Steven Harper's Blog, page 39
March 13, 2021
Amazon Dumps Hate-Mongers
When a major, exploitative corporation like Amazon does the right thing, I feel conflicted.https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2021/03/12/amazon-responds-to-republican-sens-on-book-ban-says-wont-sell-books-that-frame-lgbtq-identities-as-mental-illness/
I assume this only applies to non-fiction, though I'm wondering how they'll employ this new policy. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of books that would need delisting.
Do note that, no matter what the right-wing says, this is NOT censorship. As a private company, Amazon is not required by the First Amendment to publish your book or offer it for sale on their site. It would be censorship only if the =government= tried to say a book could not be published.
And where were the "Amazon is censoring" nutbags back when Amazon got into a snit with Hachette and pulled all the books by authors with that publisher? Hmmmm? Not a peep back then. We know what they're worried about, and it ain't censorship.
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I assume this only applies to non-fiction, though I'm wondering how they'll employ this new policy. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of books that would need delisting.
Do note that, no matter what the right-wing says, this is NOT censorship. As a private company, Amazon is not required by the First Amendment to publish your book or offer it for sale on their site. It would be censorship only if the =government= tried to say a book could not be published.
And where were the "Amazon is censoring" nutbags back when Amazon got into a snit with Hachette and pulled all the books by authors with that publisher? Hmmmm? Not a peep back then. We know what they're worried about, and it ain't censorship.
comments
The Politics of Cat Food
Although Dinah's mouth has healed, I've continued the practice of giving her a meal of canned food in the morning. She'd come to expect it and gets more and more agitated over the morning if I don't feed her, and she's still on the light side. Canned food to the rescue!
But this turned into kitty politics. Dora, the meatloaf cat, doesn't need more food. She can barely jump up to the bed, and when she jumps down, she lands with an audible grunt. She doesn't understand the idea of "Dinah gets special food and you don't," though. She simply FREAKS. "Wheresminewheresminesheresminesheresmine???"
So I put a dab of food on a saucer for Dora while Dinah gets the rest. At first, this quieted Dora. After a while, she began to notice that Dinah took a lot longer to eat. She never tried to steal Dinah's portion or chase her away from it, but she'd hover and pace and stare while Dinah finished.
One day, I set the empty food container on the floor next to Dora's dab. She didn't know what to do! TWO bits of food to choose from? This is both heaven and hell! Finally she went for the dab, and after it was done, she dove into the container. She worked her kitty buns off to lick every morsel and drop from the inside. It was made more difficult by the way the container scooted across the floor. It took her a good twenty minutes of work to satisfy her that it's clean. She was clearly frustrated by this, but hey--it gives her something to do. Now I do it every day.
Meanwhile, Dinah can eat in peace.
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But this turned into kitty politics. Dora, the meatloaf cat, doesn't need more food. She can barely jump up to the bed, and when she jumps down, she lands with an audible grunt. She doesn't understand the idea of "Dinah gets special food and you don't," though. She simply FREAKS. "Wheresminewheresminesheresminesheresmine???"
So I put a dab of food on a saucer for Dora while Dinah gets the rest. At first, this quieted Dora. After a while, she began to notice that Dinah took a lot longer to eat. She never tried to steal Dinah's portion or chase her away from it, but she'd hover and pace and stare while Dinah finished.
One day, I set the empty food container on the floor next to Dora's dab. She didn't know what to do! TWO bits of food to choose from? This is both heaven and hell! Finally she went for the dab, and after it was done, she dove into the container. She worked her kitty buns off to lick every morsel and drop from the inside. It was made more difficult by the way the container scooted across the floor. It took her a good twenty minutes of work to satisfy her that it's clean. She was clearly frustrated by this, but hey--it gives her something to do. Now I do it every day.
Meanwhile, Dinah can eat in peace.
comments
March 6, 2021
Maintaining Corey
I've been neglecting my harp Corey lately--just haven't had time to play much--and he's shown it. I finally noticed he was dusty and that the wrapping on his lowest E string had come undone. His lowest C string has been buzzing a little for a long time, and now it was buzzing so bad, the string was unusable.
Time to rectify all this.
I replaced the E string easily enough, then went to work on the buzzing C. First, I replaced it, but it still buzzed unbearably. It was like Corey was complaining that I had left him alone for so long. But the buzzing created a puzzle.
On a folk harp, every string has two pegs. The upper peg is the one you wind the top of the string around. You turn the peg with a special key in order to tighten or loosen the string for tuning. The lower peg doesn't move and has a groove in it. The string slots into the groove to brace it, hold it in place, and to lessen the pressure on the upper peg. Finally, between the upper and lower pegs, we have the sharpening lever, which looks a little like a light switch. When you flip the lever up, the inner part presses against the string, effectively shortening it and raising the pitch by a half step, or sharp. The C string was brushing against the sharpening lever. This caused the buzzing.
The solution was to find a way to move either the string or the sharpening lever so they didn't touch. The sharpening lever has a tiny bolt in it, and I tried tightening that with needle-nose pliers. No help. I tried adjusting the sharpening lever by turning it a little--the levers are fastened to the bridge (top) of the harp with another bolt, and you can waggle them a tiny bit without harm. But that didn't work either. I even tried wrapping the string backward and bracing it against the opposite side of the lower peg, hoping this would move the string away from the sharpening lever. That was a disaster!
It seemed more and more like Corey was being stubborn because I'd left him alone for so long. I promised him a good tuning and a thorough cleaning if he would just show me what was wrong!
I was getting worried, really. Harps warp as they get older. The strings pull down on the bridge and up on the sounding board with several tons of pressure. As time goes on, the sounding board bells more and more, drawn upward by the strings. The more the board bells, the better the sound, which is why older harps always sound more mellow than new harps.
But as time passes, the wood ages, the pressure becomes too great, and the harp implodes. This is a fairly spectacular event, a strange form of musical suicide that leaves you with a pile of wrecked wood and broken strings. It usually takes decades, even a century, for this to happen, though, and Corey isn't even forty yet. Still, I worried that Corey was warping early, and the string was being pulled out of place, causing the buzz.
I was just getting to the point where I figured I'd have to find a repair place and wondering how much it would cost to ship Corey to a workshop when my eye fell on the C-string's lower peg. Hmmm . . .
A little-know fact about folk harp maintenance is that your best friend is a hammer. Totally true! The most common problem with a folk harp is with the upper pegs. They're set into holes drilled all the way through the bridge and they poke out on both sides--one side to wrap the string around and the other for tuning. Sometimes, the peg shifts in the hole, which loosens it and warps the tuning. You tighten the peg back up by whacking it with a hammer, driving the peg back into place. It's a little unnerving to watch. A harp looks delicate and airy, and here you are pounding it with a chunk of steel.
However, the LOWER pegs DON'T go all the way through the bridge. They only go halfway, and they generally don't shift. They DO hold the string in place, however. I wondered . . . what if the lower peg had come out a little and was pushing the string against the sharpening lever?
I got the hammer and gave the lower peg a couple of careful whacks, like I was gently driving a nail. Then I tested the C string.
Blessed Be! The buzz had vanished!
Relieved, I gave Corey a good tuning, then cleaned him all over with gentle soap and polish until he gleamed. Then I sat down and played. It was nice.
Friendships must be maintained.
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Time to rectify all this.
I replaced the E string easily enough, then went to work on the buzzing C. First, I replaced it, but it still buzzed unbearably. It was like Corey was complaining that I had left him alone for so long. But the buzzing created a puzzle.
On a folk harp, every string has two pegs. The upper peg is the one you wind the top of the string around. You turn the peg with a special key in order to tighten or loosen the string for tuning. The lower peg doesn't move and has a groove in it. The string slots into the groove to brace it, hold it in place, and to lessen the pressure on the upper peg. Finally, between the upper and lower pegs, we have the sharpening lever, which looks a little like a light switch. When you flip the lever up, the inner part presses against the string, effectively shortening it and raising the pitch by a half step, or sharp. The C string was brushing against the sharpening lever. This caused the buzzing.
The solution was to find a way to move either the string or the sharpening lever so they didn't touch. The sharpening lever has a tiny bolt in it, and I tried tightening that with needle-nose pliers. No help. I tried adjusting the sharpening lever by turning it a little--the levers are fastened to the bridge (top) of the harp with another bolt, and you can waggle them a tiny bit without harm. But that didn't work either. I even tried wrapping the string backward and bracing it against the opposite side of the lower peg, hoping this would move the string away from the sharpening lever. That was a disaster!
It seemed more and more like Corey was being stubborn because I'd left him alone for so long. I promised him a good tuning and a thorough cleaning if he would just show me what was wrong!
I was getting worried, really. Harps warp as they get older. The strings pull down on the bridge and up on the sounding board with several tons of pressure. As time goes on, the sounding board bells more and more, drawn upward by the strings. The more the board bells, the better the sound, which is why older harps always sound more mellow than new harps.
But as time passes, the wood ages, the pressure becomes too great, and the harp implodes. This is a fairly spectacular event, a strange form of musical suicide that leaves you with a pile of wrecked wood and broken strings. It usually takes decades, even a century, for this to happen, though, and Corey isn't even forty yet. Still, I worried that Corey was warping early, and the string was being pulled out of place, causing the buzz.
I was just getting to the point where I figured I'd have to find a repair place and wondering how much it would cost to ship Corey to a workshop when my eye fell on the C-string's lower peg. Hmmm . . .
A little-know fact about folk harp maintenance is that your best friend is a hammer. Totally true! The most common problem with a folk harp is with the upper pegs. They're set into holes drilled all the way through the bridge and they poke out on both sides--one side to wrap the string around and the other for tuning. Sometimes, the peg shifts in the hole, which loosens it and warps the tuning. You tighten the peg back up by whacking it with a hammer, driving the peg back into place. It's a little unnerving to watch. A harp looks delicate and airy, and here you are pounding it with a chunk of steel.
However, the LOWER pegs DON'T go all the way through the bridge. They only go halfway, and they generally don't shift. They DO hold the string in place, however. I wondered . . . what if the lower peg had come out a little and was pushing the string against the sharpening lever?
I got the hammer and gave the lower peg a couple of careful whacks, like I was gently driving a nail. Then I tested the C string.
Blessed Be! The buzz had vanished!
Relieved, I gave Corey a good tuning, then cleaned him all over with gentle soap and polish until he gleamed. Then I sat down and played. It was nice.
Friendships must be maintained.
comments
The Great Pandemic Weight Loss Campaign Update
Since I started the Great Pandemic Weight Loss Campaign, I've lost ten pounds. That's in one month.
My Level 1 goal is to lose 15 pounds, and I'm already two-thirds of the way there. ("Level 1" is my own term for "I'll be happy if I make it here.")
My Level 2 goal is to lose 20 pounds, and I'm halfway to that. ("Level 2" means, "This would be awesome, but I don't need to kill myself to make it.")
My super-sekrit Level 3 goal is to lose 30 pounds, and I'm a third of the way to =that=. ("Level 3" means, "Holy cow! You're the master of the universe!")
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My Level 1 goal is to lose 15 pounds, and I'm already two-thirds of the way there. ("Level 1" is my own term for "I'll be happy if I make it here.")
My Level 2 goal is to lose 20 pounds, and I'm halfway to that. ("Level 2" means, "This would be awesome, but I don't need to kill myself to make it.")
My super-sekrit Level 3 goal is to lose 30 pounds, and I'm a third of the way to =that=. ("Level 3" means, "Holy cow! You're the master of the universe!")
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Friday Nights as a Teacher
As many of you know, last night was Friday evening.
This past week was difficult. Because of the pandemic and the way I have to teach (converting everything to electronic format so students at home can do the same work as the students in school), I have to start lesson planning on Mondays in order to ensure I'll have time to get everything done in time to start the following week. I don't dare grade papers until my lesson plans are done. Late grading is no big deal, but late lesson plans? Not unless you want to be stranded in a classful of teenagers who have nothing to do.
I usually get plans done by late Tuesday afternoon. This is because I'm a highly-experienced educator, and I have a deep well of plans, activities, and knowledge of previous years. But this week, I unexpectedly got caught in the Great Electronic Conversion, ironically for OEDIPUS REX, a bronze age piece of literature. It took for-bloody-EVER to convert my unit test for Sophocles's masterpiece from paper to online. On top of it, I had to reconfigure the opener to the next unit. All this meant that I didn't finish my planning until very late Wednesday.
Meanwhile, I hadn't touched any grading for the week in any of the my classes (and I have six now instead of five). It was piling up fast. Worse, I recently collected a major project about poetry from my seniors, another time-consuming thing to grade.
I came home from work, tired and cranky. I ran for an hour, made supper, and then, even though it was Friday evening, I decided to move the pile.
I sat down at my computer (one of the few good things about virtual teaching is that I don't have to carry around piles of actual paper) and set to work. I pounded through EVERYTHING. Poetry, grammar exercises, annotated readings, vocab quizzes. A headache pounded behind my eyes, but I kept going. At last, around 10:30, I entered the last grade. I synced Google Classroom's grade book with Skyward, my district's grading program, then wrote a parent letter and emailed it out, along with a progress report for each student.
This is what teachers do on a Friday evening.
comments
This past week was difficult. Because of the pandemic and the way I have to teach (converting everything to electronic format so students at home can do the same work as the students in school), I have to start lesson planning on Mondays in order to ensure I'll have time to get everything done in time to start the following week. I don't dare grade papers until my lesson plans are done. Late grading is no big deal, but late lesson plans? Not unless you want to be stranded in a classful of teenagers who have nothing to do.
I usually get plans done by late Tuesday afternoon. This is because I'm a highly-experienced educator, and I have a deep well of plans, activities, and knowledge of previous years. But this week, I unexpectedly got caught in the Great Electronic Conversion, ironically for OEDIPUS REX, a bronze age piece of literature. It took for-bloody-EVER to convert my unit test for Sophocles's masterpiece from paper to online. On top of it, I had to reconfigure the opener to the next unit. All this meant that I didn't finish my planning until very late Wednesday.
Meanwhile, I hadn't touched any grading for the week in any of the my classes (and I have six now instead of five). It was piling up fast. Worse, I recently collected a major project about poetry from my seniors, another time-consuming thing to grade.
I came home from work, tired and cranky. I ran for an hour, made supper, and then, even though it was Friday evening, I decided to move the pile.
I sat down at my computer (one of the few good things about virtual teaching is that I don't have to carry around piles of actual paper) and set to work. I pounded through EVERYTHING. Poetry, grammar exercises, annotated readings, vocab quizzes. A headache pounded behind my eyes, but I kept going. At last, around 10:30, I entered the last grade. I synced Google Classroom's grade book with Skyward, my district's grading program, then wrote a parent letter and emailed it out, along with a progress report for each student.
This is what teachers do on a Friday evening.
comments
February 27, 2021
Parsla
I came across a dessert called Parsla on Facebook group for Latvian food. It looked tasty, and several people in the group asked for the recipe. The person who made it posted a recipe of sorts--it was just a list of ingredients.
Darwin happened to be looking over my shoulder and said, "That looks fantastic!" So I decided to make it. I studied the ingredient list and realized it was really a basic cake with an enriched cream topping. It also seemed to be a refrigerator cake. All right then!
I combined eggs, flour, sugar, and vanilla, spread it in a square pan, and slid it into the oven. While it was baking, I whipped together cream, ricotta cheese, sugar, and vanilla until it was cloud fluffy.
I had to estimate the baking temperature and time. Most baked goods require 350 d., and a cake of this size and density would probably be 35 minutes. I watched it carefully, and at 35 minutes, checked for doneness with a toothpick. Yep--done! I let it cool a bit, then slipped it out of the pan and put it in the refrigerator for an hour.
After the cake was completely cool, I put it back into the pan and spread the topping over it, then sifted cocoa powder on top and summoned Darwin to the kitchen for taste-testing.
It was wonderful! Like most Latvian desserts, it goes for heartiness over sweetness, and does it very well. The cake was both tender and chewy (in a good way), and the curd topping was a sweet wonder, while the cocoa powder gave it just a bit of a bite.
One nice thing about this recipe is that it makes a small cake--a fine thing for those of us who live in small households where sweets need to be limited and a full-size cake would ultimately go to waste.
Here's my recipe, if you want to try it yourself:
PARSLA
INGREDIENTS
For cake:
1 cup wheat flour
3 large eggs
2/3 cups granulated sugar
1 t vanilla
1 t baking powder
a pinch of salt
For curd cream:
1 cup cottage cheese, farmer cheese, or ricotta cheese (I prefer ricotta)
1/2 - 2/3 cup granulated sugar, to taste
1 cup cream
1 t vanilla
a pinch of salt
cocoa powder
Grease 9x9 cake pan and preheat oven to 350 d. Mix cake ingredients together until just combined. Spread batter in cake pan. Bake at 350 until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clear, about 30-40 minutes. Do not allow the top to brown. Let cool in refrigerator for at least an hour.
Cream together curd cream ingredients with a whisk attachment on high speed until fluffy. Spread on top of cold cake. Dust with cocoa powder. Keep refrigerated.
9 servings.
comments
Darwin happened to be looking over my shoulder and said, "That looks fantastic!" So I decided to make it. I studied the ingredient list and realized it was really a basic cake with an enriched cream topping. It also seemed to be a refrigerator cake. All right then!
I combined eggs, flour, sugar, and vanilla, spread it in a square pan, and slid it into the oven. While it was baking, I whipped together cream, ricotta cheese, sugar, and vanilla until it was cloud fluffy.
I had to estimate the baking temperature and time. Most baked goods require 350 d., and a cake of this size and density would probably be 35 minutes. I watched it carefully, and at 35 minutes, checked for doneness with a toothpick. Yep--done! I let it cool a bit, then slipped it out of the pan and put it in the refrigerator for an hour.
After the cake was completely cool, I put it back into the pan and spread the topping over it, then sifted cocoa powder on top and summoned Darwin to the kitchen for taste-testing.
It was wonderful! Like most Latvian desserts, it goes for heartiness over sweetness, and does it very well. The cake was both tender and chewy (in a good way), and the curd topping was a sweet wonder, while the cocoa powder gave it just a bit of a bite.
One nice thing about this recipe is that it makes a small cake--a fine thing for those of us who live in small households where sweets need to be limited and a full-size cake would ultimately go to waste.
Here's my recipe, if you want to try it yourself:
PARSLA
INGREDIENTS
For cake:
1 cup wheat flour
3 large eggs
2/3 cups granulated sugar
1 t vanilla
1 t baking powder
a pinch of salt
For curd cream:
1 cup cottage cheese, farmer cheese, or ricotta cheese (I prefer ricotta)
1/2 - 2/3 cup granulated sugar, to taste
1 cup cream
1 t vanilla
a pinch of salt
cocoa powder
Grease 9x9 cake pan and preheat oven to 350 d. Mix cake ingredients together until just combined. Spread batter in cake pan. Bake at 350 until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clear, about 30-40 minutes. Do not allow the top to brown. Let cool in refrigerator for at least an hour.
Cream together curd cream ingredients with a whisk attachment on high speed until fluffy. Spread on top of cold cake. Dust with cocoa powder. Keep refrigerated.
9 servings.
comments
February 17, 2021
Cover Reveal!
Check this out! My story, an SF hard-boiled detective piece set in near-future Detroit, will appear in this anthology. Awesome cover!
The official word:
This is the art we'll be using for the upcoming Zombies Need Brains sff anthology WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE, edited by S.C. Butler & Joshua Palmatier. Art by Justin Adams of Varia Studios.
You can order art prints, wallpapers, or preorder the anthology at: https://zombies-need-brains-llc.square.site/
Throughout history, different cultures have collided in different ways, whether it be the peaceful contact between Rome and Han China in the second century that established the Silk Road, or the more violent interactions between Europe and the Americas thirteen hundred years later. Such first contact stories have long been a staple of speculative fiction. The stories featured in WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE will continue this long tradition as the authors explore the myriad ways in which two cultures—alien or fae, machine or human—can clash. Will the colliding societies manage to peacefully coexist after they finally meet? Or will they embark instead on a path of mutual self-destruction? Find out—WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE.
Anchor authors include: S.C. Butler, Esther Friesner, Auston Habershaw, Steven Harper Piziks, Nancy Holzner, Howard Andrew Jones, Stephen Leigh, Violette Malan, and Alan Smale.
comments
The official word:
This is the art we'll be using for the upcoming Zombies Need Brains sff anthology WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE, edited by S.C. Butler & Joshua Palmatier. Art by Justin Adams of Varia Studios.
You can order art prints, wallpapers, or preorder the anthology at: https://zombies-need-brains-llc.square.site/
Throughout history, different cultures have collided in different ways, whether it be the peaceful contact between Rome and Han China in the second century that established the Silk Road, or the more violent interactions between Europe and the Americas thirteen hundred years later. Such first contact stories have long been a staple of speculative fiction. The stories featured in WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE will continue this long tradition as the authors explore the myriad ways in which two cultures—alien or fae, machine or human—can clash. Will the colliding societies manage to peacefully coexist after they finally meet? Or will they embark instead on a path of mutual self-destruction? Find out—WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE.
Anchor authors include: S.C. Butler, Esther Friesner, Auston Habershaw, Steven Harper Piziks, Nancy Holzner, Howard Andrew Jones, Stephen Leigh, Violette Malan, and Alan Smale.
comments
February 14, 2021
Air Fryer Diet Trick
Air fryer diet trick:
I dehydrate apple and banana slices in the air fryer, then put the results in a bowl on the counter for nibbling. It takes me a couple days to get through an entire apple, so the calories aren't worth bothering about, and I have something to satisfy the nibble urge.
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I dehydrate apple and banana slices in the air fryer, then put the results in a bowl on the counter for nibbling. It takes me a couple days to get through an entire apple, so the calories aren't worth bothering about, and I have something to satisfy the nibble urge.
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February 13, 2021
Sweet Potato Pasta?
One of the veggie substitutes for pasta I found is made of sweet potato cut into spiral shapes.
I chopped up a sweet red pepper and sauteed it with onions and minced garlic, then added jarred spaghetti sauce. While that was simmering, I heated up the "pasta." Combined the two and topped with a bit of grated Asiago.
I wasn't sure this would work--I don't like spaghetti squash, for example--but it completely did. The sweet potato pasta had a good texture, and it tasted great. The beefed-up sauce was really good with it. And according to my food app, that portion of the meal had fewer than 200 calories. So it's a keeper.
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I chopped up a sweet red pepper and sauteed it with onions and minced garlic, then added jarred spaghetti sauce. While that was simmering, I heated up the "pasta." Combined the two and topped with a bit of grated Asiago.
I wasn't sure this would work--I don't like spaghetti squash, for example--but it completely did. The sweet potato pasta had a good texture, and it tasted great. The beefed-up sauce was really good with it. And according to my food app, that portion of the meal had fewer than 200 calories. So it's a keeper.
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Real and Virtual Exercise
As part of my weight loss program, I've upped my exercise levels. Normally, I'd jog on my treadmill five or six times per week for 35-45 minutes. I've pushed that up to an hour.
I've also started using the VR unit for exercise. The Supernatural workout is a Beat Saber variant. When you put on the VR gear, you're transported into various exotic, and usually stark, locations. Targets fly at you, and you have to either slice them in half or dodge them. Virtual coaches give you pre-recorded pep talks.
According to my fitness monitor, my heart rate on this game goes higher than it does when I run, which is a good thing. It's all aerobic exercise--no weights to lift or resistance to overcome. I don't mind this. My joints don't like it when I lift weights, and this is more fun anyway. The point for me is to burn calories.
So these days, I alternate. Run one day, swat virtual targets the other.
comments
I've also started using the VR unit for exercise. The Supernatural workout is a Beat Saber variant. When you put on the VR gear, you're transported into various exotic, and usually stark, locations. Targets fly at you, and you have to either slice them in half or dodge them. Virtual coaches give you pre-recorded pep talks.
According to my fitness monitor, my heart rate on this game goes higher than it does when I run, which is a good thing. It's all aerobic exercise--no weights to lift or resistance to overcome. I don't mind this. My joints don't like it when I lift weights, and this is more fun anyway. The point for me is to burn calories.
So these days, I alternate. Run one day, swat virtual targets the other.
comments
