Palin? Palin. Palin!

I wrote about her quite some time ago but apparently my voice wasn't heard by enough- her name keeps popping up recently.
Keep this in mind: If you want to be an electrician, you must take classes, tests, an apprenticeship, and then be able to perform the work well enough, along with the acquired credentials to get a job in the field. If you want to sell real estate, you need to take tests to gain a license. Lawyer? Doctor? Engineer? Mechanic? Hair dresser?
Now, some Republicans are seeing her as a possible front runner for the party. I am largely a Republican, but I have to pin my hopes on a candidate who has passed a test or two. I'm fairly certain Sarah could pull a C- on the economics final I took in 1976 at Peoria High School. I should be able to assume she knows the difference between macro economics and micro, or has heard the age old term "there's no such thing as a free lunch", but I wouldn't bank on it. I can see her getting ready for a North/South Korean summit by looking at a world globe and then asking the guys "can't y'all just get along? Vietnam was a long time ago!"
I know she hit the library to research her latest book, otherwise she couldn't have heard of JFK's speech about his candidacy and his Catholicism.
I really feel that, lacking a test for candidates, we should hope for the sensibilities of the voters to choose someone who can list accomplishments that show a finisher, not a quitter, someone who achieves without recognition, and succeeds without fanfare at every stop. In short, I want a smart guy (or woman). One who has already spent a lifetime cracking the books and knows a thing or two. Surely the party has qualified candidates who won't embarrass us all. Surely....

It's Nearly Thanksgiving

This is the long awaited "short week" of the year- the annual Thursday turkey day and Friday where only the lunatic shopper gangs get up early to empty the checking account for Christmas. I'm proud to say I'm not one of them.
As has been the case the last several years, we're hosting Thanksgiving this year. I have a formula in the kitchen that works well, and each year I tweak it to make things run smoother. In years past, I've thrown in the likes of sweet potato pie and pumpkin pie (hard to tell the difference), two turkeys (one roasted, one deep fried), other stuff..........
This year I will not have any of my kids home. Sarah and Tim are coming for Christmas this year, as is Rachel, and Nick is making faces at monkeys in Costa Rica. This means a paltry 20 people feasting on Thursday. I think I can handle that.

Can't Sleep- New Recipe

It is 4am and I've been awake for 45 minutes. Why? Ask someone who knows. Assuredly it's not my angst over the national economy or concern for the Minnesota Vikings (the fact that Favre has literally nobody to throw to and Randy Moss sits on a Titans' bench notwithstanding).
It might be this CAD program, but I doubt it; I'm picking up little jewels of comprehension every day in that department. It could be I've turned the corner on aging and simply don't need the sleep any more.
So why am I posting? When I sat down, I had no idea. Since I started, I found one. I am going to share a recipe I found on line somewhere. I've prepared it twice. Once at a Wed. feast and once at Tim and Sarah's down in Dallas. I do need to emphasize that any deviation from my instructions will likely result in yuck.
What is it? Crazy Cajun Shrimp Etouffe Cream Over Garlic Noodles.
Here goes:

Serves 8

Need:

Roux:

3-1/2 tablespoons butter
3-1/2 tablespoons flour
1 red onion- chopped
1 green bell pepper- chopped
1 red bell pepper- chopped
2 stalks celery- chopped
6 cloves garlic- minced
1/2 cup fresh basil- chopped
1/2 cup parsley- chopped
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 10 oz. bottle clam juice
1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1-1/2 lb. raw shrimp (24 count)
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon Pernod (optional)

Noodles:

1 lb. fettuccine noodles
2 tablespoons butter
5 cloves garlic- minced
1/2 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
green onions- chopped (garnish)

How to:

Make etouffe cream by melting butter in deep (I mean big) skillet, stir in flour, develop a brown roux. Add onion, peppers and celery, caramelize (about 3 minutes). Stir in garlic, basil, parsley, tomato paste, clam juice, Cajun seasoning, cayenne and pepper. Add shrimp and cook for 5 minutes at medium heat. Stir in heavy cream, thicken, add salt. Simmer on low while preparing noodles.
Oh, yeah, I should have told you to boil water and cook fettuccine noodles (al dente), shock with HOT water and rinse with HOT water. Do that. Cream can simmer a little more.
Meanwhile, melt butter in sauce pan, add garlic for 1 minute. Stir in brown sugar, add fish sauce, stir for 1 minute. Toss mixture with noodles by hand (yes- hot!) then toss noodles and mixture with Parmesan cheese.
Serve in bowls or on plates. Spread noodles, scoop cream mixture over noodles, garnish with a little chopped green onion and enjoy!
In the near future I plan to list my proven recipe successes. All tried and true, morphed into what I consider worthy of my personal "Great Food" cook book. To date, I have 78 recipes ranging from American to Korean to Middle Eastern to Cajun to French to Italian to German to Mexican to..................you get my drift.
Hopefully my newspaper has shown up and I can get on with my day. Ciao.

Still here, still working at it

I find a vast difference between what I need to know and what I want to know. Something akin to being told you're smart and wondering by what reference the statement was determined. Might it be similar to: not bad for someone your age, or: you don't look 52, or: (fill in the blank).
I'm still deciphering the program. Friday I attended a Webinar, which consisted of a valley girl's voice describing her actions on screen, replete with "like", "oops"' "I messed up there" ; I am not paraphrasing. I did pick up a few pointers, though. I hope she was cute. She sounded cute. If she has a job at Chief Architect and she can operate the program, there might be hope for me after all.
I have never been fond of memorization, and a large part of this program is memorizing the procedure. If I start from scratch each day, little by little I pick up little by little (by little).
I must admit I felt good today when I had Amy try what I've been working on. I immediately realized she may be more typical as a beginner. She doesn't build, so she had no idea about realistic spatial relations and proportions. That part, or design, or sizing, or appearance- not hard. Knowing how to get there through the program interpretation- still working on it. So, am I smart? Certainly smarter than the chair supporting my ass (and he never fails to do his job!

I'm back on the post wagon

I'm sorry to say that I am no where near as prolific at posting as my wife or eldest child, but once in a while I do spill to the public. This is one of those times.
Soooooo.............. I have been diligently hacking away at the ridiculously layered mega program "Chief Architect", and tonight I feel I've shot up to around 60% cognition, which is to say that I have worked my way through the easy, obvious stuff and still need to tackle the part of the program that expects me to think on my own, analytically, through deductive reasoning and deft aplomb. My short set consists of the fact I graduated high school in 1976, before calculators were big, (I actually found math solutions on a slide rule, having mastered the abacus) ending my formal education that year. Since then I've logged a million miles of cut wood and a million nails driven. Don't get me wrong- I can draw a house plan- I don't hold myself short on ability beyond the Jesus trade. I simply need to convince myself I'm as smart as the next CAD guy, supplanting my years in the trenches with his years learning Autocad. I'm hoping my transition to his desk is easier and faster than his transition to the field might be. I'm betting I don't know a single CAD jockey who'd last 2 days doing what I do; I'm also betting the law of reciprocity won't apply.
I'm now setting a time table: By Thanksgiving I will be at 90%+ and ready to buy the real thing. I will immediately produce a full set of a 2,500 square foot ranch home to use as a demo, design and produce business cards, flyers, a letterhead and a web site (need help here), and take my first (hopefully) assignment by first of year. Go, go, go.

Heading to Work

Look for some posting beginning tonight. I need a writing fix. A lot to talk about.