Christopher Prall

Regardless if you're Republican or Democrat, opposed or for the war, I truly admire the courage that the Iraqi people had for voting after over 50 years.

I couldn't imagine the flood of emotions they must go through while standing in line to vote. Even in the face of death, the people of Iraq proudly exercised their right to voice their opinion. I admit, I was a bit of skeptic on how well the voter turnout may be, but seeing the results, it tells me that it's the people of Iraq who want to have their country, and that they are willing to put their own lives at risk for it. That is absolutely moving. I applaud you.

Posted by Christopher Prall at 11:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Congratulations to my mom for doing an absolutely outstanding job organizing the fundraising efforts for the Tsunami victims. She even made the front page of the Franklin Favorite!

So far they have raised nearly $14,000 toward building new homes through Habitat for Humanity.
From my mother's blog:

We held a tsunami fundraiser on Saturday January 22nd. We had a short presentation on Sri Lanka by Lali Abeydeera , followed by a short presentation on the geology and mechanics behind tsunamis, by Margaret Crowder . This was then followed by a dinner of roti( Indian bread) , Sri Lankan lentil curry,chicken satay, Thai pork vegetable stirfry, chicken briyani, white rice,Kentucky BBQ, baked ham, salads and homemade desserts. Many many people helped in the preparation in so many ways. Over 150 people actually came to the dinner, and we have raised over $13,450 which included 3 donations of $1,600 each which is the cost of building a transitional Habitat house in Sri Lanka. The local elementary school and middle school are having their own fundraisers to add to the pot. Jennifer Prall burned a CD of a song written and played on a guiter by an Americorps colleague, raised $145 to this effort with the $5 perCD sale. All proceeds will go to the home rebuilding efforts of Habitat for Humanity in Sri Lanka and in Indonesia. It was wonderful to see how this effort brought together so many different people and groups.

If anyone would like to help with the effort, let me know I can give you the information to where you can make your donations.

Posted by Christopher Prall at 06:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Last night, the opportunity presented itself to finally demonstrate the superior performance of my Subaru Legacy GT Limited versus the Audio 1.8T.

At first, I was not aware that Mr. Bunk wanted to give the cars a little run. At the first street light, he quickly accelerated, and I was playing catch up with him. Surprisingly I only gave up about 1/2 a car length. Now that I understood the intentions of the drive back, I was prepared for the next launching. J$, my co-pilot, was very insightful in how I should approach the next launch: "Prall, just side step it."

Bunk and I sat at the red light, perched, ready for the light to turn. As the light shown Green both cars leaped forward, all wheel drive mechanisms heavily engaged, trying to maximize traction on the wet turf. The Audio had no chance. The Subaru quickly pulled away and I finally stopped accelerating when there was more than 3 car lengths apart. Complete annihilation! Absolute domination!

"O'Doyle Rules!"

Posted by Christopher Prall at 10:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Time to expand my culinary skills, and what a better than to start with an herb that many people are familiar with, yet do take advantage of it's flavor. Chives have more uses than just on a baked potato.

The foundation for almost all Asian dishes is garlic and onions. Chives, specifically Chinese chives, whose characteristics hint at both, sound like the ideal herb to complement any Asian dish. For this weekend, I will cook with chives, Chinese ones if I can find it, and shall see how the new addition to the seasonings will add to the eating experience.

Posted by Christopher Prall at 09:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Happy Birthday to Nicola and reaching the quarter century mark!

Posted by Christopher Prall at 11:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

For the last few weeks, I have been trying to figure out what name should my car be. I have considered names such as Susie, Grace, Chase, Sumi, and Taylor, but none have really struck a chord with me . . . until now.

I am still under the trial period, but the name that came to me today is Stacy. The name feels right. We shall see if it feels right tomorrow.

Posted by Christopher Prall at 01:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (9) | TrackBacks (0)

It took the death (or sabotage) of Emily to make it happen, but J$ pulled the trigger on Saturday and bought himself a Mazda Miata.

It feels good, doesn't it.

Posted by Christopher Prall at 09:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBacks (0)

Seriously, is that necessary?

Posted by Christopher Prall at 09:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Finally!
After weeks of searching and endless disappointments, J$ and I have finally acquired the new Slim PlayStation2. My little Brother, in the Big Brothers, Big Sisters program purchased one yesterday and told me they still had 2 more consoles at the store. He and I immediately went back to the store and quickly snatched one up before it slip through our fingers.

If not the Internet is time consuming enough, we now have a game console to fill in the rest our time.

Posted by Christopher Prall at 09:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Yesterday I got to truly enjoy one of the main reasons why I purchased my car (unfortunately, still nameless).

Though inches of snow blanketed the ground, I had no issues navigating and maintaining control of the car throughout my drive home.

The elements were brutal outside, but I was cacooned in my heated seat, heated wipers, heated side mirrors, and heater car, protected from the mean outside world.

I don't mind the snow as much anymore.

Posted by Christopher Prall at 08:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBacks (0)

For New Year's Day, my roommate and I had several of our friends over for dinner and drinks. The menu consisted of a deep fried turkey, stuffed shells, steamed vegetables, pasta, and fried potatoes. All came out well, except the fried potatoes.

I was under the impression that all you had to do was slice the potatoes, season them, and toss in hot oil for a few minutes. When we did this, all we got were cooked, soggy potato slices. A disappointment.

As I scour through the internet for an optimal recipe, (Cook Recipes, ThrifyFun, and the Food Network), there were some repeating themes, and some good ideas. Taking all these into consideration, I have put together what I think will produce the Perfect French Fry.

Ingredients:
- Russet Potatoes, Peeled
- Salt and Pepper
- Vegetable or Canola Oil

1. Cut the potatoes in 1/4" by 1/4" sticks.
2. Let potatoes soak in cold water for 45 minutes.
3. Preheat the deep fryer to 350 Degrees.
4. Rinse out potatoes until the water is clear.
5. Dry the potatoes thoroughly with paper towels.
6. Add the potatoes in manageable batches in the deep fryer, stirring occasionally.
7. Cook for 6 minutes.
8. Remove and let oil drip off onto a paper towel covered plate.
9. Let the fries air dry for 10 minutes.
10. Increase the temperature of the deep fryer to 375 degrees.
11. Re-cook the fries for 1 minute.
12. Remove and let oil drip off onto a paper towel covered plate.
13. Add seasoning to taste.
14. Serve.

Posted by Christopher Prall at 05:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

This summer, my father undertook the project of making a walking bridge over their fish pond in their backyard. One of the problems he had to solve was what should the radius of the arc be knowing how high you want the bridge off the ground at it's apex, and how far the bridge has to cross over the water.

Though the math was not very difficult, I dug deep into my memory of trigonometry and created him an equation which would give him 'R', knowing the above two values. To make it easier for him to understand, I created a picture for him.

Posted by Christopher Prall at 03:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

I have recently purchased a 2005 Subaru Legacy GT Limited.

To not veer too much from my driving enthusiasm, she still has a manual transmission, and with 250 HP on a turbo Boxer 4 cylinder, is a fun car to drive.

My problem is that I cannot come up with a good name for her. I have had the same issue with my motorcycle, and I feel that if I continue to squat on the issue, I will not resolve it. The name of a car is supposed to encompass the essence of the automobile, and what she means to you. She is your woman, and her name must reflect her personality, how you feel about her, and her soul. Leaving her without a name is a disgrace.

I am open to suggestions, if nothing else to help stimulate more ideas of names.

Posted by Christopher Prall at 03:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)

It could be the greatest cooking idea ever!
All you have to do is buy a turkey, let it defrost, season it, and then cook it in a vat of hot oil at 3 1/2 - 4 min/lb. There is, of course, a bit more to it than that, but cooking the turkey is straightforward.

One would think that such a dish would be drenched in oil, but instead, it is a moist poultry dish. The meat does not soak in the oil, and the skin of the bird helps the juices to stay in the turkey, and keep the oil out.

If you have not tried one yet, I highly recommend that you do. Once you go fried, you can never go back.

Posted by Christopher Prall at 03:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)