Wow! Another Great Race! Martin Truex Leads 392 Of 400 Laps -- May 29, 2016

Announcers suggest Truex ran the most dominating race ever. He led 392 laps of a 400-lap race. He led 588 miles of a 600-mile race. Wow! So thrilling. Amazing. Coca-Cola 600. Amazing to see all the iPhones come out to document the victory.

So:

• my ham bone/bean soup came out perfectly (okay, not quite perfect; needs a bit more chili); first time try
• Martin Truex dominates the Coca-Cola 600
• a rookie  -- Alexander Rossi -- wins the Indy 500
• Jordan Spieth claims first Texas victory in PGA; stunning performance

What a great day!

Harold Hamm Suggests CLR And South Korea Have A Deal For Bakken Crude Oil -- May 29, 2016

From ArgusMedia: Harold Hamm has announced a deal to sell Bakken crude oil to South Korea. Some data points:

• Harold Hamm, CEO of CLR
• Donald Trump's energy advisor
• unclear whether deal has been finalized
• CLR already partners with South Korea's SK Group on gas production in Oklahoma
• there is no westbound crude oil pipeline across the mountains (my hunch: Gulf Coast, and then through the Panama Canal; see RBN Energy) 
• transportation costs? South Korea offers refiners special incentives to import crude from sources other than in the Middle East in an effort to diversify its crude slate

Regular readers can probably figure out what Harold Hamm's plans are.

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An Incredible Indy 500

A rookie wins.

First time at the Indy 500.

An American.

A Californian.

Nevada City, CA.

Alexander Rossi now has his own wiki page.

Took a chance and did not refuel ... he ran out of fuel just after he crossed the finish line -- needed to be towed to victory lane.

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SR-71, RAF Mildenhall, 1989

Syrian-Lebanese History In Williams County, North Dakota -- May 29, 2016

From page 160 and following, from chapter thirteen, "Syrian Enclaves," from The Syrian-Lebanese in North Dakota:

The Williams County Syrian community was not the first of its kind in North Dakota, nor was it the largest in total numbers, but it can be classed as the most enduring and self-conscious of all such groups. To this day, an ethnic celebration rarely takes place without Lebanese representation in Williston, the area's major city.

Wonder of Williston, the remarkably complete history of Williams County, tells the story of some, but not all, of the area's first Syrian settlers. According to their family accounts, in 1903 David Kalil, Alex Aboud, Joe Albert, and Abraham Abdo arrived to take up free land. One long-time Williston resident says that David Kalil was working out of Duluth as a peddler. Traveling through, he looked over the Williston area in the later part of the 1890s and subsequently returned to take up a homestead. 

The date, 1903, coincides very well with naturalization records ... the list of citizenship applicants reveals a number of things that make the Williams County Syrians unique:

• the rapidity with which such a great number of newcomers sought the status of full-fledged Americans. They filed first papers almost immediately as soon as they reached the Williams County region. This hardly fits the "get rich and return home" generalization found in publications concerning other parts of the nation;
• the presence of such a sizeable number of women, eight out of the total twenty-one. Indeed, several of the women appear to be wives who applied at the same time as their husbands. Again, this does not fit the standard first arrival expectations;
• without exception, the 1903 applicants in Williams County were Christian; and,
• the most famous of all Lebanese North Dakota religious leaders, the pastor of St George's Church near Rubgy, Fr. Seraphim Roumie is on the list of applicants.

The list also included "William Eattol," a surname that would be changed slightly later on and would be a very, very familiar name in Williams County when I was growing up.

Happy Memorial Day Weekend -- May 29, 2016

Nothing about the Bakken in this post; purely a personal post for the granddaughters. If you came here for the Bakken, scroll down or check out the sidebar at the right.

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Yes, she did this all by herself.

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Memorial Day Cooking

Update

May 30, 2016: Today, Memorial Day, I biked to HEB's Central Market in Southlake, an upscale "foodie" market. Ham imported from France: $14.98/lb. The 10-lb ham below would have cost about $150. I guess pork from France is really, really flavorful.

Original Post

 

I went to our grocery store early this morning to get a newspaper for May. I walked to the back of the store to see what the butcher was up to. He took me to his specials he had just placed in the display case. He was particularly proud of a 10-pound spiral ham for 99 cents/pound, telling me if I did not grab it then, it would be "gone" in half an hour.

For the archives: a ham like this would normally be about $30 in this particular grocery store and upwards of $50+ at specialty shops.

It was the only one. I took it home, cut it up to freeze. From the 10-lb 10 ounce spiral ham with bone, I "recovered" 8 pounds 2 ounces.

I then took the meat/bone that was left and made bean/ham soup. I had never done this before but always wanted to try it.

Basic recipe but other vegetables, herbs can be added:

• 3 tablespoons each: Dijon mustard, lemon juice, Worcesterhire sauce 
• 2 teaspoons: pepper
• 1 tablespoon: chili powder
• 1 teaspoon: salt (I tend to use less)
• 1 whole onion

And so, all the work is done, the soup is simmering for the next eight hours, and I'm watching the Indy 500, reading The Syrian-Lebanese In North Dakota (previously discussed), and, catching up on a bit of blogging.