uncommonly feeble and random thoughts

We have reconstituted as a family. Linda is in the family dining room on her iPad. James is on the couch in the family room on his iPhone. I am in the formal dining room on my MacBook. Ahh, togetherness!!! But I have finally gotten James's pix from Christmas dinner. 4 lbs prime rib roast, 2.5 hours at about 225 on the BGE. Then, a reverse sear on the Grill Grates, 6 or 7 minutes each on about six flips. I ended up with a 130 exit temp. A little on the rare side, but with James and me, it's perfect, and there was a slice to Linda's liking. Feast your eyes!!!! We begin with the finished product, reverse-seared, uncut and no photoshoppin'... then a series of "cut" views:

James shot the pix for the dinner last night and he's out and about today, so here's a little filler. A Christmas morn tradition, fresh-squeezed orange juice and champagne:  (picture by James) And of course, to accompany the above, a wee bit o' breakfast: (picture by James) Hash browns, crunch cake, broccoli-spinach-cheddar quiche, mango, and (oops) we went right to straight champagne. And as a teaser for the dinner about to be reported, we brought out Grandma's crystal: (picture by James)

We've had a wonderful Christmas, thanks to James coming in from Chicago for a few days. Loads of fun surprising Linda with his arrival time (5 hours earlier on Thursday than she had expected). He engineered the whole deal. Gotta love him! Epic foods, like everyone else on Christmas morn, and we are now in the midst of preparing dinner. I have placed the beef on the barbie and am working very, very hard on dinner prep (bwahaha!!!). This tie-bars to gifts, which of course mine are BBQ-heavy. For starters, I needed a new chimney to get my fire lit, so to speak: Thanks James!! And just so you know how badly it was needed, here's what 8 or 10 years does to a Weber chimney: Next, thanks to George Brookover for steering me to the MSU Meat Lab . It's located west of (that would be, behind) the MSU Dairy Store. Which pretty much explains why I never knew it existed... never got past the Dairy Store! So the Meat Lab sells a huge menu of beef, pork, and lamb. T...

Well, it is that time of year. We've had some "events", warnings and advisories and such. The current one extends through 7 am Sunday morning. Let the pictures do the talking! First up: the mailbox shot!!! (I know. Exciting, right?) Next up: the plow driver glanced over and was on to me, chronicling the day: So, he parked to pose for this shot. We call it "Unplugging the Driveway", because we are very creative: And what would your day be without a video tour. Narrated, no less:

(Author's note: The following is based on my own recollections coupled with some limited research into the historical record. Please feel free to email me any fact revisions.) In 1970, the Michigan Educational Assessment Program was first administered to assess student achievement in Michigan public schools. William Milliken, a Republican, was governor of Michigan. The MEAP was proposed by the Michigan State Board of Education (a traditionally Democratic body). The MEAP grew out of collaboration among curriculum advocates at local districts, ISDs, and at the Michigan Department of Education (MDE). It is important to note that MEAP was founded, and created, by educators. The intent of the MEAP, initially, was to determine, for individual students, their progress toward standards set by the Board. Since testing of every student every year was not economically feasible, students at grades 4, 7, and 10 were tested. The test was standards-based and found to have high content val...

All right! First good one of the year. Shut down all area schools, Clinton-Eaton-Ingham counties and beyond. That, Virginia, is seven inches:

I don't have to worry about stirrin' up trouble with this post, either personally or professionally. Because, I have no readers. Let this tree fall in the woods. This essay could be subtitled "Foundations of Public Education". I've been challenged in my career to say, well, what's wrong with charter schools? Private schools? Home schooling? In and of themselves? Pretty much; nothing, nothing, and, well, next-to-nothing. The problem is who should pay for them. If we start with a premise that public schools are failing, then perhaps we ought to be about finding a way to educate our youth that is successful. We need a literate society, right? To be able to compete with whomever. American ingenuity and all that. Or, to ensure our elected officials are the best (oops). So let's find, and fund, an alternative that works. This makes sense. Of course, the premise is flawed. Public schools work. Just not for everyone. It's sort o...

Morbidity among curmudgeons is higher than averages for other subgroups. Call it a mean rate.