Canning Day

Last night I worked on getting the outside kitchen burners prepared.

The weeds are cleared around it.

I bought a couple of new inserts for the big blue enamel pots to that hold the quart jars.

The apricots are getting ripe. They are much smaller this year. Some ripen before others.

The peaches are breaking down the tree in front. The girls and I made 18 half pints of peach jam and one pint of peach jam a couple of days ago.

Yesterday it was very hot. By far the hottest day of the year. We were more than tripple digits. It makes the 99 degree forcast today seem like a cooling trend.

We are headed to Modest to investigate what needs to be done with my sick Ipod. Its got the dreaded red x with the circle around it. Some folks on the web say that all it needs is a fresh upload of ITunes. I have patiently worked through the steps to get it recognized through the disc modes but it will not go. Others on the web say that when you get that sign, you ipod is toast. They recommend you getting it to the nearest apple store for a replacement.

A replacement "allows" you the oppportunity to pick and choose your on board music and entertainment package. The Ipod is 120 gb.. so not a great amount of sorting snd sifting has had to be done. I like it, I have it, its on it.

Have a great day.

Pat

Mary Youngblood

I am listening this morning to the music of Mary Youngblood. She is a native american flutist that was born in Sacramento from parents that were Seminole and Aluete.

From her website: Mary Youngblood


Two-Time GRAMMY Winner and EMMY Nominee Mary Youngblood, is the first Native American woman to have received a Grammy Award for "Best Native American Music Album" and the first Native American person to have won two Grammy's which makes Mary one of the premiere Native American musicians in the country. Winner of numerous awards, Mary garnered the 2002 Grammy for Beneath the Raven Moon and the 2006 Grammy for Dance with the Wind.

When Mary performs, it takes only a moment to acknowledge the profound spirituality of the sacred Native American flute and its historical courtship and wooing attributes. Her haunting music is much more than a song... it's liquid poetry, a prayer. Mary takes little credit for the intense emotions people feel when they listen to her music.

She has a great integration Native American Flute with other instruments.

Its pretty interesting ambiance muisic.

Pat

Ipod with Scrambled Brains

My Ipod is broken

I have gone to the Apple site and have worked to get the menu back. I have followed all of their resetting steps. I still get the three death tones and the x with the circle around it.

It was probably removed from its source too soon one time.. maybe. or it met with some metal influence like coins in my pocket. Or it got too hot or or or...

It needs to go to Modesto to the apple store. I am going to be in the line once again with a hapless problem. Won't happen today. We doing more cleaning of the house. I am starting the day with some serious canning.

The fruit on the trees has got me a little paniced. Its getting ripe all at once. Mom has provided me with all of her empty jars so they may be filled with apricots. This is the plus year.

I have some of those wonderful little boxes that turn your chopped up fruit into jam. So all is good.

The temperature is right. Its going to be 96 today. So the outdoor kitchen has to be prepared. Go Go Go!

Have a great day!

Pat

Data Memory Does it Again.. Great Service

I have been known to procrastinate

So once again it bites you in the butt to do that.

I bought new memory for my computer to max it out.. 4 gb.. which by the way is standard for new desktop macs similar to mine.

I bought the Ram chips before I got the computer.. thanks to the reminder of my sister to come through with the computer and my dad who graciously suggested that I upgrade to "one like his."

Its always a tough decision as the software upgrades are very close to the same cost as the computer (who would have thought that would be the case in 1990 when these animals started coming off the factory floor.

So I purchased Ram before I got the computer. Back when we were just talking about a computer upgrade.. And sure enough, Apple changed the type of memory before I got the new computer. So I contacted my memory company, Data Memory in New Hampshire and they exchanged it out.. well I didn't get the memory back to them and didn't add the memory when the computer came.. it was working great..

I tried to put in the new memory. The memory is connected to little pull tabs at the base of the screen. I tugged on them.. and then I got cold feet. It was a little harder a tug than I thought should be needed.

So I finally gathered up the Ram and took it up to Apple. The man at the genius bar said that he could not put in the Ram since it wasn't Apple's but I was welcome to do it in front of him if I had my own tools (a screwdriver) He went in the back and got out a very short handled screwdriver and sat it down and went to help another poor soul at the table. I think the message in retrospect was, give it a try and I will be there if you need it. I didn't get it, so he came back and said. Let me show you how to get the memory out. I watched. The real trick is to keep the plastic tab straight as you pull. The memory popped out.. and he demonstrated how stiffly the memory goes back in. He said, "Now you work on the other side." There are two slots that are acceible from the bottom.

I "practiced" and then did it when I got home. I received the three bongs of doom. When I installed the "new memory from January." The chips were bad. I put the old chips in and contacted data memory by email. After a couple of quick responses back and forth, they new chips are headed across the country via Ups ground. I checked last night and they had made it to Illinois. The chips were sent absolutely free and a prepaid return adress label was also included so that the old chips can be sent back to them with no hassle.

got to love it.. Datamemory Pat

Not to be defined by the medium

I was reading today a little piece from a peachpit"Beyond the Medium" by Curt Cloninger, June 17. on how it is important for an artist not to be defined by his media. People that design web pages seem to think only in that media when there is so much art that can influence and should be simultaneously engaged.

One of the artists cited is Vito Acconci. He started out with street projects and now has moved his art into architectural projects like the bridge on the river Mur in Austria.

I hope you follow the links above and catch some pretty interesting images! And some food for thought.

We really shouldn't let the medium define us.

: ) Pat

Peach Trees Have a smell

It starts early in the season.. around February

The skinny knobs swell and bulge

Deep within its silent bark these knobs turn shiny cranberry red

Almost at cue the tiny knobs burst into light pink starlike blossoms

The air is redolent with a feint smell of almond. Its the peach blossom seaon

Each branch competes with all others to see which will have the most on it

Green leaves soon take over and hide the miracle of blossom

If the weather has been warm and the bees have made their visit, tiny beginnings of new fruit will be formed deep within the blossoms

The fragrance is gone.. well not really, The smell of new leaves becomes dominant

This new leaf smell is distictive, its not like grass or any other, Peach trees smell differently and they seem proud of their distinction

The watchful farmer knows that the tree in its anxiousness to compete for most blossoms per branch cannot keep the entire grist of its labor.

Only three or four peaches may be kept along each branch as it makes its way to the sky.

So the farmer has to make some decisions. Which tender wish will be fufilled and which will not. A human hand reaches up and makes an almost unconscious decision.

A careful thinning will allow those left to reach maturity. A mistake here will leave the poor tree without a crop.

Its too bad they all cannot be saved.

Such wonderful works of art.

They are still green and the size of steelie marbles when the choice is made

The choice will be made and made again as new clusters of peaches first missed are discovered

The wise man even in good years will use a human fist to measure the minimum space between these beuties, But what can be done when both peaches grow to fill the space between?

Ideally the winds will come and knock off those extras that the tree cannot maintain.

Sometimes a mistake is made and even the sticks that are made to hold the tree up with its added burden is not enough. There will be one less limb to worry about next year,

When the peaches are ripe, there is no other smell like it, A delicate aroma that fills the air and makes the nights of the central valley memorable.

It hot during peach harvest season. The low temperature at night is not less than 70. During the day it can be in the 100's. The smell of peaches that have fallen to the ground also emit a smell.

Its a little like peach brandy. Its heady and somewhat alcoholic.

When a peach orchard sits without its crop and with only the hope of next year on its mind, its nice to be around peach trees as they emit their collective sigh.

Signs of Recovery

How can you tell whether the stimulus is working?

I think that the real barometer of regaining strength in the economy is found in the least expected places. The fast food restaurants.

Spending money in the fast food places right now are the craftsmen of the building industry. When money is tight and there are few jobs, the cheapest fast food places are the hangout for the tile men and the carpenters. As money gets more secure, these folks are often out of towners and they start frequenting the more upscale places. This process is just starting to take place. Taco Bell is gradually giving away to more upscale tacquerias. The average tab at one of these places is about 7 dollars and change. The average tab at Taco Bell is just over 5. Out of towners in the construction trades are starting to eat their lunches at Panda Express. Its an 8 dollar plus tab.

Unlike most of the wealthy cities in California, Merced has no labor pool waiting to do jobs in groups. The day laborers are contacted by word of mouth. "Do you know someone that can help me with some dry wall?" There are usually three or four people that you can contact through this word of mouth connection.

So while the prices on housing dropped in half over the last couple of years, there are some people that are building equity in their homes through renovation.

Have a great day!

Pat

The Music Man is Streamed!

Oh such family history.

Coming off their fantastic sold out performances of Bye Bye Birdie, the El Camino drama department/music department decided to put on Meridith Wilson's Music Man. It was a huge production in 1965. It took 9 weeks of rehearsal including weekendss. I was in it! The cast was 60 students and the band had at least 20 members. What a sound. It just doesn't happen like that now.

I tried out for the lead. Can you imagine a 14 year old professor Harold Hill? What a laugh! I got a chorus part. I had a line in the Wells Fargo wagon scene. Raisins from Freson (how ironic considering that we live about 60 miles from Fresno). I was great to be in the musical and have such a great cast. We had some people that were really good. I taught my little sister, Kelly all of the lines. She has such a wonderful memory, that she can still spout them today. I had a lovely costume that fit right into the times. They were all rented from a costume agency that costumed the cast from many of the original movie or Broadway originals.

My daughters.. so sweet, just bought me 3 months of Netflix for father's day. I figured out how to download the movie viewer and discovered that the movie version of the Music Man is one of those steamed.. for free movies that Netfix has to offer. Wow. Its great. There has been some serious upgrades in movie technology since that era.. but the colors and cinematography is really wonderful. One reviewer in the Netflix group mentioned that the Music Man ousted West Side Story that year for the best musical on broadway. Can you imagine such wealth of options?

Love it Love it : ) Pat

New In Town

I just watched a really cool video. You can get in Netflix.. so order up. I downloaded it on Itunes and watched it in the dentist office while Sue had a temporary cap made for her tooth.

Here is the run down with teh Netflix description:

The weather isn't the only drastic change for high-paid consultant Lucy Hill (Renée Zellweger) when she's sent from her home base in South Beach, Fla., to a small Minnesota town to improve the productivity of a local manufacturing plant. The town's residents also take some getting used to, especially the ruggedly handsome union boss (Harry Connick Jr.) who's doing his darnedest to make sure that Lucy doesn't cut any jobs.

I have heard that the Minnesota folks are not real happy about the movie and the accents. And frankly with the key ear you can tell when they are off.. which means they are probably on during those times the actors are not trying to exagerate the sound.

Its got a little romantic piece in it.. but mostly its a inter country conflict of values movie. Yes its a little outdated in its concept. In realy life the people would loose their jobs without recourse.. but its kind of fun. Renee Zellweger plays a perfect part.. upscale yuppie business to hometown CEO in the most inhabbitable climate. I could relate considering my Gunnison experience with cold. You are cold inside when you know its really comfortable. They just wear more clothes in the winter.

Its a good one.

: ) Pat

Some Quick Movie Reviews

Just of Review of a Few of the Movies we have seen this summer season... so far

Fast and Furious.. Sue had to see it twice to pick up all the cool stunts. Don't miss the opening..OMG the hurdling gas truck has to be seen. I ended up buying Fast and Furious the original and 2 fast and furious on DVD through Ebay. This has to be the action movie of the Summer.. plot is less than fabulous.. but then there is Vin Diesel.. incredible.

Angels and Demons The Ronnie Howard..Tom Hanks project. If you read the book and remember it.. written by the same author as the Di Vinci Code, its different. This movie is a thriller and is pretty intense. Sue re read the book and now wants to see the movie again. I not sure that I am up for it.

Pelan 123 This s another tense compelling video. It will leave you squarely on the edge of your seat throughout the movie. Denzel Washington plays an "ordinary guy doing his job" as a controller on the NY subway when the economic terrorist, John Travolta holds a car at hostage under the streets. There are plenty of "backstories for this one." While very good, its not complicated enough to see again. Still its a good one if you like compelling video.

Up! We say the latest Pixar phenom animation today. We paid the extra $2.50 to put on the glasses and see it in 3D. I thought the extra was worth it, Sue didn't get the 3 D part. We both liked the story. Its got the old guy and the house on balloons. Bob will really like the animation. The story line is pretty cool although it drags in the middle when you least expect it. We had some tweeners sitting above us that thought the movie was pretty "cute" and there were plenty of "ah" moments in it. The dog part is pretty cool. Sue thought that mom and dad would really like this movie. I am thinking that Kelly and her interest in big dogs would really enjoy parts of this movie too.

So whats the tote? We haven't seen a movie that we didn't like this summer. Since the matinees are now 15 and the night shows are 20.. its a good thing.

: ) Pat

Tom is Touring the Gunnison to Durango Route

I thought that there might be some interest in Tom Olson's email to me regarding the touring around Gunnison Colorado. Tom is a guidence counselor at the high school that I have lunch at every day. He is a major participant in the TOTs (That other Table). Generally he is off shooting lighthouses in North America. He is a phtographer and a major photographic contributor to the now defunct San Joaquin Valley Sporting News that we founded on the web.

June 12, 7th day


I stayed at the Comfort Suites in Gunnison last night. After packing the car I headed for Western State College where Pat & Sue Brown graduated. It is not a big campus, but it is not small either. They are building some new buildings, one of which is a student union building.

After touring the grounds of the college I decided to drive 28 miles north to Crested Butte. It was a pleasant drive through ranch land and when I got closer to my destination I could see a lot of mountains surrounding this mountain community at 8,924 feet above sea level. So that gives me an idea of the height of the surrounding mountains if I was already at almost 9,000 feet.

I stopped at the Visitor’s Center and talked to two people. After looking at the historical section of the town I headed up a dirt road toward Kebler Pass. I stopped several times to take photos of the surrounding mountains and when I got to the Pass I asked someone to take my photograph next to the Kebler Pass elevation sign which read 9,980 feet above sea level. Then I drove up a few yards and crossed over to Ohio Pass (10,033) and worked my way down toward the highway that would lead me back to Gunnison. Again I stopped several times and took photos of the distant mountains and Aspens. The road over Ohio Pass offers some excellent views of the Castles, the appropriately named formations in the West Elk Wilderness. This upper stretch of the Ohio Pass has massive aspen forest, providing limitless photo opportunities for photographers. This road was a little rougher than the one up to Kebler Pass but very passable. But I did have to drive more carefully.

When I got to the highway I did not recognize the road. I did not know at the time I was on a different road than the one I drove up from Gunnison. I drove into a ranch and saw someone working around a house. I asked him if the road out at the entrance of the ranch would take me into Gunnison. I said I just came over Ohio Pass and I was not familiar with the road to Gunnison. He said, “You went over Ohio Pass in that car! I just came over Ohio Pass this morning and it almost scared me to death.” It wasn’t long before the road connected to the one I took in the morning and I was soon back in Gunnison.

I was hungry and decided to eat lunch in Gunnison because I thought it might be a long time before I would find a place to eat on my way to Durango. I ate a pork dinner at the Pallesades Restaurant. I had planned to take Highway 50 out of Gunnison to Cimarron. Just before Cimarron I was going to take Owl Creek Pass Road southeast over Owl Creek Pass (11,120 ft) and then meet up with Highway 550 to Ridgeway. However, it was late afternoon (after 3 p.m. and the skies were getting dark and it looked like rain). Beside Owl Creek Road was dirt and I knew it would be several hours longer to take this road than if I drove into Montrose (23 miles) and then take Highway 550 to Ridgeway. From Montrose (5,806 ft) I drove south on Highway 550 passing beautiful vistas of snow capped mountains, roaring streams, and interesting communities. I drove through towns with interesting sounding names such as Uncompahgre, Colona, Ridgeway, Ouray, and then I went over Red Mountain Pass (11,075 ft) before dropping down into Silverton where the Durango-Silverton Railroad runs. I am going to take that train tomorrow if weather permits.

The Animas River begins its race to the sea just south of Silverton and flows pass Durango and on into New Mexico. South of Silverton I went over Coal Bank Pass (10,640 feet) and drove pass Electra Lake and through the towns of Hermosa and Trimble before driving into Durango.

The motel I will be staying in is located on Highway 550. I am scheduled to stay in the Econo Lodge motel. Durango, appears to be a “party town” with many fine restaurants, saloons, and the narrow gauge railroad. The price one has to pay for lodging is quite excessive for what you get. I am paying $92.65 for a very small motel room with no heat because the woman told me they are on a central heating-system. She said it takes a long time to convert from heating to air conditioning and they have just converted to air conditioning so heat is not available right now. I think they converted too soon because it is cold at night. Also the bathroom needs lots of work (the faucets are old and do not work easily and other irritations. But this was the most reasonable considering most hotels were wanting $150 and up. I have stayed in worst, but the Internet is free and fast. Most of the so called “uppity” hotels always seem to charge me for internet.

After dumping my stuff in my room I headed for the train station to see what I needed to do the next morning. I was able to pick up my ticket at the ticket booth, the lady told me where to park and what time to be at the station in the morning. I walked out on the train platform and watch the last train return from Silverton. I took a few photos then walked up the street to see what businesses were operating. I passed an old hotel and went inside to see what it looked like. I heard piano music coming out of the bar, tavern, or saloon (LOL) and peek inside. A man was playing one of those old pianos and tunes from the 1800s. He was good. I decided to have a non-alcoholic beverage and listen to him play. The place was crowded and the waitresses were all dressed up in 1800s outfits (I will leave the description of their outfits to your imaginations). Another piano player relieved the first gentleman and he was equally good. I finished my beer and left. I remember I need a bottle of water to take with me on the train and the waitress told me there was a place across the street that sold bottled water. I purchased my water and went back to the hotel. I was not hungry because I had eaten a big dinner in the late afternoon in Gunnison. I was tired from my 12-hour day and went to bed. They wanted me at the train station by 7:45 a.m. I am looking forward to the trip tomorrow.

Take care.. Pat

No Layoff this August

Our school board has decided to spend down its rainy day fund.

We are one of just a handful of districts in the state that won't be facing layoffs this August. What everyone thought was permanent school funding after prop 98 is truly not. The cuts that the education community will get are not to ever be restored. They were restored in the past.

Sitting down with our president, our exec director and the Asst. Sup in HR we talked informally about what could happen to effect our contract for the year just completed and the one in our sites starting August 2009.

There is some hysteria that is going on. Some districts plan on laying teachers off in August even though they don't have to do it. A lot of districts think they need to do it because others are doing it. In today's computerized budgets its clear to see where the "inurance" money is located. We all have a stake in such claims. It is however, easy to get caught up in the hysteria of downsizing. As many will remember, this is not the first time that the state have reached some kind of crisis like this. It is the first time that they have wanted so much in terms of increase in quality and not had a way to pay for it. Our state movement in no child left behind is very expensive. Will these needs be met with leaner budgets and more students per classroom? Something has to give.

: ) Pat

Pluot Pruning

It says it on the web. So it must be true.

People that have mature fruit trees in their backyards (or in my case front yards) should do most of the pruning (taking off excess branches) in the summer rather than when the trees are dormant in the winter. There are several reasons for this.

1. It is more comfortable in the Summer. Cold winter winds are not particularly great for ladder work.

2. Plum trees and their derivatives and other stone fruit determine where the next crop will be even when the current crop is ripening. I made that mistake a couple of years a go and ended up with a very nice tree and no fruit on it.

3. It is good to provide scale for the trees so that they will not outgrow their space. This is particularly important in my front yard, a typical cul de sac front yard with grass, flowers, a front patio, and 8 peach trees, 2 pluot trees, two pomegranate, one nectarine and a kumquat tree.

4. Clippers instead of loppers. This time of year, new growth is easily controlled by had clippers. Later in the season, Loppers would need to be used to cut the new year's growth.

5. Home orchards should not be taller than 9 feet so that fruit may be thinned and sprays if needed can be controlled to the vital parts of the tree. (This year and last no dormant sprays were used. There was minimal peach curl but not more than a handful of leaves were lost.) I did find one little worm eating my first pluots from the inside out.

A little preventative now will help in the future.'

Just what the oral hygenist said to me earlier. If you don't do something about it, then you there will not be a decison in the future. I am contemplating some implants.

: ) Pat

Iphone? New or Old

Apple just announced a new Iphone model.. coming soon.

I am in need of a new phone, (Don't ask Sue) and I was wondering, after looking at the features, if I need a new model or get an old new IPhone for 100 dollars less.

New features.. twice as fast. The difference between Heathers and Linzi's one generation different is not significant to Heather... right? But twice as fast is intriguing. And what does that mean. I know that speed is an issue, but connection to the network and what kind of network is more important.

The new one has better battery life. This I understand is a major issue with these phones. If they are on the web.. they are draining power like a 17 year old girl drains the bank account while headed to the Prom. (Grandpa Ken gave me a similar illusion but I cleaned it up here).

Added features: Voice command. Operate your Iphone by your voice. This seems like a little de ja Vue. We all stood in wonder when Mace could be controlled by voice command in Mac OS system 9. Do you remember.. "Ruby, Print document!" It was the start of Apple incorporating features for people with disabilities. Most of these features most people never use until the cat.. sweet that they are come walking across the key board and suddenly every move you make with a mouse is "read" to you with lifelike clarity! So do you think that you will ever use this feature? Is it one of those things that might make it cool?

Search your phone with a Safari search engine? This seems like a interesting feature. Do Iphone people regularly loose stuff on their phone?

Built in compass? Would you use this feature? I know the map feature is kind of cool, We found a Barnes and Noble in Long Beach that would have taken some serious research to discover. Maybe that is the "missing piece" to the map program.

So comment away or email me your thinking.. Pat

Planting.. and Shopping For Planting

Planting always brings such hope.

We headed down to our local Home Depot yesterday and were looking at Barbeques. I think that Linzi's is still the best bargain out there. We did the reserach and then headed to the garden section where Sue is gaining some expertise in picking out appropriate flowers for the front patio.

Our front patio, (one of the best decisions we have made) is in the sun most of the day. What that means in our climate is that there needs to be daily watering of most of the plants to keep up with what is being lost to the sunlight. I have also discovered the hard way that there must be significant root zone for any plant on the patio. So.. big pots not just little ones that can be watered frequently.

Sue likes plants that last over the season. This climate is good for perennials. But they must have room for root growth or they need to be in the ground. We have some very nice geraniums that have fit this pattern. We are trying a few more after this trip to Home Depot. Sue is excited about trying some dianthus (mini carnations) and some small yellow daisy like flowers. Against the red used brick backdrop, they should be cool.

She also is trying a few annuals in a flatter pot the we have in the corner. Some marigolds and some dark purple salvia are taking up residence.

I am still chipping away at the weeds in the back. Its an early morning project even though we are really enjoying the cool June days (highs in the low 80's) Heat will come but not this week.. yeah!

Pat

Pancakes, top down or bottom up?

Pancakes have always been kind of fun at our house.

I despise the kind that are made from a mix, (sorry mom)

Bisquick and me just don't see eye to eye. I think that I cannot appreciate the amount of baking soda that is in the mix in order to keep its shelf life going.

So I have always made my own. I used to love to make crepes. Now its more of the breakfast kind of thing.

This recipe out of Joy of Cooking has been a favorite.. although Linzi swears I goof it up and it really is not this recipe. If you make it from the bottom up (the liquids go in first and then the flour) it has a tendency to be thin and crepe like. That is the favorite with Sue. If you like beautifully fluffy ones.. you start with the flour and add the liquid to it.

I made these today with my Mexican vanilla from the bottom up.. real butter.. yummmmmm!

1 1/2 C of flour
3 Tablespoons of Sugar
1 3/4 tablespoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon of salt (I use just a large pinch)

Combine in another bowl
1 1/2 Cups of milk
3 Tablespoons of butter (today it was 4)somewhat melted
2 eggs
(1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract

mix the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients .
(run on low speed on a mixer if you have one) stop mixing when you still see chunks of butter

cook on a griddle.. 1/4 cup per pancake. (you can make them bigger if you can handle them)

Happy cooking.. Pat

Tourist

Okay.. you stay overnight at someone's house and you get up the next morning and they are still asleep, what do you do?

On my walk in the last week a couple of people have run into this situation. Both under rather different circumstances.

I was walking my walk.. not particularly fast.. as many of you know. A short Brunett flagged me down as I was headed for the major intersection.

She said,"Where is that cigarette store around here. My ex, that is why he is my ex, left me without any this morning." She was pretty mad.

I pointed her in the general location of the storefronts that had the store. She was still fuming as she passed me.

This morning as I was headed for the Starbucks, a middle aged man approached me at the intersection. He said," Do you know where there a a coffee shop around here?" My first inclination was to point him to the mexican tacquaria in the shoping center. Its as close to a "coffee" shop that we have in this neighborhood. He further defined, like a Starbucks. I woke up and no one else is up at the place I am staying."

"Thats on down the road at the first traffic light make a left." I said. I added later,"They also serve Pete's at the gorcery store. Its not a "real" Pete's but they serve Petes there.

He said, "I like Pete's, Thanks." Off he went to the grocery store.

I think in some towns you would not fell comfortable asking these questions.

: ) Pat

The Backstory

New Obama linguistic occurrences

As I was leaving the grocery store this morning, two men came out of the Wells Fargo Bank. The snippet of conversation included, "Thats what she said, there was no backstory or anything."

We are living in worlds of backstories. Social networking allows us to share the backstories of our lives. So maybe you don't care. Well then you don't have to listen to it on the phone or read it.. its your option. The concept of a back story is relatively new. Some people that get Christmas newsletters abhor the backstories that they contain. I could never understand this. Why wouldn't you want to know what was going on rather publicly with your friends.

Studies have been made on the capacity of following social networks. The major limitation is rather finite number. For social non interactive connections with other humans the number is very near 150. On social networking, the direct interactions with people you know is practically much smaller and is gender different. For women it is 15 for men it is 10. I find these numbers pretty interesting. We like to track 150 but we only respond regularly to at the most 15.

What are the implications to union organizing? The units of interaction must be dropped to around 10 to 15 otherwise there is no chance that input can move up and down the chain.

What are the implications to departments in large schools. Once the department gets above 15 the groups fraction and their is limited interaction.

Social networking allows us to maximize the social model with daily interactions for those we choose to interact. It also allows us to broadcast our backstories with more people that we do not interact but are merely spectators to their lives.

So.. share your "backstory" with your 150 on facebook. Or better yet. let me know that I am very off base with your comments.

: ) Pat

Walk the Walk

What a cool day for a walk.

We are enjoying what can be identified as Bay Area weather this week. It even rained the night of graduation (Thursday) luckily for most events it occurred after the ceremony.

The walk this morning reminded me of the early morning peach season days in Grand Junction. There is a little humidity in the air but nothing to be concerned about. I gentle breeze makes me wish I had a sailboat. I don't wish that I have the hassle that is involved with keeping one up.

The Bonanza peach in the front yard is starting to show fruit with actual red on it. I figure that it will be two weeks before the fruit will be ripe enough to pick. There is a great little crop on it. It was one of the first trees that I planted in the front yard 29 years ago. Bob and Michael Sue and family gave it to us as a house warming gift. It is a genuine genetic dwarf. This year's configuration has it producing fruit all the way up to its eight foot maximum. It still thinks that it is a full size tree and tries to lay in a huge crop of fruit. I let it have a few more than I probably should this year. The thinning gap between each fruit was at least six inches. Its hard to believe that now. I have been enjoying the jam I made from the bounty of this tree all year.

This weekend my goal it to get the backyard ready for canning. I need to clear out weeds and make it safe for the outside stove to work. There is also a lot of weekend put away kind of job around the house. I cannot believe that we are both people that are not inclined to put away our projects when we are done. So there is always pick up and put away jobs that were started and complete or maybe just started throughout the house.

I hope you get your weekend goals completed in time for some fun!
: ) Pat

Donuts, Its a National Day!

As reported in the SFgate this AM.

For those who might want to justify those sticky guilty pleasures in their hands today, National Doughnut Day is actually a patriotic remembrance of the time in World War I when Salvation Army volunteers handed out doughnuts on the front lines to soldiers. The doughnut-dishers were all women dubbed "Doughgirls," and at the time, the plain cake yummies were just exotic European creations.

That changed when the Doughboys came home after the war and their nostalgic memories of both the dishes who dished the doughnuts and the doughnuts themselves fueled the explosion of the sweet greasy industry we know today as the world of donuts.

In honor of their role in both history and the swelling of waistlines everywhere, the Salvation Army declared National Doughnut Day in 1938. It's been a little-known but inadvertently honored tradition ever since.

"I'm kind of partial to chocolate croissants, but give me a good chunky doughnut and I'm happy," said San Francisco Salvation Army spokeswoman Jennifer Byrd. "I'm bringing a dozen to work in honor of the day."

No dolts when it comes to marketing, the national Krispy Kreme and Dunkin' Donuts chains are handing out one free doughnut to each customer today. There are no Dunkin' Donuts in the Bay Area, but the four local Krispy Kremes were cranking out holey ecstasy rings like rivets at a World War I shipyard.

Dad always that that would be a perfect retirement job. You could make donuts all morning and have every day to fly fish on some steam.

It still could happen.

Mountain people when they are not the natural vegan types, would eat some donuts.. becuase it is cold outside in the summer.

I made donuts in two loacations while going to school. Both had way more business than I would want as a retirement job. Both of the bakeries are no no longer in existence. Some interesting facts I learned along the way in making donuts.

1. All donuts are made from mixes. Some mixess are better and basically produce different products within the same classification. I prefer raised donuts with a long meaty texture. This is not what Krispy Cremes sells. Fails in Turlock and Rollen donuts in Merced had such mixes. The Rolling pin donuts in San Bruno used to have such a mix too.

2. All donuts have to be sold on the day they are made. Otherwise, they are day-old.

3. In Gunnison, the police officers would come in on their route and help themselves to all the day old they wanted. They really didn't pick up many.

4. The biggest job in donut making is the making of the glazes. 100 pound sacks of powdered sugar had to be hoisted and mixed with geletain and vanilla to make the clasic glaze for raised glazed donuts.

5. The most difficult raised donuts to make are the ones with the granular sugar. They have to be very lightly cooked and tossed individually in the sugar bowl to get coated while hot.

6. Cake donuts are the most fun to make because the machine the makes them over the oil is pretty cool.

7. The dishwasher needs all the parts to be cleaned in the water because it is much harder to clean tools that have caked on dough then ones that have soaking in water.

7. The worst job of the process is cleaning out the fryers. Every day the fryer oil is filtered and the burned parts donut crumbs are removed. Every so often the oil has to be cooled down and dug out. New vegetable oil replaces this from big blocks that are slowly heated up to frying temperature.

9. In the 70's and 60's and probablly today, 80% of the profit from a bakery comes from donuts.

A little inside info on donuts.

: ) Pat

Remote Starbucks Not a Bust

Today was the last finals day.

It started with a nice call from my sister and her husband, wishing me good luck on the last day.

The final day for my 5th period class wsa not too successful. Most of the students in this class are not academic. The two that are were not interested in getting good grades on the final. I tried to review for those that needed it. They just wanted to get on with it and so did the non academics. Consequently there was a huge period of time that was not programable.

I was a little worried that my co teacher for the last period was not going to make it back to schoool. She was not elected to return next year so had little stake in being here on the last day.

She did arrive. The autistic kid that has a huge focus on time requested that his mom come by and that we get a photo op. She brought a very nice Nikon SLR digital and both of us posed with the 5th year senior that is headed next year into a transition program. It was sort of nice that he wanted to include us in his final goodbyes. He brought a yearbook and we signed it. He has big problems with massive seizures.. but in the 5 years that I have worked with him.. no seizures. So that box with the drug and the rubber gloves got to go back to the health office and we were clear.

My co teacher show up and I headed off to Starbucks so that the class (7 members in all) could phone in their order. For most of the students using two cell phones and trying to be understood was not a easy as they had thought. One student was a little above his league and I hung up on him when no speech sound occurred. He called back and placed his order. I delivered and we had a successful lesson.

There are many subtle dialog pieces that occur when you send someone a starbucks order remotely. The Starbucks order has some complexity. Its not just a burger and fries. Some of the drinks may be order hot or cold, blended or iced, regular or skinny. It was all good. I wrote down the list from the car. One student wanted orange juice, another wanted milk,the teacher wanted a skinny 1/2 pump mocha hazelnut coffee. The para wanted a coffee with milk and sugar. There was an iced carmel macchiato and two blended mochas.

The other teacher was able to capture the ordering on her flip phone camera. All studetne got A's for their fine work toward this goal.

It was a success!

: ) Pat

First Day of Finals... Over

The students came in with anticipation.

Surely he won't make us do the whole five pages of test in 80 minutes. Some of them saying.. when do we get out of this class?

I gave them all the answers. Some took notes. 5 pages were delivered. Only one student didn't answer any of the questions. He has missed a major portion of the year.

I let them see both endings of the movie "Second Hand Lions" They barely had time to get their work done. Most of them did not have a chance to write about the ending that they liked best. Almost universally they liked the more involved ending that wasn't chosen to the the one that was used. It is identified as the "original" ending.

The original ending had Walter, the main character of the story arrive with his family. Walter has a blond wife and two blonde kids. My students were most impressed by seeing the old shiek step out of the limo with his harem and his horse guards ringing the burial area. Walter says a few words and even the kids that fought with Hub in the barbeque restaurant were their to give their respects.

The one the editorial crew piced was significantly shorter. The grandson of the sheik arrives in his helicopter from Houston and verfies to his son that Hub and Garth actually existed.

I think it is one of the better movies that I show in my classroom sequence. There is a lot of plot to discuss. There is a lot of non verbal language that occurs and it keeps the crowd dialed in.

There are a lot of people hoping that it doesn't rain tomorrow night for graduation. Both schools are planning graduation ceremonies outside. While it didn't rain today, the clouds sure projected the possiblity of rain. Its still pretty warm out tonight.

: ) Pat

The Last "Instructional" Day of the School Year

Yep we are all looking to end the school year that started way back August 13th, 2008.

Tomorrow the final testing occurs.

We have been told by the principal that this is not a day for parties and movies. It is day for finals and at the very least some instructional activity. That means you cannot have kids bring food from home and fill out a form and call it "instructional."

Various Assistant Principals will be out there in the classrooms to see that these banned activities will not take place.

We are however, required to attend the last faculty meeting on Wednesday which requires a 5 dollar charge for the party food if dues have been paid to the faculty club (20 dollars). Those not paying the faculty dues will be charged 10 dollars to eat, 3 dollars to watch. Its a time to wish those departing our company good luck (transfers, retirees, and non re elects). We host free of charge the classified members so that they may be thanked for their vital contribution.

Its a good time and we have some fun in a non academic manner.

I will be working with my class to complete the 4 page final that I have been reinforcing this week. They will also use the extra time to (total of 80 minutes) to do a writing assignment.

The pragmatic language class on Thursday will be the most fun. Another teacher and I have been working with this class. They are going to call me up at a Starbucks and give me a personal order for what they would like to have me bring back. We tried this eariler this year and had a difficulty getting it done in a short regular period. The class has been practicing this important telephone skill this week. Many of them do not use the telephone at home because of its complexity in not seeing the other person to whom they are talking.

I am anxious to see if this will go as planned,

Friday is a day to get in our grades. There will be some hair pulling to get this done on time too,

Sue is just excited to have me home more.

Take care : ) Pat