Libya II

Stephen Walt happens to agree with my wait and see attitude about Libya.  You can read about it here.

Libya

This is what I like to see in the world.  People taking down their own government instead of us having to take it down for them--oh wait, we provided the air support, intelligence, and some indigenous forces training via special operations units.  Ok, well it wasn't perfect, but this is better than invading a country to take down the government.  Foreign Policy has a good set of pictures to view here, and Daniel Drezner looks at winners and losers here.  I don't know that I agree with all his choices of winners or all his choices of losers, but Q (or is it G) is now out of power, though not yet captured or out of Libya.

I am remembering the Clinton administration trying to sell us on Q (or G) having become a better world citizen. Everyone with an ounce of brain power knew that was silly.  And now, Obama can add this one to his list of credits as well, that we supported the winning side (or so it looks for the moment) of the fight for control of government in Libya. 

Next important question, just because the rebels removed Q (or G) does this mean we will see democracy in Libya?  On that point, I remain skeptical.  Disliking the government or JIC (Jerk in Charge) has not created democracy in Egypt or Tunisia.  It might, but it has not happened yet.  So, give it time and let us see what happens.

Pencil Sharpeners

"What do we need pencil sharpeners for in a building that is wired for maximum utilization of technology?"  This is a real question asked by an administrator when told by a faculty member that pencil sharpeners needed to be installed in classrooms.  Aside from the amazing DUH factor that should be considered (students still take notes, take exams, etc. in the classrooms), this response represents a bad trend in the academy.

Just because a classroom is wired for using the latest technology, does not mean it is the best pedagogical tool for use in the classroom in all circumstances.  Schools around the country are having this discussion.  On one side of the argument are those who say students are using their computers and we should encourage the use of electronic media in the classroom.  On the other side are those who argue that electronic media do not necessarily enhance learning.  Do my students learn best when taking notes on paper or when taking notes on their laptop while simultaneously surfing the internet or replying to emails and text messages because of having access to wireless connection in the classroom?  Should we as faculty have to police the classroom and add a distraction to our efforts to provide the best information and learning techniques to our students?  Well, we shall see what happens over time.

Top 10's: Cigars

A few months ago I did my first top 10 list--War Movies.  So, here is my second--Cigars.  Of course, this is biased by several factors.  Foremost, I do not have an unlimited luxury allowance that makes it possible for me to smoke cigars that cost $20 per stick at wholesale prices.  So, I try to find the best cigars for the money I can afford and my list will reflect this fact.  Second, I have simply not tried every cigar out there that I could try because I have particular taste that I am trying to satisfy.  Third, I decided to only include cigars that I have smoked at least 10 sticks in the last 5-6 years.  In short, if you do not like my top 10, pick your own.

1) Bolivar Belicosos Finos (Cuba)
1A) Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure #2 (Cuba)
3) Gurkha Legend Aniversario (Nicaraguan/Dominican/Honduran)
4) Gurkha Titan (Nicaraguan/Honduran/Colombian/Costa Rican)
5) Partagas Serie D #4 (Cuba)
6) Gurkha Beast (Domincan/Honduran/Colombian/Costa Rican)
7) Montecristo No. 4 (Cuba)
8) Arturo Fuente Hemingway Work of Art (Domican/Cameroon)
9) Carlos Torano Signature Series Toro (Domincan/Nicaraguan)
10) Oliva Serie O Robusto (Nicaragua)

Wow, making this list was really hard after number 5.  I can think of about 10 other cigars that I could put in the 6-10 slots as easily as those I did put in there--Padron, CAO Brazilia, Carlos Torano Exodus, Gurkha Assassin, and on and on and on.  If my list seems high on Gurkha--well, KH makes some great cigars (he also makes some crappy blends as well for those of poor to downright bad taste).  If it seems short on mild cigars--so what, I prefer flavor and heft. 

BBQ

I have wasted way too much space worrying about serious stuff today.  So here goes with something better. 

I love BBQ.  Anyone who knows me knows that I love to eat, drink, and be merry.  BBQ is the perfect food for doing all of these things.  In the last three years I have been working real hard on my BBQ, because if I am going to eat it, it better be good.  You can't be merry with poorly constructed or cooked food and drink.

I have actually developed my own dry rub, unfortunately I really can't tell you how to make it but I will list the ingredients:  smoked paprika, raw sugar, brown sugar, Mexican oregano, sweet basil, rosemary, dried celery, salt, ground chili pepper, crushed red pepper, ground chipoltle pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, minced dry garlic, dried minced orange peel.  I add a little dry mustard after the fact and remix when I am using this on pork butts.

I can give you a better recipe for injection marinade for pork butt:
1 cup apple juice or apple cider
1 cup Coca-Cola
1 cup beer (a lager or a pilsner should be used--nothing bitter or dark)
1 cup pork broth (substitute chicken broth if pork broth not available)
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
2 Tablespoons Butter
2 Tablespoons Cajun seasoning salt
2 Tablespoons of whatever dry rub you are using

finely grind up the dry ingredients and make sure butter is melted into the mix to avoid gumming up your injector needle.   Use about 2-3 Tablespoons per pound of meat.  Inject before dry rubbing the meat and let sit for 1 hour before cooking.  Use some of the marinade to mop or spritz the meat prior to saucing at end of cooking.  Some people like to inject again when removing from grill, try it and see for yourself how you like it best. This recipe makes a bunch of marinade, so be prepared to store in refrigerator.

A word on BBQ sauce.  You can make your own, but there is a lot of good stuff out there.  When I make my own (I actually like to use Sweet Baby Ray and occasionally try out some other sauces) here is my general recipe:

1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup ketchup or catsup (not really sure what the difference is between these items)
1/2 cup dark molasses
1/4 cup orange juice
1 Tablespoon tomato paste
The following items are dry items added to taste:
salt
ground chili pepper
ground chipoltle pepper
garlic powder
onion powder
mustard powder
brown sugar (I add this last after tasting and use to balance against heat and bitter of spices)

So, now you should go out and enjoy.  All of the above recipes are meant to be trial and error efforts, play around with them, determine what you want to taste.  Make sure to do a little studying about cooking with your particular type of grill.

A word on grills and BBQ.  If you must use gas, find someway to create smoke, gas is fine for grilling but adds no flavor to meat, and BBQ is all about flavor.  Wood and charcoal rock the BBQ scene and so I avoid gas grills.  If you have a fancy grill/smoker use wood or a wood/charcoal mix.  Regardless of type of wood/charcoal grill, use lump hardwood charcoal if available.  As to adding water pans, here is why you do it--water absorbs heat and can be used to maintain proper cooking temperature, it is not meant to "steam" the meat.  Do not put your wood chips used to create smoke and flavor in the water pan, put the soaked or dry chips on the charcoal.  What type of wood or charcoal should you use:  try a few different ones and figure out what flavor profile is created to your own taste.  I personally like to use a mixture of mesquite and hickory and occasionally soak the mesquite in apple juice to tame some of the harder flavor profile of mesquite.  Many people prefer apple, pecan, peach, cherry wood.  Again, I say go out and experiment with the wood and charcoal combination to get the flavor you want.

Happy BBQ! 

S&P Guilty of "Terrible Judgement"

Okay, so Geithner says the S&P made a terrible judgement call in downgrading the U.S. credit rating (read about it here).  Well this is a big DUH! Of course Geithner has to say this just as much as a "White House adviser" has to say it is the Tea Party Republican's fault (read about it here) and Republican leaders say it is the fault of the White House and veto threats that forced them to sign onto a less than desirable compromise.

Here are a few of my thoughts.

1) we (the generations since the "Greatest Generation") gave ourselves a lot of services and payments from the government without stopping to think about how this is really funded.
2) we (the same generations previously mentioned) have also proven generally to be poor managers of our own money.
3) now we want to pawn off the payments on future generations by not lowering spending or raising revenue intakes in any meaningful way.
4) we are a bunch of schmucks!!!!!!!!!!!

Redemption for the Nuclear Arsenal?

For the last generation, or at least as long as I have been pursuing an academic career, a great big raspberry has been directed at the nuclear arsenal by most, close to all, academics I have encountered. This position might need to be reconsidered.  At least I think it should be reconsidered in light of a very thoughtful argument made by Adam Lowther in The National Interest (read Adam Lowther's piece here).

Prior to the end of the Cold War academes roundly criticized the presence of a nuclear force as threatening to human existence.  Truth exists in that stance.  Nuclear weapons do threaten human existence as they kill and destroy with much greater ease than conventional weaponry--but do not tell this to the dead. maimed, permanently scarred from all of the wars of mankind since 1945.  After the Cold War the argument was what need do we have of a nuclear arsenal when there is no menacing Soviet threat.

Adam Lowther cogently points out that a policy shift will be necessary to mate future military capability with national security concerns.  The fact is that with a constricted budget we will not be able to do militarily nearly as much brushfire fighting as we have shifted to since 1980.  This brings back into play a nuclear arsenal which can truly be used as a deterrent.  Of course, now we can probably argue about deterrence theories.  But, at least this is something we might consider as we work toward new policy directions driven by economic realities.  Anyway, I like good arguments and believe all angles should be considered, so consider Lowther's argument.