I have a problem with Elsa.
Actually, Elsa herself isn't too bad. I have a problem with how young girls currently idolize Elsa.
In the grand scheme of things, we are making progress. Elsa is leaps and bounds better than Sleeping Beauty or Cinderella. Again, my problem isn't really Elsa herself. My problem is that we presented young girls with 2 female characters and they all latched on to the wrong one. How did this happen?
A few weeks ago I finally saw Frozen. I had heard some of the hype and I knew that young girls were coveting Elsa costumes while the Anna costumes sat on the store racks. So, while I did enjoy the movie overall, I couldn't shake the feeling that we failed our girls somehow. The movie ended and I actually said to the ITH "I'm confused. Elsa isn't even the main character." And, as if to prove me right, the credits rolled and the first voice actor credit was for ANNA, not Elsa. I think Elsa was third or fourth. So, the people that made the movie agree that Anna is the main character, NOT Elsa.
Lets think about the two characters. Elsa has magic powers that make snow and ice. That is the one thing she has that might make her "better" then Anna. To protect Anna, they lock Elsa away and try to teach her to stop her powers. She is unable to stop her power so she stays locked away. In a way, this is admirable. She keeps herself locked up to protect her little sister. This is what a loving big sister would do. The problem is that both girls are actually miserable due to the separation. Anna is the one who tries and tries and tries to re-connect with her sister. Elsa just gives up.
Then, of course, their parents die. It IS a Disney movie after all. The girls grow into young women and the whole time Elsa keeps herself locked away, and the whole time Anna never gives up on her sister. Then, for whatever reason, there is this special day where they have to open up the palace and meet their people. Apparently it's time for Elsa to take over as Queen. Who knows who was ruling the people in the years while the girls were growing up. We just time lapsed over that part, so no worries.
When Elsa still can't control her powers and everyone finds out, she runs away and builds herself an ice castle. While the message behind "Let it Go" in the movie is a decent one (stop hiding who you really are) they contradict their own message by having Elsa literally hide herself from the world while singing the song. She is still being the protective older sister, keeping her dangerous powers from hurting anyone. Yet at the same time she's being weak and short sited and self-deprecating. We never see her push back against her exile even though she's miserable and knows that her sister is also miserable. No one, including Elsa, ever considers "hey, she can't stop this, so lets figure out how she can use her power responsibly." Elsa just sees herself as broken and unfixable.
Anna, on the other hand, learns of her sister's powers and immediately decides that they can find a way to live with it. She chases after her sister. She fights back. She risks her life. She saves her sister. Yes, she does some dumb things like agreeing to marry a guy she just met. However, that is behavior you might expect from someone who was locked in a palace her whole life, lost her parents at a young age, and was not even allowed to interact with her the one other child and family member in the building. Additionally, Anna's character grows and learns throughout the film. Elsa just miserably accepts her fate until Anna forces her to see things differently.
So, Disney presented two female characters and both are far better than many previous options we've presented to our girls. The movie actually passes the Bechdel Test. I'll even ignore the annoying fact that we still feel the need to make both girls princesses.... apparently we think young girls won't to relate to female college students so instead we present them with idols from a social culture that is at least 100 years out of date. However, the way I see it, comparatively we have a the weak sister and the strong sister. Thankfully our main character is the strong sister. Good job Disney. Yet somehow, all the little girls want to be Elsa and not Anna. I'm not even sure who or what to blame, but we are still failing our girls. We have a long way to go.
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
The TDE's Guide to Bees and Wasps
Sorry for the 2 week hiatus. As I previously mentioned, we're out of town a bunch this month. Internet was not always available and well... I'm on vacation so I decided that I didn't HAVE to do anything, including the blog. But, we're home now so it's back to the routine, including the blog.
It's also summer now and summer means all sorts of critters and bugs are around. We noticed some bees and wasps scoping out our balcony and I began to wonder what I could do to discourage them from building their home too close to our home. Off to the internet I went to see what I could find!
Criteria for my Bee/Wasp repellant research:
1) I was looking for something that would repel, not kill. I'll admit that I'm kinda a wuss about bees/wasps and other stingy things, but I also like having food to eat. So, I would like to keep the bees alive, just away from me.
2) As non-toxic as possible. Even if it is just repelling (and not killing) the bees I don't want to spray toxic fumes on my balcony.
3) The cheaper and easier the better.
4) Confirmed by more than one source online. While this still doesn't mean it actually works, it's a little bit better than accepting everything I read anywhere online as fact.
What I found:
To keep the buggers from moving in, this apparently works. They won't build a nest/hive if there is another colony nearby, so if you hang up some brown paper bags stuffed with newspapers they think it's someone else's nest and should move on and find somewhere else to build their home.
To keep them away from you or your gathering, the obvious:
1) Don't wear perfume, cologne, etc. especially floral scents.
2) Cover food or just don't leave it outside at all. This is especially true for sugary things.
3) Avoid brightly colored clothing*
*NOTE: Some discrepancy here. One site said avoid yellow and white and that wasps can't see red so red is a good color to wear. Another site said specifically to wear white. Multiple sites simply explain that wasps ARE visual so if you look like a flower they may be attracted to you. That logic makes sense. Lots of flowers are red or pink so I would think that wasps would be able to see red. I didn't research further.
Additional Suggestions, new things to try:
1) They don't like mint/peppermint. I saw this on multiple sites.
2) Cucumber slices/peels. Really. Cut them up and lay them around. Bees and wasps apparently don't like the smell of cucumber and they stay away. I saw this on multiple sites and am definitely going to try it out.
3) Tea Tree oil + Benzaldehyde. I'm adding this to the list simply because it came up so often. It was always these two things together, never one or the other or one mixed with something else. It seems odd to me because, as far as I know, I can't run out to the store and get a bottle of Benzaldehyde. Maybe I can? I'm also not sure how safe Benzaldehyde is. Besides, I'm much more curious about the cucumbers anyway.
4) Other scents that may repel them: cinnamon, garlic, other strong smelling herbs, wormwood, and human breath. Multiple sites said that if you stay calm and blow gently on the wasp they will fly away, possibly because they don't like how our breath smells. Though this could backfire if you just ate something really sugary I suppose.
In Summary, here is what the TDE recommends:
1) Don't look or smell like a flower
2) Keep food, especially sugary food, covered or indoors
3) Hang up paper bags stuffed with newspapers
4) Cucumbers and mint.
I'm not sure how to set up a truly controlled experiment, but I'll definitely report back any findings I collect this summer on how well the cucumbers work.
Most useful sources:
(I scanned many additional sites, but these three support the bulk of my content.)
WikiHow
DIY.com
StepIn2
Garden Guides
Daily Mail
It's also summer now and summer means all sorts of critters and bugs are around. We noticed some bees and wasps scoping out our balcony and I began to wonder what I could do to discourage them from building their home too close to our home. Off to the internet I went to see what I could find!
Criteria for my Bee/Wasp repellant research:
1) I was looking for something that would repel, not kill. I'll admit that I'm kinda a wuss about bees/wasps and other stingy things, but I also like having food to eat. So, I would like to keep the bees alive, just away from me.
2) As non-toxic as possible. Even if it is just repelling (and not killing) the bees I don't want to spray toxic fumes on my balcony.
3) The cheaper and easier the better.
4) Confirmed by more than one source online. While this still doesn't mean it actually works, it's a little bit better than accepting everything I read anywhere online as fact.
What I found:
To keep the buggers from moving in, this apparently works. They won't build a nest/hive if there is another colony nearby, so if you hang up some brown paper bags stuffed with newspapers they think it's someone else's nest and should move on and find somewhere else to build their home.
To keep them away from you or your gathering, the obvious:
1) Don't wear perfume, cologne, etc. especially floral scents.
2) Cover food or just don't leave it outside at all. This is especially true for sugary things.
3) Avoid brightly colored clothing*
*NOTE: Some discrepancy here. One site said avoid yellow and white and that wasps can't see red so red is a good color to wear. Another site said specifically to wear white. Multiple sites simply explain that wasps ARE visual so if you look like a flower they may be attracted to you. That logic makes sense. Lots of flowers are red or pink so I would think that wasps would be able to see red. I didn't research further.
Additional Suggestions, new things to try:
1) They don't like mint/peppermint. I saw this on multiple sites.
2) Cucumber slices/peels. Really. Cut them up and lay them around. Bees and wasps apparently don't like the smell of cucumber and they stay away. I saw this on multiple sites and am definitely going to try it out.
3) Tea Tree oil + Benzaldehyde. I'm adding this to the list simply because it came up so often. It was always these two things together, never one or the other or one mixed with something else. It seems odd to me because, as far as I know, I can't run out to the store and get a bottle of Benzaldehyde. Maybe I can? I'm also not sure how safe Benzaldehyde is. Besides, I'm much more curious about the cucumbers anyway.
4) Other scents that may repel them: cinnamon, garlic, other strong smelling herbs, wormwood, and human breath. Multiple sites said that if you stay calm and blow gently on the wasp they will fly away, possibly because they don't like how our breath smells. Though this could backfire if you just ate something really sugary I suppose.
In Summary, here is what the TDE recommends:
1) Don't look or smell like a flower
2) Keep food, especially sugary food, covered or indoors
3) Hang up paper bags stuffed with newspapers
4) Cucumbers and mint.
I'm not sure how to set up a truly controlled experiment, but I'll definitely report back any findings I collect this summer on how well the cucumbers work.
Most useful sources:
(I scanned many additional sites, but these three support the bulk of my content.)
WikiHow
DIY.com
StepIn2
Garden Guides
Daily Mail
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Gardening with the TDE
Hello blogland,
First, a few quick updates:
1) Schedule Updates from the TDE.
This week is the last week of school in my area. That means substitute teaching is over for the summer and I *should* be able to get posts up on Wednesdays. However, we're also going to be gone for much of June and internet availability is unknown for some of it. So, June could still be a bit hit or miss.
2) The dishwasher experiment is not going well. I haven't done any more trials. Its hard enough just keeping on top of the dishes in general with a teeny tiny dishwasher. I'm not giving up quite yet though.
OK, moving on:
It's spring and springtime means gardening. In the past we've done well with container gardening on our balcony. We built some "Earthtainers" a couple years ago and they work really well. They're awesome. Unfortunately, this year they shall sit unused on our north-facing balcony that gets about 30 mins of sun just before dusk. :(
However, you just can't keep the TDE and the ITH from digging in the dirt. We joined forces with some other folks and have planted a 10'x40' plot in the local community garden. It's a quick (5 min) walk from home and has been great so far. Here's a picture of our plot from yesterday.
Finally, one more garden-related thing I learned this week. I can hoe with both hands, with almost equal skill. Yep, the TDE is an ambidextrous hoer.
First, a few quick updates:
1) Schedule Updates from the TDE.
This week is the last week of school in my area. That means substitute teaching is over for the summer and I *should* be able to get posts up on Wednesdays. However, we're also going to be gone for much of June and internet availability is unknown for some of it. So, June could still be a bit hit or miss.
2) The dishwasher experiment is not going well. I haven't done any more trials. Its hard enough just keeping on top of the dishes in general with a teeny tiny dishwasher. I'm not giving up quite yet though.
OK, moving on:
It's spring and springtime means gardening. In the past we've done well with container gardening on our balcony. We built some "Earthtainers" a couple years ago and they work really well. They're awesome. Unfortunately, this year they shall sit unused on our north-facing balcony that gets about 30 mins of sun just before dusk. :(
However, you just can't keep the TDE and the ITH from digging in the dirt. We joined forces with some other folks and have planted a 10'x40' plot in the local community garden. It's a quick (5 min) walk from home and has been great so far. Here's a picture of our plot from yesterday.
We've got lots of things growing: corn, cukes, squash, tomatoes, peppers, green beans, broccoli, potatoes, onions, carrots, leafy greens, peas, and herbs.
We're also growing a lot of tiny little weedy things. Most of our seeds have sprouted now and are large and recognizable enough that I did LOTS of weeding today. Lots and lots and LOTS of weeding.
I've never really had a problem with weeding. Of course, I've never had to do a whole lot of it. I used to help my parents in their garden and flower beds when I was a kid, but it was never forced upon me. Today I learned that I actually find weeding almost (not quite, but *almost*) enjoyable. It's definitely oddly satisfying to me to yank out the weeds, especially when the whole root comes out. It's also really satisfying to see how much better things look when I'm done. Overall, it has a lot of positives. I'm outside in the sunshine, I have a task to complete, it's brainless and oddly calming, and I can see immediate positive results of my efforts. The only really bad part is that you have to be all hunched up and bent over for a long time and if you aren't careful you might step on a couple of bean plants. oops!
NOTE: The TDE is now internally brainstorming ideas for some sort of hanging apparatus that allows for weeding while laying on a lounge chair like device. No hunching or stepping on your plants!
Weeding does, however, make me wonder if I have some mild aspects of OCD. I suppose many people do, but we can control it which is the difference between those of us that do and do not suffer from the disorder. But still, I found myself struggling to stop. Oh, gotta get that one.... and that one... and there's one... and one more... wait, one more.... and oh as I'm walking past this part I already "finished" an hour ago I see at least 3 more that need to go. I suppose, in the grand scheme of things, being a mildly compulsive weeder isn't really so bad though.
Anyway, I'll post some updates throughout the summer so you can see our garden grow. There will definitely be some harvest pictures for you to enjoy too. But, pictures of MY harvest will be only mildly interesting to you. You should go plant your own garden so you can experience the pride and joy of having your own harvest.
So, it's time for everyone to get out there and garden! Growing your own food is super rewarding and I swear it tastes better when you grow it yourself. No excuses, wherever you may live, you can find a way to plant a few things. We had no access to any land, but we managed to grow a lot of veggies in our Earthtainers on our balcony. Now we have no land and no sun, so we found the community garden. Gardening also means spending time out in the sunshine with helps your body produce vitamin D and generally makes you feel better (especially if you have SAD.) Plus, there might be bacteria in the dirt that will make you happier. I know I feel a whole lot better today than I did two days ago. Sunshine + digging in the dirt makes the TDE happy. :)
Finally, one more garden-related thing I learned this week. I can hoe with both hands, with almost equal skill. Yep, the TDE is an ambidextrous hoer.
Friday, May 23, 2014
Perspective
You know that old saying about walking a mile in someone else's shoes?
Yeah... so this happened:
I printed out a sheet of paper with 2 half page flyers on it. It needed to be cut in half. I had recently sorted through just about the last of the chaos from our recent move and had found some scissors and placed them in an easily accessible spot. So, I grabbed said scissors and proceeded to cut the page in half.... poorly.
Something just wasn't quite right. This scissors felt fine in my hand but they weren't cutting where I thought they should. Things were way off. It felt like I couldn't see what I was doing because the scissors themselves were blocking my view. The cut line was far from the fold I had made as a guideline, and it was crooked. I then attempted to "clean up" the crookedness of the line to no avail. I felt utterly incompetent at a skill I mastered 25 years ago.
I commented to the ITH that this was the worst cut job ever and made some comment about how the scissors are weird. And then,
ITH: "Wait, let me see those scissors."
TDE: *retrieves scissors* and *has sudden realization* "Oh, are these your lefty scissors?"
ITH: (joyfully) "You found my scissors! Where were they?"
TDE: "I don't know, I found them in while unpacking. I put them over here."
ITH: "They should live in the middle drawer over there."
TDE: *puts scissors away in said middle drawer*
TDE: "Wait... is that what it's like every time you have you to use right-handed scissors?!"
ITH: "YES!"
TDE: "oh honey, I'm so sorry."
ITH: "Thats why I bought my own lefty scissors."
I found myself with a whole new appreciation of being a lefty in a right-handed world. I think all the right-handed folks out there should find some left-handed scissors and attempt to make one simple straight cut with them. It's probably easier than literally or figuratively walking a mile in someone else's shoes and it'll be (mildly) life-changing. It will certainly give you some perspective.
Yeah... so this happened:
I printed out a sheet of paper with 2 half page flyers on it. It needed to be cut in half. I had recently sorted through just about the last of the chaos from our recent move and had found some scissors and placed them in an easily accessible spot. So, I grabbed said scissors and proceeded to cut the page in half.... poorly.
Something just wasn't quite right. This scissors felt fine in my hand but they weren't cutting where I thought they should. Things were way off. It felt like I couldn't see what I was doing because the scissors themselves were blocking my view. The cut line was far from the fold I had made as a guideline, and it was crooked. I then attempted to "clean up" the crookedness of the line to no avail. I felt utterly incompetent at a skill I mastered 25 years ago.
I commented to the ITH that this was the worst cut job ever and made some comment about how the scissors are weird. And then,
ITH: "Wait, let me see those scissors."
TDE: *retrieves scissors* and *has sudden realization* "Oh, are these your lefty scissors?"
ITH: (joyfully) "You found my scissors! Where were they?"
TDE: "I don't know, I found them in while unpacking. I put them over here."
ITH: "They should live in the middle drawer over there."
TDE: *puts scissors away in said middle drawer*
TDE: "Wait... is that what it's like every time you have you to use right-handed scissors?!"
ITH: "YES!"
TDE: "oh honey, I'm so sorry."
ITH: "Thats why I bought my own lefty scissors."
I found myself with a whole new appreciation of being a lefty in a right-handed world. I think all the right-handed folks out there should find some left-handed scissors and attempt to make one simple straight cut with them. It's probably easier than literally or figuratively walking a mile in someone else's shoes and it'll be (mildly) life-changing. It will certainly give you some perspective.
Thursday, May 15, 2014
Things That Make Me Mad
There has been a lot of "noise" on Facebook this past week about "Bring Back Our Girls." I found myself feeling oddly unaffected by the whole thing. Don't get me wrong, I think it's horrible. Perhaps if I were a mother I'd be more enraged. But to me, that is something happening far away from me and doesn't have any direct effect on me or my life or anyone I know personally. This sounds really self-centered I know, but hear me out. Below is a list, in no particular order, of things that make me mad that DO have a direct effect on me, my life, or someone I know personally.
I put this list together quickly and it is definitely missing things.
Even as it is, knowing that I missed a few important things, that is a pretty impressive list of things to be passionate and mad about. Do you know what I'm doing about it? Absolutely nothing. Not a thing.
I've taken no action recently to fight ANY of those things. OK, I shared this video on Facebook, but that doesn't really count. Why haven't I done anything? I have some thoughts on that.
First, here is an article a friend posted recently that gives 8 reasons young people today aren't activists.
I propose a 9th and critical reason that the article missed. There are too many things to be mad about. My anger is spread so thin that I'm not passionate enough about any one thing to be active in the fight against any of them. If you asked me to prioritize that list I don't think I could do it. To me, this is the main reason, and perhaps the only reason, that I am not fighting harder against "the man."
I see this "too much to be mad about" problem as having 2 pieces. 1) There really are more shenanigans going on. 2) Social media and technology make it so we hear about more of it.
I am literally bombarded by requests to fight the injustice. I used to get emails from the HRC every once in a while that included a link to go sign a standard petition online that they would send to my senator. I would take the 5 seconds to click a link and hit submit. Then I started getting emails weekly, then more than weekly, and I started just deleting them without reading them, and then finally I just unsubscribed from the list. Facebook is covered in posts about all of the things on my list and then some. We know about so many "evils" that we don't know which ones to truly be upset about. It's a bit of a "boy who cried wolf" situation except that there really ARE wolves everywhere and my generation has decided that we're safer if we sit quietly and hide rather than running toward the danger.
Sometimes I wonder if it is all a "master plan" by the conservative right to befuddle and win the "fight" against the liberals. I imagine a meeting where someone says "oh! I know! Lets do a whole bunch of horrible things at the same time and then they won't know what to do! They'll be spread so thin that we'll win everything!" Then they brainstormed and came up with Transvaginal Ultrasounds and Common Core and the "fast lane" of the internet, and all sorts of ways to claim that they are not killing bees or warming the planet.
No, I don't really think that happened, but I do wonder how we got to where we are. I think that I like to imagine that room full of people simply because it would give me ONE thing to be mad at. If we could rally and take out that imaginary room of idiots then we could take back our nation and our voices and win the fight against all the things that make us mad.
Instead, I suppose I better start prioritizing.
PS: #ImaginaryRoomOfIdiots should probably be a thing. We could fight it.
Net neutrality
GMO produce
LGBTQ rights
Women's rights
Public schools and standardized testing
Factory farms and our food supply in general
US health care industry
Nutrition misinformation
The environment as a whole and the "anti-global-warming" nut-jobs
STEM ed, especially for girls, but also for boys
Patent trolls and US Intellectual Property laws
Even as it is, knowing that I missed a few important things, that is a pretty impressive list of things to be passionate and mad about. Do you know what I'm doing about it? Absolutely nothing. Not a thing.
I've taken no action recently to fight ANY of those things. OK, I shared this video on Facebook, but that doesn't really count. Why haven't I done anything? I have some thoughts on that.
First, here is an article a friend posted recently that gives 8 reasons young people today aren't activists.
I propose a 9th and critical reason that the article missed. There are too many things to be mad about. My anger is spread so thin that I'm not passionate enough about any one thing to be active in the fight against any of them. If you asked me to prioritize that list I don't think I could do it. To me, this is the main reason, and perhaps the only reason, that I am not fighting harder against "the man."
I see this "too much to be mad about" problem as having 2 pieces. 1) There really are more shenanigans going on. 2) Social media and technology make it so we hear about more of it.
I am literally bombarded by requests to fight the injustice. I used to get emails from the HRC every once in a while that included a link to go sign a standard petition online that they would send to my senator. I would take the 5 seconds to click a link and hit submit. Then I started getting emails weekly, then more than weekly, and I started just deleting them without reading them, and then finally I just unsubscribed from the list. Facebook is covered in posts about all of the things on my list and then some. We know about so many "evils" that we don't know which ones to truly be upset about. It's a bit of a "boy who cried wolf" situation except that there really ARE wolves everywhere and my generation has decided that we're safer if we sit quietly and hide rather than running toward the danger.
Sometimes I wonder if it is all a "master plan" by the conservative right to befuddle and win the "fight" against the liberals. I imagine a meeting where someone says "oh! I know! Lets do a whole bunch of horrible things at the same time and then they won't know what to do! They'll be spread so thin that we'll win everything!" Then they brainstormed and came up with Transvaginal Ultrasounds and Common Core and the "fast lane" of the internet, and all sorts of ways to claim that they are not killing bees or warming the planet.
No, I don't really think that happened, but I do wonder how we got to where we are. I think that I like to imagine that room full of people simply because it would give me ONE thing to be mad at. If we could rally and take out that imaginary room of idiots then we could take back our nation and our voices and win the fight against all the things that make us mad.
Instead, I suppose I better start prioritizing.
PS: #ImaginaryRoomOfIdiots should probably be a thing. We could fight it.
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
Dishwasher Soap Experiment Part 3 - Concerns
So today I was planning to admit defeat on the dishwasher soap experiment. However, while I was explaining my reasons for calling it off and double checking my data, I realized that my repeatability was not as bad as I initially thought. So, I shall plow ahead with the experiment after all. However, it is definitely taking a long time to complete so it will be a while before the results are ready to be revealed.
For today's post, I'll detail the concerns I've hit along the way.
1) Convenience:
As I mentioned in the previous post we have a tiny countertop dishwasher. It became clear very early in the experiment that I'd have to leave a lot of dishes sitting on the counter while I waited to meet all the criteria set in my DOE. This led to 2 issues. First, I started saying to myself "does it really matter how long the peanut butter has been on that spoon?" and I was started to stray from my rules. Second, dishes pilled up. So many dishes. They were taking over the whole kitchen. It's hard enough to keep up with dishes with our tiny dishwasher under normal circumstances. The added constraints of the experiment can quickly create an unacceptable situation.
2) Counting is hard:
I pull a bowl out of the dishwasher and it has some food stuck on it. If it's one or two small spots then it's easy enough to count. But, if its a larger area that didn't get clean it's quite hard to decide how to count that. Is it one big spot or 12 little spots? There's a lot of "creative counting" going on in this experiment. I'm trying to at least be consistent in how I count these areas but it is adding an additional layer of subjectivity to my results.
3) Lighting in important:
I've found that I need to be sure I'm standing in the same spot and have the same lights on when I rate silverware shininess and % dull/dirty. Even with those additional controls this is also more subjective than I had hoped.
So, with those concerns in mind, I shall cautiously re-start my experiment. I apologize for the additional delay I have caused.
Finally, there are a few other unrelated things that I'd like to share. Since this is a shorter post, it's a good one to add random bits to at the end:
1) An interesting graphic that relates to my post last week.
http://themetapicture.com/print-this-measurement-guide/
3) Loen Collins #53. Because Tap Dance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHc8jd1Dqdc
For today's post, I'll detail the concerns I've hit along the way.
1) Convenience:
As I mentioned in the previous post we have a tiny countertop dishwasher. It became clear very early in the experiment that I'd have to leave a lot of dishes sitting on the counter while I waited to meet all the criteria set in my DOE. This led to 2 issues. First, I started saying to myself "does it really matter how long the peanut butter has been on that spoon?" and I was started to stray from my rules. Second, dishes pilled up. So many dishes. They were taking over the whole kitchen. It's hard enough to keep up with dishes with our tiny dishwasher under normal circumstances. The added constraints of the experiment can quickly create an unacceptable situation.
2) Counting is hard:
I pull a bowl out of the dishwasher and it has some food stuck on it. If it's one or two small spots then it's easy enough to count. But, if its a larger area that didn't get clean it's quite hard to decide how to count that. Is it one big spot or 12 little spots? There's a lot of "creative counting" going on in this experiment. I'm trying to at least be consistent in how I count these areas but it is adding an additional layer of subjectivity to my results.
3) Lighting in important:
I've found that I need to be sure I'm standing in the same spot and have the same lights on when I rate silverware shininess and % dull/dirty. Even with those additional controls this is also more subjective than I had hoped.
So, with those concerns in mind, I shall cautiously re-start my experiment. I apologize for the additional delay I have caused.
Finally, there are a few other unrelated things that I'd like to share. Since this is a shorter post, it's a good one to add random bits to at the end:
1) An interesting graphic that relates to my post last week.
http://themetapicture.com/print-this-measurement-guide/
2) Vi Hart explains net neutrality.
http://vihart.com/net-neutrality-in-the-us-now-what/3) Loen Collins #53. Because Tap Dance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHc8jd1Dqdc
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
How To - Online Recipes
I'm back! Last week was busy and I kept thinking about how I needed to write my blog post for the week and then the next thing I knew it was Wed again already. Eek! But, missing one week doesn't mean it's time to pack up and go home. It just means I'll strive to do better in the future.
Here we go! This week I am giving you a little peak into how my brain works. The other day I was looking for a recipe for a spicy peanut style salad dressing and as I was analyzing my options I thought to myself "Hey, if I document this, it would be good for the blog!" Cooking in general is also a great topic for the blog. It's something many of us do every day without much thought, yet it involves a lot of math and science when you stop and think about it. Ingredients combine to form something entirely different than any of the ingredients. That sure sounds like chemistry to me! And, I learned fractions from baking with my mother and then couldn't understand why many kids were confused when we learned them in school. Cooking also involves a lot of intuition and creativity making it a great for involving your whole brain. Also it's fun and when you're done you get to eat (hopefully) delicious food. yum!
Today's post, however, is more about analyzing and processing recipes than actual cooking itself. You could easily apply this thought process to things other than cooking. It just happens to be really useful for getting the most delicious food possible out of the chaos of the internet. There are a lot of sites out there with a whole lot of recipes and it can be more than a little overwhelming. Which one do you use? How do you know it will be good? Etc. etc. etc. So, I present to you the 5 C's of getting the most out of online recipe sites.
Collect
Cut
Categorize
Compare
Consolidate
1) Collect:
Search for what you want. Try a few different terms or combination of terms. Sometimes I have 2 or 3 ingredients that I want to use and think/feel will work well together so I just type those items into the search and see if anything comes up. In this case I searched "peanut dressing" and "peanut butter dressing" and a few other things. There are a few sites that I know and trust (like food network and recipes.com) and I am more inclined to open those options. Generally, however, in this step I just open a LOT of tabs in my browser.
2) Cut:
Close the tabs for options that don't pass the initial screening. There's a decent amount of experience/intuition in this phase but also some practical evaluations. Do I have all the ingredients in the house and if not am I willing to run to the store before I start? Are the reviews good? How long will it take and/or how complicated are the instructions? Are there any ingredients included that make me go "Whaaaaat?" or is it lacking ingredients that seem critical to the end product? With experience you'll start to be able to recognize when the listed ingredients will give you what you want or not. Also, often less is more in terms of ingredients lists. With all that in mind, close a bunch of the tabs. Keep the ones you like. Sometimes I will keep a tab open for only 1 specific reason or ingredient because I like it and want to make sure it makes it into the final product. However, you need to get this down to only a handful of options. 5 starts to get unmanageable so cut cut cut!
3) Categorize:
This is really just a pre-step for comparing. Sometimes it isn't even necessary. However, often you'll have to lump things into groups like "acids" and "sweeteners" in order to properly compare the options. The peanut butter dressing example below shows how this is useful. I typically do this in my head, but in this example I actually needed to write stuff down to keep track of it.
4) Compare:
Flip between tabs and look at the differences and similarities. Decide which options are best. You also have to pay attention to ratios. First, get a sense of basic ratios of the key ingredients and see if there are trends. Also, look for hidden duplicates of the same recipe. There have been a few times where I was comparing two recipes only to discover that one was just 2X the other. This is sometimes harder to recognize than you might think because recipes will use different measurements. For example, one might say 2 tablespoons and the other calls for 1/4 cup (which is 4 tablespoons.) Eventually you'll start to memorize common conversions for cooking volumes. Until then, the internet can help.
Now that I think about it, it's kinda impressive how much math I do in my head when researching recipes.
5) Consolidate:
In this step, I pick and choose what I like best from each option. Again, there's a decent amount of experience at play in selecting which options are best. There is also a lot of personal preference in terms of what ingredients you like and dislike. I often end up with one "leader" that I make small adjustments to based on the other recipes I've found and my preference. Jot down your new consolidated recipe and get cooking!
Below is a table I made when comparing peanut salad dressings. This is a case where I didn't really have one "leader" recipe. I've also included some comments so you get an idea of what I was thinking when I made decisions. Enjoy!
Here we go! This week I am giving you a little peak into how my brain works. The other day I was looking for a recipe for a spicy peanut style salad dressing and as I was analyzing my options I thought to myself "Hey, if I document this, it would be good for the blog!" Cooking in general is also a great topic for the blog. It's something many of us do every day without much thought, yet it involves a lot of math and science when you stop and think about it. Ingredients combine to form something entirely different than any of the ingredients. That sure sounds like chemistry to me! And, I learned fractions from baking with my mother and then couldn't understand why many kids were confused when we learned them in school. Cooking also involves a lot of intuition and creativity making it a great for involving your whole brain. Also it's fun and when you're done you get to eat (hopefully) delicious food. yum!
Today's post, however, is more about analyzing and processing recipes than actual cooking itself. You could easily apply this thought process to things other than cooking. It just happens to be really useful for getting the most delicious food possible out of the chaos of the internet. There are a lot of sites out there with a whole lot of recipes and it can be more than a little overwhelming. Which one do you use? How do you know it will be good? Etc. etc. etc. So, I present to you the 5 C's of getting the most out of online recipe sites.
Collect
Cut
Categorize
Compare
Consolidate
1) Collect:
Search for what you want. Try a few different terms or combination of terms. Sometimes I have 2 or 3 ingredients that I want to use and think/feel will work well together so I just type those items into the search and see if anything comes up. In this case I searched "peanut dressing" and "peanut butter dressing" and a few other things. There are a few sites that I know and trust (like food network and recipes.com) and I am more inclined to open those options. Generally, however, in this step I just open a LOT of tabs in my browser.
2) Cut:
Close the tabs for options that don't pass the initial screening. There's a decent amount of experience/intuition in this phase but also some practical evaluations. Do I have all the ingredients in the house and if not am I willing to run to the store before I start? Are the reviews good? How long will it take and/or how complicated are the instructions? Are there any ingredients included that make me go "Whaaaaat?" or is it lacking ingredients that seem critical to the end product? With experience you'll start to be able to recognize when the listed ingredients will give you what you want or not. Also, often less is more in terms of ingredients lists. With all that in mind, close a bunch of the tabs. Keep the ones you like. Sometimes I will keep a tab open for only 1 specific reason or ingredient because I like it and want to make sure it makes it into the final product. However, you need to get this down to only a handful of options. 5 starts to get unmanageable so cut cut cut!
3) Categorize:
This is really just a pre-step for comparing. Sometimes it isn't even necessary. However, often you'll have to lump things into groups like "acids" and "sweeteners" in order to properly compare the options. The peanut butter dressing example below shows how this is useful. I typically do this in my head, but in this example I actually needed to write stuff down to keep track of it.
4) Compare:
Flip between tabs and look at the differences and similarities. Decide which options are best. You also have to pay attention to ratios. First, get a sense of basic ratios of the key ingredients and see if there are trends. Also, look for hidden duplicates of the same recipe. There have been a few times where I was comparing two recipes only to discover that one was just 2X the other. This is sometimes harder to recognize than you might think because recipes will use different measurements. For example, one might say 2 tablespoons and the other calls for 1/4 cup (which is 4 tablespoons.) Eventually you'll start to memorize common conversions for cooking volumes. Until then, the internet can help.
Now that I think about it, it's kinda impressive how much math I do in my head when researching recipes.
5) Consolidate:
In this step, I pick and choose what I like best from each option. Again, there's a decent amount of experience at play in selecting which options are best. There is also a lot of personal preference in terms of what ingredients you like and dislike. I often end up with one "leader" that I make small adjustments to based on the other recipes I've found and my preference. Jot down your new consolidated recipe and get cooking!
Below is a table I made when comparing peanut salad dressings. This is a case where I didn't really have one "leader" recipe. I've also included some comments so you get an idea of what I was thinking when I made decisions. Enjoy!
Click to make larger.
It may seem like this is a long and difficult process but it works for me. Based on my explanation, you're probably thinking that I spend days researching a recipe before I make something but that's not true. Usually I'll spend about 10-20 mins looking stuff up before I get started on actually making food. Often there are only a few options that pass all the screenings and then it's easy to compare, pick a "leader" and say "except I'll do X, Y, and Z." Occasionally I'll end up with an actual "winner" and just follow that one recipe. Again, experience helps.
If you don't have a lot of experience with cooking, the only way to get it is to try things. Start with recipes as written in order to learn the basics. Then, start making small tweaks like adding more garlic. Always add more garlic. Eventually it all just starts to make sense and you'll find yourself throwing things together with no recipe at all. At first, many of these concoctions will fail, some of them epically. I went through this phase about a year ago (shortly after we started eating very low carb.) The ITH will corroborate that we had a few meals that were simply inedible. Don't get discouraged by this. Learn from it. Soon enough you'll be throwing things together that are super tasty, but you'll be a little sad because you really have no idea what you just did to create it and will never be able to do it again. It's all part of the fun.
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