Happy (just past) Tuesday everyone, and Merry Christmas! You're going to a party! Or invited others to your party. ;) The more I began thinking about Christmas parties, the more I began wondering... Should I bring a white elephant gift? Food? Cookies? How to dress? Furthermore, what sort of activities to expect? Should I eat before the party? Accck! Before you know it, your in the car with a half wrapped hammer, a plate of stale apple slices, a green shirt, and a coat.
....Okay, deep breath! Christmas parties are meant to be fun, not overwhelming! First, we'll deal with going to someone else's party, then tackle the host part.
Christmas Party number 1!!!!
As the Bunnies pointed out, often more than one Christmas party happens over the holidays. I have created a quick check-list to go over before leaving the house. Ideally, check this list about 1 day prior to the party.
1. Who will be there? Is this family, estranged relatives, or a work party?
2. Will they be serving dinner, hors devours, snacks?
3. Politely ask the host (or invitee) if they would like you to bring anything. They may say no, but they will appreciate the gesture.
4. Check for any expected group activity like a gift exchange or Caroling. Be thoughtful, but don't go overboard on a white elephant gift. Most of the time, this can be something laying around the house. Just don't pull a Humphry the Elephant). If Caroling is on the menu, bring a warm jacket.
5. Dress appropriately. Is this a family gathering? Black tie formal work party? In most cases, a comfortable pair of jeans and nice shirt will suffice just fine. :) You're "artfully" ripped jeans (or Tripp Pants) in the bottom drawer may not be quite up to par though.
6. Think about a small easy-to-learn game you may want to bring with you. If I think ahead, I usually bring some dice or a deck of cards. This way I can play easy quick group games if the party lags (or if there are bored kids there). Some of these games can include:
Cards:
War (2 player)
13, or Liar Liar
Poker (2-8 player, usually needs chips though)
Go Fish (2-5 player)
Dice:
10,000 (2-8 player) (my personal favorite)
Low man
Yahtzee
Zombie Dice (you actually have to buy this one, but it's great, fun and easy to learn! about 12$ at target).
**Feel free to ask about rules for any of the above, and I can write up a quick rule sheet!!
Christmas Party number 2!!!!
Okay, you've survived your trip to your Aunt's, or relatives. Uh oh! Now they are all coming to your place! What to do? Don't panic. :)
a. Is this a dinner party, or just a games party? Either one is fun and enjoyable, but make sure your guests know ahead of time so they can plan accordingly.
1. Feel free to ask each guest to bring a side (potluck style) or dessert or drink to your party. By making this a request not a demand, guests can feel free to just bring themselves, or bring along something. Even if only half your guests bring things, it can save you quite a lot of time and effort.
2. Decide on your main course, and any side dishes you may want to have out for guests. Plan around a meal that is not too messy, easy to cook and clean, and easy to make more in case extra guests arrive. Common ideas include Ham, (or main dish of meat) hot dogs and hamburgers, spaghetti, etc.
3. Clean up before hand if possible. Empty all your trash cans, wash all your dishes, have an empty dishwasher available for guests to rinse and stack their plates.*
4. Have some decorations, and maybe some calm instrumental background music for guests to enjoy.
5. Pick up plastic cups for larger groups. Have a sharpie handy for guests to label their cups. Otherwise, I often have around 10-20 glasses all over the house because people (including me) forget which glass is mine, and just grab a new one.
6. Have some game/movie/activity planned. Around the holidays I recommend white elephant, or a Christmas movie, or games, or light looking/walking.
*My guests are usually family and close friends, so I have no problem asking them to "bus" their own dishes. However, if you'd rather not worry about that, just have them place them in the sink, and move them to the dishwasher later.
Christmas Party number ...!!!!!
You never know how many parties there may be! I've stashed some of my holiday baking away to take to a party here or there, and generally try to stay caught up with household chores that way I can be ready for the un-expected. ;)
Enjoy!
-Sheepdog-
Only 2-3 posts until Christmas. :) Feel free to leave any thoughts for topic ideas!!
Wednesday, December 16, 2015
Wednesday, December 9, 2015
Is It Christmas Yet? Part V
Merry Christmas eve^16 Everybody! What with the wet Pacific weather, our holiday celebrating has moved indoors. The lights are twinkling, presents are being wrapped, and lists are being finished. There's just one thing missing. The bunnies brought me a signed petition stating they would go on strike if I didn't start making Holiday treats. :P Here's a copy of their petition:
We Want Treats!
Also titled:
Our blood sugar is getting low, and we demand holiday treats of every
shape, smell and kind!
We, the undersigned
bunnies of apartment 7 do hereby petition Sheepdog to allow us into the
kitchen and begin holiday baking. There are insufficient snack-ables to tide us
over until Christmas* and we propose at least 3 batches of holiday treats. We
have enclosed a list of our preference of treats, along with a list of
acceptable alternatives.
We demand at least
one baked batch by midnight tonight, and a minimum of 2 batches by the weekend.
If these demands are not met, or a suitable compromise not reached, we propose
to go on strike for 2-5 days. A bunny strike includes but is not limited to: 1)
we will no longer throw crazy dance parties, 2) we will refuse to babysit Gizmo
and the mice, 3) we will no longer “fetch” the remote for Pegasus, 4) we will
stop making coffee in the morning, and 5) we will stop jumping on the bed in
the morning to wake you up for your morning walk.
List of preferable Treats:
Fudge
Candy Cane Cookies
Peanut Butter Balls
Russian Teacakes
List of Acceptable Treats:
Snickerdoodles
Peanut Butter Kiss
Cookies
Fudge (with walnuts)
Chocolate Chip
Cookies
Pie
Signatures:
Blue Bunny Blue Bunny
Gray Bunny Gray Bunny
Brown Bunny Brown Bunny
Hmm, well their demands seem quite *snicker* umm, *chortle* serious indeed! We shall have to get baking this evening! I know I have all the ingredients for fudge, and I believe we can make the Russian Teacakes as well. What's that? Recipes? Ah, great question! Baking treats is actually quite fun, and petition aside, I am excited! Of course my fur gets a little sticky making the fudge, but it's still fun! So straight to it! I shall list 3 recipes, Candy Cane cookies, Peanut butter balls, and Russian Teacakes. The fudge recipe I usually use is printed on the back of those jars of marshmallow cream. You can thank Otter for these. :D
Candy Cane Cookies
½ c. soft butter
½ c. shortening
1 c. powdered sugar
1 egg
½ tsp. red food coloring
1 ½ tsp. almond extract
1 tsp. vanilla
2 ½ c. flour
1 tsp. salt
½ c. shortening
1 c. powdered sugar
1 egg
½ tsp. red food coloring
1 ½ tsp. almond extract
1 tsp. vanilla
2 ½ c. flour
1 tsp. salt
Directions
Mix butter, shortening, sugar, egg and flavorings. Blend in flour and salt. Divide dough in half, blend food coloring into one half. Shape 1 tsp. dough from each half into a 4” rope, one rope of each color. Hold side by side and twist. Place on ungreased cookie sheet, curve top of cookie down to form candy cane. Bake at 375 for 9 min. until set and very light brown.
Peanut Bon Bons
2 cups peanut butter
½ cup butter
4 ½ cup powdered sugar (1 #)
3 cups crisp rice cereal
12 oz. chocolate chips
12 oz. butterscotch chips
Directions
In saucepan, melt peanut butter and butter. In bowl, combine powdered sugar and cereal, pour peanut butter mixture over cereal. Blend together with hands. Form into 1/2” balls and chill until firm. Melt chips. Dip half the candies in each type of melted chips. Place on wax paper lined baking sheet. Chill. Makes 100. (really!) I tend to cut the whole recipe in half, and only use 1 bag (either chocolate or butterscotch to make things easier).
Russian Teacakes
Hmm, the recipe seems to have gone missing, I will update this when I can find it. *sheepish grin*
Well, that's all for now! Enjoy cooking!
Thursday, December 3, 2015
Is It Christmas Yet? Part IV - Christmas Activities
Good Evening All,
*Looks Around* Well, things around here are starting to to feel very Christmasy! We have the decorations up, put up our Christmas Tree, have a small pile of presents from shopping and crafting! Is it Christmas yet? No. Hmm, well it's time for all those activities that there never seems to be time for. :D This is why I wanted to start early, so the season didn't feel as rushed. We have a special guest today to list all of her favorite Christmas Activities. Give a hearty paw-clap to Scurry the Mouse!
Thank you, Sheepdog. Well, as I am normally an anti-social creature, I like to do as much of my Chirstmasing from my humble hole in the wall as possible. This year, however, my many relatives have decided that going out in the throng of other animal-kind would be fun! Most of my presents this year have been purchased. I am always in favor of creating my own presents though. Two such presents will be paintings, though I will not mention which family members they are for, since they may be reading.
I have had very few Christmases that haven't had some sort of party. Normally we like to have white elephant exchanges, which is quite amusing when you are a mouse, because elephants are always white when they see you! Why is it called a white elephant anyway, Sheepdog?
Ah, yes, harumph! The tradition began with an old white elephant with the name of Humphrey. He was a clutter collector, he collected it from anyplace he could get his trunk into. Humorously enough, most of the places he collected these items from were from car trunks. Most of it was useless but often had one redeeming feature, it might be useful to someone with hands. He was invited to the king of Siam's palace for a lavish Christmas party one year. It is a custom to present the king with a gift, unfortunately he had forgotten to bring a gift, so he went to the lot and rummaged through the trunks of the guests automobiles. Finally he retrieved a porcelain elephant and a bike horn. The king passed these gifts off to his wife, who had them stolen from her by her visiting nephew. The king and his guests were so amused by this, that they decided that it must become a tradition from that point on.
Oh... Well, thank you for that enlightening explanation. So, yes, we have gift exchanges, and have some sort of delicious dessert. I love desserts! We have things like candy cane cookies, pies...
Excuse me, Scurry, but I will be featuring a baking post sometime in the future, so no need to go into detail.
Sorry. One year we had a gingerbread house contest! Which, if you think about it, is both a Christmas craft, and dessert. I lived in mine until I ate it. When I was a young mouse I gathered with the church mice and we sang carols for the mice who could no longer poke their noses out of their holes. After we would have hot drinks to warm ourselves: hot apple cider, hot cocoa, and some even had eggnog, which is actually a cold drink. Ah, to be a young mouse again... curling up in the Christmas tree on Christmas night with my siblings and cousins, with the lights twinkling around us! Nibbling holes in the boxes to find out what the humans had gotten each other. Ice skating with the church mice and my family! I can't wait for Christmas! I must scurry off and do some of these things Hurry, hurry Sheepdog! Let's go find some crafts to do! Oh, Alvin and the Chipmunks!
Thank you Scurry! Well, there you have it! Feel free to add your own favorite Christmas Activity below. I for one, would love to visit the Zoo lights this year. Last year, I made a pilgrimage to the Grotto, a catholic church estate filled with Christmas decorations, and lit up with over 10,000 lights! Until next time!
*Looks Around* Well, things around here are starting to to feel very Christmasy! We have the decorations up, put up our Christmas Tree, have a small pile of presents from shopping and crafting! Is it Christmas yet? No. Hmm, well it's time for all those activities that there never seems to be time for. :D This is why I wanted to start early, so the season didn't feel as rushed. We have a special guest today to list all of her favorite Christmas Activities. Give a hearty paw-clap to Scurry the Mouse!
Thank you, Sheepdog. Well, as I am normally an anti-social creature, I like to do as much of my Chirstmasing from my humble hole in the wall as possible. This year, however, my many relatives have decided that going out in the throng of other animal-kind would be fun! Most of my presents this year have been purchased. I am always in favor of creating my own presents though. Two such presents will be paintings, though I will not mention which family members they are for, since they may be reading.
I have had very few Christmases that haven't had some sort of party. Normally we like to have white elephant exchanges, which is quite amusing when you are a mouse, because elephants are always white when they see you! Why is it called a white elephant anyway, Sheepdog?
Ah, yes, harumph! The tradition began with an old white elephant with the name of Humphrey. He was a clutter collector, he collected it from anyplace he could get his trunk into. Humorously enough, most of the places he collected these items from were from car trunks. Most of it was useless but often had one redeeming feature, it might be useful to someone with hands. He was invited to the king of Siam's palace for a lavish Christmas party one year. It is a custom to present the king with a gift, unfortunately he had forgotten to bring a gift, so he went to the lot and rummaged through the trunks of the guests automobiles. Finally he retrieved a porcelain elephant and a bike horn. The king passed these gifts off to his wife, who had them stolen from her by her visiting nephew. The king and his guests were so amused by this, that they decided that it must become a tradition from that point on.
Oh... Well, thank you for that enlightening explanation. So, yes, we have gift exchanges, and have some sort of delicious dessert. I love desserts! We have things like candy cane cookies, pies...
Excuse me, Scurry, but I will be featuring a baking post sometime in the future, so no need to go into detail.
Sorry. One year we had a gingerbread house contest! Which, if you think about it, is both a Christmas craft, and dessert. I lived in mine until I ate it. When I was a young mouse I gathered with the church mice and we sang carols for the mice who could no longer poke their noses out of their holes. After we would have hot drinks to warm ourselves: hot apple cider, hot cocoa, and some even had eggnog, which is actually a cold drink. Ah, to be a young mouse again... curling up in the Christmas tree on Christmas night with my siblings and cousins, with the lights twinkling around us! Nibbling holes in the boxes to find out what the humans had gotten each other. Ice skating with the church mice and my family! I can't wait for Christmas! I must scurry off and do some of these things Hurry, hurry Sheepdog! Let's go find some crafts to do! Oh, Alvin and the Chipmunks!
Thank you Scurry! Well, there you have it! Feel free to add your own favorite Christmas Activity below. I for one, would love to visit the Zoo lights this year. Last year, I made a pilgrimage to the Grotto, a catholic church estate filled with Christmas decorations, and lit up with over 10,000 lights! Until next time!
Always,
-Sheepdog-
Tuesday, December 1, 2015
Is It Christmas Yet? Part III - Holiday Decorating
Holiday Decorating
I love decorating. There is no way around it. Every year, the bunnies and I end up decorating our modest apartment, and typically at least 1 other dwelling (Otter's cabin). Last night we pulled the boxes out of our storage shed and began setting things up. I like to think about decorating in 3 stages: the inside, the outside, and of course, the Christmas Tree. Here are some notes I've made on each of these:
The Inside:
Decorations can be anything really. Wrapped boxes, picture frames, pot-holders, tablecloth, Christmas blankets, you get the idea. Our first tree in college was decorated with pipe cleaner ornaments and candy canes with 1 strand of lights adorning it. We even tried to make popcorn strings but found that was much harder than it looks! I've kept an eye out for small decorations, and lights at garage sales over the years. We now have a few tins, more strands of lights, some Christmas books, and a wreath. Aside from garage sales, I like to peruse thrift stores, Goodwill, and the dollar tree. Or, try asking any relatives for Christmas decorations.
This year we tried something new, a snow scene. We used a piece of snow cloth, and added some fake trees and a few stuffed animals to create a Narnia-like snowscape. We even added a lamppost to the center! On our desk, we set out a checkered red and green cloth (Old tablecloth I think) and set up a clock, a nutcracker and some wrapped boxes. Tada! instant Nutcracker scene. Some well-placed garland from the dollar tree went up above the kitchen, along with a strand of lights and a few tins.
The Outside:
I was lucky enough one year to come across an entire box of lights at a garage sale for a quarter. Often people buy new lights each year and don't want to fix/store their old ones. Pick these up, spend some time fixing the lights and bobs your uncle! You also don't need enough lights for the martians to see your house (unless your Calvin that is). Decorate the front porch, or a railing, and hook your lights up to the porch light with a doohickey. http://www.amazon.com/Leviton-1403-Outlet-Socket-Adapter/dp/B001F71O70/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1449015735&sr=8-1&keywords=light+socket+to+plug+adapter
This way, you can turn on your porch light to light up the outside! Remember, in general you only want 4 or so sets of Christmas lights daisy-chained together before breaking out another extension cord.
*Pro-tip: Anytime I see an extension cord, either 2-prong or 3-prong at a garage sale for a couple dollars I pick it up. You can never really have too many extension cords.
The Tree:
One tradition I really like is picking up a couple of new ornaments each year to add to the tree. This way there is a nice blend of older and newer ornaments. Some folks prefer a tree to have a theme (all gold ornaments or only globes). This is fine, but for some reason I like having all sorts of ornaments on the tree. It's also easier to pick up or make new ornaments as I don't have a theme I have to match. Quilling and oragami ornaments can be really beautiful! As for lights, I typically run one strand of white lights up and down the trunk, and 2-3 strands around the tree. The trunk lights help illuminate the ornaments, and give the tree more depth. Oh! And we have an angel adorning the tip top. :)
Tree's can be expensive. If you live out in the woods, or close to tree farms, see if there is a grower nearby where you can pick out your tree directly. They are usually cheaper this way, and you get a much nicer selection. It can also be worth asking a tree lot or tree farm for a "charlie brown tree". You know the one, the sad little tree who just didn't hit his growth spurt or has some missing branches on one side. They may just drop the price on it or give it away free!
*Pro-tip: Bring a long a pocket knife and some gloves. Often times tree places have plenty of twine, but not enough knives to go around. Having your own can be a huge help!
Well, that's all for now. See you all later, and enjoy your decorating!
Woof,
Sheepdog
I love decorating. There is no way around it. Every year, the bunnies and I end up decorating our modest apartment, and typically at least 1 other dwelling (Otter's cabin). Last night we pulled the boxes out of our storage shed and began setting things up. I like to think about decorating in 3 stages: the inside, the outside, and of course, the Christmas Tree. Here are some notes I've made on each of these:
The Inside:
Decorations can be anything really. Wrapped boxes, picture frames, pot-holders, tablecloth, Christmas blankets, you get the idea. Our first tree in college was decorated with pipe cleaner ornaments and candy canes with 1 strand of lights adorning it. We even tried to make popcorn strings but found that was much harder than it looks! I've kept an eye out for small decorations, and lights at garage sales over the years. We now have a few tins, more strands of lights, some Christmas books, and a wreath. Aside from garage sales, I like to peruse thrift stores, Goodwill, and the dollar tree. Or, try asking any relatives for Christmas decorations.
This year we tried something new, a snow scene. We used a piece of snow cloth, and added some fake trees and a few stuffed animals to create a Narnia-like snowscape. We even added a lamppost to the center! On our desk, we set out a checkered red and green cloth (Old tablecloth I think) and set up a clock, a nutcracker and some wrapped boxes. Tada! instant Nutcracker scene. Some well-placed garland from the dollar tree went up above the kitchen, along with a strand of lights and a few tins.
The Outside:
I was lucky enough one year to come across an entire box of lights at a garage sale for a quarter. Often people buy new lights each year and don't want to fix/store their old ones. Pick these up, spend some time fixing the lights and bobs your uncle! You also don't need enough lights for the martians to see your house (unless your Calvin that is). Decorate the front porch, or a railing, and hook your lights up to the porch light with a doohickey. http://www.amazon.com/Leviton-1403-Outlet-Socket-Adapter/dp/B001F71O70/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1449015735&sr=8-1&keywords=light+socket+to+plug+adapter
This way, you can turn on your porch light to light up the outside! Remember, in general you only want 4 or so sets of Christmas lights daisy-chained together before breaking out another extension cord.
*Pro-tip: Anytime I see an extension cord, either 2-prong or 3-prong at a garage sale for a couple dollars I pick it up. You can never really have too many extension cords.
The Tree:
One tradition I really like is picking up a couple of new ornaments each year to add to the tree. This way there is a nice blend of older and newer ornaments. Some folks prefer a tree to have a theme (all gold ornaments or only globes). This is fine, but for some reason I like having all sorts of ornaments on the tree. It's also easier to pick up or make new ornaments as I don't have a theme I have to match. Quilling and oragami ornaments can be really beautiful! As for lights, I typically run one strand of white lights up and down the trunk, and 2-3 strands around the tree. The trunk lights help illuminate the ornaments, and give the tree more depth. Oh! And we have an angel adorning the tip top. :)
Tree's can be expensive. If you live out in the woods, or close to tree farms, see if there is a grower nearby where you can pick out your tree directly. They are usually cheaper this way, and you get a much nicer selection. It can also be worth asking a tree lot or tree farm for a "charlie brown tree". You know the one, the sad little tree who just didn't hit his growth spurt or has some missing branches on one side. They may just drop the price on it or give it away free!
*Pro-tip: Bring a long a pocket knife and some gloves. Often times tree places have plenty of twine, but not enough knives to go around. Having your own can be a huge help!
Well, that's all for now. See you all later, and enjoy your decorating!
Woof,
Sheepdog
Wednesday, November 25, 2015
~Bonus Post Cooking~
Hello all! Sheepdog here with a How to Survive Post-College Cooking Class!
Well then, let's take a look at where college grads are coming from. Unless cooking is a hobby of yours, it is more than likely you grew up eating whatever food your parents or guardians cooked. Furthermore, food is usually provided in college, either by the college, or by enthusiastic roommates and rabbits! The afore-mentioned roommates probably only baked sweets, and didn't do too much actual cooking as supplies and kitchen utensils were limited. As my master quickly realized once out on his own, there are a few key things to keeping oneself fed and watered: cooking utensils, ingredients, time, and recipes. We'll take a look at these things each in their turn.
Cooking Utensils
A well stocked kitchen doesn't always have to look like the Martha Stuart kitchens in those MTV shows to be serviceable. In my experience, most meals can be cooked with the following:
1-2 pots:
Instead of buying a whole pot set, find just a couple nice pots, a medium sized one, and larger sized one. Mostly just one pot will suffice, but when trying to cook noodles and sauce for example, a second one is helpful.
1-2 frying pans:
The same rule applies hear, more is not always better. Buy yourself a good cast-iron skillet (lodge brand at freddies is only about 15-20$). The second skillet can be anything really, I prefer a non-stick surface for pancakes and the like for my second one.
1 baking pan (can be square, rectangle or circle):
ceramic is nice, but tempered glass works great as well. Metal works too, but won't always cook food as evenly. A circle is nice because it doubles as a pie pan. :)
1 Small Mixer:
We actually seldom use our mixer, but you can get one for 12$ or so at walmart, and it's easier than using a wooden spoon to stir with.
1 Metal Mixing Bowl:
This can be literally anything to mix ingredients together with. I use metal because it's cheap, lightweight, and I don't have to worry about scratching or breaking it.
1-2 lids for your pots and frying pans:
You don't have to have one for every pot or pan, but a few can help when boiling water, steaming veggies in a frypan, or keeping grease off of your new outfit. :)
Knives:
Instead of a whole knife block that costs 150$, just buy 3 nice knives, a large, a medium, and a small (chef knife, boning knife, and paring knife). I like Chicago cutlery knives, and KitchenAid knives. These are full tang (the blade goes through the handle so it won't break as easy) and nice and sharp. Sharp knives in the kitchen are safer, and can make you feel more like a chef! If you're knives get dull, find a friend or someone to sharpen them if possible.
Misc:
A few wooden spoons, some serving/stirring spoons (plastic are fine), a can opener, a potato peeler, some spatulas (you probably want 1 metal spatula for your cast iron skillet), a cheese grater. I'm sure there are other things, but you can go pretty far with just these.
Ingredients:
Staples:
Staple items is a list of items you want readily available to you (eggs, salt, milk, butter etc). For example, my master's kitchen usually has juice, a basket of fruit, chocolate chips (and baking stuff), mexican fixings (re-fried beans, cheese, ground beef), eggs, milk, butter, spices...you get the idea. The goal of having a "staple" list is to ensure there is always something to eat or put together even toward the end of the week/month, however far apart shopping trips are. Write out a list of items that you like to have on hand, and attach it to the fridge. This will be your staple list, and you can change and edit as you go.
List of Meal Ideas:
Meal Ideas can be really tricky to write out. Some meals are designed to be made for 4-6 people, you may not want to eat the same thing for 19 days. Other meals may be small but not sound good. My first recommendation is to sit down before dinner and write out everything that sounds good. If you try this trick after dinner you will have a harder time. Keep adding to this list every time you think of or remember a meal that sounds good. If you're going to do most or all of the cooking, it's best to cook food you're excited about. While you're at it, write out a second list of ideas that are quick and easy. In this crazy world there are nights where a full blown Italian meal just sounds like too much work. Keep this quick list as healthy and simple as you can. Here's a sample of a quick meal list:
Tacos' (substitute lettuce instead of a tortilla to cut out gluten).
Plum Pork (baked pork with plum sauce poured on top).
Chicken salad (make sure the chicken is thawed ahead of time).
veggie platter and hummus (some nights I'm just not very hungry. This is an excellent cold mean or snack plate. Add some crackers and a bit of cheese if you are feeling more hungry).
Pasta (any type of pasta and a can of your favorite spaghetti sauce. Add some fresh veggies to the sauce for some extra flavor).
Breakfast for Dinner (I am usually in too much of a hurry to have more than a bit on my way out the door. This is a good way to enjoy those full breakfasts. Fry up an egg or two, add a piece of toast and some potatoes. If your in a hurry, cube the potatoes and fry them up in butter instead of making hashbrowns.
Recipes:
Get yourself a small recipe box, and a stack of notecards. Write down any recipes you know of. next, check some websites, look through cookbooks, ask friends. :) Beg, borrow, steal, fill that box up if you can. The more you find, the more options you have to look through each week as you make your grocery list. The main thing I look for is simple, easy to make, and yummy sounding! Otter has a fantastic cookbook that is designed for 1-4 people meals. :D
Feel free to tweak a recipe once you're comfortable with it. I began by adding or subtracting things. A can of sauce from the store I might add some fresh mushrooms to. A complicated lasagna recipe I might only use 1 kind of cheese instead of 3. All out of cream of tarter? Substitute 1 tsp. of lemon juice. Want more flavor? Add 1/4 tsp of salt to meat, or add 1 tsp of vanilla to a bread recipe. Make notes on your cards.
Time:
Remember, cooking is kind of like a hobby. Set aside enough time to really spend on meals, and pre-cook or prepare meals on days you know you won't have much time. String some lights in the kitchen, or hang up some art on the wall. Put on a show or some music. Cooking should be seen as an activity not as a chore. :) Dance around the kitchen or sit on the counter if no one is around.
Other Thoughts:
As for being more healthy, I admit I have a ways to go. One thing that helps is to begin at the top. Stock your kitchen with healthy foods. If you're cruising the kitchen (which I do about every 2 hours) if instead of sugar, there is a basket of fruit, I will pick up a piece of fruit. I find my fruit tends to go bad if there is a plate of cookies on the counter, or chocolate in the cupboard *silly me*). I also don't really like veggies, but I will eat them if there is ranch in the fridge, or hummus laying around. Fruit can be expensive, but it can also be found on sale. Bananas are filling and usually pretty inexpensive, there are 20 kinds of apples to choose from. Pick whatever is less than 1.50$ pound. I avoid red delicious though, they can be dry. Don't underestimate granola bars or protein bars. We buy a box once every other month or so from costco. There are 48 bars in a box and the box is 12$. These help fill me (and the bunnies) up between meals, and if you have a glass of water with it you're all set!
Some notes from my first time out:
1. Bacon does not constitute an entire meal. neither do cookies.
2. Be sure to have some back-up meals on hand. sometimes a meal just doesn't turn out the way it should, or something goes bad before you expect it to.
3. Cooking is hard. don't get discouraged and don't be afraid to call someone for advice. I call my Grandmother or Mother a couple times a month about a spice or cooking question.
4. A glob of peanut butter and some crackers don't count either.
5. Resist the urge to bake cookies just to eat the raw batter. Or if you can't resist, don't eat all the batter in one night!
6. The freezer is your friend. You can freeze just about anything, including leftovers, bread, tortillas, soup, etc.
7. Storage containers. Get a set of plastic or glass storage containers for leftovers.
8. Keep your kitchen clean. This way it feels welcoming and doesn't feel as much of a chore.
Hope these notes of a scatter-brained Sheepdog are of help!
Woof!
Well then, let's take a look at where college grads are coming from. Unless cooking is a hobby of yours, it is more than likely you grew up eating whatever food your parents or guardians cooked. Furthermore, food is usually provided in college, either by the college, or by enthusiastic roommates and rabbits! The afore-mentioned roommates probably only baked sweets, and didn't do too much actual cooking as supplies and kitchen utensils were limited. As my master quickly realized once out on his own, there are a few key things to keeping oneself fed and watered: cooking utensils, ingredients, time, and recipes. We'll take a look at these things each in their turn.
Cooking Utensils
A well stocked kitchen doesn't always have to look like the Martha Stuart kitchens in those MTV shows to be serviceable. In my experience, most meals can be cooked with the following:
1-2 pots:
Instead of buying a whole pot set, find just a couple nice pots, a medium sized one, and larger sized one. Mostly just one pot will suffice, but when trying to cook noodles and sauce for example, a second one is helpful.
1-2 frying pans:
The same rule applies hear, more is not always better. Buy yourself a good cast-iron skillet (lodge brand at freddies is only about 15-20$). The second skillet can be anything really, I prefer a non-stick surface for pancakes and the like for my second one.
1 baking pan (can be square, rectangle or circle):
ceramic is nice, but tempered glass works great as well. Metal works too, but won't always cook food as evenly. A circle is nice because it doubles as a pie pan. :)
1 Small Mixer:
We actually seldom use our mixer, but you can get one for 12$ or so at walmart, and it's easier than using a wooden spoon to stir with.
1 Metal Mixing Bowl:
This can be literally anything to mix ingredients together with. I use metal because it's cheap, lightweight, and I don't have to worry about scratching or breaking it.
1-2 lids for your pots and frying pans:
You don't have to have one for every pot or pan, but a few can help when boiling water, steaming veggies in a frypan, or keeping grease off of your new outfit. :)
Knives:
Instead of a whole knife block that costs 150$, just buy 3 nice knives, a large, a medium, and a small (chef knife, boning knife, and paring knife). I like Chicago cutlery knives, and KitchenAid knives. These are full tang (the blade goes through the handle so it won't break as easy) and nice and sharp. Sharp knives in the kitchen are safer, and can make you feel more like a chef! If you're knives get dull, find a friend or someone to sharpen them if possible.
Misc:
A few wooden spoons, some serving/stirring spoons (plastic are fine), a can opener, a potato peeler, some spatulas (you probably want 1 metal spatula for your cast iron skillet), a cheese grater. I'm sure there are other things, but you can go pretty far with just these.
Ingredients:
Staples:
Staple items is a list of items you want readily available to you (eggs, salt, milk, butter etc). For example, my master's kitchen usually has juice, a basket of fruit, chocolate chips (and baking stuff), mexican fixings (re-fried beans, cheese, ground beef), eggs, milk, butter, spices...you get the idea. The goal of having a "staple" list is to ensure there is always something to eat or put together even toward the end of the week/month, however far apart shopping trips are. Write out a list of items that you like to have on hand, and attach it to the fridge. This will be your staple list, and you can change and edit as you go.
List of Meal Ideas:
Meal Ideas can be really tricky to write out. Some meals are designed to be made for 4-6 people, you may not want to eat the same thing for 19 days. Other meals may be small but not sound good. My first recommendation is to sit down before dinner and write out everything that sounds good. If you try this trick after dinner you will have a harder time. Keep adding to this list every time you think of or remember a meal that sounds good. If you're going to do most or all of the cooking, it's best to cook food you're excited about. While you're at it, write out a second list of ideas that are quick and easy. In this crazy world there are nights where a full blown Italian meal just sounds like too much work. Keep this quick list as healthy and simple as you can. Here's a sample of a quick meal list:
Tacos' (substitute lettuce instead of a tortilla to cut out gluten).
Plum Pork (baked pork with plum sauce poured on top).
Chicken salad (make sure the chicken is thawed ahead of time).
veggie platter and hummus (some nights I'm just not very hungry. This is an excellent cold mean or snack plate. Add some crackers and a bit of cheese if you are feeling more hungry).
Pasta (any type of pasta and a can of your favorite spaghetti sauce. Add some fresh veggies to the sauce for some extra flavor).
Breakfast for Dinner (I am usually in too much of a hurry to have more than a bit on my way out the door. This is a good way to enjoy those full breakfasts. Fry up an egg or two, add a piece of toast and some potatoes. If your in a hurry, cube the potatoes and fry them up in butter instead of making hashbrowns.
Recipes:
Get yourself a small recipe box, and a stack of notecards. Write down any recipes you know of. next, check some websites, look through cookbooks, ask friends. :) Beg, borrow, steal, fill that box up if you can. The more you find, the more options you have to look through each week as you make your grocery list. The main thing I look for is simple, easy to make, and yummy sounding! Otter has a fantastic cookbook that is designed for 1-4 people meals. :D
Feel free to tweak a recipe once you're comfortable with it. I began by adding or subtracting things. A can of sauce from the store I might add some fresh mushrooms to. A complicated lasagna recipe I might only use 1 kind of cheese instead of 3. All out of cream of tarter? Substitute 1 tsp. of lemon juice. Want more flavor? Add 1/4 tsp of salt to meat, or add 1 tsp of vanilla to a bread recipe. Make notes on your cards.
Time:
Remember, cooking is kind of like a hobby. Set aside enough time to really spend on meals, and pre-cook or prepare meals on days you know you won't have much time. String some lights in the kitchen, or hang up some art on the wall. Put on a show or some music. Cooking should be seen as an activity not as a chore. :) Dance around the kitchen or sit on the counter if no one is around.
Other Thoughts:
As for being more healthy, I admit I have a ways to go. One thing that helps is to begin at the top. Stock your kitchen with healthy foods. If you're cruising the kitchen (which I do about every 2 hours) if instead of sugar, there is a basket of fruit, I will pick up a piece of fruit. I find my fruit tends to go bad if there is a plate of cookies on the counter, or chocolate in the cupboard *silly me*). I also don't really like veggies, but I will eat them if there is ranch in the fridge, or hummus laying around. Fruit can be expensive, but it can also be found on sale. Bananas are filling and usually pretty inexpensive, there are 20 kinds of apples to choose from. Pick whatever is less than 1.50$ pound. I avoid red delicious though, they can be dry. Don't underestimate granola bars or protein bars. We buy a box once every other month or so from costco. There are 48 bars in a box and the box is 12$. These help fill me (and the bunnies) up between meals, and if you have a glass of water with it you're all set!
Some notes from my first time out:
1. Bacon does not constitute an entire meal. neither do cookies.
2. Be sure to have some back-up meals on hand. sometimes a meal just doesn't turn out the way it should, or something goes bad before you expect it to.
3. Cooking is hard. don't get discouraged and don't be afraid to call someone for advice. I call my Grandmother or Mother a couple times a month about a spice or cooking question.
4. A glob of peanut butter and some crackers don't count either.
5. Resist the urge to bake cookies just to eat the raw batter. Or if you can't resist, don't eat all the batter in one night!
6. The freezer is your friend. You can freeze just about anything, including leftovers, bread, tortillas, soup, etc.
7. Storage containers. Get a set of plastic or glass storage containers for leftovers.
8. Keep your kitchen clean. This way it feels welcoming and doesn't feel as much of a chore.
Hope these notes of a scatter-brained Sheepdog are of help!
Woof!
Is it Christmas Yet? Part II – Homemade Presents
Christmas Presents - Homemade
Many people have mixed feelings about homemade presents.
Some people feel that they come across as “cheap”, others feel like there is
nothing better or thoughtful than something homemade. I take the second approach.
I guess it can depend on who the present is for, or the time and effort you put
into it. When I first got married, neither my spouse nor I had a job and we
ended up doing homemade presents for just about everyone. I like to think they
were well thought out and tasteful however. J Since then, even
though our financial situation has improved, we still do a few homemade
presents each year because we simply like the idea of giving homemade gifts to
people, and it’s a great excuse to do crafty things! So we have made (with some
help from bunnies) a list of crafts / projects that make great Christmas presents!
Enjoy. :
Baking:
Food might seem cheap, but it is one the most heartwarming
gifts to give. In the winter, and around the holidays people enjoy having extra
treats to celebrate the season. Whether or not you have a secret recipe or a talent
for baking doesn’t really matter. I love cookies and desserts (ask anyone) but
I don’t always have time to make things. People get busy with life, and hobbies
like cooking can fall by the wayside. Taking the time to bake something will
always be appreciated. Here is a small list of things we usually make for
people around this time:
Pumpkin Bread. It freezes well, travels well, and is perfect
with a cup of cocoa or coffee.
Cookie / Cake mix. Prepare a jar with the dry ingredients
(flour, salt, chocolate chips, etc.). Then print out the directions and the
other ingredients needed (1 egg, ½ cup milk, etc.) and tape the directions to
the jar. You can also decorate the jar with ribbons or bows.
Baked cookies, in a tin or glass jar.
Fudge, seasonal treats are always a good idea.
Pretty much anything chocolate ;)
Snack basket. We’ve done this a couple of times, where you
fill it with cheese / crackers / meat, popcorn, etc.
Games:
I’m not quite sure how I started, but a couple of years ago
I began designing personalized games for people as presents. In my case I
started out with a known game, Dominion, and built a new expansion for it. This
project took weeks, but was a lot of fun to create. First, I started out with
sheets of notebook paper and wrote out what each card was going to do and what
I wanted it to look like. Next, I downloaded a free image editing program
called paint.net and set to work editing and building cards off of images from
google. Finally, I sent all my digital cards to Walmart to print them.
Eventually I realized that Office Depot has better deals on printing and would even
print double-sided and cut them out for me. Anyway, I’ve done this kind of
project maybe 6 times and it has been a winner every time!
Painting:
Sadly, I have no skill at painting, coloring, drawing,
watercolors. *Sob* However, my wife has some talent in the area, and has
created a number of wonderful paintings for family members.
Photography:
There are a lot of photo projects you can do, and I have it
on good authority that grandparents in particular enjoy photos! You can do
anything from a photo calendar to framed photos to a scrapbook! Most of the stuff
hanging on the walls in our apartment are gifts for example. J
Writing:
Don’t discount writing projects. Anything from a short story
to an epic! Even if you have already written it up, sending a copy of your
book, or better yet, bound and printed from kinkos can be a wonderful idea! I
haven’t written anything worth binding, but it’s still a good idea. J
Wood Projects:
You kind of need access to a workshop or tools for this one,
but there are quite a few simple wood projects that one can do without having
to build a birdhouse. ;) I’ve created a small jewelry box before, which required
a few cuts and some clamps and a couple of hinges. I’ve also done walking
sticks which are very easy. Find a good branch, cut it, strip it, carve it, and
add some olive oil or stain to bring out the color of the wood. If you’re
feeling really crafty, wrap a leather hand-hold near the top with leather
scraps and some glue. Some slightly more advanced ideas can include coasters,
candlestick holders, or a sword! For the right person, you can make scrimshaw
sticks for martial arts. These are pretty simple: buy a long thick dowel (oak
if you can find it) cut it into 2 pieces each about 1-2 feet long. Then carve a
design for each handle and you’re done! A simple sword can be made the same
way.
Odds and Ends Projects:
Take a walk around Home Depot and pick up ideas. Do you want
to make a lightsaber? Cross? Wine bottle holder? Marble track? Marshmellow gun?
Potato gun? Find the right employee and they will give you dozens of ideas!
Hmm, just writing this gives me all kinds of ideas! I have a
few games we created, I have some baking ideas in mind, and I may trawl around
the craft store. Anyway, hope you leave today feeling inspired!
Woof!
-Sheepdog-
Monday, November 23, 2015
Is it Christmas Yet? Part I - Shopping
Christmas, and the holidays is really a magical time of year. Last year, I went on a scientific quest to prove the possibility, plausibility, and time it would take Santa to make his annual run around the world delivering presents. This year, I plan to sit back and really enjoy the season. And this begins with starting my celebrating a bit earlier than usual. (I have it on good authority that some folks have started their celebrating even earlier ;) As a sort of countdown to Christmas, I will be posting various pieces of advice on how to not only survive the holidays, but how to make the most out of them without stressing out. Enjoy!
Christmas Shopping:
A lot of people love the holiday, but dislike fighting the crowds. They also get stressed when shopping. Will this person like this? Is it the right size? What if I go over budget? To help with the madness, I have written out a quick guide to shopping that should take some of the stress away, and help you enjoy your excursions.
The Day Before-Preparation
The bunnies and I sat down and wrote out a Christmas List of folks we want to shop for. This is a crucial first step. You want a general idea of what your looking for, about how much you are willing to spend (per person, or per gift). While your at it, take a look at your budget. It is a good idea to know ahead of time what you are comfortable spending. A list of all relatives and friends you plan to buy for is also helpful.
The next step is picking your day and the location. Do you want company? Plan for a day you can go shopping with friends. Which mall/stores do you want to go to? If possible, set aside the entire day for shopping. You don't want to feel rushed, or hurried. This way, if you run into traffic, or if the mall is packed, you don't feel stressed out. Crowds tend to ebb and flow. Around lunch is a good time to get some shopping done because most of the shoppers will be a the food court. If a store is too packed, go outside for a while and enjoy the fresh air.
Finally, be sure to check any adds, sales, or promotions that you think may be helpful. Especially big ticket items! Have a good idea the the average price is, that way you know a good (or bad) deal when you see it.
Morning Of: Preparation-Getting read to leave the house
Shopping day! Before leaving the house, I have a few suggestions for you. Eat a big breakfast, preferably brunch if you can. You don't want to feel faint or tired while out shopping, and you want to avoid eating grease at mcdonalds or something while out and about (chocolate or sugar is fine;).
Next, double check last minute sales events before leaving. This is another reason brunch is so important. It leaves you an hour or so after you wake up and before you make brunch to check online for events or sales.
Be sure to remember your list. (spoiler alert, we forgot ours). Your list will help you keep focused, and you can cross things off as you go.
Dress appropriately. You are setting out for what may possibly be a 2-4 hour walk indoors. Wear comfy walking shoes, and a comfortable outfit. Dress with a couple layers. That way, you can go indoors or ourdoors and not be too hot or cold.
Bring a small snack, and be sure to bring along 5-10$ for snacks or a drink while your out. Shopping is hard work. It's a good idea to take a break now and then, and a small pick-me-up will keep your spirits up.
Make sure your car is fueled and ready to go. Bring music or something in case you run into traffic. Does your trunk have enough room for your purchases? You don't want them in the backseat if you plan to leave your car for long stretches of time.
Check that your phone is charged. More than likely you may need to make a few calls either to friends or family if you are the "designated" shopper, or to check sizes or duplicate items, etc.
This is more of an afterthought, but had an idea on what you want for dinner. More than likely, you will return home hungry, but (hopefully) pleased with your purchases. Dinner should be quick, easy, and filling.
Shopping:
You made it! Your in the mall, or wherever, and ready to go shopping. Awesome! If you are shopping with a friend (or posse) check that each group or pair have a phone.
Take a look at your list, and decide which shops you want to hit first. Remember, you're out to have fun! If you want to window shop, or spend extra time in Barnes and Noble for example, do it! Your list is more of a guide, not a grocery list. Be willing to change someone's idea if you find something on the shelf that has someone's name written all over it.
Take some time to appreciate the decorations. Most malls and stores go all out on their decorations. Some towns even set up nutcracker cards all over! Other 2-story malls have giant Christmas trees, and Santa. If you're feeling down, just watch the face of a kid who sits on Santa's lap. :)
Keep an eye on time. Clocks and watches work differently in malls.
Finally, keep all receipts, and keep a running total on how much you spend. This way your not blindsided when you get home, or the next time you check your account.
Here's how we fared on our trip:
Planning: we wrote out everyone's name on a list, but left a lot of blanks as we couldn't think of what they might want. We did plan a couple of homeade presents, which aside from keeping the cost down, can be creative and very special! The bunnies checked for deals but didn't find any.
Morning: The following morning, we found out one of the deals had expired *sob*, so we'll have to come back when the deal is back on. Brunch was delicious! we had a full compliment breakfast, with cubed potatoes, 2 fried eggs, toast, juice, coffee, and bacan! Bellies full, we set out only to forget the list.
Shopping: After arriving at the mall, we met up with a posse of people to go shopping, but arrived at different times, and we all had lunch at separate places and times, which was fine, but made things a little disjointed. The decorations were incredible, and Christmas music was playing everywhere! It was rather like eating the first candy cane of the season. There were shoppers milling about but not too many. We lost track of time, did a lot of window shopping, and clothes shopping but found a few Christmas presents despite forgetting our list, and placed an order in to Office Depot for a card game. :D Overall it was a wonderful trip. Otter was there, so was Koda, Ducky, Owl, and the Mice. All of us being book lovers, we spent a couple hours in B and N, and I stopped off for a cookie as a small pick-me-up.
Aftermath: Looking back, there were several things that could have gone better, but it was a great day! We labeled all our receipts and placed them in a small bag that we can carry with us to parties in case a receipt may be needed. We re-evaluated our list, and wrote in more ideas we had by shopping around, and may yet head out on another excursion in the future! Next time we'll be more prepared.
Morning: The following morning, we found out one of the deals had expired *sob*, so we'll have to come back when the deal is back on. Brunch was delicious! we had a full compliment breakfast, with cubed potatoes, 2 fried eggs, toast, juice, coffee, and bacan! Bellies full, we set out only to forget the list.
Shopping: After arriving at the mall, we met up with a posse of people to go shopping, but arrived at different times, and we all had lunch at separate places and times, which was fine, but made things a little disjointed. The decorations were incredible, and Christmas music was playing everywhere! It was rather like eating the first candy cane of the season. There were shoppers milling about but not too many. We lost track of time, did a lot of window shopping, and clothes shopping but found a few Christmas presents despite forgetting our list, and placed an order in to Office Depot for a card game. :D Overall it was a wonderful trip. Otter was there, so was Koda, Ducky, Owl, and the Mice. All of us being book lovers, we spent a couple hours in B and N, and I stopped off for a cookie as a small pick-me-up.
Aftermath: Looking back, there were several things that could have gone better, but it was a great day! We labeled all our receipts and placed them in a small bag that we can carry with us to parties in case a receipt may be needed. We re-evaluated our list, and wrote in more ideas we had by shopping around, and may yet head out on another excursion in the future! Next time we'll be more prepared.
I hope your trip(s) goes well, and that these ideas help! I'll be back later with more Christmas advice!
Woof!
Sheepdog
Tuesday, November 17, 2015
Quadratic Equations
A swift introduction to Quadratic Functions and Equations
What with the rain pouring outside, I figured a nice comfy armchair
and a relaxing book might just do the trick. Ah! Here we are, a nice well-loved
story from Pythagoras and Euclid:
Quadratic Function:
AX2 + BX + C = 0
The quadratic function is basically a blend of a parabolic
function, and the standard form equation. You can kind of see the similarity if
you swap the 0 out for a Y:
Y = AX2 + BX + C
However, the quadratic function will automatically set Y to
0 for you, leaving you free to concentrate on solving for the X’s. Why do we
even want to solve for the X’s? A quadratic equation deals with values of X and
X2, and has a graph that looks like a giant letter U, or n,
depending on whether the graph is positive or negative. The graph only crosses
the Y axis once, but it crosses the X axis twice! As curious mathematicians, we
are curious exactly when it crosses the X axis, or when Y=0. This is why we
take the Y out and Swap in 0 right off the bat.
Luckily, an old bunny with a gray beard by the name of
Pythagoras E. Bunny, and his younger neighbor, Euclid Lopear Bunny, have made
some headway for us. Typically when solving for X in an equation containing X2,
we can either start factoring, use a table or graph, or try to solve it by
completing the square (spoiler, completing the square is long and tedious). Py
and Euclid decided to create a general solution for completing the square in
order to make it faster and easier for all bunny-kind. Their resulting solution
was:
![x = [ -b ± sqrt(b^2 - 4ac) ] / 2a](file:///C:\Users\BMABRY~1.WOO\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image001.gif){kind=small}
Granted, this looks messy, it but actually simplifies
everything into 1 step: plug in your numbers and solve! Given: 0=1x2
+ 5x + 6, we plug 1 in for A, 5 in for B, and 6 in for C:
X= -2 +- sqrt(52-4*1*6) all over 2*3, or (-2+-1)
/2. It’s the plus or minus that often confuses people. We actually solve the
equation twice (remember, we are looking for 2 solutions, the 2 places X
crosses the X axis).
+ (-2+1) /2 = -1/2
-. (-2-1) /2 = -3/2
X = -1/2 or -3/2
This isn't comprehensive, but it's meant to be a quick refresher / reminder about lop eared bunnys, I mean Quadratic Equations.
Enjoy!
Saturday, November 14, 2015
Saturday!!
It's been a good lazy Saturday. :) Some days its nice just to kick back and relax. Don't forget to take one now and again. Today I made an Apple Pie, watched Indiana Jones, (classic movie, its totally worth watching) and worked a bit on some mathematics. Maybe that's why I don't plan to include math in this post, because I'm mathed out for the moment. :)
In absence of math, I hope you enjoy the following*
According to tradition, Albert Einstein came up with this riddle when he was a child. While it may not pass as a riddle in the real sense, it still manages to measure one’s focus and intellect.
Riddle: There are 5 houses that have 5 occupants. Each occupant’s house is differently colored. The houses also have different choice of beverages, different cigarette brands, and a unique pet. Your goal is to figure out which occupant owns the fish.
Here is more information:
In absence of math, I hope you enjoy the following*
According to tradition, Albert Einstein came up with this riddle when he was a child. While it may not pass as a riddle in the real sense, it still manages to measure one’s focus and intellect.
Riddle: There are 5 houses that have 5 occupants. Each occupant’s house is differently colored. The houses also have different choice of beverages, different cigarette brands, and a unique pet. Your goal is to figure out which occupant owns the fish.
Here is more information:
- An Englishman resides in a red house
- The Dane drinks tea
- Dogs are kept by the Swede
- The green house is left to the white house
- The occupant of the green house drinks coffee
- The birds are kept by the Pall Mall smoker
- The Dunhill smoker lives in the yellow house
- The milk is drunk by the man living in the center house
- The first houses’ occupant is Norwegian
- The blend smoker’s neighbor keeps cats
- The horse keeper and the Dunhill smoker live next to each other
- The German smokes Prince
- The Norwegian lives right next to the blue house
- The blend smoker’s neighbor drinks water.
*Shamelessly stolen from: http://www.enkivillage.com/famous-riddles.html **
**Since this was cited, it wasn't stolen***
***Stop reading my footnotes and try to solve the problem!****
****And no peeking at the answer!*****
*****I bet you didn't know the answer was on the website until I said no peeking******
******Okay, I'm done with my footnotes now*^7
*^7This isn't even how to make a footnote is it?
Thursday, November 12, 2015
Grounded in God - Plus a rant about the perfect numbers in mathematics
What does it mean to be grounded in God? There are a lot of Christian-isms that we, as Christians use often. Phrases like: salvation, the cross, crucifixion, and others. How do we explain them to non-Christians? Today, we will look at the phrase "Grounded in God".
Being grounded is another way of saying having faith in something. For example, we all have faith in chairs. We sit in them, and they don't break (*crash!* well, most of the time). We have faith the sun will rise each morning. Really, faith is a simple concept of believing in something, be it a person, deity, or constant event. Grounded is also a way of saying we have a deeper (think tree roots) belief in something. We know, each day, that we will be taken care of, that we have someone else looking out for us, that we have a place to come back to. It is possible, for instance, to be grounded in a place, city, or even a spouse. In short, where/who can you go to to find rest, and re-assurance? As kids, this is often represented in our parents, or guardian. As young adults, it can become a friendship, or relationship. For Christians, it is God. We know that God will watch over us, that in good times and bad, we can always come back to God for comfort, rest, and re-assurance.
Which leads us to some questions. As a mathematician, is there a formal proof that God is there? After all, I wouldn't sit in a chair that was broken, or an empty space the rabbits were trying to convince me was a chair. I believe there is an overwhelming amount of proof that God not only exists, but is perfect. But before delving into the math, here are two great examples. First, take a walk outside. Find some nature and immerse yourself in it. Trees, birds, flowers. Is it really possible that all this was created randomly? Why do trees' leaves change color? Why are there millions of different plant and animal life? If it were all natural selection, wouldn't there eventually only be one species left? But if your nature walk, (lovely regardless) doesn't convince you, let's look at some numbers:
First, we have PI, or 3.14159265358... you get the idea. How on earth could natural selection create such a number, and furthermore, where did we even find it? Archimedes was working on finding this number in use to estimate the circumference of a circle, and later, to find the area of a circle. Circle's exist in nature, roughly. Trees are round, rocks are round. But nowhere in nature does there exist a perfect circle, have you ever noticed that? Even in our technology world, the best 5k TV's and monitors cannot create a perfect circle, because if you zoom in enough, it's all just small square black pixels creating a jagged line that looks like a circle to the naked eye. Yet I ask you to picture a perfect circle in you mind's eye, and you can picture one. :) We can use the numbers of a perfect circle in mathematics to engineer tires, machine parts and more. Natural selection is about things evolving in nature. Where then, do we get the idea of a perfect circle? For that matter, how can we imagine anything as being perfect, if perfection is unattainable? Squares, spheres, we can create super-exact shapes using modern technology, but not ever perfect. In our Olympic games, the entire sport is about coming as close perfection as we can.
Even time. Our clock system is arguably the most perfect man-made invention ever. The USNO Navy Master Clock (which uses 45 synchronized atomic clocks) is used to help keep the larger part of the world synchronized, but even it isn't perfect. We lose a full second about every 27 million years. That's accurate enough for us, but not technically perfect.
Where then, did we get the idea of perfection? Certainly not from nature. I believe we could only have gotten that idea from someone who is perfect. Someone who created us. I also believe, if we in fact, did evolve from apes, we could not comprehend the idea of perfection. We would only be interested in "close enough" whatever it took to get the job done. We might still have had tools, and skyscrapers, and the like, but our math would be totally different. Our concept of "perfect" would be replaced with "better than before".
And for math problems, and exact measurements, and perfect shapes, "better than before" just isn't good enough. Mathematics deals with absolutes, exact numbers, and perfect numbers. It's really a way to appreciate and worship God when you think about it. 3+2=5, yesterday, now and forever. Unless you add modular arithmetic to the equation, but I digress.
Anyway, hope this little article gives you something to think about. Time for some apple Pi methinks. :) Because what is more perfect for a late fall snack than a slice of apple pie and some ice cream?
~SheepDog~
Being grounded is another way of saying having faith in something. For example, we all have faith in chairs. We sit in them, and they don't break (*crash!* well, most of the time). We have faith the sun will rise each morning. Really, faith is a simple concept of believing in something, be it a person, deity, or constant event. Grounded is also a way of saying we have a deeper (think tree roots) belief in something. We know, each day, that we will be taken care of, that we have someone else looking out for us, that we have a place to come back to. It is possible, for instance, to be grounded in a place, city, or even a spouse. In short, where/who can you go to to find rest, and re-assurance? As kids, this is often represented in our parents, or guardian. As young adults, it can become a friendship, or relationship. For Christians, it is God. We know that God will watch over us, that in good times and bad, we can always come back to God for comfort, rest, and re-assurance.
Which leads us to some questions. As a mathematician, is there a formal proof that God is there? After all, I wouldn't sit in a chair that was broken, or an empty space the rabbits were trying to convince me was a chair. I believe there is an overwhelming amount of proof that God not only exists, but is perfect. But before delving into the math, here are two great examples. First, take a walk outside. Find some nature and immerse yourself in it. Trees, birds, flowers. Is it really possible that all this was created randomly? Why do trees' leaves change color? Why are there millions of different plant and animal life? If it were all natural selection, wouldn't there eventually only be one species left? But if your nature walk, (lovely regardless) doesn't convince you, let's look at some numbers:
First, we have PI, or 3.14159265358... you get the idea. How on earth could natural selection create such a number, and furthermore, where did we even find it? Archimedes was working on finding this number in use to estimate the circumference of a circle, and later, to find the area of a circle. Circle's exist in nature, roughly. Trees are round, rocks are round. But nowhere in nature does there exist a perfect circle, have you ever noticed that? Even in our technology world, the best 5k TV's and monitors cannot create a perfect circle, because if you zoom in enough, it's all just small square black pixels creating a jagged line that looks like a circle to the naked eye. Yet I ask you to picture a perfect circle in you mind's eye, and you can picture one. :) We can use the numbers of a perfect circle in mathematics to engineer tires, machine parts and more. Natural selection is about things evolving in nature. Where then, do we get the idea of a perfect circle? For that matter, how can we imagine anything as being perfect, if perfection is unattainable? Squares, spheres, we can create super-exact shapes using modern technology, but not ever perfect. In our Olympic games, the entire sport is about coming as close perfection as we can.
Even time. Our clock system is arguably the most perfect man-made invention ever. The USNO Navy Master Clock (which uses 45 synchronized atomic clocks) is used to help keep the larger part of the world synchronized, but even it isn't perfect. We lose a full second about every 27 million years. That's accurate enough for us, but not technically perfect.
Where then, did we get the idea of perfection? Certainly not from nature. I believe we could only have gotten that idea from someone who is perfect. Someone who created us. I also believe, if we in fact, did evolve from apes, we could not comprehend the idea of perfection. We would only be interested in "close enough" whatever it took to get the job done. We might still have had tools, and skyscrapers, and the like, but our math would be totally different. Our concept of "perfect" would be replaced with "better than before".
And for math problems, and exact measurements, and perfect shapes, "better than before" just isn't good enough. Mathematics deals with absolutes, exact numbers, and perfect numbers. It's really a way to appreciate and worship God when you think about it. 3+2=5, yesterday, now and forever. Unless you add modular arithmetic to the equation, but I digress.
Anyway, hope this little article gives you something to think about. Time for some apple Pi methinks. :) Because what is more perfect for a late fall snack than a slice of apple pie and some ice cream?
~SheepDog~
Friday, November 6, 2015
Math Things - Statistics
I don't believe I've covered a stat post yet, possibly because mostly I play with imaginary numbers, and abstract concepts. *sheepish grin* Learning statistics is actually incredibly useful, although one can get caught up in the formulas and doomed to roam the bell curve forever...
Anyway, without further ado, here are some intro notes to the all-scary statistics field:
1. Animal Shelter: Collecting and interpreting data, narrowing the field.
First, statistics is essentially collecting data, then sorting the data into subsections to answer questions. Let's say you go to an animal shelter, which by the way, you should go. And adopt a puppy. Because puppies are amazing! Anyway, you go there, and they have let's say 100 cute adorable faces to choose from. Most of the time, you walk up and down the isles, barking at the dogs until you find one you like. But let us say that you want to narrow it down a little, spend more time per puppy, but only look at the kind of puppy you want. You ask the nice volunteer how many fluffy medium sized dogs they have.
They may check their database, and realize they have 60 medium sized dogs, and of those 60, roughly 12 of them are fluffy. That narrows the field. :)
2. Husky's: Finding Patterns, Estimates, and Averages.
Secondly, statistics is often used to find patterns in data, find averages, and make predictions.
Back to our animal shelter! We go looking for a husky, for example, but they don't have any Husky's. *Sob*. So, naturally we ask, "do you ever get any Husky's in?" They can look through their history, and search for Husky, and they may tell us, they have gotten in 4 Husky's in the past 2 years. That may be the beginning of a pattern. You ask them, were those Husky's one litter, or did you get them at intervals? It may turn out they a Husky in about every 6 months, and they are adopted really quickly because there are a lot of Husky lovers out there. So the pattern is 1 Husky per 6 months. It's been about 3 months since they last had a Husky, and you decide to wait 3 months and come in to check. Awesome! That's finding a pattern, getting an average, then making an estimate! Not only do you get a fluffy blue-eyed Husky in 3 months, but you were using Statistics! *High Fives*
See? This stuff isn't so bad.
3. Those Silly Marbles: Probability
If you are past grade 6, chances are you have heard the age-old question, if there are 10 marbles in a bag, 4 are green, 2 are red, and 4 are blue, what are the chances of pulling a blue marble out? Or, here is another one: You are getting dressed in the dark. You own 6 pairs of socks. How many socks do you have to grab to know you have grabbed at least one matching pair? First, I would like to ask theguy, silly rabbit that wrote this, "Why am I only pulling one random marble from the sack? Why do I have a sack of marbles? If I plan to play with them, wouldn't I dump the whole lot on the floor? And why am I getting dressed in the dark? Do I even care if my socks match? Furthermore, if I have a roommate, or spouse that I don't want to wake, what are the odds of grabbing only socks in the dark to begin with? Like most people, my sock drawer doesn't contain only socks. Obviously, the pretty math problems on paper don't tend to factor in real life examples... Let's make our own:
The Holidays are almost here. You want to bake some amazing Chocolate Chip Cookies. However, about the time you are ready to place the cookies in the oven, you notice 3 bunnies hovering over you, wanting to sample the dough. Normally, you might let them, but this time, you had just enough batter to bake 15 cookies (after you snuck a taste of course). You need 14 cookies to take to you friend's Hobbit feast party, and can only spare one. Therefore, you decide to have the bunnies flip for it. A coin doesn't have 3 sides, so to make it fair, you take a dice, and assign each bunny 2 numbers on the dice. Blue bunny gets 1-2, Gray bunny gets 3-4, and Brown bunny gets 5-6. This way, each bunny get's an even chance at the cookie. With this example, it's pretty easy to tell each bunny gets a 2/6 (or 1/3) chance of winning. But suppose Blue and Gray bunny were in you fur the whole time you were trying to make the cookies. You decide to dock each of them 1 number. Now Blue gets 1, and Gray gets 2, and Brown gets 3-6. The odds have changed:
Blue = 1/6 chance
Gray = 1/6 chance
Brown = 4/6 chance
This way, all the bunnys still have a chance, but since Brown was the best behaved, she will get a better chance at winning than the other two. I think that is a much better example of a realistic example of probability.
In general, count the total number of possibilities, then count how many winning chances each person, or outcome has. Here are a few more examples:
Suppose instead of Bunnies and cookies, you were running a raffle on a new battleaxe. You sold tickets for 3$ each, and each person was only allowed to buy up to 10 tickets. You have a total of 50 tickets, and plan to use the 150$ proceeds to actually buy the prize battleaxe, and a small hobbit-y blade for yourself.
So the total possibilities are 50 tickets, where each one could be the winner. Let's take a look at who bought the tickets, and how many they bought:
Blue Bunny: 10 tickets
Gray Bunny: 10 tickets
Luna Cat: 5 tickets
Frankenstein Cat: 5 tickets
Black kitty: 10 tickets
Husky: 5 tickets
Meow: 1 ticket
Story: 1 ticket
Smitty: 3 tickets (not entirely sure why a car needs a battleaxe..?)
Total; 50 tickets
So, for example, Blue Bunny has a 10/50 or 1/5 chance of winning, while Smitty only has a 3/50 chance of winning.
Suppose sheepdog was worried that a bunny might win, and his troubles would never end. What are the chances of a bunny (any bunny) winning?
What are the odds of Story winning? Do you think she would keep it or give it to her parents?
Do you think Black Kitty would win? Why or Why not?
Have Fun!
Feel free to guess who will win! I will edit later with the winner.
-SheepDog-
Anyway, without further ado, here are some intro notes to the all-scary statistics field:
1. Animal Shelter: Collecting and interpreting data, narrowing the field.
First, statistics is essentially collecting data, then sorting the data into subsections to answer questions. Let's say you go to an animal shelter, which by the way, you should go. And adopt a puppy. Because puppies are amazing! Anyway, you go there, and they have let's say 100 cute adorable faces to choose from. Most of the time, you walk up and down the isles, barking at the dogs until you find one you like. But let us say that you want to narrow it down a little, spend more time per puppy, but only look at the kind of puppy you want. You ask the nice volunteer how many fluffy medium sized dogs they have.
They may check their database, and realize they have 60 medium sized dogs, and of those 60, roughly 12 of them are fluffy. That narrows the field. :)
2. Husky's: Finding Patterns, Estimates, and Averages.
Secondly, statistics is often used to find patterns in data, find averages, and make predictions.
Back to our animal shelter! We go looking for a husky, for example, but they don't have any Husky's. *Sob*. So, naturally we ask, "do you ever get any Husky's in?" They can look through their history, and search for Husky, and they may tell us, they have gotten in 4 Husky's in the past 2 years. That may be the beginning of a pattern. You ask them, were those Husky's one litter, or did you get them at intervals? It may turn out they a Husky in about every 6 months, and they are adopted really quickly because there are a lot of Husky lovers out there. So the pattern is 1 Husky per 6 months. It's been about 3 months since they last had a Husky, and you decide to wait 3 months and come in to check. Awesome! That's finding a pattern, getting an average, then making an estimate! Not only do you get a fluffy blue-eyed Husky in 3 months, but you were using Statistics! *High Fives*
See? This stuff isn't so bad.
3. Those Silly Marbles: Probability
If you are past grade 6, chances are you have heard the age-old question, if there are 10 marbles in a bag, 4 are green, 2 are red, and 4 are blue, what are the chances of pulling a blue marble out? Or, here is another one: You are getting dressed in the dark. You own 6 pairs of socks. How many socks do you have to grab to know you have grabbed at least one matching pair? First, I would like to ask the
The Holidays are almost here. You want to bake some amazing Chocolate Chip Cookies. However, about the time you are ready to place the cookies in the oven, you notice 3 bunnies hovering over you, wanting to sample the dough. Normally, you might let them, but this time, you had just enough batter to bake 15 cookies (after you snuck a taste of course). You need 14 cookies to take to you friend's Hobbit feast party, and can only spare one. Therefore, you decide to have the bunnies flip for it. A coin doesn't have 3 sides, so to make it fair, you take a dice, and assign each bunny 2 numbers on the dice. Blue bunny gets 1-2, Gray bunny gets 3-4, and Brown bunny gets 5-6. This way, each bunny get's an even chance at the cookie. With this example, it's pretty easy to tell each bunny gets a 2/6 (or 1/3) chance of winning. But suppose Blue and Gray bunny were in you fur the whole time you were trying to make the cookies. You decide to dock each of them 1 number. Now Blue gets 1, and Gray gets 2, and Brown gets 3-6. The odds have changed:
Blue = 1/6 chance
Gray = 1/6 chance
Brown = 4/6 chance
This way, all the bunnys still have a chance, but since Brown was the best behaved, she will get a better chance at winning than the other two. I think that is a much better example of a realistic example of probability.
In general, count the total number of possibilities, then count how many winning chances each person, or outcome has. Here are a few more examples:
Suppose instead of Bunnies and cookies, you were running a raffle on a new battleaxe. You sold tickets for 3$ each, and each person was only allowed to buy up to 10 tickets. You have a total of 50 tickets, and plan to use the 150$ proceeds to actually buy the prize battleaxe, and a small hobbit-y blade for yourself.
So the total possibilities are 50 tickets, where each one could be the winner. Let's take a look at who bought the tickets, and how many they bought:
Blue Bunny: 10 tickets
Gray Bunny: 10 tickets
Luna Cat: 5 tickets
Frankenstein Cat: 5 tickets
Black kitty: 10 tickets
Husky: 5 tickets
Meow: 1 ticket
Story: 1 ticket
Smitty: 3 tickets (not entirely sure why a car needs a battleaxe..?)
Total; 50 tickets
So, for example, Blue Bunny has a 10/50 or 1/5 chance of winning, while Smitty only has a 3/50 chance of winning.
Suppose sheepdog was worried that a bunny might win, and his troubles would never end. What are the chances of a bunny (any bunny) winning?
What are the odds of Story winning? Do you think she would keep it or give it to her parents?
Do you think Black Kitty would win? Why or Why not?
Have Fun!
Feel free to guess who will win! I will edit later with the winner.
-SheepDog-
Tuesday, November 3, 2015
Feeling Hobbit-y
Hello Again!
Well, Halloween has come and gone. It took a few days, but the sugar high's are over, my eyes have stopped twitching and my tail is no longer tied in a knot, and my teeth are rotting out. Time to start thinking about holiday baking! Too soon? Well, okay then. We can talk about Hobbits instead.
Hobbits, for those of you who have lived in a hole and arn't Hobbits yourselves, are a fictitious race of little people imagined up by J.R.R. Tolkien, author of The Lord of The Rings. While the movies have only recently come out, the books have been out for some 70 years! If you haven't read them yet, I highly encourage it. They are perfect nice, slow reading books for the cold November month, and best read to when there is a storm outside. But I digress. Hobbits are a curious people, only about 3 feet high or so, with lots of curly hair, a healthy appetite, and tend to be a fairly good humor. They like lots of meals (10 meals a day if they can get them), they use simple tools and are, as a general rule, farmers. While they may seem quaint, or soft, Hobbits are indeed a very interesting people, preferring peace and jollyment (is that a word) to squabbles and fighting. They can be a very resilient people when called upon. Overall, they are a splendid people, and we have a lot to learn from them. Here is a quick list of how to live more like a Hobbit:
- Hobbits enjoy all kinds of food, generally homeade, and take great pride in their pantry's and larders. With the Holiday's coming up, bake a pie! Make some fresh chili or stew. :)
- Take a hike or walk through the woods. Don't bring your phone or even your camera. Your here to enjoy nature, not post about what a great time you had on Facebook. :) If you fancy company, bring a friend.
- Hobbits are not overly known for publishing literature, but they love a good story. Read, listen to, or make up a story to warm the evening chill.
- Hobbits love having a fire, tea, and a warm blanket on cold winter months. This can be one of life's secret joys.
- Hobbits don't just party, they go all out. Bilbo's birthday went on all day, emptied the entire county of it's food stores, and several businesses besides. Hobbits also give away gifts on their birthdays, sort of party favors, but more elaborate. Make a spectacle! Cause a scene!
- Hobbits are friendly, as a rule. Go out on the town, or invite some people over, try drawing or painting. Remember, life isn't only about work, sleep, and the occasional tv show. You don't have to live for the weekends, evenings are great for activities. :)
- They also have a tenancy to walk around barefoot. But then, Hobbit feet are very tough, If you can manage it, take a walk barefoot in the grass, it can be very fun!
Enjoy your fall afternoon! I think this week I shall have to bake a pie. :) Or cake. Everyone likes cake.
Well, Halloween has come and gone. It took a few days, but the sugar high's are over, my eyes have stopped twitching and my tail is no longer tied in a knot, and my teeth are rotting out. Time to start thinking about holiday baking! Too soon? Well, okay then. We can talk about Hobbits instead.
Hobbits, for those of you who have lived in a hole and arn't Hobbits yourselves, are a fictitious race of little people imagined up by J.R.R. Tolkien, author of The Lord of The Rings. While the movies have only recently come out, the books have been out for some 70 years! If you haven't read them yet, I highly encourage it. They are perfect nice, slow reading books for the cold November month, and best read to when there is a storm outside. But I digress. Hobbits are a curious people, only about 3 feet high or so, with lots of curly hair, a healthy appetite, and tend to be a fairly good humor. They like lots of meals (10 meals a day if they can get them), they use simple tools and are, as a general rule, farmers. While they may seem quaint, or soft, Hobbits are indeed a very interesting people, preferring peace and jollyment (is that a word) to squabbles and fighting. They can be a very resilient people when called upon. Overall, they are a splendid people, and we have a lot to learn from them. Here is a quick list of how to live more like a Hobbit:
- Hobbits enjoy all kinds of food, generally homeade, and take great pride in their pantry's and larders. With the Holiday's coming up, bake a pie! Make some fresh chili or stew. :)
- Take a hike or walk through the woods. Don't bring your phone or even your camera. Your here to enjoy nature, not post about what a great time you had on Facebook. :) If you fancy company, bring a friend.
- Hobbits are not overly known for publishing literature, but they love a good story. Read, listen to, or make up a story to warm the evening chill.
- Hobbits love having a fire, tea, and a warm blanket on cold winter months. This can be one of life's secret joys.
- Hobbits don't just party, they go all out. Bilbo's birthday went on all day, emptied the entire county of it's food stores, and several businesses besides. Hobbits also give away gifts on their birthdays, sort of party favors, but more elaborate. Make a spectacle! Cause a scene!
- Hobbits are friendly, as a rule. Go out on the town, or invite some people over, try drawing or painting. Remember, life isn't only about work, sleep, and the occasional tv show. You don't have to live for the weekends, evenings are great for activities. :)
- They also have a tenancy to walk around barefoot. But then, Hobbit feet are very tough, If you can manage it, take a walk barefoot in the grass, it can be very fun!
Enjoy your fall afternoon! I think this week I shall have to bake a pie. :) Or cake. Everyone likes cake.
Monday, October 26, 2015
Windows 10 - Updated
Good Afternoon,
After much head-shaking, hand-shaking, writing cramps, and lots and lots of sugar, we are proud to present the updated edition of surviving the move to Windows 10:
Part I –
Introduction
Upgrade
to Windows 10 for Free? What does that mean? Will it wreck my computer, destroy
My Documents? What if everything goes wrong? Do I have to upgrade?
We
have been there too – Microsoft is now offering a deal for all users with
Windows 7 and up – upgrade to their latest operating system for free. So we
looked it up, researched it, and then just simply upgraded to find out what would happen.
Our Story:
Brian
and I are computer gurus, we enjoy experimenting, testing and researching. But
most of all, we are computer users. Every day, we have to turn on our
computers, and work and play and everything has to work just right. Most of us
approach computers like we do cars, we need things done now and the computer
has to wake up, and work right. If something is broken, our world is broken,
and we can no longer be productive. So we did the experiment for you – I
upgraded my Windows 8.1 laptop in August, my brother upgraded his Windows 7
laptop in September. For the first month, all sorts of things went wrong. My
keyboard wouldn’t work with the laptop, it wouldn’t turn on consistently, the startup
screen froze, and it was always demanding a Microsoft Account (also free). I
got the Microsoft Account, logged in, and was blown away. The screen was
perfect. The start menu was back, my documents were still there, and it looked
for all the world like a normal desktop should look.
My conclusion:
Microsoft
released Windows 10 early. In July and August, it wasn’t ready – there were
small bugs that kept things from acting normally. In September, things were
starting to iron out, with some minor glitches (like the computer not
hibernating when I closed the lid). In October, I have had only one glitch - Cortana
sometimes doesn’t like to wake up. One week ago, my friend’s Windows 7 hard
drive crashed. The big problem we all fear, that all of our data will somehow
meet the datasphere death and all our hard work will be gone. My friend was
running Windows 7. I received his broken computer, and with the help of my
technical minded father in law, we cleaned out the inside and outside, removed
malware, and booted up Windows 7. Then, we decided to just launch my poor
friend into the future with Windows 10 – free upgrade (my friend is not
computer savvy). We gave it back to him with Office 2010 and Windows 10. Works
perfectly, I keep checking with him to ask how his computer is running. He is
fine, his documents were all saved, and Windows 10 has been as good Windows 7
ever was.
Should
I install Windows 10? What will change? The surprising answer is – not much.
Windows 10 at its heart, is just another operating system. It is built to
launch on any computer that natively can handle Windows 7 or better. It has a
start screen, it has internet, and it has all the basics that you would expect.
We have separated this guide into 2 sections; a quick overview of some of the
new features, and a setup guide for adjusting / tweaking things like privacy
settings, personalization, and cleanup.
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