By the Light

of the big yellow flash lights, we gathered round the hearth and chatted about the day.

I was told by the local power association fellow that they-- they, the Local Power Association-- had a line down and took a line down just up from us because there was a line down and power would be back on soon. Sometimes it's hard to get a lot of detail out of these fellows. 

Here is my optimistic understanding, along with a healthy dose of inference, of what he said. 

Our power was out earlier today, no doubt due to a downed line. The source of our outage may not have been the source of all possible outages for which our Local Power Association is responsible. So they patched the source of ours and other outages. And they did so such that by 5pm, everyone would have power, arrive home, fix supper, do some homework, lay out clothes for tomorrow, tidy up the kitchen, watch some tube, wash behind some ears and brush some teeth. And then they pulled the plug. Say your prayers in the dark. Catch some shut eye and wake up to a flashing alarm clock.

See? I can spin a just-so story. 

There is a pessimistic interpretation of my brief conversation with the fellow. But I like mine better so I'm sticking with it.

Meanwhile. Let's review a few things. 

A) Computer battery does last longer if the keyboard isn't illuminated and the back-lighting is turned way down. 

B) It helps to point a big flashlight at the ceiling-- this will sort of kind of illuminate the keyboard. And hey. If you can't type without looking at the keys, maybe you need to learn shorthand. (I would link some posts about Gregg shorthand but I can't really see what I'm doing.)

C) Here's a lesson learned. The storm today was quick, but particularly intense. After the power came back on, I engaged the "power cool" and "power freeze" on the fridge in the kitchen. I should have set all cooling appliances to "max" for a couple of hours. 

Whoo Hooo. See how that works? Just as Miss M had come back inside after having sat in her car burning gasoline so she could charge up her phone without draining her car battery...  the Power Is Restored. 

Big Life. 

Barring pessimistic interpretations of recent events, there will be a Big Ol' Pot of Coffee-- not a puny press pot-- tomorrow morning.
 

UPDATED | You Know What This Means, Don't You?

It means I can't sit around eating bonbons and watching my stories this afternoon. That's what it means. Dang.

UPDATE! Like magic the lights came on seconds after I called to inquire about when the lights would come back on. 

Now this should be fun. In lieu of watching my stories, I mopped the kitchen floor-- using a mop, not the fancy runs-on-Electricity floor cleaner-- in the dark. Wonder what it looks like?

The 0.10% Sure are Smart!

This should really surprise regular readers. We are having company!

One of the things I like to do when company's coming is to slightly modify the crappy old book selection in the guest room's colorful library. (Many books were chosen because of the color of the cover or spine-- who can resist a book with orange on the cover or spine?) For this particular guest, I've chosen the crappy old book, A Study of Rural Society Third Edition by J.H. Kolb (College of Agriculture, University of Wisconsin) and Edmund de S. Brunner (Teachers College, Columbia University), edited by William F. Ogburn (The University of Chicago) published by Houghton Mifflin Company in 1946.

I was perusing Chapter 5, Psychological Characteristics, which begins:

Because of the popular belief, among city people at least, that rural people are in some way inferior to their city cousins, it might not be impertinent to inquire at this point into the matter of rural and urban intelligence and characteristics, and try to analyze first, the scientific data now existing with regard to the question, and secondly, certain matters of common observation.

Let me be the first to tell you that these professors/authors are going to caution you smarty-pants city mice to not rush to any rash conclusions. After all, these country bumpkin rural folks might confuse the theatre (which they pronounce "THEE-A-ter) with a picture show (!), but they can tell you how many pecks are in a bushel!

I've looked through this crappy old book on more than one occasion and I can tell you that, caution aside, the tone does not please me. I had not noticed this table, under the chapter sub-head, Differences in Schooling, before.

Where is that editor from The University of Chicago when you need him?

Let's do some country mouse math!

253 children in one-room schools

0.10% = 0.10/100 = 0.0010

0.0010 X 253 = 1/4 of a student. 

Not 1/4 of the students. A student. (Wouldn't you like to read that methods section?)

Math is hard no matter where you go to school. And fractions are even harder!

STAY IN SKOOL! DONT" BE A DROPOUT! AND FER GAWDS SAKE'S LERN YOU SOME MATH or at least a bit or arithmetic. 

Seriously. Books-- new & old-- are full of typographical errors. But for gawd sakes'! This was the third edition. Wouldn't you have thought someone-- any one-- would have caught this?

~~
For the record (from the infallible source, Wikipedia):

A bushel is an imperial and U.S. customary unit of dry volume, equivalent in each of these systems to 4 pecks or 8 gallons. It is used for volumes of dry commodities (not liquids), most often in agriculture. It is abbreviated as bsh. or bu. In modern usage, the dry volume is usually only nominal, with bushels referring to standard weights instead.

Pecks & Pints below. 

Whew! What a weekend!

Mr. Big Food did some Big Cuttin'

with a cheap little lawnmower.

Rocky likes the briar-free paths,

and the future campground.

Ha Ha! She said, "Crap!"

I believe I've posted the other three conversations previously, but in case you missed them-- and there are some doozies!-- or are a player and need to see when your turn is coming up, they are below the fold.

Fungus

I've Seen This Happen In Real Life

The wine and conversation are flowing... . The food is served. Folks enjoy some residual wine and some residual conversation... . And then... . The Tables go silent for a spell.

Residual

conversation.

BURGERS! | SPRING!

Mr. Big Food took the day off today. We worked outside all day. Missy didn't escape and Rocky only bolted off once. Big Day!

And because Mr. Big Food can see into The Future, he had planned a perfect supper: Bucket Potato Salad and Roquefort Burgers.

It's not "Bucket"-- although that's what I first heard and it made sense since you could mix up a big batch and serve it in a bucket-- it's "Banquet."

Here are the Burgers. Fresh Ground Beef. Roquefort mixed into the ground beef.

You Gotta Read This

Harry Stamps
Obituary

Harry Weathersby Stamps

December 19, 1932 -- March 9, 2013

Long Beach [Mississippi]

Harry Weathersby Stamps, ladies' man, foodie, natty dresser, and accomplished traveler, died on Saturday, March 9, 2013.

Harry was locally sourcing his food years before chefs in California starting using cilantro and arugula (both of which he hated). For his signature bacon and tomato sandwich, he procured 100% all white Bunny Bread from Georgia, Blue Plate mayonnaise from New Orleans, Sauer's black pepper from Virginia, home grown tomatoes from outside Oxford, and Tennessee's Benton bacon from his bacon-of-the-month subscription. As a point of pride, he purported to remember every meal he had eaten in his 80 years of life.

The women in his life were numerous. He particularly fancied smart women. He loved his mom Wilma Hartzog (deceased), who with the help of her sisters and cousins in New Hebron reared Harry after his father Walter's death when Harry was 12. He worshipped his older sister Lynn Stamps Garner (deceased), a character in her own right, and her daughter Lynda Lightsey of Hattiesburg. He married his main squeeze Ann Moore, a home economics teacher, almost 50 years ago, with whom they had two girls Amanda Lewis of Dallas, and Alison of Starkville. He taught them to fish, to select a quality hammer, to love nature, and to just be thankful. He took great pride in stocking their tool boxes. One of his regrets was not seeing his girl, Hillary Clinton, elected President.

He had a life-long love affair with deviled eggs, Lane cakes, boiled peanuts, Vienna [Vi-e-na] sausages on saltines, his homemade canned fig preserves, pork chops, turnip greens, and buttermilk served in martini glasses garnished with cornbread.

He excelled at growing camellias, rebuilding houses after hurricanes, rocking, eradicating mole crickets from his front yard, composting pine needles, living within his means, outsmarting squirrels, never losing a game of competitive sickness, and reading any history book he could get his hands on.

Read the rest here. Harry was loved. H/t Instapundit.com

Mississippi Advertising

I love ads. 

Every afternoon, the Dogs and I and a box of bonbons and a cup of tea sit down in front of the Television and watch re-runs of Andy Griffith and giggle at the ads targeted at the Target audience, the members of which apparently fall down a lot. Every evening Mr. Big Food and I sit down in front of the Television and watch The Big Bang Theory and giggle at the ads targeted at men who can't get up. Depending on the ad-- targeted at the Television Show Target Audience-- we consumers are addressed as idiots/morons/imbeciles. 

I love ads.

My favorite ads are roadside ads-- where the target audience is just folks in cars. The scrolling marquee signs are great!

At Walgreens: 

DORITOS! 3 \ $10!! [Inflation]

At Fred's: 

LADIE'S UNGRMENTS!! BY 2 GET ONE FREE!! [That's 33% off the lesser priced. No Big deal.]

At The Bank: 

5% 2nd Mortgage! BUILD a Deck!!

My most Favorite of All are the low-tech Road Signs. If you live in a city, you have no idea what I'm talking about, but if you are a Country Mouse, you know these signs.

SUP r Lu O P  N 9 2 5

JOEs CLEAN RESTROOMS Dinn   Th - S Lunch @ noon

Mostly I just giggle. But this one caught my attention.

I doubled back.

This Morning's Tidbit

Don't mind me!

Early morning adventures are such fun! 

In the over-grown pasture, there is a gap between the fence and the ground that is large enough for a large rabbit-- or a mischievous 90 pound mutt-- to crawl under. My plan was to walk with Rocky along the fenceline and around to the gate. Her plan was to jump up, keep us in sight, and shimmy back under the fence. Her plan worked quite well. :-)

And now... . Doggy nap time!

fb | BIG Data

via Instapundit.com:

BIG DATA: Study: Facebook Likes Can Be Used to Determine Intelligence, Sexuality.

Simply by delving into volunteers’ Likes, the researchers could determine in 95 percent of cases whether a person was Caucasian or African American and in 88 percent of cases whether the person was heterosexual or homosexual. They could determine whether the person is Christian or Islamic 82 percent of the time.

The researchers described Facebook Likes as “a generic class of digital record that could be used to extract sensitive information.” Volunteers used the myPersonality Facebook app to track their Likes, which were fed into algorithms to arrive at the results. The data were supported by information from volunteer profiles and personality tests.

Of course some of these Likes are a no-brainer. Liking “Being Gay” is at least a decent indicator of one’s sexuality. Liking Barack Obama means there’s a good chance you’re voting Democratic next time around. This is not exactly rocket science. But some Likes appeared to have zero connection to personal attributes. Sure, curly fries are delicious, but is Liking them the best indicator that you have a high IQ? Also, one of the Likes that helped identify heterosexual men was “Being Confused After Waking Up from Naps.” Is that really a trait only straight men are afflicted with?

While the results can be seen as hilarious for anyone that’s not a Harley-Davidson rider (I kid), the privacy implications are alarming. Facebook Likes are public by default.

Facebook isn’t about privacy.

The Farm doesn't have a Facebook page.

Recipe: Chicken with Roquefort Cheese

Chicken with Roquefort Cheese

1/2 stick butter
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
2 T flour
1/2 C dry white wine
2 oz. Roquefort cheese, crumbled
1 large garlic clove minced
8 oz. sour cream

Prehaet oven to 350. Brown chicken breasts on both side in melted butter in skillet. Place browned chicken breasts in greased baking dish. Add flour to drippings in skillet and stir to make a smooth roux. Add dry white wine, Roquefort, garlic and sour cream. Cook, stirring until hot and thickened. Spread cheese sauce over chicken in baking dish. Bake covered 1 hour.

Recipe: Consume Rice

We made 1/2 the recipe.

Consume Rice

1/2 stick butter
1 medium onion chopped
1 C rice
1 1/4 C consume; beef or chicken; can used canned
1 1/4 C water

Preheat oven to 350. Melt butter in a baking dish with cover, uncovered in oven. Sprinkle in onion, rice. Combine consume and water. Pour over rice and water. Cover dish and bake 1 hour.

An "Elegant" Wednesday Supper

depicted by decidedly non-elegant photos.

Consume Rice

Chicken with Roquefort Cheese

I asked what the name of the chicken dish was and Mr. Big Food replied and said, "Hold on! I have the recipes in my head right here."

I said, "Go."

But before we get to the recipes, I'd like to comment on "elegance."

This definition misses the point:

el·e·gant  [el-i-guhnt]  Show IPA
adjective
1.
tastefully fine or luxurious in dress, style, design, etc.: elegant furnishings.
2.
gracefully refined and dignified, as in tastes, habits, or literary style: an elegant young gentleman; an elegant prosodist.
3.
graceful in form or movement: an elegant wave of the hand.
4.
appropriate to refined taste: a man devoted to elegant pursuits.
5.
excellent; fine; superior: an absolutely elegant wine.

Where is the reference to an "elegant" proof? An "elegant" mechanism?

My understanding of the word does not juxtapose "fine" and "luxurious."

Go figure. I was wrong.

One lonely voice

has spoken this evening.

Still waiting for the Birthday Girl and A. Leland.

best classic everyone-should-know-it-by-heart line so far?

Birthday Supper

We thought about putting 30 + 52 candles on the cake, but we didn't have that many.

Daughter C got Super Mario Bros for her B'day.

Mr. Bow Tie hooked the Nintendo box up to the Television Set.

We were amazed by the Hi-Def Graphics.

Meanwhile... supper was frying.

Happy Birthday To...

MARCH 12, 19xx

Happy Birthday Mr. Big Food!

MARCH 12 19xx

Happy Birthday Daughter C!

~~

Word on the Street is that I'm baking a three-layer birthday cake tomorrow, and that one of the layers is not like the others.

~~

Happy Birthday also to Mr. Big Food's Mom & I. The operative part of the word-- the part of the word that does the work-- is "birth." :-)

Let's Converse About This: It's Quarter to 10 and I'm Not Sure Where My Children Are

You know what? They are all adults and I don't need to know where my children are. I just would love to have Daughter C's quote from Christoper Wallace replying to Julia Child's lovely quote about cooking and love, and her quote from Lavar Burton, responding to Oscar Wilde. Is this too much to ask?

Here's what Mike Judge (Mr. Big Food) and Quinton Tarentino (Miss M) have to say

If you would have asked me, I would have said the chance of that word appearing in my blog was fairly low.

Miss M tries a 2-fer.*

Take That!

at Instapundit.com

ar·bi·trar·y  [ahr-bi-trer-ee]  Show IPA adjective, noun, plural ar·bi·trar·ies.
adjective
1.
subject to individual will or judgment without restriction; contingent solely upon one's discretion: an arbitrary decision.
2.
decided by a judge or arbiter rather than by a law or statute.
3.
having unlimited power; uncontrolled or unrestricted by law; despotic; tyrannical: an arbitrary government.
4.
capricious; unreasonable; unsupported: an arbitrary demand for payment.
5.
Mathematics . undetermined; not assigned a specific value: an arbitrary constant.
~~

ca·pri·cious  [kuh-prish-uhs, -pree-shuhs]  Show IPA
adjective
1.
subject to, led by, or indicative of a sudden, odd notion or unpredictable change; erratic: He's such a capricious boss I never know how he'll react.
2.
Obsolete . fanciful or witty. 

 from Dictionary.com