Blogging Ottinger (tim)

Well, this has been one heck of a month. In addition to the surprisingly difficult upper-respiratory drama (now in week 3 for me and my wife,) we also have had automotive woes and refrigerator failure. Sadly, it’s the time of year when we most want to participate in giving and we are having to set the most severe spending limits. On the other hand, we are making it through and still holding together.

Today’s crisis was that he rear glass of our van spontaneously shattered. Earlier in the month we lost a battery and had to replace tires, and there were a few other fixups. The car also needed a new battery and a little fixup. We had to buy a new refrigerator when ours suddenly stopped working.

The good news is that we don’t live in Oklahoma, that we didn’t lose much in the way of groceries, and that we weren’t stranded far from home at any time. Also, this whole respiratory thing, however grotesque and unpleasant, is not really a serious illness. None of our troubles are troubles that will hurt us in the long run. We have new tires, new batteries, a new fridge, and will soon have a new rear window. We managed to get presents for all our kids, though we have been more conservative than usual. We have had far worse Decembers in recent memory. I just hope that we’re done with surprise expenses for now.

Our friends and family have not been so lucky. One colleague has suffered the power loss in OK. Some of our extended family are suffering much more serious problems, things that a few hundred dollars or a thousand won’t solve for them and that won’t leave them better off. It’s sad that there’s not more we can do, being limited and distant as we are. Still, whatever little we can do we will do even if sometimes it is little indeed.

In the midst of this, our children are doing well. They are ethical people, and increasingly good students. They have good friends, and have good relationships with us. Each of them is growing in so many ways. They haven’t gotten in any trouble, they don’t have any serious illness, they don’t have any citizenship problems or issues with teachers. They are in a good school where their safety is not a constant concern and they can learn and grow.

Our church is healthy and well-led, even if little challenges may sometimes need tending. There is good music and good teaching there, and good people to know and to spend time with. We have many friends there. As far as I know, nobody there has anything against me and I’ve no hard feelings toward any of them. We are at peace.

In addition, I’ve been learning a lot in the past two weeks or so. I know many times more Java (the programming language) than I knew before, and am getting used to working in Eclipse. I’m more capable there than before.

Where ever you are, and how ever you are doing, I pray you’ll have the wisdom and means to meet your problems well in this season. May your troubles all be small, and your blessings be great. May the Christmas season find you warm, well, and in loving company.

Iguana hot sauces get a lot of play here. The “gold” and “deuces” in particular. You can get these pretty cheap at a lot of grocery stores, world markets, and gourmet shops. I probably use this more than Tobasco, which is to say “like ketchup.” The one called ‘deuces’ I like a lot. It’s got habeneros in a mustard base, so it’s very flavorful and really good on pork or chicken. Use it to moisten and flavor chicken breast, because chicken breast generally needs that kind of love.

I’m also working my way through a gift set of Mama Rose’s Arizona hot sauces such as “Sergio’s Revenge”. Sergio’s Revenge is made of vinegar, water, dry spices, and *then* peppers, but they are pretty good nonetheless. They have Santack, Jalapeno, and Habenero chilis, and they top it off with some extract (capsaicin oil) to get the heat up. As a result, I feel the heat and it works its magic on sinuses.

For eggs or potatoes, don’t overlook Louisana gold pepper sauces, particularly the green one. It’s not very hot, by hot sauce standards. My friend Josh wouldn’t like it particularly, but he would find all of these sauces to be far too tame. I think it’s a nice low-grade hot sauce with a good, tangy flavor. Also nice to brighten up a soup.

A good hot sauce makes the top of your head sweat. These aren’t the hottest hot sauces on the market, but they are tasty and have the desired effect when used in reasonable quantities.

I wrote about my first batch earlier. I gave it another shot while grading Java tests today. I made a few modifications.

5 Jalapeno
2 sweet peppers (one red, one yellow)
1/2 onion, diced
1 leek, diced.
a few baby carrots, diced.
1 tsp minced garlic
cilantro
1/4 c oil (olive or grape seed)
1/4 c flour
2 Avocados
1+ qt water
1 qt chicken stock
1 qt heavy cream
Salt, Pepper to taste

The mix of peppers gave the soup a nicer color to begin with. I got plenty of flavor, but a lower heat that my family can handle better. I kinda wish I’d had celery. Anyway, the carrots and sweet peppers and leeks gave a nice sweetness.

I put all the veggies but the avocados in to sweat and soften for a little while, then worked up a roux with the flour and oil, then added the chicken stock and water. I put about two cloves of garlic in (equivalent in pre-chopped garlic paste) and cilantro to taste. I let this marry for a long time, probably an hour, on low heat.

I mashed and added the avocado and let it cook for a little while. The avocado added some color in addition to flavor. When it was good and hot, I hit it with the immersion blender.

An hour or so later, it’s time for the cream. My house smells incredible. I taste it and see that I was a little generous with the salt. Next time less. Not sure how much I put in, because I kind of eyeballed it. Probably two or three teaspoons of kosher salt. Yeah, that should have been a dead giveaway. It’s salty, but doesn’t ruin the flavor. I give it a little time to thicken up while I’m waiting on the family to get home and while I grade another test.

We add some dry cilantro. It will provide some green specs to the avocado-colored soup.

It’s not thick enough. I think I just added too much liquid here. Libby goes to work on it, making a roux out of the oil that gathered on top. Maybe I need to listen to Kris more. Even with heavy cream, avocado, an initial roux, and some good long cooking time, it’s thin. Libby brings it up to a nice silky consistency. I would have liked it a little thicker yet. Maybe next time. There’s always a little crowd inside the silver lining, you know?

Again we make up a little basic salsa. We fill each bowl with soup and add a good dollop of salsa to the center. A few ritz crackers around the edge make it ready for dining.

The kids didn’t think it was too hot this time. I think we nailed that part. The avocado, leek, and carrot made the soup a little sweeter than the variety I had down in Texas, and for my family that was a bonus. The cilantro set off the lighter green color, and the bits of salsa tomato floating on the top gave it a more seasonal color scheme.

It really was quite delicious. I think I’m one or two batches from perfecting our version of this soup.

I was looking around at Rondo Music recently, and found this lovely P90-equipped guitar.

Generally, I like a little more contour on my guitars, but I like this one even though it’s not beveled or arched at all. That’s very unusual for me. I think that a little shape work would make it look like a much more expensive guitar. I think the features that catch my eye are:

• Transparent red (vintage cherry) finish
• P90s.
• Grover tuners
• Chrome hardware all around.
• Black covers on P90s instead of white or cream
• 24 frets (jumbo)
• Set neck
• No pick guard shows off wood better
• Another angled neck. Why do I like that?
• It matches my wife’s electric bass guitar. It’s cute when couples match.
• The Price.

Downside

• Not much in the way of contour other than the neat scoop on the back.
• I would rather have separate volume for neck and bridge pickups. And separate tone controls.

Maybe when I’m in the market for my P90 I’ll pick one up. No time soon, with my collection and situation being what it is. I have plenty of good music equipment. I’m in no hurry. But it sure is cute.

When I get any kind of upper respiratory thing, it just seems to beat me up and hang on for weeks. I don’t know if that’s because of all the smoking I did as a young man (quit 19 years ago) or what. This one is kicking my butt. I can’t sleep or stay awake all that well. It’s not like pneumonia or anything, just really annoying congestion and drainage and it’s wearing me down now that we’re in the second week of it.

I’m really interested in what over-the-counter cures and home remedies my friends have found that might give some relief on the really bad days (like today).

My wife likes DayQuil, but that’s not doing much for me. Nor is generic Tussin doing very much. Oh, it helps a bit, but it’s been pretty weak. Steam helps only a little. Bummer. I have sometimes gotten good results from Alka-Seltzer products. Why don’t they hire Brian Setzer to do promos? In my current bout, the fizzy cold tablets are doing next to nothing. Sometimes the gelcaps work better.

My old friend Alan Ennen always suggested a very large chorizo burrito with extra extra-hot hot sauce. He recommended this for about any ailment you can imagine, and also as a nice lunch. The burrito had to come from La Bamba in Champaign, IL though. He was right about it giving relief for a lot of issues, even stomach problems. I think it’s a combination of having enough carbs and all the benefits of peppers (which include anti-congestion). I know that strong hot sauces help me stay awake, too.

So what works for you?

Playing “the three things” game for parenting, where the goal is to find the three base facts/axioms from which all other information is derivative. I am no expert, but I think that if I were to give a new parent “the three things”, I could hardly do better at this point in my life than to give these three concepts:

1. It’s not convenient.
2. The child is a whole different person.
3. Once you’re in the game, you’re in the game.

It’s not convenient. It’s duecedly inconvenient. You’re not on your own schedule, you don’t own your own stuff, you don’t have your own way, you don’t add them onto your existing life. Parenting is many great things, but convenient it is not. Not understanding this has been a source of frustration to many parents.

The child is a whole different person. The child is not an extension of the parent, or a revisit of the parent’s childhood (even if it might seem that way sometimes). The child will not like everything you like, or hate what you hate, or merge seamlessly into your plans. The child is a person. Forget that, and think of the child as part of your life, and much is lost. Rather, you have joined a new relationship with someone and you need to make that work in the long term. You are responsible for someone who may turn out to be just like you (in all good ways and bad) or who is by his nature very different from you (in good ways and bad).

Once you’re in the game, you’re in the game. Attempts to escape will meet with disaster. Abdicating responsiblity is not allowable. You are now the parent. Despite the fact that you didn’t prepare and plan and work it out, and you don’t know what you’re doing, you’re now in the game. You are Dad or Mom and that’s the end of it. Be it and try to be at peace with it, because this is the truth. You made a baby, and even though it’s inconvenient you are now responsible (in all ways good and bad) for a whole different human being.

Don’t feel bad. There are a million good things to say about the complex and fascinating other people you’ve brought into the world and your house. Just don’t be confused: these three things are very important whether you love or hate your new role in life.

What are your three things for parenting?

A friend pointed me to this bit at wikipedia:

It used to be, everyone was entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts. But that’s not the case anymore. Facts matter not at all. Perception is everything. It’s certainty. People love the President because he’s certain of his choices as a leader, even if the facts that back him up don’t seem to exist. It’s the fact that he’s certain that is very appealing to a certain section of the country. I really feel a dichotomy in the American populace. What is important? What you want to be true, or what is true?…

Whether you are a fan of the president or not, look at the argument being made: “What is important: what you want to be true or what is true?”

Here well-meaning relativists have been telling me that there is no right and wrong, no true and untrue, and every person should decide for himself (or herself) what is truth and what is not. I’m usually told that after hearing of some ethically gray or dark behaviors, after uttering “that’s not right.”

So imagine my joy at reading such an appeal for a True kind of Truth, not for a personally-determined standard of right and wrong, but an appeal to something bigger and more reliable. Ah, maybe when the comics turn against relativism, the fight is nearly won.

Look at this cutie (pic is also link) with a “whiskey cola” finish:

It is not surprising that this guitar would set you back about USD$2200.00. That’s pretty much what you would expect for a hot hollow-body guitar made from good woods and well-appointed. The thing you would not expect is that it comes from First Act, the same company that makes those cheapie starter guitars you see at every Wal-Mart and various other resellers. The Mal-Wart contract must have been good to them, because they have a quite attractive line of higher-end guitars at higher-end prices.

There’s another attractive
Delia version with a single lipstick single-coil in the middle position. That guitar is visible in the video:

I guess I need to learn to think differently about first act. The reviews are very good. I suppose being introduced to them in the toy aisles at MalWart had placed a certain image in my mind, but these guitars contradict all I was thinking. Good on them.

A friend of the blog wrote me about his new Crafter hybrid. The following has all identifying info removed, b/c I didn’t actually ask permission before posting it. Hope that’s okay.

Bought the guitar finally… gigged once with it so far. Ideally, I think I’d like it through an accoustic amp, but I played it through my all tube amp and was very pleasantly surprised at how it still managed to have that “accoustic” tone even through the tube amp (clean channel). I’m working on doing an accoustic duo type thing with someone, and I’ll feel very safe in using this guitar.

The fit and finish is very nice. Guitar plays very well and sounds very nice. Very little issues with it staying in tune…I haven’t even had it set up, and Im incredibly happy with it. Overall, this Crafter is an amazing buy, particularly since the price was very reasonable for a guitar that requires nothing extra to be used professionally.

Thanks for keeping my Crafter daydream alive!

I had messed with the transcoding script a few times, and sadly got to a point where the video playback got pretty laggy. I couldn’t stand watching when the audio greatly preceded the video, so it was time for some research. My current command:

/usr/bin/mencoder "${SOURCE}" -o ${DESTINATION} -ovc xvid -xvidencopts bitrate=300 -vf scale=320:240 -ofps 30 -oac mp3lame -lameopts abr:br=128 mode=3

It actually works. I would like to say that I figured this out, but a lot of that is gobbledygook to me. I can tell you that the bitrate is down, the scale is the display resolution of the device, and that it’s using xvid and lame in an avi wrapper. That’s more than I might have known a year ago. I actually got it from wiki.gp2x.org which seems a useful resource in general.