I like your hair

Over the last couple weeks my older son, Wally, has been learning many things in this his second year of school. He's in Pre-Kindergarten, for 4 year olds, called Pre-K 4 to those of us in a parental status. Wil, my second son, is in Pre-K 3, at another school. Well, Wally's got some great teachers at the school he's going to, and I'm really impressed with the education he's receiving.

Wally is a rather late talker, with some big hurdles to overcome with his speech, so he goes to a school that caters to children of all types, with perfectly average kids to those with serious autistic tendencies, and while Wally really has only the speech to work on anymore, he's learning how to deal with conflicts with other children that have some real communication issues beyond just their speech.

Wil is going to a local private school. He hasn't exhibited the severe speech delay that his older brother has, and I really wanted him to blossom into his own person, not just live in the shadow of his big brother, so I wanted him to go to a school that still has music and arts as part of the regular curriculum, which sadly just isn't addressed in the public school system for most of this country anymore. But I digress...

Wally's education in conflict resolution, or how to get along with everybody, comes down to a lesson that I don't remember ever getting when I grew up. I do have to admit that while it sounds a bit strange, it does in fact lighten the mood of all those involved. See, the way it goes is this: Two kids have an argument about whatever kids fight about, like the one Thomas train in the whole toybox while there's 50 Gordons. Anyway, ultimately these kids get to yelling and grabbing and so on. This is where the new school of thought comes in, and the preferred way to deal with it comes down to 2 things, an apology and a compliment.

A scenario for this might play out about like this...

Boy 1: [seeing another boy has the toy he wanted] "I wanted that toy!"

Boy 2: [defending his posession] "No, it's mine!"

Boy 1: [grabbing the toy] "I said I wanted it!"

Boy 2: [taking a swing at boy 1] "Unh!" (that's supposed to be that mean grunt)

The teacher steps in at this point and breaks things up, hopefully figuring out who actually had the toy first and then has the child that took the toy apologize for what he did, and then he has to give the other child a compliment. Sounds like this:

Boy 1: [to boy 2] "I'm sorry I took that toy, and I like your shirt."

I am not a child psychologist, so I don't know the reasoning for this kind of communication, but in my own home it's made for some interesting entertainment. We never know what one son is going to say to the other one when we use this tactic to resolve a conflict between siblings.

So, Melanie's picking up Wil from school the other day, like she does every afternoon, and as is the normal practice for the preschoolers, they walk each child out to the waiting vehicles from the safety of the building. The parents queue up their minivans and station wagons, pull up to the specific stopping place and wait for their child to walk to the vehicle hand in hand with a teacher or assistant. As Wil is getting into our car he slips and stumbles into the back seat, and without a moment's hesitation he says to his teacher, "Oh, sorry!" and then adds," I like your underwear."

Apparently Melanie, who seldom has nothing to say, found herself at a complete loss for words.

Man's best friend indeed...

I woke up this morning with somewhat of a start. My oldest son, Wally, who had earlier in the morning displaced me from my own bed and made me walk cautiously through the house with only a sliver of lighting seen with my mostly closed eyes to seek slumber in his bed, decided that my bed was no longer so inviting since his mother's alarm started blaring. After the cacophony of the alarm clock, my wife began attempting to wake Wally and his younger brother Wil, who had decided that since Wally had figured out the parent's bed was a better place to seek refuge from whatever bad dreams kids have it must be a better solution for himself as well. This was good for both boys, until their mother set to waking them. Wil mistakenly did what he often does and popped up with a smile and eyes wide open. Wally, the more mature, and wiser to the world of the two, knew what had to be done. Mimicking his father's action from only a couple hours earlier, Wally crept down the hall to his own bed once more, only to find his dad there occupying the space. As if taken partly from an Arlo Guthrie tune, Wally decided that it was easier to make the best of the situation, and rather than return to the noise and light of Mom and Dad's bed he'd simply climb in his own twin sized bed that his dad was now keeping warm and toasty. Ol' Dad's a bit big for the twin size bed as it is, so while Wally fell back asleep almost instantly, I was now uncomfortably wedged up against the wall in an attempt to make sure Wally had plenty of room. Needless to say, I wasn't going to be getting much quality sleep for the rest of the morning. It was almost a relief to hear my wife yelling down the hall a little while later for Wally to get up and get ready for school.

Not long afterward, once the kids and wife had left the house, it was time for me to start getting ready for work. It was a morning with the same start as usual, but something was seriously amiss on this particular morning. My Standard Schnauzer, Britta, wasn't there to greet me when I woke up. She wasn't following me through the house. She wasn't whining at the door to go out, or doing the same from the reverse side to come back in. She wasn't sitting next to the corner of the counter where she begged for her dog cookies after she had been outside to do her business. She just wasn't, and it just felt a bit less like home this morning.

Britta was a member of the family, born over 13 years ago, and commonly referred to by both my wife and I's parents as the grand-doggy. My wife, Melanie, and I were not married at the time when we first brought Britta home. I had picked the breed, and done plenty of research on breeders before finding what I consider to be the best place to get a schnauzer from, Skansen Kennel in Cotati, CA. One would think that after all that research, exchanging emails, making telephone calls and even visiting the breeder before making the commitment to buy my dog from there, that I would be very particular about which dog I was going to take home. I wasn't. I let the right dog pick me out. I climbed in to the pen with all the pups and sat down. At first most of the pups ran right over and checked me out, and then one by one they lost interest, until only one had decided that it found me likable enough, and decided that I would be its provider for the next 13 years. Britta always was a great judge of character!

This puppy raising was no small undertaking for me at the time, and I actually took puppy leave from work for a week to get acquainted with the new dog. I had her housebroken in less than 3 full days, although this was done with a pretty large amount of cookies and until her final day she still insisted on a treat every time she relieved herself. What I hadn't counted on was the voracious appetite for wood and cloth that a Schnauzer pup has, and before we had discovered how well a peanut butter stuffed Kong toy was for a teething dog, Britta had eaten one full size futon, one comfortable recliner, countless shoes belonging to both Melanie and I, and finally the carpet off a couple steps on the stairs. Thankfully our landlord was a dog owner too, and a carpet installer to boot, so we got the stairs fixed at a minimal cost. The futon frame was unceremoniously burned in the fireplace that winter, and the recliner was likewise beyond repair, and had to be taken to the city dump. While Britta didn't completely destroy it, she also chewed a good portion of the way through one of the thick legs on my computer desk too. Britta had a great set of chompers.

Britta also found one of her many lifelong callings while living in that little condo in Lompoc, CA, varmint hunter extraordinaire. Britta let me in on this great talent by bringing me a reward of a very large opossum, sans entrails, one evening while I was sitting on the sofa that now sat where the comfortable recliner had once resided. She couldn't have been more proud, and was practically dancing with excitement while presenting me with her trophy. I almost screamed like a girl. It's not that I had never seen a opossum before, as I'd seen quite a few both live and dead, but to have one dropped literally at one's feet unexpectedly, without its organs, and that crazy set of teeth that opossums have, was alarming! That was only the first of many similar hunting expeditions for Britta, with the prey varying from seagulls to neighbor's cats that had made the most unwise decision to take a shortcut through Britta's yard. This dog would actually take bits of her uneaten treats out onto the patio to lure birds in and then pounce on them like a lion. Britta was a great hunter and even in the last couple months managed to catch a neighborhood cat in out much larger backyard now.

There was a time when I had the crazy idea that I would train this superdog to do incredible things, and maybe even try for a confirmation, or harder yet Schutzen training, but it turns out she was too smart to do that willingly, and I stopped with the new tricks once we had "Roll Over" down pat. This doesn't mean that she ever stopped training Mel and I, and we were still learning Britta's ways until yesterday.

Britta went with her tail still wagging, and a pig ear in her mouth. I only hope I did right by her while she was in my care.

Does make one wonder how this one's any better than the last...

I love Day By Day.

Funny what kind of things jog my memories...

Just last week I'm surfing some of my favorite websites, and one that ranks near the top of most frequently viewed is Jalopnik. For those that aren't aware of this one, it's a great site for those who love and appreciate the automobile. I'm not talking about those who just like new cars, or modified cars, or who have a passion for 60's era muscle cars. No, this website is for the people who love all those things, plus have a passion for the mundane transportation as much as the exotic. The car fans who can really appreciate the Chevy El Camino as much as a Ferrari, when presented in the proper context. Anyway, Jalopnik put up a poll this last week about which long since past racing class its readers preferred, Group B World Rally cars, or the Canadian American racing series of the late 60s to the early 70s, referred to as CanAm. I can't say that I've ever seen any rally car tearing up a dirt road at race speeds in my life, to date. What I can say is that I had the pleasure of seeing a number of CanAm cars competing on the track back in the early 70s. I was brought along to see my uncle racing in the Formula Ford Series at Sears Point Raceway, and then when my Dad started racing in the Showroom Stock class, spend more time at other tracks like Laguna Seca and Portland Raceway in Oregon. I loved the fact I got to ride in the race car all the way to the track, since the car Dad was racing was also a daily driver with a rollbar and a fire extinguisher. Once there I got to go exploring!

Highlights for a kid under 12 years old at the track don't always center around the action on the course, in fact some of the best times had included the mandatory stop at the donut shop on the way to the track, and even better, sliding down the dirty grass covered slope on the hill behind the concessions stand at Sears Point. When you were lucky enough to remember to bring a suitable piece of cardboard you could really get some speed going down that hill. When you didn't have the carboard you just went down on the seat of your pants, much to my mom's chagrin when I came home covered in dirt and in a prematurely worn out pair of Toughskins. This was a great distraction as a youngster, but I did spend some time paying attention to the track as well, rooting loudly for the number 42 Formula Ford car with the cool blue paintjob with orange and yellow striping and a Miracle Auto Painting sponsor. That was Uncle Bruce's ride, and with its loud exhaust and open wheels, it was much cooler to me than my Dad's '77 bright kelly green Buick Opel, but I cheered for him too. As I got old enough, I even got to spend some time in the scoring and timing booth recording lap times using the track's timing system. Being involved this little bit really made the racing even more exciting, even if the view afforded from that position only allowed a few seconds of each car's passing over the start/finish line. It really gave some perspective of how much faster certain cars were rounding the circuit than others. That made walking through the paddock later that much more interesting, because you could get up and close to the cars that you saw earlier making the best times. It was cool!

So looking at Jalopnik the other day I come across this video in the thread about which vintage racing class was better:



I voted for Can-Am.

Well, thinking about this reminded me of my uncle, and low and behold, his birthday was yesterday. My Dad reminded me of this, but I didn't get to speak to my uncle until this evening, but we had a great conversation, and I found a picture of his current No.42, a Lola T140 Formula 5000 car, with a Chevy Small Block powerplant. That thing has to be a hoot to drive.



Then, while talking to my uncle he reminded me that today's a special family day too! It's the 100th anniversary of the birth of my Grandfather, Wally, for whom my first son is named.

Now being the car nut that I am, and the rest of my family as well, I couldn't help but have a car memory of Grandpa Wally...

I don't remember the car too well, other than it was an early 70's Mercury, a Montego if I recall. It wasn't so much the car I remember at this point, but the dashboard. More correctly, I don't even remember the dashboard details that greatly, save for one thing, a pack of gum. Grandpa always had a pack of gum, usually Wrigley's Spearmint or Doublemint stashed up there on the dash where the wide expanse of a speedometer surround that created a nice little shelf, and which seemed like a purpose built gum pack holder to me. Even when we weren't going to go anywhere I'd sneak in the front seat of the Mercury to steal a piece of gum. Grandpa Wally passed way too early, and I don't remember him being a particularly huge fan of racecars, but I associate him with that car just the same.

I guess memories are just funny that way.

Happy Birthday Grandpa, and I'll Give Wally II a big hug in your honor.

So I'm listening to NPR again...

While out on a grocery run this afternoon, and that damned Keillor guy is on again. His hilarious weekend show is rolling along, and he's reflecting on his youth again, and there's a tie-in to my previous post here...

"...We liked science fiction because... well, Earth didn't have alot going for us at the time." (Roughly quoted, as it's now hours later)

I just got a kick out of it, following all the science fiction shows I'm currently hooked on.

So let's talk TV...

I'm a TVaholic.

Sounds a bit like an AA introduction, don't it?

Funny thing is these days I rarely get to watch any on the plasma at home, and when I do get to sit in my own living room and catch a program real-time from the comfort of my own sofa it's undoubtedly a kids program that's on. I've become quite the PBS Kids aficionado, and I know who Word Girl is, but I don't have a clue who's on Big Brother or what's the latest fad in home remodeling on HGTV.

Our house is currently subscribed to the lowest cable package that the local provider offers. We pay less than $10 a month, and receive only about 10 channels of broadcast entertainment. There's a couple home shopping channels, and of course C-Span, but I can't really call those entertainment, so they don't count. On top of that, we don't have a digital cable receiver, so there's zero HD content from that source anyways. The big screen is not even connected to the cable, and I like it that way. We get a pretty nice selection of programming over the air via the HD antenna I built myself using spare junk I had laying around the garage. Want to get a more accurate depiction of just how old your local news personalities are? Get yourself a good antenna and see 'em in 1080i OTA broadcast. I can see how they were reluctant to change. Flaws in facial features, and even the over abundance of makeup that were covered by the lower resolution of the analog TV transmissions are readily apparent now. You can literally see the sweat on their brow.

Along with the much higher quality local network affiliates, there's also a number of additional content sources now available with a decent antenna that weren't available before. From a couple local subchannels that offer up to the minute weather info 24 hrs a day, there's also a few independent channels that cable doesn't even offer. I was delighted to find the Qubo children's channel OTA, and Theodore Tugboat's a personal favorite.

This doesn't mean I don't miss cable altogether. A couple channels I dearly wish I had are ones like Dicovery, History, and SyFy. The latter has been tough because I really wish I had been watching the new series of Battlestar Gallactica. I avoided watching it on Hulu because I still think I can eventually save up enough to purchase this much lauded science fiction remake in its entirety on Blu-Ray and enjoy it in 5.1 surround sound with a HD resolution.

Thanks to EZTV.it and now EZRSS.it, I'm back in business with MIRO player and have been able to enjoy quite a bit of network programming at my leisure. Here's a list of the shows I've become really hooked on:

• Warehouse13 from SyFy. It's not great science fiction, but it is a truly fun show, and the ratings are reflecting it. I found it pretty neat that this show's developed a big following among women, as that's a demographic that doesn't normally go in for science fiction.
• Eureka, also on SyFy. This one's kind of like a personal treat, with some truly geeky references, but like Warehouse13, it's not unapproachable for the non-science fiction fan. Between this show and Warehouse13, SyFy's got a couple real winners in their original programming and they're really staking out there own territory on the TV spectrum. I really hope they keep it up!
• Dollhouse on FOX, Joss Whedon's latest creation. I found Firefly much too late, but was fortunate to catch up with it online, and it's early demise was truly regrettable. Dollhouse really entertains me, and I was glad to see it got picked up for another season. This one's a bit more difficult for some to get into, but the show has me yearning for more. I was really excited to see that Summer Glau's now a castmember of this program, and we'll see how Whedon works in this actress that he's used successfully before.
  
• Fringe, also on FOX. What can I say? Miss X-Files? Here's your fix, and then some. Great show, with a good sized fan base that's well deserved. This one's got the conspiracy stuff, the cop angle, the violence, and the well matched cast to almost make one forget about Mulder and Scully.
• The Big Bang Theory. This show's hilarious. Jim Parsons as Sheldon is the far and away stand out star on this one, even though I imagined he was originally written as a supporting role. His character's idiosyncrasies are so over the top, but played to a tee that I'd almost watch a show just about him.
• The Philanthropist was kind of a surprise to me. If you were to tell me that I should watch a show about a rich guy who's guilty conscience drives him to go on harrowing personal missions around the globe, while still retaining a playboy appetite, I'd say no way. Neve Campbell's in this one, but not really a standout for me. This show's location settings and somewhat grittier casting surprised me, and I enjoyed it very much over the summer. I can say that I'd be happy to watch it if NBC brings it back for another run.
• I started watching Defying Gravity on Hulu, and while this show started really slow I stuck with it for a couple episodes and it's gotten better all along. The last episode found me really surprised with Ron Livingston, of Office Space fame, being able to pull off a dramatic role that is really starting to reveal some depth, and showcasing some of his ability to convey more emotion than previously seen in previous roles. A few of the other players here leave much to be desired, but I'm holding out hope that this show really develops into a great program. It's got potential.
• From across the pond in England I count myself among the millions of fans that Top Gear so readily deserves. Jeremy Clarkson's a pompous jerk, but so entertaining, and knowledgeable about a personal passion, motor vehicles, that I can't help but love him and the program. I don't need a U.S. version of this program, ever. It couldn't hold a candle to the original, period. While covering the same subject, and possibly more technically informative, Fifth Gear is on my must watch list, but definitely back seat to Top Gear.

With Primeval no more, I have a hole in my lineup. I hear rumor that SyFy might be picking this series up for a remake on U.S. soil, but I can't see them doing the first season any justice. I am holding out hope that the Brits can put together another series of The IT Crowd. That was truly sidesplittingly funny stuff, and not just for the computer types. I've even rekindled my affections for a show with such hilarity from the UK, Chef with Lenny Henry as the beastly chef Gordon Blackstock, while I've turned a few friends on to it. It may not rate quite as high as Fawlty Towers on the classic British comedy list, but it's right up there. If you've never seen Chef before you really have to find an episode or two, sit back and enjoy.

Scored a new train this last week

Got this one for the boys so I don't have to worry about my Marklin set so much. I think this Lionel is just the ticket for the next step up in trains from the wooden railroad stuff they've had up to this point.

For reference, this is the Lionel Sears Brand Central Zenith Express. It's set number 11821. That's a 4-4-2 Loco, with smoke, and a whistle in the tender. It wasn't perfect when I brought it home, but it's cleaned up pretty well and the kids are having a ball with it.

Asian Stroganoff?

I have mentioned this before, but I'll say it again, pork is what's for dinner in these parts most of the time (if I'm serving meat). I do love a nice piece of chicken, but unless the fryers are going for under a buck a pound, then I'm likely picking up pork. It's hard to pass up nice country style pork ribs when they're under a buck and a half a pound, with little to no bones. I've been adapting many dishes traditionally made with other meats to a pork recipe, and I'm rarely disappointed.

Tonight's fare is Stroganoff, and I think I've got the makings of a pretty decent recipe here, but it's nowhere near perfect yet. I'll break down the way I made it, and then I'll add what I think it needs next time I try it...

• 2-3 lbs country style pork ribs (or probably even a Boston Butt, if the price is right), cut in to 1-2" chunks
  
• 2 medium white or yellow onions, sliced into thin strips
  
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 oz dried Shiitake mushrooms, soaked in warm water and then chopped, reserve the liquid
• 4-5 cups chicken broth
• 5-6 Tbsp Dijon mustard
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 Tbsp Xanthan Gum, as a thickener (2-3 Tbsp. flour would be fine, but I'm trying to stay gluten free here)
• 1 pound wide egg noodles (I set aside some of the Stroganoff for Wally pre-pasta)

In a large pot or pan brown the pork chunks, in small lots if necessary to get good browning and not steamed pork. Remove the pork to a side dish and then brown the onions and mushrooms in the pan. Once the onions and mushrooms get browned nicely, add the pork back into the pan and then add the sour cream, broth, mustard and the liquid from rehydrating the mushrooms. Stir this up well and then add the thickener. Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to a simmer and let it go until the meat's nice and tender. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper as needed. Cook the pasta according to the package's instruction, drain and then mix it all up. Serve hot in a nice wide bowl.

Now, as for what I will change next time:

• The sour cream wasn't enough. I'd double it in the future.
• Fresh Mushrooms, and maybe a couple different types would be good too, but it's going to take at least a pound of 'em for this recipe, probably closer to 2.
• The Dijon came through a bit strong, not that I dislike that, but it's not really Stroganoff-ey.
• This is a real rib-sticker of a dish, so it might be better served in a colder season.
• I'm sure there's some herbs and spices missing here that I need to work into the mix.
  

Enjoy pork!

On Wanderlust

"I'm Yours" Official Video


So I'm watching the video for Jason Mraz's song I'm Yours, and it hits me. I see it in his eyes as he's cruising down the road in some tropical locale, presumably sitting in the back of a pickup, with the wind in his hair and the sun shining perfectly on his face. It's that perfect peace that comes from traveling to a place where absolutely no one, save for the hotel staff where you might have a reservation, gives a damn if you're there.

You're not going to ruin anyone's day if you take a detour, or decide to stay at a cafe for an extra hour having a conversation and another cup of coffee.

To be perfect, this situation really needs to be either undertaken solo, or with someone who's in the same state of mind, or more ideally not in a state of mind to have an agenda for anything more than those things or activities that occur spontaneously.

Sure, there's the schedule of the overall trip that needs to be adhered to, lest one misses a flight or lodging reservation, but the bits in between don't need to be perfectly planned. Having the freedom to take a backroad and stop at an appealing distraction makes the journey that much more memorable.

I've had a couple afternoons like this, in far parts of the world while traveling on Uncle Sam's dime, but they were pretty few. I've mentioned my weekend getaways to San Francisco before, either here or on my old Yahoo! 360º blog, and I think Jason Mraz caught the feeling I had in that video. Those times when I had a whole weekend to myself, with no obligations to anyone, just a set of wheels or a bus ride and no schedule to keep. Taking a walk around downtown SF, or cruising the motorcycle around the Santa Barbara hills, stopping for a bite to eat because a place looked interesting enough, and more importantly I'd never been there before, and no one had mentioned it before. It was a new personal discovery.

I'm missing that sensation about now, with too much work, and too many phone calls.

I've started working on a plan. Don't tell my wife and kids, but I'm working up a list of items needed, and plotting a rough set of general directions to take a short weekend roadtrip on the Ducati. I've got a tent, a sleeping bag, some simple cooking utensils, a candle lantern and, of course, a pocket radio. I figure that I need to make a pilgrimage to one of the ultimate motorcycling destinations in the country, Deal's Gap, aka The Dragon. It's located in the western part of NC, near Asheville. If I were to leave one early Saturday morning I could be up there in time to make a late afternoon run, and make camp at one of the campgrounds there. The following day I could have an early breakfast, break camp, and hit another of the famous roads there, then head home. It'd probably be a 600+ mile weekend.

Yup, that sounds fantastic, and I think I'd have that same grin under the helmet the whole time.

Slap all your troubles away!!!