Steven Harper's Blog, page 11
August 27, 2024
Stormy Start
Big storm whipped through here. Tornado spotted north of us. 60 mph winds, big rain. We didn't lose power, but big, big chunks of Wherever did lose it, including Nameless High School and the two other high schools in the district (according to DTE's power outage map). Yeek! I wonder if we'll have school tomorrow.
As it happens, several schools in Michigan did a half day or closed entirely because of the heat--95 degrees and higher. Lots of schools have no AC or they have cheap-ass AC that can't handle this level of heat.
A similar thing happened last year, too. Right at the beginning of the school year, we had a power outage that closed school. Meanwhile, we had very few closures for snow and ice. In this changing climate, rain is the new snow.
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As it happens, several schools in Michigan did a half day or closed entirely because of the heat--95 degrees and higher. Lots of schools have no AC or they have cheap-ass AC that can't handle this level of heat.
A similar thing happened last year, too. Right at the beginning of the school year, we had a power outage that closed school. Meanwhile, we had very few closures for snow and ice. In this changing climate, rain is the new snow.
comments
August 25, 2024
Summer's End
Today is the last day of summer break.
I've already been up to Nameless High School several times, actually. I set up my room, got my first week's worth of plans in order, made copies, sat through the World's Worst Professional Development (tm). No, really. It was THREE HOURS of a trio of lecturers reading from a PowerPoint. When one lecturer was speaking, the other two were on their phones. And there were NO BREAKS.
You read that right. Three hours of dull lecture with no breaks. Know why? The school we were in is undergoing heavy renovations, and earlier that morning, one of the workers did something that basically shut off the water to most of the building. The only bathrooms that had working toilets were a pair of two-stall restrooms. For an auditorium filled with over 500 teachers.
"We won't be taking a break," one lecturer said, "because that'll cause a really long line at the bathroom, so we're just going to power on through. We promise that we'll stick to the three hour time slot and end on time."
When you catch me alone sometime, ask me how I spent those three hours. It probably won't surprise you.
Anyway, today's the last day, and it's a lovely, warm summer day in Michigan. I'm spending it doing very little. I went on a lovely bike ride this morning through woods and cornfields. I made a nice breakfast. I've surfed the internet, and I've written this blog.
Tomorrow the students arrive and the real work begins.
comments
I've already been up to Nameless High School several times, actually. I set up my room, got my first week's worth of plans in order, made copies, sat through the World's Worst Professional Development (tm). No, really. It was THREE HOURS of a trio of lecturers reading from a PowerPoint. When one lecturer was speaking, the other two were on their phones. And there were NO BREAKS.
You read that right. Three hours of dull lecture with no breaks. Know why? The school we were in is undergoing heavy renovations, and earlier that morning, one of the workers did something that basically shut off the water to most of the building. The only bathrooms that had working toilets were a pair of two-stall restrooms. For an auditorium filled with over 500 teachers.
"We won't be taking a break," one lecturer said, "because that'll cause a really long line at the bathroom, so we're just going to power on through. We promise that we'll stick to the three hour time slot and end on time."
When you catch me alone sometime, ask me how I spent those three hours. It probably won't surprise you.
Anyway, today's the last day, and it's a lovely, warm summer day in Michigan. I'm spending it doing very little. I went on a lovely bike ride this morning through woods and cornfields. I made a nice breakfast. I've surfed the internet, and I've written this blog.
Tomorrow the students arrive and the real work begins.
comments
August 24, 2024
Hot Dish?
Lately, the internet is abuzz with hotdish. This is because Tim Walz mentioned it in a rally speech as a Midwestern thing, and now everyone is talking about this quiet little food that's traditionally showed up at potlucks all over the place. It's been a huge mainstay of dinners everywhere.
I've never heard of them.
A hotdish, if you don't know them either, is usually some kind of ground or chopped meat in a white sauce covered with tater tots and baked. Often cheese, bacon, and/or mushrooms are involved as flavoring. They can be really easy (canned cream of mushroom soup with ground beef topped with tots) or really complicated (make a bechamel sauce while the shredded turkey is mingling with the tofu...). They're hot and filling and a cheap way to feed a large group.
I grew up in the middle of Michigan's lower peninsula in a rural area. Potlucks were a thing at any community gathering. I never saw a hotdish. There were lots of hot dishes, usually casseroles that ranged from fantastic to horrifying. (You learned really quick to avoid Mrs. Gunderson's noodle dish.) Lots of them had a protein in a white sauce. But I never saw anything that involved tater tots, as a hotdish must.
Weirdly, the hotdish engenders strong feelings either for against. They're either delicious, heavenly, and a touchstone of childhood, or they're instruments of world destruction in the hands of Satan.
But I've still never heard of them until now.
I've never made one, either, but out of idle interest, I looked up a bunch of hotdish recipes, and they strike me as solid but bland, like a lot of Midwestern cooking. (The Midwest's spice palette consists of salt. Pepper is too spicy, paprika too daring, curry too weird.) They're basically pot pie topped with tots instead of a crust or biscuits. Nothing worth getting upset--or excited--about. But people do. Screen after screen of comments on the recipes sound like a political divide. It's weird.
Have you heard of them? Made one? Are they a staple or a mystery?
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I've never heard of them.
A hotdish, if you don't know them either, is usually some kind of ground or chopped meat in a white sauce covered with tater tots and baked. Often cheese, bacon, and/or mushrooms are involved as flavoring. They can be really easy (canned cream of mushroom soup with ground beef topped with tots) or really complicated (make a bechamel sauce while the shredded turkey is mingling with the tofu...). They're hot and filling and a cheap way to feed a large group.
I grew up in the middle of Michigan's lower peninsula in a rural area. Potlucks were a thing at any community gathering. I never saw a hotdish. There were lots of hot dishes, usually casseroles that ranged from fantastic to horrifying. (You learned really quick to avoid Mrs. Gunderson's noodle dish.) Lots of them had a protein in a white sauce. But I never saw anything that involved tater tots, as a hotdish must.
Weirdly, the hotdish engenders strong feelings either for against. They're either delicious, heavenly, and a touchstone of childhood, or they're instruments of world destruction in the hands of Satan.
But I've still never heard of them until now.
I've never made one, either, but out of idle interest, I looked up a bunch of hotdish recipes, and they strike me as solid but bland, like a lot of Midwestern cooking. (The Midwest's spice palette consists of salt. Pepper is too spicy, paprika too daring, curry too weird.) They're basically pot pie topped with tots instead of a crust or biscuits. Nothing worth getting upset--or excited--about. But people do. Screen after screen of comments on the recipes sound like a political divide. It's weird.
Have you heard of them? Made one? Are they a staple or a mystery?
comments
August 21, 2024
Easy Solutions
Okay, the answer to this one was right out there:https://www.washingtonpost.com/.../carolyn-hax.../Short version: My mother-in-law wants to force me to choose a collectible so she can give me piles of them, but I don't want the clutter in my house. What do I do?Advice column readers chimed in with various solutions, from "tell her you'll just throw them out" to "tell her you collect something tiny, like antique buttons, and then keep them in a tiny box."Aw, come on, folks! The solution is simple: "Great, Mom! I collect hundred dollar bills."
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August 11, 2024
Lion King Pass
So Disney is doing a "live-action" animated prequel to THE LION KING:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o17MF9vnabg
The animation looks cool, and if I had no idea this was a prequel, I'd probably be intrigued.
However...
The problem with prequels with a "before he became evil" character is that they're inherently tragic. We KNOW it's going to end badly. This is why I generally don't like them. Sure, there's supposed to be suspense generated by the question, "What happened that the character became evil?" because no one is =ever= inherently selfish or cruel or self-serving--they must have gone through some kind of tragedy to make them evil. But this is so rarely done well that it's not worth watching. The ONLY character arc of this type that riveted me was watching Lex Luthor develop in SMALLVILLE, and that was because of Michael Rosenbaum's fantastic performance that showed us Lex battling the darkness already inside him.
This trailer, meanwhile, runs in entirely the opposite direction. Apparently, Mufasa is a lost lion cub found by prince Maka (who eventually becomes Scar). Mufasa is eventually adopted into Maka's family. The trailer spends a lot of time showing how much Maka wanted a brother, and how much joy the two brothers share, how deep their brotherly bond runs. The trailer shows not a hint of darkness in Maka, who is instead exuberant and loyal and utterly loveable.
But we know he has to turn so evil that he deliberately murders his brother, tries to kill his nephew, and turns the area around Pride Rock into a wasteland that starves his people. This means the movie is going to send this exuberant, loyal, loveable little kid through some kind of horrifying hell and torture him until he becomes black and twisted.
This is not a movie I want to watch. Not even for Lin Manuel-Miranda's music. Hard, hard pass.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o17MF9vnabg
The animation looks cool, and if I had no idea this was a prequel, I'd probably be intrigued.
However...
The problem with prequels with a "before he became evil" character is that they're inherently tragic. We KNOW it's going to end badly. This is why I generally don't like them. Sure, there's supposed to be suspense generated by the question, "What happened that the character became evil?" because no one is =ever= inherently selfish or cruel or self-serving--they must have gone through some kind of tragedy to make them evil. But this is so rarely done well that it's not worth watching. The ONLY character arc of this type that riveted me was watching Lex Luthor develop in SMALLVILLE, and that was because of Michael Rosenbaum's fantastic performance that showed us Lex battling the darkness already inside him.
This trailer, meanwhile, runs in entirely the opposite direction. Apparently, Mufasa is a lost lion cub found by prince Maka (who eventually becomes Scar). Mufasa is eventually adopted into Maka's family. The trailer spends a lot of time showing how much Maka wanted a brother, and how much joy the two brothers share, how deep their brotherly bond runs. The trailer shows not a hint of darkness in Maka, who is instead exuberant and loyal and utterly loveable.
But we know he has to turn so evil that he deliberately murders his brother, tries to kill his nephew, and turns the area around Pride Rock into a wasteland that starves his people. This means the movie is going to send this exuberant, loyal, loveable little kid through some kind of horrifying hell and torture him until he becomes black and twisted.
This is not a movie I want to watch. Not even for Lin Manuel-Miranda's music. Hard, hard pass.
comments
August 7, 2024
Political Shift
As a veteran political junkie, I've noticed something: the Democrats are having a major mood change right now. Let's look.
When Obama was running, the mood was somber, serious. Stay with it, buckle in, do the work. Yes, we can!
When Hilary Clinton was running, the mood was horror and disbelief. There's no way =he= can get the nomination. Well, crap! Okay, well, he can't become president. Can he? No. No! NO! What just happened?
When Biden was running, the mood was need. We've been bereft of good leadership and good government, and we're in need. We'll toss this guy and fix things. We're still doing that, in fact.
When Biden ran again, the mood was resignation. Okay, Joe, if you're gonna run, we'll stand behind you. Sigh. But you know, we kind of hope ...
When Harris started running, the mood was relief and happiness. Whew! We don't have to worry about the media's continual attacks on Biden's age while they ignore Trump's. And wow! This is awesome! A biracial woman in the White House? Totally there! The orange guy is going down and we're going to move forward.
When Wallz joined the campaign, the mood turned to joy and celebration. This is gonna be such fun! We're bringing happiness and energy back to the government. Joe was affable but low key. Kamala Harris is exuberant and energetic and she LAUGHS. The other side is trying to make fun of her laugh, but we're loving it! And Wallz is Fun Dad. Yay!
We've been starved for happiness in politics. The GOPers who make the news are the ones who preach doom and gloom, fear and hatred. Especially hatred, along with its children racism and homophobia. The orange guys rallies and speeches are relentless attacks on his opponents. Name-calling. Disparagement. Lies. Sneers. There's no smiling. And when have you ever seen Trump actually laugh about something? He wears a perpetual angry scowl. He talks about what he wants to stop--immigration, LGBT rights, health care, school funding. Not a word about what he wants to =start.= Trump and his followers aren't here to make anyone's lives better. They're here to tear down and destroy. No happiness.
We've been living under a cloud of seriousness or unhappiness for so long, we've forgotten that we can have joyful candidates.
Harris and Wallz have brought that back. The mood is celebratory. The sun has come out and we're having a party! It's been so long that we've forgotten how it feels.
It feels nice.
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When Obama was running, the mood was somber, serious. Stay with it, buckle in, do the work. Yes, we can!
When Hilary Clinton was running, the mood was horror and disbelief. There's no way =he= can get the nomination. Well, crap! Okay, well, he can't become president. Can he? No. No! NO! What just happened?
When Biden was running, the mood was need. We've been bereft of good leadership and good government, and we're in need. We'll toss this guy and fix things. We're still doing that, in fact.
When Biden ran again, the mood was resignation. Okay, Joe, if you're gonna run, we'll stand behind you. Sigh. But you know, we kind of hope ...
When Harris started running, the mood was relief and happiness. Whew! We don't have to worry about the media's continual attacks on Biden's age while they ignore Trump's. And wow! This is awesome! A biracial woman in the White House? Totally there! The orange guy is going down and we're going to move forward.
When Wallz joined the campaign, the mood turned to joy and celebration. This is gonna be such fun! We're bringing happiness and energy back to the government. Joe was affable but low key. Kamala Harris is exuberant and energetic and she LAUGHS. The other side is trying to make fun of her laugh, but we're loving it! And Wallz is Fun Dad. Yay!
We've been starved for happiness in politics. The GOPers who make the news are the ones who preach doom and gloom, fear and hatred. Especially hatred, along with its children racism and homophobia. The orange guys rallies and speeches are relentless attacks on his opponents. Name-calling. Disparagement. Lies. Sneers. There's no smiling. And when have you ever seen Trump actually laugh about something? He wears a perpetual angry scowl. He talks about what he wants to stop--immigration, LGBT rights, health care, school funding. Not a word about what he wants to =start.= Trump and his followers aren't here to make anyone's lives better. They're here to tear down and destroy. No happiness.
We've been living under a cloud of seriousness or unhappiness for so long, we've forgotten that we can have joyful candidates.
Harris and Wallz have brought that back. The mood is celebratory. The sun has come out and we're having a party! It's been so long that we've forgotten how it feels.
It feels nice.
comments
July 26, 2024
Trope!
TV/movie trope I can live without:
AGENT: "But who did this? Just give me a name!"
INFORMANT: "I can't give that name. It would put you in too much danger."
AGENT: "I need the name, or thousands will die!"
INFORMANT: "It's too dangerous to tell you. I just can't."
This kind of thing throws me out of the story. It can't be "too dangerous" for someone to know something. (Corollary bad trope: "I can tell you my super-hero secret identity. It would put you in danger!" How, pray tell?) And if the informant doesn't want to speak because they're being spied on, why have the meeting at all?
It's a poorly-done attempt to manufacture suspense, and you can practically hear the keyboard clatter behind the dialogue.
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AGENT: "But who did this? Just give me a name!"
INFORMANT: "I can't give that name. It would put you in too much danger."
AGENT: "I need the name, or thousands will die!"
INFORMANT: "It's too dangerous to tell you. I just can't."
This kind of thing throws me out of the story. It can't be "too dangerous" for someone to know something. (Corollary bad trope: "I can tell you my super-hero secret identity. It would put you in danger!" How, pray tell?) And if the informant doesn't want to speak because they're being spied on, why have the meeting at all?
It's a poorly-done attempt to manufacture suspense, and you can practically hear the keyboard clatter behind the dialogue.
comments
July 18, 2024
Grindr and the GOP
This simultaneously makes me laugh and pisses me off:
https://www.rawstory.com/grindr-2668764731/
TL;DR: Usage at the hookup app Grindr is spiking in Milwaukee because of the RNC.
Funny? Sure is. All those men who howl that they're straight, straight, straight get away from their wives for a week and they're ready to climb into bed with a different guy each night.
But.
These are men who have joined a party that is doing its best to destroy LGBTQ people. At best, this party wants us swept aside and ignored. At worst, it want us dead. And these men loudly support all that while they quietly have sex with men.
Why do they do this? I really can't say. Maybe they value power--or a slim chance at it--more than they do their own lives.
Maybe they're psychopaths and have no empathy for their fellow LGBTQ people.
Maybe it's the allure of the forbidden and they don't understand--or refuse to try--that giving in to this allure while claiming to be straight is lying to themselves.
Maybe they figure being in the RNC will benefit them economically but don't want to be rejected socially, so they make an outward show of heterosexuality.
Maybe they're self-loathing gay men who outwardly try to be straight but give themselves a weekend pass to indulge their true selves when they're out of town.
Maybe they were raised in GOP families and are too scared to come out (which I can understand) and go all-in with the anti-gay party to reaffirm their public heterosexuality (which I can't).
Or maybe they're just selfish, self-centered asses who have decided the GOP will benefit them somehow and are willing to sacrifice the rest of us for that.
Whatever the reason for their behavior, it's not merely offensive. This is the worst of cowardice, hypocrisy, and selfishness. If they're too scared or feel they aren't in a position to be publicly gay, I get that. Not everyone can be openly gay, even today. These men can join the GOP publicly and quietly vote Democrat in the privacy of the voting booth. But giving money to GOP candidates? Attending the RNC? Campaigning against LGBT rights? What the hell are they doing?
Over the years, I've met a number of men who are married to women and say that they're straight, but they slip out for a quickie with a guy once in a while. Their reasons are varied and interesting. "My wife won't have sex with me, and it's easier to deal with a guy on the side--women want dinner and drinks and romancing, but guys get straight to business." "I wouldn't want to marry a guy or even kiss one, but sometimes you just need oral from someone who knows what they're doing, you know?" "I'm straight, but every few months, I just want a guy to bend me over the bed. I don't know why. But I'm definitely straight."
That's cool, gentlemen. Everyone has their thing. But you don't get to have your thing while working hard to hurt a community you're part of, whether you acknowledge it or not.
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https://www.rawstory.com/grindr-2668764731/
TL;DR: Usage at the hookup app Grindr is spiking in Milwaukee because of the RNC.
Funny? Sure is. All those men who howl that they're straight, straight, straight get away from their wives for a week and they're ready to climb into bed with a different guy each night.
But.
These are men who have joined a party that is doing its best to destroy LGBTQ people. At best, this party wants us swept aside and ignored. At worst, it want us dead. And these men loudly support all that while they quietly have sex with men.
Why do they do this? I really can't say. Maybe they value power--or a slim chance at it--more than they do their own lives.
Maybe they're psychopaths and have no empathy for their fellow LGBTQ people.
Maybe it's the allure of the forbidden and they don't understand--or refuse to try--that giving in to this allure while claiming to be straight is lying to themselves.
Maybe they figure being in the RNC will benefit them economically but don't want to be rejected socially, so they make an outward show of heterosexuality.
Maybe they're self-loathing gay men who outwardly try to be straight but give themselves a weekend pass to indulge their true selves when they're out of town.
Maybe they were raised in GOP families and are too scared to come out (which I can understand) and go all-in with the anti-gay party to reaffirm their public heterosexuality (which I can't).
Or maybe they're just selfish, self-centered asses who have decided the GOP will benefit them somehow and are willing to sacrifice the rest of us for that.
Whatever the reason for their behavior, it's not merely offensive. This is the worst of cowardice, hypocrisy, and selfishness. If they're too scared or feel they aren't in a position to be publicly gay, I get that. Not everyone can be openly gay, even today. These men can join the GOP publicly and quietly vote Democrat in the privacy of the voting booth. But giving money to GOP candidates? Attending the RNC? Campaigning against LGBT rights? What the hell are they doing?
Over the years, I've met a number of men who are married to women and say that they're straight, but they slip out for a quickie with a guy once in a while. Their reasons are varied and interesting. "My wife won't have sex with me, and it's easier to deal with a guy on the side--women want dinner and drinks and romancing, but guys get straight to business." "I wouldn't want to marry a guy or even kiss one, but sometimes you just need oral from someone who knows what they're doing, you know?" "I'm straight, but every few months, I just want a guy to bend me over the bed. I don't know why. But I'm definitely straight."
That's cool, gentlemen. Everyone has their thing. But you don't get to have your thing while working hard to hurt a community you're part of, whether you acknowledge it or not.
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July 13, 2024
Conditioning and Cats
The cats each have their own private food dish. Each bowl has a chip in it that reacts to a chip in one of the cat's collars, and only that chip. Dora's dish won't open for Dinah and vice-versa. This keeps Dora from pigging down Dinah's food and also cuts back a little on Dora's eating. When I feed them, I put the dishes in the same spots in the laundry room and the cats go straight to their own dishes.
A couple days ago, I accidently swapped spots. I didn't notice, either. Dora was very clingy and demanding all day that day. In the evening, I grabbed the bowls to refill them and noticed my mistake. Oops! Interestingly, Dinah's bowl was empty, and Dora's was completely full. In other words, Dinah had figured out what went wrong and happily ate from her bowl in its new location. Dora apparently couldn't figure out why her dish wouldn't open and it didn't occur to her to try the other one, since it had never opened for her before.
Classical conditioning! Though Dinah seems immune. Either that, or Dora's a few watts short on her lights.
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A couple days ago, I accidently swapped spots. I didn't notice, either. Dora was very clingy and demanding all day that day. In the evening, I grabbed the bowls to refill them and noticed my mistake. Oops! Interestingly, Dinah's bowl was empty, and Dora's was completely full. In other words, Dinah had figured out what went wrong and happily ate from her bowl in its new location. Dora apparently couldn't figure out why her dish wouldn't open and it didn't occur to her to try the other one, since it had never opened for her before.
Classical conditioning! Though Dinah seems immune. Either that, or Dora's a few watts short on her lights.
comments
July 6, 2024
Deep Fry Saturday
I've been prepping the last couple days for an Independence Day picnic. It culminated today with frying chicken. I got out my deep fryer, filled it with oil, breaded the chicken, and set to work.
When all the chicken was fried, I had this vat of hot oil, and it felt like I should do something with it other than just let it cool and throw it away. (I don't strain and keep used oil because I know I won't use it before it goes bad.) So I sliced up a potato for some french fries for lunch. And then it occurred to me that I've been wanting to try making onion rings for a while, and this was the perfect chance.
I peeled and cut an onion into thick slices, then popped the rings out. I spiced up some flour with salt, pepper, and smoked paprika, dipped the onions in beaten egg, then into the flour, then back into the egg, and then into bread crumbs. In retrospect, it probably would have been a little easier to make a basic batter with the flour and egg and flavorings. A note for next time!
The rings went into the deep fryer, where they sizzled enticingly. When they looked done, I fished them out and tried one. Wow! So good. Both crispy and tender. The onion also held together. This was light years ahead of the flash-frozen, mushy-interior onion rings you get at most diners and fast food restaurants.
So we'll keep this in the rotation.
comments
When all the chicken was fried, I had this vat of hot oil, and it felt like I should do something with it other than just let it cool and throw it away. (I don't strain and keep used oil because I know I won't use it before it goes bad.) So I sliced up a potato for some french fries for lunch. And then it occurred to me that I've been wanting to try making onion rings for a while, and this was the perfect chance.
I peeled and cut an onion into thick slices, then popped the rings out. I spiced up some flour with salt, pepper, and smoked paprika, dipped the onions in beaten egg, then into the flour, then back into the egg, and then into bread crumbs. In retrospect, it probably would have been a little easier to make a basic batter with the flour and egg and flavorings. A note for next time!
The rings went into the deep fryer, where they sizzled enticingly. When they looked done, I fished them out and tried one. Wow! So good. Both crispy and tender. The onion also held together. This was light years ahead of the flash-frozen, mushy-interior onion rings you get at most diners and fast food restaurants.
So we'll keep this in the rotation.
comments
