Even Valdez, the pretty salmon-fishing town on Prince William Sound at the foot of the mountains, receives an average of eight feet of snow on its rooftops each winter.

BBC: Journey into the Alaskan wild

QUIST-ARCTON: Well, he did sound pretty optimistic when he spoke to us yesterday, although he warned journalists and urged us not to listen to speculation and rumors.

NPR: Hopes Dim for Deal to End Violence in Kenya

"How the sound reflects off this reflecting surface with this composite object on it - which is pretty big and has a cloaking shell on it - really reflects... just like a flat surface does, " Dr Cummer said.

BBC: Acoustic 'cloaking device' shields objects from sound

Spice overload too, since Whitehouse sometimes throws too many spices into dishes that sound pretty straightforward. (Should Szechuan pepper really be a marinade ingredient in sugar-cured ocean trout and avocado?) It crossed my mind to march into the kitchen and throw his spice rack away.

FORBES: Off the Beaten Track