Author: ERA

AND IN FRUSTRATION, my sister YELLED “I want the google thing”

| ERA

While visiting my sister Joan in Florida and sitting on her patio chatting, she was working hard to remove some apps from her husband’s phone–to clean it up a bit. She blurted out “I want the Google thing.” I laughed out loud at that statement and asked her “what Google thing.” She responded, “you know the one with the “G” in the middle of it.” So I asked “what do you mean” the Google app or the Google search engine or the Google mail app. Well at that response, she said “I have no idea, just the Google thing.”

After having a good laugh with her, she exclaimed that she had no idea what she was talking about but was looking for the little square with the G on it–not the square that said Google or the square that was Google Chrome. I must insert here that my sister is one of the smartest most compassionate person I know. She has worked with cancer patients most of her adult life and has helped so many people that there is no need to forgive her for not knowing this stuff.

I thought about her dilemma for a while and about a previous conversation I had with her about urls–or which she might call the “urls thing”. Those with no background in computers or technology find it difficult to learn the ins and outs of phones and computers because the terminology is a mystery to them. And so I hope that these posts will help my sister and others who don’t have that background to learn the “basics” of computer-speak.

I thought I might do the first post about some tools and possibly, if of interest to people, dive deeper with future posts. Believe me, I am not going to dive very deep into this because I am not a computer geek or nerd, I am simply someone who was in an industry that taught me everything or in order to survive, I had to learn everything.

THE STUFF

Here are the items we will look at in this post:

  • the internet
  • applications
  • browsers
  • urls

As we walk through these items it might help to keep this in mind:

the internet is the highway
the applications are the cars
the browsers are the maps
and the urls are the destinations

THE INTERNET

Think of the internet as the highways that run through your country. It is the system of bridges, roads, tunnels and the infrastructure of the entire world. It’s an information database that allows everyone to interact with the data and share with others.

APPLICATIONS

Think of the applications as your car. It is a vehicle to get into your phone or computer to do something. Examples of applications or in phone lingo an “app” could be: weather, news, mail, photos, map, banking, shopping, hotels, airlines, food and a million other apps.

The app is the tool that companies use so that you can interact with them or others. Some are used for socializing such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or banking like Citibank or Bank of America, or Grubhub where you can order food to be delivered or E-Trade where you can buy and sell stocks or brick and mortar stores who will sell their products online or Amazon where you can buy anything. YIKES! Almost every existing corporation has an “app” for your phone.

Here are some tasks you can accomplish while on your phone.

You can manage your money online so you can purchase a plane ticket and rent an AirBnB to then post your vacation pics on Instagram…..all this from your phone.

Or order food to relax and watch a movie or some videos … once again, all this from your phone.

BROWSERS AND SEARCH ENGINES

Browsers are both applications and search engines. Browsers allow you to surf the net— you search items of interest to you and various suggestions come up to provide you the information you requested. Many companies create browsers–they basically all do the same thing but when opened look different. Some have more privacy features than others. As you surf on the net for products, you are most likely tracked and so, you see ads galore for a pair of sneakers you searched and bought a week ago. Some browsers do not track and others do. I find that sometimes I want the browser that tracks me because seeing ads for those sneakers I am shopping for are useful and at other times I would rather not see ads for items I’ve searched.

Here are the 8 most popular browsers:

  1. Firefox
  2. Google Chrome
  3. Microsoft Edge
  4. Apple Safari
  5. Opera
  6. Brave
  7. Vivaldi
  8. DuckDuckgo

Browsers are apps and browsers; others are just browsers that need to be employed through other apps. Sorry, this sounds complicated but it is not really. People have interchanged the terminology, but if you understand it in the simplest terms, you are the winner.

An example: you use Google Chrome or Safari as a browser but you use DuckDuckgo as the search engine in that browser. This would allow you the user friendly interface of Chrome and/or Safari and the privacy of a search engine like DuckDuckgo. [You can set up your preference for search engine within your browser app under preferences; the drop down menu allows you to choose.]

Change what search engine you use in a browser.
and oh, those URLS

Simply put, urls are addresses: it is your destination. The abbreviation of urls is Uniform Resource Locators–it is the location of your destination. You normally get the address [url] from a search done with the search engine.

For an example: you wish to know the times of a movie you wish to see. You know the name of the theatre and put it in the search engine. A number of possibilities come up and you choose the one closest to what you are looking for and click on that. That is the url.

The url is at the top of the browser. This is Facebook’s url. Sometimes you will see just “facebook.com” or depending on your browser settings, you will see the entire address with the “https://www”. Whatever site you are on, there will be a url in this window. So if someone said, “just type facebook.com in the url, this is the area you would input to.

MORE TO COME

There is so much more. I’m would love those reading this to comment and let me know if this is helpful and what else you want to know. Remember, as I let my sister know, you can’t break the internet.

Lemon Drop cocktail

| ERA

If I invite you for dinner, I am going to do everything possible to make that an enjoyable occasion. Mike and I usually clean up after guests depart and discuss our dinner with “I think everyone had a good time” or “geez that recipe didn’t work as well as I thought.”

There are many variations on Lemon Drop Cocktails/Martinis and I have tried a few. This particular one provides the best of all ingredients. It is important to feel comfortable to change ingredients or the amount of each ingredient to please your most particular cocktail-drinking guests.

When I am having more than one guest I have taken to mixing cocktails in bulk in advance [just an hour or two] so I am not tied up squeezing lemons while others are snacking on appetizers. They are shaken in real time and adjusted by what my guests enjoy. I know some of my guests always want a sweeter drink and others want it a bit tart. I will provide ingredients for one cocktail and enough for 6.

INGREDIENTS

For one cocktail

  • 2 oz Vodka*
  • 3/4 oz Cointreau or Triple Sec
  • 1 oz fresh squeezed lemon juice
  • 1/2 oz simple syrup
  • zest of a lemon
  • fine sugar

In advance of making your cocktail, you should prepare your glassware. I am using coupes rather than martini glasses. Sprinkle some sugar and the lemon zest in a flat plate large enough to hold the glasses upside down. Wipe the edge of the coupe glass with the lemon that you zested. Dip each glass in the plate so that the rim of the glass has sugar and lemon zest on it. You can then fill the glasses with ice and put them in refrigerator or freezer until you are ready to fill them.

For one cocktail, put all ingredients in a small shaker with plenty of ice and shake for a minute. This breaks up the ice a bit and the cocktail will be frosty. Pour a small amount into shaker cover and have your guest taste for sweetness or tartness. At this point you can add more lemon juice or simple syrup whichever they prefer. If you know your guests, you can taste yourself.

EQUIPMENT

  • Small shaker** or large shaker
  • Lemon squeezer
  • Coupe glasses
  • Large glass bottom for a dozen

For a dozen cocktails: pour all ingredients in a large pitcher; mix well without ice; pour into bottle and refrigerate until you are ready to use. Shake bottle well before pouring into the shaker to assure the lemon mixes through.

  • 12 oz Vodka*
  • 4.5 oz Cointreau or Triple Sec
  • 6 oz fresh squeezed lemon juice
  • 3 oz simple syrup
  • zest of a lemon
  • fine sugar

Notes:

* I do not use flavored vodka. I like Belvedere and Grey Goose but any vodka you have will do.
** Small shaker will hold one full cocktail. The larger shaker usually holds 3.

Meat and spinach loaf

| ERA

This is one of my favorite recipes. It creates two good-sized meat loaves. You can also cut the recipe in half for one loaf. But, this freezes very well so you might just want to make the larger recipe for your family or you can share with those less fortunate.

INGREDIENTS
  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 1 lb ground pork
  • 1 lb ground veal
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 cup onion, finely chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
  • 2 lbs of fresh baby spinach [substitute available below]
  • 1 cup coarsely chopped celery [substitute available below]
  • 1 cup parsley
  • 3/4 cup whole or low fat milk
  • 1 cup bread crumbs [substitute available below]
  • 2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper
  • Salt to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 4 eggs lightly beaten
  • 1 lb bacon
  • 1 stick of butter [salted or unsalted]
  • 5 large Vidalia onions [optional and used for topping]
PREPARATION
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  2. Heat the butter in a small pan and add the onion and garlic. Cook until wilted. Set aside and let cool.
  3. Saute or steam the spinach. When cooked put in a strainer and press down on spinach to remove as much water as possible. Then chop the spinach. Set aside and let cool.
  4. Put the chopped celery, parsley and milk in an electric blender and blend well. Set aside.
  5. Place all meat in very large oval bowl. Add the spinach, bread crumbs, salt to taste, pepper and nutmeg.
  6. Add the eggs to the meat mix and blend well.
  7. Add the celery, parsley, milk mixture and blend well.
  8. Add the spinach and blend well.
  9. Divide the meat in half and place half on large piece of wax paper. Roll to create a loaf and place in large pan. Do the same with the other half of meat.
  10. Wrap bacon around each loaf.
  11. Cook until internal temperature of loaves reaches 170.
  12. While meat loaves are cooking, slice the 5 large onions. Put in a large pan with stick of butter and cook until browned about 20 minutes or so.
  13. Drain all the fat from the pan and let meat loaves sit for 10 minutes before slicing.
  14. Slice meatloaf and serve with onions on top.
NOTES

Possible Substitutes: 

Cooked chopped broccoli florets instead of spinach
Finely chopped carrots instead of celery or a mix of both
Panko instead of bread crumbs
Low fat milk instead of whole milk

Ricotta

| ERA

The correct ITALIAN pronunciation of ricotta is ree-KOHTT-ah

Want to wow your guests and family with a fresh ricotta that takes about 15 minutes of prep time? You control the texture of the ricotta by your straining technique, and can have it thick or silky depending on what you wish to use it for.

So, if not Italian, you might not know all the uses of ricotta. Just a name few:

  1. Top your pasta with a few tablespoons as you would put grated cheese on top.
  2. Serve as an appetizer with honey and walnuts or fig jam or just about anything flavorful; black oil-cured olives work well
  3. Add a few tablespoons to a slice of pizza or a whole pie [you can add before cooking or after or to some leftover store bought pizza to make it special]
  4. Layer in a lasagna

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 quart of whole milk [either the milk or cream should not be ultra pasteurized; you can usually find a pasteurized type of milk but I find it difficult to find the cream that way; having both just pasteurized is ideal]
  • 1 pint of heavy cream
  • 2 teaspoons of kosher salt
  • 3 tablespoons of white vinegar
EQUIPMENT
  • Cheesecloth
  • Metal small-holed strainer that can fit your liquids when cooked
  • Bowl large enough that strainer can sit on with enough room for whey [the liquid remaining after milk has been curdled and strained to drain]

PREPARATION

  • Pour quart of whole milk and pint of heavy cream into a sauce pan [larger sauce pan better]
  • Add 2 teaspoons of kosher salt, mix well
  • Heat until milk foams and boils; you need to stir constantly and watch like a hawk since once milk starts to boil, it is quick and when it goes over makes the biggest mess ever on your stove
  • When milk boils, remove from heat and add 3 tablespoons of white vinegar
  • Stir until you start to see the milk curdle [about 1 minute or so] If you do not see curds forming you can add another tablespoon of vinegar
  • Pour slowly into your metal small-holed strainer that you’ve lined with cheesecloth
  • Let ricotta drain through cheesecloth so whey lands into the bowl below
  • Remove the ricotta when the texture is to your liking. The longer it drains the thicker ricotta becomes so for lasagna you would want it thick for other uses you might want it less solid and creamier.

NOTES

I have failed at this process because of the ultra pasteurization of the milk products. I have learned that a little more vinegar sometimes can overcome a fail. A fail would be defined by milk not producing curds.

Whey can be used for many things: I fed my outdoor potted plants with it one summer. Downside: the possum would come and dig up the dirt to get at the whey. Search uses of whey–there are many.

You can also make ricotta from the whey produced after making mozzarella–this for another time.

Vegetable barley SOUP

| ERA

Some friends and I had a soup drive to provide individual pint or quart containers to those who are food insecure. It went well and we delivered more than 500 soup meals.

One week I made 4 pots of Vegetable Barley soup for this drive and was able to use a variety of spices and vegetables. This was my favorite but don’t be afraid to experiment with different spices or veggies. Corn, peas and string beans are perfectly acceptable substitutes. When using bouillon you might not need to salt but taste as you go along and add as your taste desires. If soup gets thick while cooking you can add water. You can also add water when you are using the soup as a leftover–barley soaks up liquid.

This recipe will make soup for four with left overs.

INGREDIENTS

  • 6 cups of broth [mushroom and vegetable bouillon mixed]
  • 2 tablespoons of butter or 2 tablespoons of oil
  • 1 yellow onion chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic minced
  • 4-6 carrots cut in bite-size pieces
  • 3 stalks of celery cut in bite-size pieces
  • 1 turnip cut in bite-size pieces
  • 1 parsnip cut in bite-size pieces
  • 5 twigs of fresh thyme [scrap your finger along the twigs to separate the leaves]
  • 1 tablespoon cilantro
  • 1 tablespoon powdered harissa [or something with a little zing]
  • 1 tablespoon dried basil
  • 1 tablespoon black pepper
  • 1 cup barley
  • 1 28-oz can of crushed tomatoes [or not]
  • 1 cup of button mushrooms cut in half or quarters
  • 1 cup of chopped zucchini
  • 1 potato cut into small cubes

PREPARATION

  • Prepare broth
  • Melt butter in large saucepan and add onions and garlic; saute until onions are translucent
  • Add carrots, parsnips, turnips and celery to saucepan; mix well and cook for 5 minutes
  • Add thyme, cilantro, harissa, basil, black pepper, mix well
  • Add broth, barley and crushed tomatoes [if you are using] to sauce pan
  • After 15 minutes add potatoes, mushrooms, zucchini
  • Barley takes the longest to cook, when soft, soup is done.

Where’s the Beef?

| ERA

GOP 2020’s election strategy targeting Democrats’ proposals has begun. You might have heard innuendos already and possibly, they make you fearful.

Not surprisingly the GOP would rather fear monger its way to elected office then present a proposal that would counter the other proposals. 

Fear mongering is the most effective tactic used by Republicans and the administration—it predates Trump. But with Trump in office this tactic now echoes on a larger stage to an audience of millions—both nationally and internationally. Trump is a master at delivering and monitoring fear of his base—that is his grasp over them. He started his candidacy on fear with his famous 2015 escalator ride in Trump Tower talking about immigration with the words “They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.” Trump was stoking fear to gain voters—those who can be intimidated by this tactic—a senseless fear.

Now, this enhanced technique is used as a weapon against the Green New Deal. Their innuendo is “meat” eaters will lose their right to eat meat if the Green New Deal is passed. [You would think that eating meat would make you fearless, but not so much.] 

Trump has terminated US participation in the Paris Climate Accord and the administration’s agenda and actions are guaranteed to make the environment worst by promoting the increased use of fossil fuels and eliminating regulations that protect us. For sure, coal mining is not our future. Climate change is happening with a profound negative consequence for our planet; but the GOP’s strategy might be to deny that humans are causing this change rather than have a plan. My assumption is the fear tactic is more appealing for them than addressing the climate change issues that we are now experiencing with a proposal.

Free pubic college tuition, free preschools, student loan debt relief, affordable health care for all, universal background checks on gun sales, etc—each of these programs has a GOP fear anchor attached: socialism is the standard bearer also “Dems will eliminate the 2nd amendment” has always been a Republican’s favorite.

Americans benefit from Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, and other social programs but the fear spread through the GOP universe will force loyal Republican partisans to vote against their own interests. I don’t think that “the huge deficit” conversation can hold any water anymore after the tax break given to corporations in 2018. The GOP is now evaluating how to pay for that tax decrease and what cuts they can make to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security and Veterans’ benefits, to sustain the government’s loss of revenue.

So I ask the GOP “Where’s the beef” on proposals to protect our environment and our social benefits programs.

Find the Convincing Argument for 2020

| ERA

The 2020 presidential election is right around the corner — and in the realm of presidential campaigns the process has already started.

Let’s say you really don’t want Donald Trump to win again and you do have friends or family who have voted for him. Your goal might be formulating a conversation for your friends/family that might give them pause in voting for him. Really, it usually is one item that might make the difference but be assured, no one who voted for Trump thinks he is perfect. You really just need to find out what is the trigger for that person. What does Trump do for them that makes them loyal.

I started this for a friend…..a friend who said I can’t argue the points; I’m not good at convincing people they voted for Trump for the wrong reasons. Of course, many are thinking right now, those people who voted for him are idiots or so far to the right that I couldn’t even think of convincing them to vote for someone else in 2020. Not so. Trump is so imperfect that there are many many ways to carve a path for people not to vote for him. You need to be persistent and convincing. 

In this blog I will try to hit on various issues that might seem daunting to argue or convince someone, but they are views that interconnect and make it easy to give your point of view without making it seem like your target voted for the wrong person.

At this point I will put in a disclaimer. There are some people who voted for Trump who are racists, misogynists, homophobes or right wing lunatics. Those people are not worth the trouble for these arguments. If they are not misinformed, they are in the category of people who you probably don’t want to associate with. So leave those to the side. 

The Tale of the Squirrel and the Bluejay

| ERA

This is a good story. It almost sounds like fiction, but totally true. Some folks have heard the story and retold it; so thought I would blog it, because a good story is a good story.

After going out on a nice long walk one Saturday morning, I was craving some bacon and eggs. Mike accommodated by preparing and we sat and ate a great breakfast.

For those who have been at my house, you know that we look out into the backyard from my breakfast table–a nice view in good weather and a winter wonderland in the snow.

The view from inside the kitchen

After finishing up, Mikey looked out the window and made a twisted awful face exclaiming “Oh shit, not now.” As I looked out I noticed what his dismay was about: a dead squirrel…. bottom of the pool. So I hastily exclaimed to Mikey that I would help clean this up. We both have an aversion to cleaning up “dead animals.”

So we discuss [Mikey and I always discuss things like this before taking any action]. We got a huge, I mean really really huge, black garbage bag and the very large skimmer to get to the bottom of the pool. I said I would hold the bag, but alas, I could not. The thought of the squirrel landing in the bag, just freaked me out. I bailed on Mike, dropped the bag and said, “so sorry Mike, I can’t do this.” I walked some paces back and said, “I am here to support you, I just can’t hold that bag.” So Mike got a garbage pail, put a plastic container in the bag and the bag in the garbage pail and retrieved the very dead squirrel. He closed up everything and put it out in the trash. What a good man he is.

So by now you are thinking, what is so good about this story……well read on…..

It takes us about 1/2 hour to complete this task. We go back into the kitchen ready to clean up after our really good breakfast. I am taking the dishes off the table and oh no, what do I see…..another dead squirrel at the bottom of the pool.

We have had a pool for many many years and have never had a dead squirrel in it. We just figured they must have radar about these things.

I now immediately explain to Mike that I cannot help him and this time I don’t even go out to provide moral support.

He completes the motley task [alone] and comes back into the kitchen. I have in the meantime tried to be helpful by finishing the cleanup of our breakfast.

Now we are standing by the window looking out and wondering what the hell was going on…..two dead squirrels in a matter of 1/2 hour. Was it a suicide pact? Were they just so hot, it was necessary to go swimming. They were smaller squirrels, so we thought maybe just learning how to fly from tree to tree and fell in.

While we are discussing, low and behold, our necks practically snapped as we whipped around to see a site out the kitchen window–a bluejay flying across the yard carrying a squirrel through the air. Damn, I have never seen that before.

We were thinking, ugh ugh, more cleanup. But this time, the blue jay dropped the squirrel in the next yard.

The history behind this…..all week we had been seeing the bluejays protecting the nest they built a nest in this tree.

The fir tree that you see back center has the nest.

As the squirrels would run by the tree on the fence, the bluejays, both mom and dad bluejay would be sitting in another tree and dive bomb the squirrels as they walked/ran by the tree on the fence. The squirrels didn’t have a clue that there was a nest in this tree, nor did they really care…..but the bluejays are protective parents or parents to be and decided to be aggressive.

Well, the baby bluejays were born the next week and moved within the following week.

We definitely are not looking forward to this nature adventure next year.