Not Oreos I had two events (dance party and Toastmasters) to bring something to and I’d promised my dance instructor cookies, next time I made them. Hence, cookies. I like not-Oreos. Any resemblance to a trademarked cookie is purely coincidental. Because I make them softer than the cookie that shall not be named, I wasContinue reading “Learning 2 Bake from Scratch – LII”
Author Archives: Mark
French Dressing – and Moar!
This is an easy one I’ve been making for years. I don’t remember where it originally came from, but I consider it mine, now. 1 coarsely chopped onion⅔ cup vegetable oil½ cup sugar⅓ cup vinegar (red wine vinegar is good)1 ½ tsp Worcestershire1 ½ tsp salt1 tsp mustard1 tsp paprika (double it)½ tsp garlic powderContinue reading “French Dressing – and Moar!”
How do you talk to God?
I tripped over this question on Josh Slocum’s substack. His phrasing is Manichean (it’s a theological topic, I can use that word). How does one deal with the feeling of simultaneously talking to a being you don’t really believe in, but feeling like an entitled fraud at the same time? I’m not sure that IContinue reading “How do you talk to God?”
Digging Into Sensationalism
Tractor Supply Company (TSCO) has been a thing. Here’s the basic timeline: Meanwhile, we have headlines such as this one: Tractor Supply LOSES BILLIONS in Stock COLLAPSE As Woke Left Activism EXPOSED. Granted, it’s a Youtube channel, but still. I happen to have access to an excellent market data provider: CQG. The goofy, American dateContinue reading “Digging Into Sensationalism”
How to Rationalize Anything
Or “How I bought an insane thing and want to feel justified about it.” I would hope that anyone old enough to drink has at least heard the phrase, “humans are not rational, they rationalize.” We do things because we want to. We come up with the logical reasons, afterward. Not always, of course (notContinue reading “How to Rationalize Anything”
Black Hills Renaissance Festival
This year’s was the fourth annual. We went to either the inaugural or the second annual, I don’t recall which. It has grown significantly. There were many vendors. My gratuitous purchase was a halberd head. I’ve just become the Sergeant At Arms for my Toastmaster’s club. “Arms” seems a requirement for the job, but aContinue reading “Black Hills Renaissance Festival”
Breaking News – from 1985
Campus Reform just published ANALYSIS: Students are entering college unable to write In 1985, the first month of the TA-led part of my Philosophy 101 class was about how to write a five paragraph essay. It drove me nuts. I was paying for philosophy and being lectured about something from Freshman year of High School.Continue reading “Breaking News – from 1985”
How many can afford this?
A political fund-raiser. This one’s for Trump, but it’s hardly a Republican-only thing. tickets sold for a hefty $50,000 per head, with an exclusive $300,000 tier offering perks such as a photo opportunity with Trump Income is not a perfect proxy for wealth, but it’s not awful, either. The chart is from a quick InternetContinue reading “How many can afford this?”
Garden Plot
I know I said I wouldn’t do this, but it happened, anyway. The garden beds are the white, rounded rectangles along the edges. The grey is concrete. The bluish grey lines are the chain-link fence with the posts as block dots. It’s to-scale. I had the drawing – several versions – so adding the gardenContinue reading “Garden Plot”
One Third Done
I’ve become a recluse. It took me a week to recover from having guests for a week. People have become exhausting. In any case, this weekend we managed to get the first third of the garden beds built. We had two done. Now we have eight done. Here’s the reverse angle: That’s bigger than itContinue reading “One Third Done”
Marked Up 