Images from a beach weekend getaway...

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Wildwood, New Jersey..... an off season shore getaway during the worst storm in a decade. The city was effectively closed down right after we got there, with all the bridges blocked and the Guard ferrying people out. Our hotel was at the high point, which in Wildwood means an inch or two in elevation.

We never lost power, but our choices of activity were limited. The rain was falling in sheets and sideways in a 50 mph wind. The streets were closed a few blocks in any direction and there was no place to go, and nothing to do.

Nothing but...... go up a few floors from our suite and get massages at the spa. Lounge in the hot tub and steam room. Swim in the indoor pool while watching the storm rage through the glass roof. Go down to the bar and drink cold beer, while eating crab stuffed mushrooms and blackened scallops for dinner. Nothing to do... but take long afternoon naps....

Yup, it was pretty rough, but we made it through in one piece.

(g)

Back...

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Weekend at the shore. Worst storm in ten years. Island closed up around us.
Nothing to do...... but lounge in the hot tub, swim in the pool, get massages,
eat good food, drink cool adult beverages, take long naps........

It was wonderful.

Photos will follow when I get done today's fourteen hour workday.

Short timer....

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We leave for the shore tomorrow morning, just for a few days. It's so close I can taste it! Days of relaxing...

I was thinking this morning about going shooting, and when that might happen. You know, with my school schedule it could easily be January before I get near the range. I even have a new shooter I'm itching to begin working with.... but time is just consumed with work right now. Does that mean I am too busy?

Off to work in a few minutes.... but I'll leave with a bit of music from a group someone just brought into my sphere. Nice stuff....

Monday, part two... dinner fixuns......

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Lets see......

I have large tortillas, chunky and spicy salsa, mushrooms, red peppers, sweet onions, leftover rice and black beans, some refried beans, a bunch of shredded cheese, some sour cream, a big jar of Crystal hot sauce, a cabinet full of spices, and a fully functional kitchen.....

What might possibly happen for dinner later?

Photos may be posted .... (g).

Update:

Today in school.....

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Wow..... don't these weekends go fast?

I woke up today thinking about how to deal with a situation in school. I have a student who has been forging my initials on work in order to improve his grade.

Hmm......

I think..... that I will have a word with him today. I think I will tell him that he'll pass this year no matter what he does, barring any violent outbursts or huge disruptions. I think I will point out to him that I won't be closely checking my signature on submitted work.... and that any forgeries will just fly right past.... but that it doesn't matter because he is going to pass no matter what.

You see.... I don't have time to check each signature, nor lay traps to 'prove' someone is forging mine to the satisfaction of the school admin (who would rather just have every problem turn to vapor before reaching them). There is no profit to me in doing so. There is nothing but downside.... I have to work harder, I get headaches, and nothing will happen to the student doing forgeries. Been there, done that.

I think I will explain all that to this student... and point out that working hard at cheating and lying is pretty much a waste of time and effort in my class. A cheater will pass.... and end up losing an entire year of their life to wasted time and effort. There is nothing worse that that I could do to anyone, and it's something only a cheater can do to himself.

Karma is surely a bitch. I hope he understands that by days end.

I'm going to suck every last bit of excitement and satisfaction out of cheating, lying, and 'fooling' the old man. It's just not going to be fun anymore. As a matter of fact.... I'll leave nothing that's interesting for him to do..... but the course work.

Yes.... I am every bit that mean.

Image library..... and backup

This morning I began backing up my photograph catalog from the big computer.... in excess of 36,000 images and over 80 gigabytes. It's being backed up to a portable hard drive, in preparation to moving it over to my laptop. Yesterday I installed new photoshop software to the laptop, and I plan on spending some time reviewing those photos.... deleting and editing.... till the herd shows more quality than quantity.

Watching that countdown timer move across the screen as the software does it's job.... 6% done..... 8% done...... for an hour or more, I've been thinking about the images I will find in that catalog. Sure.... guns, shooty stuff, food, flowers, ships, machines.... but there is more. Past loves, people now gone, good times and bad. In that mass of photos I'll find the last few years of my life laid out for display.

I will go through them, and I will edit ruthlessly.... and I will be flooded with memories while I do it.

Dilbert On-Line

Dilbert On-line.... the single biggest reason I don't bother buying our local waste-o-newsprint. It was the last thing in the liberal rag worth reading.

A moment in class today......

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Today in class we had a moment of silence for the dead and wounded at Ft. Hood. The students asked me what had happened there.... and I responded that it appears a nut job major had opened fire and killed a dozen people and wounded about thirty more.

The students asked how could one whacko take out so many soldiers..... and I told them the base commander had standing orders that soldiers on base were to be unarmed and defenseless from attack. The immediate, unsolicited, and very loud consensus of the students was that such a policy is criminally insane. I will not repeat what the students thought should happen to the base commander for his punishment. I had to admonish the students on their choice of words and somewhat creatively violent outlook towards the man.

Hmm..... Enchiladas......

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Challenge: Dinner should be relatively healthy, taste spectacular, and use up a bunch of leftovers (Rice, beans, mushrooms, etc....)

Answer: Mushroom and crab enchiladas with black beans and rice.




The enchiladas are stuffed with scrambled eggs and loaded to the edges with sauteed mushrooms and crab meat. Salt, pepper, garlic, and some parsley add to the interest.



The mushrooms are sauteed in butter....



Then fresh eggs are folded around the mushrooms and crab meat, with some chopped garlic and a dusting of ground black pepper.



The rice.... ahh... the rice.... Slow cooked long grain brown rice and barley, simmered with black beans and a can of Rotel tomatoes. Rotel's are chopped tomatoes put up with green chilis, and are the secret to many a great recipe.




Line a baking dish with the rice. Fill some soft flour tortillas with the mushroom, egg, and crab mixture. Lay out the enchiladas on the rice, and top with cheese. I chose freshly grated Swiss Gruyer mixed with cheddar. Once the cheese is spread, top with a cup or two of your favorite salsa, and more cheese.

Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes, or until the house fills with an incredible smell.

It's ready when the dog explodes from anticipation.

A moral compass.......

There are few things of more value to a person than a healthy and well calibrated moral compass.

I am not speaking of religion, although that can help some people understand and act.

I am speaking of a certainty of right and wrong. Is an action right, or wrong? A belief, a law, a statement, a thought..... you name it. The ability to judge right from wrong with enough certainty to act is key to a healthy personality and character.

Do not look to the law for help. Hear me now..... Legal vs illegal does not have anything to do with right vs wrong. It never has and
never will.

Doubt the validity of this statement? Can you hear Judge Dredd (Sly Stalone) in your head saying "It's Da LAWWwwww"?

Remember these points when you hear "Because it's the law":

It was legal to own slaves in the united states, and beat them to death when you wished.

It was illegal for woman to vote in the united states for most of our national history.

It was illegal for blacks to own firearms in most southern states up until the 1950's. (the genesis of most of our national gun control laws).

While it is illegal for a citizen to tell an untruth to any federal agent, AG Janet Reno stated it is common and legal for federal agents to lie to citizens.

The point is this.... don't look for the law to be a moral record of right and wrong. By the same token religion in almost all it's forms has neatly removed itself from the arena as well. History is replete with wars and atrocities performed by humans acting under orders from other humans reporting to act under orders from various gods.

No buck to be passed here.... "Ve Vere only following Orders" will never
be an acceptable defense.

Every person needs a sense of right vs wrong, a moral compass if you will.

Where do you get it from? Still working on that point..... back later.

Pratchett.....

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I finished 'Unseen Academicals' last night..... and was deeply saddened to think it may be Terry Pratchett's last book.

Halloween parties can be kinda fun......

When I think of comfort food.... stuff that brings me back to childhood.... nothing tops the list better than baked macaroni and cheese casserole. You know the kind... with rich cheddar cheese sauce, chunks of smoked ham, and the cheese on top turning crusty and brown....

Excuse me.... I'll need a minute here.

Sigh.............

Here's my version, and how to make it. It's not cheap, and it's not low fat, and it's almost bound to make a person eat too much. Ok, everyone got that? You have been warned!



Of course, it all starts with cheese. In this case, chunks of New York extra sharp cheddar and Longhorn cheddar. Slice them up and set aside where nobody can walk along and snack while you cook. Consider leaving a knife handy to defend the cheese with, just don't get blood on the cutting board.

Have a bag of shredded sharp white cheddar handy too, to layer into the casserole.

While you are slicing and dicing, chop an onion into small chunks.
This recipe calls for a deadly rich cheese sauce, and that starts with onions!



Saute the onions in lots of butter in a deep sauce pan. They need to be browning off and caramelizing, but not totally fried. About like the photo shows will do nicely. Once sauteed, drop in a few tablespoons of flour and stir into the onions and butter. Continue cooking till the flour just starts to brown and smell nutty.

Into this thick sauteed onion paste, pour a two or three cups of cold whole milk while stirring over heat. Do not stop stirring, or it will burn. Continue heating and stirring till it starts to thicken. Now dump in all that lovely cheese. You should have at least two heaping handfuls, and more is better.

STIR!

Keep stirring as it heats back to a simmer while the cheese melts. Add milk as needed while stirring, to make a thick cheese sauce. Once the cheese is melted set the pot off the heat and season to taste. I prefer lots of fresh ground pepper, a few big pinches of kosher salt, and just a dash of Crystal hot sauce. A few tablespoons of dried parsley go over well too.

In a large pot of salted boiling water, start the macaroni. Once you dump it in, stir gently and keep stirring till it returns to a boil. A dash of butter in the water helps flavor and prevents sticking. Turn the heat down to a simmer and let the pasta cook while you do other things. We are looking for 'just cooked' here, since it will finish cooking as it bakes in the cheese sauce. Test the pasta every minute or so and drain it as soon as it turns tender, but not totally cooked.



While this is going on, slice a smoked ham steak into bite sized chunks. Don't try to save money here, as flavor is everything. Good baked macaroni and cheese is not a cheap dish, so save money elsewhere. A high quality smoked ham steak costs five or six dollars around these parts, but is worth it for the flavor.

Normally I would saute the ham steak to make the flavor pop, but then I would lose all that lovely juice. In this case, that wonderful smoked ham goodness has a mission.... to bring all it's flavor to the casserole. As the ham is already cooked, it's simply sliced into chunks and set aside till the pasta is done.



Once the macaroni is drained, it goes back in the pot. Pour on the rich cheese sauce and stir in the ham chunks. Layer it into a deep casserole dish with shredded sharp cheddar cheese and more parsley. More cheese goes on top, leaving enough room to get a lid on. A few seasoned bread crumbs won't hurt either.



The mix should be a little soupy with the sauce as the macaroni will soak up a lot of it. Lid it up and into a 350 degree oven for an hour.

It's not a bad idea to nail the kitchen door shut right about now, and get a shotgun. The smell will begin to spread soon, and people will turn up like zombies in a 2AM sci-fi movie.

After the hour is up, take off the lid and return it to the oven for another twenty minutes, or until the top browns off and the Mac sticking up turns crunchy.
Once so..... it's done.



Remove from the oven and allow to rest for fifteen or twenty minutes while you pull those nails out of the kitchen door. It will thicken some.... and cool a bit.

Right now would be a fine time to mention a few of those household chores that need done.... and how serving the casserole might have to be put off till they are done.....

Serve in heaping spoonfuls on plates, with sliced tomatoes if that sort if thing is desired.

A word of advice.....

Making two casseroles is as easy as one, and nothing in the world makes a good a leftover as mac and cheese casserole......IF there is any left over.

Enjoy!

(Note: Click on any of the photos to enlarge, if you wish)

Looking back on blog life.....

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As I drove to work this morning, to start another 14 hour day, my mind wandered. I was thinking about this blog, and how I've slacked off on posting for some time now. That started me down the path remembering how I came to blogging, and considering how it's evolved for me.

Back in July of '07, I looked into what 'blogs' are, as they were in the political news almost daily. I'd been net active since before Algore had his single handed brain fart and invented ARPANET. That meant I was into forums of all manner. Before that, the USENET. Before that, pay services like Prodigy. Before THAT.... I was dialing into servers late at night in my basement laboratory.... chuckling like Renfield as I patched into the Federal Reserve system.

So... Blogs......


I landed on a blog so many people know.... Tam's 'View from the porch' (my unwitting and probably unwilling blog-mother). Her links led me on a trail that sucked up hours and hours of my time, and eventually convinced me I needed to try this 'blog' stuff myself. Thus, 'Carteach0' was born, and has remained the only constant in my blog life since then.

Within a few weeks of beginning Carteach0, I realized I wanted two blogs. One for technical shooting topics, and one for life commentary. A few days later, 'Mal-Fits' came to be. Now named 'New Directions', Mal-Fits was home to much ranting and raving, as well as being my dumping ground during a very, very troubled part of my life. It was while I had Mal-Fits that my marriage broke up. To be exact, I decided that life was worth living, rather than just a time spent being worked to death supporting those who cared little for me.

Mal-Fits became 'New Directions' then, and stayed that way till my wife found it and began harassing my on-line friends. While we were married she had no interest at all, but after I climbed from the pit and found freedom, she sought ways to hurt. I shut down 'New Directions' to save my friends from her vicious streak.

Some time later, having badly missed blogging, I began a new blog named 'Bear on a Bicycle'. So named because of a phrase we use here amongst fellow instructors... "here comes another bear on a bicycle..... meaning the circus is in full swing. The Bear went through changes as well, and finally became 'The Blind Squirrel'.

Blind squirrel..... ended when a relationship I was in ended. Hard, painful, and stunning. The Squirrel carried on a while, but with little heart or soul. There was a lot I wanted to say, but just couldn't talk about. It ended when I got my very own crazy stalker woman.... and it just seemed time to let it die on the vine. I tried blogging under an old name for a while, bring 'Mal-Fits' back to life, but my heart wasn't in it. It was mostly a time of beating myself up over the past and wallowing in pain and self pity. Oh.... just to really elevate the level of 'suck' in life at that point, a woman who treated me as her son.... died of cancer. In the bargain I somehow got custody of her elderly husband, his business, and his life. Two weeks after I had my own heart ripped out, I was dealing with her death and trying to keep him from killing himself.

You know what? It sucked.... and I stopped doing it. The self pity and wallowing I mean..... I have stopped that crap. It got old, and life is just too good to live like that.

Now..... I have this blog, 'The Gregarious Loner', which will keep pace with my life as best I am able and wish to. I still have Carteach0 for shooting stuff, but here at the G.L. I'll go back to journaling my personal life, with occasional rants. Maybe I'll share what's special about the day.... if I have time... and if the pressure to speak overwhelms the inertia to be silent.

All my old blogs? They are still there. I'll be opening them back up as public again, and posting all the stuff saved as drafts. All the posts that hurt to write, and hurt more to read. All the posts I was told to take down so someone else would not be embarrassed. All the stuff over the last few years.... doesn't hurt so much anymore. It's time to let it out and air it a bit. I'll be going back and allowing posting on hundreds of pieces saved in draft now, over the next few days. I may cut and paste some into posts here, looking back over time and perhaps commenting on what was going on in my life when I wrote such stuff. Yup.... a real 'me-fest'.... but that's what blogging is sometime.

So, in lieu of frequent posting now while life is just too busy..... I present my past blogging life for review. This may be the answer to insomniacs everywhere.....


Carteach0
Mal-Fits / New Directions
Bear on a bicycle / Blind Squirrel
Mal-fits (second iteration)

Still alive.....

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It takes an almost superhuman act of will power to leave a warm bed on a cold rainy morning like this, especially when the bed is made warm by someone who is not getting up for hours yet.

But... my students are calling.

Time to go .... time to move..... time to...... awe crap, I'd much rather just go back to bed!

Monday morning....

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Another beautiful day in the neighborhood...... Ahhh, bugger that. There isn't enough coffee in the whole state to make me cheerful at O-dark thirty on a Monday.

I just finished Ringo's latest offering, The Last Centurion. I'm still not sure where he was heading with this book. It began dry, but informative. I realized he had taken a third of the book just to set the scene... and the rest of the way through it seemed like the 'story' was just a tiny vehicle to carry the background.

I think that was the point..... Ringo wanted to get those thoughts out there, especially with the looming socio-economic train wreck our Con-gress is inflicting on us. I'm glad I read it, and probably will again in a few weeks, only with a different purpose.

On the subject of reading... Last night I picked up Pratchetts latest, Unseen Acedemicals. I'll begin reading it after I get past my Psych presentation on Thursday. I'll need a good unwind by then anyway.

I bought the Pratchett book in hard cover, at full list price.... just because I wanted what will probably be his last book. I'm going to miss that mans wit.

Life goes on.... but this morning I just can't seem to work up the joy of it. Maybe later, after my blood-coffee level comes up a bit.

Ya'll have a fine day now.....

Random updating-ness

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From the randomness that is my fried brain, a few stray thoughts....

My crazy stalker is still hanging around the edges. Maybe her meds will kick in one day, or she will find someone else to fixate on.

School? Glad you asked...... It's crazy. The kids, well, they started out a bit rough but are shaping up very nicely indeed. A few have some problems, and a few have some challenges. We have a couple who mostly try (weakly) to disrupt things, but most are busting their butts and doing good work. A solid half dozen are competing for first place in class.... and that's a joy to watch. Even better..... lot's of them are learning to THINK, and that has me dancing in the aisle.

Q: Okay, so this bulb has two different resistance readings for it's filaments... Why is that? Got any ideas?

A: Ahhh..... because one is brighter than the other?

Q: Good! Now..... which one??

A: Ahhh..... the one with lower resistance is the brighter one.

Q: YES! Why??

A: Because it has lower resistance, more current flows, and it gets brighter..?.....


HAPPY DANCE IN THE SHOP! The best part is.... I'm hearing this kind of thought process from a bunch of them. I know we teach it well, but they are getting it!

About the rest of school and the folks down front in admin, I'd best just shut up and not say much. I understand the pressure actually pushed an instructor into a physical shoving match with an administrator at another campus, and careers ended. Hard to say what happened, as we are told nothing. Suffice it to say... there are folks who are job hunting, and some people are getting medical help (read weekly iron transfusions) to keep up with the crushing work load. It's gotten nuts my friends, just nuts.

On the home front, old Al has got someone to help him with the store and finances, and that's taken a big load off me. Just in time, as I am taking two PSU courses at once along with teaching, and I am snowed under in a big way.. He seems happier, and I'm glad of that.

Honestly? I feel like that debt is paid. My friends helped me when I needed it a lot, after she died I helped him through the rough times. Now we are coming out the back side of that black cloud, and I think I filled my promise to Shirley.

What it means to me... is freedom to think about living elsewhere if I choose. Living here is handy in many ways, and good for me financially, but many days I'd rather have the peace of my own place. It has it's attractions.... a lot of them.

On the subject of 'interpersonal relationships'...... yes please, and thank you. I'll have another helping :-) Life is good there, and getting better every day. More days than not I find myself smiling for no discernible reason, and of course that means I know the reason very well indeed.

Okay, rambling mode is now off.... and I'm getting back to work on my next presentation due..... Prader-Willi syndrome, of all things. The Good Doktor smiled when she assigned me the project, saying we needed some humor to break things up. I have since found out the disease is not the funny part, oh no. The funny part is she is an acknowledged and published expert on the topic, and I am an acknowledged idiot. The funny part will be her watching me lamely plow through this..... sigh.

Random updates.....

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Well friends and neighbors, I guess it's time to fill in some blanks......

Lets see.... how about starting with the crazy stalker?

I dated her for a month or so.... and broke it off. I'm just not going to have crazy in my life anymore, not after living with it for so many years. I guess what followed was par for the course..... because she turned into a stalker. Cell messages, text messages, email messages.... nothing for a month and then the flood gates opened all in one night.

I got Yahoo to block her e-mail and I had Verizon block her cell number, but it only took her a few days to find a way around that using AIM. I shut down my last blog after she found it, and she began spending hours reading my old posts. Now, every few days, I get a blast of six or eight broken up and jumbled text messages on my cell phone. One set demanding something, the next explaining her latest date in detail.... and I answered none.

Now I see she has found this blog too.... persistent whacko she is. I suppose I should do what the nice state policeman said and look into a restraining order.

At night, a warm touch
In the morn, a sleepy smile
All day.... happiness

Re-opening the vein

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Good morning folks... depending, of course, on when you read this :-)

I wanted to shove in a placeholder here, and a short note. I aintent dead yet, although my recent blogging efforts might lead people to think that. To be blunt.... I am just too busy.

School keeps us swamped of course, but toss in new unfunded mandates on our time by administration, and six credits of PSU courses at the same time.... and Carteach0 is turning into one sorry ass dragging crabby mean guy.

The saving grace is a new personal relationship, which I suppose I will blog about soon enough. When I have the energy and time. I'll help you let your imagination run wild, that much I'll do. I'm nearly fifty, and she is twenty six. It's an unusual pairing, and no doubt about that. I'm learning new things every single day, and so is she.... and maybe that's the point. I can't say for certain, except that I wake up smiling more often than not.

Right now... it's time for me to get my butt in gear and tackle another busy day. Yesterday was 14 hours of works, followed by 7 hours of eyelid inspection. Today.... who knows? It's all a big adventure!

Please note....

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I am still alive.

I'll post any changes to that situation.

Many thanks,

Me

Bragging......

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Life is crazy, and busy beyond belief. Despite that.... tonight I managed to nail the Educational Psychology midterm exam at 102%. Oh yea.... triune brain theory is all mine, Baby!

I may be tail dragging exhausted and groggy... only four hours sleep last night... But I owned that exam with one hour of studying.

Made my day.

End bragging.

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Dreams of a lost love
Tearing apart sleeps light touch
The pillow lays damp

In lieu of blogging....

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The first rule of blogging..... blog everyday.

Yup... sure...... just don't hold your breath on that one :-) Life is way too busy right now for daily blogging. So.... in lieu of real blogging, here's a few words put together in a previous evolution......

Lifetimes we have loved together
in the past, and the future
meeting in the now
as one
linked together
fitting as always meant to be
traveling a journey into vast forever

Another week past....

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School blogging......

The boys are doing well. Almost impressively well..... and I am enjoying it tremendously. I am working while sick, but they make it worth every minute.

A few are offering some discipline challenges, but they are mild and I think there is a strong sentiment in this class for suppressing such. Nothing overt, but most of the boys are serious about wanting to learn what we are teaching. That feeling spreads....

There are about a dozen that show excellent promise both in skill and work ethics. The same group can think, learn fast, and we are stepping high to keep them challenged. On the down side, testing shows we have over half the class reading below grade level, and about 25% are 7th grade or under. That is a tough nut to crack, especially while we are cramming in so much technical information at the same time.

On another note, in Ed-Psych class I have been learning about brain functions. The class is downright fascinating, and each session sends me away with something I can use almost at once with my students. As one example.... a discussion of Triune brain structure theory led me to discuss test anxiety with one of my students, and that led to his test score improving, and THAT led to my planning several theory lessons on test anxiety and test taking strategy. Not that I know a lot about it.... but I will by the time I hold the class next week :-)

Personal blogging.....

Life is not bad. Not bad at all.

You know what makes it not bad? Having someone to care about... who cares right back. I like having someone in my life... even though I swore I would never do it again. It was a short lived promise to myself, that I'll admit.

What makes it easy... is she asks for nothing. Nothing but whatever time we can share together in our lives right now. That is so... refreshing.... in my life. I don't have to be anything for her but myself. I don't have to hide anything from anyone for any reason. The honesty is ... well.... a friend said 'Not many people could handle that' when we talked about it. I accept her, and she accepts me, and the rest of the world can go to hell as far as what they think.

Sure, there are challenges. We are as different as day and night in many ways, but we both revel in the differences. We are years apart in age, many years, but that seems not to be an obstacle so far. In all ways it's a learning experience and an adventure.

Good... I'm ready for a positive adventure for a change.