Magic of music
Whet your musical appetite and listen to Peter and the Wolf by Prokofiev. It’s imaginative and perfect, and will transport you far away from the woes and stresses of life into a magical tale, told with words and music, about a boy named Peter and a big bad wolf.
A truly beautiful experience, Peter and the Wolf was ever-present in my childhood, when I built fond memories on road trips with my family. And I recently found out my wife, who’s European, also grew up listening to Peter and the Wolf. I play it for my children and they love to listen, sitting intently on the couch. No screens, just music.
Use Virtual Credit Cards
If you run your own business, chances are you’ve got your credit card number floating out there with a lot of service providers. Maybe you don’t even own a business but you’ve got subscriptions. And now with a growing trend of Ai models and credits it’s more than just a good idea to use virtual credit card numbers – it’s imperative.
Here’s how it works: first, check if your credit card provider offers the virtual card service. Log in and look for an option like “Virtual Cards,” or “Digital Wallet”.
Now you have your physical, plastic credit card. That’s the one you use to swipe or tap and pay in-person. (Or instead you use Apple Pay or one of these). But for everything online where you put in your CC number, expiration date, security code, etc. this is where you can use a virtual card number. You get a new virtual card number (mine allows me to make a new one for each service provider, so I have a unique card number for each service). Then put in the virtual number instead of the number printed on your card. You may also get a new exp date and security code associated with the new number. My bank gives me the option to turn these off at any point, so when I’m done with a subscription and the provider doesn’t make it easy, I can just shut off the cash supply. This is quite handy, and I recommend it.
The Great Khan: a podcast
I am loving Lex Fridman’s interview with Jack Weatherford. It’s a multi-hour deep dive into the life of Genghis Khan. Check it out.
And if you like this, definitely also check out Dan Carlin’s Wrath of the Khans.
Sauerkraut? More like Powerkraut.
Here’s my sauerkraut recipe loved by my German, Austrian and Swiss friends (and Americans,too!)
Leave yourself some time to let this cook – 1-2 hours.
Get a package of store-bought sauerkraut, nothing fancy or flavored. What I find at the supermarket come in 1-lb bags. I now buy a bigger tub at Costco that requires a little longer cooking and a little more sugar.
First thing, you drain the kraut. I squeeze out all liquid but I don’t do any nonsense like rinsing it. Put it in a pot on the stove.
Turn that heat up because you want to bring it to a boil.
Pour in 1/2-3/4 of a normal sized beer per 1 pound of sauerkraut. Finish the beer yourself – you’re earning it. Adding beer will change the flavor so choose your beer accordingly. (Note: you can use wine instead but use a lot less volume wine than beer; add water for needed liquid.) Darker beer will give your kraut a richer, maltier flavor.
You got that bacon chopped up, right? Toss in about 4-5 strips of thick cut bacon, chopped into little flecks.
Add a small fistful of brown sugar, and a hefty splash of real Vermont maple syrup. (Now if you have the fake kids syrup, here’s what you do: walk it outside of your house to the trash, and throw it in right next to the ketchup.) New Hampshire, New York, and in a bind Canadian maple syrup will all do. It all comes from the same trees.
Here’s what else you add, portioned to 1 pound of kraut:
- a pinch of S&P
- 6-10 cloves
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 sprinkles of caraway seed
- 2 hefty sprinkles of mustard seed
- tiny splash of apple cider vinegar
Mix everything really well, and taste test the kraut. (Don’t worry: bacon is cured and probably not going to hurt you. Probably.) You want that kraut tasting not too sour. If it’s still super pungent and sour, consider adding more brown sugar and/or maple syrup but don’t overdo it.
Bring that sucker to a boil, cover it up, turn the heat down to a low simmer and let it cook for at least an hour. You’re gonna have yourself some bangin’ kraut for the holidays.
CAUTION: Side effects of eating sauerkraut include barking spiders. Be mindful of others.
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