Fish Fear Me

Dave E.'s Tuna Casserole Quest: Just Put It Directly On My Belly Edition

So, the last tuna casserole recipe I printed off the internet didn't work out so well.  The blame goes to using egg noodles that were too large. Or maybe using egg noodles at all. The end result was tasty, but so doughy that it made me wonder if I should eat it or use it to caulk a drafty window. Today's version worked out much better, but it's so much more rich in dairy that even I, a dairy lover, thinks it may be too much to put into my routine.

The recipe:

What You'll Need:

1 (16 ounces) package elbow macaroni
1 (12 ounces) can water-packed tuna, drained and flaked
2 (10-3/4 ounces) cans condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 (8-1/2 ounces) can peas, drained
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Swiss cheese, divided
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

What To Do:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Prepare macaroni according to package directions; drain, rinse, and drain again. Place in large bowl and add tuna, mushroom soup, peas, 1-1/2 cups Swiss cheese, cream, and pepper; mix well. Pour into 9- x 13-inch baking dish that has been coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup Swiss cheese over top.

Bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until heated through.

I'll say right from the start that I didn't follow this recipe exactly:

• Most recipes these days have bought the Kool-aid that meat is bad(or less is better), so in many cases I add 25% or more. In this case I used 17 oz. of tuna instead of 12. More tuna is always good. Sue me.
• I used a 15 oz. can of peas instead of the small can. More peas are good. Sue me.
• I juiced it with a 1/4 TSP of garlic powder. Next time I'll go 1/2 TSP.
• I added five medium green onions that I sliced thinly by hand and saved to use to sprinkle over the casserole after 20 minutes of baking, and then I put back in for the last 10 minutes. They looked good too when it came out of the oven. 
• My experience is that a casserole that fills a full 9X13 baking pan equals at least 30 minutes overall at 350 degrees. Forget the business about only 20 or 25 minutes. So it went in for twenty minutes and then I pulled it out to sprinkle the green onion on top, then it went back in for another 10 minutes.

I almost swooned when I took it out of the oven, it looked and smelled so good. I gave it a solid B+ for taste and an A for appeal and texture. After I ate about 1/4 of the pan by myself. 

A couple of notes on what I will do differently the next time:

• Instead of 2 cans of condensed cream of mushroom soup, I'll do one and another of condensed cream of celery.
• In addition to the green onion on top, I'll do about a 1/3 cup of finely chopped white onion mixed in up front.
• I might go 1 cup of shredded Swiss and 1 cup of shredded Mozzarella or Provolone. 

The cheese is an obvious + for taste, - for calories, though I've used cheese for a tuna casserole before. The heavy cream was a new one for me though. And, um, mmmmmmm. Probably not that healthy, but mmmmmm. I think it really made a huge impact with both taste and texture.

With a couple more months of winter left I'll hit this one again, with the new ad lib moves. I'll make sure I take a few pics for that.

I Am Pleased

This is not exactly an example of my better nature, but nonetheless is pleases me to read about it and I am not ashamed about that:

Nidal Hasan appeared in court Thursday at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where he is on military death row. He no longer has the beard he wore during his August 2013 trial, having been forcibly shaved in prison.

Given the inability of the current administration to name Islamic extremism as what it is, I was worried they would cave on this issue. I'm glad to read that TPTB at Leavenworth have not. 

Is that vindictive of me? Yes. In this case, I don't care.

Let The Major Crackdown Begin

Last month Minneapolis followed other cities in Hennepin County by banning the use of e-cigarettes indoors. I've heard of other cities around the nation doing the same. However, nothing gets the old regulatory ball rolling like California getting into the act:

California health officials on Wednesday declared electronic cigarettes a public health threat, joining a growing number of medical experts around the country who are pushing back against the increasing popularity of the devices that advocates say offer a safer alternative to smoking.

In a 21-page report, the state Department of Public Health highlighted the potential dangers of “vaping” and said its intention was to begin a statewide public health campaign to correct “misinformation” about e-cigarettes as being a more healthful alternative to tobacco.

Two claims in the report will probably drive increased regulation, not just in California but across the nation:

1. In California, the number of calls to the poison control center involving e-cigarette exposures in children five and under tripled in one year.

2. Mainstream and secondhand e-cigarette aerosol has been found to contain at least ten chemicals that are on California’s Proposition 65 list of chemicals known to cause cancer, birth defects, or other reproductive harm.

The key word in the latter being "secondhand." Tobacco smoking bans in the US didn't really take off until the science around secondhand smoke was misrepresented and politicized, finally jumping the shark with this bit of insanity:

As little as one cigarette a day, or even just inhaling smoke from someone else's cigarette, could be enough to cause a heart attack and even death, warns a report released Thursday by U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Regina M. Benjamin.

I have no doubt at all that the same BS is coming about the effects of secondhand e-cigarette vapor, starting with calling it an aerosol instead of vapor. First will come the bans, then the bogus studies about (phony) costs, and then the taxes to pay for the (phony) costs. The US legal industry will, of course, also get its place at the money trough through the inevitable "settlements."

On the other hand, the first item strikes me as a legitimate regulatory issue. E-cigs have quickly become household items and it's entirely reasonable to investigate and regulate the risks around that, provided the results are not also misrepresented and politicized.

One thing that can only be true if they have chosen not to look into it is this:

There is no scientific evidence that e-cigarettes help smokers successfully quit traditional cigarettes. 

I know about half a dozen people who have quit tobacco completely by switching to e-cigs over the last year. If public health officials can't see that happening they have to be straining to avoid it. That doesn't mean it's an unalloyed good, but they shouldn't BS the public about that and then expect us to believe they aren't lying about the rest of the report as well.

I smoked cigarettes and the occasional cigar for almost thirty years. It will be five years since I quit at the end of May. I've never used an e-cigarette and I have no intention of trying them, because I quit being a slave to nicotine once and have no desire to enslave myself again. And one thing that I think is true in that report is that some people have traded one master for another. They quit one form of nicotine addiction for another, just like some people who are addicted to the gum.

Inhaling an e-cig is better than inhaling a real one in my opinion, but it is obviously best not to inhale anything unnatural at all(including pot, all you smoking Nazis who are silent on that score). However, if adults choose to use e-cigs there's no evidence at this point that it should be any of my business.

I think there's a role for government in regulating the risks to children, and investigating e-cigs and educating adults about their risks. I also think that if public health officials approach the issue with the same fanaticism, falsehoods, and punitive measures they used on real cigarettes they will create an even bigger black market than the one we have in that today. Not only that, they may end up driving people back to real cigarettes, which would have a certain dark and cynical hilarity to it.

This is an opportunity for public health officials to reexamine the actual health effects of using nicotine and various delivery systems and drive the hidden agendas and lies out of the conversation, so individuals and society can make decisions based on the truth. I have absolutely no confidence that they will take.

Airpocalypse Now

If the people who claim to fight for the environment, really fought for the environment, instead of harping about carbon dioxide they would night and day be screaming about the horrifying real pollution that China is spewing into the air:

Dystopian Reality of China’s Smog Captured in ‘Airpocalypse’ App

China’s notorious smog can feel like a physical manifestation of the country’s political repression: suffocating, censored and potentially lethal.

On many days, the sun is hidden behind a pale, brown veil of coal dust and other pollutants that is visible from space and smells like a chemical spill on fire. The United States Embassy’s air quality readings — widely viewed as more accurate than China’s official data — are censored on local smartphones. Air pollution has been linked to a spike in cancer rates in Beijing, a city made almost “uninhabitable for human beings” by smog, according to a study published last year by the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences.

(Harbin, China Oct. 2013)

The Amazing Self-Trolling President

You're the President of the United States and you want to announce that you will ask Congress to designate part of Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as "Wilderness" in order to prevent drilling for oil there. You think,"Let's make a video that we can put out there that really gets at how concerned we are about the environment."

"Let's see...Pretty panoramic video? Check."

"Scenes of wildlife just walking around and not eating each other or freezing to death? Check."

"Reference to "My" Department of Interior? Check"

"It's missing something though...I can feel it. What can that be?"

"I'm not going to actually go up to that godforsaken hell hole, so how about a clip of me strolling through a park? Hmmm, no."

"How about me sitting behind my desk in my Oval Office? Nahh...totally cool, but it just doesn't fit the message I want to convey."

"I've got it. What says "Protect ANWR" better than the image of me cruising along in my 5 gallons of jet fuel/minute ride."

"Nailed it."

Sure Enough

That Yale police officer who briefly had Charles Blow's son at gunpoint? He's black:

The officer, who himself is African American, was responding to a specific description relayed by individuals who had reported a crime in progress.

The email to students goes on to say:

Even though the officer's decision to stop and detain the student may have been reasonable, the fact that he drew his weapon during the stop requires a careful review. For this reason, the Yale Police Department’s Internal Affairs unit is conducting a thorough and expeditious investigation of the circumstances surrounding the incident, and will report the findings of that investigation to us. We, in turn, will share the findings with the community. We ask that you allow us the time needed to collect and examine the facts from everyone involved.

Fair enough, but it is shows Rob's comment of "My son?" was spot on. This sums it up nicely:

What Charles Blow was upset about was a slight against his son's class. Not his race.

— Le Shoebart (@theshoebart) January 28, 2015

  

Rumblings About Bowe Bergdahl

Bowe Bergdahl is back in the news this morning after an allegation last night that the US Army is moving forward on prosecuting him, but the most transparent administration in history is keeping that from the public:

The Army has decided to charge Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who was released by Taliban-aligned militants last year in exchange for five Guantanamo prisoners, with desertion, according to a former military intelligence officer. 

Retired Lt. Col. Tony Shaffer, who now works at the London Center for Policy Research, told Fox News' "The O'Reilly Factor" Monday night that he's learned of the military's decision from two sources. 

"The Army has come to its conclusion, and Bowe Bergdahl ... will be charged with desertion," he said. 

Video at the link.

The army denies that and says there's "no change" and an "ongoing review at this time." However, Shaffer says that a "charge sheet" has been given to Bergdahl's attorney and that is a very specific step in the process, coming immediately after the investigation. I suspect the army spokesman is doing a little tap dance here, as there are multiple reviews of the charges after that point, especially if the charge is as serious as desertion, which during wartime means sentences including the death penalty if convicted.

It has been eight months since Bergdahl was traded for 5 Taliban prisoners. That is more than enough time to complete an investigation of Bergdahl and the circumstances of his disappearance, especially considering all of the investigative work that was done immediately after his capture and while he was being held. That the army would be ready to move forward by now is no surprise.

That the army would move forward with serious charges would be no surprise either. Leaving aside the wisdom and negotiating skills involved with trading five Taliban for one alleged deserter, the Obungler and his team seriously screwed up with the Rose Garden celebration and lauding Bergdahl as serving with "honor and distinction." The reckless way they embraced him and his family, as if he wouldn't have to face very serious charges, speaks of an ignorance about the US military that is almost scary. 

We'll have to see how the trial goes, assuming there will be one. If that process is short-circuited by Obama then the hell to pay for that will be enormous. The problem is that Obama and his team just might be that clueless/arrogant. But if it goes forward it will probably hinge around intent. If Bergdahl wandered off yet intended to get back to his unit, the lesser charge of AWOL will apply. If the charge really is desertion, then the army thinks they can prove that Bergdahl intended to leave his unit permanently. And in the realm of intention, another serious charge could be in the works. 

Get on with it. I don't want the death penalty for Bergdahl if he is found guilty. In that case I want him to do enough time as necessary to advance the good order and discipline of the US military, and forfeit all rank, pay, and benefits. Then he can go away and we can all forget about him. 

Don't Be Stupid

Do you know how stupid the conversation about police and race relations has gotten? A black columnist for the NY Times hears about his son being briefly detained at gunpoint, the son walks away unscathed, and the columnist is still pissed at the police. And the reason he's pissed is just another layer of stupid that has been added to our public discourse since Eric Garner died last summer. 

It seems that students at Trumbull College at Yale have experienced a rash of burglaries the last few weeks. On the past Saturday there was another attempted burglary by someone matching the description in the previous incidents. Here's part of the statement from Yale University about that:

“Tonight, when students spotted him, they called police and described him as a tall, African-American, college-aged student wearing a black jacket and a red and white hat. This was the description that Yale police used as they converged on Trumbull and attempted to track down the suspect. During the efforts to locate and detain the suspect, a Yale College student, who closely matched the description of the suspect, was briefly detained and released by Yale police. The suspect, who was seen fleeing Trumbull College, was arrested shortly thereafter in Berkeley College (a residential college adjacent to Trumbull College) and will be charged with felony burglaries.

The Yale student who was detained is the son of NY Times columnist Charles Blow, who used his column this morning to express his outrage that his son was detained, particularly that he was detained at gunpoint.

Saturday evening, I got a call that no parent wants to get. It was my son calling from college — he’s a third-year student at Yale. He had been accosted by a campus police officer, at gunpoint!

At gunpoint! 

Okay, I have had a gun pointed at me on a couple of occasions, once by police, and it's not exactly fun. On that occasion I complied with the orders of the two cops and they quickly ascertained that I was an employee who belonged in the building(a silent alarm had gone off). Not fun, but not some kind of ordeal either.

Blow relates what happened as told to him by his son and the end result is the same: not that big of a deal. Except Blow goes on to freak out about the stop being at gunpoint and his kid not being recognized as the special snowflake he apparently is:

Why was a gun drawn first? Why was he not immediately told why he was being detained? Why not ask for ID first?

What if my son had panicked under the stress, having never had a gun pointed at him before, and made what the officer considered a “suspicious” movement? Had I come close to losing him? Triggers cannot be unpulled. Bullets cannot be called back.

My son was unarmed, possessed no plunder, obeyed all instructions, answered all questions, did not attempt to flee or resist in any way.

And from the reports I've seen, because of that he was quickly on his way again, unharmed.

Blow's first question is easily answered by noting that the Yale statement above says the suspect will be "...charged with felony burglaries." That means the cops were looking for, please focus for a moment Mr. Blow, a felony suspect. I don't know about you, Mr. Blow, but I am completely unsurprised that a police officer would approach a possible felony suspect, one who "...closely matched the description" of a man who was just involved in an attempted burglary in the immediate vicinity, with his weapon drawn.  I'm not aware of any police department that has a policy that says an officer approaching a suspected felon must give the felon an opportunity to draw first.

As far as the next two questions, the officer's first priority is to gain control of the situation as quickly as possible for the safety of the public, the suspect, and the officer. For better or worse that often means not answering questions first or worrying immediately about ID. There will be time for that fairly quickly after the situation is under control. As far as I can tell, that's what happened here.

The common thread running through the Eric Garner/Mike Brown/Tamir Rice incidents, not to mention many others, is not racism, but stupidity. Sometimes by the suspect, sometimes by the police, and many times by both. The good news that should be loudly trumpeted about this incident is that Blow's son acted wisely, the officer appears to have kept his head as well, and everyone went on their way, except the actual burglar, of course.

There are millions of police/citizen interactions, some of them similar to this one, and the vast majority end just as quietly when everybody uses their head. In a sane world, that would be the lesson here.

For The Record...

...I could live out the rest of my life just fine without another double entendre about Tom Brady's balls.

Thank you.

Fear Not The GLONASS(Updated)

There's a particularly stupid article, getting more attention on the right side of the internet, regarding a proposed plan to upgrade the location capabilities of 911 in the US. You may see it in the news over the next few days, so here's the real deal.

It begins like this:

The Federal Communications Commission is considering a plan to route U.S. emergency 911 location calls through a Russian satellite system, raising national security alarms inside a Congress dubious of Moscow’s intentions.

In a proposal before the FCC, the 911 emergency system would rely on the Russian Federation’s GLONASS precision navigation and timing satellite system to locate people calling 911 from their mobile phones.

If the plan is enacted, Russia may have the ability to impair America’s 911 emergency capabilities and could use it as a tool to spy on the whereabouts of first responders among other things, legislators warn.

Sounds scary doesn't it? How could the US be so foolish? OMG. OMG!

Well, not so fast.

Something like 70% of 911 calls in the US now come from mobile phones. As that number has grown, the FCC has pushed the phone companies to provide better and better location information to 911 call centers so first responders get to the right place as quickly as possible if they can't communicate with the caller. Some of that is still done via cell tower triangulation, but more and more phones are becoming GPS capable and that technology is far more accurate. For that reason, the FCC is mandating GPS in all US mobile phones by 2018. 

GPS stands for Global Positioning System. It is the US government maintained global navigation satellite system(GNSS) and when used outdoors it is very precise. Certainly precise enough for first responders. However, it doesn't do as well indoors or in multi-story buildings. It may get first responders to the right 40-story building, but what floor?

Enter GLONASS, the Russian GNSS that was developed in the 1970s and upgraded significantly over the last decade. Like GPS, it is a free service available for use by any device capable of receiving its signals, provided that government is making them accessible. Four of the largest mobile phone carriers believe augmenting GPS with GLONASS will, in some cases, provide more precise locations to 911 operators, particularly in urban environments.

What it absolutely will not do is "...route U.S. emergency 911 location calls through a Russian satellite system," ever. That's because GLONASS, just like GPS, is a navagation system, not a communication system. Even if GLONASS has some secret communications capability it would make no sense at all to route US 911 calls to it. The local telecom infrastructure already in place is far superior to using any satellite system, let alone a Russian one. It would be comparable to ignoring the grocery store down the street and flying half-way across the country to buy your milk. It's not going to happen. Period.

These systems are also one-way to the public. GPS and GLONASS broadcast signals out to the devices that are capable of receiving them. The devices do not send signals back to the satellites. So, in a 911 call from a GPS capable phone, the phone receives the signals from the GNSS and sends the location information to the phone company, which includes that in the call information it forwards to the 911 center.  

The plan may actually enhance America's 911 emergency capabilities, it absolutely will not damage them. Nor will it allow the Russians to spy on anyone, let alone first responders. The whole thing is ridiculous and easily the worst article I've read in a long time. 

Feel free to laugh at it if you see this bogus problem anywhere else.

More: The director of government relations at one group very close to this issue is charging that, what appears to me to be a deliberate misinformation campaign, has started with the work of a lobbyist group for an American company:

“If you look at where the sudden outpouring of concern it all ties back to one company that has a legacy location technology that they want to salvage to keep the company alive. True Position is doing everything they can to prevent these other improvements in location accuracy from coming into American policy, including leveraging their attorney’s [Barnett] contacts at the Department of Defense,” Forgety explained.

It wouldn't surprise me a bit, though I have no way of knowing for sure.