1 quart of Potato Peel Broth  2-3 bunches or broccoli, or one bag of frozen broccoli 1/2 gallon milk 1 small onion pepper and salt to taste Saute the onion in butter or olive oil.  Add the potato peel broth and bring to a rolling boil.  Add broccoli, boil broccoli in potato peel broth until soft, then add the milk.  Boil down for 2-3 hours, season with pepper and salt to taste.

So last year when I was all pregnant and stuff, I started a gardening project.

I wanted to expand the 24"wide flowerbeds in front out by another yard and edge it with white blocks so we could replace lawn that we watered for either heat/dry resistant plants or edibles that we would water but get something out of.

I knew from experience that pulling up St. Augustine grass sod is a nightmare. It took hours and hours to pull up just a few square feet.

So I had the bright idea that I'd have the lawn guy cut it short, and then Kendra and Sam and I laid out the blocks and covered the short grass with layers of cardboard and then about 2" of cheap soft-wood mulch.

I went to work it in today, and I was expecting to scrape back the mulch, pull out the cardboard and then remove dead grass.

Imagine my surprise when I broke through the mulch and there was about 2" of completely decomposed cardboard and grass. Nothing to pull out. Just had to shovel it around and try to work it into the clay-heavy Texas dirt.

I almost want to start buying blocks and mulch and planning next year's sod-to-bed expansion (The goal is to have very little "lawn" left at the end).

I need suggestions though: are there any more-green ways to do this? I know the softwood mulch isn't the most ecological solution to the issue.

What would be the greenest way to improve the soil so it's less heavy and clumpy? I have a lot of compost, but when I mix it into the soil, even in a 50/50 mix to fill flowerpots or whatever, when it gets hot and dry it turns to a solid, unbreakable mass. Mass quantities of vermiculite?

So last year when I was all pregnant and stuff, I started a gardening project.

I wanted to expand the 24"wide flowerbeds in front out by another yard and edge it with white blocks so we could replace lawn that we watered for either heat/dry resistant plants or edibles that we would water but get something out of.

I knew from experience that pulling up St. Augustine grass sod is a nightmare. It took hours and hours to pull up just a few square feet.

So I had the bright idea that I'd have the lawn guy cut it short, and then Kendra and Sam and I laid out the blocks and covered the short grass with layers of cardboard and then about 2" of cheap soft-wood mulch.

I went to work it in today, and I was expecting to scrape back the mulch, pull out the cardboard and then remove dead grass.

Imagine my surprise when I broke through the mulch and there was about 2" of completely decomposed cardboard and grass. Nothing to pull out. Just had to shovel it around and try to work it into the clay-heavy Texas dirt.

I almost want to start buying blocks and mulch and planning next year's sod-to-bed expansion (The goal is to have very little "lawn" left at the end).

I need suggestions though: are there any more-green ways to do this? I know the softwood mulch isn't the most ecological solution to the issue.

What would be the greenest way to improve the soil so it's less heavy and clumpy? I have a lot of compost, but when I mix it into the soil, even in a 50/50 mix to fill flowerpots or whatever, when it gets hot and dry it turns to a solid, unbreakable mass. Mass quantities of vermiculite?

All right, for those who missed the original post about it, we're going to start hosting a weekly RPG night. And now, it's not just discussion any longer, the game is afoot. For those interested, here's what's going on:

Game night will be every Thursday, starting around 8-8:30pm. Our first game night will be January 7th, so you've got two weeks to figure out your schedules and figure out where your dice are gathering dust at. Location is here, casa du moi & plaidbrat's.

The Schedule-

We're going to run two regular games on this night, on alternating thursdays. Which means you can take your pick, if your schedule's a bit too packed to attend weekly, or you can just dive right the fuck in on a smorgasboard of escapist fun. The choice is yours, but here's what the games will be:

( Cut to save browser space )


All attendees are asked to bring in snacks or beverages to share around in general- while I do plan on having some stuff on hand, I'm not planning on feeding the horde dinner, as it were. Other than that, please RSVP if you're planning on coming- whether it's just on one set of game nights or both- having an idea on numbers is always helpful. But feel free to bring your friends and such!

Right. I'm just going to copypasta benchilada's post here in its entirety. Why? Because he hits the nail on the head- there is highly worthy stuff here, and you should go check it out:


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http://ars.userfriendly.org/cartoons/?id=20091221

Cartoon for Today, Dec 21, 2009

http://links.userfriendly.org/lotd?http://www.reactionengines.co.uk/index.html

Get off this rock special: Reaction Engines. P.S.: There's a manual out there too!! Thanks to Robert Harvey for the link.

Love to all my LJ friends..

Hope this season brings you wonder and joy.. but most of all hope..

hugs from a cold TN

It is actually *sunny* here! I'm thrilled; except for the drive to the airport Friday, I haven't seen the sun in over 2 weeks.

I spent the morning bopping between the bathtub and the greenhouse. The Sierra Club is going to revoke my membership, but I used "Rust Out" on the tub and it's doing a really nice job. I promise to keep it clean from now on and not have to resort to such harsh chemicals except once every five years when I just can't stand it any more.

The greenhouse is doing well; I harvested a bunch of kale that was looking a little peaked after all the freezing weather and pulled out the peas and green beans. I also got inspired and cut down one of the blue spruces that's shading the greenhouse and back garden. I had some thought of turning it into a Christmas tree but decided it was too much work.

I've also realized that if my continued survival were to depend upon my ability to cut firewood, I'd be dead by New Year's. Blah. Rubber arms! So, as per usual, I've resorted to ingenuity where strength fails me: I have ads on Freecycle and Craigslist offering the remaining spruces as free you-cut Christmas trees. :)

The underlying problem, which the Liberals have right, is that it is unfair that only the First World gets this high standard of living, and that we've used up the cheap oil to the point that the Third World may never get to our level, EVER. That is a problem. Something the UN has right is the need for the world's residents to reach the same level of development, the same degree of opportunity so our geniuses make things better instead of turn into crime bosses and warlords ruling their fiefdoms with blood and bullets. The thing the Republicans have right is respect for civil liberties (sorry, if you were expecting Democrats there you'd have to examine the party Lincoln belonged to), though I must state that the former President was not a Republican, ideologically, while he was banning all our civil rights. The thing the Democrats have right is the ideological concern for the poor. Alas, all parties stray and screw up and do more harm than good for the most part. I am not so concerned about that. It is becoming painfully obvious that both American political parties deny the rights of the Middle Class and if they don't figure this out they will cease to exist, or we'll have a revolution again and that will cost a lot of lives and result in decades of social and economic disruption, thus lowering standards of living in a hail of gunfire, disappearances, bombings, and blood stains. We really don't need that. A political revitalization would be far preferred. And quicker.

Everyone on earth should be able to enjoy stable currency, hot showers, extra food in the cupboard, free/cheap access to information, education, affordable medical care (and that's a can of worms), the right to self defense, the right of travel, the right to speak your mind, basically the American Bill of Rights plus clean water, hot showers, food, and health. These are things which are in reason, and can be had for even the poorest people on earth, even in Africa. They're getting there anyway, catching up, and scalable cheap Green technology is helping it happen. I'm not talking Fuzzy Hippie crap, I'm talking simple brute force technology that can be built on site with minimal tools and make lives better. Engineering for the third world wins Nobel prizes. It also stops or at least delays wars, lessens their severity. Fundamental respect for nations by decision makers is necessary, and that's going to take time before the bias ends. Long Way Down, despite being an adventure motorcycle trip, is good for seeing the degree we are alike with the rest of the world, the places we were taught to fear. Even as they crossed the border into South Africa and were told how amazing it was they were still alive by the guards, the reality is people just want to live, with some comforts and security, and be allowed to choose their life path themselves. For most, violence is not even considered. That's the work of the criminal mind, forever denied the opportunity to excel under law. Its screwed up. Its beyond what WE can fix.

We do have to keep it in mind as we gradually find the middling ground, as the economy continues to slow and we see our raises not happen, take pay cuts instead, suffer the consequences of this increasingly weak economy, no matter how much the Papers lie about it. With a fridge and a radio and clean water, you can live. With a light you can learn. With hot showers you don't have to stink. With food in the pantry you can have hobbies and crafts. With means to travel you can escape from the daily grind and expand your horizons into other ways of thinking, of living. We take these for granted. We shouldn't. We should insist on them being the base level of existence, for everyone who wants it.

http://ars.userfriendly.org/cartoons/?id=20091220

Cartoon for Today, Dec 20, 2009

http://links.userfriendly.org/lotd?http://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/index.htm

How many ways can I tie my laces> Let me count.. Thanks to Derek N for the link.

Dear non-horrible people:
I have a story to share. I need to expunge this from my memory, yet preserve it so, if at some later date, I feel remorse, I will have a reason to smack myself.

Let me begin at the beginning.

I was born.
(wait -- I think that's stolen from Dickens. I'll try another approach.)
I'm a flutist. I teach flute and piccolo, and have done so most of my life. I actually like it, now that I don't have to do it 9325 hours a week. I'm down to about 20 or so.

In the years of teaching, I have also judged various music contests at various levels. I've done beginner-level contests, college Concerto competitions, All-State things, band camp auditions, you name it, I've judged it. Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Texas, West Virginia (that was a trip), etc. All around.

So when I moved to Michigan, I naturally called up the state office of the music educator association (it's Michigan State Band and Orchestra Association, hereafter known as MSBOA or "the assholes"). I inquired into being a judge out here for any of the solo/small ensemble/allstate band contests. I was informed that I needed to submit the following
(btw: keep in mind, this was in early September and we'd been in Michigan for about 4 weeks at that point)
1: a fully filled out 2-page application (no prob)
2: a full resume (also easy -- I was applying all over the place anyway)
3: a Teaching Philosophy Statement (yuck. but I can BS with the best of them)
4: a Judging Philosophy Statement (well, "hang 'em high" was already taken....)
5: TWO letters of reference from MSBOA members who were familiar with my teaching.

whoops.
I didn't know anybody yet. I mean, I DID but I didn't know if they were MSBOA people, and if they were, it seemed presumptuous to go asking for recommendations after all of 22 days' acquaintance.

So I called up The Assholes and said that I could get them multiple recommendations from notable people from several states, including the President of the Indiana Band and Orchestra Association! The MSBOA guy didn't return my call, so I went ahead and got letters from the founder of the Pittsburgh Flute Academy (a former colleague), the conductor of the symphony I'd played with for 5 years, and the pres of the IBOA.

Well.

I received my rejection letter 2 weeks later. Me, being myself, immediately called the president of the MSBOA and demanded to speak to the president. He was quite apologetic, but said that a UNANIMOUS vote by the board was required for anyone to be approved. And that I should try back in TWO YEARS, when they next were taking applications.

Ooooookay.

So two years pass. I am now the chair of the winds,brass and percussion department of Michigan State Univ.'s community music school, a leading private teacher in the area, and friend of some important MSBOA folks.

I resubmitted all that dumb-ass crap, PLUS my oh-so-valuable TWO signatures of MSBOA members. WOo hoo.

I received my approval letter a few weeks later, along with the notice that I was to spend $35 of my hard-earned dollars to attend a Full-Day Judge Training Session in DECEMBER. On a Saturday! And I had to PAY?

So I, gritting my teeth, put it on my calendar.

So this Festival of Judging funness began (at a location about 1 hour away) with Registration at 8a.m. Did I mention that it was december? Yeah. And the coffee wasn't ready. Noooooooooooo!

I arrived promptly at 8. No coffee. But the guy collecting the checks was there. There were probably 40 of us future judges milling around. I was the ONLY one in a non-black coat. Really. Ok -- there may have been a gray one or two. But I was in red. Already I blew my cover.

I was bowled over by the overweening sincerity of the attendees. I was the only one rolling eyes, smirking, sighing. Every one else was all reading the handouts (of which there were a distressingly large amount) and chattering about what a Great Opportunity this was, and how Lucky We Were to Have Been Selected. OH. Did I mention that you had to have at least 10 years of teaching experience? Yeah. So that meant there were maybe 4 people under the age of 35 there.

At about 8:20 I looked longingly at the urn that held the still-brewing coffee for the red light that signaled readiness and sighed. Screw it. I poured myself a cup from the non-ready pot, dumped in a whole LOT of Coffeemate (creme brulee, if you're wondering) and sidled into the auditorium. Again, the sincerity was alarming.

These were NOT my people. Nobody making jokes about sneaking off to strip clubs. Nobody complaining of hangovers. NO ONE! Nobody fuming silently into their coffee. Ew.

So I flopped into a seat in the center section, a few judicious rows back, and glared at my pile of handouts. I was NOT going to waste precious brain power reading at that time of the morning. This had better get GOOD right quick or I was going to have to unleash the full power of my PMS on their asses.

(did I mention I had PMS? And I purposely didn't take any Midol because sometimes PMS is your only weapon.)

8:30 came and went. tk tk tk tk tk went my fingernails on the armrest of the chair. tk tk tk tk tk again. and agian and again.
Much milling around by important-looking people in suits. Much smiling and joking. Many future judges rifling excitedly through cheaply-copied articles on "the Joy of Judging" and "Top 10 Signs you're a Good Judge."
tk tk tk tk tk
8:45.
I glanced reluctantly in the folder of crap in my lap. It gave the schedule for the day.
8:00-8:30 Registration
8:30-9:30 Welcome, Introduction and Overview
9:30-11:30 General Workshop, Role-Play and Discussion

(did you feel the bile rising just a Little just then? me too)

tk tk tk tk tk
By now I had excused myself to get another heavily doctored cup of crappy coffee, and now was feeling the pressure. And there were people on both sides of me. Did I excuse myself to find the bathroom or save up the need for a time when I was insanely bored and in need of distraction?

I waited. Like PMS, it's best not to waste a good run to the potty on time better spent texting.

8:53. Some meaningful rustling about near the stage. I was practicing biofeedback to try to make my pulse exactly 60 beats per minute.

8:57 A slick 40-something guy in a realtor-style pinstripe suit (really - on a Saturday) smiled and announced that Due to two separate times given out, the beginning of the workshop would be delayed until 9:00.

tk tk tk tk tk tk

8:59 Trying to get my pulse to slow to 55 beats per minute.

9:02 Realtor-man clears his throat and starts talking about how Fabulous it was that we all Had THe Opportunity to learn from these Great Educators. He gestured to 4 people sitting near him in the front row. Then after some more blithering, he stepped aside and introduced the President of the MSBOA. WHo then blathered a bit about what a vital role we will play in the futures of the young musicians and blah blah blah blah. (contemplated making that run to the potty at this point, but held off. who knew what might be next?)

Then he and Realtor BOy (RB) tag teamed an overview of all our materials in a rather ad-hoc fashion, jumping around in response to questions from the crowd.

After at least 40 minutes of this "you tell me how great we are, and I'll tell you how great _I_ think we are" bullshit, I raised my hand.

"So, do all the judges get paid the same? I mean, do cello judges make more than clarinet judges, for example?"

* * sound of a pin dropping * *
-- chirp --

Wel....
Um.
You see, each district gets to set its own rates and..

"But, does each district have to pay all their judges the same within that district?"

--- ----
Um. We think so?
"And how can we know that?"

---creak ----

Well, you could call and ask?
"All 16 districts? Don't you know?"

And so on.

I was not making friends.

After many many MANY mintues of discussion, we moved on to judging standards. They pressed us to "not judge too harshly" especially those who had "college ears," meaning, those who do not regularly have contact with junior high and high school players.
THe MSBOA has a rating system from 1 to 5, 1 being best. Each student is judged independently, meaning that there is no "First Place" but rather a rating of "1" or "2" etc.
They had some students play for us and we all had to assess the performance and give a rating, and then we all discussed our comments and our ratings to see how we all did.

hm

The question was always asked (for these little demonstrations), "Raise your hand if you thought it deserved a "1"... now raise your hand if you thought it deserved a "2"....
And that was it.
Notice something missing??
3. 4. 5....

Each and every time. 1 or 2? 1 or 2? 1 or 2?

So finally, I raised my hand.


"what about the rest of the ratings? Why not give a 3 or 4 for that performance, which was clearly substandard?" (btw: The students were NOT in the room for these discussions)

WELL. We ...mmm.... are here to encourage the students. we don't want to be punitive. We want them to WANT to come back next year!

"But if your standards clearly say [reading from the judging form] '3 means a satisfactory performance which shows promise' and '4 means a sub-standard performance with some obvious flaws' and '5 means a performance unsatisfactory in nearly every detail' shouldn't we be giving those ratings out? You can't tell me that last performance was really [reading from the form again] '2 - excellent performance, very few obvious flaws' can you?"

* * * crickets * * *

Next question?

I'm too tired to continue. Maybe more next time.
-

The only thing I did in the garden today is water with rainwater. But it doesn't matter. I've got a 2-week break from work, and will have plenty of time to put in more of the winter garden.

We enjoyed a delicious garden salad today. The weather outside was a balmy 75 degrees and sunny.

I have posted, several times, about the need for us to take up motorcycling. The gardening, canning, herbs and chicken coops are obviously important too. Ways to stay ahead of the creditors, to become debt free and stay that way. America, and Europeans, have all buried themselves in debt and our nations are suffering the consequences of pyramid schemes at the national level. The First World is going to have to get used to more Third World living conditions. The roads, the power brownouts, unlimited delays in everything you can imagine as the ripple effect and unintended consequences wreaks havoc with the various interdepencies we call Civilization.

I recently watched a series of programs about adventure cycling called The Long Way Round and The Long Way Down, which are about crossing Asia on motorcycles, including Mongolia and Siberia, and the other about traversing Africa, from Tunisia to Egypt, then South to Sudan (peaceful, since it was the Eastern Desert), Ethiopia (very pretty mountains), Kenya and Rwanda (surprisingly nice country), then across Botswana to Namibian coast and south to South Africa. Every country they reached had a similar story "Oh you'll be fine here but those other guys, they're real bastards".

Seeing Africa from the back of a motorcycle was eye opening, even from the remote comfort of a documentary. It is way less dangerous than it was even a few short years ago. Someday soon, Africa is going to get settled, exploited, turned into suburbs with Taco Bell and Burger King, lions or not. I can't help but wonder if we aren't going to start paying more attention to Australian Rat-Car designs as our own roads fall apart. Ozzie Rat Bikes make certain sense in a post-pavement world. I do think we're heading that way. If for no other reason that pavement is made of either concrete, which takes enormous amounts of natural gas to make, or asphalt, which is made of lots of tar, an oil byproduct which is worth more when cracked into fuel and sold.

Are your roads falling apart? Are you seeing some infrastructure decay as budget cuts started affecting things like roads in your area?

http://ars.userfriendly.org/cartoons/?id=20091219

Cartoon for Today, Dec 19, 2009

http://links.userfriendly.org/lotd?http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RuLU5KRC7U

A cool Chris Angel trick. [YouTube | Open comments]Thanks to Maxmillian Venus for the link.

Today was filled with mad rushing about, errands, shopping, etc, and to top it all off a nice big fat flare-up. So, While I'm on my ass feeling not much other than pain and the desire to DO NOTHING, have a meme:



I Am A: True Neutral Human Sorcerer (5th Level)


Ability Scores:

Strength-11

Dexterity-13

Constitution-13

Intelligence-18

Wisdom-12

Charisma-16


Alignment:
True Neutral A true neutral character does what seems to be a good idea. He doesn't feel strongly one way or the other when it comes to good vs. evil or law vs. chaos. Most true neutral characters exhibit a lack of conviction or bias rather than a commitment to neutrality. Such a character thinks of good as better than evil after all, he would rather have good neighbors and rulers than evil ones. Still, he's not personally committed to upholding good in any abstract or universal way. Some true neutral characters, on the other hand, commit themselves philosophically to neutrality. They see good, evil, law, and chaos as prejudices and dangerous extremes. They advocate the middle way of neutrality as the best, most balanced road in the long run. True neutral is the best alignment you can be because it means you act naturally, without prejudice or compulsion. However, true neutral can be a dangerous alignment because it represents apathy, indifference, and a lack of conviction.


Race:
Humans are the most adaptable of the common races. Short generations and a penchant for migration and conquest have made them physically diverse as well. Humans are often unorthodox in their dress, sporting unusual hairstyles, fanciful clothes, tattoos, and the like.


Class:
Sorcerers are arcane spellcasters who manipulate magic energy with imagination and talent rather than studious discipline. They have no books, no mentors, no theories just raw power that they direct at will. Sorcerers know fewer spells than wizards do and acquire them more slowly, but they can cast individual spells more often and have no need to prepare their incantations ahead of time. Also unlike wizards, sorcerers cannot specialize in a school of magic. Since sorcerers gain their powers without undergoing the years of rigorous study that wizards go through, they have more time to learn fighting skills and are proficient with simple weapons. Charisma is very important for sorcerers; the higher their value in this ability, the higher the spell level they can cast.


Find out What Kind of Dungeons and Dragons Character Would You Be?, courtesy of Easydamus (e-mail)



( even more detailed results.... )

I'm not much for keeping up with the Joneses, or for keeping an impeccably clean house, but I just got back from the home of my mother-in-law, who does. I looked at my bathroom with new eyes, and yeuch. Six years of rusty well water (plus a month or so when the water softener was on the fritz) have taken their toll on the tub and toilet, and I just can't stand it any more. It all just looks so scuzzy.

I scrubbed the tub with CLR rust remover (approved by some eco-org of questionable truthiness), with nary a dent in the orange stains. It's currently soaking under a paste of OxyClean, but I have few hopes. I also scrubbed the inside of the toilet tank. That rust came off easily, but there are still stains inside the bowl that aren't budging from the porcelain.

Anyone have suggestions for cleaning a cheap, scratched, plastic tub of rust stains? I've tried vinegar, baking soda, bleach, and the things mentioned above. I'm even willing to go a little toxic to get the damn thing clean again, then be better about non-toxic maintenance.

In case you haven't already heard ... today the mayor of the District of Columbia signed into law permitting same-sex marriage ... and he did the signing ceremony at a UU church!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/17/AR2009121704330.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/18/AR2009121801789.html
http://www.all-souls.org/

Of course, we still have to hold our collective breath for 30 more days in case someone in Congress tries to have the bill overturned. (They're getting pressure from the more conservative clergy, including ministers outside of the District. *grumble*)

I'm just hopeful that when the law takes effect in a few months, the District will join Massachusetts and a few other states in showing the rest of the country that the sky will not fall down because people love each other. Note to same-sex couples: the District is really romantically lovely in early April when the cherry blossoms bloom!

(All Souls Unitarian was an active place in the civil rights movement and was the "parent" church of a number of suburban UU congregations, including mine, that formed around Washington in the 1950s.)