Klandwehr's Window to the World

Review: The Orphan Train

kim.landwehr@gmail.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 4 Feb 2015 09:01:00 -0500

The Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the kind of book I enjoy, where you can lose yourself in the story. While reading this story I felt as if I was there I could smell the squirrel cooking and feel the cold air coming through the cracks in the wall, the sound of the train on the track. The one weakness in the book might be the ending, which seems a little hurried and cliche. Then again maybe it was I who was in a hurry to find out how it ended. If you like historical novels or fictional biographies that I would recommend this book to you.

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Review: Brave New World

kim.landwehr@gmail.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 19 Mar 2014 12:41:00 -0400

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I decided to read this book in part of my attempt to read at least one classic book a season. The book was published in 1932 and the first thing I have to say is it didn't feel dated. The book is about a future society where everyone (well almost everyone) is happy and content with their status in life and when they start to feel unhappy their is a pill to take to solve that problem. There are no family structure and you are raised by society to be happy in your role in society from before birth. Multiple sex partners are encouraged. Talk of God and Shakespeare are forbidden. The main plot of the story is what happens when someone who was raised outside that world is thrown into it how he reacts to the it and how it react to him. The bottom line is I enjoyed the book and would recommend it.

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Review: Wool Omnibus

kim.landwehr@gmail.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 11 May 2013 08:41:00 -0400

Wool Omnibus by Hugh Howey

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Finished the book last night and I enjoyed it. I wouldn't say it was the best book ever but it was a good read and kept me wanting more. It is is set up to be the first in a series, however I think you can read this book and stop and be just fine. There are some cliff hangers at the end, but that doesn't bother me too much. I haven't read a ton of science fiction books so I don't have a lot to compare it too I have discovered though that I much prefer book where it is about the people living in the future and not so much about the technology and this book fits that mold

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Review: Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln

kim.landwehr@gmail.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 12:59:00 -0400

Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Having just finished the book, I am finding it hard to put into words what i thought of this book. Lincoln was such a extraordinary leader that he was willing to surrond himself with men who were ambitious and often disagreed with him. Yet he was able to bring out the best in them and earn their respect and in some cases friendship. Doris Kearns Goodwin has the ability to put you into the time and place as if you are standing in the rooms and fields were the events are happening, you begin to know the people as if they are your neighbors and colleagues. Although you know how it ends, with each turn of a page you hope that the ending somehow doesn't occur. I do highly recommend this book

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The Parting

kim.landwehr@gmail.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 19 May 2012 12:21:00 -0400

He was dying he knew it, it was his time. In fact it was past his time. He was so old that he suspected most people already thought he was dead. He had been thinking about the past a lot lately, especially about Mary, God he missed her.

“Would you hurry up Tom, the ship isn’t going to wait for us you know”. “I’m coming, Mary I don’t know why you are in such a hurry to leave your home and family.” It is not that I want to leave, but there is nothing to keep me here. “What are you smiling at Michael O’Shannon,” “Nothing” Michael said as he steadied the horse and wagon.

He, Mary and Tom had been friends since they could walk. Mary and Tom were going to marry, that was the truth. It was true as the sun rising in the East and setting in the West. That didn’t stop him from staring. He loved how Mary stood with her hand on her hip with he skirt fitting tightly over her hip. He smiled again.

Mary and Tom walked toward the dock. “I don’t want to go” “What do you mean.” Mary stared back at Tom, her mind racing a 100 miles and hour. They had planned and saved for almost a year for this trip. Tom had always been the steady and down to earth one. It was Michael who had always been unpredictable and full of fire. A little bit like her if she was being honest. Ever since the famine had gotten worst in their area the world had turned upside down. Now Michael was the steady one and Tom had gone all dreamy. “This is my home and land and I don’t want to leave it.” “I have no reason to stay, I want something better for my future or at least my children future”

“What the heck is going on Michael thought as he saw Tom coming back toward him. His head was down looking like a puppy who had been kicked. There as nothing in the wagon he had left behind. In fact there had been vey little to start with. ”Why are you back.“ ”I am not going, I need you to go and make sure Mary is okay.“ Michael stood there and stared at Tom, mouth open swearing that the sun had just stopped in the sky. ”But, what about you and Mary, you are supposed to be married.“ ”I know“ Tom said his voice fading away. ”Maybe I’ll come later, I just can’t go now and Mary will not wait. Michael saw Mary in the distance standing facing the ship, trying not to look back. “Ok, are you sure,” “Yes”, said Tom.

Michael walked toward Mary and stood by her. He could tell she was trying not to cry. “I am supposed to go with you,” “Yes” Mary said quietly. They started toward the ship and went up the plank. They stood on the deck looking back at Tom. “Maybe he will come later” Michael said. Mary looked at him with a sad smile. They both knew that wasn’t true. The ship began to slip it’s mooring and they were ordered down below. They took one more look back at Tom, and somehow both of them knew it would be the last time they would see him.

Memories from the Past

kim.landwehr@gmail.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 14:59:00 -0400

I was going through some old analog notebooks and I came across this note that I wrote in Dec 4 2006:
Rest in Peace James Kim, your family is fine. James Kim's body was found last night. When I heard the news sadness swept over me. Since then I thought how odd that feeling was. I didn't know James Kim personally. I remember seeing him on tech TV's Screen saver and more recently thru the CNET video cast. James Kim was affectionately known as a Lab rat. He would appear in front of the camera occasionally to go over a product he tested. He wasn't a celebrity or even a personality. He was just a guy doing his job. The funny thing is even six years later, occasionally I will thing about James Kim and feel sad, sometimes someone passes through your life and makes an impact that you don't recognize until much later.

kim.landwehr@gmail.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 12:41:00 -0400

Test the HTML5 video player for the Mac

The Tree

kim.landwehr@gmail.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 15:14:00 -0400

There was tree at the edge of a river. It stood there silently for many years. Occasionally when the wind blew it would creek and moan. One time the wind blew so hard it lean over so far it thought it would break its back, but it remained standing tall and firm. The storm had killed some of his neighbors which made him very sad.
He could remember there was a chair beneath him where the old man once sat for hours and played his fiddle. The tree really liked the old man, they had grown old together. He was planted when the old man was born. The old man had always treated him well. When he was a young sapling, there was a great freeze. His young branches were covered with ice and he thought for sure he was going to die. Then he saw a light coming from the distance, it was the young boy and his father. They covered him with a blanket and staked him up. When they removed the blanket he stood taller then ever.
There was the frayed end of an old rope hanging from his lower limb. The rope had once held a tire, that the man had hung one summer long ago. The man and his friends would swing from the tire and drop into the river. It was a good summer when the man’s laughter filled the air.
That winter the man only came one time. He was dressed all in brown, his hair was very short and the laughter was gone. He had a young girl, Mary with him and they kissed beneath his branches. Two summers passed before the man returned. When he returned he appeared a lot older and much sadder. The tree didn’t understand why the man had been gone so long, so he asked the river and the wind. The river told him that he heard from the ocean that some of his brother rivers ran red. The wind told him that at times the ground got so loud it made him groan. This made him quite sad.
That spring he was filled with pride when the man and Mary were joined together underneath his branches. He made sure they were well shaded and he asked the bird who had a nest in his branch to sing a song. The tree thought the bird had sung the most beautiful song he had ever heard. In a short time, there were little ones crawling underneath him. Soon they were climbing and swinging from his branches as the man once had. The man was busy so didn’t visit too often, although the tree missed him, somehow he understood. The seasons past from winter to summer then back again many times. The man’s hair turned from black to grey and then to white like snow. The tree noticed that when the man hair turned like snow, the visits got more frequent. The man would sit in a chair underneath his branches. He and his friends would talk for hours arguing and laughing. Sometimes he and Mary would sit together and the old man would plan his fiddle low and slow.
One day Mary stopped coming. The old man came a few more times and then he stopped too. Then one day the tree saw the man’s oldest some coming toward him. Behind him were two boxes being carried by the old man’s grandchildren. The tree was surprised by how gray the son’s hair had gotten. Everyone was dressed in black and there were two holes dug and the boxes were placed in them. Tears were flowing from the eyes of those who gathered beneath him. The boxes were covered with dirt and a prayer was said. The birds sang the saddest song the tree could remember and it filled him with sorrow. His limbs swayed to the song. Then he understood the old man would not be visiting him anymore. He and Mary would become a part of him, forever. This made the strangely sad and happy at the same time. He lived 2 scores on and many people would live in the house and would sit under his branches, but he remembered the man best of all.

kim.landwehr@gmail.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 12:27:00 -0500

I have decided to separate my podcast Remembrances Back in the Day from this blog. So I have set up a new blog called Remembrances Back in the Day specifically for my podcast. I will still post items to this blog that are not related to my podcast. Thank you for your understanding

02 Stinky Comes for a Visit

kim.landwehr@gmail.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 12:51:00 -0500

This is the story of a night time visitor, we'll call him stinky and how retreating can be a smart move

The Apple TV a Guaranteed Disappointment

kim.landwehr@gmail.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 19:15:00 -0500

It's a slow news week, so people of course start talking about the Apple TV, not the Apple TV, but the Apple TV that will make everyone's wishes come true Apple TV. Of course the problem being is everyone wishes are different, and if Apple did make a TV that met everyones' wishes no one would want it because it would be hideous. So I going to predict right here and now, if and when the Apple TV comes out. There be a dozen articles on how disappointing it is and that so much more was expected written before the first week of release is over.

kim.landwehr@gmail.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 15:24:00 -0500

Last night I was on Google Plus and I was reading a post by +Kol Tregaskes about Google Currents. So I decided to set up a Google Currents edition of my own. At first it was fairly simple you can add rss feeds, articles from Epub, google docs, photo and video channels and social updates. That part was easy and I completed without much problem. Once you have everything set up you are given the option to distribute the content, that is where the trouble came. In order to distribute the content you have to verify that you are the owner of said content. There was no problem verifying my Blogger account Klandwehrs Window to the World or my Google plus account. This will only publish your public listings, so if you publish to individual circles, it may not be much use. The real problem came when I tried to verify my Tumblr blog. The problem was a tired user (me) and less then clear directions from the various web sites I visited. The Google Webmaster gives you a snippet that you have to place in your Tumblr template. The direction say to place the snippet after the , its not clear whether you are suppose to place the snippet after the actual symbol < heading > or after the < /heading > symbol so its between the heading and the body. The articles seemed indicate that the snippet went after the < heading > symbol, so I tried to place it right after that symbol, no go. Then I tried it one line down, still no go. After about an hour of working on it and almost ready to give up, I finally realized that the snippet went after the < /head > symbol, between the heading and the body. At point it gives you a url that you can give to your friends or post to Twitter and Facebook or Google Plus. I am still working on it, but I like the idea.

What's Wrong with American Business

kim.landwehr@gmail.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 10:52:00 -0500

My husband works for a company that manufactures nickel products including sheets, wires, rolls...etc for everything from airplane parts to generators. Each week they have a Thursday meeting, where they set up goals and check on their progress, which sounds really nice and I am sure there is some book that tells management that this is how it is done. The problem is the goals have nothing to do with reality. One meeting they were told they had to ship 50x of one of the products, when one of them mentioned that they only had orders for 25x of this product, it didn't matter they had to ship 50x. Which left half the meeting scratching their head trying to figure out how they were going to show that they shipped 50x, when the order was for only 25x. Then one week, the upper management was mad because they weren't meeting a quota. One of the reasons they weren't meeting their quota was because the presses and furnaces kept breaking down. The punishment for not meeting the quota, was the company wasn't going to fix their machines, until they met their quota. So the company answer to them not meeting their quota was not to fix the very problem that caused them not to meet their quota. The reason for all these quotas, has nothing to do with what there customers want, it has to do with what Wall Street wants and the upper managements stock portfolio. The company is not serving their customers it is serving Wall Street and that is the problem with much of American Business today.

TiVo and Me

kim.landwehr@gmail.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 1 Dec 2011 12:08:00 -0500

How not to do Customer Service by TiVo

I have been a TiVo customer since 2005 and am a big fan of the box and how it works. I am not a big fan of their customer service however. In the middle of October I decided to cancel the service on my Series 3 TiVo, I wasn’t using the box anymore and was going to get rid of it. So I called TiVo to cancel the service on it. The first thing that is irritating is they ask you why you are cancelling the service, saying your not using it anymore or your getting rid of it is not enough, you have to specifically tell them why you are getting rid of it (as if it is any of their business). Once I answered the question to their satisfaction, they then tried to up sell me to buy a Premier TiVo, despite the fact I had told them I wasn’t interested at this time. Finally they cancelled my service, however as I told my husband you almost have to get nasty to get them to do what you want.

About a week later I was looking at my banking site and noticed that TiVo had withdrawn $79.00 from my account for a termination fee. I wasn’t happy, but I remembered I had changed by contract back in July and it is a yearly contract so I accepted it. On Tuesday I got a letter in the mail from TiVo saying I was late with my payment and if they didn’t receive it with 2 weeks they were going to send me to collections. Mind you this was the same payment they had pulled from my bank account a week and a half before. So I called TiVo back and confirmed the payment was received, when I asked why the letter was sent out, the csr did not have a good answer, but assured me everything was fine on my account. I hung up the phone, thinking I was finished with TiVo. However today I was on my bank account again and I noticed my bank account was $76.00 lower then it should have been. When I looked at the history sure enough TiVo had removed $76.00 for the second time. When I called TiVo back they told me it was already set to be credited back, but it could take up to two days for the process to finish. So I now have to wait two days to get my money back, which by the way I was going to use to pay my cellphone bill, which will now be a day late, along with the fact if I hadn’t looked at my banking Web site and tried to pay the bill it would have overdrawn my account. In case you are still wondering, yes I am pissed off, what makes me even angrier is the TiVo box is a great product, but their customer service makes me want to stop using their product altogether.

Google Search on iPad

kim.landwehr@gmail.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 15:27:00 -0500

I am using the new Google search app to post this directly from my iPad. Writing within the Blogger app that is available through the app page. This is pretty cool. I hope that Apple doesn't mess with it. It is great for writing up the post. It is not so great for pictures and links, but if you want to quickly write something down and finish it up later

Poach Chicken, Quinoa and Spinach

kim.landwehr@gmail.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 18:19:00 -0500

Today for supper made poach chicken breasts with quinoa and spinach, ended up really tasty. Take two boneless, skinless chicken breast and cut them up into pieces about the size of chicken nuggets. Put into bowl and sprinkle with a little salt. Take some plain yogurt and mix in some Red Thai Curry paste. Add that mixture to the chicken, stir and let marinade for several hours. Melt a stick of butter (no this is not low fat) in a pan or electric fryer at low temperature. If you use the electric fryer set the temperature to simmer. Once the butter is melted and the chicken a piece at a time, let the extra marinade sauce drip off and discard. Cover and let cook until done about 30-40 minutes check occasionally. Once the chicken is done remove to a bowl. Then in the same pan add the spinach and let cook until done. Remove the spinach from the pan and let it drain in a sieve. Once the spinach is drained of the excess liquid add to the chicken. Then add the cooked quinoa and mix everything together. Add a little red pepper and salt and pepper to taste and serve.

2 boneless, skinless chicken breast
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1-2 Tb of Thai red curry paste
1 whole stick of butter
Quinoa (cooked according to the package)
salt, pepper and red pepper to taste

The measurements are approximations, I don't actually measure things when I cooked, so you may have to experiment a bit.

Choices

kim.landwehr@gmail.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 22:20:00 -0500

The series The Walking Dead has gotten me to think about choices. In the series the characters are forced almost daily to make life and death choices . Most of the choices we make are much simpler what restaurant we are going to go to for diner. Are we going to go with the iPhone or Android. None of these choices are earthshaking. If we make the other choice in most cases it will make little difference. What happens though when the choices you make do make a difference. In 2002 Joe Paterno, head football coach at Penn State was told of sexual misconduct involving a former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky and a young boy. Joe Paterno at that point had three choices do nothing, reported to the incident to Athletic Director Tim Curley or report it to the police. He chose to report it to the Athletic Director , who then reported it to President Spanier. No one along the line chose to report the incident to the police.

They were not the only ones, reports of incidents go back to 1994. In 1998 an incident was reported to the police but was never prosecuted. Janitors working at Penn State were witness to another incident at the gym of Sandusky possible sexually assaulting a young boy in 2000. Again it was not reported to the police. All along the way men both in power and not made choices to either ignore what they saw or heard altogether or relabeled them as something acceptable such as horsing around. Had one of these men made a different choice at any time, they might have saved another boy from being a victim. How many choices have we avoided making because they make us feel uncomfortable or it seems easier to ignore them. The right choice isn't always the easiest one, but making it is the difference between being able to look one self in the mirror and not.

Honey that Isn't Honey

kim.landwehr@gmail.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 9 Nov 2011 12:11:00 -0500

Lifehacker published an article that said that most honey sold in the U.S. shouldn't be defined as real honey. That it has been filtered so much that all the pollen has been removed. Pollen that may have health benifits and makes the honey traceable back to the sources. Which is extremely helpful in case of a contamination outbreak. This makes me so frustrated. Pure honey is such a great product. Why is there this need to improve on something that doesn't need improving. Of course part of the problem is the consumer, who has been trained not to like something unless it looks perfect. We need to try to remember that good looking food isn't always good tasting food in fact the opposite maybe true.

The Fighter Dies

kim.landwehr@gmail.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 8 Nov 2011 11:07:00 -0500

Late last evening Joe Frazier died. For those of you who barely know who Joe Frazier is, he was a fighter, who his biggest skill was his determination. He wouldn't stop moving forward. His battles against Muhammed Ali were epic. They were 15 rounds of war in a ring. Frazier was the opposite of Ali in every way. Ali was flash and speed, hit and get out. Frazier was move forward and slug it out. Outside the ring Ali was the consummate communicator, while Frazier was awkward and I suspect found talking in front of the media the thing he liked the least. There is a song from that era by Simon and Garfunkel called The Boxer and the last verse describes Joe Frazier perfectly

In the clearing stands a boxer
And a fighter by his trade
And he carries the reminders
Of ev'ry glove that layed him down
Or cut him till he cried out
In his anger and his shame
"I am leaving, I am leaving"
But the fighter still remains

Baking and the Wandering Mind

kim.landwehr@gmail.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 7 Nov 2011 11:57:00 -0500

I made oat bran muffins on Saturday. The muffins aren't a disaster, but they aren't ready for a muffin bake-off either. The biggest problem is they didn't rise, because I used two eggs beaten, when the recipe called for two egg whites beaten. Which I didn't realize until the first egg was already in the bowl. I have to admit despite their look they taste really good, although next time I make them I am going to add some raisins and maybe I'll actually follow the recipe.

I have to admit I am a good cook, but I don't have the right mind set for baking. I tend not to measure things, which is ok when you are cooking, not so much when you are baking. With cooking it is ok to change ingredients and to experiment, with baking unless you know what you are doing, experimenting can lead to a disaster. My husband who is an engineer is a good baker. He is very precise with his measurements and he follows recipes exactly, That is how he thinks, he concentrates on one task at a time and the more precise directions you give him the better he likes it. On the other hand I am the type of person who likes to do three things at the same time. I want general directions and then let me take over from there. The more precise the directions the more I feel boxed in and the more I am likely to rebel

Bean Soup Today

kim.landwehr@gmail.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 22:44:00 -0400

A Rainy fall Monday
Bean Soup today.

No light summer Soup today

A heart Bean Soup, thick and creamy

Chunks of ham from the hock floating in it

Rich and meaty.
That's what I want today,

The kind of soup that warms you from head to toe

and fills your very soul.

Yes it's a bean soup day

Introduction

kim.landwehr@gmail.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 10:02:00 -0400

I am not sure where this Blog will go, but I am sure it will be an interesting journey. If you come along I hope you will be entertained and maybe learn something along the way.