Labtayt Sulci in the mid-1970s

Happy 2013 and greetings from Liège, Belgium where I am the keynote speaker at this year’s CCCS (Conference of Consolidated Confectionary Sugar refineries). Tomorrow I’ll submit a white paper followed by a pointedly powerful PowerPoint presentation aptly monikered, “Bile: Our Least Appreciated Bodily Fluid”. If you are indeed in Liège for the CCCS do stop by ballroom D at 2pm to attend the seminar. There will be a brief Q & A immediately following where you may debrief me (I have more underwear back at the hotel).

Current events beside this week’s CCCS convention? Well, you are probably aware that waffle eaters stateside are awfully wafflely concerned about going over the “fiscal cliff”. Here in Belgium, however, the looming concern isn’t the “fiscal cliff” but rather the “biscuits bluff”. The Belgian government will have to slap an additional across-the-board 43% tax on doughy products such as biscuits, pancakes, and waffles if congress and the president fail to strike a deal by noon today. My people in Brussels tell me that the two sides could not be further apart and that the speaker and the Belgian president are both bluffing about the bluff, even if the play on words doesn’t translate into Flemish. Belgian Speaker of the House John Batter is fearful of losing his speakership, not to mention getting debriefed. Let’s hope the briefs and the ‘biscuits bluff’ can be ironed out before I fly home from the conference Friday. Email me at whenwafflesmatter@gmail.com if swelling persists or you have it lanced.

And finally, in response to several e-mails, we feel a need to reinsert a track from the “10 Miles to Denver” episode of a year ago. Seems our audio mule faded out a certain track a bit too early for listeners’ tastes. Audio mule has apologized and pay has been docked. As a make-good, said track is featured in this new podcast (sans fadeout). Heck, you may just wanna own that thang outright. Cool. Go to http://www.reverbnation.com/play_now/song_3301174 (that’s where stole/confiscated/procured it. The track is ‘And More Rain’ by Rho. Indeed there are a total of 10 mp3s by Rho there for the grabbing. Please support these artists!

Hey, guess what? Just for grins, this episode was compiled, edited, and mixed entirely ONLINE using a free online gizmo called “Audio Tool”. No local software was used. G’on and twirl your own knobs at www.audiotool.com. It’s a virtual recording studio AND IT’S FREE. Just remember to clean up the empty beer cans as you leave.

Life at Lèige,

Lenny