I apologize for nit having a full post today, because I’m sending the kids (and the wife) off to camp, and I haven’t had enough time to edit the post for today. On the bright side, I’ll be rid of them for over a week! And I’m hoping I’ll actually be able to get work done without teenagers to leach my day away. Right now, I’m on my smartphone, waiting for their rides to finally get here and take them away from me.
I do have a quick item, however, ready to post.
Photo © 2009 Mrs Logic CC BY 2.0
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I’m a bit of an oddball among writers, because I don’t condemn the television set. On the contrary, I think everyone, and especially serious writers, should watch TV, including TV comedies and dramas, because the audio/visual format provides a perspective on story that you can’t get from reading a novel. This flies in the face of the common rant, that TV is a scourge that should be eliminated from the entertainment landscape.
On the other hand, many people watch more TV and movies, and read less. And when they do read, they read non-fiction instead of fiction. Because “Reading is hard,” (which it really isn’t, not if you practice at it). Or “Novels are uninformative,” (which they aren’t; in fact, they give a perspective on life that you can’t get from a non-fiction book). The written word—and fiction in particular—provides benefits you can’t get from other media.
And in that vein, here are seven reasons that you— Yes, you, the guy there in the flowered shirt— You should read novels, short stories, and other fiction: Continue reading “Why Reading Fiction Is Good for You”
Photo © 2007 Ravindra Gandhi CC BY-SA 2.0
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I’m throwing together this Monday post at the last minute, because I got absolutely no writing done yesterday. Because my Beloved and I were busy working on our budget. Because we busted our budget for July. And then after we did the budget, we went shopping.
Okay, I’m kinda jumping to the end of the story.
I sometimes walk in the morning at the mall near my Firstborn’s school. I’ve even been doing so during July, because she’s been going to summer school (which is a different story). One of the problems with walking the mall is that it makes me want to go shopping. Now, I’m not normally the shopaholic-type. But the sounds, smells, sights of the mall, it does something to you. The effect is part marketing genius and part the rush of adrenaline that you get when you buy something. But when you’re on a tight budget, you have no money for shopping. So walking the mall leaves me with this unmet desire. Continue reading “Shopaholic”
Now that we’re working Dave Ramsey’s system, I’m collecting beans-and-rice recipes. (Dave Ramsey fans will get that.)
I’ve been working with dried beans, because they’re cheap and plentiful. And with a little planning, they’re pretty easy to make. Lentils and split peas are the easiest, of course, as they require no soaking.
I complement the beans with a variety of ingredients, especially canned tomatoes and flash-frozen vegetables, both of which are cost-effective and of high quality. Frozen carrots, corn, green beans, and broccoli work especially well. Frozen diced potatoes, usually packaged as “hash browns,” can be used in soup recipes. I even use frozen diced onion and bell peppers, for convenience, even though fresh would probably yield better results.
Here’s a curried split-pea soup that I’ve made before, based on Alton Brown’s recipe. Except this past week, I actually measured all the ingredients and wrote down everything I did. (And then forgot to take a picture. Just imagine a yellow-gold mash with chunks of carrot and potato, and you’ll get the picture. The next time I make it, I’ll try to remember to take a photo. Oy.)
As usual, it was a big hit. Made a big pot, which disappeared within a day.
Links and things that I’ve run across recently.
“Merepoint Light”
Photo © 2012 smilla4 CC BY-NC 2.0
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Catching up on some of my subscribed RSS feeds, I was enamored of a photo post by smilla4 on her Independence Day in Maine at Ardor Point— er, I mean Merepoint.
Heard this phrase at a recent tevilah, the phrase gemilut chasadim (גְּמִילוּת חֲסָדִי×), “deeds of lovingkindness.” This article on MyJewishLearning.com explains gemilut chasadim.
Gemilut chasadim are not just alms given to help the poor, but things we do to be charitable to everyone. Continue reading “Bits & Pieces 2012-07-26”
Yes, that’s me, pretending (for the photographer) to be working on the electronics of a centrifuge.
The last clear memory I have of my school-year jobs was the VP yelling at my manager, red-faced, outside his office, right out in the middle of the hallway.
The job, at this now-defunct manufacturer of centrifuges, for me started as a co-op job in college, while I was studying electrical engineering. They hired me at a song and dance as a lab technician, to assist in the electronics lab, producing wire-wrap prototypes, helping the electrical engineers, and all-around learning about electrical engineering in the real world. This is where I met my friend Tom, who had also been working a co-op job, and was continuing to work there part-time while he took classes. Continue reading “Yelling with the Boss”
This story definitely goes into the “Sometimes God just takes care of you” category.
Last Tuesday, I walked out of the Chelmsford Public Library, after working there on my computer that morning, to where my car was parked, and I saw this:
And a jolt zapped through my gut. Who the hell did that to my car?! How?…
Backing up for a second, getting some perspective… Continue reading “And a Stolen Laptop Later…”
1991 Geo Prizm (Not mine, just the same model and color)
On the morning of December 8, 2010, I passed two—not just one but two—accidents on the highway. Usually, there aren’t any. But that day, one of them closed down the entire highway. And I was one of the first batch of drivers to get caught in the resulting traffic jam, even before news of the accident hit the news. The experience gave me some time to think, and I recalled accident stories from my past.
That’s when I decided to write this story.
(Yes, that’s sometimes how long it takes me to go from post idea to final publication.)
(By the way, this is not exactly a funny story. But it should be relatively fun to read, and I’m desperate for Friday material this week. So—sorry—this is what you’re stuck with.)
About a year before I met my Beloved, I totaled an almost-new Geo Prizm. I was much younger then, a young twenty-something carefree, still living with my parents. Continue reading “How I Totaled My Favorite Car”
