Microwaving brown rice

A couple of years ago my father gave me a microwave rice cooker. It has worked like a charm for white rice, but I haven't gotten other rices down yet. I'm trying to fix that now.

I tried these directions from Steamy Kitchen. I had partial success. Previous attempts were undercooked, but this one seemed cooked enough to me. So I think I've got the times down: 10 minutes at 100%, then 20 minutes at 50% for 1 cup of rice. But they called for 3 cups of water and there was still water in the rice cooker when I was done. So I need to work on the ratios. I'll try 2.5 cups next time. 

Pinball PCB Replacement boards

There was discussion about replacement pinball machine PCB this weekend after our weekly pinball tournament, and I think I found the relevant website. It is called LISY Development. He has lots of documentation. He has uploaded Gerber files for PCB assembly that can be sent to companies that perform that type of work. The company that he uses is JLCPCB. 

Texas Tech Online Education Doctoral Programs

Okay, I'm looking at the Texas Tech Website again. I've done this so many times. I need to get this straight. They have several different online doctoral education programs. Let's see if I can get them straight. 

Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Leadership Policy

Designed for research interventionists, policy specialists, and education professionals who use expert analysis to study education policy issues, evaluate education programs, and inform sustainable education policy. The program is designed for educators, counselors, school leaders, district consultants, educational non-profits, regional service center leaders, and educational professionals. 

• Prepares graduates to be critically engaged educational policymakers
• Focus on scholarly practice, research, or teaching at university level
• Practical experiences in research and scholarly communication

Doctor of Philosophy in Higher Education - Higher Education Research

Committed to preparing students for roles in teaching, research and engagement in higher education contexts.

• Prepares graduates for executive leadership roles in higher education and to conduct research
• Designed for full-time professionals, but limited Research Assistantships are available for potential full-time students
• Practical experiences in research and scholarly communication

Doctor of Philosophy in Higher Education Administration

The Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration offers two areas of emphasis: Community College Administration and Higher Education College/University Administration. 

This program requires a blended delivery format. All coursework is completed online, but students are required to attend an on-campus new student orientation session and three (3) summer professional development sessions.

Qualified applicants should have full-time professional experience in either a public or private two-year or four-year higher education institution or state or federal educational agency serving higher education. Applicants must show a clear connection to higher education.

• Prepares graduates for executive leadership roles in higher education and to conduct research
• Designed for full-time professionals, but limited Research Assistantships are available for potential full-time students
• Practical experiences in research and scholarly communication

It looks like those last two might be the same. They are definitely both higher education. The question is whether there's a difference between higher education research and administration. I'm not seeing administration in the handbook. 

Okay, it seems like there used to be an Ed.D. in Higher Education Administration that was very similar to the Ph.D. but it seems like they may not offer it anymore. I see a handbook for it for 2020-2021, but no further. That's probably what's been confusing me. And they also offer 

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) Program, Executive EdD for School District Leaders

The handbook for this program makes it clear that it is only for people in the school districts. 

They ALSO offer

Doctor of Education in Instructional Technology

This seems to be similar to the program at Sam Houston. 

So I think that the problem is that the TTU Online and Distance Doctoral Degrees page is out of date. And that's what I've been looking at. I think the page that's more up to date is the College of Education's listing of Graduate degrees. 

Disabled Veterans Property Tax Exemption

So I went to the Texas Veterans Commission website thinking I would find the info about the tax exemption. Come to find out that the website I was really looking for was the Texas Veterans Portal website. I can't remember if there was a link from one to the other or not. And ultimately, even the Texas Veterans Portal took me to the Texas government website to get the information about the tax exemption--the Comptroller's website. It had the info and the form to fill out, and when I had downloaded the form then I went to see where I needed to send it, and it said to the appraiser for the property, in this case Brazos County. So then I went to that site, and as it turns out, they have an automated online form. So I had to do it all over again, but the advantage is, I was able to submit online, so I was able to check that off my list--my part anyway. Now we'll wait and see what the appraiser's office says. 

I should probably look into that license plate while I'm at it. I'm on a roll!

Bodyweight exercises

Looking at exercises on this page. Like that it shows how all the exercises are done. Contenders for today are 

Jump squat

Mountain climbers

Froggers

I also went and looked for a twisting exercise and found twisting planks. So now that's four exercises. But hey, let's cut out froggers and put in our friend the pushup.

...

Then I thought about making sure I had a back exercise in there. Because I feel like I really need that right now. And my four primary have been upper body, lower body, core and back. I was looking for that info on basic movements and found this. I'm thinking I need to revise my thinking a little. Enough research.

salsa

 I don't remember which dried chile I used last time when I made salsa, but this time I used pasilla.

Southern cornbread and buttermilk substitutes

I think this is the third time I've gone looking for this recipe, so into the blog it goes! My thing is savory cornbread. I can't remember if all southern cornbread is savory or not, but this recipe is. Interestingly, the author--Elise Bauer--mentions up front that sugar shouldn't be in cornbread, but then in the recipe she lists sugar as optional, and goes on to explain in the article that it doesn't make the cornbread sweet. I tried it and was surprised to learn that it was true.

The article also calls for a cast iron skillet. I use my cast iron skillet so much it just stays on the stove. But today I'm going to deviate because the oven is currently in use (roast beef in progress). I'll be making cornbread in the toaster oven for the first time, so I bought a 8" cake pan. We'll see how that works out. At first I thought about decreasing the recipe, but since I'm going to make more than one pan of cornbread, that isn't necessary. I think I'll go for two, so I'll follow the recipe twice and whatever is leftover will go in the third batch.

Anyway, here's the link: Southern Cornbread--Simply Recipes

And while I'm on it, I should include this link to buttermilk substitutes from allrecipes.com, since I rarely keep that around. Since I seem to keep yogurt these days, I'll just include here that 

¾ cup yogurt + ¼ cup milk = 1 cup buttermilk