairman, and he was the President’s best choice.  The only person who seems to have made any sense of this at all is Secretary Paulson, who made it clear to Wall Street that the taxpayers cannot be expected to underwrite every company that would otherwise fail.  But he has made no claims about understanding when and where the market will turn around.  Good for him.

All of this having been said, clearly the president had to say something, and what he said was the least offensive.  Had he real credibility he perhaps could have had more of an impact on prices, but that day is long past (if it ever was).

What Of Sarah Palin?

Up until today I haven’t said anything of Senator John McCain’s choice of a running mate.  I have very little knowledge of Governor Sarah Palin.  The press has gone into some detail about the fact that she was a beauty queen and that her 17 year old daughter is pregnant.  I don’t think it is necessary to drag family into this race, when there apparently is plenty bad to say about the candidate herself.  But before I go there, we should recognize at least some of the good.  Getting to be governor of a state is no small achievement.  Alaska is the largest state in the Union, and if you were to cut it in two, then Texas would be the third largest state.

Distance represents a serious problem for the people of Alaska, as they are isolated from the mainland of the United States and from each other.  The average cost of education is well over $25,000 per student because of distance issues.  These costs are offset by the revenue-sharing arrangement that Alaska has with oil companies.  Governor Palin has been lauded by at least one editorial writer for putting some distance between her and the oil companies.

What’s more, she has a big fat target to run against.  As I’ve written previously, I don’t think much of Senator Joseph Biden, although I do believe that he offers a humility worthy of the job, something that I suspect the governor doesn’t have, if for no other reason that she has fewer scars.

Because Alaska is so isolated its needs are unique and quite disparate from any other state.  Its budget is easier to balance due to oil, and the population density perhaps the lowest in the nation.  Hence, leading this state does not qualify one easily for the presidency, which is the quality one looks for in a vice president.

In addition, her questionable ethics and streak of vindictiveness, as reported by the New York Times, leaves me cold with memories of the still current administration, and President Bush, himself.  We need leaders with unquestionable ethics.

By the way, here is a quick geography quiz: what are the northern most, eastern most, western most, and southern most states in the United States?

Answers in a future blog entry.

Doh Biden

Several weeks ago I wrote that Barack Obama’s choice for vice president compares with that of Spiro Agnew, and that he is a great pick if you like mediocrity, with a very undistinguished career in the Senate. The New York Times has picked up on some of Senator Biden’s less inspiring moments on the campaign trail.  And now we can compare him to Dan Quayle.  One wonders if Biden knows how to spell potato.