Just a Few More Links I Liked This Week

Tags

BBQ, beer, billboards, jester king, Links, reading, Salt, squirrels, storms, Texas, timelapse

Summer is here — has been here for a little while in Texas actually ;) — and I’m back on my blog. Traffic in Austin is getting a little bit lighter and it’s time for outside concerts and drinks.

I thought I would resume blogging with a new kind of post. Since my job and my interests result in tons of reading, and I really like these posts on other blogs that share their favorite links, I’d like to try sharing my own favorite links. Links may differ from time to time between the English and the French versions of this blog, depending on interests and language, but you know that if you can read the other language, you can always go check the other list (Reminder: go here for the French version of the blog).

Let’s start with 5 links to articles, one to a video, and one to a website… because that’s what I have this week. This week, the list is the same on both versions of the blog, but I’ll try to add some links in French next week. Please let me know what you think in the comments and if you enjoyed the links!

Five Articles

How much salt do you need in your life? The Single Most Important Ingredient tells how important salt is in cooking.

Ever wondered how Times Square in NYC got its shiny and glitzy billboards? Times Square’s Glitzy Look was One Man’s Bright Idea tells you where to start.

Have you ever thought of a squirrel as a pet? No? Well, there was a time When Squirrels Were One of America’s Most Popular Pets.

Texas. BBQ. Enough said. The Golden Age of BBQ.

Would you like to be able to read more books? Check Ken Norton’s recommendations.

A Website

When you need to relax, breathing techniques can help. This website provides a helpful tool.

A Video

I just love timelapse videos!
(use full screen mode)

Wishing everyone an excellent week ahead!

Happy Belated Texas Independence Day and a Day Living in Austin

Tags

atx, Austin, Austin TX, BBQ, It's All Good Bar-B-Q, La plus belle pour aller danser, Sunrise, Sunset, Sylvie Vartan, Texas, Texas Independence Day

Last Thursday, March 2, marked the 181st birthday of Texas. On March 2, 1836, Texas became a republic:

On March 1 delegates from the seventeen Mexican municipalities of Texas and the settlement of Pecan Point met at Washington-on-the-Brazos to consider independence from Mexico. George C. Childress presented a resolution calling for independence, and the chairman of the convention appointed Childress to head a committee of five to draft a declaration of independence. In the early morning hours of March 2, the convention voted unanimously to accept the resolution. After fifty-eight members signed the document, Texas became the Republic of Texas. The change remained to be demonstrated to Mexico.

The day was a gorgeous day. It started on my way to work with a gorgeous sunrise—one of the several reasons why I like leaving for work early, the other two being beating traffic and being more productive.

I also had to be in Austin early that day because I was attending a House committee hearing. The Texas Legislature is in session this year and it makes traffic downtown, both by car and on foot quite chaotic some days.

A funny thing happened on my way to Austin. I was on Enfied Rd, getting closer to 15th St, and I was trying to find a radio station that played music (and not a radio host babbling about the latest People Mag survey or any other subject with little importance). Then I heard the first notes of a familiar song… yet my brain needed a second to process the information: I was driving to work in Austin, Texas, USA, and, yes, this was Sylvie Vartan’s “La plus belle pour aller danser” that was playing on the radio as I arrived on top of the hill with the gorgeous view to the Texas Capitol which is the corner of Enfield Rd and 15th St.

To file in #KeepAustinWeird

The day was a beautiful one and went its course with people wishing themselves a Happy Texas Independence Day. Texans are very proud of their heritage and their state, and for good reason.

I went home in the evening and stopped for some barbecue at my favorite BBQ joint, It’s All Good BBQ. I also had the pleasure of witnessing the sun setting on the 181st birthday of the Lone Star State the only way it could set in the great state of Texas, with grandeur and a bit of drama.

Sunset on central Texas, on Texas Independence Day – March 2, 2017

Did I mention I love living in Lone Star State? Happy belated birthday, Texas!