Too many school shootings...

Ok, if the title doesn't say enough, then I will just finish here.  I used Wikipedia and determined that during my entire K-12 school experience (roughly fall 1974 to spring 1987) there were fewer deaths from school shooters than in the last three years.  Surely that is enough to make anyone wonder what has gone wrong here, especially as the last three years don't include Columbine or Sandy Hook, the two most infamous of recent memory, excluding the New Valentine's Day Massacre in Parkland.

More than anything I wish our politicians would offer more than "prayers" for those impacted, since it is in black and white just how effective those prayers have been since Columbine.  While I don't want to discount those teen lives, you would have though after the massacre of even younger children at Sandy Hook someone would have the guts to actually do something.  Even now the Republicans are already saying it is too soon to talk of gun control, like they have every time something like this happens, it was too soon after Las Vegas last fall, and I guess since the mourning period never went from black to violet, perhaps this newest tragedy has reset the clock.  Damn it and damn the clock, it is time to move forward into something that at the very minimum gets certain guns, designed for hunting humans, out of the market.

Too bad nothing will happen, and my condolences to those parents in advance.

Single Loaf Wheat Bread recipe

OK, I don't know how many folks out there are single and may enjoy a bit of cooking, but really hate the cooking for one thing, and like how many bread recipes make multiple loaves, so I adapted a standard white bread recipe, using half-whole wheat, and reducing the yield.  There is a link to the original as well, because it needs to be there because while I messed with it a bit, I didn't create the original.

The recipe doesn't call for many things, but even there I had to change it up a bit because I don't keep nearly the variety of things around the house as I should.

1 package of yeast (though I proofed mine because it was past use by date, but hey, it isn't like they really all die on that day)
1 1/8 cups warm water
1.5 tablespoons sugar
1/2 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon oil (recipe says canola, I used olive)
1.5 cups all purpose flour
1.5-2 cups whole wheat flour

Pretty much the same as on tasteofhome.com:

DIRECTIONS

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the sugar, salt, oil and 1.5 cups all purpose flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, to form a soft dough. 

Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 8-10 minutes. (Because my apartment has limited space, and I wanted easier clean up, I did this on a piece of parchment paper, then used the paper for the cover when I placed this up on the fridge to rise.) Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1-1/2 hours.

Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface. Shape into a loaf. Place in a greased pan (I used 8x8 pan). I also scored mine. Cover and let rise until doubled, 30-45 minutes.  (I also started the preheat on the oven at around 30 minutes, giving the bread 15 more, and the oven time to be ready.)

Bake at 375° for 35-40 minutes (with square pan) or until golden brown and bread sounds hollow when tapped. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool. Yield: 1 loaf.

Titanic Summer review

The below is a review from Goodreads which I will eventually post over on Amazon, but since Amazon doesn't seem to take advance reviews, here it is:

First and foremost, I did receive an ARC for an honest review. That said, let's move on to the review, which I will also cross-post to Amazon.

I think the fact that this grabbed my attention and led to a pretty non-stop, except for dinner, reading experience says something beyond what words I can spout.

Jake was initially a bit Holden Caulfield-esque, but that may have just been because of the opening paragraphs, because he certainly didn't continue to be quite so cynical.

I think the author does an admirable job of working with Jake's phobias and insecurities, and also shows how Jake both succumbs to and outgrows them, while not belittling their impact. I did really enjoy the constantly building, what comes next sort of feeling as Jake's teenage life comes apart at the seams. Jake's mom is a lovely surprise, and how Jake vacillates between what is proper and what is comfortable just seems beyond familiar to me. Overall, I think the book is a marvelous slice of life, and I wish I had such a "Grandma."

This was one of those fun books that tossed me a few curveballs, and I would suggest it for those who like LGBTQ coming of age tales.  As an aside, one of the other reasons I liked it is because the main character was honest about not understanding transgender, and while that is one of the plot devices, it is also something that is only a small part of the novel as a whole, so don't be put off if that isn't something automatically expected.

Happy New Year?

I guess tomorrow's meals will be made from the chicken in the crock pot.  Chicken, potatoes, onions, and garlic, with a bit of spices, so it should be tasty.  (If the Heinz Carolina BBQ sauce negatively impacts it, I will let you know.)

The guys I work with have been giving one of my colleagues a difficult time because of his fashion choices.  It seems he wore a onesie/jumpsuit (though more the pajama sort) during the holiday break, as I sit here and watch the "Concert for New York" I notice the John Cougar Mellencamp is wearing a jumpsuit.  Fifteen years later and it is finally making a fashion inroad.

Politically this year has been a mess.  I ordered, then cancelled a week later, the book "Fire and Fury" because while lining Jeff Bezos' pockets for no reason than to irritate Trump seemed like a bit of fun, when there was still no delivery date after the book was released early, I decided that I would just check tomorrow if the local place had it, as I currently have the Amazon Prime thing going, so if they don't I can always place the order again.