Dashcam to the Rescue!

This shall come as no surprise to anyone that lives in or near Boston: my car got hit by another car while driving in downtown Boston.  This is an every day occurrence, and is why many people avoid driving downtown.

The downside:

  • my car got hit
  • it must be fixed
  • we didn’t make the appointment that I was picking up Alpha child for

The upside:

  • nobody was hurt (in either car)
  • the damage is relatively minor
  • it wasn’t my fault
  • I have a dashcam 🙂

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Note several so-very-Boston things that occur in this video:

  • a car crash in perfect driving conditions (shouldn’t happen)
  • the two guys on the sidewalk that briefly glance in our direction, then keep going (principal of don’t-get-involved)
  • the woman who takes advantage of the break in traffic to jaywalk (no fucks left to give)

Sadly, the other driver was scurrilous and claimed that I had swerved from the left lane into the right before stopping suddenly.  (That would also be a very Boston thing to do, if it had happened.)  Our insurance companies found in my favor after reviewing the dashcam footage, and my car’s damage is fully paid for – nothing out of pocket, no deductible.

I will not drive without a dashcam ever again.  I wish I could provide a review of my particular unit but, sadly, it’s not made anymore – a review would be pointless.

I do recommend that anyone and everyone get a dashcam, though.  Besides proving the details of driving incidents, you can accidentally capture some really cool stuff.

If you like watching dashcam footage, may I recommend dashcamgifs on reddit?

Indian Butter Chicken

This is a variation of an Indian dish.  My recipe is adapted from The Modern Proper.

Materials

  • A large skillet with a lid

Ingredients

  • Olive oil
  • Small yellow onion, diced
  • 4 cloves of garlic
  • 2 tbsp fresh ginger
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 3/4 cup chicken stock
  • 6 oz (one can) tomato paste
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 2 tsp cumin
  • 2 tsp garam masala
  • 1 tsp tumeric
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1.5 pounds chicken, diced into bite-sized chunks
  • 1 head of cauliflower, chopped into bite-sized chunks
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 cup heavy cream

Steps

  1. Heat some olive oil in the skillet, then add the onions, garlic, and ginger.  Sauté for a couple of minutes, until the onions begin to soften.  Your significant other may saunter through the kitchen at this point and compliment the fragrance; children might run away.
  2. Stir in, and bring to a simmer:
    • butter
    • chicken stock
    • tomato paste
    • cinnamon
    • cumin
    • garam masala
    • tumeric
    • salt
  3. Add chicken and cauliflower, and stir until coated.
    • Don’t be alarmed, the previous steps leave you with a paste, not a sauce, and the chicken and cauliflower might seem a little dry.
  4. Cover and simmer on low for about 15 minutes to cook the chicken through.
  5. Remove the cover and stir in lemon juice and heavy cream.  Bring back to a simmer, and cook for a couple of minutes to finish.

Serve over rice and/or naan bread.

Cape Cod 2021

Highlights From Cape Cod

“Baba” plays the part of the matriarch and rents a house on the cape, then invites the families to come stay with her.  Our responsibilities include making dinner (plus cleaning up) and enjoying ourselves.

This year was one of the rainiest summers in a long time, among the top 5 since record keeping began, but we still had plenty of time for fun.

seals in the water
Swimming was poor for humans but great for seals on Saturday evening

We went on a whale watch out of Provincetown on Wednesday.  It was really foggy and we didn’t see any whales, or anything at all, for almost two hours.

barely-discernable boat in the fog
There is a boat in the center of this picture, less than a hundred meters away

Suddenly, out of the fog, we stumbled across some whales that really showed off for a bit.

We discovered Skaket Beach, on the bay side of Orleans, on a beautiful afternoon.

sunset at skaket beach
Sunset at Skaket Beach

The beach is very flat so as the tide retreats you can walk out very, very far.

looking back on skaket beach from the water
Looking back at Skaket Beach after walking out to meet the retreating water

There are natural tide pools that trap crustaceans.  The kids had fun hunting hermit crabs and minnows.  Tim dug up a couple of steamers to show the kids what lives beneath the sand.

Beta child made some new friends, as usual.  Baba did, too, with a couple that lives in the next town over from us.  Meghan and I had fun talking with them about local stuff, and listening to the husband grouse about local contractors and the crappy McMansions they put up.

A couple of days into our stay, a local hawk mother decided that her chicks were ready to leave the nest.  One of the three wasn’t quite ready and complained, loudly, every remaining day of our stay.

fledgeling hawk
This newly-fledged hawk haunted his former roosts while complaining, loudly, and calling for mom.

The mother hawk, to her credit, never strayed too far away.  The siblings showed up as well to coax him off his branch.  This one, however, mostly hopped from tree to tree and demanded a nest and food.

Other highlights, of which there are no photos

Alpha’s Graduation

Alpha child officially graduated from high school today!

Hot day, graduation was moved to morning to avoid 90+° F in the afternoon.  (92° as I write this, expected to top out around 94° in a couple of hours.)

Afterwards, lunch with the grandparents at the Emerald Rose.

I’m very proud of Alpha.  I’m also very proud of myself and @mom that we successfully launched a tiny human to adulthood.