LEARNING CURVE

Posted on by Econogal

Learning Curve
One of the most difficult things we face today is the challenge of learning how to work, live and function within the technological revolution. Some individuals, those described as early adopters in the business world, can’t wait to try out the latest and greatest item before the rest of us even know it is out there. An example would be an individual in the mid 1980’s transitioning away from the big boom box era to a Walkman and then to an Ipod just after the turn of the century. In contrast, what marketers call a late adopter, is the individual who is the last on the block to own a car with a backup camera. That would be me. My car is fairly new, but no Backup camera or GPS. Maybe on the next car which will be sometime after 2020 unless Tesla can build a car capable of going 500 miles on one charge.

As a blogger I am pretty late to the ballgame. The newest trend is vlogging, which according to an article in the May 23, 2017 Daily Mail is the desired occupation of 75% in a survey of 1000 school-aged children. For any other late adopters, vlogging is blogging via video such as You Tube. Building this website has been a stretch for me, I am not ready for vlogging.

Regardless of how quickly an individual adopts a new technology or task, a learning curve is present. Right now I am facing a steep one. My IT background is one of osmosis. Anything I know I absorbed from sitting next to tech geeks in meetings. Fortunately, the tech world is bent on creating user-friendly approaches. It is a matter of economics. If everyday people like me can’t figure out how to work the product, no sales will be made.

Website building has reached that critical point. I have no coding in my background other than a class that introduced Pascal a very long time ago. I have heard of HTML but can’t write the language. While this site wasn’t built in a day, the time spent as a DIY project hasn’t been too unwieldy. The support platform provided by WordPress has been very good. I have experience with Q&A forums, email responses and a live chat system. I have yet to need phone help.

However, there are plenty of bugs to work out. Additionally, I will be traveling a great part of July. I believe my posts will publish on the main page, but so far I am manually connecting to other tabs. Thus the IN THE LIBRARY postings may not auto populate. In other words I haven’t learned all the posting tricks.

Restaurants use soft openings as a chance to train the staff in real world operations. ECONOGAL is under the same format. Even though it is visible to the public, I have not put any effort into marketing. I have always been a hands on learner which is why I have taken this approach. Please keep that in mind and exhibit patience while I tackle this new venture. I am finding the learning curve steep.

IN THE GARDEN-1st Garlic

Posted on by Econogal

IN THE GARDEN-First Garlic Harvest of 2017

In all honesty, this morning’s harvest was triggered by finding the headless, tailless, remains of a snake in the garden last night. The markings were similar to a bull or rattlesnake but because of the condition I am not sure which. It is quite possible the lawn mower did the creature in. Although Sophie the Hunter Cat could have been involved.

Nonetheless, the finding spurred the need to clear out a patch of weeds in an area where I had plopped some garlic last fall. There was also a volunteer purple potato plant in the mix. This area of the yard really isn’t in the garden. Instead it is in sort of a no man’s land between the yard around the house and the lot.

This distinction plays a role. The lawn is kept mowed by my spouse. The lot is my territory. Buffalo grass prevails in the non-irrigated lot, so it is green for about six weeks in the spring and brown the rest of the year. The Bluegrass/other mix watered by the sprinkler system needs constant mowing. No man’s land sometimes receives water from the sprinkler system on windy days.This particular spot has very sandy soil and a history of much failure. No fewer than four trees have met their demise there. A small Blue Spruce was planted last spring as a memorial and hasn’t croaked yet so maybe things are on the upswing.

Last year I had quite a few purple seed potatoes and I popped some in the area about a yard away from the Blue Spruce thinking having both there would spur a reminder to water. Last fall when I harvested the potatoes I was surprised to find that area had the largest. So, having little success with garlic bulbs getting any bigger than the clove I planted, I thought I would give the patch a try hoping for an outcome similar to the potato.

This spring a volunteer potato plant emerged alongside the garlic. Unlike some gardeners, I relish plants that come up on their own. I live in an area classified as semi-arid. The average rainfall is in the low teens. Unfortunately this decade has had multiple years of under 10 inches and two years below 7 which makes it a dryer time than the Dust Bowl Years. Thus, if a plant can make it up on its own I believe it has an extra hardiness factor and deserves to live.

The past month the garden needed to be hardy due to an absentee gardener. No man’s land was thick with weeds about 18 inches tall. Perfect territory in my mind for a snake. So this morning, I turned on the hose full blast in case another slithery critter was taking refuge. Two rabbits bounded out but no snakes.

Along with pulling weeds, I harvested the garlic and the potato, although the latter probably could have stayed a little longer. I am happy to report that the garlic actually looked like garlic. The potatoes were a bit on the small side. More the size of new potatoes.

The nicest surprise was a baby oak tree. One of the critters that inhabit my yard must have dropped an acorn off the oak I planted 20 years ago. The oak is one of handful in this area, since oaks just don’t grow here. Applying the aforementioned hardiness theory, I plan to let the oak grow and transplant in a few years if both trees are still surviving and one needs to move.

In the picture, the garlic apart from the others was also harvested this morning but out of a proper garden spot. It is a different variety as you can tell from the coloration. Altogether the yield was just over 9 ounces. The purple potatoes weighed in just under 2 pounds. Not bad for an early harvest off a volunteer plant.

An Original

Posted on by Econogal

 

Welcome to ECONOGAL. My hopes for this website are many and varied, but foremost I am using ECONOGAL as a way to create new pathways in my brain. Since my maternal side of the family has a history of degenerative brain diseases, I plan to fight any similar conditions in my own brain. Some of my research, consisting mostly of reading news articles, has led me to believe that new knowledge helps keep brains healthy.

I have some limitations with respect to content. I am a private person. I married someone with even greater privacy issues and hence any offspring we may have created inherited the same sense of privacy. So any family or friends who may hope to glean personal news may be disappointed in this site. However, if you are a cat lover, my cat Sophie has no issue with the possibility of a public life.

This site will be eclectic in nature. I realize this may doom ECONOGAL from commercial success, so be it. Book reviews along with commentary concerning successes (and probably failures) in the kitchen, garden and hobby room will be a prominent part of the site. Additionally, there will be occasional interviews and travel recommendations.

Eclectic describes my reading habits. My favorite fiction genre is the murder mystery ( gruesome I know) but I read everything from historical to sci-fi. Non-fiction is not quite as extensive with a heavy emphasis on how-to, although some technology themes have had some of the greatest impact on my everyday life.

In the Kitchen will center on baking and preserving. Recipes will be shared. In the Garden will focus on what I grow. I am somewhat limited by the fact that my garden receives an average of less than 15 inches of moisture a year. Finally, In the Hobby Room will feature quilts and acrylic paints. I have decades of experience in the former and am a newbie in the latter. My new foray into painting is yet another attempt at renewing brain cells.

Finally, I intend for this site to be read by all ages. Therefore, my posts will be G rated. Hopefully all comments will be as well. But if not– there’s always the moderation button. Happy Reading.