I had a quartet for a brief time whose other violinist
shortly thereafter went on to be concertmaster of the
New World Symphony, so that ended that. Anyhow, she
fully admitted that she couldn't read music because of
too intense Suzuki training in her childhood, and
playing with the likes of me made her stretch her
boundaries.

She must have learned to read fairly well to become concertmaster of an

Yeah, and then she became cncertmaster of the San
Jose Symphony but topped out there. The fact that
she got spewed out into the world of professional
orchestras when they were bankrupting left and
right didn't much help.

orchestra.... or did she still learn all the music by rote....?

There's reading and there's reading. She was a
below average reader. I was an above average
reader. Given varying amounts of practice our
level of competency with a particular piece
would intersect, and with further study she
would invariably outstrip me.

But there are tons of things that are well learned by
rote and perhaps learned only that way until the child
brain makes patterns out of what otherwise would be
disjoint bits of information.

When I taught piano, I had a book of rote duets (my Aunt Sylvia had used them, and gave me a copy) that were very useful with any beginner

At the beginning levels, repetition is an
absolute necessity.

student... You'd show the pupil which notes to play, and when to change,
and then the teacher part made it into music... Taught rhythm, gave a
feeling of accomplishment, and were fun to do as well... :) But I also always started with teaching the rudiments of reading the music... I did
also use the rote duets with a few developmentally disabled that I
wasn't teaching per se, but the duets were sort of a teaching for them...

Undoubtedly. Disabled might mean an inability to
go beyond rote learning at all, but there are
plenty of delayed students who can get beyond
that stage at least to some degree.

It's possible to sort a lot of things molecule
by molecule, perhaps even atom by atom, and then
in a world of unlimited resources, they could be
exactly replicated, unless it was discovered that
there were other rules at work.

Kinda what I was getting at.... the lack of unlimited resources, and the possibility of other rules at work....

If it's important enough, the resources can be
retargeted to that purpose. Other rules are
likely to get into the metaphysical.

It's amazing or amusing to me how much the needs of pets
affect people's lives.

True. Richard's not immune to it, either....

A lot of otherwise sane-looking men go all
goopy over small cute animals.

The small cute animals really play it for all they are worth, too... ;)

They know on which side their kibble is buttered.

Who knows. Some of my friends have grandkids by
only one of theirs, the others sitting back
and not taking that responsibility. You don't
have a backup, though.

Nope... and so far any grandkids are just talk.... I may live to see
it, maybe not... ;0

But you're thinking logically.

I'm certain they have had to hire people expressly to fix
other people's mistakes or malfeasances in this way.

Possibly... or perhaps the existing Customer Service and other
employees are simply further overworked.....

In which case there would be even more booboos for
the others to fix.

But you are thinking logically.... ;)

[g]

If Beano actually worked for me, my fondness for spicy
Tex-Mex would have manifested much more readily. Mex-Mex
not so much, as it tends to be simplistic, sometimes
even underseasoned, to my taste, though that too is
painting with a broad brush.

I've not actually tried Beano, to my recollection... if I did, I'd guess
it didn't work for me, so put it out of mind.... ;) I mostly just avoid beans where possible.... Not every Mexican dish has beans in it... :)

MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.04

Title: Kathy Pitts' Fajitas
Categories: Mexican, Beef, Pitts
Yield: 4 Servings

1 1/2 lb Beef skirt steak*
1 c Beer
1/2 ts Liquid smoke
2 Lime's juice
2 tb Worcestershire sauce
1 tb Soy sauce (opt'l)
pn Cumin
pn Mexican oregano
Pepper; black or lemon
Garlic powder

This Tex-Mex favorite was around LONG before the yuppiefood industry
snagged it, and turned it into a cliche. This is our version of the
dish, which is (I think) pretty close to the original. Our marinade
for this changes from time to time, depending on the mood of the
cook, the contents of the pantry, and perhaps the phases of the moon,
so feel free to fuss with it.

Skirt steak is the diaphragm of the beef, a long very stringy cut of
meat that accounts for the name of the dish (trans. "sashes"). It
used to be dirt cheap, and was poor folks fare until the food
faddists discovered it.

(Depending on where you live, this cut may either be easily found at
your market, or require a special order with the butcher. In a
pinch, you could substitute flank steak, just don't tell me about it
:-) ) To be tender, the meat demands VERY careful handling. Arm
yourself with a small, sharp knife, and obsessively trim off ALL the
fat, and as much of the silvery membrane surrounding the exterior of
the meat as you can manage. This can take a while, but be persistant.
The more you trim, the better the finished product.

Place the meat in a deep non-metallic pan, and cover with a mixture
of the remaining ingredients. Marinate the meat, turning
occasionally for at least 2 hours (overnight is better). When the
exterior of the meat is grey, it's ready to cook.

The soy is NOT authentic, but since Ninfa's, the Tex-Mex restaurant
chain that originally popularized the dish uses it in THEIR marinade,
I sometimes do, too. It gives the finished dish a nice shiny glaze.

To cook, fish the meat out of the marinade, and dry well. Season the
exterior with a liberal quantity of cracked black pepper (lemon
pepper is good, too), and garlic powder (not salt).

Grill over a medium-hot charcoal fire (best), or broil or grill
indoors. Either way, be VERY careful not to overcook the meat. If
you cook skirt steak beyond medium rare, it will be the toughest cut
of meat imaginable. Since the steak itself is quite thin, cooking
time will be brief. To serve, cut into thin, slanting slices, carving
against the grain of the meat.

The Accompaniments

Fajitas are generally accompanied by sauteed or grilled onions and
sweet green peppers (you can saute the onions and peppers well in
advance, and re-heat on the grill if you are doing the dish outdoors).

Also served is Pico de Gallo, a fresh tomato based salsa.

You will also need a stack of the best flour tortillas you can find.
Some refried beans on the side would be nice, too.

Other possible accompaniments include guacamole or sliced avocados,
lime wedges to squeeze over everything, shredded cheddar cheese, sour
cream.

To eat, take a few slices of meat, and lay on a tortilla. Top with
the sauteed onions and peppers, pico de gallo, and whatever else
suits you.

Fold into a soft taco, and enjoy.

Kathy in Bryan, TX Posted on FIDO COOKING ECHO by Kathy Pitts,
converted by Jim Weller to MM Format. Permission granted for
distribution via FIDO and COOKFDN for individual home use only. All
other publication rights, including secondary publication rights, are
reserved by Kathy Pitts, Bryan Tex.

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