Jim's Diary

Feeding the young people

2011-02-13T17:49:00.000-05:00

The young people in our family are working very hard to improve themselves and their lot. There is school, work, studying, and a little time for play. We have tried to improve their lives a bit by giving them a choice of day to have a home-cooked meal that they do not have to prepare while exhausted. They chose Fridays, a day when they can look forward to a brief weekend.

Our first attempt had a Greek theme. Favorite youngest daughter (FYD) had accompanied us on a trip to Greece. We had all enjoyed the food, so hence the menu.

We started with spanakopita, a spinach pie. It is a savory pie containing spinach, feta cheese, eggs, and garlic. It is surrounded by phyllo dough sheets, this time anointed in olive/grape seed oils.

As soon as we cut into it, a nice fresh smell filled the air.

The next course was a moussaka, with ingredients built in steps. The recipe was taken from allrecipes.com, and it came out delicious.

The accompaniment was a χωριάτικη σαλάτα[xorˈjatiki saˈlata] 'rustic salad', with plenty of the Kalamata olives that FYD loves.

This week's edition included an old family favorite, leek pie. This savory pie is very simple, Pâte Brisée (short crust with butter), leeks, onions, garlic, grated sharp cheddar, and a pepper-laced custard. There is an old story of one boyfriend who used to snarf up all the leftovers, he liked it so much. The leek pies were accompanied by a green salad with chilled, steamed, broccoli, and

ham, mushroom, and cheese rolled in buttered phyllo. Here they are in an Indian Kadai picked up in a market in Kolkata.

Each time we make enough for the young people to take home for a couple meals.

Evening on Lake Travis

2011-01-23T12:17:00.001-05:00

We had never been out to Lake Travis to see the sunset, so we set a time to go for dinner at a new restaurant there, Soleil. This restaurant has been in business for only a short time. It is run by a chef that has really unusual qualifications: he has a Ph.D. in Biochemistry. Apparently his love of food won out.

Soleil is part of a growing complex based on the success of the Oasis. Oasis is a huge, busy place on the cliffs of Lake Travis. It is known for its sunset views, and for mediocre food. Soleil will be known for marvelous food soon.

We arrived in time for a glimpse of this restaurant's beautiful setting. This is late afternoon on the shore of Lake Travis. The limestone cliffs are lit by the beautiful, slanting rays of a descending sun.

The houses here are sometimes quite spectacular, not really blending into the hillsides, but with a kind of stately presence..

Dinner was really quite peaceful here. The restaurant has a Mediterranean theme, so we started with shared servings of calimari (thick and delicious), and a roast pepper hummus (also good, with a peppery bite). Each of us chose different entrées: roast trout, hangar steak, sauteed scallop with wild mushroom ragout over polenta, flattened chicken breast pan-fried with cappacola and fried sage leaves. We shared the reasonable-sized portions so that everyone tasted everything.

As we ate, I took breaks to catch a bit more sunset. Here the raucous Oasis crowd views the sunset from a series of cliff-side terraces.

A lone sailboat glides across to the eastern shore.

Dusk brought an orange glow.

Night completed the process, leaving the beautiful, light-filled hills behind.

Unfortunately it also left an internal reflection from the lens evident on the right side of the photo.

Note: these photos were taken with a new camera, a Canon 60-D. I am pleased with it, but am still learning how to use it properly.

Arboretum - of two minds

2011-01-23T11:54:00.001-05:00

The Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center hosted a getting acquainted day this weekend. As part of their activities, they held a first preview of their nascent Arboretum project. The project is well-funded, and has increased their acreage greatly. It now includes a large plot that was held wild until the last couple of years.

Wild it was, apparently a choked landscape of live oaks and Ashe Juniper. The Ashe Juniper is a local, drought-resistant variety native to this part of the countryside. It is called cedar here, though it is not. It is the source of the so-called Cedar Fever, a nasty allergic reaction to its pollen.

We wandered in a group of about thirty people, listening to an explanation of how live oaks and junipers became the large piles of mulch shown here. The red piles are live oak. The grey piles are juniper. They will be used as mulch to protect the roots of oak trees to come.

While there are plenty of oak trees here already, the arboretum will be planting two more sets of oaks. The first planting will be examples of the 55 (that's right, 55) species of oak trees native to Texas.

They will be planted in a large grid, with a meandering path passing through and underneath them. Eventually the team would like to build platforms that reach up to the canopy, so that people can understand what goes on up there in the treetops. That will come later.

The second planting will be a circle of Texas Heroes, the ancient oaks that live all over Texas. Among them will be a shoot grown from the acorns of the Treaty Oak in Austin. This is a 500+ year old tree that was part of a clump of oaks called the Council Oaks. These trees were part of Comanche and Tonkawa rites. The circle will be about 200 feet across. The plantings will start as small seedlings, so this circle will require years to develop in its projected presence. In the meantime, other plantings will keep the area beautiful and the integrity of the circle evident.

As I look at the juxtaposition of the grand old oaks left behind and the 20 foot mounds of trees removed, I ask myself "What is the definition of arboretum?" To me the answer is: an area where you destroy the trees that you don't like so that you can grow trees that you DO like.

It will be a beautiful spot, and worthy of the Wildflower Center, but always a bit sad for me to visit.

Sanctum sanctorum sent by sweet sister

2011-01-16T15:28:00.000-05:00

In my younger days I spent a lot of time with my paternal grandmother. She lived right next to the school ground in the town in which I grew up. She was a wonderful woman, busy, vibrant, strong, and a wonderful cook. Since I had lots of after school sports and extra-curricular things to do, invariably I would wait at her house for a ride home.

A key ingredient in my life from those days was her home-made bread. She made both white and whole wheat loaves, and I loved them both. They were always there, either fresh from the oven or frozen for another day. I always had either the bread itself or the smell of it baking while at Grandma's house. It was also an ingredient in her turkey stuffing on holidays. Grandma is long gone, but her bread is still with us.

Imagine my surprise and pleasure when my very thoughtful sister sent me the bowl above - the very bowl that Grandma used to make her bread! She is long gone, but this priceless thing reminds me of her every day. I remember the bread-making days very well. I used to watch her and ask questions. She was a very meticulous and frugal baker, measuring carefully, and never wasting a thing. Her experiences during the Great Depression guided her every task in the kitchen. She taught me how to make this bread and taught me that it was a key component of a well-run household. It spoiled me for the "sponge" bread that you got in the store in those days. I can still picture her 5 foot tall figure slamming the bread down on the counter while kneading, making the whole house resound.

Today was the first day I have made her bread (the whole wheat version) since receiving the bowl, a very special present. I thought I might share the process. Having everything ready to go is important to me. It avoids extra steps and hesitations. This has become instinctive to me. The list of ingredients is below, along with comments.

I have taken some liberties with her recipe, as ingredients have changed or improved since then.

1/4 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup shortening (I sometimes use the original lard for the taste - I did today)
2 tablespoons salt
1 cup milk powder (Grandma scalded milk and used it directly - I don't think anyone still does that.)
1/4 cup steel milled oats (optional - Grandma did not use that, but I used it today.)
2 cups boiling water

Combine this set of ingredients in the bowl, allowing the boiling water to melt the shortening or lard.

Don't worry if there are a few, soft lumps left. They will incorporate as things go along.

While the fat is softening and melting, use some of the boiling water, a pinch of brown sugar, and cold water to get a cup of warm water (you should be able to stick your finger in and hold it there). Then add the following:

2 teaspoons of fast-acting dry yeast (Grandma used yeast cakes. They are still available, but the new yeast rises super-fast. It is just more convenient for me.)

The yeast should start foaming fairly quickly as it proofs. There is no need for it to go crazy; just let some bubbles form, then stir to make sure all the yeast is in the liquid.

Leave the yeast on the side while proceeding to add the following to the liquid

3 cups of white flour (Grandma used 4, but I like the added wheat flavor when trimming down the white flour)
1 cup of whole wheat flour

Stir the flour into the water/shortening/milk powder mixture until it is all together. Then stir in the cup of yeast, stirring until the mixture is uniform.

At that point add

4 cups of whole wheat flour

Mix until a shaggy dough is formed and most of the flour is incorporated. Don't worry if a bit is left. Just be frugal and use it as things move along.

The dough should look like that above. Turn it out on your table or counter for kneading. It starts out looking like this. Use extra white or whole wheat flour if it sticks.

It ends up looking like this. Don't forget to slam it down on the counter a few times during the process. It helps the gluten form so your bread sticks together.

Cover it in the mixing bowl and let it rise until doubled. Grandma used a round metal lid over her bread, then wrapped the whole thing in an old sweater. The new yeast makes that unnecessary. I sometimes think this stuff would work outdoors on a winter morning. Let it double - it should take 20-30 minutes. Don't let it overrise. That will make the bread crumbly and dry when baked.

Punch down the dough, knead and slam it again, then separate it into three even pieces. This is a good time to find out whether you have obsessive/compulsive disorder. I do, so I obsessively DO NOT make them even. I rolled today's bread in more steel milled oats to give a bit of bite on the crust. Cover the loaves and let them double - again, about twenty to thirty minutes.

Bake them at 350F for 45-55 minutes (baking time depends on the day, the size of your loaves, and the accuracy of your oven). They are done when you tap the bottom of the loaf and it sounds hollow.

Today's effort came out pretty good. This loaf shows a bit too much oven spring (larger holes in the top part of the loaf). E liked the mie (French word meaning crumb, but referring to the innate texture of the bread.)

I have no complaints. I always like Grandma's bread.

Odds and ends

2010-12-24T17:15:00.009-05:00

We have been walking around our neck of the woods, often seeing these gigantic acorns with a rough enclosure. The husk looks a bit like a pine cone in its roughness. They are about 3 times as large as what I am used to for an acorn (note the penny).

Finally I looked them up. This is the seed of a burr oak. It has a huge range, according to Wikipedia. It is found in the Appalachians and in central North America from Texas to Canada. It is the state tree of Iowa. If you are ever starving, it looks like a few of these would make a meal (after preparation). Not that I am any great recognizer of trees, but I thought it strange that I hadn't seen these before.

Are they "odds" or "ends"? I'm pretty sure even George Carlin doesn't know.

The house is coming along. We are trying to do any decorating slowly, with quirky things that we find. All our tchotchkes are still in Virginia, awaiting a spring run in the cheese wagon. (Cheese wagon is what our girls called our various Plymouth/Dodge/Chrysler minivans. Our cheese wagons have always done good service dragging crap around. And by crap, I don't mean our girls.)

In one corner of the living room, over the TV, I have hung up a bit of history. Whose history I have no clue. We found these Gothic arch clerestory windows in a consignment shop. I liked the shapes, so I took them home. I also liked the fact they were rough-stripped. There was still a bit of paint left, kind of lumpy and rough. I found a bit of fabric and stretched it over the back, folding it every few inches. Then I hinged the three frames together.

I kind of like the light and shadow, 3-d look with the outer windows folded forward a bit. I think the roughness and the smooth fabric also make a nice contrast.

So, taking heart from this BH (Better Half) and I completed the bedroom with a curved-side headboard and a few of my favorite black and whites taken during our travels.

We'll have a few more things to hang once the tchotchke run is done. Christmas and New Year will put things in limbo for a while.

Have an enjoyable holiday.

While we're on the subject

2010-12-13T18:34:00.000-05:00

Verizon called ten minutes ago. "Everything might be recorded for 'quality' purposes," they said. They wanted to cement our marvelous cell phone relationship for another two years and reward me by giving me another one hundred "free" minutes. I really don't come anywhere near my minute allotment on any given month, and asked the young lady if she had actually looked at my account. She said she liked to think of the extra minutes as insurance, so I wouldn't worry about going over on minutes.

I asked if they really wanted to adjust my data plan so it wouldn't be unlimited, but the young lady told me, "No, it would be the same plan." I asked why they were doing this, as it is still about 12 months until I run out of the end of the contract. She told me "We like to do this so we can do more promotions for you. So we can give you 'free' stuff." I told her that I might be interested if they just didn't up the per minute charge when you go over, suggesting that "MAYBE YOU COULD JUST CHARGE THE SAME RATE AS THE PLAN!" I knew it wouldn't do any good (and it didn't), but wanted the drones in charge of reviewing the recordings for sentient life to know there was some out here in the hill country of Texas.

I am guessing that Verizon marketing thinks they are selling to meat puppets. I have been refusing to accept hands up my butt for years.

Why is it every time I go to Best Buy I get pissed off?

2010-12-13T16:48:00.000-05:00

So I head to Best Buy after due diligence to buy a camera and some accessories. I carry along the following:

a 10 % coupon to apply to digital photo products
a printed Reward Zone certificate for $95 off
a printed Reward Zone certificate for $55 off

I do my business, hampered by a sales clerk with an attitude and a pimp walk (even though she was a young woman). She gets wrong what I asked for and supplies me with something much more expensive. She huffs when I tell her that it is wrong, voids everything and starts over. She proceeds to ring up the new sale, then hands me the receipt. I am expecting the following:

camera $xxx
accessory 1 yy
accessory 2 zz

Subtotal for the coupon aaa
10% coupon -0.1 x aaa

Subtotal 0.9 x aaa
certificates -150

Tax
Total 0.9 x aaa - 150 + taxes

I don't get that. I get a bizarre list of items, each of which displays

an amount that is not the amount displayed on the store shelf
a "sale" discount that brings it down to the store display price
some of the tax for the sale
some of the certificate discount for the sale, but not displaying any percentage or rule for calculating it

As a result, it was impossible to check the arithmetic. I am an old fart, and crusty shading to cranky besides. I check the work for major purchases. When the store displays its internal accounting nightmare to me rather than a simple receipt that can be checked, I get pissed off. Enough to get several more huffs out of the "sales" person and to get a manager over there who could explain the gobbledy-gook to me so that I could check it.

This kind of thing (but not the same thing) happens every time I go there. Last time the "sales" person could not explain why the Geek Squad would come to my house and "adjust" the TV after a couple months. It took a store manager to explain that every TV delivered from Japan comes adjusted for the store (that is, too bright and with too much contrast - so it will stand out against other maladjusted TVs). Apparently, despite the fact that maybe one TV in a thousand is used in the store as a display, IT NEVER OCCURRED to anyone that adjusting them all to store brightness and then wasting someones time traveling to houses all over central Texas is JUST PLAIN STUPID.

I am getting to be old enough that apoplexy could conceivably be life-threatening. I don't want to give up on interacting with the world, but I am pretty sick of talking to stupid snots with an attitude. I am self-aware enough to understand that I might be one, but I need some feedback to confirm or deny it.

Anyone?

Grandma continues to climb

2010-12-06T10:18:00.000-05:00

The Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Garden never fails to please. Part of the enjoyment for me is the architecture. The variety of shapes is quite pleasing. Wood and stone are perfect in the dry Texas hills.

This tower provides a beautiful panorama of the gardens, but you have to climb for it.

And so she did. Way up at the tippy top you can see BH (Better Half) and Popo, her mother.

You can see where BH gets her sweet smile.

The garden at this time of year is lined with luminaries, in preparation for Luminations, a holiday celebration.

The flowers are gone now, the shrubs shedding their leaves,

the next season in progress, soaking up the sun.

The exhibit house is showing some of what is bigger in Texas, in this case, fancy birdhouses. Most of these had nests in them.

On this past weekend, artists were also selling their wares. They varied from these reimagined skulls,

to Kokopeli-like sculptures

But the natural things never fail to please, like these translucent prickly pear cacti, letting the sun show through.

Popo climbs Mt. Bonnell

2010-12-02T18:16:00.000-05:00

Mt. Bonnell is a limestone hill on the side of the Colorado River between Austin and Lake Travis. Here nearly 85 year old Popo (Better Half's Mom) reaches the last of 102 steps up from the parking lot. That's pretty good. She has always been active.

Mt. Bonnell is a pretty park, as well, with picnic tables, old, dried juniper trees,

lovely views along the river,

and a view of where some of Austin's wealthiest families live in beautiful homes.

Fortunately for Grandma and for us, too, farther down the trail we found an easier descent to the parking lot.

Popo gets inspiration

2010-12-02T18:03:00.001-05:00

BH's (Better Half's) Mom is here for a while. Chinese grandma's come in two varieties - Jya Po and A Po (Bower romanization - Google won't translate sounds into ideographs yet). One is mother's mother and the other is father's mother. Both are shortened to Popo for children.

So, FOD (Favorite Older Daughter) now lives in Houston. We took Popo down there to see her, since she loves her Popo dearly. We went to the Ocean Palace Restaurant to have dim sum. We had a pretty good time and got pretty much stuffed.

When we got home, Popo got the idea to make potstickers and Gow Ju. So our kitchen became a bit of a factory, with BH and Popo rolling out home-made wrappers for the potstickers, stuffing them with pork/shrimp/scallion mix, steaming, then frying them. Then the Gow Ju were made with store-bought wrappers, and steamed. Everything was enjoyed with lots of soy sauce laced with scallion and sesame oil. Yum!

Austin Film Festival

2010-10-25T19:09:00.001-04:00

This week I have been volunteering as a driver for the Austin Film Festival. Austin has a growing film business, and people in town are hungry for more. This festival is in its 17th year, and is devoted to screenwriters. It is said to be the third largest film festival in the world. The festival, with a minimal full-time staff, depends on contract hires to organize and manage a large staff of volunteers. The festival nicely complements the film programs at University of Texas and Austin Community College. Many students volunteer to gain exposure and see absolutely new films.

BH (Better Half) has been in charge of "interesting things to do" since our exile in Paris a few years ago. She routinely scavenges her newsletters, Craigslist, etc. for possibilities. Sometime a couple of weeks ago she IM'd me a link to "Volunteer drivers wanted for Austin Film Festival". I said to myself (and to BH), "I'd better do that." I proceeded to email in my willingness and went to visit Taylor, the Transportation Coordinator for AFF. Taylor, who I had assumed to be a guy, turned out to be a good-looking redhead! I passed the snicker test - I didn't look like I would be giving people head shots or my favorite script.

This past week I have been picking up at and/or delivering people to the airport. Apparently some people live for the opportunity to deliver interesting Hollywoodish people to the festival. I was just interested in meeting some people (volunteers and anybody else), but I had some good conversations with several notables along the way. I was pretty impressed with how friendly and willing to share these people were. Here are a few I met.

Barry Blaustein - writer for Nutty Professor, Nutty Professor II - The Klumps, The Honeymooners, Police Academy 2, Saturday Night Live
John Woldenburg - producer for Smart People, The Visitor, Silent Partner
Michael Arndt - writer for Toy Story 3

David Peoples - writer for Blade Runner, Twelve Monkeys, Accidental Hero, Unforgiven, Ladyhawke, Leviathan
Allan Loeb - producer for The Beast, New Amsterdam, Things We Lost in the Fire
Steven Arvanites - screenwriter and actor (Crocodile Dundee and many commercials)

For anybody considering this, it has been kind of exhausting work. Young Taylor did an excellent job of organizing mayhem, but with film people, things happen. Schedules change, people cancel and/or want to go elsewhere, and more. This means that the coordinator and drivers must be ready for instant changes. The nice side is that the festival recognizes the aspiring filmies and aficionados who volunteer by providing passes in return for a few hours of work.

All in all, this has been fun. I have made some friends and met some good people. This is really the first chance I have taken with volunteering, and it has been good.

Farkleberries? Bastrop State Park

2010-10-04T19:51:00.001-04:00

This is a really nice park, about an hour's drive from Austin. It appears deceptively flat as you enter, but has quite a bit of relief as you get farther on. The ups and downs make for good hiking. There are both long and short hikes to be had. We chose a medium hike for later in the day.

We began our day with a picnic lunch, barbecue from a nearby restaurant. This park has facilities of all kinds, with a golf course, pool, picnic areas, and lots of campsites. Here BH, FYD, and Slobber Dog set out on the trail after lunch.

The loblolly Lost Pines here smelled wonderful. This time of year the surroundings are very dry, and the sweet, resinous scent of pine was all around.

Also all around were these Farkle Berries. Apparently the small animals and birds like these a lot. They look quite good. Later in the day BH asked if they could be made into jam. I told her, "If you make some, please farkelittle on my toast so I can taste it, too." She answered, "It might not be berry good."

A short way into the hike we found this remnant of CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) work from earlier times. It looked to be a drinking fountain, though the pipes were no longer attached.

As we had read a bit of natural history on the area, we had felt chert that there would be flint around. And there was, lots of it in and along the paths.

Lots of millipedes seemed stranded in the path, as well. This one was wiggly, but some appeared to have dried out and died.

There were also lots of mushrooms and puffballs. These had yellow spores, unlike the ones we used to get in the North.

Even during the dry season Texas produced lots of different kinds of wildflowers along the trails.

At one trail head we found another CCC relic. This small pavilion was in great shape. The stoneworks appeared untouched. The roof beams were thick and dry and in great shape, as was the roof. The park also has some stone cabins built during this era. Unfortunately we did not get to see them. The pictures make them seem very attractive.

As we started down the track toward our car, BH played hide and seek in this old stump. It reminded me of a much earlier hike in the Adirondacks. She posed at an old pine stump in her overalls (it was one of my favorite pictures). Then she got into a hornet nest and got badly stung. We were worried for quite a while as we made our way back to civilization.

Once past the last of our mushroom and puffballs stops,

we came upon the only reptile of our hike. This time there were to be no "broad-banded" copperheads, only this iridescent skink, a variety we had seen before.

This was a good day for all, including Slobber Dog, who got pretty tired. There is still the pool and the campsites for us to try on another day. Golf, not so much. After a 10 mile drive through Bastrop State Park's Lost Pines and the associated Buescher State Park we got on the road for Austin.

Did I mention how much I like Austin?

2010-09-26T22:15:00.003-04:00

Coffee on the porch - at a comfortable 71F - is a big change down here. Thanks to fairly persistent rain over the last week, this fairy-land scene greeted us amidst the Scotch Bonnet pepper plant stalks. It looked like an elf would pop out from underneath. From the Rogers Mushrooms website the closest match I see is Leucocoprinus birnbaumii in this picture link.

This mushroom presaged a very nice day. After a 3+ mile walk we headed off again to Hill's Cafe for the gospel brunch. Hill's is a South Austin institution. There is a long tradition of music here, as well as good food.

Today's offering was Danny Brooks.

This site has a lot of history, as it used to be the Travis Country Court House. The state seal shows up on the floor as you walk in.

After being seated in the Willy Nelson booth (with a photo signed by Willy himself), we were treated to more really good music. Mr. Brooks had a great voice, with a lot of soul and the ability to really belt. His small combo (drummer not seen here) consisted of really good musicians. The repertoire varied from gospel to country to talking blues (backed by a reggae style backbeat). The highlight of the day was an older gentleman getting up and doing an old-time dance. The band added a a few bars to the end, they enjoyed it so much.

This kind of music makes me very glad and very sad. Glad that I am hearing it, sad that I am not making it.

Thanks to Mr. Brooks and company for a marvelous morning.

Today was also the day of the Pecan Street Festival. It is held on 6th street in downtown Austin. Parking is hard to find. We were lucky to find a spot 5 blocks away. As we approached, we found some of Austin's alternate transportation modes.

For me the story is usually not the booths. There is just too much repetition there. This festival spans several intersecting streets. At the end of each intersecting block there was a different band. These guys had an interesting mix of American-style ska (originally a Jamaican music style), with a mix of big band. It was strange, but infectious.

It's great to see young musicians jamming up a storm and enjoying themselves so much.

There was a great mix of people, as well. Great big biker guys walked alongside families with strollers. Older folks, teenagers, and toddlers watched street performers of various types.

We were so full of breakfast that the varied food offerings never had a chance, despite smelling wonderful.

A bit of Austin weirdness and we were off to the car. You should have seen this guy's pointed toe boots!

4 blocks past the landmark Driskill Hotel we were back at the car. More about the Driskill another time.

Facebook was down today

2010-09-23T18:49:00.001-04:00

Apparently Qwest was experiencing difficulties that lead to Facebook being unavailable to many people. Early in the design of the Internet, the TCP/IP layer was designed to deliver packets by many different routes. It was designed to be failure-tolerant so that this type of thing would not happen for this type of reason.

Soooooo, how/when did we engineer ourselves into a spot where that basic design tenet does not work? I don't really give a healthy RA about Facebook being down. I do give an RA about things working as designed.

Footnote: Programmer screw-up caused the problem, not design failure. Better, in a way, but not good.

Old people give most honest advice (also, harshest) - via Boing Boing

2010-09-16T16:39:00.000-04:00

I did not know this! Older people tend to lose their "executive functions", the ability to control impulses in response to stimuli. Among the executive functions are the ability to control inappropriate actions. There are at least five types of situations (see the Wikipedia link above) that require non-routine responses.

Those that involve planning or decision making.
Those that involve error correction or troubleshooting.
Situations where responses are not well-rehearsed or contain novel sequences of actions.
Dangerous or technically difficult situations.
Situations that require the overcoming of a strong habitual response or resisting temptation.

In losing their executive functions, however, older people apparently become more honest, and sometimes hurtful, in their response Older people will sometimes call fat people fat and suggest they exercise or eat less. Younger people don't do that.

As usual with social sciences, there is no way in the world to control enough variables to draw any useful conclusions. The first three comments for this Scientific American article really rock!

Could it not be that older folks no longer care for the social "niceties?" They know there are no significant social downsides to honest responses at their stage of life.
Grandma is independently wealthy and she won't hold her tongue. Were she broke she'd worry that someday you'd put her in that home she saw on 60 minutes.
Or maybe it's because the old folk have more insight, (been there, done it, got the T shirt, got the scars) and more importantly,  have the wisdom and experience to give better advice? I should know, I'm really,really old...
Quod erat whuuuut?

I must be getting older; and visiting Dad

2010-09-12T18:37:00.001-04:00

During this last trip I seemed to get exhausted each day with just plain driving. I didn't notice it until we stopped, but then I needed a nap. We were only driving about 6 hours per day, usually.

We were in the Trumansburg area for 3 days and part of another day this trip. We found Dad in fine fettle. He will be 89 next month, and has the curiosity of a young person. He reads, listens to the news, and comments on current events with conviction. :-) His energy and activity were better than we have seen in the last couple of trips. We spent hours driving around the area, with Dad contributing stories about people he knew (more and more stories seem to be about people who have left the scene).

One day we went on a wild goose chase looking for a chainsaw that had not been fixed. Dad no longer runs it, but does supply parts and fixes. We drove all over between Cayuga and Seneca Lakes just taking random corners at his direction, chasing stories down the road.

One day we took off to Ithaca for a doctor's appointment, then stopped in a Chinese grocery to get Dad some green tea. He drinks it like water all morning. One box of gunpowder tea - $8.99. There we also found lon ngan (Bower romanization). These are dragon's eye fruits, something like li chee, but not really. The lady at the register was happy I asked her about them. They are only available once a year. You peel them, removing a thin, stiff skin and exposing a jelly-like, sweet, mild flavored fruit. There is a pea-sized pit inside, so be careful if you get some!

Then we went off to Enfield Glen (Robert Treman State Park). I had not been for years. Cornell University used to have a Physics Department picnic there every year. For us country kids it was a real treat. There was soda pop (we never had it at home) - mmmmm, grape. There was square dancing, soft ball, hiking, volley ball, and just plain wiggling, followed by a dish to pass supper. Physicists know how to have a good time! We always celebrated the windy downhill part of the road as being the last stage of the picnic journey.

This trip we passed through a newish gate on the walk up to the falls.

Dad lead us past the bath house up toward the dam and the falls. There is a lot of stone work in all of these state parks. During the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) days, this was the only work available for many people. CCC was part of Roosevelt's New Deal, saving many from desperation during the depression days in the 1930's. The Finger Lakes benefited greatly.

The swimming area is beautiful, even with the dam opened and the pool drained. Back in ancient history I was called here to lifeguard once. Most of my guarding time was spent at Taughannock Falls State Park.

The falls itself is kind of typical of the area, shale layers providing a cascade. This time of year is usually fairly dry until the fall rains come. (They arrived during our visit.)

Many of these State Parks have lovely stone building like this.

Weather had taken a coolish turn by the time we arrived (60F or so). Even so, these hardy bees were at work on goldenrod and other late flowers.

We took a parting picture of the spot where the road dips through the creek. We always loved driving through this part, so we did again.

Nobody wanted to climb the glen (lots of stone steps and waterfalls, and big climbs), as we had only one car. So we drove on past the wiggly parts of the road and parked at the top of the park (several miles away), near the old mill. There were lots of interpretive signs here, but Dad supplied his own narrative as well.

Apparently his great uncle owned a mill on Taughannock Creek (many years ago). When Dad and John Duddleston were young, they used to invade the mill, with his uncle chasing them from floor to floor. Eventually, the state of New York purchased the mill, just before the Flood of 1935. The deal closed a week before the flood, which then came along and wiped out the mill.

Here you can see some of the wooden teeth on the main wheel of the Enfield Glen mill.

We had been here many times before, but this time I had a camera.

Here is the pit where the millrace entered. You can just see the dark hole on the far side.

The impellor sits down in the pit on the opposite side. It is detached here from the shaft to the right.

The gear on the shaft was the main driver, with a series of reduction gears taming the motion for the millstones.

All the power for this mill came from this small creek.

We had time for a couple more days, one day driving through Watkins Glen during its preparations for the Vintage Grand Prix parade. We just missed it, but saw a cabillion convertible sports cars as we drove through. After getting a replacement for Dad's thousand year old microwave, we took a long hike down to Seneca Lake (at the old Boy Scout camp). Dad and I both wheezed our way successfully up the hill on the return trip. He gets along very well for an 89 year old. I was quite happy BH (better half) and I had been walking daily down in Austin.

A dinner in Sheldrake at Kidder's Landing finished up the trip. Sheldrake is a gorgeous place mid-lake on Cayuga Lake's western side. It houses beautiful Victorian mansions and several restaurants. We sat outside and watched the sunset along the lake. A bit of ice cream at Cayuga Lake Creamery (voted New York's best), a snooze, and we were on our way on the next leg of our journey.

Panama Rocks

2010-09-12T08:34:00.000-04:00

Near Jamestown, NY (on Lake Chautaugua is a small, privately owned park called Panama Rocks. It sits in a beautiful setting on a hillside in western New York. The park charges a modest admission fee to view some spectacular rock formations.

A mile long trail quickly provides a view of the cracks and fissures that fill the site.

Lots of beautiful, old growth trees shade the site. Their roots are everywhere. The park requires that visitors sign a waiver, as the trail can be a bit difficult.

The guide map provides a list of the 15 or so named formations. On the downhill portion of the trail you quickly begin to see why this site is so special.

Ancient rocks laid down by a primordial sea mix with relatively modern trees to make a fascinating set of views.

There is a kind of rain forest feel to the place. It is cool and damp, and moss grows everywhere. The cracks and fissures are endless and complex.

Shade and sun are at battle here. Brighter spots peek through darker.

Some shallow caves are in evidence.

There is no sign of anything much larger than chipmunks, though.

Some of the rocks make you wonder.

As you climb to the upper part of the trail you begin to look down into cracks instead of up.

Pay attention here! You will want to see what is down each chute rather than be down the chute.

This is a great place for nature lovers and people curious about rocks.

On the shore of Lake Erie

2010-09-12T07:56:00.002-04:00

One of our stops on the way to the Finger Lakes was on the shore of Lake Erie. Thanks to Google Maps we found a small motel right on the shore. The reception was warm and friendly.

Sitting on a bluff some tens of feet above the shore, the Lakeview provides a peaceful setting for tired travelers.

A steep stair down the hillside let us see the shore directly.

The local guidebook in the motel lead us to the Crazy Parrot, a local restaurant above a marina. The drinks were colorful.

The view from our outdoor table was beautiful as the sun set over Lake Erie.

In the morning we left our enjoyable setting for the last leg of this part of our trip.

Along the road

2010-09-12T07:44:00.001-04:00

We spent the last few days driving up from Texas to New York to see Dad and my family. Along the way we took a few hours off to visit Mammoth Cave. Thanks to BH (Better Half), who spotted our proximity while on the road. We had no idea how huge this park was until we drove in from the interstate. It goes on for miles and miles. As we arrived at the site we despaired a bit. The parking lots were both huge and full. The visitor center made clear that the guided tours were pretty full for the day, so we opted for a self-guided tour. It was enough, as it turned out.

After a brief walk down a shady path we reached the cave entrance. A Park Service guide gave us a brief introduction, then we started down. At the top of the stairs it felt like an air conditioner was in place. Cool air blowing up from the opening enveloped us. It felt great, given the warmth of the day.

The self-guided tour is in a pretty pedestrian part of the cave. Some of the walkway is paved, some is a slightly uneven natural surface.

During the War of 1812, this cave served as a source of saltpeter (Potassium Nitrate), the oxidizer in the gunpowder of the time. The war and associated blockade had cut off supplies from abroad. You can just make out the works here (not enough light from my flash to do it justice.) The nitrate was washed out of the materials as a Calcium salt, then Potassium was substituted. The trade ceased quickly when the war ended, as saltpeter from bat guano and other sources again became available.

We spent a bit of time down the hole, then looked for daylight again.

We spent some time walking down to the spot where the Green River emerges from a spring coming out of the cave.

The area seemed rife with butterflies. This one caught our eyes on one of the interpretive signs. From the side it looked like a dry leaf.

Down in the bottom, where their feet are wet, was a large stand of ancient Sycamore trees. Here BH provided an idea of their huge size.

In the midst of a significant climb back to the parking lot, BH found a refuge in an old hulk.

As we were climbing (and I was wheezing), we came on a group of three young guys loafing at a bend in the path. I was about to make fun of them for letting old farts come up on them when they bounded straight up the hillside. They wanted no part of the switchback path, quickly putting a couple hundred feet of altitude between us.

Back at the parking lot we took sight of this more typical butterfly. Then we were off to finish the day's travels.

Austin's Hot Sauce Festival

2010-08-29T21:33:00.000-04:00

Vendors from as far as Jamaica competed in the annual Hot Sauce Festival this weekend. Each vendor entertained guests with blistering and sometimes tasty hot sauces of various types. Hot does not always equal flavorful.

Indeed, the Jamaican sauces, with which we are familiar from island visits, did not stand up to island quality. The booth's Scotch Bonnet Sauce (Scotch Bonnet is a relative of the Habanero pepper), disappointed us by missing the very flavorful pepper taste. We are used to the pepper rings, raw onions, and vinegar (escoveitch) used to anoint freshly fried fish on the beach. This was nothing like it.

Inside the big top, the real competition was going on while we were there. If you wanted to taste and vote, the tent provided a bit of relief from the 97 degree heat. Otherwise, the order of the day was people-watching and music-listening.

At one end of the Waterloo Park venue, the live music prevailed. The band was playing some very nice salsa, accompanied by this woman balancing a flower pot on her head as she danced gracefully.

This couple was getting it done,

entertaining the crowd, and

enjoying themselves doing it. This is not the first time we were jealous of the dancers.

It all starts with the good music, of which there seems no end in Austin.

August in Austin

2010-08-28T21:04:00.000-04:00

Late summer is beautiful here, hot and dry, with a flawless sky and wild flowers. But it is sad in a way, too. Today we took along the Barton Creek "greenbelt". Barton Creek runs through South Austin and on into town at Zilker Park. The trail winds and winds alongside the creek, shaded by limestone cliffs, trees, and shrubs.

In August the creek is completely dry. Here a lonesome rope swing allows you to drop onto stones, instead of a shady pool.

The bed doesn't show even a puddle. The white and light tan limestone reflects the morning sun into your eyes.

The cliffs and caves do not show even a seep.

The falls that usually fill a big pool stand dry and stark.

All the work people do to stem the flow at the other end of the pool looks a bit silly at this time of year.

There are still fruits and colors to be seen, catching the eye of runners, hikers, bikers, dogs, and families. But the music of the water is gone.

Out with the mad dogs and Englishmen

2010-08-22T10:47:00.000-04:00

103F in the shade. What were we thinking? Off to the Batfest we went, regardless of the heat. The Batfest is Austin's annual tribute to their bat population. The bats live in the underparts of the Congress Street Bridge, emerging every evening to the "Oohs" and "Ahhhs" of the crowd.

To get there we parked along Lady Bird Lake, then walked along the lake path to the bridge. Under the 1st Street Bridge was an unexpected collection of Cypress knees. Though there are Cypress trees all along the lake, we did not know the knees would emerge in shade far from the nearest tree.

We could see our target in the distance. Even in the shady path we were already experiencing the effects of the heat. As we get older this has more and more of an effect on us. My reaction is to just slow down until I can maintain a pace without fainting.

Apparently the past Batfests have had name bands, but this year not so much. The music is still good. It ranged from a Latino band with geezer soundboard support to heavy metal at the other end of the bridge.

We saw only one of these misting fans. They are fairly common down here, where the air is quite dry. They really work!

Most of the booths were boring food, jewelry, and clothing booths. This was one of the more interesting things to see. Kids must want to puke. Three axes of spin will do it!

These limestone wine/towel racks were kind of interesting, but way too expensive to buy.

And that was it, one trip across a long bridge with no shade. Even the mad dogs and Englishmen had given up, and Batfest had hours to go.

With the decline of bats in the Northeast, it is nice to see how much Austin loves its own colony.

More natural beauty in Texas

2010-08-10T10:57:00.000-04:00

We put our new Texas State Park Pass to good use yesterday, visiting Pedernales Falls State Park (PFSP), near Johnson City. PFSP is a really big park, with areas devoted to sightseeing, youth outings, RV/tent camping with facilities, wilderness-style camping, picnicing, swimming, and hiking. It is located in the hill country, so there is quite a bit of up and down in its enjoyment.

This was our first view of the falls itself. While dry right now, the falls is subject to flash flooding. There were lots of warning signs - do not panic, just leave everything behind and get out. We had looked at the park web site, but after this view we really appreciated the scale of the falls. It is really wide. The flash flood pictures took on a whole new significance.

Even in this dry August, the river had enough flow to make the falls interesting.

On the walk down to the river we saw plenty of these critters. They would scurry along, then perch on a rock and wiggle their tail tips. The tips (not caught here) had what appeared to be blue stripes. The effect of the wiggling was to draw attention to the tail, maybe as a diversion for predators. I couldn't spot one like it on the net, so it will remain Wiggly Tail lizard to me.

Down at the bottom we found more Cypress trees. I can't get enough of these. They were just beautiful. Something about their tapered shape really appeals. Amidst the dryness of the hills they were unexpected.

Here the better half was enjoying one of our favorite activities, stomping around in rocks near the water. The fact that this is an overall dry place added to the pleasure. It was really interesting how the Cypress roots grew along the ground, searching for reliable water.

There always is something new and different on these hikes. Here we saw blossoms on small trees growing out of the sand at the bottom of the canyon. The bright colors are beautiful.

The falls itself is home to a wide variety of potholes and water "veins."

Here, better half conveys a bit of scale.

The "veins" had areas where the water, as it passed, had hollowed out beneath the surface of the rock.

This one substantial rivulet was delivering lots of water to the pools below.

Huge rocks had been moved by the floods and lodged in cracks.

No matter where we climbed, it seemed, there was always something more to see. Eventually the heat got to us. It drained our energy (and our water bottles) quite a bit. We were forced back to the car to find other parts of the park to investigate.

This was a bit of the swimming area. More rocks, more Cypress, and just a few people. Getting here also included a substantial down component. By this time, the up component required quite a few rest stops along the way.

There was one thing we did not get to see, the "trammel" crossing. Trammel means hindrance, among other things. I am guessing that this may be a place that rock formations squeeze the flow. Maybe in the fall/winter we will go back and cross to the other side, where there are some hiking trails.

We took a back road on the way back to Austin. In the hill country there seems to be a convention that country roads, when crossing a stream, are built fairly low (without a bridge). Culverts divert normal water under the road, but it seems expected that flash floods will go over the road. Most of the dips have warning signs. Many have flood level measurement devices.

As we went back we passed a place where the Pedernales River crossed beneath the road. Here, as we drove across the one lane crossing, we saw one of our old friends from Chincoteague, a blue heron. It patiently stood still while I took a picture out the car window. You can see how close to the water level we were at this point.

Texas seems to abound with these gems. We hope to see more of this one and many more, as well.

Heat index 109

2010-08-05T23:13:00.002-04:00

Early days of August here in Austin are scorchers. It is a nice dry heat, but our morning walks leave us wringing wet. We try to walk for an hour or so around the neighborhood every day. It is good for us, but painful, at times.

A better alternative sometimes is to find one of Austin's many green areas and take Slobber Dog (Pepper) for a walk. The other day we spent a bit of time at Bull Creek. It is a beautiful limestone creek with a bunch of trails and frequent splash spots.

There are lots of pretty little falls along the way. The parking situation is generous, and there are restrooms, too.

Be forewarned, though. You need to bring plenty of drinking water, even if you sit in the stream. All the limestone seems to suck the moisture right out of you.

This is a great family and dog place. Slobber Dog, on the left, meets a pipsqueak here.

A bit farther downstream is another shallow spot with low falls. We thought we were lucky to find running water at all.

Later on in summer Barton Creek dries up. We thought this one might be, but for a bit of rain in the last couple of weeks.

We are finding life in the deep South very enjoyable. As we continue to search for a house, we are thankful every day that we are here.

Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center Never DIsappoints

2010-07-25T16:50:00.000-04:00

Today was an open to the public day at the Wildflower Center. One of the nicest parts (other than the wildflowers) is that the Center supports sculptors. Today we had not even entered when we saw our first piece. It echoed what we saw later on in the visit, a dragon-fly.

The Center focuses on the grace and beauty of native Texan plants. Both in dry climates,

and in wet. Wet micro-climates abound among the limestone hills.

The natural scenes are interspersed nicely with sculptures here.

Here some 6 foot long ants "converse."

Here a local sculptor continues a year-long work in progress on Ladybird, herself. He has had input from members of the Center who were personal friend of Ladybird, as well as from one of her daughters. He spent quite a few minutes with us talking about the process of developing the model, and how it would turn into a bronze casting later on.

Outside was one of his pieces, of a native Indian girl.

Further on we found this longhorn in UT orange.

Then this gorgeous piece, of a stylized horse.

Not to downplay the flowers (there are always blooms in evidence), but for me, this visit was about other aspects of the Center.

Of course, with all the blooms, there are lots of butterflies around. The center breeds and releases butterflies, it seems.

This guy stood still for lots of shots, though his head swiveled around continuously, watching me as I watched him.

A few more minutes, and we were off. This was the last sculpture we saw. I liked it a lot.