I first learned of the dekopon almost two years ago while listening to the Splendid Table podcast. If you don’t know, the dekopon, known as the Sumo in the US is probably the best citrus fruit to have ever existed. Developed in Japan in the 1970s, it is a hybrid of a seedless mandarin and a variety of tangerine. The fruit peels easily, as the rumply skin is not really attached to the fruit itself. The membrane that divides the sections is rather soft, and is easy to chew. And the the inside of the sections is a wonderfully bright, smooth orange, almost like some sort of fruit chew candy. And then there is the taste – vastly sweet, but with enough acid to balance, the taste of this fruit is like some sort of embodiment of the platonic ideal of citrus.
This year seems to be the first year of bumper crops, as I have heard reports of them being available in Chicago and Boston, as well as having them fairly readily available here in California, where they are grown. Evidently the season lasts through the middle of April or so, and I recommend my readers make an effort to try one or more while there is time!
Almost a year ago, Brian Fargo posted that inXile was going to do a kickstarter campaign to make a sequel to the best computer RPG of all time, Wasteland. I, of course, donated a decent amount to the campaign, which was well funded (over 300% of the original goal). The developers recently released a preview video of the gameplay. The video is kind of long, but it’s also more than kind of awesome:
This looks pretty much exactly like I hoped it would and I can’t wait for this game to be released!
Recently we learned that Mackenzie’s Aunt Connie Connie was going into Hospice care, due to ovarian cancer. The middle of last week we learned that there wasn’t much time left. Also last week, my 96 year old grandmother went into the hospital for GI issues. Last weekend Grandma was put on palliative care, and Connie’s condition quickly deteriorated.
Connie passed away Monday night at the age of 63. Mackenzie made plans to head to Green Bay (around where she lived) on Tuesday, leaving Thursday. I would have liked to have gone with to be with her and her family, but I was not able to commit since I didn’t know what was going to happen with Grandma. Thursday morning I was anxious, and saw that fares on Virgin America to Chicago were fairly decent, if I stayed through to the following Thursday (2/7), so I booked a plane ticket. However, around noon PST, Grandma Kitty passed away, peacefully, exactly 96 years and 3 months of age. I’m at my parent’s house now. Both Mackenzie and I are mourning the passing of a wonderful woman who we cherished, and neither of us can be with the other.
