Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Ouch!
Like I am lazy, but not good at it....
so I am stupid, just not good at it.
Today I did something stupid.... and was particularly good at it.
Catching a heavy box sliding down some metal stairs, I got my hand
in the wrong place. Harshly in the wrong place.
Uh OH! Flesh, blood... in the wrong places....
BAD badbadbadbadbadbad..... Off to the sink with me
while I tell the boys not to touch the blood splats.
Wash it, wrap it, and away to nurseypoo I go.
She takes one look, dumps chemicals on it, and tells
me the doctor is going to probably remove whats left of the nail
and have to stitch it up.
"When you say The Doctor, what you really mean is Not Me, right?"
"You got that right!"
Crap.
My doc squeezed me in right away, so I wouldn't have to go to the hospital.
I told his nurse.... if he doesn't see me now, I'll just wrap and wait till Monday when he can. NOT to the hospital... I've seen that place.... rather just cut it off and be done with it. Less painful, less expensive, same result.
He zapped it with enough Zylocaine to drop a gator, then poked, prodded, and pulled a few bits and pieces off for luck. 'Ol doc says I will probably grow back a nail. Probably? Okay................
Then.. he insisted I fill a prescription for Vicodin.... seems to think after the
Zylocaine wears off I am going to turn into a big sissy.
I'll probably have those pain killers still in the bottle till long after the expiration date. Also gave me a Tet shot just in case one side of my body aching was lonely for the other side to ache too.
ouch.
Post script: I am typing this out now, while I still can't feel most of that hand!
Post post script: Blogging shall be a light for a few days while I practice my wounded rabbit calls every time I bump this digit on something hard, like air.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
A modern day suit of armor
Armor:
1: defensive covering for the body; especially : covering (as of metal) used in combat
2: a quality or circumstance that affords protection
3: a protective outer layer (as of a ship, a plant or animal, or a cable)
(Websters on-line dictionary)
I have been trying on a new thought regarding my students.
It seems teaching is a constant battle of understanding. A good teacher tries to understand the students, in order to help the students understand the subject matter, and maybe the students begin to understand the teacher.
In an ongoing effort to understand my students, I think about them. I watch them. I study them. In general, I usually make their lives difficult and watch what happens. Students can be interesting and fun to observe, and sometimes enlightening.
The last few days I have been entertaining a thought new to me, and applying it to my observations.
The theory: Many teenagers use the attitude 'I don't Care' as a suit of armor against todays world. By throwing it up between their self and the world, they create a situation where (if they believe in their armor) the world can't really touch them.
It's not that they can't be physically touched.... but if insulated with a magic layer of 'I don't care' then the physical doesn't apply anymore. 'I don't care' can solve anything, if believed deeply enough.
I'm failing... I don't care.
I've been rejected... I don't care.
My folks hate me... I don't care.
I wrecked my car... I don't care.
These drugs are killing me... I don't care.
I'm wasting my life... I don't care.
They hit me... I don't care.
You can't hurt me....... because I don't care.
In watching them, and thinking, the key seems so simple.
Find the one thing they will admit to caring about, no matter how small,
and use it as a key. If not caring is the armor, then caring unlocks the armor, but only from the inside. Once the chink in the armor is found, connection can be made. Understanding can happen.
This is a thought in progress... and I'm not sure where it's going. Perhaps a tool for daily use, perhaps a part of 'The Speech' we make at the start of every year.
Feel free to comment.... prods are welcome.
And in the center ring....
Why didn't I name this blog "And in the center ring!" ?
Some days feel like I should have a big nose and be riding a bicycle with a little dog steering.
I started the day in decent shape. Came awake before the alarms, as usual now, and the coffee was already brewing when the first alarm went off. Now that I have more reason to live, laying in bed just doesn't seem to be the answer anymore.
Arriving at school, I dreamed up a new 'task' to assign that will keep the little buggers... er.... little 'angels' busy for a day or two. It's fairly simple... perform three visual emissions inspections and make note of certain vehicle and test information. I'm going away for a day or so, and need to leave my partner with enough work to swamp the little buggers..... I mean angels.
Since I use a worksheet based task system I devised, each new task means creating a new document, always giving foresight to the questions that will be coming up and giving them note on the worksheet. Twenty times a day I silently point to something printed on the worksheet... and have been doing so daily since school began.
Doing that, and getting all my grading material entered and printed out, took me till coffee time...
Which I darn near spilled as I was running to break up a fist fight in our shop.
Oh boy..... ain't we got fun now!
I stopped the fight with the simple expedient of inserting myself between the combatants, taking my glasses off, and telling them "If either of you have the balls, give it your best shot, here I am!". Instant downcast eyes and a step back from both.
The genesis of the fight.... one of the youngens is judged to be the culprit in some shop thefts, and the cause of a serious lack of enjoyment lately. I suspect peer pressure is being applied.
Both combatants got a few days off without pay, and one has some issues to answer for... like what is expected to be found in his backpack when his locker is opened by the nice officers on the days he returns. If it follows through as likely, he will be leaving with the nice officer.
Later.... I began teaching the emission certification section.
Now... I teach a double class with a partner. Down the hall is another automotive class.
Every one of his students needs emissions certification too. So.... I got all of his as well.
My partner drained off ten students to run some demonstrations for tour groups, and that effectively left me teaching three classes worth of students, about three times more than I am allowed by regulation. We'll just keep that between us, Okay? That kept me going till lunch... when I thought about maybe laying down on the floor for a while.
After lunch, task work with the students and non-stop mental challenges.
"Why YES! That IS an EGR valve! Now, what does it do and why does it do it?"
"Yes... I know the book says that, but the book is wrong! Do you think what the book says makes sense? No? Then what IS the answer?"
My job is to make their brains hurt. I love my job.
On the way home.... I decided I needed a steak. I earned it..... and I had mushrooms that were lonely. For dinner I seared off a fine piece of cow and laid it to rest on a plate full of sauted mushrooms.
For dessert, I paid the car insurance. Making the call, I find it's paid up in full.
Hmm... not what I was told. Okay... guess I'll work with that. It leaves enough extra in the budget to pay for the fuel I'll use on this long weekend.
On the whole.... not a bad day. The fires were small ones and easily dealt with. The surprises were small and pleasant. Busy... tiring... but rewarding. Not a bad day at all......
Some days feel like I should have a big nose and be riding a bicycle with a little dog steering.
I started the day in decent shape. Came awake before the alarms, as usual now, and the coffee was already brewing when the first alarm went off. Now that I have more reason to live, laying in bed just doesn't seem to be the answer anymore.
Arriving at school, I dreamed up a new 'task' to assign that will keep the little buggers... er.... little 'angels' busy for a day or two. It's fairly simple... perform three visual emissions inspections and make note of certain vehicle and test information. I'm going away for a day or so, and need to leave my partner with enough work to swamp the little buggers..... I mean angels.
Since I use a worksheet based task system I devised, each new task means creating a new document, always giving foresight to the questions that will be coming up and giving them note on the worksheet. Twenty times a day I silently point to something printed on the worksheet... and have been doing so daily since school began.
Doing that, and getting all my grading material entered and printed out, took me till coffee time...
Which I darn near spilled as I was running to break up a fist fight in our shop.
Oh boy..... ain't we got fun now!
I stopped the fight with the simple expedient of inserting myself between the combatants, taking my glasses off, and telling them "If either of you have the balls, give it your best shot, here I am!". Instant downcast eyes and a step back from both.
The genesis of the fight.... one of the youngens is judged to be the culprit in some shop thefts, and the cause of a serious lack of enjoyment lately. I suspect peer pressure is being applied.
Both combatants got a few days off without pay, and one has some issues to answer for... like what is expected to be found in his backpack when his locker is opened by the nice officers on the days he returns. If it follows through as likely, he will be leaving with the nice officer.
Later.... I began teaching the emission certification section.
Now... I teach a double class with a partner. Down the hall is another automotive class.
Every one of his students needs emissions certification too. So.... I got all of his as well.
My partner drained off ten students to run some demonstrations for tour groups, and that effectively left me teaching three classes worth of students, about three times more than I am allowed by regulation. We'll just keep that between us, Okay? That kept me going till lunch... when I thought about maybe laying down on the floor for a while.
After lunch, task work with the students and non-stop mental challenges.
"Why YES! That IS an EGR valve! Now, what does it do and why does it do it?"
"Yes... I know the book says that, but the book is wrong! Do you think what the book says makes sense? No? Then what IS the answer?"
My job is to make their brains hurt. I love my job.
On the way home.... I decided I needed a steak. I earned it..... and I had mushrooms that were lonely. For dinner I seared off a fine piece of cow and laid it to rest on a plate full of sauted mushrooms.
For dessert, I paid the car insurance. Making the call, I find it's paid up in full.
Hmm... not what I was told. Okay... guess I'll work with that. It leaves enough extra in the budget to pay for the fuel I'll use on this long weekend.
On the whole.... not a bad day. The fires were small ones and easily dealt with. The surprises were small and pleasant. Busy... tiring... but rewarding. Not a bad day at all......
Monday, April 28, 2008
Notes from today....
Today I tossed them a curve on a test. An old trick, but one I've never used before.
At the start of the test, under the space for their name, the word 'Instructions:'
with a note to read the entire test before beginning. On the back page, at the bottom, more 'instructions'. This note read "Do not take this test. Without saying a word to anyone, give this test to an instructor and proceed to the lab for hands on work. If you follow these instructions you will get an 'A' on this test". As I said, an old one. Two students got it..... out of thirty five or so.
Tomorrow... I begin Emissions certification training with these youngens.
It's an inspection license they need to compete in todays market.
Evening classes of experienced adult technicians have an average failure rate of about 40%.
So far I have managed three years of high school students with passing rates
no worse. This year might be different...... we shall see.
A meeting after school.... building meeting of the 'Association' (union). Seems a new wrinkle has just come down from the IRS and the union got wind of it. As teachers, we get a choice of annual pay schedules. Biweekly over the actual school year (9.5 months), or biweekly spread out over the entire year. Starting in 2009 the IRS will now call that pay spread out over summer months 'deferred pay' and skim a fat 20% right off the top for themselves. The school business office has requested we choose next years pay schedule now, ahead of time, but they were neglecting to mention the new rules that would give us a 20% pay cut. You see, the school gets their cash in big lump sums, then dole it out... earning significant interest along the way. If all the teachers elect a nine month pay schedule (and who wouldn't?) then the school has to pay the money out quicker, losing interest. In other words..... the business manager was going to screw us out of one fifth of our income just to make his accounting easier and his interest income look better.
Interesting..... bet he doesn't get as many Christmas cards this year.
In fact, I'll be surprised if he doesn't find a rabid bobcat in his sock drawer very soon.
I brought home some more books of mine. Amongst them, Mrs. Rorer's cook book, circa 1914.
The covers have fallen off, but it's all there, complete with cut out recipes and hand written notes from bygone years and long dead cooks. What is it about old books that have survived generations.... that makes them so special? I wonder if anyone will look at all my books one day after I am gone, and deem them worthy of saving?
Arriving home in the pouring rain, I had a chance to self-appreciate some work I did this weekend. The front walk from the driveway is old stonework. It has plant life on all sides, much of which had grown down over the walls. There was room for a person to walk up, pushing through like a jungle explorer. The stone work itself was greenish brown with algae and other assorted scummy growing things. It looked like the lead in to a very nasty Steven King story.....
I trimmed the greenery and spent an hour or two with a pressure washer and broom.
Results.... what you see in the photo. Today in the rain: no slick steps and no life threatening shrubbery trying to snag unwary passers by. Nice.
Then, to round off my day.... an act of bone headed stupidity which I won't detail.
Let it rest with this.... YES, I am an idiot at times, and YES, I lose sleep over it.
And now, for my next trick, I'm going to sit quietly in this chair reading....
and try not to screw that up too badly.
Post script: Oh bloody hell! I can't even sit quietly without making a balls up of it!
The blasted recliner just spit out a handful of wood fragments and fasteners, as if to
say "I fart in your general direction, you silly English man!".
At the start of the test, under the space for their name, the word 'Instructions:'
with a note to read the entire test before beginning. On the back page, at the bottom, more 'instructions'. This note read "Do not take this test. Without saying a word to anyone, give this test to an instructor and proceed to the lab for hands on work. If you follow these instructions you will get an 'A' on this test". As I said, an old one. Two students got it..... out of thirty five or so.
Tomorrow... I begin Emissions certification training with these youngens.
It's an inspection license they need to compete in todays market.
Evening classes of experienced adult technicians have an average failure rate of about 40%.
So far I have managed three years of high school students with passing rates
no worse. This year might be different...... we shall see.
A meeting after school.... building meeting of the 'Association' (union). Seems a new wrinkle has just come down from the IRS and the union got wind of it. As teachers, we get a choice of annual pay schedules. Biweekly over the actual school year (9.5 months), or biweekly spread out over the entire year. Starting in 2009 the IRS will now call that pay spread out over summer months 'deferred pay' and skim a fat 20% right off the top for themselves. The school business office has requested we choose next years pay schedule now, ahead of time, but they were neglecting to mention the new rules that would give us a 20% pay cut. You see, the school gets their cash in big lump sums, then dole it out... earning significant interest along the way. If all the teachers elect a nine month pay schedule (and who wouldn't?) then the school has to pay the money out quicker, losing interest. In other words..... the business manager was going to screw us out of one fifth of our income just to make his accounting easier and his interest income look better.
Interesting..... bet he doesn't get as many Christmas cards this year.
In fact, I'll be surprised if he doesn't find a rabid bobcat in his sock drawer very soon.
I brought home some more books of mine. Amongst them, Mrs. Rorer's cook book, circa 1914.
The covers have fallen off, but it's all there, complete with cut out recipes and hand written notes from bygone years and long dead cooks. What is it about old books that have survived generations.... that makes them so special? I wonder if anyone will look at all my books one day after I am gone, and deem them worthy of saving?
Arriving home in the pouring rain, I had a chance to self-appreciate some work I did this weekend. The front walk from the driveway is old stonework. It has plant life on all sides, much of which had grown down over the walls. There was room for a person to walk up, pushing through like a jungle explorer. The stone work itself was greenish brown with algae and other assorted scummy growing things. It looked like the lead in to a very nasty Steven King story.....
I trimmed the greenery and spent an hour or two with a pressure washer and broom.
Results.... what you see in the photo. Today in the rain: no slick steps and no life threatening shrubbery trying to snag unwary passers by. Nice.
Then, to round off my day.... an act of bone headed stupidity which I won't detail.
Let it rest with this.... YES, I am an idiot at times, and YES, I lose sleep over it.
And now, for my next trick, I'm going to sit quietly in this chair reading....
and try not to screw that up too badly.
Post script: Oh bloody hell! I can't even sit quietly without making a balls up of it!
The blasted recliner just spit out a handful of wood fragments and fasteners, as if to
say "I fart in your general direction, you silly English man!".
What is it about anticipation?
I woke at four AM this morning. Couldn't really go back to sleep.
Friends.... that was FOUR in the flipping AYE EM.
Anticipation.... Waiting for a day coming soon.... and too excited to sleep.
Friends.... that was FOUR in the flipping AYE EM.
Anticipation.... Waiting for a day coming soon.... and too excited to sleep.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Enchiladas... it's what's for dinner.
Challenge: Dinner should be relatively healthy, interest a teenager,
and get wows from faded adults.
Answer: Mushroom and crab enchiladas with black beans and rice.
The enchiladas are stuffed with scrambled eggs and loaded to the
edges with sauteed mushrooms and crab meat. Salt, pepper, garlic,
and some parsley add to the interest.
The mushrooms are sauted in butter....
Then fresh eggs are folded around the mushrooms
and crab meat, with some chopped garlic and a dusting
of ground black pepper.
The rice.... ahh... the rice....
Slow cooked long grain brown rice and barley, simmered
with black beans and a can of Rotel tomatoes.
Rotel's are chopped tomatoes put up with green chilis, and are
the secret to many a great recipe.
Line a baking dish with the rice. Fill some soft flour
tortillas with the mushroom, egg, and crab mixture.
Lay out the enchiladas on the rice, and top with cheese.
I chose freshly grated Swiss Gruyer mixed with cheddar.
Once the cheese is spread, top with a cup or two of your
favorite salsa, and more cheese.
Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes, or until the house fills
with an incredible smell.
It's ready when the dog explodes from anticipation.
and get wows from faded adults.
Answer: Mushroom and crab enchiladas with black beans and rice.
The enchiladas are stuffed with scrambled eggs and loaded to the
edges with sauteed mushrooms and crab meat. Salt, pepper, garlic,
and some parsley add to the interest.
The mushrooms are sauted in butter....
Then fresh eggs are folded around the mushrooms
and crab meat, with some chopped garlic and a dusting
of ground black pepper.
The rice.... ahh... the rice....
Slow cooked long grain brown rice and barley, simmered
with black beans and a can of Rotel tomatoes.
Rotel's are chopped tomatoes put up with green chilis, and are
the secret to many a great recipe.
Line a baking dish with the rice. Fill some soft flour
tortillas with the mushroom, egg, and crab mixture.
Lay out the enchiladas on the rice, and top with cheese.
I chose freshly grated Swiss Gruyer mixed with cheddar.
Once the cheese is spread, top with a cup or two of your
favorite salsa, and more cheese.
Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes, or until the house fills
with an incredible smell.
It's ready when the dog explodes from anticipation.
Dinner later
Enchiladas.
Mushroom and crab enchiladas, with Gruyere and cheddar cheeses
Brown rice with diced tomatoes, green chilis, and black beans.
Salsa.
Just sayin......
So much for a 'private' blog.
What you see here is somebody from India poking around this
so-called 'private' blog. They came in by way of a google web crawler
search cache.
Hmm......
Achtung! A moment please.....
This morning I am having oatmeal for breakfast.
No, you don't want a picture.
Yes, it tastes good, and no, it's not from a package with a smurf on it.
Yes, I am going to lose some weight and eat healthier.
That is all......
No, you don't want a picture.
Yes, it tastes good, and no, it's not from a package with a smurf on it.
Yes, I am going to lose some weight and eat healthier.
That is all......
Friday, April 25, 2008
Today..... felt a bit at a loss
A loss of heart, really.
It was a longish day, with no heavy challenges. None of the students gave me
any real problems, and I only raised my voice a few times on minor safety issues.
Nothing to get angry about, or even real concerned.
No.... just a day riding herd.
That is what I am a little low about. I'm riding herd, babysitting the pack.
My better students are out on the job getting training. What's left.... are not my best.
Even so, by this time of the year a 'shop day' (no theory, and very rare) would usually have
left me just standing by, with my only job to assist on hard problems or maybe
teach a few skills. The students by now, usually, could go on auto pilot and leave me behind.
Not this year, and not this group.
I tried to explain to one student why I was down, not that I'm sure he cared to know.
He asked... I told him. I'm that way.
I pointed to a paper towel on the floor by the trash can.... and a $1500 diagnostic tool
left on a bench...... and a shop vac now useless because it had been left full of water.....
and a handful of other things carelessly left for someone else to clean up or deal with.
I tried to tell him... these are things we have been trying to teach all year, and failed.
There are some things we just can't teach, and because of that I will be coasting out the
year as a babysitter. I don't like babysitting. That is why I am down.
On the other hand.... a few students did excellent work today, at least at the level
of experienced techs, probably better.
There are a few candle lit windows shining in the wilderness of ignorance. Damn few, and
very far in between them, and that is what truly slices the heart out of my day.
Oh.... and this evening I spent fifty bucks getting my cell phone swapped out for a new one, in hopes it would not drop so many calls where I am living. I know it's a bad cell area, but it was important to me to try.... and now I feel like a fool for spending it. It didn't help.
On the other hand, I spent one hundred dollars on a new air/fuel sensor for my truck, and I expect that to pay for itself in a month or three in fuel savings. The local gas stations have taken to keeping people posted by the price signs, as they lose too much time walking back to the building in between price hikes.
Food porn, the movie
Ok, not really a movie.... but it is a chunk of video.
Dinner for me tonight was leftovers. Leftover Bacon, leftover onion,
leftover chicken, last of the milk, some nice chunks of Blue Stilton cheese,
garlic, fresh ground pepper, etc.
In other words... creamed chicken on toast, and no matter how I
take photos it looks like baby poop on old wood shingles.
So..... here's a short video of the Bacon and Onions frying...
Because any meal that starts this way must be good!
Oh.... turn on your sound.... and listen to the music.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Man-glider...... for fast and silent insertions. COOL!!
THIS looks like cool beyond cool!
If our forces are not using this yet, I'll be shocked.
I'm not happy with heights, but it would take no arm
twisting at all to get me to try this.
Pretty things, for a not pretty day
Testing students today.
Results..... not good.
I don't know how to fix
"Don't care"
It takes life to do that, and these
kids have been shielded from life
for most of theirs.
Maybe it' s not too late for truck driving school........ For ME, not for them.
(The flowers? In front of the convenience
store where I bought coffee this morning.)
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
It's time....
I feel the need for a Randian recharge.
Atlas Shrugged.....
It's time to put thoughts in order, and it's always easier
after reading Ayn rand's masterpiece.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Observations on communication
Driving along, thinking thoughts this morning.....
The various vagaries of communication between people was wandering across the mostly defoliated fields of my mind.
As I'm usually thinking about one person, and usually the one person...this time it was about communication in personal ways. How wonderful it is that two people can say so much, in such depth, with so few words. Why is that, I questioned....
In working through technical communications, words usually lead to more words. Precise sentences assembled carefully, in order logically, with tangents explored in depth as needed. Were I to try and explain how to test a simple throttle position sensor, I would need to explore the type of signal it puts out, what it is measuring, why it measures it, and the various forms of test equipment. Digital volt-ohm meter to be used for this reading, a graphing multimeter for that measure, and a digital storage oscilloscope for a wave form.
Why such a long treatise for testing that might take less than five minutes to do? It's required to bridge the gap in understanding. Someone asking how to do that testing needs the background information to do it correctly. If they had it, if they understood already, they wouldn't be reading up on how to do it.
Now... compare that to my alter ego. We communicate with nothing more complicated than a few whispered words, a glance. Volumes pass across the gap between us. Whole lifetimes slide across tendrils of shared thoughts, with not a word spoken.
The difference.... is this: What's common doesn't need to be said. What we share in common need not be mentioned, except to accentuate the moment. When we can finish each others sentences, each others thoughts..... why waste breath with unnecessary words?
Communication..... different things in different situations. From long and sometimes frustrating bashing at insurmountable barriers, to life giving moments that last forever in silence.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Saturday, April 19, 2008
And the engines roll on.....
Strasburg railroad, and Railway museum.
These photos come from my visit today... I haven't been to
this place in years, but pass by it almost daily now. Inexcusable!
Reardon
For some reason I can't explain, this image started me thinking
of Hank Reardon, from Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand.
Power, strength, purpose.... Hard steel doing a hard job.
A lost evening
In the museum is a railway train station display.
They quite literally built a turn of the century
train station in the building, tracks, train, and all.
Inside the waiting room, inside the station, inside the museum.... stands
this chair and stove. All alone in one corner.
In the dim light, I can see the ghost of a man sitting
in that chair, all night long, waiting for his love who
never arrives.
I rebuilt the photo to fit my thoughts...
In perspective
This photo, I sat and waited for. About forty five minutes, just sitting
against a tree and watching the people. Along the way I took
almost one hundred photos, but this image is the one I
waited for. I knew it was coming.... all it took was patience.
Brass
On top of an engine, inside the museum building, are these brass
parts. A steam whistle, some steam outlets....
I can see a proud engineer crawling out on that engine
everyday to polish this brass, knowing few people besides
he would ever see them. But... he would.... he would.
All aboard!
Turned black and white, and turned old.... this photo
from this very morning could have been taken one
hundred years ago.
Home is where the nest is
There are engines on display out front of the museum,
and tucked away under one, visible to a careful eye, birds
have made a home. What once powered dreams.....
Preparing to leave......
Ready to go.... checking the brakes.... building pressure.....
Even without the engineers calls, the tension builds as the
creature stirs to life.
A light in the wilderness
On a lonely track through the wilderness, a man stands.
Watching from miles away as a train plows
through the night. Sparks from the stack and two glowing red
lights out front make the engine look like a fire breathing
dragon....
Arrived
Train of cars ready.... all that's needed is an engine. Fresh from the
rigging shed she rolls... proud and alive with powerful steam.
Decades after her sister engines have been scrapped, she still
pulls a loaded train every day. The men who care for her have
traded days of their life for her soul, keeping her breathing
despite the call of railway hell, the wrecking yard.
I watched a mechanic give this engine a loving caress as it
rolled off to work.... leaving no doubt.
A ready hand....
Ready to capture a loaded train of cars.... the engine reaches
out with it's coupler, not complete, not fulfilled, till the load is
hooked and under way. Like a proud man searching for work...
These photos come from my visit today... I haven't been to
this place in years, but pass by it almost daily now. Inexcusable!
Reardon
For some reason I can't explain, this image started me thinking
of Hank Reardon, from Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand.
Power, strength, purpose.... Hard steel doing a hard job.
A lost evening
In the museum is a railway train station display.
They quite literally built a turn of the century
train station in the building, tracks, train, and all.
Inside the waiting room, inside the station, inside the museum.... stands
this chair and stove. All alone in one corner.
In the dim light, I can see the ghost of a man sitting
in that chair, all night long, waiting for his love who
never arrives.
I rebuilt the photo to fit my thoughts...
In perspective
This photo, I sat and waited for. About forty five minutes, just sitting
against a tree and watching the people. Along the way I took
almost one hundred photos, but this image is the one I
waited for. I knew it was coming.... all it took was patience.
Brass
On top of an engine, inside the museum building, are these brass
parts. A steam whistle, some steam outlets....
I can see a proud engineer crawling out on that engine
everyday to polish this brass, knowing few people besides
he would ever see them. But... he would.... he would.
All aboard!
Turned black and white, and turned old.... this photo
from this very morning could have been taken one
hundred years ago.
Home is where the nest is
There are engines on display out front of the museum,
and tucked away under one, visible to a careful eye, birds
have made a home. What once powered dreams.....
Preparing to leave......
Ready to go.... checking the brakes.... building pressure.....
Even without the engineers calls, the tension builds as the
creature stirs to life.
A light in the wilderness
On a lonely track through the wilderness, a man stands.
Watching from miles away as a train plows
through the night. Sparks from the stack and two glowing red
lights out front make the engine look like a fire breathing
dragon....
Arrived
Train of cars ready.... all that's needed is an engine. Fresh from the
rigging shed she rolls... proud and alive with powerful steam.
Decades after her sister engines have been scrapped, she still
pulls a loaded train every day. The men who care for her have
traded days of their life for her soul, keeping her breathing
despite the call of railway hell, the wrecking yard.
I watched a mechanic give this engine a loving caress as it
rolled off to work.... leaving no doubt.
A ready hand....
Ready to capture a loaded train of cars.... the engine reaches
out with it's coupler, not complete, not fulfilled, till the load is
hooked and under way. Like a proud man searching for work...
I bring you ....... breakfast
Food wars..... is this silly? If so... it's a good kind of silly
and I don't mind it. Not the scary nightmare kind of silly,
like an administrator with a tie, a clipboard, no budget, and an idea, but
the 'That looks like fun!' kind of silly.
This morning, I bring you breakfast.
An eclectic mix chosen by the basest of methods... it was
what I felt like making and eating.
My worthy opponent, the lovely and gracious Scully,
will no doubt write a poignant story involving past meals
in past lives, bringing tears to the readers eyes with each
perfectly constructed sentence. It will involve food, and
she'll build some succulent dish to accompany the story.
She can mix words the way a master chef blends spices,
and no poor offering of my own will
match that. So.... I use pictures!
Taken as a 'A picture is worth 1000 words', prepare for an extended essay
on breakfast. (images can be embigenned with a click)
We start with rice pudding
This rice pudding was made with aromatic Basmati brown rice
and raisins dried from flame grapes. Slow baked with evaporated
milk, sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, and loving care. After two hours
in the oven it was cooled, then chilled overnight. Sometime during that
process several large bowls worth evaporated. We must have very nimble
rats or something... they even smoothed the surface back down in
the crock!
In the morning, a little more milk was blended in and the top dusted with
more cinnamon, then served chilled.
Bacon, because the world is better with bacon...
Then, cornbread. Two kinds. Both made
with jumbo fresh eggs and fresh milk, and baked
in smoking hot cast iron pans running with melted
butter flavored with a tablespoon of bacon grease.
One, the plain, turned out perfect with crispy
sweet edges. Moist, with just a bit of crunch to the
tooth. Served with a big pat of butter melting on top.
The second type had a can of 'Copes' evaporated corn
mixed in. While the corn bread is heavier, the Copes
brings a unique sweet corn taste thats impossible to match.
Of this type, there is little left.
Fresh jumbo eggs and fresh milk, blended with a
tiny dash of crystal hot sauce (Shhhhh!).
The cast iron fry pans need to be pre-heated in the
400 degree oven, then just before the corn bread batter is
dropped in... lube with far too much butter. It will soak into
the corn bread, making it moister and richer.
If it's available, a spoonful of bacon grease in the pan will
make the corn bread taste better, and the crust a little crisper.
This is NOT health food, unless it's our very souls we are
feeding, not just our stomachs.
Pulled from the oven when it's Golden Brown and
Delicious (technically called GBD in kitchen code).
Allowed to settled just a few minutes, then served hot enough
that butter on top doesn't stand a chance.
Cornbread...........
and I don't mind it. Not the scary nightmare kind of silly,
like an administrator with a tie, a clipboard, no budget, and an idea, but
the 'That looks like fun!' kind of silly.
This morning, I bring you breakfast.
An eclectic mix chosen by the basest of methods... it was
what I felt like making and eating.
My worthy opponent, the lovely and gracious Scully,
will no doubt write a poignant story involving past meals
in past lives, bringing tears to the readers eyes with each
perfectly constructed sentence. It will involve food, and
she'll build some succulent dish to accompany the story.
She can mix words the way a master chef blends spices,
and no poor offering of my own will
match that. So.... I use pictures!
Taken as a 'A picture is worth 1000 words', prepare for an extended essay
on breakfast. (images can be embigenned with a click)
We start with rice pudding
This rice pudding was made with aromatic Basmati brown rice
and raisins dried from flame grapes. Slow baked with evaporated
milk, sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, and loving care. After two hours
in the oven it was cooled, then chilled overnight. Sometime during that
process several large bowls worth evaporated. We must have very nimble
rats or something... they even smoothed the surface back down in
the crock!
In the morning, a little more milk was blended in and the top dusted with
more cinnamon, then served chilled.
Bacon, because the world is better with bacon...
Then, cornbread. Two kinds. Both made
with jumbo fresh eggs and fresh milk, and baked
in smoking hot cast iron pans running with melted
butter flavored with a tablespoon of bacon grease.
One, the plain, turned out perfect with crispy
sweet edges. Moist, with just a bit of crunch to the
tooth. Served with a big pat of butter melting on top.
The second type had a can of 'Copes' evaporated corn
mixed in. While the corn bread is heavier, the Copes
brings a unique sweet corn taste thats impossible to match.
Of this type, there is little left.
Fresh jumbo eggs and fresh milk, blended with a
tiny dash of crystal hot sauce (Shhhhh!).
The cast iron fry pans need to be pre-heated in the
400 degree oven, then just before the corn bread batter is
dropped in... lube with far too much butter. It will soak into
the corn bread, making it moister and richer.
If it's available, a spoonful of bacon grease in the pan will
make the corn bread taste better, and the crust a little crisper.
This is NOT health food, unless it's our very souls we are
feeding, not just our stomachs.
Pulled from the oven when it's Golden Brown and
Delicious (technically called GBD in kitchen code).
Allowed to settled just a few minutes, then served hot enough
that butter on top doesn't stand a chance.
Cornbread...........
7am....
It's seven in the AM, coffee is in my mug, and corn bread is in the oven...
If you could smell what I smell!
Oh... Birds are gathering on the back deck, outside the kitchen...
The look hungry.... and mean..... uh oh.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Weekend food wars...
I did some shopping on the way home, for ammunition.
The general plan of attack, over the course of the weekend:
*Beef roast with creamy mushroom gravy, and baked Idaho's with garlic butter*
*Vidalia French onion soup with Swiss Gruyere*
*Fresh hot corn bread from an iron skillet*
*Brown rice and flame berry pudding*
All in no particular order.
The rice pudding concoction has been in the family since I made it up tomorrow. It involves aromatic Basmati brown rice and fancy jumbo red raisins (flame berries). It will be baking slow all night, and is really an experiment. We shall see how it turns out, but it's likely Lin will be doing the desert of this food war.
(update: I pulled the rice pudding from the oven, and decided it would be best to let it cool and refrigerate. While it was sitting there... locusts descended and half of it's gone already. Damn. I didn't think it was that good yet... not even half as creamy as it should be. Enough left I can finish it and post pictures tomorrow.... if it survives the night)
The French onion soup is a classic, and celebrates the first really good Vidalia onions of the season. Beef stock, chicken stock, apple juice... all to the traditional method. Toasted french bread on top with Gruyere cheese melted under the broiler.
Onion soup, and French onion soup in particular has a history dating back to early Roman recipes. The French onion soup we know today is credited to King Luis XV, who legend says found himself with little but onions, cheese and champagne while at his hunting lodge one day. Later, the onion soup became a staple of poor French miners. Their wives grew onions by the bag full, and were able to make the hearty soup. They ladled it into crocks, put bread on top, and melted a cap of cheese on as a lid.
I'm not sure who will be here this weekend, but anything left over becomes lunches for the week. Food does not go to waste..... :-)
In example..... dinner tonight was some leftover beef brisket slow cooked, with gravy, on whole grain tortillas.
The general plan of attack, over the course of the weekend:
*Beef roast with creamy mushroom gravy, and baked Idaho's with garlic butter*
*Vidalia French onion soup with Swiss Gruyere*
*Fresh hot corn bread from an iron skillet*
*Brown rice and flame berry pudding*
All in no particular order.
The rice pudding concoction has been in the family since I made it up tomorrow. It involves aromatic Basmati brown rice and fancy jumbo red raisins (flame berries). It will be baking slow all night, and is really an experiment. We shall see how it turns out, but it's likely Lin will be doing the desert of this food war.
(update: I pulled the rice pudding from the oven, and decided it would be best to let it cool and refrigerate. While it was sitting there... locusts descended and half of it's gone already. Damn. I didn't think it was that good yet... not even half as creamy as it should be. Enough left I can finish it and post pictures tomorrow.... if it survives the night)
The French onion soup is a classic, and celebrates the first really good Vidalia onions of the season. Beef stock, chicken stock, apple juice... all to the traditional method. Toasted french bread on top with Gruyere cheese melted under the broiler.
Onion soup, and French onion soup in particular has a history dating back to early Roman recipes. The French onion soup we know today is credited to King Luis XV, who legend says found himself with little but onions, cheese and champagne while at his hunting lodge one day. Later, the onion soup became a staple of poor French miners. Their wives grew onions by the bag full, and were able to make the hearty soup. They ladled it into crocks, put bread on top, and melted a cap of cheese on as a lid.
I'm not sure who will be here this weekend, but anything left over becomes lunches for the week. Food does not go to waste..... :-)
In example..... dinner tonight was some leftover beef brisket slow cooked, with gravy, on whole grain tortillas.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
There I was, looking up, and........
What could I write, in mere words, that would
match their simple grace?
From the talented mind of Scully comes the words
I haven't:
In swift air current
lonely eagle swims aloft
I come up for air
Food war suggestions?
I told my friends I'd make them a dinner this weekend.
As long as I'm doing so...... it will be FOOD WAR MATERIAL.
I'll probably cruise the market tomorrow evening to see what I can find
that looks really good. Till then.... I'm open to suggestions.
What would truly crank up the food war heat? Suggestions?
Chicken and forty cloves? A roast turkey? Baked onions filled with beef stew?
Chili enchiladas with fresh corn bread?
School speak
I was called to speak about an adult student we have. The director
of the adult program, and an assistant principle were dealing with some
e-mail that had come from said student. It seems he thinks we should find
him a job, and 'owe' him that somehow. Not only that, but it must be a good paying job, where he can 'grow', that he'll enjoy, and also one that will fit in with his desired working hours. (Two hours a day on alternate Tuesdays during weeks when it's raining for at least three days, with paid meal breaks at the beginning and end of each shift).
"I couldn't get that dickless wonder a job working a push broom in hell. He's utterly useless for anything but taking up space in noisy and annoying ways" is what I did not say. What I said was "The young mans skill set is still undeveloped, and the employers in our system have declined to take on the task of furthering his development, considering the level he is at and his individual learning pace, coupled with employability skill ratings and task time availability".
That is school speak for "He's a dickless wonder who couldn't push a broom in hell and get it right".
Mustn't ruffle the feathers now...... :-)
Oh, they towed a senator through our program again yesterday, along with a phalanx of flunkies and several hangers on, accompanied by a box of spare ties in case one fell off. Senator yippyskippy made nicey nice noises and had his picture taken with a few of my students and I. Oh Boy. That was so much fun. all done now? You must be leaving? So sorry to hear that. Goodbye. Are you still here?
I hear there's free bourbon down in the front office...... Bye now.
of the adult program, and an assistant principle were dealing with some
e-mail that had come from said student. It seems he thinks we should find
him a job, and 'owe' him that somehow. Not only that, but it must be a good paying job, where he can 'grow', that he'll enjoy, and also one that will fit in with his desired working hours. (Two hours a day on alternate Tuesdays during weeks when it's raining for at least three days, with paid meal breaks at the beginning and end of each shift).
"I couldn't get that dickless wonder a job working a push broom in hell. He's utterly useless for anything but taking up space in noisy and annoying ways" is what I did not say. What I said was "The young mans skill set is still undeveloped, and the employers in our system have declined to take on the task of furthering his development, considering the level he is at and his individual learning pace, coupled with employability skill ratings and task time availability".
That is school speak for "He's a dickless wonder who couldn't push a broom in hell and get it right".
Mustn't ruffle the feathers now...... :-)
Oh, they towed a senator through our program again yesterday, along with a phalanx of flunkies and several hangers on, accompanied by a box of spare ties in case one fell off. Senator yippyskippy made nicey nice noises and had his picture taken with a few of my students and I. Oh Boy. That was so much fun. all done now? You must be leaving? So sorry to hear that. Goodbye. Are you still here?
I hear there's free bourbon down in the front office...... Bye now.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
I gotta mention....
A few twelve hour work days and a full belly, and suddenly I'm feelin..........
SNORE..................................
SNORE..................................
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Faces in the hallway
I wish I had Linda's writing talent some days...
This morning I had cause to just stand in the hall at school, and watch the students walk past. I've never really done that before. Wonder if it's all the changes my life has tumbled through the last few months that caused this change?
Today... I watched their faces. These were not my students, but girls from nursing programs and others.... fresh arrived by the bus load from various schools, various places, various lives.
This morning... I saw something that paused the coffee halfway to my mouth.
I saw.... their lives. The students, most of them, carried their lives on their faces.
Their faces in the hallway.
One girl... so eager to be different, just like everyone else. A hairstyle that might as well have carried the name of the street she lives on in the city. A face that told volumes about nights on the harsh sidewalks.
Another, eyes downcast, spirits downcast, radiated all the fear of a bloodied rabbit in the mouth of a slavering hound. Her face set in a mask that hid nothing but her own reflection in a mirror.
Walking past... eyes alive.... mind miles away..... this one is in love. Hope he's worth it.
A trio, each more giggly than the other, none with anything to giggle about but the appearance of giggly happiness in each others company. Next week it will be a different mix of three, but they don't know that today.
Determination.... a shock to see, to my jaded eyes. So often missing these days, but this one has it. She will do fine.... and I'd hate to be in her way.
Faces in the hall..... each with a life flashing across it like a motion picture played on a moving screen.
I never noticed it till today.
This morning I had cause to just stand in the hall at school, and watch the students walk past. I've never really done that before. Wonder if it's all the changes my life has tumbled through the last few months that caused this change?
Today... I watched their faces. These were not my students, but girls from nursing programs and others.... fresh arrived by the bus load from various schools, various places, various lives.
This morning... I saw something that paused the coffee halfway to my mouth.
I saw.... their lives. The students, most of them, carried their lives on their faces.
Their faces in the hallway.
One girl... so eager to be different, just like everyone else. A hairstyle that might as well have carried the name of the street she lives on in the city. A face that told volumes about nights on the harsh sidewalks.
Another, eyes downcast, spirits downcast, radiated all the fear of a bloodied rabbit in the mouth of a slavering hound. Her face set in a mask that hid nothing but her own reflection in a mirror.
Walking past... eyes alive.... mind miles away..... this one is in love. Hope he's worth it.
A trio, each more giggly than the other, none with anything to giggle about but the appearance of giggly happiness in each others company. Next week it will be a different mix of three, but they don't know that today.
Determination.... a shock to see, to my jaded eyes. So often missing these days, but this one has it. She will do fine.... and I'd hate to be in her way.
Faces in the hall..... each with a life flashing across it like a motion picture played on a moving screen.
I never noticed it till today.
Today.......
Today....
I watched young eagles fly.
I observed and tested lawn equipment running on hydrogen generated with solar energy.
I encountered truly poor judgment in young people.
I ate relatively healthy (sticks, twigs, salad, fruit)..... until I found the last brownie.
I got angry.
I got over it.
I listened to Terry Pratchett on CD while driving.
I read something profound, and moving.
And....... I watched eagles soaring!
This has proven to be a good read....
Am I the last person to know about Frank James?.
Looks like another daily blog read.....
Looks like another daily blog read.....
Monday, April 14, 2008
And now, for my next trick...... gone private
Yes my friends, I have decided this blog is going private
and staying that way.
I don't really write for the public anymore, just for the tribe, the family.
If you are reading this... you are one of a small handful signed on.
Please... if you have someone who should be here, or you wish them here,
then ask them to E-mail me at artwelling1@gmail.com.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Post five hundred
This is post number five hundred on this blog. Five hundred times I have found something to speak about. For this post… it should be something different.
So many possibilities, but the most fitting comes as a suggestion from my best friend. This post should be about how blogging has changed my life, or perhaps how my life has changed since I began blogging. Not exactly the same thing, but they work together well.
I first encountered blogdom when I ran into Tam’s Arms Room. I recall doing a Google search on an antique military rifle, and stumbling across her work. From there, a link to her other blog, View from the Porch. From there... to here… has been a real journey. Along the way I have made friends, and more. Along the way I learned so much about myself, reflected in the mirrors of other peoples eyes.
I was writing before blogging. Mostly articles and posts on Surplusrifleforum.com, but other forums as well. Before that (and still) for my career, and long before that, articles and a few newspaper columns. In almost every case I wrote for personal interest, but didn’t write personal topics. Mausers and motors were on the agenda, but not my life and certainly not me.
Blogging changed that. Blogging changed me. Blogging changed my life.
Holy cow Batman, ain't YOU in the wrong place!
This blog site is more like the random bits of thoughts, ideas, and happenings
that fill the cracks in the world. All important, but not usually life changing.
Read, enjoy, rant, or maybe nod your head in bewilderment......
Almost nine months ago to the day. How much more fitting can that be, since I now feel like a person reborn? Shedding straight jackets and removing blindfolds like Houdini, only to find I have escaped from a prison of my own making into a freedom also of my own design. The years lived behind bars forged by my own hand... maybe they were necessary. A shell within which to grow slowly, and safely. I can't say yet, it's all too new. For now I am looking at everything with eyes newly opened, and it's a lot to take in and fit into the framework of a new life.
Everything in my life is being reevaluated.
Writing a blog comes after reading others... and there amongst my newly adopted tribe I found those who could and would share their lives. They unknowingly led me to my own ability to open up and write about myself, and in so doing learn about myself. What I learned was stunning, at least to me. There was a whole different 'me' that I had never met. This person who now takes photographs in search of beauty, who writes poetry to explain feelings, who reads others words with a reaching mind. This person, who had all my memories but applied them with a freshly wakened mind, turned out to be me.
The hatching was not an easy one, and it's still going on. Oh, most of the old me is still around, still a part of me. I'm still a teacher, and loving it. I still shoot, still have my lifelong interests in firearms, reading, computers, technology, people, and all the other things that make me what I am. Now... there's just more. I still think Ayn Rand had a clue, and the Robert Heinlein should have designed our government. I still think liberalism is a corrupt religion and that Congress (fully manned) should be walled off and forgotten as a bad idea. I'm still me, but I'm not the same me by a long shot.More important.... like stars shining in a dark evening sky.... are the people I now consider part of my life. Met and unmet, those bloggers of my tribe who I read daily make up my extended family. Should I list them, link to them? No... you know who you are... All the people whose lives now matter to me, who I care about. The old 'me' would never have given a damn.
Most important... blogging led me to the person who completed me.
Sometimes people are meant to share lives... and I now understand that too.
Reflecting back over five hundred posts.... what has blogging been to me?
Through it, I found reason to live, grow, and change. I found life. I found myself.
Live brightly, brightly
Eyes open to the future
hand in hand, my world
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Cranky has a great idea... a blog dinner!
Step over to The Cranky Professor's place and check out her idea.
She is thinking about a blog get together in the central/eastern PA area
(I think thats where she means to pull this off).
Depending on dates, I will do my best to be there!
I may be in trouble.....
Yes friends, thats trouble with a capitol 'T' and that rhymes with 'C' and that stands for....... Cheese.
For you see, I have discovered a cheese shop no more than a few miles from here.
A real, honest, old world, cheese shop. With a fourth generation cheese monger owner, and a case full of unusual cheeses without price tags.
Almost hidden away, the entrance looks more like a cellar pathway to some den of iniquity, which is not so far from the truth. Down the steps and behind the ancient door is another world. It's run by a smiling and immensely knowledgeable man who tempts souls with small 'free' tastes of other lands. Once swindled into a free sample, it takes all a mans strength (or an empty wallet) to pull free.
The dark, musty taste of an old Stilton Blue cheese, the crisp sharpness of an English cheddar, maybe the overwhelming garlic of a black mountain..... Creamy, crumbly, passionately strong or gently soothing.... whatever your weakness it seems to be in his cases.
Lost! Lost I am! Must be strong!
I escaped with only a small bag of treasure. A Swiss Gruyere (he also had the French!), some Blue Stilton, a sharp cheddar from Wales, and of course a fair chunk of that awesome garlic flavored wonderfulness. Oh, and some Carr's crackers to nibble the cheese with.
Weekend food Porn! (warning.... post contents are excessively droolworthy)
Okay.... try this on for size. Blintzes, with sweet and creamy cheese filling, strawberries, and raspberry syrup.
For the pancakes, a very thin batter of Bisquick made with fresh eggs and condensed milk, vanilla, and powdered sugar. All whisked together gently so as not to raise the gluten and toughen the pancakes. This is the old Bisquick that's bad for you. Therefore it has flavor. Lots of it. Mix everything but the Bisquick well, then stir in the Bisquick quickly till its just blended.
Let the batter rest for a good twenty minutes to hydrate and raise while you make the filling. A thin crepe batter is what's required, not a thicker pancake viscosity. The thickness can be adjusted with a bit of water if needed.
The pancakes are cooked till nicely browned but still tender. They can't be crisped or they won't lovingly wrap the filling in just the right way.
The filling: Whole milk ricotta cheese, Philadelphia traditional cream cheese, powdered sugar, real vanilla (a tad too much is best), and fresh grated nutmeg, (again, a tad too much). Blend till smooth and creamy, then refrigerate while making the pancakes. This will help it stay firm when cooked in the Blintz. I like to blend chopped berries right into the filling, unless cooking for someone who can't eat berries.
Make the pancakes in a hot pan, watching closely. Flip when just browned, with care to keep them tender and moist. As they finish lay them aside to cool. I place three plates on the counter, and lay the freshly cooked pancake on the first plate. Once it cools a touch, it gets flipped to the second cold plate. Once cool on the second plate, it gets filled and folded, then set on the third plate to await it's sweet destiny. This is what I do while watching the pancakes cook. It's a fast assembly station that allows the cook to stay on top of the job. Having the pancakes cool lets them be handled, and not melt the sweet creamy cheese filling while the blintzes are laying there, ready for the last browning. Yes, they are cooked one more time.
Once all the pancakes are made, the dog having the last one (traditional), and all filled and rolled, the diners must be called to the table. It goes very fast from here.
Grease a fairly hot pan... butter tastes best but if used the heat must be lowered or it will burn. The blintzes are laid gently in the pan, only two at a time (a serving).
Once they sizzle and turn GBD on one side, flip and cook till the other side is the same. (GBD= Golden brown and delicious).
Plate the blintzes, top with strawberries and raspberry syrup, and serve. Move quickly to do the next serving before fights break out. Whipped cream optional for both the blintzes and the fighting.
(Images will enlarge when clicked upon, if true torture is desired.)
