Holga Pics!

Here's some shots I took with my Holga of the Missouri River, trains that run on the tracks right along the river, and the fountain on the north mall of the Capitol (facing the river).

Dropoff Hell

I will have to get a pic of this to post.

Today Louis and Bryce and I headed up to Columbia on our usual early Thursday morning run. For the midweek, Wednesday night visit, I sprint up to Columbia from JC to fetch them, we have dinner together, play games or watch a movie, go to bed, get up and motor back to Columbia, then to JC to my office. It's like a lightning round version of the weekend. Anyway, school has been in session for a week and Columbia traffic has already reached a fever pitch. It seems I drop off Louis at Middle School at the same time the office drones and the college kids are all out on the roads doing their thing, too. It is chaos. Every intersection overflows. In an attempt to mitigate traffic problems at the school, parents can only approach the dropoff circle drive from one direction. It happens to be the opposite direction from 99.9% of the city. Today the traffic was clogged in both directions despite the two traffic monitors' best attempts to maintain order. This place is swarming, infested, overcrowded, teeming with vans and SUVs and oblivious parents whose minds seem more on their next destination than their current location. dangerous stuff.

This week, I also learned that my son's lunch hour is 10:30-11:00AM. 10:30. That's not lunchtime. That's morning snack. Predictably, he says he's famished most afternoons by 3:00. This is also the week I learned Louis' classes sometimes take place in one of the many trailers on the property.

I know all schools have the trailer thing. But the thing that peeves me the most is they have sacrificed distributed administration to save costs, most likely, but also perhaps to consolidate power in the central administration. The result is kids are bused from all over the city. My son spends an hour on the bus, sometimes two, one time three hours when the substitute driver couldn't tell their nether regions from a hole in the ground. And the time since they drove all over the city to get to their single destination, there were plenty of opportunities to collide with another vehicle, an opportunity the driver decided to take that day.

Meanwhile, neighborhood schools get the shaft- they are underfunded, understaffed. The buildings are neglected. Parking and play areas rarely get upgrades.

What would be ideal is for a kid to get to go to a neighborhood school throughout their school career. They would get to know their neighbors and build local bonds. The families would meet each other through school and other events. They could walk to school, or at least be driven a short way to their school. More locations, fewer students per classroom means better learning opportunities. Fewer trailers, I can only imagine.

Don't think I'm some kind of segregationist or something. I have no problems with integration and I believe we should all be equals in each other's eyes. But there is no reason why a school in a marginal neighborhood can't be a a good school, a clean school, a well-maintained school, a school to inspire pride of membership. Lift up the school, lift up the neighborhood. Why isn't this a priority in this day and age? Celebrate a neighborhood's uniqueness instead of dooming it to failure because of stereotypes and unwillingness to let go of some control.

But instead of fixing old schools and leaving things local, school boards vote to hand over large sums to land developers (who are frequently on these boards, along with the City Council) and opt for large, expensive, very inconvenient centralized schools. Who loses? the students, mostly, and that is a shame. But the taxpaying citizens lose, too, because centralizing services like this, while it seems it would save money, actually costs a lot more in the long run. It's almost always cheaper to renovate than it is to build new (not always, of course, but usually). And there is a lot of collateral damage that their budget reports can't incorporate, like wasted personal time, higher fuel consumption, risk of life and limb with increases in traffic, and the hit that quality of life takes.

I dunno. I'm no expert, but I can't accept that this is a good thing, that this helps anyone, that it's preferable.

Learning the ABCs of our environment in school

I would love for Missouri to follow in Maryland's footsteps!

Learning the ABCs of our environment in school | delmarvanow.com | The Daily Times : "the Maryland State Board of Education is on the verge of adopting a statewide environmental literacy plan."

Missouri River Fog

It's not uncommon to find the Missouri River shrouded in its own fog bank in the mornings. Not every day, of course, but when dewpoints and temps meet, it's practically guaranteed. The effect can be very dramatic in the winter, in fact. But this was just an ordinary summer morning. We've been lucky to have a few nights of the temps falling into the fifties this week; it's been welcome relief. Feels much more normal than the roller coaster of blistering heat and violent thunderstorms that have dominated the weather this summer.

I grabbed a couple of quick snaps while crossing the Missouri River bridge and in the river bottom that 63 straddles for a while before zig-zagging into the foothills, eventually heading north to Columbia.

Haze on the banks

Peering through the uprights

River behind the trees. 

No Worries...

I wouldn't even try.

I am now a coffee snob

According to Abbey, with the purchase of this hand-cranked burr mill, I have become a coffee snob. "Not so," I huffed. "The espresso machine is the coffee snob. It's very finicky about the grind consistency." and I realized those were surely the words of a coffee snob. So, I'm embracing it. I also prefer coffee that was ground the day, or day before, I buy it. In Jefferson City, that can mean only one place: Dunn Brothers.

Although I caved and bought a bag of Kaldi's French Roast beans at the supermarket today because I was already there. I'm glad I did.  Although I am very fond of Dunn Bros.' Tanzanian Peaberry, this Kaldi's French Roast has surprisingly complex flavor for a dark roast. Not a hint of burned taste, just sweet and buttery, with hints of blackberry. It's one of the few coffees I've tried that really live up to the "chocolate" description that gets heaped onto so many beans. It blows anything I've gotten from Dunn Bros. out of the water.

I'm not sure if it's smugness I'm feeling, but the use of this mill does provide satisfaction. It takes about five minutes of serious cranking to get enough finely ground coffee for a double espresso, but the effort is very much worth it. Not only is the flavor startlingly fresh, but I appreciate it all the more having applied a little elbow grease to make it. And there is something meditative about the milling of each bean exactly as long as needed for a good cup. I'm not sure if I will feel so at one with the universe on a morning when I'm more desperate for instant gratification, but  I think the inconvenience will be good for me. Help me build some character.

Godawful Summer

Summer in Missouri is punishing enough. A visitor once told me the thing that struck them about Missouri is it had no discrimination regarding bad weather; it's got it all. A typical Missouri summer is case in point, and the Summer of 2010 seems bound and determined to remain in our memories as one of the most uncomfortable. It's been unusually hot, the temps reaching in the 100s twice, both times earlier than normal; with them has come high humidity to make it feel even hotter. Midwestern summer afternoons can be characterized by pop-up thunderstorms due to the heat, but this summer the storms have been nonstop, more extreme than usual, releasing so much rain the tributaries are perpetually overflowing, the mighty Missouri running uncomfortably close to flood stage for a couple of months now. Storms have made for some interest sky watching as well. These were taken with a bad camera, but I think you can still tell the sky has looked pretty ominous, and downright bizarre, this July and August.

Dome Cloud

weirdly shaped layers

lit from within

heading into it

run away!

Spank me, Jesus

A long week- May 7-14, 2010

This week seems to be composed of a never-ending series of hoops helpfully provided through which the family has to jump. Nothing too serious- but it just seemed to keep on coming.

Last Friday: Olivia's school had a sort of street carnival in the parking lot, called West Fest. It was a tad underwhelming, but it's also having to compete with Ridgeway's wild and wooly Fun day, to which it pales in comparison. But it was fun to hang out with Olivia's teacher for a bit, watch her play with some of her school chums, enjoy some face painting and overly salty popcorn while swirls of kids ran around us like crazed dingoes. Kids never need much to entertain them, really.

Sunday was Mothers' Day. Abbey's mom has been heavily involved in a never-ending estate sale, and some of the bounty ended up as a gift to my mom; a lovely necklace and a very flattering lapis ring. Abbey was the proud recipient of a yoga mat, which you can see she's put into action already, showing Olivia some of the moves from her quite enjoyable yoga class.

The weather. God, the weather. This has been one of the squirelliest Springs ever. Granted, there are more storms during this time period (especially in the Midwest like we are), but this season seems to be taking cake. For once, the arctic air seems to be the equal of the moist Pacific and Gulf air; they hav a shootout that starts in Oklahoma and blasts its way nearly to Canada. Judging from weather maps, Iowa is having as much fun this season as we are. More often than not, days are rainy, rumbly, dark and unusually cold. This week was no exception, in fact I think it's been the most active week all season. We've made sure our emergency gear is working, in case we need to dash off to the basement in the middle of the night!

On Monday we fought the rain to get Louis to Gentry at 7:25 in order to catch an awards ceremony; Louis won an award for participation in the "technology" area. A chip off the old block, he is. Later, on Monday, I was convinced my pancreas was imploding. Only a few days later, Abbey manifest the same weird symptoms. I guess it's just a bug left over from cold and flu season. Either way I spent Monday morning donating my pee and blood to science, unaware this was a virus as it felt like no virus I've ever had. Fun times. Abbey and I have spent half the week complaining about things probably aching more than they would have ten or twenty years ago. Getting older is such a blast!

next time: garden update.

Who Funds Contrariness on Climate Change?: Scientific American

Who Funds Contrariness on Climate Change?: Scientific American: "If someone really believes in 'free market' solutions, and libertarianism, I mean really believes in a free market to solve most or all problems, then why be a denialist at all? It is inconvenient? If you really believe in a free market solution let it do the solving; stop trying to artificially help it out. Scientific research supports the climate change theory so that should be an opportunity in a free market not the condemnation of it."

brilliant statement, thank you so much.

Local Places: Cafe via Roma

Pros:

Lots of Capitol gossip. Soups are good. Best salads in town, my fave being the Vesuvio. Also, the Breakfast Panini is delish. Iced tea is always fresh. Great selection of syrups.

Cons:

You might get the grumpy/spaced out barista, who makes the worst latte in Jefferson City, next to Chez Monet who have demonstrated they do not understand the concept. Otherwise service is delightful.

Local Places: Arris Pizza

There is a grand tradition in the mid-Missouri area of Greek family pizzarias. The best of the crop was the first in the area, Arris'. The crust is pretty consistent among the various Greek eateries: thin, crispy at the edges and chewy in the middle. Arris' seems a bit crisper than most, which suits me fine. Toppings cover the usual gamut, and the more unusual ones,  spicy Greek sausage and gyro meat, are appropriately Greek and both delicious. There are a number of combinations named after familiar ancient Greeks; my personal favorite is the Hippocrates, which features every single vegetable on the menu. I like to order it light on the cheese. It doesn't make it health food, but it alleviates my guilty conscience. And this is one guilt-inducing pleasure I don't plan on sacrificing.

Mediterranean Lunch

Look at the great lunch Abbey packed me: a spinach salad with browned hallumi and baba ghanouj! Yum.

If only there were two of me

I've been taking a hiatus from the Cooler to establish a health-oriented blog (Mike's Health Magazine, you'll find it in the sidebar) with my wife. Currently we're in the beginning throes of taking a stab at South Beach. It seems contrary to what I stand for, typically; every fiber of my being is objecting. I don't respond well to restrictions placed upon my diet, and I think it's usually incumbent upon mature diners everywhere to explore the world around them, not shut it out. But the winter weight is especially heavy this time around, and, being in my mid-forties, a little extra weight is making me feel a lot more tired, sore, and grumpy that it might have ten or twenty years ago. Abbey and I have friends who have indeed lost their extra baggage on this plan, so we are going for it.

And just when Jefferson City finally has a decent (nay, GREAT) full-service bakery! I can't eat any of it. It makes the baby Jesus cry.

If you aren't me or Abbey, you probably don't know me (yet!), but I can tell you this: I do not suffer boring food gladly. Yes, I do have a few comfort food holdovers from childhood that I feel the need to indulge in from time to time (is there anything better than thickly sliced, genuine bologna and sharp cheddar with Miracle Whip on homemade bread with Pepsi from a glass bottle? Not much!), but overall I think I have pretty eclectic tastes, and plenty of opinions to share. I don't intend to hang on a thread eating egg beaters and salad with skinless chicken breast. Check out the spice-heavy ragout we had just tonight. Some of this will spill over from the health blog to the Cooler, inevitably. Stay tuned.

Paleo Girl

I've been reading up on the Paleo diet, mainly through the interesting blogs Free the Animal and Mark's Daily Apple. I'm especially interesting in light of our friend Rob revealing he'd lost 60 lbs following the South Beach diet, which has a lot (mainly no refined carbs) in common with the Paleo diet.

Tonight, it occurred to me maybe my diet guru could come from a closer, unexpected source.

Our six-year old girl, Olivia, mainly subsides on chicken nuggets. We're trying to get her off of the kid chow and into a more eclectic mode, figuring even if the alternatives aren't ultra-healthy, getting her used to variety is more important than any specific nutritional goals right now. So tonight, the parents had spaghetti carbonara with bacon and a lovely green salad. Olivia saw the carbonara and requested its distant cousin, ramen, for her dinner. We made it but it turns out of the two we have in stock, "red" ramen (beef) and "orange" ramen (chicken), she indulges in the orange variety exclusively. As we had only red ramen and are clueless parents, the ramen was red, and she rejected it.

Along with the ramen were several sliced strawberries. Also on the table were extra slices of bacon left over from creating the carbonara. Now, bacon is a provision for which olivia has great fondness. In no time Olivia ate all of the strawberries and all of the bacon, four pieces in total. The perfect Paleo dinner. Mark Sisson would be proud. And her obstinance gives me something to think about, too- what are we doing eating so many carbs at this dinner when Abbey are I were so knocked out about Rob's accomplishment, vowing to do something similar in the new year to shed our extra inches?

Food for thought...

But the carbonara, by the way... was awesome.