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We're back for the night. We spent Christmas day with my family down at my sister and brother-in-law's place. Much loot, food and fun was shared by all. I posted a few pictures up in Teagan's gallery. If you'd like the link and password, please drop me a note, I'd be happy to send them to you.
Tomorrow we're off to NE OH to stay with Amy's folks, and won't be back until the new year. We may not post before then, so if not, hope you all have fun and stay safe.
... Kona and Sid think the carrier is pretty cool. It's not uncommon to find one or the other in the carrier when it's not otherwise occupied.
More pictures of Teagan posted in her gallery. If you'd like to see the gallery, please drop me a note and I'll send you the link and password.
I'm gettin' my daughter something black to wear!
Update: Evidently my post is confusing. If you could see the prodigious panoply of pink paraphernalia that our perfect, pulchritudinous pumpkin has procured, it might make more sense.
So, here's an update for all of you out there in interwebland regarding the most beautiful daughter Amy and I have had the pleasure to have had so far. Well, at least the most beautiful human one we have, the cats are pretty darned cute in their own right. But first, a little background. Some of you will know some of this, a few will know pretty much all of this, but for most, this will all be brand, spanking new...
Teagan was born with a cleft in her soft palate. That makes breast feeding nigh impossible, and makes bottle feeding somewhat problematic, because she can't create enough negative suction to get the milk out of the bottle. Whilst in the hospital, the staff gave us a few "cleft lip/palate" bottles to try, but Teagan couldn't get anything out of them, so we returned to the standard bottles. When feeding her there, we were getting somewhere between 10-20 ml (~1/3 to 2/3) of fluid into her 6-7 times per day. Noone seemed too overly concerned, they just figured we'd all figure out the feeding thing and she'd go on her way gaining weight.
When we got home, we switched from the regular bottle/nipple we got from the hospital to an Avent bottle with a somewhat softer nipple. It didn't seem to help. Feedings took anywhere from 1 to 2 hours, with 1.5 being the norm. She'd normally take 20 ml (~2/3 oz) in that amount of time, sometimes as much as 30 ml (~1 oz). Our ritual was 1) try to wake the baby, 2) try to feed the mostly sleeping baby for 60-90 minutes, 3) change the baby, thereby finally waking the baby, 4) spend the next 60-90 minutes trying to get her to sleep, 5) wake her an hour later for her next feeding. It was exhausting and frustrating on all concerned.
End of background.
This past Monday, we had a nurse visit to do an evaluation on Teagan. She was absolutely alarmed how little she was eating, and how long it was taking. She told us she should be eating roughly 2 oz each feeding (~60 ml), 8 times per day, and each feeding should take between 20-30 minutes. The nurse put Teagan on the scale and she had lost about a half pound in the 4 days since her previous doctor visit. I think that was the point at which both Amy and I nearly lost it. Fortunately, the nurse calmed us down and made two suggestions. First, switch to the fastest flow nipple we could find (for the men in the audience, bottle nipples come in different flow rates for different ages of kids, slower flow are usually for newborns, while faster flow are usually for 6+ month), and second cram the nipple as far back in her mouth as we could get it. The nurse determined that, not only was she having problems because of the cleft, but she was also having problem because her tongue wasn't doing whatever it should have been doing correctly. Armed with this knowledge, we were able to feed her 60-80 ml (2 to 2-2/3 oz) per feeding over the next day. It took Amy longer than it took me, as she was somewhat more squeamish than I was about cramming the bottle down her throat.
That got us to yesterday, when we were finally able to get into the Craniofacial Clinic at Columbus Childrens' hospital. We had been referred there by our pediatrician to have Teagan's cleft soft palate evaluated. The first person we saw there was a nurse practitioner who also gave Teagan the once-over from head to toe. We explained to her the problems we had been having, and how the nurse had helped us the previous day with her feeding. She again suggested the cleft lip/palate bottle, and we told her that we had tried one with no success. Then she asked us if we'd been putting pressure on the bottle while feeding her, and we told her that noone had suggested that, so no, we hadn't. She ran and got a box of bottles and a couple of special orthodontic nipples, poured some milk into one of the bottles and showed us how they work. We both nearly cried with relief, because we were able to feed her the full 60-80 ml of milk in about 20 minutes without smashing the bottle into her face. She gave us the bottles and a supply of nipples and told us to call her for more when we run out. Feedings are no longer traumatic, and she's gained back in the last two days most of the weight she'd lost in the last week. The other good thing about the new bottles is that she's still encouraged to suck, which is important for the development of facial muscles she'll need once she gets around to thinking about putting words together to sass her dear old dad. We're quite relieved, as you can imagine.
The upshot of all this increased input is, quite naturally, increased output. We've had a couple of complete blow-outs, and at least three times in the last two days we've been in the middle of changing a soggy or poopy diaper when she lets loose with another volley. But, considering that peeing and pooping are signs that she's getting plenty of food and is no longer dehydrated, we really don't care.
So there you have it. In a nutshell, she eats, she poops, everyone is happy. In 10-11 months, Teagan will probably end up having surgery to repair the cleft in her soft palate, but that, in the inimitable words of Alton Brown, is another show.
One of the things I've noticed about parenthood is the total subjectivity of time. For example, it's currently 10:12 PM (as I'm typing this), but I can't figure out where the time all went so quickly. On the other hand, Teagan isn't quite 2 weeks old, but it seems like she's been around for a couple of months already. Weird...
The title says it all. If you're interested, drop me a note at either tom (at) helsel (dot) com or baldmantom (at) yahoo (dot) com OR baldmantom (at) gmail (dot) com. I'll send you the link and the password to get in. Again, we're very, very happy to share pictures of our beautiful daughter, we're just trying to make it more difficult for the sickos to get her pictures.
Both Amy and I have major anxiety when Teagan sleeps. We're completely paranoid that she will have stopped breathing. So, we'll poke her, or pull on her swaddle, or rub her head until she grunts or moves, or we'll hunker down over the bassinet waiting to hear a breath (or a snore, she takes after her dad, at least according to Amy). This evening I almost lost it because I couldn't hear her, just a second before she had a start and scared the crap out of me. How on earth did those of you with previous experience with children get used to this?
I've made my wife into a geek. We took Teagan to the nursery this afternoon so that Amy could check her email. I've even got proof!In other news, we're going to be setting up a password-protected photo gallery for Teagan sometime in the near future. We've read about creepy people stealing pictures of infants or children, and either making crude and disgusting comments about them, or altering them in disgusting ways. So, to play it safe we're going the route of using a password-protected site. It will NOT be one that requires you to have your own account, you'll just need to know the password. We'll be happy to share the password with you once we've got it set up. Just send me an email to any of my regular accounts, and I'll be happy to send you the password once everything is in working order.
We're very happy to announce the birth of our daughter, Teagan Rae. She was born Wednesday, November 28, 2007 at 3:00AM. Teagan weighed in at 7 lbs 3 oz, and measured 19.5 inches. There was some drama around her birth, after 41 weeks and 3 days and a normal start to labor, she ended up being delivered Caesarean. Both Teagan and Amy are doing well. Thanks for all your prayers and well wishes!
Also, there should be a picture somewhere on the hospital's website sometime in the next few days:
So, Amy and I were sitting on The Couch today, minding our own business, waiting for Bambino to decide whether s/he wants to make an appearance on his/her own or wait for the eviction, when our doorbell stirred us from our slumb... errr.... deep thoughts. On the way to the door, I noticed that, parked in front of the house, was a delivery truck. Surprised, because neither of us was expecting any sort of delivery, I opened the door and accepted the package, which turned out to be from our friends, Bill and Kay. Inside was a card, a pretty picture frame, and this:
This has to be one of the cutest, cleverest ideas I've seen using diapers. Thanks, Bill and Kay, you made our day today :)
Did I say I was done with my former employer? You'll never guess what I got in the mail today. My employment termination packet, complete with information regarding COBRA, life insurance and 401(K) roll-over information. A full 19 months after I left.
I'm SO glad I got out of there...
At long last, we've finished (more or less) Bambino's room. And since you stopped by, you can get a tour, narrated by yours truly. Warning, the file is pretty big. Lemme know if you have problems viewing the video, we're new at this whole video thingy...
We had our third class tonight, and it was, from my POV, at least, the best one so far. Of course, that's not saying a whole lot, since it was really the only one that bore any relevance to fathers. The first one was "Labor and Delivery," and while I plan to be there, there's not a lot I can do other than cheer from the sidelines and try to keep Amy from tearing the doctor's head off. Maybe I'll learn about that during the second session (it runs four weeks). The second class was "Breast Feeding Basics," and I gotta tell ya, other than learning that I should be there to offer moral support (which I already figured I should do) there wasn't a lot for me. I mean, it's not like I have the right equipment to share the workload or anything....
Anyhow, tonight was the first of two classes called "Heading Home: The First Three Months," which talks about important things like dressing the baby, swaddling the baby, changing diapers, the color and consistency of poop... all the fun stuff. This is the stuff the man really needs to know in order to be useful around the house and not piss off the spouse with the constant vapid stare when the baby needs something. Our instructor is a very kind, good humored woman who looks to be about grandmothering age. She seems quite knowledgeable, but also somewhat uncomfortable speaking in public. My favorite quote of the night came when talking about sponge bathing an infant: "Slippery babies can be wet." 'K, thanks ma'am, I'll keep that in mind :P
I guess it's real now. As if having pictures of the kid growing in Amy's belly wasn't enough for me, tonight was our first "baby class." My, how time flies....
The shelves used in the modern mega-baby-mart are solidly build, and my head is not a good demolition tool.
And that's all I have to say on the matter...
My friend, Darrin introduced me to this game today, and I had to play it until I solved all the levels. Thanks, Darrin, I really owe you one. Or maybe you're getting me back since I introduced you to my most recent game... :)
I've just got back from a long weekend spent with my friend, Rattus, and his friend, Aaron at the Abbey of Gethsemani in rural Kentucky. I'm still digesting everything, but suffice to say that it was wonderful. Among the many things I've learned are the following little nuggets (in no particular order):
More later, once I've digested things a bit more.
I just wanted to be the proud mama and show off pictures! The Ultrasound Technician and the Doctor said everything looks fine.
Amy and I went caching today, and it was super-duper, extra special fun. One of our long-term goals is to find a cache in each of Ohio's 88 counties, and today we picked up six new counties. That in and of itself is fun, but as we've said before, caching is just such a fun adventure. You just never know what you're going to find. Today, we drove through parts of Ohio that we've never seen before. There's some absolutely beautiful country side out there just waiting to be explored. Plus, there's just plain odd stuff out there. See that picture over there at the left? That's a huge scoop once used for mining coal. And that little blue spec with the light glinting off the top? That's me standing in it. Way, way cool!
Why, you might ask? Because 5 years ago, Amy and I went on our first date, and that's just what we did then. Thanks for 5 wonderful years, Sweetie :)
Tonight, Amy took me out to dinner for my birthday. Yeah, yeah, so my birthday was a few months ago, who's keeping track? Anyway, she took me to a place called The Melting Pot at nearby Easton. I've been wanting to go there since she went there last year with her girlfriends, but she told me she'd only take me for a "special occasion." Evidently, this qualified.
Well, after looking at the menu, I know why she wanted to wait. Suffice to say it was somewhat pricey. But lemme tell you, it was great! Not great enough to entice me to pay that kind of price very often, but every once in a while (maybe every decade or century or so) it'd a lot of fun. We had more food than we could eat, and it was very, very tasty. Good thing I'm walking 9 miles per day during the week, I'll need all that exercise!
Anyhow, I'm very grateful to my lovely wife for dinner. It was more than worth not having a "week of birthday" like she gets... :)
Amy was out with the girls again tonight, which as you, the loyal reader know, means it's Chili Time! So, I grabbed the recipe from my last experiment tried again. For added pressure, I invited my friend, Darrin over to sample my wares. How did I fare?
Bald Man Tom's Skillet Chili, Take Four
The Players
| The Pan | 12" cast iron skillet, well seasoned |
| The Ingredients | 12 oz. chuck roast, cut into small cubes salt 3 oz onion, finely diced 2 clove garlic, minced 3 oz pickled jalapenos, minced ~1-1/2 oz chipotles in adobo sauce, minced ~1 tbsp adobo sauce (from the can of chipotles in adobo) 2 tbsp chili powder 2 tbsp cumin (ground) 1 tbsp coriander seed (ground) 1 tsp turmeric (ground) 2-1/2 c beef broth, plus 3 tbsp 3 tbsp masa harina Vegetable oil |
The Method
Season the meat with a few pinches of salt about 5 minutes before cooking begins. Heat the skillet over high heat. Coat the skillet thinly with oil, then sear the meat quickly on all sides, maybe 1-2 minutes max. Remove the meat from the pan and set aside. Lower the heat to medium, sautee the onion and garlic until softened a little, about 1 to 1-1/2 minutes. Add the minced jalapenos and minced chipotles, stir and let sautee another 1 to 1-1/2 minutes. Add the meat back to the pan with 2-1/2 c of the broth, spices and adobo sauce, mix and simmer 5 minutes. Make a slurry with the masa harina and the remaining 3 tbsp of the beef broth, then add to the pan and give it a good stir. Place in a 350 degree oven for 75 minutes.
Makes 2 servings.
Notes
Much better portioning when I was cutting up the beef tonight, I actually ended up with 12 oz beef, huzzah! As per my notes from last time, I dropped the amount of adobo sauce and increased the amount of cumin, which is now abundant. I also served slightly sweetened cornbread with the chili tonight, as Darrin prefers his cornbread sweet as opposed to savory.
The Verdict
<slobber> That was my best effort to date. Boosting the cumin and dropping the adobo ended up being the perfect switch in this batch of chili. The heat was present but not overwhelming, and the smokiness was excellent. I think that I didn't sear the beef quite long enough before stewing, it wasn't quite as tender this time, but it was still darned tasty. It'll be hard to top this particular bowl of red.
Lessons Learned
Lessee:
Yeah, my commute just went from about 10 minutes, one way, to somewhat over an hour, one way. Why, you might ask? Well, have a look at my new ride, pictured to the left.
Yep, that's right. I'm walking to work now. I'm doing it for a few reasons. First, it just isn't that far. The walking commute is somewhere in the 3.5 to 4 mile range, so it's not insurmountably far. Second, I really, really need the exercise. Third, well, it's cheaper than an electric car and fuel is well up over $3 per gallon.
We'll see how long this lasts, I'm hoping to keep it up until the weather turns nasty...
UPDATE: I brought along our Garmin eTrex Legend this morning, as it has a trip odometer, and the route I take comes out at 4.5 miles!
No, it's a little early for that arrival. But it's not too early for this one! Actually, it's two weeks earlier than we were expecting, so we were very surprised and very happy. Now when people come over, this will be a very common sight...
Amy was out with the girls again tonight, you know what that means.... CHILI! So, I grabbed the recipe from my last experiment and sought to create a still better bowl of red. How did I fare? Read on, loyal reader, read on...
Bald Man Tom's Skillet Chili, Take Three
The Players
| The Pan | 12" cast iron skillet, well seasoned |
| The Ingredients | 8 oz. chuck roast, cut into small cubes salt 3 oz onion, finely diced 2 clove garlic, minced 3 oz pickled jalapenos, minced ~1-1/2 oz chipotles in adobo sauce, minced ~2 tbsp adobo sauce (from the can of chipotles in adobo) 2 tbsp chili powder 1 tbsp cumin (ground) 1 tbsp coriander seed (ground) 1 tsp turmeric (ground) 2-1/2 c beef broth, plus 3 tbsp 3 tbsp masa harina Vegetable oil |
The Method
Season the meat with a few pinches of salt about 5 minutes before cooking begins. Heat the skillet over high heat. Coat the skillet thinly with oil, then sear the meat quickly on all sides, maybe 1-2 minutes max. Remove the meat from the pan and set aside. Lower the heat to medium, sautee the onion and garlic until softened a little, about 1 to 1-1/2 minutes. Add the minced jalapenos and minced chipotles, stir and let sautee another 1 to 1-1/2 minutes. Add the meat back to the pan with 2-1/2 c of the broth, spices and adobo sauce, mix and simmer 5 minutes. Make a slurry with the masa harina and the remaining 3 tbsp of the beef broth, then add to the pan and give it a good stir. Place in a 350 degree oven for 75 minutes.
Makes 2 servings.
Notes
Bummer. I started with a 12 oz cut of chuck roast, but by time I got done trimming it, it was down to 8 oz. Double bummer. I was running low on cumin, so I couldn't bump that up. However, I still had plenty of adobo sauce, so I bumped that up for extra smokiness and heat. I threw in ground coriander seed and ground turmeric from my old recipe because I like what they add (I know they're not authentic, deal with it). I increased the amount of onion and garlic, because I could, and I backed off on the cooking time in an attempt to make it slightly less thick.
Cornbread again (is there any better chili go-with than good cornbread?) but I added the chili powder back in because Amy stated for the record that she wouldn't want any.
The Verdict
Good, but not as good as last time. It was considerably hotter than last time, but was lacking the smokiness of the last batch. Not nearly enough beef, though that's my own darned fault. The thickness was pretty much right on, so dropping the cooking time was a good thing. I think if I were to get a lidded pot, something like a cast iron dutch oven, I could safely bump the cooking time back up. As it is, so much liquid escapes from the pan that the shorter cooking time is needed.
Lessons Learned
Lessee:
If I haven't said so before, let me say it now: I love baseball.
On last night's news, the sports reporter mentioned that one of my all-time favorite baseball players, Jim Thome, would be playing a few rehab games in town with the visting Charlotte Knights against the Clippers, so Amy and I decided to catch tonight's game. He didn't hit any of his trademark rain-maker homers, but it's always fun watching him at the plate.
But tonight was more than just a chance to watch a favorite player, it was a chance to just enjoy Baseball. I haven't yet developed an attachment to the Clippers, though now that they're no longer affiliated with the Pinstriped Pigheads, I'm no longer averse to rooting for them. And I have no particular like or dislike for the Knights. So tonight was just Baseball for the sake of Baseball, and that's a beautiful thing. I know that some people out there find it boring, confusing, too slow, whatever. I wish I could let you experience Baseball through my senses and background. For me, there's just something right about sitting in the crowd, watching a good pitcher and a good hitter in a battle of wits and talent, watching a shortstop and second baseman execute acrobatic maneuvers to turn a double play, watching a center fielder run down a hard liner and save the inning with a sliding catch, watching the power hitter hit a shot that won't land until next Tuesday. It's all well and good when I watch my favorite teams play, but sometimes it's even more fulfilling when I'm not emotionally invested in either team, because I can enjoy the game completely, revelling in great plays and bruising offense without regard to who is winning or losing. It's times like tonight when I remember just what I love about Baseball.
Here's something that might be interesting for runners or walkers who want to plot out their routes.
Now, why would Amy and Tom be smiling? Click our picture above to find out...
If you haven't tried Geocaching, we'd suggest you find someone you know that has a GPS receiver and try it out. For us, besides the exercise of walking all over creation, a large part of the joy of the game is seeing places, often times very near our home, that we'd never have seen without it. Take the topiary at Old Deaf School Park in downtown Columbus. In the late 80's and early 90's, the topiary was constructed to resemble George Seurat's A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. The surrounding park is beautiful, with lots of tables and benches for lunching and relaxing. You can walk among the topiary (as evidenced by the picture), and even feed the fish in the pond (featuring goldfish the size of my parents' dog, Max). And we'd probably never have visited this cool place without Geocaching.
I had the opportunity to have a meal without Amy again tonight, so I dragged out the recipe for chili that I worked up a few months ago. I was armed with an evening's experience and a few new ingredients, how did I fare? Read on, loyal reader, read on...
Bald Man Tom's Skillet Chili, Take Two
The Players
| The Pan | 12" cast iron skillet, well seasoned |
| The Ingredients | ~12 oz. chuck roast, cut into small cubes salt 2 oz onion, finely diced 1 clove garlic, minced 3 oz pickled jalapenos, minced ~1-1/2 oz chipotles in adobo sauce, minced ~1 tbsp adobo sauce (from the can of chipotles in adobo) 2 tbsp chili powder 1 tbsp cumin 2-1/2 c beef broth, plus 3 tbsp 3 tbsp masa harina Vegetable oil |
The Method
Season the meat with a few pinches of salt about 5 minutes before cooking begins. Heat the skillet over high heat. Coat the skillet thinly with oil, then sear the meat quickly on all sides, maybe 1-2 minutes max. Remove the meat from the pan and set aside. Lower the heat to medium, sautee the onion and garlic until softened a little, about 1 to 1-1/2 minutes. Add the minced jalapenos and minced chipotles, stir and let sautee another 1 to 1-1/2 minutes. Add the meat back to the pan with 2-1/2 c of the broth, chili powder, cumin and adobo sauce, mix and simmer 5 minutes. Make a slurry with the masa harina and the remaining 3 tbsp of the beef broth, then add to the pan and give it a good stir. Place in a 350 degree oven for 90 minutes.
Makes 2 servings.
Notes
You'll note that I ditched the can of diced chiles for some pickled jalapenos. I was pretty disappointed with the chiles' performance last go around. I also found some chipotles in adobo, as suggested by Darrin and my all-time favorite TV cook, Alton Brown, and used the adobo sauce from the can in place of the adobo paste from last time. I also added cumin because... well... I like it, golldurnit! I figured that with the addition of the chipotles, swapping the jalapenos for the chiles, and the inclusion of cumin, I didn't need the extra tablespoon of chili powder that I thought I'd add. Finally, I noted last time that I was debating whether the chili was too thick, and whether or not I should reduce the amount of masa harina slurry. I finally decided it was too thick, but opted for adding an extra half cup of beef broth, rather than reducing the amount of slurry. And the extra liquid necessitated the 12" pan.
And as a side note, I made some cornbread again, since it was so tasty last time. I left out the chili powder because I wanted Amy to try some, but added a little extra sugar because... well... I like it a little sweeter when it's not savory.
The Verdict
Mmmmmmmmmmmm......... The first batch was pretty good, but this was heads and tails better. It had a good taste, and was hot-but-not-too-hot. The heat built a little with every mouthful, which is just the way I like it. It was a little bit less thick than last time, at this point I might adjust the length of cooking, or perhaps lid the pan up during the baking, rather than add more liquid. All in all, better than the last batch, but still room for improvement.
Lessons Learned
Lessee:
Last week, I posted a letter I had sent to the Central Ohio American Red Cross, in which I complained about my frustrations with my recent experiences. On Monday, I received a response, and since I posted the original letter here, I felt it only fair to post the response I received:
Mr.Helsel:
I received your feedback regarding your latest donation experience (as well as previous ones) and I want to apologize that we did not meet your needs for a timely processing. I have looked at your donation history and have identified 1 item that I can address.
On 4/4/07, when you presented to donate, you truly were ineligible by 1 day... this is because in the previous year, you had 6 donations due to donating Double Red Cells (DRC) twice. The computer did not schedule your appointment as it recognized that you would be early; however, we failed to identify that you needed to be notified and scheduled at a later day-for that, I am very sorry. Your time is precious and you ended up not being able to donate as well as being extremely frustrated by the process. Your type "O" donations have been a critical support in the past for our patients in the Central Ohio region. Our type "O" donors make a huge difference to our patient population (especially our pediatric ones, where typically 70% or more of the blood transfused is type "O").
Your frustration at the amount of time it takes to process you is well earned... our goal is to get all donors through the process in about an hour. I have reviewed the staffing from the last 2 mobiles and it appears that we have a wide cross section of staff that have been assigned there. While we advocate for excellent customer service at all times, we are also aware that we sometimes fall short of the mark.
I promise that I will work with the staff to improve our processing as well as our overall customer service for our donors. If there is anything additional that you would like to share with me, feel free-I look at this as an opportunity to improve on our customer service expectations.
Again, thank you for your past donations-you have made a difference in the lives of Central Ohio patients and their families-what a wonderful thing to be able to do. As a donor deferred for living overseas, I envy you that opportunity to make such an impact. I do hope you will give us another chance to prove we can meet your expectations.
Again, feel free to contact me
I have to say, I'm gratified by the response I have received. While I disagree with their records regarding my DRC donations (I only did it once, had a very bad experience, and went back to regular donations), I appreciate the respondents willingness to acknowledge the perceived shortcomings in their system. One thing that would have eased my frustrations off that bat would have been easy to find information about frequency of donations via DRC.
I should also note that I've cooled down quite a bit from last week. Although I'm not ready to say I'll go back, I might be tempted to reconsider, especially in light of the letter. That, and I really do feel that giving blood is an important gift, if it's one you're able to give. I'm going to contact our local hospital systems first, to see if they accept donations directly, but if push comes to shove and there is another urgent call for donors, I'll have to listen to my heart and do what it tells me to do...
UPDATE 4/11 - I just received a phone call from the person at the Central Ohio American Red Cross who sent me this e-mail. We talked a bit about my frustrations, and about the inaccuracies on the official web site. She listened patiently to my concerns, and told me that she would do what she could to correct the problems. All in all, I've been very appreciative of the time she's devoted to communicating with me.
As promised,I've finally gotten around to finding the notes I took while at a wine festival a few weekends ago. Among the wines that I tried that I liked (either for me or Amy, and in no particular order):
Can't forget the Meeker! The Handprint Merlot is my absolute favorite, and the FroZin can't be beat for a desert wine (IMHO).
Now, I know that Redbeard, Piglet and Xabu were probably expecting to see Pizza Vino on my list, but for some reason, I wasn't all that impressed. But maybe that's because I wasn't eating pizza while drinking it.
To the person in the tan Suburban two cars in front of me on the way home from work:
Now, I'm not one to tell people not to talk on their cell phones while driving. While I do try to avoid doing so myself, I've been known to do have the rare conversation while driving on occasion when necessary. But, please, if you can't pay attention to both your phone conversation and the road at the same time, don't do both at once! I watched you sit through most of a green arrow, then bolt through the light after it had already turned red, dodging the cross traffic that ensued. While I'm sure you're a perfectly safe driver when not otherwise preoccupied, you're a menace when you're on your phone!
Thank you.
To whom it may concern:
I will no longer donate blood to the Central Ohio American Red Cross. This is a difficult thing for me to say, but this decision has not come lightly. I have several reasons, all of which I will explain below.
First, you do not value my time. When I schedule an appointment, I expect that you will be ready for me at, or near, that time. The last time I gave blood, on 2/2/07, my information was not even taken until 45 minutes after my scheduled appointment. It was another 35 minutes until I was actually on a cot. I stuck around because I feel that giving blood is important, and I didn't have anything else on my schedule for that evening. However, waiting that long for an appointment is inexcusable.
Second, you are disorganized. My chosen donation center, the Westerville Community Center, is routinely omitted from the listings on the www.givelife.org website, even when I receive reminders that a blood mobile will be held there on a particular date, and told to register online. Additionally, it is a common occurrence that my wife and I will schedule our appointments early, and then receive phone calls asking us weeks later asking us to schedule an appointment. Also, the registration process routinely takes 15-20 minutes, which is an excessive amount of time, particularly since most of the data entry happens via computer and scanning bar codes.
Third, you canceled an appointment without giving me any warning, and refused to accept my donation, even though I had waited the required 56 days. According to the redcross.org website, "To give blood for transfusion to another person, you must ... not have donated blood in the last 8 weeks (56 days)." My last donation was 2/2/07, but when I arrived today (4/4/07) for the appointment I scheduled during that visit, my appointment was not listed, and when I registered, I was told I had to wait an additional day to give blood, even though it has been 61 days since my last donation. I was never notified that my appointment was canceled, and even when I explained that it had been over 56 days since my last donation, I was not allowed to donate.
I'm sorry that my frustrations have led me to refuse to donate further, particularly since there are constant reminders about blood shortages in the area. However, it is evident to me that while the blood you receive from donors is important to you, the donors themselves are not. The examples I have cited above are representative of my experience with the Central Ohio American Red Cross over the course of the past few years, and simply represent the straw that has broken this camel's back. My patience has run out with you.
Regards,
Thomas Helsel
UPDATE - If you got here from a direct link instead of from the main page, then you might have missed that I got a response from the Red Cross that you might be interested in.
Late update as I've been pretty busy lately, but we wanted to mention the fun we had last weekend. We stayed with friends Mike and Laura, and their three adorable kids Saturday night. Saturday afternoon, Mike, another friend, Bill and I went to a local wine festival and had lots of good wines (patience Xabu and Piglet, I'll send you a list of the wines I tried). In the evening, Mike, Laura, Bill, Amy and I played board games till the wee hours. Sunday, we hiked in a nearby nature preserve and did a little caching before heading home. All in all, it was a very fun weekend. Thanks, Mike and Laura, for hosting us and letting us play with your kids.
I mentioned yesterday that Piglet would be having surgery today. I just talked with Xabu, and things have gone as well as possible. In his words, her hand looks like a lobster claw, and she's sleeping from the effects of popping Magic Tic Tacs. But, that's all to the good.
Amy and I got back from a weekend trip to northeast OH, and a fun trip it was. We had dinner with Amy's family while her mom and aunt were out of town, took food to Piglet and Xabu and quaffed copious quantities of wine, and enjoyed an all-too-sort catch-up lunch with long time friends Jay and Jo and their adorable girls. Think happy thoughts for Piglet, who is having surgery on her hand tomorrow...
Navigation through any city of largish size can be confusing. Nearby Columbus, OH is no exception. Take I-670 for instance, which runs from the I-270 loop just south of Westerville on the east, crosses I-71 just north of downtown, and ends on I-70 west. It's a pretty slick little cut through for us when we need to get to I-70 going because we don't have to either a) go all the way around the loop, or b) go directly through downtown on I-70. However, if you want to exit on the north side of downtown, well, you'd better know what you're doing. The image to the left over there (click to enlarge) is where I-670 crosses I-71. You'll notice that I-670 exists in two places. If you are coming across I-670 from the east, or picking it up from I-71 southbound, you get one set of exits, but if you happen to pick it up from I-71 northbound, you'll miss them. Likewise, depending on where you try to pick up I-670 eastbound, you'll get either the north leg or the south one, which is waaaay confusing. I'd love to know who thought that was a good idea...
I rarely talk about work on the old blog. In part, I want to keep my work life from invading my home life. Also in part, I don't want to inadvertently let slip something which will cause me or my employer grief. But today, I'm so happy, I just had to write about it.
Back when I worked for my old employer, we used to do such modern things as set yearly goals. One of said goals pertained to percentage of "valid bugs" bugs filed per project. A "valid bug" is one that, at the end of a release, is resolved or closed as fixed, deferred or unfixable due to some constraint of technology. "Invalid bugs" are bugs that are duplicates of bugs that are already filed, or bugs that aren't really bugs (working as designed), or that can't be replicated. My goal with my previous employer was 90% valid bugs, something that I never hit, largely because I wasn't the only one filing bugs against the projects on which I was working.
Now, I don't have any goal like that at my current employer, but today I was curious how we were doing on our current project. Besides me, there's one other dedicated tester, and a small handful of others that pitch in. I figured that we'd be somewhere in the 75-80% valid range on our bugs, but to my great delight, we are currently at 87%! That's slightly better than the projects I'd been on with the previous employer, which typically hung around 80-85%. So today, I have been a happy, happy boy.
Hmmm... I was forced to switch to the new blogger this morning, and it looks like I'm going to have to do a little exploration. I have always used HTML to create my entries, but it looks like I'm not set up to do that anymore. Any suggestions from those of you out in Bloggerville?
Update: Well, that's unusual. The problem appears to only be with the Safari browser, which I use at work (since I have a the Mac Mini). I switched to Firefox in WinXP in Parallels and my HTML editor is back. Which is good for me, but bad for the Safari users. I wonder if it was always that way...?
With Amelia out with her girlfriends for dinner, I was left to fend for myself. Since she's not a fan of spicy/hot foods, I'll usually cook up something spicy for myself on such a night as this. Tonight I decided to make myself some chili. I have a pretty good recipe already, but I've wanted to try Texas-style chili, which typically doesn't have tomatoes and is more of a stew. So, I read several recipes on the internet and then tried to come up with my own. It actually came out pretty good, so I'm blogging it so I can remember for the next time.
Bald Man Tom's Skillet Chili
The Players
| The Pan | 9" cast iron skillet, well seasoned |
| The Ingredients | ~ 1 lb. chuck roast, cut into small cubes salt 2 oz onion, finely diced 1 clove garlic, minced 4 oz can of diced chiles 2 tbsp chili powder 2 tsp adobo paste 2 c beef broth, plus 3 tbsp 3 tbsp masa harina Vegetable oil |
The Method
Season the meat with a few pinches of salt about 5 minutes before cooking begins. Heat the skillet over high heat. Coat the skillet thinly with oil, then sear the meat in two batches (recoat the skillet with oil between batches if necessary). Set the meat aside. Lower the heat to medium, then sautee the onion and garlic until softened a little, about 2-3 minutes. Add the meat back to the pan with 2 c of the broth, chili powder and adobo paste, mix and simmer 5 minutes. Make a slurry with the masa harina and the remaining 3 tbsp of the beef broth, then add to the pan and give it a good stir. Place in a 350 degree oven for 90 minutes.
Makes 2 servings.
The Verdict
Pretty darned tasty! It was definitely a good first effort. The meat was nice and tender, so I'm glad I used a cut of meat with a little fat. If I'd used something lean like sirloin, I think it might have dried out during the stewing process and gotten tough. The heat was a little too subdued, but I can ramp it up in later batches. It was also pretty thick, not as much a stew as I was trying to make.
Lessons Learned
Next time, I'll want to bump up the heat. I'll add another tbsp of chili powder, swap diced jalapenos for the chiles, and add another tsp of the adobo paste. I might think about using less masa harina slurry, though the more I think about it, the more I'm liking the overall thickness of the stew, so maybe not.
As a side note, I made a batch of corn bread to accompany my chili. I used the recipe pretty much straight off the box of Kroger-brand corn flour (I just added 1 tsp chili powder to kick it up a bit). That, also, came out pretty darned good.
When I was a kid, my mom made me wear long johns when it got cold out. I never liked wearing them, of course. They were bulky and uncomfortable, and I felt like a total dork. Today, however, I found myself wishing I had a pair of long johns. It was really flipping cold in my office. My fingers were so cold that they hurt and I could hardly bend them, and I couldn't get my limbs warm at all. So Mom, you were right.
I use Google's GMail for my work mail account, because I want my mail available both at work and at home, and I need LOTS of storage. If you've never used GMail before, it's pretty slick though it takes some getting used to. A minor annoyance is that "Sponsored Links" display next to the content of messages you're reading, similar to how they display next to search results when you run a Google search. Mostly I just ignore them, but for some reason this one caught my eye and I thought I'd share. Click the picture to see what made me chuckle. Note that the original message was from a coworker whose son is selling magazine subscriptions as a school fundraiser.
I'm a caffeine addict. I've been drinking coffee since a college girlfriend first got me to drink a few cups while studying for exams. I was such an addict at some points during my college career that I measured my consumption not in cups per day but in pots per day, as some of my friends could attest. When I tried to quit cold turkey after landing my first job, I had severe headaches and blurred vision for the first few weeks. Since then, I've returned to my caffeinated ways, adding the frequent cup or two of earl grey in with the coffee, but I've never tried to relive my glorious college consumption.
You're probably wondering why I mention that little factiod. Well, it's because of articles like this that claim that the cure for baldness lies in copious caffeine consumption. So, what do I think of these claims?
Yeah, right....
***UPDATE*** As you can see below, Wally is/had been drinking enough coffee to put him into triple digits, and it didn't do anything for him (click to enlarge).
I reiterate: yeah, right....
So when you are feeling blue or having a bad day I have a sure fire way to make you smile. Pop in the DVD Monsters Inc., and watch the short film extra- "For the Birds". If you don't have the movie you can down load it on iTunes.
*I should probably note that it was Amelia who found it, so if you get fired for playing at work, blame her :P
We realized almost immediately after we got married that neither one of us enjoyed a particularly wide variety of foods. So, the past few years, we have had "foods of the year" and have learned to like foods such as tomatoes, fish, shrimp, and green beans. Yeah, I know, we're really wild and crazy with our new foods, aren't we? Well, we still haven't chosen a new food this year, so when Amelia was out looking for a veggie for dinner tonight, she chose something new. Brussels sprouts.
I don't think we'll be trying that particular experiment again any time soon...
At long last, Amy and I set aside our lack of handy-person experience and attempted to hang the clock that my dad made for us and gave us at Christmas. With the help of Dad and the great people at Roush Hardware up the road, we finally got it hung.
It's a spiffy addition to our kitching/dining room, dontcha think? Thanks again, Dad!
The Quest For the Perfect Flip
A much better effort.
The Players
| The Pan | 7" cast iron skillet, well seasoned |
| The Ingredients | Russet potato (~7 oz peeled and shredded) White onion, ~2 oz Pepperoni <1 oz Salt and pepper Shredded cheese (<1 oz) |
| The Fat | Vegetable oil, ~ 1 tsp |
The Plan
After shredding the potato, rinse in cold water then pat dry. Saute the onions in a small amount of oil, add to the potatoes and pepperoni mixture, then add the remaining oil to the pan, add the potato mixture and fry 5-6 minutes per side, flipping in the middle, then cover with shredded cheese and bake in a 350 degree oven until the cheese melts.
The Results
Significantly better than last time. Rinsing the potato removed a lot of starch, which kept the potatoes from sticking so badly to the bottom of the pan. Unfortunately, they also didn't stick so well to each other.
The Verdict
On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being hash browns and 10 being the "perfect flip," this experiment ranks: 1 (hash browns).
Lessons Learned
I want to thank MUD for suggesting rinsing the potatoes the last time I tried. I had thought that it might help, and his suggestion was all the validation I needed to try. On the plus side, the stickage was minimal. Now I need to figure out how to get the right amount of stickage to get the potatoes to stick to each other, but not the pan. I'm considering cutting up and then boiling the potatoes, then cooling and shredding. I'm hoping that some of the starch will be removed, but not so much that I end up with hash browns again. But, I'm heartened. This was much better than my last attempt.
... she is the boss of me. She beat me again, 2-1, at cribbage.
That's the last time I teach her a fun game :P
Wow, were we busy! Since Friday, here's what we've done:
We had lots of fun. Amelia took a great picture this weekend, too :)
