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Grand Cayman trip photos

We took a trip to Grand Cayman at the end of February. We’d last been there about ten years ago. It didn’t seem all that different, maybe a couple more hotels along the beach, and there was more traffic than I remembered.

Rusty Cayman wreck Mandi at the beach in cool glasses Cayman beach Dove on the Mastic Trail Frog on a tree Dead puffer fish

We went on a guided nature walk on the Mastic Trail. I was amazed at the variety of wildlife we encountered, but only managed to photo a slow-moving dove and unmoving tree frog.

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Cherry blossoms

The cherry trees around the tidal basin and elsewhere started blooming in earnest last weekend. Here are a few examples of what I found:

White cherry blossoms Hanging cherry blossoms Pink fringed cherry blossoms Pink cherry blossoms at the arboretum Washington Monument and blooming cherry trees Crisp white cherry blossoms

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General

Abiword blues

Abiword is a nice, fast word processor. OpenOffice.org is better for importing and editing complex documents, but it can be painfully slow so I only use it if I have to. Abiword is also usually very stable, so I was surprised when it started crashing on startup. I tried upgrading, I tried downgrading, but it kept crashing. I finally found this bug report at Redhat’s Bugzilla. Comment 8 mentions starting Abiword like this:

$ abiword --geometry 800x600

Not sure why or how, but it worked!

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Mmmm, Jerk Rub

Rubs are tasty, and jerk rub is my absolute favorite.

2-3 tablespoons allspice (pre-ground if you don’t like crunchy bits)
2-3 tablespoons lemon juice
7 assorted peppers, stemmed and seeded
1 small onion
several cloves garlic
black pepper and salt to taste

Throw it all in a food processor and process until mostly smooth. This makes enough for at least a “family size” package of wings. Watch out for the peppers, it’s best to wear some rubber gloves when handling them. I like the flavor of a variety of peppers, but if you want maximum heat just use scotch bonnets. Herbs like thyme or oregano add some nice flavor too.

Jerk rub goes well with most any sort of meat but I especially enjoy it with chicken wings and flank steak. Marinate for several hours or over night for maximum flavor.

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Chilly Alaska photos

I’ve been way too lazy about getting these online…

Here are a few of Mandi dressed for the cold:

Mandi and an iceberg Mandi bundled up Mandi and a snowbank

Some snowy trees and a silly sign:

Snowy tree in Sterling Three tree tops in Sterling No camping