A little planting today
Saturday 14 April 2012 at 10:11 pm
I planted some Aubrieta seeds in our front bed. We will see if it works out as a front border.
I also put in 3 viola plants near the front door
It is slightly shadier there.
Comments on Android Music Players
Saturday 14 April 2012 at 7:57 pm
PlayerPro - stuttering as I walked. Had to hold the phone horizontal to get it to stop.
Cherry Blossoms in Washington DC
Sunday 01 April 2012 at 12:25 pm
2 weeks ago I was in Washington, D.C. for a business trip, and I took a couple hours off in the afternoon to rent a bicycle and go see the cherry blossoms. It was just the right time.
Education without grades
Wednesday 14 March 2012 at 02:13 am
A blog entry on Adafruit is from an engineering educator that gave out badges for achieving certain skills, instead of issuing grades for those skills. He says the badges are extremely popular, and the students really learn the material. He provides them with a list of requirements for the badges, rather like Boy Scout merit badges.
This is an interesting take on motivating students. It doesn't apply to everything, but if there are skills involved, then this arrangement could make sense. Public recognition for achievment can be a powerful motivator, and physical signs, like badges, can be more valuable than virtual signs.
It reminds me of an article I read where some business was asking students what their most important posession was, and one kid said it was a scuffed pair of sneakers, because the type of scuffs shows that he had been practicing a difficult skateboard move.
Spoke with Robert tonight
Thursday 01 March 2012 at 7:54 pm
He said that skiing was very icy. Normal number of people out, and no injuries.
He needs to help prepare a skit for the mediation program, to introduce it on Friday. Tehre are 8 kids and 4 adults involved.
For art, Robert created a little silver piece. He carved a mold out of charcoal, then put silver pieces in it and melted it with a torch.
He is still working on Village.
Weather data available at Pachube
Saturday 28 January 2012 at 1:32 pm
Pachube is a site that supports streams of data from the Internet of Things. I have a computer that measures temperature once a minute, and sends the data to a Pachube feed. Here is the current temperature:
Then I can, for instance, make a dial with the current temperature:
Hmm, doesn't seem to be working so well. But the small graph works:
That's a long stay
Wednesday 25 January 2012 at 11:23 am
I was looking to a reservation at Don Hall's Guest House in Fort Wayne for this week, and got the following:
Movie: The Artist
Sunday 22 January 2012 at 5:28 pm
Haruko and I saw The Artist yesterday.The move plot is not extraordinary, but the telling of the story is what makes is excellent. A star of the silent film, George Valentin, refuses to do talkies, but a starlet he help goes on to become a big star. He goes down into drink and deterioration, selling everything, but she looks out for him. In his pride, he refuses her help, but eventually acquiesces and goes on to make a movie with her.
The film is entirely in black and white, and his no dialog except for the last 30 seconds, when it shows a take of the talkie the stars are putting together. Expression and movement were the only way to tell the story, and the actors and actresses did a really good job.
The actress, who was French, said that she had to learn to act like an American actress - be louder, talk with her hands, occupy more space. Gloria Swanson was her model.
Douglas Fairbanks, whose popularity declined as talkies came out, was the model for Valentin. The directory used some subtle techniques to portray Valentin's decline, dressing him in suits that were a little too big, and making him wear heavy boots.
Interestingly, they shot the film on color stock because black and white film was not grainy enough.
Although the film is Fench, they shot in Hollywood for realistic locations. Sites included various theaters around town where silent films premiered, and Mary Pickford's residence as the startlet's house.
I recommend seeing it.
Corn and Sausage Chowder
Wednesday 28 December 2011 at 4:42 pm
One of my favorite winter dishes is Corn and Sausage Chowder. I got this from alt.gourmand, back on April 8, 1987. Steve Fritzinger, of Computer Consoles, Inc., contributed it. The email address is a blast from the past, predating the "@" sign: seismo!rlgvax!jsf.
Corn and Sausage Chowder
CORN-CHOWDER-2 in the USENET Cookbook
This chowder is a variation on a family recipe from an old roomate of mine. (She makes it without the sausage, and with more water). It goes very well with most seafood. I am especially fond of it served with crab cakes
Ingredients (Serves 6-8)
1 Polish sausage, cut into thin round slices
6 bacon slices, chopped
1 cup chopped onions
1/4 cup flour
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup water
4 cups corn
2 cups cubed potatoes (pieces about 1/4 in. on a side)
1/8 tsp white pepper
red pepper sauce
2 cups milk
2 Tbsp butter
Procedure:
- In a big saucepan, brown the sausage and bacon until the bacon is crispy. I (Willard) find that this works best in a non-stick pan, and will even cook these in a non-stick frying pan, then make the rest of the recipe in a large saucepan. Remove sausage and bacon with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel. Discard most of the fat, leaving enough to cook the onion.
- Saute onion in reserved fat until tender, about 5 minutes.
- Gradually stir in the flour. Add stock and water, stiffing constantly.
- Add sausage, bacon, corn, potatoes and white pepper. Add red pepper sauce to taste. Heat to boilding.
- Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 15 to 20 minutes. Stir occasionally.
- Add milk and cook until soup is heated through, and potatoes are tender.
- Top with butter and serve.
My notes say that this is good with a sip of Chardonay.
Tea Review - Coconut Milky Oolong
Sunday 11 December 2011 at 2:16 pm
Coconut Milky Oolong at The Tea Spot
A tasty tea. Mild tea with some coconut flavor. A lot of flavored teas don't have much flavor, and taste just like tea. However, this has coconut overtones. It is not a strong coconut, however, like a coconut soda. I think it is pretty good. It is an easy-to-drink tea.
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