Every
now and then life gives you a little surprise. One of the those
surprises came for me a number of years ago when I found people were
actually willing to pay me to write columns about using Macintosh computers for their web sites! I
wrote the That Other Steve... series for the now defunct MacTimes News Network in 1998-99. The View from the Classroom series ran from 1999-2004, first for a year on Dan Knight's excellent Low-End Mac site and later here on mathdittos2.com. The Busman's Holiday
series has been my personal outlet for whatever editorials and columns
I wanted to put out on the side (1998-present). In 2004 I took early
retirement from teaching, so my "view from the classroom" was gone. I took a job in a college K-12 outreach program that included a lot
of writing for hire, so my output on the MATH DITTOS 2 site went to
about zero. After leaving that position in early 2008, I began adding a few new computer columns to the Busman's Holiday series and also some feature stories from Educators' News, my daily education blog/news site. I also began a new web site, Senior Gardening in 2008. I've listed a few features and recipes from it below.
There's also a page indexed to the machine type
primarily discussed in each column. For those of you hunting repair or
tear-down info on specific Mac, this may be more useful than some of
the titles below.
Senior Gardening Features
Lazy Summer Days (Daze)
A cool drink helps ward off sunstroke as I renovate a garden bed. (August 5, 2008)
A Cucumber of Distinction
I almost lost my saved seed from the Japanese Long Pickling variety. (August 7, 2008)
Gloxinias
This is a continuing column on how to grow this gorgeous plant. I've started from seed and will update the page periodically.
A Dry Sump for My Raised Bed
I put a "dry sump" in the center of my raised garden bed to dry things out a bit. (October 8, 2008)
A Simple Cold Frame
The roughest of rough instructions are supplied for building a small (2'x6') cold frame. (October 27, 2008)
Growing Geraniums from Seed
If you have the right conditions, growing seed geraniums (geraniums from seed) is relatively easy. (December 1, 2008 - a continuing feature)
Building a Rasied Garden Bed
Tips and links for building a raised garden bed with large 6"x6" timbers (March 30, 2009)
Saving Gloxinia Seed
Part 2 of the gloxinia feature - I document the pollination and seed saving process for gloxinias. (October 10, 2009)
Saving Tomato Seed
A quick, illustrated "how to" on saving tomato seed (October 12, 2009)
A Year in Our Garden
What went well and what didn't in the 2011 Senior Garden (December 28, 2011)
Flowers in the Senior Garden
A quick look at some of the spectacular flowers that grew around our veggies this year in the Senior Garden (December 30, 2011)
Succession Planting
How I keep my garden producing all summer long. (June 22, 2012)
Gloxinia Photos
Photos of gloxinia plants and blooms (October 12, 2012)
A Year in Our Garden - 2012
A review of what went right and wrong gardening through a droughty summer: lots of pretty pictures included. (December 24, 2012)
Working to Save a Pea Variety
We worked pretty hard in 2013 to save a pea variety we believed to be on the verge of extinction. It turned out to be a patented seed variety. (October 9, 2013)
Earlirouge Tomatoes
We grew out some twenty-five year old tomato seed with amazing results. It turns out that the Earlirouge tomato may be an endangered variety that we may help save. (October 11, 2013)
Growing a Buckwheat Smother/Cover Crop
Buckwheat is not only a great green manure crop, but it also can smother weeds in unused portions of ones garden. (November 7, 2013)
A Year in Our Garden - 2013
A review of what went right and what didn't in our garden plots this year...with lots of pretty pictures. (December 30, 2013)
Our Best Garden Photos of 2013
Few words, but some nice pictures (January 5, 2014)
Transplanting Melons into Heavy Clay Soil
Traditional wisdom says we shouldn't be able to grow good melons on our heavy clay soil. Here's how we amend tiny portions of our soil to grow great melons year after year. (May 8, 2014)
Onions We Grew in 2014
Sensing that some of our favorite hybrid onion varieties were soon to be discontinued, we trialed nine new-to-us onion varieties this year. (July 28, 2014)
Growing Great Broccoli and Cauliflower
Growing great broccoli and cauliflower isn't all that difficult. You just have to work around the weather a bit. (February 15, 2015)
Growing Garlic
Garlic is one of the easiest, most trouble free, and productive crops one can grow in a home garden. Why I waited so long to begin growing it or to write about it is a mystery. (March 29, 2015)
Mulching with Grass Clippings
We really wouldn't have much of a garden without using grass clippings to mulch our many vegetable plots. (May 16, 2015)
Earliest Red Sweet Peppers
A few words about our favoritand endangered pepper variety(March 10, 2017)
Our Tomato (and Pepper) Cages
Years ago, I lucked into how to make some great tomato and pepper cages. (June 6, 2017)
Whither Seed Savers Exchange
Not all of the Seed Savers Exchange’s work occurs at the Heritage Farm. It’s happening every day on the farms and in the gardens of SSE’s members. It seems that the leadership of the exchange has forgotten its core. (October 9, 2017)
Time to Let Go
Not all of the Seed Savers Exchange’s work occurs at the Heritage Farm. It’s happening every day on the farms and in the gardens of SSE’s members. I'll continue to save and share garden seed, but just not via the SSE. (June 4, 2018)
Growing Tomatoes
Possibly the hardest how-to I've ever written, as nearly eveeryone knows how to grow tomatoes. This piece tells how we grow ours.. (August 7, 2018)
Growing a Garden Delicacy: Sweet Corn
Once upon a time, we used to grow 2-4 acres of sweet corn each summer for roadside sales. Since our farming years, growing good sweet corn has proved to be a bit more challenging.. (November 1, 2018)
Senior Gardening Recipes
Grandma's Yeast Rolls
This is a family recipe handed down to me from my mother. I think she got it from her mother.
Cinnamon Rolls
This recipe is really part 2 of Grandma's Yeast Rolls. It takes up when the dough has risen the first time and shows how to make some delicious cinnamon rolls.
Portuguese Kale Soup
An incredible soup from this all but forgotten vegetable
Asiago Cheese & Tortellini Soup
A local grocery deli stopped selling this delicacy. Rather than go through tortellini withdrawal, we figured out the recipe for ourselves!
Chicken Salad
When chicken salad got too expensive at the deli, we learned to make our own.
Texas Nachos
We recreated the old Chi-Chi's recipe for Texas Nachos, but you're on your own for the lime margaritias on the rocks.
Shrimp Portofino
Another copycat recipe based on the old Romano's Macaroni Grill menu item before they got all healthy and took all the good stuff out of it. Our recipe still qualifies as delicious and as a potential heart-attack-in-a-bowl.
Refried Kidney Beans
An easy, basic recipe for refried beans using kidney beans instead of pinto beans
Sweet Pickle Relish
With the help of several online recipes, I finally made some really good sweet relish.
Selected Features from Educators' News
Out of this World Desktop Pictures
Call them desktops or wallpapers, but desktop photos on student computers can inspire. This one has links to lots of great space and astronomy photos. (July 15, 2002 - links updated 8/24/2010)
Co:Writer 4000
I found a piece of adaptive software for my students that really helps non-writers write and writers to write better. (January 2, 2003 - updated 4/30/2008)
Resource Sites for Teachers
A review and listing of resource sites that link to informative and interactive student learning activities. (April 1, 2009 - links updated 9/15/2009)
The Freewares of 2009
A merry end-of-the-year romp through all the freewares, open source offerings, and free web sites for education that were notable enough to appear on Educators' News. (12/11/2009)
Diane Ravitch: The Death and Life of the Great American School System
I got to review what should be one of the most important books published on the current, misguided education reform movement. (3/9/2010)
They're Not Listening!
America's President has stopped listening to teachers about education reform. "This is a time for serious people, Mr. President, and your four years will soon be up." (3/15/2010)
A Letter to the President
I'm finally publishing the letter I sent President Obama in March. It's obvious to me now that he will not listen to teachers about education reform. (8/17/2010)
Free Stuff for Teachers, Homeschoolers, and Students
Here's an updated review of the freewares, free web sites, and open source applications that were featured on Educators' News during the last year. (8/23/2010)
A Disingenuous President
President Obama says one thing about massive standardized testing while his Administration's policy continues to advocate something else. (3/30/2011)
Turkey of the Week Award "Winners"
A continuing feature on Educators' News "honoring" those whose less-than-admirable actions and/or words merited them our Turkey of the Week Award. (April 12, 2011)
Tenth Anniversary Edition
A special edition of Educators' News celebrating ten years of publication. (April 18, 2011)
The Morning After Edition
I share about 1600 words of rambling fluff about writing in general and Educators' News. (April 22, 2011)
Odds 'n' Ends
Odds 'n' Ends is a new column series for me to house all the stuff I want to say that isn't related or appropriate to my Senior Gardening and Educators' News sites or any of the other column series shown on this page.
Can Walmart Make Their Aisles Any Narrower?
Our local Walmart appears to be engaged in a systematic effort to replace lower cost items with more expensive brands. Also note a special cameo appearance by the politically incorrect "fat family." (9/26/2011)
A Charity Phone Solicitation
Giving to a charity should not be viewed as permission to call...up to four times a day asking for more contributions! (10/5/2011)
Amusing Myself
Misreading a grocery store sign stirred up visions of an 11 1/2 inch pork chop! (10/12/2011)
The Busman's Holiday Series
Other than the stabbing...
Mayhem, murder, and an LC III. No, really just a story on a "broken" LC III. (10/23/98)
Where're we goin', Apple?
A familiar theme in my columns resurfaces due to unrest in the Mac community over the cancellation of the Cyberdog site and the lack of progress on HyperCard 3.0. (10/30/98)
Our Power Mac 7200/75
While justly deserving of the Low-End Mac designation as a "road Apple," our 7200 has served us well. (11/22/98)
Access for Macintosh
We really need this app added to the Mac platform. (5/11/99)
Mac IIfx
I've always wanted a Mac IIfx. It was and is the fastest non-Power Mac ever produced. This one, now seven years old, is on the job daily. (5/11/99 updated 8/22/99)
PowerMac 7500/G3
I got a little silly around Christmas and played Santa for the kids in my class (and me) with some "new" hardware. This upgraded 7500 has become our workhorse computer. (5/11/99)
A Macintosh Summer Vacation
Whither summer school? Maybe just some great software will boost your kids summer learning. (5/25/99)
(updated 6/20/2000)
Trends in Shareware
Does it seem shareware is getting more expensive? Does there seem to be less of it? (6/14/99)
Disappearing Software
Vintage Macintosh users face the continual problem of where to find compatible software. (6/18/99)
Something to Remember
The E-rate program wired our nation's schools for the internet. Are our schools wired for computers? (6/22/99)
Disappearing Software, Part II
Vintage Macintosh users may soon see a software archive specifically dedicated to older Mac software. (7/12/99)
It's a Macintosh Enigma
Ryno Software has ported Geoffrey Kloess's anti-telemarketing program. (7/16/99)
Expo Musings
I was initially underwhelmed by Apple's new offerings at MacWorld. After a week of looking at what there was, now I'm not so sure. (7/28/99)
OmniPage, Fred, and ...
Using OCR software to scan pages from readers can add a valuable tool for reading instruction. (8/23/99)
My Kid Got Married Today
We gave them an iMac, but it wasn't all that easy. (10/2/99)
Which Apple "Special Event?"
Apple Computer chose to attack several upstanding Mac web sites last week over the publication of possible Kihlei Mac photos. Is Apple continuing a series of actions that could be the beginning of another Apple death spiral? (10/4/99)
Just Another Mac Mini Column
After just ten months, I'm replacing my Mini, but not because I didn't like it. (11/14/2005)
An Ode to my "Slab-O-Mac"
It may not make sense, but I like my 12" Powerbook. (3/8/2008)
Awareness Overload
After glancing at the morning paper, I realized how negligent I'd been in missing the National Foot Health Awareness Month. (4/10/2008)
A Stroll Down Mac Memory Lane
I just wanted to test an old downloadable file, and ended up playing around in Mac OS 7, 8, and 9! (5/16/2008)
A Day Off & A New Camera
My digital camera made a quick trip down the stairs. A Nikon Coolpix P60 now serves as a quick, "inexpensive" replacement. (10/27/2008)
A Day Off & A New Camera: Part II
After two months of using my new Nikon Coolpix P60, I've found a couple of real problems and a whole lot of joys with it. (12/12/2008)
Living with Satellite Internet
I share a few experiences gleaned from three years of satellite internet use. (9/5/2011)
A Mini Takes Over
After seven years, my G5 tower failed. I replaced it with a "new" (to me) mid-2010 Mac Mini. (2/28/2012)
Troubleshooting My "New" Mac Mini
I went for a month with virtually no problems on the used Mac Mini I'd switched to. Then everything slowed down and stuff started crashing, but it was all due to some really old browser plug-ins I'd brought along to my new Mac in its setup. (3/28/2012)
Working with Sheepshaver
I 'd tried, unsuccessfully, to use Sheepshaver years ago. This time around the Classic Mac OS emulator installed flawlessly...twice. (6/27/2012)
Moving to Mountain Lion
I'm not usually an early adopter of new operating systems. But this time around, I grabbed Mountain Lion the day it was released and installed it on my new MacBook Pro. (7/28/2012)
A New Laptop: My 13.3" MacBook Pro
Just a few observations about my new MacBook Pro. (8/1/2012)
View from the Classroom -- The Fifth Year
A Gaggle of...
Part 3 and the final chapter of our computer take-home project for our special education students. (6/25/2004)
Why I Got Out
I didn't publish this one until the end of 2008, but it sorta wraps up the View series...and my teaching career. (12/17/2008)
View from the Classroom -- The Fourth Year
Computers in the Classroom:
Fourth Year Classroom Tour
What a change a "few bucks" spent well on technology can bring! (3/10/2003)
View from the Classroom -- The Third Year
Why I Prefer Macs in the Classroom
I've desperately tried to avoid the political intrigues of school
building platform wars. Now I'm smack dab in the middle of them again. (8/1/2001)
Getting Ready for...
It's been a difficult beginning of a new school year. My kids came back
ready to learn. I was ready, too, but my school corporation wasn't. (9/18/2001)
Thermos Bottle Barometer
Our national leaders seem on track to pass education reform legislation that won't. (10/15/2001)
View from the Classroom -- The Second Year
Making Schools Better?
Verbally kicking public schools and educators in the shins is becoming
a national pasttime. Steve answers with some of his own unique views on
the subject. (10/31/2000)
A Gaggle of LC IIIs: Part 1
Ever wish you could just give each of your students a computer? A great deal got me started on doing just that! (11/20/2000)
A Gaggle of LC IIIs: Part 2
Our computer give-away continues with signs of academic success. (12/21/2000)
View from the Classroom -- The First Year
The first year of View from the Classroom were originally published on Dan Knight's excellent Low End Mac site and remain available on that site as well as on mathdittos2.com.
A Menagerie of Macs
While I didn't reach my goal of 5 multimedia computers for my classrom last year, this year we've got it knocked. (9/27/99)
Troubleshooting 101
Grandma T always said, "If it doesn't work, give it a good rap." It
always worked with us kids and sometimes it works with computers! (10/6/99)
This Week's "Non-Column"
Even when you have good ideas for a column, things just go all wrong. (10/15/99)
That Other Steve... Series
With
the passing of the MacTimes News Network, the That Other Steve...
series of columns (8/98-1/99) became unavailable online. I don't own
the copyright to these columns and can't post them myself. Fortunately,
the Internet Archive Wayback Machine has archived the series.
Claris...Filemaker...Maybe Nothing
Once mighty Claris has been systematically dismantled. There's almost nothing left. What was lost? (8/9/98)
So far, so good
The iMac rollout is going to be great. But Apple needs to quickly find more retail outlets that will present the Macintosh well. (8/11/98)
iMac Rollout:Indianapolis CompUSA
Apple Computer threw a party for us all. I attended the Indianapolis version. (8/16/98)
Ten Back-to-School Sharewares
This column reviews ten educational sharewares that are all under 1 MB downloads and work on a variety of Macs. (8/24/98)
Customer "Service"
Ever have a really rotten round of web buying. (8/31/98)
Fabulous Freewares
These are the kinds of Mac apps, control panels, etc. that make working on a Mac so special. (9/4/98)
Free? From Apple?
With
the "new" Apple, it sometimes seems they're trying to milk every cent
they can out of everything. They probably are! But there are a lot of
great free postings on Apple's site. (9/9/98)
OS X for Everyone
Apple's OS for the future explained in layman's terms. (9/15/98)
Free Em@iler
Save EmailerApple
Computer appears ready to allow their once-shining email client to die
of neglect. Mac users are up in arms, but no one in Cupertino is
listening...again. (9/22/98)