Mac and Cheese Ramen Noodles

Ramen noodles. The college student's treat. The staple of the thrifty. The ultimate convenience food.
So here's another ramen noodle recipe: Mac & cheese. Here's what I do: I put my ramen noodles into a bowl; add about 5 ounces of water (just a little more than a half cup); cook in the microwave (on high) for 2-1/2 minutes; place a slice of american cheese on top of the noodles; cook for another 20 sec. The result: nice hot ramen and cheese. For a variation, you could add half the package of beef flavor noodles to the water before you cook the noodles. This gives a cheese steak sort of flavor to the mix. OK, I might be exaggerating a little. But it is good.

Staking Tomatoes

Following in the tradition of my father and grandfather, I grow a garden every summer. It is not as large as what my they have had, but it serves us with fresh veggies every year. One thing that is a must is tomatoes. Now if you talk to die-hard gardeners, there are a number of ways to keep the tomatoes off the ground. At first, I used a wooden stake, and tied the tomatoes up to it every time it grew a foot or so. I use old rags, reusing cast-offs so as to be environmentally sensitive. But, I found this was a lot of work and still produces a waste stream each year. Tomato cages, those wire structures, are usually not tall enough. Most tomatoes will grow at least twice as tall as most cages. What to do...
So I looked at the tomato plant again. Quick lesson in tomatoes: there are two basic forms of tomato plant - determinate and indeterminate. determinate plants grow slowly and stay small an more bush-like. THese are often used in containers and are sometimes called patio varieties. Indeterminate tomatoes are, let's face it, vines. Now, I thought, what do you usually do with vines? You put them on a fence. So that's what I did.
I put up a fence using metal posts and wire mesh - usually with an opening of about 2 by 3 or 2 by 4 inches . As the plants grow, I snake them through to the other side of the fence, about every 8-12 inches or so. I use no consumables, and there is plenty of room to spread out the side shoots. Problem solved.
How do you stake your tomatoes?

3D Glasses for 2D people

I know a group that was going to the movies. They were thinking of going to one but it was only in 3D. They picked another. Why? Isn't 3D cool? Yes, it is. But ... 3D movies make some people nauseous. And even though some movies are offered in both 3D and regular, it's nice to sit with the people you came with. I have a solution. But first, a word about 3D. The world is in 3D - at least for humans. This is because our left eye and out right eye see a slightly different perspective, and our brain fills in the depth information to give us a 3D view. 3D pictures work the same way (and movies are just a series of pictures). Basically, a 3D picture presents your left eye with one image, and your right eye with another (just like in the real world). This can be done with colored filters, such as red-blue, red-green or blue-yellow. Each eye has a different color filter and sees a different image from the picture. Full color pictures use polarized filters, with each eye being rotated differently. If you don't wear the special glasses, you see both images, which usually ends up looking very blurry. So here's my idea - why not make 3D glasses with the same filter on both eyes. So for example, both eyes would only see the right image. No 3D effect, no nausea. It's so simple, I don't know why the movie theaters don't do it! (Are you listening movie people? Are you listening 3D glasses manufacturers?) I even looked around and I see no website that sells 3D glasses offering this option.

But ... you can make your own.  Just buy two pairs of 3D glasses, take them apart, and put them together so that one pair has two left filters and one has two right filters. (I think I may have to try this). You can buy them at http://www.3dglasses.net/ or http://www.rainbowsymphony.com/3d-glasses.html or http://www.3dglassesdirect.com/ for example. Oh, by the way, different 3D movies use different filter schemes. So find out what technology a movie uses, and buy the proper glasses (the movie adds should say the technology). Have fun, let me know if it works.

NOTE: Dave has no business association with the 3D websites listed in this post. He merely did a Google search. You can too.

Mallville - the town of the future.

OK, it's COLD outside (17 degrees F with 30 mph winds). Don't get me wrong, I like living in New England. But it can get cold. So I got to thinking - Why not have a residential component to the traditional shopping mall? Simply replace some of the stores with condos and apartments. Take a closer look at the picture - I just  drew this up quickly to help visualize what it might look like. As you can see, you really only need to go outside once in a while or when you really want to. There are opportunities for shopping, social interaction, recreation, church, even a park to sit in the sun - all within a climate-controlled space. It's sort of like putting a roof over a couple of blocks of a city. I don't know why no-one has thought of it before! BTW, the idea of a church in a mall is not original. The North Shore Mall, in Peabody, MA has a Catholic church in the basement level. At the time it was built, it was an open mall (the center was not enclosed), and I guess the designers envisioned it as the new town square, complete with church. Maybe it's time to bring the church back to the mall - and maybe more aspects to life than just shopping.

The Signal is All Wrong

OK, I need to rant for a minute. There is a new trend in car headlights/signal lights that is not only annoying, it is useless and perhaps dangerous. I'm talking about the trend to include all the lights on the front of a car into one unit (see top picture). Now this may be a very clever and stylish way to do it, but it's not very useful. When the headlight is on, it completely washes out the signal light. (Clever is often the enemy of good). There needs to be a reasonable separation of the two lights, so you can actually see the dimmer one  - signal light (see bottom picture). Look sometime - with these new cars, you can't see the signal. Enough said!

Sharpen Your Ice Scraper

Here in New England we are well into winter weather. For those of us who don't have a garage, this means scraping the frost and ice off your windshield most days. My ice scraper hasn't been cutting the mustard (or shall I say ice) lately. So I decided to sharpen it. Sharpen it? Yes, you heard me. While you might be tempted to chuck it and go buy a new ice scraper, like any other cutting tool (although it's plastic), you can sharpen it and restore it to full functionality.

Here's what you do: Place a piece of 100 grit (medium) sand paper on a flat surface.

While maintaining the proper angle - so that the front edge of the scraper is flat against the paper (see diagram on right), sand it back and forth. When you have removed enough plastic to restore the sharp edge, smooth it off with some 150 grit (fine) sandpaper.

That's all there is to it. With a little maintenance, you may be able to pass your plastic ice scraper on to your grandchildren!

Safe Pest Control - Small Animals

Talk to any gardener, and you will find out they each have their secrets. How do you, for example, keep the small nibbling animals (like bunnies and woodchucks) from eating your garden? Some will say, "Sprinkle dried blood around." This is not as gruesome as it sounds. Dried blood is an organic fertilizer you can get at most garden centers. I know a guy who tried hair. He brought back a bag of hair clippings from the barber, and spread it liberally around the garden. Alas, neither of these methods works all that well, although some may swear by them. My father likes to put a small transistor radio in the garden, tuned to talk radio. He figures the animals will hear voices and go away.

Well, I'l going to tell you my favorite method of keeping the nibblers away. I sprinkle the plants with baby powder - the kind with talc, not corn starch. Whether it's the smell, or the taste, it seems to work. The only down side is you have to re-sprinkle whenever it rains.

There you have it, my gardening secret. If you have another way of dealing with this problem, feel free to post it in the comments.