Neamhspleachas

Taking A Break

Neamhspleachas — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 10:24:07 +0000

I’ve got a lot going on in my life professionally at the moment and this blog has fallen by the wayside. I’m going to take a break from blogging and relaunch in 2013, with a new direction and some new ideas.

Try not to miss me too much!

Learning

Neamhspleachas — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 14:49:26 +0000

“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” – William Butler Yeats

As if I didn’t already have enough stuff to do, I’ve been taking courses online through Coursera. Coursera offers “Massive Open Online Courses” or MOOCs for short, from universities all around the world.

Currently I’m enrolled in a science fiction and fantasy literature course and a course on network analysis. I’m starting a course on reason and logic in arguments in November as well.

My current course load:

Science Fiction And Fantasy through the University of Michigan
Networks through the University of Pennsylvania
Think Again through Duke University

The literature course is just finishing up and so far, it’s been a great experience. The course requirements are pretty basic, read the text and write a short (250-320 word) essay on it. I probably spend 8 hours per week on the course, which sounds like a lot, but about 6 of those are spent reading the materials. I’d gotten interested in wanting to read more science fiction and fantasy so I’d probably be spending that reading anyway. There is about an hour of video lectures to watch, which I typically do while folding laundry or washing dishes. The last hour I spend on writing and editing my essay and peer reviewing my fellow classmates’ essays.

The Networks course just started and consists of a video series and complimentary quizzes. It’s probably taking 5-6 hours per week to watch the videos and then complete the quizzes, which you’re permitted to take twice.

Overall, I wouldn’t say that I’m getting a deep understanding of the content. You do miss a lot by not having course discussion (though there are forums for the courses, but I’m not using them) and from not getting feedback from the professors.

However, I don’t really see that as a downside. My goal for taking these courses was just to broaden my own knowledge base. The literature course mostly acts as a nagging reminder to make me read a series of books that were already on my to read list, with the added bonus of the lectures to provide a deeper understanding of context and theme. The networks course is giving me resources to use for my everyday work (social media consulting) and I’ve actually used some things I’ve learned already in a book I’m working on.

These courses provide what I think of as “dinner party” information. If the topic of science fiction literature came up at dinner party I was attending, I could contribute, intelligently, to the conversation. For me, that’s exactly what I was looking for from a free, online course.

Book Club – The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo Review

I Miss Football

Neamhspleachas — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 14:28:23 +0000

“A school without football is in danger of deteriorating into a medieval study hall.” -Vince Lombardi

I discovered this weekend that I really, really miss football. The real football, not that soccer shit that they have over here in Europe. It’s difficult, if not impossible, to find American football games in the Netherlands. There are a few bars that have the games, though usually whatever is on ESPN international. And you can stream it illegally, but the video quality is often spotty. So, since I’ve been here, I’ve watched almost zero football.

Until NFL Game Pass became available in the Netherlands for free.

I’d describe myself as a football fan but not a fanatic. When I lived in the US, I’d watch most games, but I wouldn’t be too upset if I missed the occasional one. While I was disappointed I didn’t get to watch much football here, I didn’t think it was really an issue.

Until Sunday.

This past Sunday was my first day with Game Pass. You can watch whatever game you want, including split screen, if you want to watch two. Due to the time difference, games start here at 7PM. After spending most of the day being productive, I settled in on the couch to watch the Bills/Browns game and realized just how much I’d been missing. Three hours later, my Eagles started and I hadn’t moved.

The refs were utterly incompetent, the Eagles lost badly, but laying around on the couch and watching football was pretty much the best thing ever. It felt like home.

Debates

Weekly Menu – 39/2012

Neamhspleachas — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 14:58:01 +0000

Sandwiches
Spicy Mac And Cheese
An Iranian dish with zucchini and rice (which I don’t actually know the name of)
Breakfast Bowls
Enchilada Stuffed Zucchini – From Closet Cooking
Quinoa And White Bean Salad

Food For Thought – Broccoli And Chicken Casserole

Neamhspleachas — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 14:18:44 +0000

“Not only is New York City the nation’s melting pot, it is also the casserole, the chafing dish and the charcoal grill.” -John Lindsay

I went searching for casserole recipes for the winter and found several tasty ones on the Better Homes and Gardens website, including this recipe for Broccoli and Chicken casserole. I made some changes to the original recipe.

Ingredients

1/4 cup Greek yogurt
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheese
3 cups dried noodles (I use penne)
1 medium head of broccoli, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cups chopped fake chicken
1 12 oz cans cream of mushroom soup
1/4 cup of chopped green onions (about three green onions)

Directions

Cook noodles al dente. Preheat the oven to 350F. Mix all ingredients together and spread into a 9.5×11 inch glass baking dish. If you use real chicken, cook for about 45 minutes, if using fake chicken, cook for about 30 minutes.