Presenting Smidty

Ever search your name in Google and see what comes up? Smidt is not a prominent last name, it really is "Smith" but in a uncommon low-German dialect. So I have always been interested in what prominent websites bear my last name.

For instance, I've always wanted to Phil Smidt's in Hammond, Indiana - which was a popular seafood joint near Chicago. I was in Hammond two years ago, forgot about it, and I am now kicking myself because it closed recently. Likewise, for a long time I've noticed "Smidt Wohncenter" (or living center) in Leverkusen (near Koln). It's a standard housewares type of store.

But when visiting their site recently I was introduced to Smidty - the store's new mascot. This mascot caught the attention of Melissa and me since people often call me Smidty. Smidty has much fun to offer. First, there's the video of Smidty welcoming all the denizens of Leverkusen. And probably most fun of all, Smidty also has a great online game of memory to play. See if you can crack the top ten.

Why Smidty has some sort of pink blob of a head is beyond us. But since some others by the name of Smidt might be reading this I thought I would show them there is a mascot for our kind. A mascot we can be proud of.

Pizza Cones

Once again, another area in which America is losing its competitive edge. Apparently, Pizza Cones are big in Europe. And they come in a variety of flavors.


I always felt that by living in America I was on the cusp of fast food developments - although I grant McDonalds delivery in China is something I wanted here. But now it seems we're trailing the Europeans too. Is nothing sacred?

Merry Christmas

Currently Melissa and I are resting in a freshly snow-covered West Michigan, having taken the drive in from Andrea and Rich's house in Warren, Ohio. And, since our year-in-review letter and card has yet to be sent, we would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas.

It's been a long time since we've written. To my defense this is because I've been waiting for Melissa to chime in with news from her side of life. So when Melissa was featured as a model on the Wexner Center's store website. I said "put it on dehoeve" - and she said no way I look like an idiot. I thought the reader could decide:



Likewise, when Melissa's sister Emily and Emily's band the Icicles were featured, once again, on a television commercial, this time for Target. I said "put it on dehoeve" - and she said I will in a while. Well I'm here to post the video.



Of course, the blame can be shared. Unmarked on this page went the fact that I was on the job market this fall. I had interviews in a couple of places and in the end one place actually wanted to hire me. What kind of crazy institution would offer me a job? Well none other than Michigan State University. That's right - I will be a Spartan next year.

I could go into answering questions about us moving from Ohio State to Michigan State. Instead of the practical questions, people are most likely interested in knowing whom we will support during football/basketball games. Melissa has already stated she will find it easier to support Michigan State football since they're not expected to win all the time. Thereby, their wins and celebrating their wins seem more meaningful to her. As for me, many of you know, I have long held an association with Michigan State through blood and have been well-schooled in recognizing the beauty of their fight song. Still - I don't view it as an either/or and will continue to support each team as long as it's not harmful to my health.

Well, I've been told to stop - so Merry Christmas all and we hope to see you all soon.

I have an accent.

I've always tried to argue that I really don't have an accent. As most Michigan people do. Melissa has tried to convince me otherwise, but since she's from New Jersey she obviously is not credible. But coming across this website has convinced me otherwise. I don't do everyone of these, especially melk, but I have to confess guilty on comfterbul, cloze, ciddy, mier, tuh, and yuh.

There's also the handy Michigan sayings page. With Michigan left and all that stuff.

Living in America

A belated happy 4th of July to y'all. Considering this past week has been my only real vacation, though really some of it was work, I thought I'd give you a brief update.

First, my sister Andrea and I took the long road trip to Belmond, Iowa to help clear out my grandma's old house. Melissa had to stay home for work which was understandable since the real goal of the trip was not exactly family time. Grandma Smidt has moved out of her house and into a much more manageable condo. She had a tendency to keep everything, however, and this lead to some rather extensive cleanup and flashbacks to early childhood. Scary pictures, old clothes, old books, Jell-O cartons that were twenty years old, yards of fabric, and many other items were picked through and evaluated one last time.

During this time we also managed to meet up at the tri-annual Cordes family reunion in Titonka, Iowa for food and horseshoes. Before it started the whole Smidt entourage went to Ramsey RCA. The church where both my grandparents grew up and where my grandpa is buried. Cornfields surround the cemetery and contribute to a serene atmosphere. It's always worth the trip as the cemetery basically serves as the family tree for my dad's entire family.

Upon returning to Columbus, Melissa and I took some time to enjoy some Fourth of July festivities. We skipped the fireworks since the crowds are huge and the dog could do without them. But we did make it to Columbus's Doo Dah Parade. The parade isn't your typical patriotic celebration, in fact it is called an un-parade, but it does certainly celebrate the first ammendment. "Floats" this year included the fitness Fidels, the dancing Sadams, and numerous scooters with commuted sentences. My favorite was the float promoting "Soul Power" as an alternative energy source. It was complete with James Brown's "Living in America." Hector enjoyed it thoroughly. Following this, Melissa and I went to the Arbogast house for an Armenian feast, complete with excellent fresh squash and numerous German Shepherd dogs.

In the months to come I will be busy but Melissa might update from time to time. Hope the rest of the summer treats you well.

It's June already?

It's been a long time since Melissa and I logged in with thoughts and updates from our life. So I thought I'd at least give some quick info about what's going with our lives.

The biggest news of the last 4 months has been Melissa's departure from her job at the Fazio lab. Melissa now has a Graduate Assistantship and works in the development department at the Wexner Center for the Arts. So far the job has give Melissa a lot of helpful experience as she is learning how arts centers operate. Melissa continues to work constantly. In addition to her 30 hours a week at the Wexner, she's taking full load of courses this summer, and shooting weddings on weekends as an assistant at Kiso Fotographia. Since I am also busy preparing for the job market, this means our summer is mostly relegated to Columbus, Ohio. Thankfully, Columbus is nice during the summer so stop on by if you are ever around.

What's up with me? Well, in a step confirming my disappearing youth, I just was made appointed to be a deacon at our church, Olentangy CRC. The selection made Melissa question the degree of the Holy Spirit's guidance within the wisdom of the church. I agreed that I might not be up to the task in all deacon responsibilities but I suggested the Spirit is good at finding diamonds in the rough. Otherwise, I continue to work on my dissertation and rush to get ready for job applications. I go on the job market this coming fall and hopefully get an offer by next winter. Thankfully, the Cardinals' poor performance has given me less distractions from my work.

You might have already noticed that we added our own radio mix using mediamaster.com (free, for those interested). Listen to our mixes if you want to mix up your music selection or mock our musical taste. Melissa would like to make clear all selections you like were from her and all poor selections were made by myself.

That's it for now - until we post again.

The Inaugural DeHoeve Fast Food Coffee Review

This is not really an update on Melissa or I, but this is something I’ve needed to get off my chest. For those who may not be familiar, I am a strong fast food coffee advocate. In reflection of my Midwest roots, I often eschew coffee from Starbucks as too strong and expensive. Instead, I prefer a coffee that you can drink a lot of without getting gut rot or excessive caffeine overdose – not to mention at a lower price and with free refills. Consumer Reports has recently provided the lone voice of reason in the wilderness by rating McDonald’s coffee as better than Starbucks. Motivated by their review and the fact fast food joints have presented a rash of new “roasts” I thought I should give my own detailed evaluation.

First, a bit of clarification is needed here regarding why fast food restaurant coffee is preferable to the heavy drinker. Heartburn and excessive caffeine intake are related because it is mostly the caffeine level in coffee, not the roast or taste acidity, which determines a coffee’s influence on heartburn. Although the high-end retailers of coffee, such as Starbucks, use Arabica beans (which taste better and possess less caffeine than the Robusta beans found in generic/low-end coffee brands) their desire for extracting the most flavor from beans also results in extracting the most caffeine from the bean as well. For instance, an 8-ounce cup of regular Starbucks coffee has about twice the caffeine amount of coffee from a non-gourmet provider. Although the recent popularity of these new fast food “premium” roasts partially negate this difference, to my disappointment in fact, fast food coffee still is a good bet for the person who likes to drink coffee like it is water.

Now taste is subjective, but there are fast food coffees out there that provide a wonderful balance of flavor at a cheaper price. Fast food joints have also improved their coffee preparation by instituting thermos containers instead of hot plates, going away from percolators, and regulating new batches be made frequently. Still some places are better than others. Furthermore, the fast food coffee experience not only takes into account the level and consistency of coffee taste, but also the price, and what other food you can get there. I used these factors to produce a 20-point rating scale where 10 points is based on taste and consistency of preparation, 5 points on price, and additional 5 points on what you can eat there (heck coffee is always better with something to go with it). This resulted in the following rankings of fast food coffee:

# 1) WHITE CASTLE – 18 points (Taste and Consistency: 9, Price: 5, Food: 4). I did not know the joy of White Castle coffee until I moved to Columbus. Before my opinion of the place was totally based on their steam prepared sliders – which aren’t my kind of burger. To be honest, I thought White Castle was kind of trash. However, their coffees and fresh breakfast foods (they fry their eggs and toast on a buttered griddle after you order it) have totally won me over. White Castle coffee has a great smooth flavor that’s not too strong (people even buy their coffee for home use) and I’ve never been served a bad cup. Add to that their sausage, egg, and toast for breakfast, or their fries for afternoon consumption and you have a winning combination. Best of all, a large 20-ounce coffee costs me a $1.10 and they most often double-cup it.

# 2) TIM HORTONS – 16 points (Taste and Consistency: 10, Price: 3, Food: 3). The only good thing Canada has given us? Maybe not, but Tim Horton’s is definitely the US winner when it comes to a decision simply based on coffee taste and consistency. The big detractor with Tim Horton’s is the fact that their donuts and bagels are really the only appropriate item to go along with it. Their donuts are good, but often I desire the grease. Add to that the fact that their price comes close to Starbucks range and the tendency of their employees to automatically add cream when you forget to request it black and the overall experience is somewhat less than the WC.

I should also mention that Tim Horton’s should be rewarded for the fact that their big “Roll up the Rim to Win” sweepstakes is totally centered around hot beverage purchases. Compare this to McDonald’s Monopoly game where you can get two game pieces for a jumbo soda but squat for a large coffee.

# 3) McDONALD’S – 15 points (Taste and Consistency 6, Price: 4, Food: 5). I was previously a strong advocate of McDonalds and felt vindicated by the recent Consumer Reports review. Let’s go over the basics. McDonalds uses 100 percent Arabica beans. They mostly use drip coffee makers into insulated carafes and often give free refills. Plus, and this is big, they most often go through high volumes of coffee leading to fresher pots. When traveling long distances on the highway (or across the world), one quickly appreciates the dependability of Mickey D’s for a coffee stop, although small towns on Friday nights have high school students who don’t seem to check for fresh pots as often.

That said, I’m less of a fan of their new “premium” roast. I don’t think it tastes better, in fast food coffee terms, and it seems liked they really only upped the price and marketing to make consumers think it is better. McDonalds gets high marks for food however. The extra value meal means I can choose from the diverse options of 2 apple pies, a double cheeseburger, or a McChicken for only an additional buck.

# 4) DUNKIN DONUTS – 11 points (Taste and Consistency 6, Price: 2, Food: 3). No real strong opinions on Dunkin Donuts besides their higher prices and lack of drive through windows. Maybe other donuts differ, but my large sample of Boston Crème’s suggests they are equal to Tim Horton’s. Their coffees not great, but certainly a bit more consistent than McDonalds.

# 5) BURGER KING – 10 points (Taste and Consistency 2, Price: 4, Food: 4). I know BK has tried to up their product with their Joe line of roasts, including a high powered “turbo” blend, but it still usually gives me a bad taste. This is the opinion of Consumer Reports as well. Other fast food operations probably go above BK, but I haven’t experienced them enough to know.

The big thing with BK is it is a huge hit or miss. Sometimes it is good, often bad. This is partly because it has less coffee-drinker traffic and that means you’re less likely to get a fresh batch. This problem is now exasperated by them offering separate “octane” levels, meaning each pot gets renewed in longer timeframes. I also find many Burger King operations serving their coffee out of large percolators, which notably produce lesser quality coffee. Despite all this, those french toast sticks are tempting in the morning.

That's all I have to say about that. I know there are probably other candidates out there I have missed but these one's are the most prominent in my fast food experience. Regardless, I hope now you have a deeper appreciation for fast food coffee and learn to enjoy it for the value that it is.

cds

A Long Lost Relative?

Melissa and I get a lot of comments about our dog Hector. You see, Hector has distinctive hair. Some might say he has a mane, others say he looks like a buffalo or werewolf. Often times people from the street laugh when they look at him, ask if we make him look like that. We reply it comes naturally that way, and then such people respond with a chuckle and walk away.

Given these responses, Melissa and I have started to think that Hector was unique. I mean, we know he doesn't have "puppy" good looks but he is an original, with no other dog like him.

Or so we thought...

This second picture is not a picture of Hector. Melissa works with a girl named Natalie whose fiance Steve showed Melissa this Friday. They work a lot with the Humane Society so I'm guessing that's how they came across this dog at the Columbus Humane Society. Anyhow, this dog, Sugar Plum, has quickly challenged Hector's thrown of uniqueness. Obviously there are some easy to notice similarities - the ears, the coloring, to a degree, and both have scruffy hair.




However, the more you look at it the more one notices that Sugar Plum also has Hector's mane! Look at the hair curling up on the back. That's exactly what Hector looks like after a bath. Plus, Sugar Plum, who is described as "an extremely sweet girl who loves to cuddle and be held," appears to share in Hector's sheepish demeanor.

Let me address some instant questions. Hector's fixed and has been for a number of years. Also, although we found him at the Columbus pound, he does have a chip in him that, although not registered, suggests he had an actual owner at one point. So this suggests they both are not illegitimate puppies of some roving pimp.

Now Melissa wants to take Hector to see Sugar Plum and see what happens. I think it is a bad idea since our landlord only allows one pet. Hearts can only be broken. So to those reading and living in Columbus check out Sugar Plum at the link below and maybe we can have Hector meet his long lost relative soon.

Cory

CAHS Pet Photos: http://www.cahs-pets.org/adoption/dogs/dogs.asp

Christmas Letter/Annual Report 2006

Greetings and Salutations, So you’ve actually typed in our web address to read our Christmas letter. You must be bored or really love us. We’ll believe the latter. First off, when we were in Grand Rapids over Thanksgiving it became apparent that many of our family and friends check this website for updates and are often disappointed with the lack of any. So, we would just like to announce that we promise to be more faithful in our posting and picture updating in the year to come. This promise will most likely join “flossing daily” as an annual New Year’s resolution that is broken, but we would like you to know that our heart is in the right place. Also, just to dispel any confusion about the Christmas card photo – it’s just a photo we liked. If you thought we looked disgruntled and wondered if we were still happily married there’s also some photos with us smiling along with others. Okay, now we’ve got that out of the way let us get on to the substance. Technically this is our second annual Christmas letter, but considering Melissa and I ran late and only five people actually received that letter in the end, some of you may not be aware of everything Melissa and I have been doing. If so, you can also learn more about us by reading past posts below. With no paper restraint this is kind of long. For navigation purposes the more standard accomplishment-update segments are up front in this post with the more random, and perhaps more amusing, tidbits toward the end.
Melissa is still working as a staff assistant in a social psychology lab at Ohio State. However, Melissa continues to impress with her many additional jobs and activities. This spring, Melissa finished up her year teaching art in an after school problem at three Columbus middle schools. She really enjoyed the program in some respects but decided teaching really was not for her. However, the experience did spark her greater interest in public arts programs culminating in her enrollment in Ohio State’s Master of Arts in Arts Policy & Administration Degree. The program is great in a couple respects. First, it one of the only one’s in the nation and fits great with Melissa’s interests. Second, she can take 2 classes a quarter for free as a staff employee at OSU. Although Melissa was a little rusty getting back into the classroom she ended up really liking the courses and getting good grades as well. She hopes to get an RA or GA-ship soon so she can pursue her studies full time, but such opportunities in master programs are hard to come by. Melissa has also increasingly worked as a wedding photographer. Starting this winter, she has worked with her friend Ryan in shooting a number of weddings for some Calvin friends. Beginning this past summer, Melissa has also really enjoyed and benefited from an apprenticeship in Columbus with Karen at Kisophotografia (who also did a great job taking the photo you see above). Melissa loves shooting weddings and is really good at it but is somewhat ambivalent as to whether she wants to pursue wedding photography or a career in public arts as her full-time occupation. My view is that is a great problem to have.
In contrast, my life remains the same and boring. I am writing my dissertation and am in my fifth year at Ohio State’s Political Science program. I was lucky enough to present papers at conferences in California, Chicago, and Philadelphia, and Melissa tagged along for the later two to enjoy the sights and shopping. I also taught courses for the Winter and Spring quarters, and enjoyed those. Now I am on fellowship so I can concentrate on research. This allows me not to teach but it also makes my life more boring since I sit at home most days typing and reading. Perhaps the most notable events this year were the marriages of a number of good friends. My former roommates Peter Cummings and Jason Kolk both got hitched and we had a great time at both celebrations. I was also able to return a favor and be best man for Jason in his and Carol’s wedding in July. These weddings also had some fun bachelor weekends attached involving shooting guns in Michigan and watching some baseball in Chicago. Sports events have been a highlight of my year and a lowlight in Melissa’s. The Cardinals stunk this year, compared to years past. I went to two ball games and they lost both in terrible fashion. I was quite angry at the team all year for their poor play and this resulted in me almost swearing them off for ever during their losing streak that almost cost them the playoffs. Melissa had to deal with the brunt of my sour demeanor. Of course, then this happened. Baseball is an odd sport. Furthermore, Ohio State football and basketball is big this year. The football season was so big that we ended up selling our Michigan tickets on ebay (in what I like to call our Tressel grant) and were then able to buy a new computer.
In other events, as documented earlier, Melissa and I had a great time with my side of the family at the state fair. We've also been of mostly good health. Melissa and I both had our wisdom teeth extracted in the spring. Melissa’s required oral surgery and she made me take a picture of her bloated jowls. Technically, four of my wisdom teeth were fine but I have an extra tooth on the lower jaw on each side. The two extra wisdom teeth explain why I am so wise. One of these needed to come out so the other two teeth on that side were removed as well. Melissa also had a run in with her dermatologist after being prescribed the wrong medicine. She also made me take a photo documenting her skin’s adverse reaction. Finally, our terrier mutt Hector remains as great a dog as ever. He enjoys his lazy days sleeping in with me. His most endearing trait occurred this fall. Hector now knows when to wait for Melissa to come home at the back door around 5 o’clock. It’s very impressive.
The Lord has blessed us throughout the year and we are continually grateful for His grace. There are plenty of uncertainties about the year to come as I enter the job market and Melissa will need to make some decisions regarding her program. However, we have no doubt that God’s blessings will continue to reveal themselves. Thanks for reading and we wish you all a merry Christmas and God’s blessings to you and your family in the year to come. Love, Cory and Melissa

It's been a long time

We've had a lot of things happen to us in the last couple months. Melissa has started her masters program for arts administration and cultural policy. We saw a number of our friends get married. For me, I've mostly been writing my dissertation and experiencing my first World Series championship in living memory.

That's right I am a Cardinals fan, and Melissa is one too by marriage. In the last month I have experienced a great joy in my life. Totally unexpected. Every game I went to this year the Cardinals lost. And yet, after sputtering into the playoffs, they started, and kept on, winning in the playoffs. This was amazing. Especially for me as I got lucky and got some playoff tickets for the NLCS. I had not been in St. Louis in a long time. The St. Louis fountains were red. I had my first visit to new Busch stadium. I went with my dad. We were at Mike Shannon's restaurant the night Suppan hit his homerun. We were able to find the brick dedicated to my grandfather. Unfortunately, for my first ever playoff game, the Cardinals lost game 4.

Yet still they managed to win the playoffs and win the World Series in the end. I don't think I can understand this yet. But I wanted to share the love.

State Fair

Last week Cory's parents, Uncle and Aunt, Cousin's, and sister came to Columbus to join us at the state fair. So I got to tell you that it was again the highlight of my summer. The fair never fails to excite and entertain me. We started out before noon so we could partake of the wonderful food at the fair. But to say we paid attention to any specific meal time would not adequately express how much we ate throughout the day.

The highlight to this year's state fair was totally the baby animals. Very cute little piglets BUT I also got to see a cow giving birth to a calf (with a little assistance). Click on our online gallery to see photos of this. I have never seen anything give birth before and neither had Cory's cousin Mark who wanted to know why a lot more than a baby cow came out.


The finale of the evening was a Kenny Roger's concert. Both Cory and I agreed that the concert was a completely surreal experience. Women were ready to throw themselves at Kenny and I had to wonder if I'll some day be an older women yelling at a stage full of over the hill members of Belle and Sebastian. Poor Kenny seems a bit embittered in his old age and his facelife is AWFUL! There are pictures of Kenny from afar in our online gallery but I liked the picture posted above of our fellow concert goer.

yee-haw.

Thank You Michael Barrett

Even though I am a Cardinals fan, something in me was so happy when Barrett landed a punch on Pierzynski. Maybe it is because he is on my Roto team or maybe it is because Pierzynski was on the Giants back in 2002. Who knows? All I want to say is thank you.

Corwin

Spring in Columbus

It's our first year online and already we fall behind on posts. This is mostly because we are working hard. However, some noticeable events occured this spring. One, we had a nice bunch of tulips this spring. We also used Grandma H's spaghetti casserole recipe to inaugurate her awesome Club Aluminum casserole dish. More posts once the quarter ends.

M,C&H

Family Portrait

family-couch
Originally uploaded by Corwin D.

The Dehoeve Clan. Melissa just made the pillows yesterday.

This is it

Hey all,

Melissa, Hector, and I decided to start a webpage for our household (de hoeve means "the homestead" in Dutch). Considering we will not be ranting about society on this page we decided not to call it a blog. Instead we view this as a place for posting pictures, various updates, and random stuff. Although we reserve the right to have blog-like posts now and then.

Using the blogger.com route was sort of a cop out, but we're busy and the only way we would get this out would be by using this service. So canned templates it is until one of us earns enough money such that we can waste more time and rent a url.

Thanks for visiting and hopefully we will be posting soon,

M,C&H