Jethro's World

Mmmm... Coffee...

Coffee. I can't live without it. But, it hasn't always been that way…

I was raised in the Mormon Church, where drinking coffee ranks right up there with stealing and murdering when it comes to sins. I dared not touch it for fear of going to straight to H-E-Double-Hockey-Sticks. But, I secretly loved the aroma of fresh brewed coffee (which I rarely got to experience). Luckily, we left the Mormon Church when I was 13.

I think I finally tried coffee sometime after high school. Wow, what a disappointment; how could something with such a wonderful aroma taste so foul?

Then a friend, Angie (Hansen) Nissly, convinced me to try it with (lots of) cream and sugar. Hmmm… maybe this coffee stuff wasn't so bad after all. The next thing I knew, I was buying a cheap coffeepot and a super-sized container of Folgers - I was officially a coffee drinker.

I soon discovered one of the main benefits of coffee - caffeine! I no longer needed a case of Mountain Dew to stay up all night working on house plans - I could just drink a couple pots of coffee. It came in handy at parties, too. I could get a little energy boost to stay up late and play Rook.

Somewhere along the way, I got serious about my coffee. I moved on to better brands and eventually to grinding my own beans. I have evolved into a coffee snob. My brand evolution:

Folgers - their Coffee Singles aren't too bad if you steep them long enough - great for camping.
Boyds ground - better than Folgers, but too bitter to warrant the "Oh Boyds" TV commercials.
Millstone Breakfast Blend and French Roast ground - a definite step up.
Millstone French Roast whole bean - even better (once I quit over-grinding the beans).
Seattle's Best - good, but not Seattle's best.
Starbucks House Blend - smooth and rich, takes a lot to get it dark enough.
Starbucks French Roast - good stuff, but a little too dark for me (almost an Italian Roast).
BJ's Coffee French Roast - comparable to Starbucks, but local (and Fair Trade Certified).
BJ's Coffee West Valley Blend - not quite as dark as French Roast - a perfect every day coffee.
Torrefazione also makes excellent coffees, but I will stick with the local company.

If I need a coffee on the go, I will either go to BJ's or Starbucks for a latte or a mocha - usually an iced mocha (I can drink it faster that way).

When I brew my own coffee, I use a French Press. I boil a pot of water and add it to West Valley that has been ground for 7 seconds. I let it steep for 4 minutes, press the grounds to the bottom, and transfer it to a coffee butler (thermal carafe). That is my morning ritual.

If I need to make a larger batch (or a second pot of decaf), I grind the coffee for 12 seconds and brew it in an automatic drip coffee pot with a thermal carafe. Coffee brewed in a conventional automatic drip coffee pot can turn bitter very quickly due to excess heat and air exposure. More beans and less time in the grinder also makes for a smoother cup.

Many coffee purist would chastise me because I don't drink it black, but I don't care. To me, a cup of strong, dark coffee with just the right amount of French Vanilla creamer is a little bit of heaven - especially when accompanied by a piece of toast with strawberry jam (or a rich chocolate dessert).

Mmmm… Coffee…

French

My favorite breakfast food is French Toast.

I like French Roast coffee.
I make my coffee with a French press.
I flavor it with French Vanilla creamer.

I like French's Mustard on my American hot dogs.
My dad used to love a good French dip.
My son's favorite food is French Fries.

I have a weakness for French Onion soup.
I like French Bread with my spaghetti.
I don't like French dressing on salads - I prefer Italian.

I like French Vanilla ice cream.

The Roth family's ancestral homeland is Alsace-Lorraine, a region that is now French.

My wife grew up in Canada, where everything is labeled in French and English.
She has a couple of French Memo Boards in our house.

I didn't take French in high school, I took Spanish. My teacher was Miss Roth.

Hasta luego.

Pop Quiz

Story problem, anyone?

You need to make a (equilateral) triangular shaped box to go around a paper towel tube. You know the tube has an outside diameter of 2". Each side of the triangle must fit tight against the tube. What will the length of each side of the triangle be? Please include your method for solving the problem.

I will post the answer (and hopefully a drawing of some kind) later this week.

Hint:

RaginRog is the big winner!
How to solve the problem:

Equilateral triangle = equal angle triangle
180 deg. in a triangle / 3 = 60 deg for each corner

If you draw a perpendicular line from the midpoint of each side of the triangle, it will bisect the adjacent angle. If you do this for every side, it will give you the center point of the circle. It will also give you 6 smaller 30/60/90 triangles.

The short leg of each triangle is equal to the radius of the circle.

Our old pal Pythagoras taught us that the hypotenuse(C) of a 30/60/90 is always double that of the short leg(A). The unknown leg(B) will be (A)*(sqrt of 3). You could also use Pythagorean Theorem or sine/cosine/tangent if you have a scientific calculator (and remember how to solve, as Roger did).

So:

A=1, C=2, B=(1)*(1.7320508)=1.7320508 * 2 = 3.4641 per side

or

A^2 + B^2 = C^2
1^2 + B^2 = 2^2
1 + B^2 = 4
B^2 = 3
B=1.7320508 * 2 = 3.4641 per side

My Loves

When Noah was about 6 months old, we introduced him to Baby Einstein DVD's. We started with Baby Neptune, a video all about water; next came Baby Shakespeare, a pre-literature class for toddlers; and finally Baby Galileo, a video about clouds, planets and stars.

Baby Shakespeare, which features basic vocabulary words (like "train" or "flower") set in excerpts of poetry, is a surprise favorite for me - as I have never been much of a literature guy. I really don't read books and have never been into poetry. But, there is something about the bits of poetry accompanied by simple videos and little bits of Beethoven that is rather moving, even for a 33 year-old grown up. Noah's favorite parts of the video are Bard the Dragon (the puppet host of the show) and the little girls singing the "A-B-C" song.

The final Baby Shakespeare vocabulary word is "moon". In this segment, Bard the Dragon is getting ready for bed, with the first four verses of "My Loves" narrated in time with Moonlight Sonata. Who would have thunk that such profundity could be had from a children's video?

An interesting little side note to all this: While I was putting this entry together, I discovered that Baby Einstein may be crediting "My Loves" to the wrong poet. They list Langston Hughes as the author, but a google search comes up with Andrew Mosley. I can find no record of Langston Hughes ever writing a poem by this name. Does anyone out there have a definitive answer to this?

My Loves

by Langston Hughes

My Loves

I love to see the big white moon
a shining in the sky

I love to see the little stars
when the shadow clouds go by

I love the raindrops falling
on my roof top in the night

I love the soft winds sighing
before the dawn's gray light

I love the deepness of the blue
in my Creator’s heaven above

But better than all these things I like
I love my friendship with you.

An Ode to Oakes and Oregon Strawberries

Congratulations are in order for our good friends, Roger and Kristin Oakes of Whiskey Hill, Oregon. Kellan Lee Oakes, an 8 lb 15 oz boy, was born at approx. 11:30 am, Tuesday June 8th. He joins brothers Ian (6) and Tristan (3). Kellan is expected to be riding wheelies on his motorcycle by the end of next week.

Wow, another family of three boys; are you really ready for this, Roger and Kristin? I don’t know if I have any words of wisdom for anyone other than Tristan. T, it can be rough being the middle boy; but in the end, it will only make you stronger. It’s time for the middle children of the world to stand up and be heard! Oh, sorry. I got a little carried away there…

So, what do Oregon Strawberries have to do with all this?

Well, Stephanie came home with a big crate of fresh Oregon Strawberries on Wednesday, with the intention of working them into a dessert for the meal she was making for the Oakes family. She found a recipe for Gala Strawberry Pie in the From Portland’s Palate cookbook, but it used up less than half of the berries. What ever would we do with the rest of the berries?

That’s right, I got a Gala Strawberry Pie of my own (along with two and a half jars of freezer jam). I got home from work yesterday to find a gorgeous, bright red, overflowing Strawberry pie perched on the top shelf of the refrigerator. It had to be one of the best strawberry pies I have ever tasted. The piled-high strawberries rested on top of a light layer of cream cheese and whipped cream. Every bite was sweet and fresh, with a flavor that only Oregon strawberries can provide. Those bitter, white-centered California strawberries just don’t cut it.

I love strawberry season in Oregon! But, the strawberries won’t be in season much longer, so you’d better get baking and canning while they last!

Gala Strawberry Pie

1 10-inch baked pie crust
1 cup whipping cream
1 8-oz pkg cream cheese, room temperature
1 ½ cups granulated sugar, divided
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons cornstarch
½ cup water
1 cup fresh strawberries, mashed
4 cups whole strawberries for garnish

In a small mixing bowl, whip cream. Set aside. In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese, ½ cup sugar, and vanilla. Fold in whipped cream and beat lightly by hand. Spoon into baked pie shell.

In a medium saucepan, combine remaining 1 cup sugar and cornstarch. Mix in water and mashed berries. Over high heat, bring to a boil, stirring constantly until mixture begins to thicken, about 1 minute. Let cool.

Arrange whole berries on top of cheese mixture, then spoon on berry topping.

Refrigerate 3 to 4 hours. Garnish with additional strawberries.

Noah's Playhouse

Noah's Playhouse, a site dedicated to pictures of Noah and his family, is now officially open. I hope to keep it updated with fresh pictures of the little spud. I have added Noah's Playhouse to the Other Weblogs list on the sidebar.

Welcome to Jethro's World

Where does the name Jethro come from? Well, it is Biblical for one, but that was not the original inspiration behind the nickname. The name really came about several years ago when I had time to play video games on the computer. Me and my good friend Roger Oakes loved racing games (like Need For Speed). His nickname was RaginRog, and I came up with Jethro – a bit of a play on my real name. Since then, Jethro has become my online name on various forums and weblogs.

What is Jethro’s World? Jethro’s World is a chronicle of the life and times of Jeffrey S. Roth, a mild-mannered box maker from Canby, Oregon; and my wife Stephanie, a not-so-mild-mannered dental hygienist (I am going to pay for that comment) hailing from Wembley, Alberta. [Edit: When Steph doesn't have a scary scraping instrument in her hand; she is the most creative, thoughtful, caring, beautiful woman I have ever met! And she is still my hero!] Much of this weblog will be devoted to our son Noah, and the joys of family life. I hope to make this an uplifting and positive site, with emphasis on glorifying God and his creation.

I don’t know how often I will add new entries, but I would hope for a couple times a week. Please feel free to leave any comments and advice for future entries. But be warned, this is a family site, and any comments that are seen as vulgar or negative may be deleted. I am generally in favor of unedited free speech, but I will draw a line in this case. I don’t really want this to turn into a forum for political or theological discussions.

This concludes the first official Jethro’s World blog. Thank you for taking the time to stop by and I wish all of you a wonderful day! (exclamation point for JD's benefit)