More Soup!

Soup and stew weather continues.  Today I decided to try a beef , veggie and pasta creation.

1 large onion chopped
3-4 stalks of Celery chopped
4-5 carrots chopped
1 shallot  chopped (optional- I had it and needed to use it)
2 cloves of garlic chopped
sweet peppers chopped
1 box mushrooms quartered
2-3 small red skin potatoes quartered
1 medium can chopped tomatoes
1 cup favorite shaped pasta
3/4 to 1 pound beef pot roast (bone in if you can find it.)
2-3 strips of bacon chopped
olive oil
salt and pepper

 Preparation:
Chop the bacon and saute it over medium heat in a soup pot.  Add the onions, add a splash of olive oil if needed. When the onions have started to cook, add the celery, carrots, shallot, garlic, peppers, potatoes, and mushrooms and allow to saute for 10-15 minutes.  Add the canned tomatoes, and 2 cans of water. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add the beef and cover.  Bring to a simmer over medium heat, reduce heat to low and allow to simmer for 3-4 hours.  You want the beef to be cooked to the point that it breaks apart easily with a spoon.  Adjust seasoning, add pasta, cover and allow to simmer an additional 20-30 minutes.  The pasta will absorb much of the liquid - thickening the soup to a hearty soup.

If you are serious about cooking with fresh ingredients, a good start is keeping carrots, celery and onions on hand.  Buy real carrots, some of the varieties of "baby" carrots do not stand up well to simmering for 2-4 hours. A rinse and once over with a good peeler and a quick chop and the real thing goes into a soup or stew easily.  Carrots store well, staying fresh for 2-4 weeks.  Celery is another staple, I have discovered that if I keep it wrapped in plastic is keeps for 2-3 weeks and can be used in a soup or stew even if it has started to get a little limp.  A quick whack takes both ends off, rinse well and it is fun to chop.  I can't imagine cooking without onions, most of my recipes start with chop an onion. I buy a box of mushrooms every week and almost always find a use for them. In my area Trader Joes' has good mushrooms for a great price.  I rinse them and trim the stem, for this soup I wanted them chunkier in the final product so I quartered them.  They are easy to cut, don't buy them pre-sliced.  I generally keep shallots - a small sweeter member of the onion family on hand, you can buy them in bulk at most Whole Foods markets - they keep for a month or so.  I use a little garlic - it gives me gas - so I use very little.

For the beef for this I could have used stew beef, I found this nice slice of pot-roast.  The bone rendered out nicely, adding a lot of flavor from the marrow (the center of the bone.)

Customer Service

It was 6 degrees this morning so I drove to the office, in Washington DC and parked in the garage in the building,  The parking is all valet, allowing them to park cars 2 or 3 deep in parking spaces, there is no option, hand them the keys and they park it.  This dent was not there when I handed them the keys just before 8:00 AM this morning, and it was when they brought the car back to me at about 4:30 this afternoon.  The valet that brought the car out, called for a "manager."  Who tried to debate with me if the damage was fresh, or was there before. The car was perfect when I dropped it off, dented when I picked it up.  He had me fill out paperwork then said that they "would investigate and notify me within three business days of their determination."  What is there to investigate, my car was perfect when I dropped it off and damaged when I picked it up.  Instead the "manager" argues with me that he has to investigate and make a determination, and he can't tell me that they will fix my car.  What crappy customer service.

What Was I Thinking?

I am tired of complaining about the cold, it is not like complaining changes anything,  I drove to the office today, it takes a little longer then the subway and is a little more frustrating, but I was thinking, less time out in the cold, an opportunity to park the car in the garage and get the snow and ice melted off.  

I am working on travel plans - what else would travel penguin do?  I have a conference in Austin, Texas in early May.  It is a conference I have been to year after year, and it is being held in my least favorite city in Texas.  I felt obligated to submit a proposal to speak, so I did two, but not very well.  I was thinking, I will do my part and hope that the proposals get turned down and I can skip the conference this year.  No such luck, both made the agenda.  I need to find a way to enjoy Austin. Maybe some good bbq, and a little rest. I will go on from there to Florida where I have a conference the following week. What was I thinking, two conferences back to back, being gone from the office for 12 days, I will be buried in work when I get back. I really should have said no thank you to Austin this year.

I have been working on comments to a government agency.  I should have said, no thank you, when I was asked to work on them, but I was thinking "why not." I have sorted my way through a long a complex policy process.  I actually wrote in an email that "if I appear to have bruises on my forehead, it was from all of the brick walls I ran into on this project."  Word this afternoon that we have found a way to make it happen, well hopefully, there is a plan B if I run into another brick wall.  I know our policy making process is complex, many- many lawyers trying to be careful not to piss to many people off.  What was I really thinking, our assistant director wants to cut back on hours and surrender the management title, I'd like it and the raise that goes with it.

I keep trying to come up with something funny or inspiring.  The muses are either frozen, or on vacation in the tropics.  I keep thinking they will return, and they will, some sunny warm day.

Thinking Time

Where can I get time to think?  Long airlines flights sometimes work, the trip home works better then the trip out.  On the way out I tend to think about what I am headed out to do.  I had a three day weekend, followed by s snow day, by Tuesday I was finding time and space to think. I had a nice relaxing afternoon, my mind had time to wander.  I sometimes find time to think on the metro train riding to and from work.  Those are short times, 25 minutes here and there.  In the office I am usually too busy to think, there are too many projects demanding my attention for any of them to truly get my attention.  At home I need to turn off the TV.  Easy for me to do during the rare weekday that I am home, there is nothing on during the day that is worth the noise.

Snow Day!

Part of my growing up I lived in Michigan, snow days were days, or sometimes weeks when the schools were closed. In the 8th grade, we started spending winters in Florida, I moved there after high school. and I didn't experience a snow day for 20 years. I only had 2-3 hurricane days in my years there, and there is a difference between wondering if the roof will stay on and the supply of scotch will hold out and wondering how deep the snow will get. My first hurricane I ran out of scotch before I ran out of hurricane.  

Then in mid-life I moved back north.  Every January and February I question the sanity of that move, but love and money are strong motivators.  So I learned as an adult to experience the occasional snow day - an unexpected and generally unplanned day at home.  Now I am surprised by this one, they usually happen when I am Florida or away from the office working.  I was on the road for 12 days in late January early February and the office remained open.  But here I am a week or so after my return with fresh snow - enough of it to make getting out and about difficult - so the office closed and I get an extra free day. 

When a snow day is announced the first thing I do is panic and check the office calendar to see what I had scheduled.  Today I had a staff meeting and some writing that can be delayed to do.  So I can relax and take the day off.  I stayed up a couple of hours later then usual - discovering that I don't like the new "Tonight Show."  I don't think I have seen it since Leno was forced into his second retirement.  I somewhat understand the reason for the change, but it leaves those of who grew up with Johnny Carson's sense of humor, wondering how the world has changed.  I slept late this morning.  I have checked the blogs, played comment tag on Facebook, and fiddled with a couple of old watches I am trying to get working again.  After lunch I will work on a painting, listen to some music and maybe take a nap.  

The snow fall was less than expected.  If I really needed to be in the office, I likely could have made it.  I expect we will be back to work tomorrow.  Convenient this snow day, turning the three day President's day weekend into a four day weekend.  

A Taxing Subject – Inspired by Fearsome Beard at https://fearsomebeard.wordpress.com/2015/02/13/taxing-activities/

I finished and filed my tax returns this weekend.  My taxes are fairly simple, most of my income is from employment; I am able to itemize deductions. I have nearly always prepared my own tax returns, only once in 40 years have I paid someone to prepare my taxes. Actually that year I paid two accountants, the first one was very creative and scared the crap out of me, the second one was overly conservative and in the end I settled on middle ground redoing the forms myself.  That was before tax software and at a time when my income was complex. I started using Turbo tax a few years ago when I needed to complete a long term capital gains form – a mystifying form if ever there was one. If you understand the numbers, the software plugs the numbers into the right places on the form and makes it truly easy.  I am amazed at the bright and well educated people who are afraid of doing their tax return.  If you understand the basics of the numbers, it is really easy.  The software does the hard part of getting the right numbers on the right lines and making sure the math is correct. Be honest, and the IRS is easy to get along with.  Remember that they know more about your finances then you think they do. 

I am truly fortunate, I had a good year; my federal income tax liability was more than I have made a few years in my adult life. 

I feel happy to pay my share of the cost of maintaining a civil society.  In exchange for this I am able to leave my home without fear for my health and safety.  I would not be where I am today without government programs.  I used a government first time home buyer program to but my first house in 1982 at 12.5% interest when the market rate was 15% (the good old days.)  I started and finished my higher education in state colleges and universities.  I used federally insured student loans to finance graduate school, allowing me to greatly expand my ability to help others and earn a living that results in my paying this tax bill.  Society gets a good return on investment for my education, my guess is that I doubled by earnings ability, hence doubling my tax liability, so for a-couple of percent interest break, on less than $50,000 in graduate school loans (which were paid off in 7.5 years) society gets several thousand dollars in taxes additional each year.  Society needs to make more investments like that.  Surely I pay my share of things I don’t like, want or need, but they are programs that someone needs.  As a member of society I am my brother’s keeper, if I was not, he would not be mine. 

Are there government programs that benefit no-one?  Maybe.  Can government operate more efficiently – yes – please let the post office drop Saturday mail delivery, close underutilized post offices and sell something besides postage in their retail locations. I know the Post Office is an independent government agency, but when it shows a loss, tax dollars plug the hole and Post Office management has been begging Congress for a decade to allow it to change its business model.   But overall, we get a lot for what we pay.  We get a safe and civil society, we get clean air and water; you literately can’t breathe without benefiting from the efforts of our government.

Hearty Soup Weather

13 Degrees this morning, time for hearty winter soup

White Bean With Bacon Soup

1-cup dry white beans 

1 large onion chopped

4-5 carrots chopped

mushrooms sliced 

4-5 stalks celery sliced

sweet or hot peppers sliced 

2-3 slices of bacon chopped

1-pound pork tenderloin cubed 

Splash of Port

Olive oil

The evening before start with dry white beans.  You can use any white bean, navy beans, great northern beans, or cannelloni.  Sort the beans, removing any small rocks, or malformed beans.  Rinse with water, place in a bowl and cover with water and leave to soak overnight.  The beans will double or triple in bulk overnight - use a bowl that is larger then you think you need.  When you are ready to start cooking the soup, drain and rinse the beans. Without the soak, the beans will take twice as long to cook and may never get soft enough to eat.

Chop the bacon and place to brown in an oversize pot.  Add a splash of olive oil, chopped onions and sliced mushrooms.  Saute the onions and mushrooms and allow to slightly brown.  De-glaze the the pot with a splash of port. Add chopped carrots, celery and peppers, cook for 5-10 minutes.  Add the soaked white beans and water to cover, bring to a simmer. Split the pork tenderloin lengthwise and quarter, cut into 1/2 to 3/4 inch chunks.  Add to the simmering soup.  Cover, simmer on low to very low heat.  Taste after an hour or so and adjust with salt and pepper.  Simmer 3-5 hours covered, checking periodically.  Add additional water if needed.

Chop Bacon and brown onions and mushrooms, with bacon and a splash of olive oil. 

Nice multi-color carrots from Trader Joes

I picked up a nice brown on the onions and mushrooms, resulting in a dark rich color for the finished soup. 

Seniors Give Gay Advice!

Bravo!

Willett

Good Stuff,

A rarity in the collection, Willett's single barrel.  The contents are as impressive as eh packaging.  This is well finished, nicely matured, very smooth. The taste is slightly sweet, a background of cherry,  with just a hint of wood.  Very sip-able.  The first time I tried this, I thought it was all packaging and marketing, but I was wrong.  This is a very high quality single barrel, distilled in pot stills.  I suspect that wheat is the secondary grain, it does not have the bite of a secondary rye.  Well worth adding to your collection. 

How Cold Was It?

My it was brisk outside this morning, 15 degrees with a 30 mile per hour wind out of the northwest.  Walking to the car made my face and hands hurt.  How cold was it, I drove to the office in DC traffic rather than face standing on the subway platform for 10-15 minutes waiting for the next train.  If I drive to the office, I can park in the building, in a nice warm garage.  If not for the traffic, and the cost of parking ($16 a day) I would drive to work more often.

I spent much of today trying to navigate office bureaucracy.  The boss asked me to figure out how to submit comments to a federal agency.  The how to do it is easy, go the website and drone on, any idiot can do that, and many will.  The hard part is getting permission to do so without placing yourself at risk of being fired.  There is a handbook on this, a handbook that intertwines two related but distinct processes for approval.  There is a long check list of required elements in the request for permission, but no example of what this things should look like, and they expect it to look like all the others, Someone warned me that if it looked different, someone might actually read it instead of ignoring it.  If everyone ignores it, it is approved. This is a process of trying to blend in and hoping that everyone ignores what you are requesting.  Legal logic at it's best.  I am glad I don't work for the most complex bureaucracy in town, not by a long shot.

12 on 12 - 12 photos on the 12th of the month

I was up very early this morning, many-many things to do and I just couldn't get back to sleep

The Metro was Very Crowded this afternoon, the Red line was malfunctioning and the alternate routes were packing in like rats

A 2.5 hour meeting about payment processing and HR.  I managed to stay awake and not say anything stupid or angry.

Lunch, at my desk, working-working-working, as usual 

The office. The Dots are relatively new. Kind of bright and colorful. 

Waiting to start my morning commute

Where are the male pole dancers? 

Turbo prop on Sunday, reminded me of flying with dad

Hang on, Friday is coming

Sunset Memories

There is suppose to be a bird in this picture

A ship in the middle of the Pacific

History

Do we want to be a carver of rock or a carver of ice.  The person who sculpted this rock, a couple of thousand years ago, is long gone and forgotten, but their work lives on.  If the same person had carved this in ice, it would have melted away long before they did.  Is my work in ice or stone? Will I be history, or long melted away?

Me Me Me Me Me

John Gray started this on Going Gently – how would I describe myself.

I am lumpy and bumpy and a bit heavier than I was last year

I am a man

A man who loves men – well one in particular – but I find many very attractive

I am an explorer and traveler

I am an adventurer – tempted by getting off the main road

I am a partner, spouse, husband

I am a son to two very elderly parents

A brother to three older siblings

I am an uncle twice

A nephew just once

A first cousin just once

I am a college graduate I have earned a BA and a JD

I am an attorney

I am a real estate broker with a long inactive – but current license

I am a homeowner

I am a product of growing up in a rural area, who likes living in cities

I am a cook, who enjoys cooking

I am a collector and consumer of distilled spirits

I am serious and silly

I have a sarcastic sense of humor

I am a skilled communicator, who can nastily eviscerate with words 
when provoked

I am aging, ungracefully,

I am fiercely loyal

I am slow to make friends, but eager to talk with strangers 

I keep many secrets, including some from myself 

I am a cycling enthusiast, who enjoys moving 

I am an odd duck, who does not always fit in, and for the most part 
I am comfortable with that

I have always been a little socially awkward

I am a helper, a fixer, and I want to make it better person, who has 
learned to try to understand what I can do and what can I not do. 

I am my harshest critic

I am a temporary and ephemeral being in a long term world

I am a driver who has owned 15 cars over the decades

Back to Reality

To make the IT security people happy, my cell phone only keeps a week's worth of email on it.  Anything older then one week drops off the phone.  This is usually not an issue when I travel.  I can tell how many messages I have marked as needing immediate attention when I get home.  Then along comes a 12 day business trip, what I thought was 40 or so messages needing my attention today, was about 65 of them,  Some coming up on two weeks old.  It took most of the day to sort through.  Then I worked on the travel expense reports, I have those almost ready to go.  I can't file one of them because expenses have not posted to the office credit card yet.  My replacement American Express card arrived today.  I called the hotel that I suspected I had left it at, and they had the card, I asked them to shred it.

I'm Home

Fifteen hours of traveling through five time zones, changing planes in the middle of the night, in a strange airport, an hour mechanical delay on the last of 11 flights in 12 days (the first delay) and I am home.  I was nodding off web-surfing this afternoon, I took a long nap and will go to sleep early.  They say it takes one day to adjust for every hour change in time zones, so I won't expect to be back to "normal" by next weekend.  I love traveling, I love the adventures, It does take a little while to get back on balance when I return home.

Yoooo!

So Anne Marie said to shout when I was passing through Philadelphia.  As I was talking the shuttle to the commuter terminal I was wondering what the breakfast options might be.  Well fresh local and modern.  Terminal F is worth riding a turbo prop back to DC

Venues

Over the decades I have spoken in some amazing venues.  Now most of the venues are pretty boring, if you have seen one hotel conference room, you have pretty much seen them all and most are either cramped, or too large. Once in a while the space is a stand out.  The venue on Kona was a community center, island architecture with soaring beam ceiling and windows and doors on three sides.  The windows were louvered, so they could be opened and closed to let in the breeze, no heat or air conditioning needed.  It is a community space, used for a wide variety of purposes, sometimes a church, sometimes a theater, sometimes a gathering place for social functions (it had a small commercial kitchen in the back by the stage.) When you looked outside, on on one side was a local farmers market, on another the community school, a cattle barn and in the distance a 12,000 foot volcano with snow on the top.  I'd have to place this in the top 10 amazing places I have been privileged to work for a day.  Having a little fun along the way. 

Kona

The Hawaiian adventure is coming to an end.  It has been amazing, if a bit of a grind.  Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday were 12+ hour work days.  We met some really wonderful and welcoming people and saw some fascinating places.  We provided training to nearly 500 professionals, that should have an impact on the lives of a lot of people.  The airport in Kona, was described as huts, sort of Disney huts.  Open air, outdoors.  We were at a nice Marriott Thursday night.  I may have left my heart in San Francisco, but the best I can tell I left my American Express card at the Marriott near Kona.  I used it to pay for dinner, and the next time I looked for it, it was not in it's slot.It had been a 14 hour day, I think I left it in the restaurant.  I called Amex customer service, and once we got past the I can't give you my card number, because I have lost my card, Amex, checked for charges, the last one was dinner Thursday evening (for the amount of the check, not including the tip.)  They promptly cancelled the card, and will send a replacement. I was impressed with the service, the call took less then five minutes and within a couple of minutes I had an email confirming that they had closed the account and ordered a new one.  I never leave home without 2 or 3 cards, so there is no issue with traveling home.  I has been about 25 years since I last had to report a card missing or stolen, my ex had a card stolen in London the first time I was there - in 1990. I leave Honolulu about 1:30 on Saturday and change planes in LA and Philly and get home sometime mid morning on Sunday.  I will try to post along the way.

Lobby View

I knew I was crazy when I committed to five workshops in five days in four different locations.  We have had a couple of long days and one left to do. Then a 5000 mile trip home.  It has been a good program.  I am not sure I would commit to this aggressive of agenda again.  But it has been a week in paradise.  Is it paradise if you only see it in passing,  kind of like postcards?  I was warned about the cold weather on the big Island.  It is only 66 this morning. 

More Flowers

I should have ordered the chicken for lunch

This is the view from lunch today.
I read about the chickens, Kauai is overrun with feral chickens.  The T-Shirt said, Kauai 60,000 people and millions-and-millions-and-millions of chickens.  The chickens are everywhere.  There were chickens making little chickens under the hedge while we had lunch.  The rosters, were crowing at the moon, street lights, tiki torches, I think even crowing at the blinking message light on my cell phone. I asked if anyone had tried opening a restaurant chain, Kauai Fried Chicken. The Judge, who was born and raised on the island said her grandmother has an old family recipe that would be perfect.  Take a large pot, fill it about half full with water, put in the chicken, salt and pepper, a chopped pineapple, and a rock.  Simmer until the rock is tender, toss out the chicken and eat the rock.  Yes, they are kind of rough and tough little birds, I bet I could make a good chicken stew with one.  Like the one that was crowing on the terrace of my hotel room at about 4:30 this morning.

Sunrise

What can I add to that? 

What?

Nice view last night.  When we came out from dinner last night I saw stars in the sky for the first time in years.  Kauai does have issues.  Rouge chickens outnumber the people about 250,000 to 1 - that may be a slight exaggeration, but only slight.  And they crow at anything and everything. Some one needs to start Hawaiian Fried Chicken - with free range birds direct from the islands.  The local power company has not figured out solar, or wind, or Geo-thermal, and relies on diesel generators,  so the power was off on parts of the island last night, including our hotel, as apparently happens anytime said generators burp.  But it is another morning in paradise.  We are on a sparsely populated island today, we are expecting fewer then 20 people in audience, a bit of a change from yesterday' s 240.   

Another Night, Another Hotel

So I have reached the part of this adventure were I will be hopping from hotel to hotel.  This was the happy hour view this evening. 

Submarine

This morning there was a submarine going out of Honolulu harbor this morning.  It was raining,  not a good day for a boat ride,  is there ever a bad day for a submarine ride?

January Challenge

I did 35 postings in January, but I failed my challenge to post at least once per day.  Still not bad, with this I am up to 40 this year, 200 postings last year.  My goal is 365 postings this year.

Lea

Having a tropical day

22 minutes to show time

The audience is filtering in, weeks of preparation and it all starts. 

Getting to Paradise

Several people have offered to assist me, carry my bags and such on this chunk of work.  Actually I needed a collaborator,  with expertise on brain aging and dementia.  Two of my co-workers turned me down,  Hawaii was to far and five days of training was too much.  I was able to get a med school professor to volunteer.  He is flying out from the mid south. His airline rescheduled him to change planes in Houston instead of Chicago because of weather concerns,  and then the plane broke in Houston.  The first message was he wouldn't get here until Tuesday.  The second message was he would get in at 6:30 am on Monday (we start at 9.) Now he is getting in Sunday evening, but his luggage won't get here until Monday evening.  I'm glad I added the extra days to the beginning instead of the end. Dan's wife is meeting him in Maui Friday evening for a few days. 

The Center of the Universe?

Slightly left of center on the horizon, is the place that will be the focus of attention of millions of people later today.  Some of us are just interested in the commercials, but millions of people will be watching a bunch of grown men (very grown men) tossing a funny shaped ball around the field.  What a man made spectacle.  To turn an oddly shaped ball into the center of the universe for so many people.  I can tell you who is playing, but I really don't care who wins.