Jock's Random Thoughts

I'm Baaaaack!

2009-07-29T17:56:00.002-04:00

Yep that's right I'm back living and working in the DC area. If you remember we left here 2 years ago thinking we would never back but guess what? Things change and never say never.

We settled on the Rockville Maryland area to live. We live in what they call a 'planned community.' I'm not sure what that means but I think it means some thought was put into the layout of the neighborhoods. We have most conveniences we need within 2 blocks of our home. Lots of restaurants, grocery store, banks, and even an ice cream shop. I haven't checked out the ice cream shop yet but I will shortly.

As far as shopping goes around here what do you want? Whole Foods? How about 2 within 5 miles. Trader Joes? How about 3 miles away. Costco? Target? Kohls? Barnes and Noble? Dicks? Too many to count. Do you like malls? Indoor? Outdoor? Take your pick still too many to count. How about a REI store big sis? Yep got one. In fact from what I can see there is a least one of everything on the main drag called Rockville Pike.

How about restaurants? I like eating at all the different restaurants and I will be years if not decades eating my way through all the different restaurants. The only kind of restaurant there isn't an over abundance of is barbecue types, although I went to a Good Times Restaurant the other night and they had pretty good ribs.

As far as what we live in it is called a condo. Why I don't know because it could be considered an apartment or even a small townhouse. We have a kitchen, living room, family room (not sure which is which, what one is the TV in?) two bedrooms and 2-1/2 baths. Seems out of whack to have more bathrooms than bedrooms but that is the way it is done around here. It's a quiet community even quieter than the apartment I was living in in Wisconsin.

In our family room (?) we have for furniture 1 TV and two chairs, lawn chairs, to sit in. Our living room consist of a dining room table and 4 chairs and our living room (?) has our computer set up on a cardboard box and cooler. HGTV would love our decorating ideas. In our bedroom we have a dresser and queen size bed. The queen size bed is a air mattress but you can't tell when you look at it. It sits about 2 feet off the floor and is very comfortable I actually sleep better on that than the bed I had in Wisconsin.

For the kitchen I have almost all my day to day cooking utensils and I hope to get back to updating Jock's Good Grub blog soon now that I have someone to cook for again. The grilling blogs will be in short supply for the next year or so since we can't grill here but you can look for other methods to try and get that same grilled flavor. I got some ideas.

If anyone wants to come visit I have 1 spare bedroom just bring a sleeping bag. We are located one short bus ride from the metro that will take you anywhere in the DC area. If anyone is interested in the middle of October they close some of the streets of DC and let the bikers use them. I don't have all the particulars yet but I am thinking about riding in it. I believe it is 100 miles long but like I said I need to get more information.

Next time I plan on having pictures to show so you can see out decorating ideas at work. I think you will be impressed.

A Simple College Lesson

2009-07-10T13:44:00.003-04:00

I don't know where this originated from because it came in one of those emails that gets passed on from email address to email address but I thought it was such a simple lesson I would pass it along.

An economics professor at a local college made a statement that he had never failed a single student before, but had once failed an entire class.

That class had insisted that Obama's socialism worked and that no one would be poor and no one would be rich, a great equalizer.

The professor then said, "OK, we will have an experiment in this class on Obama's plan".

All grades would be averaged and everyone would receive the same grade so no one would fail and no one would receive an A.

After the first test, the grades were averaged and everyone got a B.
The students who studied hard were upset and the students who studied little were happy.

As the second test rolled around, the students who studied little had studied even less and the ones who studied hard decided they wanted a free ride too so they studied little. The second test average was a D! No one was happy.

When the 3rd test rolled around, the average was an F.

The scores never increased as bickering, blame and name-calling all resulted in hard feelings and no one would study for the benefit of anyone else.

All failed, to their great surprise, and the professor told them that socialism would also ultimately fail because when the reward is great, the effort to succeed is great but when government takes all the reward away, no one will try or want to succeed.

Could not be any simpler than that.

What's the Hidden Message?

2009-06-19T14:13:00.002-04:00

I came home a couple of days ago and look what I found laying by my door.

Hm, what could it be? Do you think it is something I need? I don't know but let's open it and find out.

Well I'll be socks. How do you like that? Funny I didn't think I needed any socks yet, all my white socks are still in pretty good shape. They don't have any holes in them and still look pretty new. I do see a problem with these socks however, they are missing the top half. Where is the top half of the sock? You know the part that keeps the lower half of my calf from getting sunburn. If I switch socks now I will end up with unsightly tan lines and I'm not sure any of us can live with that.

Let's see who they are from.

Hm, I wonder is she trying to send me a message?

Arlington - The Rap Verison

2009-06-15T21:42:00.004-04:00

Here is a rap video about the area in Arlington we use to live in. This rap song is very accurate too.

And yes there really is that many Starbucks in Arlington.

Are You Ready for a Century?

2009-06-05T20:56:00.002-04:00

We talked about it, we laughed about it, we all said we could do it and now it is time to put up or shut up. What am I talking about? How about the century bike ride. I'm in how about everyone else?

If we are going to do this we need to decide when and where. I really liked Sarah's suggestion about riding through the apple orchards of southwestern Michigan. Now imagine my surprise when I did a search the other day for century bike rides and up pops the Apple Cider Century. This bike ride is located in southwestern Michigan just a few miles from where she lives. I tagged it as a favorite for my facebook account and she noticed it and tagged it too. We sent a couple of notes back and forth and I think along with Sarah this will be a good century to ride in. I told lil' sis about it tonight and she likes the idea too.

If you want to check out the ride for yourself here is the link for their website.

http://www.applecidercentury.com/

It takes place on September 27th which means trees will be starting to change colors and the weather should be a little cooler.

I like the idea of an organized ride because they will have drinks and food available along the route. That will the much less we will have to carry with us making it much easier to go 100 miles. Plus there will be emergency vehicles available in case we need one.

Let me know what everyone thinks and if we are going to do this we need to get our forms filled out and entered because they only take the first 5000 riders and it does fill up.

I did this by blog because I don't have everyones email address besides it is only family that reads this anyway. By the way anyone who wants to do this is invited if you are foolish enough.

Are you ready for a century?

Trying to Ride 100 Miles Without Killing Yourself

2009-06-03T18:27:00.003-04:00

I thought everyone might be interested in this article I found on About.com Sports Medicine. It is called Training for a Bicycling 'Century.' Even though it doesn't say it in this article I did read you can expect to be able to ride 3 times farther than your normal riding distance for one day. If you can ride 33 miles comfortably you should be able to ride 100 miles. It didn't say how sore you will be the next day but it did say it is possible without to much training.

Hills are another good training exercise with bikes which I have plenty to choose from here in Wisconsin. I try to ride the bike trail here where I live at least once a week at a faster pace than I normally ride. I have noticed my average speed has already increased 2 mph. The nights I do this I only ride 15 miles or so just like last night.

Hopefully this is good information for everyone as we get ready to attempt our century ride.

Here is the link to the article and other useful information.

http://sportsmedicine.about.com/cs/conditioning/a/aa052703.htm

A milestone in the life of a cyclist is riding the "century;" 100 miles in a day. It is a right of passage that many cyclists long to attain. While riding 100 miles in a day may sound extreme to a non-cyclist, it is not unthinkable. Almost any casual cyclist can complete a century if they follow a comprehensive training routine.

There are several things to consider in order to have a trouble-free century. They include:

* The right equipment
* The right training
* The right food
* The right attitude

Equipment
The right equipment means comfort. Your bike should fit you well and should be familiar. If you aren’t sure, have your local bike professional provide a fit-assessment. Don’t plan to ride a new or a borrowed bike on your first century. Consider having a tune-up before the ride, and carry a spare tire and patch kit, tools, a pump and knowledge of how to use them. Other essential equipment includes:

* A properly fit helmet
* Water bottles and cages
* Cycling clothing, including shoes, shorts, gloves and rain gear
* Sunglasses

Training
The core of your training should be endurance training. If you start your training at least 12 weeks before the ride, you will have ample time to prepare for the century. If you already ride more than 7 hours a week, you will need far less time to prepare. While most of your rides will be at about 65% of your maximum heart rate (MHR), add two days of interval training, where you push hard for several minutes - up to 85% MHR. Hills are a great way to add interval training to your ride. And don’t forget to allow one day per week for recovery. A sample training schedule may look like this:

* Saturday: 1-2 hour ride with 30 minutes of hard effort
* Sunday: 1-2 hour ride at steady pace (65% MHR)
* Monday: Rest
* Tuesday: 1-1.5 hour ride with hills
* Wednesday: Rest or 1-hour easy recovery ride
* Thursday: 1-1.5 hours with interval training
* Friday: Rest or 30-minute easy recovery ride

More Training Tips

* Maintain a cadence of 70 to 90 revolutions per minute
* Gradually increase your milage as you get closer to the century, increasing no more than 10% at a time.
* Plan a 50- or 60-mile ride at least two weeks before the century
* Taper your mileage a week before the century. During that week you may even reduce your riding to one or two days of an easy five to ten-mile spin. Also, try to get plenty of sleep.

Nutrition
As the ride day approaches, food becomes the critical component for a successful century. A few days prior to the ride you should start hydrating. Drink water frequently, cut back or eliminate caffeine and alcohol, and add carbohydrates to your diet.

On ride day, eat a light breakfast of high-carbohydrate foods and drink lots of water. On the ride drink before you're thirsty. Water or a sports drink should be your first choice. Eat easily digestible, carbohydrate rich-food such as energy bars, bagels, fruit or granola. Don’t try something new on the ride. You should eat things you know agree with you.

Attitude
Ease into the ride pace. This isn’t a race, and if it’s your first century, the goal is to finish comfortably. Here are some more tips for an enjoyable ride:

* Change your position often. Mover you hand position, get up off the saddle, stretch your arms, shoulders and neck, arch your back and stretch out. Avoid staying in one position too long.
* Take short rest breaks off the bike. An organized century ride will offer regular water and food stops. Take advantage of this time to get off the bike and refill your water bottles, stretch, and use the restroom. Keep these stops to 10 minutes or less or you may risk getting stiff.
* Find a companion or two. The ride will go faster and feel easier with a friend or two. Also, skilled riders can take advantage of drafting and save some energy in the wind.

Attitude is everything. If you have prepared yourself well, there isn’t much more to be done on ride day than sit back and enjoy the scenery (and maybe plan your next century).

Update May 11, 2009

2009-05-11T13:25:00.002-04:00

It has been a couple of weeks since I have been here so I thought I should update everyone as to what I have been up to.

First of all let's go back a couple of weeks ago when I went to Arlington, VA again. On this trip everything went smoothly and I arrived a few minutes ahead of schedule. Saturday was pretty uneventful since it rained almost all day and Sunday was pretty much the same.

On Monday since my appointment got canceled we decided to go to the American History Museum at the Smithsonian. Back when I lived there a couple of years ago this museum was closed for renovations I always wanted to visit it because I thought it might be the best of all the Smithosians. Well I was right it was every bit as good as the Air and Space Museum and the Natural History Museum. There was plenty of old junk in there from Dorothy's ruby red slippers from The Wizard of Oz, Jerry Seinfeld's puffy shirt for the Puffy Shirt episode of Seinfeld, and the most intriguing of all items (so I thought) Abe Lincoln's top hat from when he was President.

There was an old house that had been reassembled that was originally built in the late 1700's. Lots of other displays from engines, Presidential wing, First Lady's wing, Jazz, and my favorite wing the General Motors Transportation Wing. The transportation wing was the history of transportation in the U.S. Everything from old trains, street cars, motorcycles, and of course the automobile.

We ate lunch in the Smithsonian cafeteria which features food from all over the United States. It has pizza, hotdogs, hamburgers, and my favorite barbecue. For a cafeteria the food wasn't too bad.

After lunch we took a simulator ride into the Bermuda Triangle. It was pretty cool from the moment they drop you off from the side of the boat, yes you do hit the water pretty hard, to the time you pop back out of the water and the ride is over. Once we dove down into the water we ran into a turtle on our way down to the ocean floor. A funny thing happened once we got down there we got sucked into a water swirl, now I know how it feels to get flushed down a toilet, and we ended up down in the Bermuda Triangle (funny since that is the name of the ride). Here we saw all the planes and boats that have been reported lost over the last few decades.

After the Smithsonian it was time to fly back home and once again there were no problems. In fact I landed in Milwaukee 30 minutes early so I knew Sarah was no where near the Milwaukee airport.

The last couple of weeks have been filled with a lot of rain so the bike riding has really slowed down. I am hoping this week will be filled with sunshine so I can get some miles in. So far today it is looking real good.

On the cooking front not much has been happening either. I am still looking for the winning recipe for the vegetarian throwdown. Everything I have tried so far just doesn't cut it. I've got a couple of more ideas but I need to get busy and try them.

The one thing I did accomplish this weekend is I did manage to can some barbecue sauce. I think it is real good on chicken but I am not so thrilled with it on ribs. I have a couple of more ideas to try on ribs and hopefully by the end of summer I will have a good bbq sauce for ribs too. Whoever wants to try the bbq sauce let me know and I will bring enough home for you to try.

As you can see really not much happening right now and hopefully that will change here within the next month or so.

Still Rolling Along

2009-04-19T12:59:00.003-04:00

Even though I haven't posted any bike riding adventures I am still riding every week. I am trying to ride as many nights as possible but sometimes the weather gets in the way. I lost a little time last weekend too because I took a side trip to Washington D.C. but that's a story for another day.

When I got home from work on Friday afternoon I decided to take a ride because the temperature was 70 degrees and bright sunny skies. There was a wind out of the west so I decided to head that direction first that way I would have the wind at my back for the ride home. I rode on the Old Plank Trail here next to the apartment. The Old Plank Trail stretches from Sheboygan to Greenbush and is 17 miles of rolling hills. The surface is asphalt but for an asphalt surface it isn't all that great. I decided to ride out at least to the spot I stopped at once before I thought that would be a good warmup for my ride on Saturday.

The spot I stopped at before is on top of a short but steep hill on the trail located just west of Plymouth. The hill is a good workout just before turning around. The last time I got to the top of the hill I stopped and sat down on a bench to rest, looked to the west and I could see about two miles across a valley. The trail goes down into the valley and then climbs back up out of the valley on the other side. That day I could hear it calling my name begging me to climb up out of the valley. Since the days were shorter 3 weeks ago I didn't want to run out of daylight before I got home but I knew I would be back.

Friday night I was back and after a brief rest and refreshing drink of water at the top of the small steep hill I headed for the valley and yes it was calling my name again. Down I went to the bottom for about a mile then I started up the other side. Up, up, up, climb, climb, climb, I wasn't sure I was ever going to get to the top but I did after another mile. Finally there I was on the other side about 2 miles from the end of the trail and another smaller valley to cross to get there. I decided to turn around here because I didn't want to be too sore for tomorrows ride. It was an easy ride going back all I had to do was point myself downhill and coast. For the next mile I hardly peddled at all in fact I was on the brakes so I didn't build up too much speed and go off one of the sharp curves on the trail.

Saturday was to be another beautiful Wisconsin day, 70 degrees and sunny. My plan for today? Find Lake Michigan by bike trail. You see the Old Plank Trail ends about the city limits of Sheboygan and then you have to pick up the city trail that consist of city streets, bike paths and sidewalks. The city trail is marked fairly good with a couple of areas leaving you to guess what way to go. The Old Plank Trail ends just on the other side of this tunnel.

This tunnel takes you under the xway that travels between Milwaukee and Green Bay. This tunnel is not as impressive as some that go through mountains but for now it's all I got. If you look real close to the lower right you will see snow and ice. Yes we still have a little snow hanging around refusing to go away.

Once I was on the other side I picked up the bike trail signs that would lead me to my destination..........

.....Lake Michigan.

I love the shores of the Great Lakes an I can spend the day there (I have the sunburn to prove it too.) It's 8-1/2 miles from my apartment to this point.

Once down by the lake there is another bike/walking path that follows the shore for 2 miles.

It was such a nice day even the birds were enjoying themselves.

And you know summer is coming when you see the geese flying north.

I followed the bike path as far is it went then I rode on the back streets of Sheboygan along Lake Michigan for a couple of more miles before I decided to turn around.

I decided to ride along the boardwalk of the Sheboygan River before I picked up the bike path back towards home. If you don't remember the boardwalk here is a picture from last summer.

And if you are curious what I am rolling on these days I took this picture to show you.

Yep that's how I roll.

PLAY BALL!!!!

2009-04-06T13:39:00.003-04:00

It's that time of year again when the grass is starting to turn green, birds are heading north for the summer and the sound of "PLAY BALL" can be heard all around the country. Today is the first day of major league baseball when everyone still has hopes for their favorite team to make it all the way to the world series with one exception if you are a Pittsburgh Pirate fan.

My favorite team, the Detroit Tigers, were a big disappointment last year after many picked them to make it to the world series. I am hoping this year is different with the revamped bullpen and better defense. Gone are Gary 'what can I bitch about today' Sheffield, Todd 'roller coaster' Jones and Edgar 'I can't hit my way out of a paper bag' Renteria. In their place will be Marcus 'all or nothing' Thames, Fernando 'which way is home plate' Rodney and Adam 'can I stay healthy all year' Everett.

The central division is wide open this year and I have seen predictions for 4 out of the 5 teams to win it with the only one not picked being the Royals. With that being said it is time for me to make some foolish predictions for this year.

American League Central
Cleavland Indians
Detroit Tigers
Minnesota Twins
Kansas City Royals
Chicago White Sox

The Tigers defense from a year ago is greatly improved with the acquisition of Adam Everett, Inge going back to third and Carlos Guillen in left field. If will also help that Granderson is with the team at the beginning of the year. I'm not too worried about the offense either with Ordonez, Guillen and Cabrera anchoring the middle of the lineup. The area I am worried about is the pitching, both starting and relief. The starters are anchored with Verlander, who I expect to bounce back this year and have a big year, followed by last years pleasant surprise Galarraga. After that it's anybodies guess but I have high hopes for Rick Porcella the 20 year old with a rocket for an arm. He has a good possibility of being the rookie of the year and don't be surprise if Verlander is a candidate for the Cy Young award at the end of the year with new pitching coach Rick Knapp at his side.

My other predictions are:
A.L. East - New York Yankees
A.L. West - California Angles
N.L. East - New York Mets
N.L. Central - Chicago Cubs
N.L. West - Los Anegeles Dodgers

In the world series will be New York Yankees and the Chicago Cubs with the winner being after 101 years The Chicago Cubs, you see there is still hope for the Detroit Lions.

Update:
I just saw on ESPN that Rick Sutcliff picked the KC Royals to win the AL Central. That makes all teams picked to finish in first in the AL Central.

"You Can't Spend Your Way Out of a Recession and You Can't Borrow Your Way Out of Debt"

2009-03-27T13:15:00.002-04:00

This guy gets it......

Hey Obama are you listening?

More Biking and My Goals

2009-03-23T13:24:00.004-04:00

Getting pretty boring around here, nothing really going on so let's talk about my weekend biking, again.

If you remember last week was my first time out and I made the foolish mistake of climbing a couple of hills with my new bike. I didn't make that mistake this weekend because I stuck mainly to the bike path that runs by the apartment. The bike path I am talking about is also called The Old Plank Trail. It is 17 miles long, starts in Sheboygan and finishes in Greenbush. Most of the trails I have found in Wisconsin are rated as easy, this trail is rated as intermediate. I am assuming the intermediate rating comes from the fact either you are peddling up hill or downhill the entire length of the trail. This trail isn't built on an old railroad bed like so many others this trail actually follows Highway 23 between the two above mentioned towns.

The surface to the west of where I get on the trail is older pavement and is rough in some areas. The surface to the east was recently repaved and is nice and smooth and I think a little wider than the trail to the west. There are a couple of areas where you need to slow down or it hurts when you hit the bumps. If I were to compare this trail with the rail-trail between Midland and Clare I would pick the Midland-Clare Trail just because the surface is so much better. The one thing I do like with the Old Plank Trail is when you approach a road to cross the trail actually bends away from the road intersection. This make the crossing much safer than the trail being right at the intersection.

I was hoping to ride the trail this weekend to Plymouth and back but when I woke up Saturday morning we had snow covering the ground. I wasn't to worried about the fresh snow because I knew Saturday was suppose to be a nice sunny day with temperatures hitting 50 degrees. I was more worried about the left over snow on the trail from this past winter. Yes we still have snow here in Wisconsin and wherever the trail passes on the north side of a woods the snow has yet to melt. Saturday was such a nice day that when I came up to a snow covered portion of the trail I pushed the bike past it and continued on. I finally got all the way to WI-57, which is on the extreme east end of Plymouth before I got to a patch of snow I didn't feel like pushing through so I turned around.

One of my goals for this trail is to try and average 12 MPH along the trail. I am hoping by later this summer I can get up to 13 and maybe even 14 MPH average. I was averaging 11.8 MPH even after stopping to push my way through the snow covered areas so I think 12 MPH is easily within my grasp. I finally had a chance to get the average up to 12 MPH because I was about to decent a nice long hill. I was hitting 17 to 18 MPH and even got over 20 MPH once. I had the average up to 11.9, ready to break 12 MPH when I looked up and what did I see? A bald eagle soaring overhead, the hell with the 12 MPH average, I hit the brakes and stopped so I could watch the eagle instead. I mean how many chances do you get to watch an eagle glide through the air? I think this eagle was looking for its next meal because he was circling overhead gradually moving towards the east and then the south.

I took off again and eventually made it back to my point of entry to the trail and decided to see how far east I could go on the trail. I made it about 2 miles before I hit more snow than I really wanted to push the bike through so I turned around and headed home.

I ended up riding 21 miles on Saturday and felt pretty good afterward except for my butt. I think I can handle the long rides other than my butt gets pretty sore. When I jumped back on the bike on Sunday everything felt fine except for my butt again. I am hooping with more riding it gets broke in too. Speaking about Sunday because it was cold and windy I only rode for 7 miles. It was just too miserable to go any farther. It is suppose to stay cold and rainy all week but at least it will finally melt the snow.

Since little sis told us all about her goals for the upcoming summer I thought I might share mine with everyone. The one thing about telling people your goals I think you are more apt to accomplish them because it adds a little pressure. Unlike little sis there will be no races for me.

1. I want to be able to average 12 MPH on the Old Plank Trail by this summer.
2. My goal is to ride 1000 miles this summer.
3. I want to ride 51 miles in one day by my 51st birthday in June.
4. I want to ride the Ozaukee-Interbaun Trail here in Wisconsin from one end to the other and back by the end of the summer over one weekend. I am not sure but I think it is about 60 miles one way.
5. Before biking season is done and if I am still here in Wisconsin I want to ride to the Mississippi River. This is about 112 miles one way and you start in central Wisconsin and end at the Mississippi River. You travel over a boat load of bridges and travel through several tunnels cut through hills. My plan is to ride it to the Mississippi and back over a 4 day period. This isn't something I can do alone so if anyone is interested let me know because I am willing.
6. I have an attainable goal to loose 20 pounds this summer and if at all possible I would like to loose 25 pounds. I am well on my way as I have already lost 10 pounds, the easy 10, so all I have to do is loose the other 10-15 pounds. This may not seem like much but these are the hard 10 pounds with the last 5 pounds almost impossible, at least for me.

There you have it my goals for this summer, not as ambitious as little sis but they should get me back in shape.

Biking Part 1

2009-03-18T13:37:00.004-04:00

I'm not so sure about all this biking anymore. I started off wanting to ride a bike to get in better shape and maybe extend my life by a couple of more minutes but I think the bike might kill me before I get in shape.

Let's roll back to this last Sunday when the weather finally cooperated and the temperature got up to a balmy 50 degrees. We still had plenty of snow blocking the bike paths so I decided to go for a spin on some side streets between Sheboygan Falls and Kohler. It all started off nice and pleasant, I was hitting cruising speeds of 14-15 MPH on nice flat streets. I rolled through an industrial complex peppered with small business (the most noteworthy one was Jiffy, the makers of ice augers for ice fishing) and then I rolled through some residential neighborhoods. It is hard to tell when you actually enter into the village of Kohler because where Falls stops Kohler starts.

Both are nice little towns and both appear to be great places to raise a family. A lot of the houses I cruised by were brick built from 1600 to 2000 square feet in size and well kept. It was hard to tell if the lawns and landscaping are neatly taken care of because snow still covered most of the yards.

I wasn't sure how far I was going to ride on Sunday but I had a goal of 10 miles. One mile rolled by quickly and I was feeling pretty good. After the second mile I was starting to think "Okay this isn't to bad today maybe I will shoot for 15 to 20 miles." The third mile went by and by the fourth mile I found myself parked out in front of the Kohler plant. If you are not familiar with Kohler they make toilets, sinks, generators and small engines. I was still feeling pretty good so I thought I would take a ride down a dead end road that eventually leads to one of the Kohler family's golf courses, they have several and not all in this country. It was a nice ride down a hill and alongside the golf course until you end up at a gate and driveway leading back to a private club. The problem with nice rides down a hill is eventually you have to come back up a hill. This wasn't a real bad hill as hills go but none the less it made me work. Once back on top of the hill I was a little more tired but still ready to ride my 15 miles or so.

At this time I was 6 miles into my ride and like I said still feeling pretty good. I decided to make a left turn and roll on past the Kohler's homes and horse stables. This was my first tactical mistake. I knew from driving in a car there was a hill on this road but in a car it never seemed that big. I took off down the road and once again started down a long hill where I never had to peddle and I could hit speeds up to 24 MPH. I did use my brakes because if I didn't I'm not sure how fast I would have gone. But like I mentioned before if you go down a hill somewhere you got to go back up.

As I was approaching the hill I was thinking this can't be to bad I got 27 gears to choose from and one of them should get me up this hill. I hit the hill doing about 15 MPH as the hill gently starts its assent up. After I get about a 1/4 of the way up I was down to 9 MPH and several gears, my legs are starting to ache, and my lungs were gasping for air, oh the hill is getting steeper too. Up the hill I continue down to 6 MPH and a few more gears. I'm not sure how many more gears I can go down but I hope there are a few left. The burn, the burn in the legs, I can't believe they call this exercise and it is suppose to be good for you. I'm 3/4 of the way up and suddenly the hill turns straight up (at least it seemed like it) I'm huffing and puffing, the legs feel like they fell off 50 yards back but I'm not quitting now, dammit I am going to make it without stopping. Those last 50 yards of that hill were torturous, 4 MPH, down to my lowest gear for hill climbing, legs gone, shot, turned to jello, I'm not sure there is enough oxygen in the world to fill my lungs but I am almost there and I won't quit. Finally I clear the mountain summit, paramedics to the left of me just waiting for me to fall over. But not today boys I came, I saw and I conquered, go find someone else and save their life today.

I can't tell you the relief I felt as I cleared the top of the hill and started coasting towards Sheboygan Falls downtown area picking up speed the entire distance. Picking up speed? But I'm not even peddling, that means......I must be going down another hill! Sh!t. At least it is a long gently hill and I can coast for about 1/2 mile or so. Once I reach the bottom there is a park off to the right where I can stop and catch a breather or two and let my legs catch up to me.

I wondered over to the falls area of the river and watched hundreds or thousands of gallons water go over the falls. Water falls always amaze me, the sound, the sight of rainbows, and the power they generate. I don't know what it is about water falls but I can watch water flow over them for hours.

By this time I am about 10 miles into my ride, tired and ready to go home, the hell with 15-20 miles. I knew I had one more hill to conquer and it is a long hill but I knew it wouldn't be near as steep as the last one I just went up. None the less I wasn't looking forward to it but what choice did I have?

It wasn't long and I started up the hill. I took my time not because I wanted too but because the hill made me. My legs were still aching from the last hill climb but once again I was not stopping until I was in front of my garage or I fell off my bike. I finally made it over the top of that hill, barely moving, but still it qualifies because I never stopped. From here it is about a one mile ride to home so I took my time for the rest of the ride.

Once I arrived back at home I put the bike in the garage and started the long, long walk to my apartment. My legs were tired and I wasn't sure I would make it. Once inside I poured myself a cold glass of water and immediately got on Craigslist and put my bike up for sale. Just kidding.

Well there you have it my first time out on my new bike, 11.8 miles, 9.8 MPH average, 2 long hills with one being very steep, and two very tired legs. From what I understand biking 4 miles is equivalent to running 1 mile so that means I ran the equivalent of 3 miles, not to bad for an old man.

Monday I rode another 6 miles and my legs still were pretty tired so I skipped Tuesday night. I rode last night just over 11 miles with a couple of hills thrown in there and my legs felt a lot better, I think I might be making progress.

That's how I'm rolling this spring and I will be sure to keep everybody up to date as the year goes on.

Dinner or Disaster?

2009-03-10T22:15:00.002-04:00

Dinner or disaster? What a great idea and I have been waiting for a couple of weeks to do my first one. Why was I waiting? I was waiting for peej to come over spring break so he could either enjoy it with me or watch me throw it into the trash. What will it be? Let's find out.

This months recipe was Rigatoni with Spicy Sausage-Tomato Sauce, Arugula and Parmesan. And just in case you forgot the ingredients they are as follows:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 pounds fresh hot Italian sausages, casings removed
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes with added puree
8 ounces rigatoni
2 cups (packed) fresh arugula, stemmed
1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

I won't go into all the details of the hows and whys but if you want them you can hop on over to either Dirt Road Girl or Don't Blink blog read all about the recipe there.

We, I am talking about myself and peej, followed the recipe pretty much as is except we used Rotoni pasta (because I already had it)and we added 2 tablespoons of butter in the end to cut the acidity from the tomatoes. Unlike big sis I was able to fine fresh arugula, thank you Whole Foods.

I also used hot italian sausage and I even found a dry red wine to use again thank you Whole Foods.

It sure did smell good while it was cooking but will it taste as good as it smells? It certainly was a colorful recipe.

Big sis didn't give this a very good rating but I got to tell you I gave is a 4 out of 5 forks. Peej is giving it a 3.75 forks out of 5 after the initial cooking and a 4 out of 5 as leftovers. I think the difference was in the arugula, it definitely gave it a different flavor.

Overall I have to call it a dinner and yes I would make it again. I think I might change a couple of things with it but overall I was pleased.

Time to Get Back At It

2009-03-05T21:14:00.002-05:00

It's about time I get back at this posting stuff again. I'm not sure what I have been doing for the last month but I have been busy. It seems by the time I get done with whatever I am doing for the night it is 9:00 to 9:30PM and by that time I really don't feel like posting.

I have a few post I need to catch up on like one about stem cells. I have been doing a lot of research regarding stem cells and I will post my thoughts and what I have learned in the near future, besides I promised little sis I would do so. I have another post about caring for cast iron pans I want to do. I even have the pictures taken already, all I need to do is write the damn thing. If you follow my simple directions for caring for cast iron you will never go back to anything remotely resembling teflon. The other upside is you will never have to buy another set of cookware ever again and neither will your children or grandchildren.

I also have several meals to post for my Jocks Good Grub blog. Even though I haven't been posting I haven't stopped cooking.

But what have I been up to? Well as most of you know the wife recently moved back to Virgina and I have been looking in that area for a new job or possibly go back to the old job I had there a year ago. The only problem is the economy isn't cooperating right now so things are a little slow. For now I will be staying in Wisconsin until something opens up. My guess it will be anywhere from 6 months to a year before I will move back to Arlington but with the stock market going downhill by the day I might take a bit longer.

With the wife out of my hair, opps I mean gone, I am living in the big farm house all by myself now so I decided to do a Shae and move to a new 2 bedroom apartment. For the last 2 weeks I have been busy driving around, calling and looking at apartments. Peej doesn't know it yet but "we" are moving next week while he is here. The new apartment is located in Sheboygan Falls and about a 10 mile drive to work. The reason I picked this apartment is easy drive to work (all x-way), located on the first floor so I can grill out on the lawn, garage, washer and dryer, and the heat is included in the rent. Its got one of those new fancy names, Parc Falls, the apartment manager seems pretty nice, and it's an end apartment closest to the woods. The last reason I picked it was it is located about a 1/4 of a mile from the local bike trail. This bike trail is paved, rated as moderate (because it is fairly hilly from beginning to end) and runs for 21 miles. I think it starts at Lake Michigan (I will find out for sure in a couple of weeks when the snow is gone) and ends in Glennbulah which is west of Plymouth 5 miles or so.

The astute observer might be thinking right now "If he lives 1/4 mile from a bike trail and talking about a bike trail he must of broke down and bought a bike." Well if that is what you are thinking, and even if you're not, that is exactly what I did. I have been researching bikes and looking at bikes since last year. This winter I finally decided it was time and I was going to buy a bike and get back into shape. While you can get into shape by walking I prefer the bike because you can go so much further and see so much more. I bought a Trek Hybrid after much research and bike reviews. I looked at some others like a Felt bike and Specialize bikes. I read a lot of good things about the Felt bikes but there aren't near as many dealerships as Trek bikes. I would have really like to buy the Specialize bike but I could not find many reviews on their bikes and the ones I did find only gave mixed reviews. I was surprised to find just about as many dealerships for Specialize bikes as Trek but in the end the Trek bike won out.

Most of you are probably familiar with hybrid style of bikes but if you're not just think of a road bike and a mountain bike cross. The frame and gearing is more like a road bike while the handle bars are more like a mountain bike. The tires while fatter than a road bike still have tread like a road bike. They are built to roll down the road with less effort than a mountain bike but still are able to go off road as long as the surface is somewhat hard pack. They are not built for soft dirt or sand but let's not forget I am 50 years old and I have no use for that kind of riding anyway.

My goal for now is to ride the trail by my new apartment from beginning to end and back, a total of 42 miles, by the end of May. I realize for some of you this might not seem much but for me sitting around here all winter doing just about nothing I have to start small. Once I conquer that there are several bike trails located throughout Wisconsin I want to give a try. One trail runs from Green Bay to Wausau, about 60 miles one way, and I want to conquer it this summer. There is another one that starts in Fond Du Lac and runs about 25 to 30 miles mainly through a swamp. And the last one I want to ride starts in western Wisconsin and finishes up on the Mississippi River.

It's also time to "FIRE UP THE GRILL!!!!" Yes I have been grilling, I got tired of waiting for warm weather so I said the heck with it and started grilling. I have already burned through more than 30 pounds of charcoal this year. Grilled bbq chicken, ribs, and steaks have all been on the menu so far. I think I finally figured out my bbq sauce and all the credit goes to my 3rd grade teacher. I have tried and tried to make an apple flavored bbq sauce for the last couple of years with little or no success. Last fall when ma and her friend, who just happens to be my third grade teacher, visited for some strange reason I was talking to her about making bbq sauce. I told her I read somewhere if you use apple butter to make the sauce it will come out much better than trying apple juice or cider. Well believe it or not she just happens to make apple butter every year so guess what I got around Christmas time? Yep, apple butter, homemade apple butter and believe me it makes great bbq sauce. Once I learn how to can I am going to make a large batch and then I can share it with everyone else.

Well there you have it, it might not seem like much but it has kept me busy for the last month or so.

If anyone thinks they might want to visit Wisconsin this summer bring your bike and bring an appetite. I'll guarantee you will get your exercise and you will leave with your bellies full.

And I will try to keep this up to date a little more in the future.

I Don't Trust a Damn One of You...

2009-02-01T16:13:00.005-05:00

I am sure everyone has their favorite news personalties in the news business and it is no exception with me. It's no secret I am a fan of Bill O'Reilly I think he is one the the few news people that won't let the people he interviews "spin" the topic for their own political agenda. I don't always agree with O'Reilly but he is fairest of all news interviewers.

This weekend I had the opportunity to watch Glenn Beck interview Rod Blagojevich twice. Only recently have I got to watch Glenn Beck because he used to be on the Clinton News Network (CNN)which I don't watch. Glenn Beck has a new show on Fox News that airs everyday at 5:00pm. I don't get to see that particular show but on the weekends they do rerun it at different times.

I thought this was such a great interview I wanted to share it with anyone who cares to watch it. Beck holds nothing back with Blago and I have to give credit to Blago for having the guts to come on Beck's show and answer the questions. If you watch the interview I'm not sure Blago ever actually answered any of Glenn's questions but it sure was entertaining.

I still think Blago is guilty as hell and I think he is lying out his ass during this interview. Beck hits the nail on the head when he tells Blago he is one of the most arrogant people he as ever met.

Enjoy the interview and let me know what you think.

Finally the Christmas Pics

2009-01-19T19:26:00.002-05:00

Yeah I know I have been a little lax lately on my posting. I'll try not to let it happen again but there are times it gets to be a drag. Sometimes when I get home from work the last thing I feel like doing is getting back on the computer. That's what I have felt like for the last two weeks. Plus I was getting tired of fixing pictures and needed a break. The post should start flowing a little more freely now.

This will the the last of the Christmas pics because I don't have anymore anyway. I took some of these photos and some unknown photographer took the others.

Last year a new Christmas tradition was started at little sis's house. Not only was Christmas moved to her house but she even did away with the annual Christmas turkey and made prime rib. Since I wasn't there last year I was a little upset to say the least. I have been wanting to cook a prime rib for awhile now but with only me and the wife here in Wisconsin I just isn't feasible. So imagine my delight when I would be there this year and yes there would be prime rib again. Now imagine my delight this year when not only were we going to have prime rib this year but I could also cook it on the grill. This was like the best Christmas gift for me because if you know me you know I love to cook on the grill.

Look at the smoke rolling out of that grill, ooooh it smelled so good. It was just me and the brother-in-law out on the deck grilling that 17 pound piece of meat in the 20 degree weather soaking up the sun and taking in the smells.

After a couple of hours we lifted the cover off the grill to check the slab of meat and look what we found.

Mmmm doesn't that look good.

Meanwhile back inside games were being played by the kids. First was the newer version of Twister.

While the rest of use were having fun watching Katie beat herself in a game of Twister the two behind her were busy in their own little world looking at photos the old fashion way, in a photo album.

After the new Twister it was time for the "grown up" kids (and I use grown up loosly here) to play the old fashion Twister.

Now can anybody see what is wrong with this picture? Besides the hole in the bottom of his pants.

That's right! His foot isn't on any color. How did he get away with that? I think his aunt has taught him how to cheat.

I'm not sure about this picture, what do you suppose the artist is trying to say?

Let's get back to the prime rib, it's time to cut it up.

And now the table scape.

Hmm, something wrong with that picture and when I figure it out I will let you know what it is.

Well that's it, Christmas 2008, hopefully all of us will get to do this again next year. Who really needs Christmas gifts when you have good food and family around to celebrate it with.

Yippe Kay Yay.

Christmas Eve

2009-01-07T18:33:00.002-05:00

I meant to do this post yesterday but someone forgot to remind me it was our anniversary yesterday. Luckily I did get reminded yesterday afternoon so last night was spent eating pizza and drinking beer. Pizza and beer, how much better can an anniversary get?

Here is how I roll every Christmas Eve with the in laws (or as a friend of mine likes to say the outlaws). It works out pretty darn good this way because I never have to worry about who we are spending Christmas Eve with or who we are spending Christmas day with. When we lived in Michigan everyone would always come over to our house but since we left the wifes sister gets the dubious task of hosting everyone on Christmas Eve.

When I walked into Kelli's house this year with my camera in hand I immediately gave the camera to Amy and said "Here take some pictures tonight."

Her response was "Why do you want me to take the pictures?"

I told her "Because you aren't afraid to get in peoples faces and take them and besides I take terrible family pictures."

So all pictures tonight are courtesy of Amy except the one she is in and I don't know who took that one. Let me introduce you to some of the outlaws. Not everyone is in here because a)she didn't take a picture of them or b)she took a picture of them and it was so bad there was no fixing it so if somebody is missing blame Amy.

These are our two nieces Alanna and Arianna. Most of you might remember Alanna as Amy's maid of honor for Amy's wedding. Such a sad day - opps did I just say that out loud?

Once again Alanna (Is she a camara hog?) and Amy. And like I said earlier I have no idea who took this picture.

This is the wifes brothers family, well everybody except Ross. This could have been a great picture if Ross would have been in it. Just in case you're not sure her brother is the one sitting down on the right.

This is a picture of our niece Jillian with her son Drew and next......

...is a picture of Jillian's husband Larry with their other son Parker.

As everyone is aware and just in case you're not this is the wife's sister Kelli. She is the host of this shindig and she rules the roost.

Kelli's husband Rusty (as everyone calls him). If you meet him when he is at work it probably means you did something wrong since he transports prisoners for the state prison system. He is a Michigan State fan but I try not hold that against him.

And of course Rusty's mother, everybody calls her Grandma Janet. We get to see her every Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve.

Here is Alanna with her boyfriend Nick, charming pair eh?

We don't really care who these two are.

And last but not least the wife's mother. She is the life of the party, what a hoot.

Well that's how I roll on Christmas Eve with the other side of the family.

Stayed tuned because Christmas is coming real soon and we have pictures of big slabs of meat, blurry pictures, and twister.

A New Family Blog is Started

2009-01-05T21:51:00.002-05:00

Ok so I have been a little delinquent on my post in the last week. To tell the truth I have been a little tired since I got home from Christmas break. Before Christmas I was working on a presentation to Briggs and Stratton morning, noon, night and also weekends. After that a week of traveling and after I was home for a couple of days my ambition level went to zero. But have no fear I did up some pics tonight of the other family and tomorrow I should have them on a new post.

The big announcement tonight is we have a new family member with her own blog. Amy will be chronicling the life of a pregnant expectant mother and hopefully after the baby is born she will continue for all to see growing pictures of her baby.

Here is her link:

http://lbaby1.blogspot.com/

Check it out if you dare.

....And Still More Pictures.....

2008-12-31T18:04:00.003-05:00

Dateline December 23, 2008

Are you ready for a throwdown? Apparently peej wasn't because this post is about his entry that didn't win. I'm not about to divulge the winner because that is for someone else to do in a throwdown post of their own. You see for some strange reason as I was going through my pictures to post about the throwdown well, you see I have only 6 or seven pictures. And most of those are of an empty kitchen so don't expect to see any other pics other than these of peej getting his entry ready.

He starts by trying to find a sharp knife.

I see that pesky faucet has shown up again. I promise this will be the only time we see it tonight. Also if you notice the people might appear to be moving in the pictures. That is because I didn't use a flash and people just won't hold still long enough. I prefer to call them "action" shots.

Once he finds suitable knife to use peej starts by cutting up some onions.

I see he decided to use my cast iron dutch oven. Good choice. What do you suppose he is making. Let's continue to follow along.

He just added some sausage to the dutch oven.

Hmm, it's a mixture of Johnsonville Sweet Italian Sausage and Chirizo. What do you think he is up to?

Next is one of those patent "action" shots of peej stirring the pot, something his grandpa likes to do but with him we aren't talking about cooking.

Let's see what's next?

Chopped up onions, garlic, chili powder, cumin, Emeril's Essence (that's what is in the big spice thing a ma jig), sausage browning in the dutch oven and he has my bible of cooking opened up to what page? Sausage chili! Holy cow he's cooking my sausage chili for the throwdown. If he wins I hope I get half his winnings.

Next he adds all the ingredients to the chili.

What's this? Look at all these snoops trying to get a peak at what he is doing.

Isn't that like cheating? The only thing that could be worse is if he decides to serve his chili in bread bowls. Now that would be cheating since we decided bread bowls are not to be allowed in this throwdown. DO YOU HEAR ME BIG SISTER?

And what is this little ingredient?

Beer? But he isn't old enough to be drinking beer, how did he get beer?

Oh that's what it is for. Now I understand, lucky for him I was thinking about grounding him until he was 21.

Next he adds the beans, not just any old brand of beans he had to have Bush's Beans.

And what's this?

Honey? Honey in chili? Now I've seen it all.

And this is what it looks like when he is done.

Here he is explaining the finer nuances of making chili with beer and honey to his aunt and uncle.

I'm not sure they're getting it.

I'm not a big fan of chili but I do love that sausage chili. I could tell you a story about how three of us ate a pot full of this chili once while deer hunting and how one of the hunters got out into the woods the next day and decided it was time to go and......why don't we leave that story for another day.

Stay tuned because tomorrow will be pictures of the other side of the family on Christmas Eve.

And More Pictures....

2008-12-30T19:28:00.004-05:00

Dateline Monday December 22, 2008.

This is the day we picked to go grocery shopping for our meals for the rest of the week plus we needed to buy the rest of our ingredients for our impending throwdown. Imagine if you will three generations of Porters' descending on Meijers. Well we survived and so did Meijers even after the minor misunderstanding regarding crab legs. Needless to say we ended up with salmon to eat that night. Since I rarely get to eat deep fried salmon these days I welcomed the opportunity.

Anybody who has ever had the opportunity to eat deep fried salmon that dad makes knows it is the best you will ever have. The salmon is meticulously breaded and precisely cooked to perfection. I don't think I could ever duplicate how he cooks salmon so I never try. I liken it to cooking ma's red cake just no way to properly duplicate it so don't even try.

Look at all the salmon being precisely lined up getting ready to be breaded.

I should note I only took the very last picture on this post today. I will gladly give peej all the credit. Also notice it is light outside when this process is started.

Good deep fried salmon takes time to properly fix.

Notice that pesky sink faucet that keeps showing up in the pictures? Keep your eye on it.

Things are progressing along quite nicely.

Every now and then the knives need sharping. In this picture I'm showing an old man a new trick with a "good" knife sharpener.

I hate those sticks he uses but I convince him to use my knife sharpener and he actually likes it.

Now were moving, see we are making progress.

That's quite a pile of fish we got there. It's time for breading and this is where ma comes into the picture.

She says "Get out of my way or we'll never get this done." Notice that pesky faucet again? Notice it's dark outside now?

Once the fish is breaded they are lined up like solders awaiting the deep fryer.

Time to fry and believe me he has this part down to the second.

I see that pesky faucet has shown up in the picture again. Peej must have been intrigued by it because here is the next photo on the camera.

Huh? Is this a statement he is trying to make? Does he think this is art? Is this what they teach in political science? Let's look at some more "artful" photos.

A dead beer can, beautiful.

Another beer can picture? What's this got to do with a fish dinner? What's on his mind?

WTF?

And what is this photo all about? Was it the coffee pot? Maybe the glass of wine? Maybe the bag of bagels or the little beagle in the windowsill. Who knows?

Let's get back to the fish frying and see how we're coming along.

Ah almost done. Let's set the table.

Notice the soup on the table? Yep that's my throwdown anything you can eat with a spoon entry. I call it Roasted Corn and Shrimp Chowder. The fish was very good too. Not as good as catching it fresh out of Lake Michigan but still pretty darn good none the less. I for one welcomed it.

Well time to eat so I will check in again tomorrow with more pictures for you. By tomorrow I will be back behind the camera, at least for most of the pictures.

Here Comes the Pictures

2008-12-29T19:51:00.002-05:00

It's time to start Christmas pictures and non to soon because I have plenty to go through in the next few days. I think the best way to get this show started is to start at the beginning, makes sense doesn't it? For those of you too old to remember back that far the Christmas pictures and parties started on Sunday at the Wise Township Hall. This was the only chance for younger brothers family to be involved so tonight most pictures will be his family.

I will admit I do not take very good family pictures and I don't take very many family pictures either. Almost all of these pictures come compliments of Katie and I think she did a great job. Maybe she has a future as a photographer.

Okay so I took the first two pictures. The first one was almost black but I brought it back from the dead with a trip through Photoshop to lighten it up a bit. Now the rest will be Katie's.

Hey how did that one get in there?

If anyone wants these pictures you can steal them from my photobucket site where I store them. All you have to do is double click on one of the pictures and it will take you there. Once there you can figure out how to get around and download any and all pictures you want. You will be able to do this for any pictures you see here over the next few days.

I don't have much to say tonight because I have about 300 pictures to go through and get ready for the next round.

Later.

Weber Grill Restaurant

2008-12-28T18:45:00.010-05:00

We left the Christmas of 2008 behind in out rear view mirror on Friday to take jp back to Grand Rapids so she could join the working world again. Since we only live about 5 hours from GR we decided we should just keep on truckin' on Friday towards home with one small pit stop, Chicago or better yet the Weber Grill Restaurant.

I have known about the Weber Grill Restaurant for a couple of years now but when we lived in Virginia I never thought I would get a chance to visit one. You see there are three located in Chicago, seems a little selfish to me, and one in Indy. There aren't any located anywhere around Arlington/DC area. Once we moved to Wisconsin I knew on one of our trips we would have to go by way of Chicago so we could stop at one and see if they are as good as they sound. Since we were going back to Wisconsin a couple of days early what a better chance to eat at the Weber Grill than this last weekend. While at Joni's we located the Weber's we wanted to eat at in Lombard and then found a hotel to stay at on Priceline.com, we even got a good rate on pretty darn nice hotel room with a continental breakfast to boot (thanks Dino for the tip). And the bonus was the restaurant was only 1/4 of a mile from the hotel room, sweet.

As soon as you walk through the doors there is a state of the art, no hold barred, stainless steel gas grill.

Huh? I thought Weber was all about charcoal? I didn't travel into Chicago just to have my food cooked on a gas grill. Oh but wait as you walk in further there is what I want to see the old time charcoal grills, the original Weber grills on display.

The hostess asks us if we want to be seated, well of course. "Follow me" she says. On our way to our table we pass the kitchen.

I love the smell of charcoal burning along with food being cooked on charcoal. As you walk by you get to see all the chefs cooking in front of the Weber grills and the flames shooting up from the grills. This is charcoal grilling at its best, this is what I live for, I think I could really enjoy this.

She guided us past the bar and to our booth where we would soon be enjoying our meal. We had high definition TV all around us with basketball and football games on. Perfect. Since we walked from the hotel, remember it was only a 1/4 of a mile, we both ordered drinks. I should also mention when we walked out of our hotel it wasn't hard to find the restaurant all we had to do was follow the burning smell of charcoal.

Since we were at the Weber Grill I wasn't about to order a whimpy salad or soup. I was there for something from the grill or smoker. Since I had just ate some pretty good steak the day before on Christmas I was looking for something different. My choice was a full slab of pork ribs slow smoked all day to delightful tenderness. The wife chose grilled tilapia, another good selection.

The ribs were good and maybe some of the best I have had in a restaurant. They were a little heavy on the chili powder which gave them more of a chili taste than I usually like. The bbq sauce was a bit spicy but I like it on the spicy side. The waitress explained to me they just changed the sauce recently and these ribs are the ones they cook on the competition circuit.

Overall one of my best restaurant experiences but it helps when this is one of my favorite types of food. It was well worth the side trip to go there and I will certainly be going back. I wish they would open one in the DC area so if we move back there we will have one to go to.

The End is in Site

2008-12-21T10:08:00.002-05:00

I should mention for the next week my post will be few and comments probably even fewer. I know everyone is probably celebrating over that right now but the reason is I'm at dad's and this computer operates from the old, antique dial up system, frustrating to say the least.

I got here yesterday about 2:30 either eastern or central time, not sure which anymore. I decided to drive through Chicago since I would get there before eight o'clock in the morning and traffic wouldn't be to bad. I made it to Joni's apartment in Grand Rapids in just under 5 hours. We went to the Olive Garden restaurant for lunch and then I maneuvered over the snow covered roads the rest of the way here.

The real reason for this post isn't to talk about my trip it's to talk about the Detroit Lions. Yes the end is almost in site with just two games left to play. Today they play the New Orleans Saints at home and next week they play the Packers at Lambeau Field. Since the Lions haven't won at Lambeau for approximately 20 years I think it's safe to say they won't win there this year either. That only leaves today for the Lions to win a game or finish with a perfect record of 0-16. It has never been done before in the NFL so we might be watching futile history in the making.

If the Lions play like the last couple of weeks they actually have a realistic chance of winning this game but if they decide to mail in a dud of a performance, which they seem to do more than occasionally, then history will be made. I think the Lions will play hard today because they don't want to get stuck with the title of being the worse team ever in the NFL. The game will be close and Jason Hansen, the Lions field goal kicker and possibly the best player on the team, will win it with less then two minutes to go. The perfect season will have to wait for another year with another team. The score will be 23-21.

That brings us to the other race going on in the NFL now. The only race that matters for any Lions fan and that is the race for the number one draft pick in this springs NFL draft. The Lions don't have it wrapped up yet but if they loose one of the next two games then they will have wrapped it up. Since the Lions lack so much talent I think I would like to see them trade the pick for more draft picks. They already have another first round draft pick from when they traded Roy Williams to the Dallas Cowboys and I would like to see them trade for a package of draft picks from another team if at all possible. The Lions severely lack talent and the quickest way to replenish talent is through the NFL draft, especially this year with all the college players declaring for the draft. This is suppose to be one the the deepest draft classes ever from college.

Hopefully the Lions will hire a general manager that can take advantage of all the draft picks the Lions have this year. If they do it won't take long for the Lions to become contenders again.

And please if somebody has a faster connection please bring it to me.

Dateline: December 14, 2008

2008-12-15T21:08:00.002-05:00

7:45am - Wake up and roll over in bed and notice it's 7:45am. "Holy cow how did I sleep in so late I got to get my lazy butt out of bed."

8:00am - Turn on Food Network to watch the best hour of television - Tyler's Ultimate and Grill it with Bobby Flay.

8:01am - Pissed off because Tyler's Ultimate isn't on this morning something else is on in its place.

8:02am - Time for breakfast.

8:03am - Pissed off because I forgot to buy eggs for breakfast. I got to have eggs on Sunday. Not a good start.

8:04am - Start to make out grocery list for today's cooking. First on the list - eggs.

8:30am - Bobby Flay comes on, at least I got that right. Things are starting to turn around.

9:00am - Check the weather. Holy cow 50 degrees outside.

9:01am - Look outside and see over half our snow has melted over night. Things are getting better all the time.

9:02am - Go upstairs and change my clothes to head for the grocery store.

9:15am - Jump in the car and head for town, destination: Piggly Wiggly.

9:25am - Pull into the Pig's parking lot.

9:30 to 10:00am - Buy groceries.

10:15am - Arrive back at home and unload groceries.

10:30am - Groceries are put away and I look across the kitchen, I'm thinking "It might be awhile until the kitchen is this clean again."

(See that piece of paper on the counter? That is the recipe for my Throwdown soup. Can you read it? Too bad.)

10:40am - Time to make my eggs for breakfast, I'll bet you thought I forgot to buy them eh?

10:50am - Time to eat eggs. Notice all this from a cast iron frying pan, no teflon here, treated properly eggs will not stick to cast iron.

11:00am - Time to get started cooking, I have lots to do today. I need to make pasta sauce for the Lasagna I will be making later and for the Ragu I am making for my dinner tonight. I will also be making the first part of my soup for next weeks impending Throwdown.

11:05am - Line up ingredients to make red sauce. Might make a good post for Jock's Good Grub someday.

12:15pm - Finish making red sauce an put off to the side for later.

12:30pm - Finish cleaning kitchen and start making Lasagna.

12:45pm - Make bechamel sauce for lasagna.

1:03pm - Cook pasta for lasagna.

1:30pm - Cook sausage for lasagna

1:45pm - Line up all ingredients to put into lasagna.

2:00pm - Assemble lasagna and insert into oven for 45 minutes.

2:05pm - Look across kitchen and the mess isn't too bad. I try to keep it cleaned up as I go.

2:15pm - Start on Throwdown soup recipe.

(Sorry it's a surprise.)

2:35pm - TOUCHDOWN DETROIT LIONS. The Lion's just tied up the Colts and it the beginning of the 4th quarter. Could this be the game they finally win?

2:45pm - Take lasagna out of the oven to let cool off so I can put it in the freezer. This lasagna is heading for Michigan for dinner one night next week.

2:46pm - Colts score a touchdown, score Colts 28 Detroit 21. The Lions still have a chance.

2:55pm - Colts kick a field goal the score is now Colts 31 Detroit 21. So much for winning that game. Only two more games to go can the Lions do it? If they play like they did today they will win one of the last two. They played hard today the Colts are just to good for them.

2:56 to 4:00pm - Finish making the first part of the throwdown soup to freeze and finish once I get to Michigan. Sorry for the lack of pictures but....well....you know, can't give away any secrets.

4:01pm - Sit down and watch a little bit of the Pittsburgh vs Baltimore football game. Good game.

4:30pm - Time to start my dinner - Chicken Ragu.

4:31pm - Check the recipe on my Google Documents page. I store all my recipes on Google Documents now. I realize Google will own me someday. If you have ever heard of cloud computing, the way of the future, this is the beginning of it. Google will take over everything and Microsoft will be left behind.

4:32pm - Line up the ingredients for a future Jock's Good Grub post if this turns out.

5:15pm - Plate up my dinner and sit down to watch some the the Pittsburgh and Baltimore game.

5:43pm - Finish eating and clean up the kitchen.

6:00pm - I take a look at the pans I used today.

That's a darn good collection of cast iron.

6:20pm - Finish cleaning up the kitchen.

6:25pm - Walk out of kitchen, tired.

6:30pm - Sit down to watch Sunday Night Football but I find the movie Jeremiah Johnson on and watch it instead. Good movie.

10:00pm - Lights out.

This is Not a Rerun

2008-12-09T19:07:00.002-05:00

I repeat this is not a rerun. I'm not getting that old where I post the same story or pictures more than once. Well more than once in the last week anyway. Well ok maybe this is the same story but, dammit, this is getting to be old, fast.

Here is what I walked out to this morning.

My gosh will it ever end? I almost didn't get out of the driveway this morning there was one long drift and it happened to follow the driveway right out to the road.

And the deck, I know it is very big but when you get 8" of snow it gets a lot bigger real quick. I shoveled the damn snow off it twice today.

Then when I came home again at noon I couldn't get into the driveway again. It's a good thing I can park at the car lot next door.

You see that car in the background? The blue one, yep that's mine. That's where I park and then walk across the yard with snow up to my ass.

How about my other car the poor thing.

I think I can hear it calling "help." Hear it? It's faint but I'm sure I hear it.

It's beyond hope anymore I just can't keep up. And I know it's only the first of December even though it looks like the end of January.

Doesn't that look like a beautiful snowy day? Yeah right. You can have it. I think I might move somewhere warm. Any ideas?

Give me a friggin break.

"Winter" A Poem by Abigail Elizabeth McIntyre: "

How Ever Painful We Must Continue On

2008-12-07T11:20:00.004-05:00

Without a federal bailout coming anytime soon from the government it looks as though the Detroit Lions are on their own to the end of this dismal season. It's like watching your stock investments for the last three months you know there isn't any good news and you know they are going to continue to fall but for some reason you just continue to watch and watch. It's kind of like watching a train wreck about to happen you know you shouldn't but you can't turn away. It's like that with the Lions these days. What reasons are there to keep watching? You know they are just going to loose again this weekend it's just a matter of by how they loose and by how much. There are certainly a whole league of better teams and games to watch but like a bad habit I keep turning the channel back to the lions. I guess you can call this my crack habit and I just can't kick it.

Today the Lions play the Minnesota Vikings at home before another less than full stadium. The last time the Lions played the Vikings they got ripped off by the officials with three real bad calls against them. Does it matter any more? Nope and it won't help today either. The Vikings are fighting for their playoff lives and can't afford to have a let down against the lowly Lions. If the Vikings weren't in the playoff hunt I would pick the Lions today. I also think this is the Lions last chance to win a game this year so the Lions will come out and play hard. This could be possibly be the best game of the year for the Lions but in the end Adrian Peterson will prove to much for them and the Vikings will prevail 31-17. The Lions will be 0-13 and on their way to historical football futility. They will finish 0-16 and be forever remembered at the worse team ever in the NFL until another team accomplishes the same feat, which will take years. Go Lions.

Let's talk Heisman Trophy race. My Heisman list is as follows:

1. Colt McCoy - Texas
2. Tim Tebow - Florida
3. Sam Bradford - Oklahoma
4. Gramham Harrel - Texas Tech

That's how I would vote if I had a vote. Gramham Harrel is a good quarterback but I still think he is a product of a system. Texas Tech has had other good quarterbacks and none of them have gone on to the NFL and had any success (and no the Lions haven't drafted any of them). Sam Bradford is a great quarterback but I believe he is only a sophomore and only one sophomore has ever won the Heisman. And speaking about sophomores to win the Heisman the only one to do it was Tim Tebow last year. It's hard not to vote for Tebow because he is the sole reason the Gators are going to the National Championship game. This guy is tough and wills his team to win. I think we may be watching one of the all time greats to ever play college football right now. Plus I think he has his crap together along with his entire family. He is a great individual. But if I had a vote I would vote Colt McCoy for the Heisman this year. He is another quarterback that because of him the team is where it is at. Texas has one loss and that was a last second loss to Texas Tech. I think Colt McCoy has been the most consistent college football player this year and I think that is what the Heisman is about. It's not about the best player in the beginning of the season or the best at the end of the season it's about the best player throughout the season. I'm not sure Colt McCoy will win the Heisman because he didn't get to play on the national stage like Tim Tebow or Sam Bradford yesterday but I still think he the most deserving.

My final top 5 is as follows:

1. Texas
2. Florida
3. Oklahoma
4. USC
5. Alabama

I think is should be Texas and Florida in the national championship but it is going to be Oklahoma and Florida. We will save that discussion for another day.

JACKPOT!!!

2008-12-04T18:56:00.002-05:00

I came home from work tonight and walked up onto my deck and I almost kicked this thing in the door.

You know how it is, dark, porch light not on, trying to read the mail even though it's dark and just before contact you see it that little box on the deck. But what is it? Did I order something I forgot about? Possible especially at my age. Did the wife order something I don't know about but maybe should? I tried to read it but the damn thing is covered in ice because the darn mailman left it under my eve, which by the way if you happened to read yesterdays post you would know it is full of snow, and water dripped down on it all afternoon turning it into an icicle.

Oh what could it be? It's light, probably better not shake it just in case something breakable in there. Hmmm maybe I should get it into the sink before it melts all over the floor especially since there is nobody here to clean up after me.

Finally after I get it inside and under some light I can see it is addressed to me. Well good golly Miss Molly it looks like Christmas has arrived early.

I'm thinking about now I might just know what is in there and I'll bet some of you have a good idea too. The box is about the right size, it is the first of the month, could it be? Was I finally the lucky winner?

Anticipation grows....................and.................

JACKPOT!!

The cookies are a little froze but also intact. I think this is just what the doctor ordered.

Double Yippe Kay Yay.

Here We Go Again........

2008-12-03T20:43:00.003-05:00

Did I sleep in or something? What month is this? January? February? WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?

Look at this.....

From looking at this picture you might think this picture was taken this January.

You might even think you were in the UP because for this time of year this is acceptable.

You might even think they were taken last winter when we set a new record for snowfall around here.

You might even think it looks an awful lot like rabbit hunting in the UP. But you would be wrong about all the photos. You see these photos were taken this last Monday. I shoveled 12" of snow off our deck on Monday between morning and night. Two days before that I shoveled off 2". I don't mind the 2" because this is after all the end of November we expect a little snow. Today I had to shovel another 4" of snow off our deck. I am almost out of room on the sides because the snow level is as high as the deck now. I couldn't even get in the driveway Monday at lunch time because the snow plow plowed in the end of my driveway.

Now what's better....this

Or this....

This....

Or this....

Would you rather sit on this deck.....

Or this deck...

Ahh the smell of freshly mowed lawns...

I really do miss that.

Since I have been sitting here working on this post I have watched the snow plows go by our house 4 different times. If he plowed me in again I might have to go find my shovel and hit him with it.

It's going to be a long winter.

Ahh but I just found a movie to cheer me up. Take a look.....

That's right a classic, one of my favorites and it's on tonight and probably every other night from now until Christmas. A Christmas Story.

Yippe Kay Yay.

Today it's Your Birthday (Guess Who)

2008-12-01T19:26:00.003-05:00

Who can remember back 19 years ago when this 9 pound 10 ounce 22-1/2" long boy wonder came into the world kicking and screaming?

I do I was there. I couldn't figure out why the nurse kept staring at him and then she finally said "Ok my curiosity got the best of me I have to weigh him." He turned out to be the biggest kid born in Midland that month. He had already out grown new born clothes before he was ever born.

Soon he started to grow up and as the years went by he was discovering new and wonderful things.

Oh he took time out to ride the rides and pet the animals.

Every now and then he even had time for the family.

I tried to bring him up right by giving him the right clothes to wear.

But in the end he looks out over the water and wonder where life will take him.

What do you suppose he is thinking about? Michigan football? Fastballs or curve balls? Maybe fishing or hunting trips or just running the dogs? Ahh probably none of those I think he is thinking about how to fix the republican party for 2012.

Happy birthday.

A Turkey Day Disaster and Will the Irsh Start Fighting Again

2008-11-28T19:43:00.002-05:00

Who actually watched the disaster yesterday on TV? I'm talking about the Lions vs the Titans. That was one of the worse performances I have ever seen a by a football team. I think the Lions have finally hit bottom at least I hope so. A 0-16 record is a very real possibility after yesterdays performance. I hope the Ford family just blows up the whole organization and starts over what can it hurt now. This franchise is in worse shape than the auto industry right now. Do you think congress might consider a bailout package for the Lions?

Normally I would be against firing a whole coaching staff in the middle of the season but in this case why not? They have almost a week and a half to hire another coach and give him a chance to evaluate the lack of talent the Lions have right now. But before they hire a coach they need to hire a real general manager. There is a good one out there right now and his name is Floyd Reese. Who is Floyd Reese you ask? Well he is the general manager responsible for building the Tennessee Titans football team.

Here is what Wikipedia says about him:

"Floyd Reese is the winningest General Manager in the history of the Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans franchise. He has amassed 111 wins. Only Reese and the highly established Kansas City Chiefs General Manager, Carl Peterson, have accomplished since the institution of the salary cap. Only two active General Managers in the NFL have more wins than Floyd Reese.

From 1999 - 2006, Reese was 3rd in the league in draft choices that remain playing in the NFL and 7th in the NFL in draft choices remaining on the Titans' roster. Since 1997, Reese brought the Titans to one Super Bowl, two AFC Championships, 2 divisional championships, 4 playoff appearances, and a 5-4 playoff record. He also had two 13-3 seasons and four 11+ win seasons. Reese had a league-high 56 wins from 1999-2003."

Not to shabby eh? And guess what else? He was the Lions strength and conditioning coach back in the mid '70s. And guess what else? He wants to come to Detroit and rebuild the team. Here is what he had to say:

“If I had Williams Clay Ford's number, you'd be hearing a dial tone right now. I'm in a unique situation. I've been in the league 32 years. ... I could be in Detroit tomorrow.

“One of the real uncut gems in the NFL is Detroit. It has a great owner. He's got a lot of money. He wants to win very badly, and he's not one of those guys that's on the sidelines. He just wants to find someone that can help him win.”

I know a lot of people bash William Clay Ford and also think he should sell the franchise but I'm not one of them. The only problem I have had with Ford is he is to slow to make changes when they need to be done. The only reason Millen got fired when he did is because the fans finally had enough and yelled loud enough so WCF heard it. He isn't like a lot of other owners in the league trying to get on TV any chance he gets just so he can spew garbage out of his mouth. He has always let the general manager run the team. I know he let Matt Millen have to much power but with the right GM it's the way it has to be done. Owners don't know the players, scouting reports or potential draftees that is the GM job and a good GM like Reese will bring those players to Detroit.

The Lions can be rebuilt within a year or two with smart drafting and signing of free agents. This year the Lions have a whole slew a draft picks and if use wisely they can get back to respectability.

The only college football anybody cares about that is playing this weekend is Notre Dame. Thank goodness Michigan was put out of their misery last weekend and all Michigan State has to do is wait to see what bowl they get embarrassed in this year.

Notre Dame will go to a bowl game win or loose this weekend because even at 6-6 let's face it they're still Notre Dame and the football gods want them on TV. I have had some thoughts if Notre Dame should except an invitation to a bowl game with the season they had this year and I finally decided they would be foolish to turn down a bowl invitation no matter where it is or who they are playing. By playing a bowl game you essentially get one more month of practice and what football team can't use another month of practice. It helps a team tremendously especially a young team like Notre Dame.

This week ND has the unenviable task of going out to southern California and playing the Trojans of USC. The Trojans are ranked number 5 in the country and if not for the uninspired game they played against Oregon State would still be undefeated and headed for the national championship game. It looks at though all the chips are stacked against ND this week but like Lee Corso says "Not so fast my friend." I know ND has played uninspired the last two weeks if not three, I know they haven't lived up to their potential yet this year, and I know ND hasn't fared so well for the last couple of years against USC but, and I mean but Notre Dame is due. They are due for that one big game, the one that shocks everybody because they haven't had one for at least a couple of years. With all the talk about Charlie possibly loosing his job at the end of the year I think the players will respond.

If I was Charlie I would bring in the master motivator himself, Lou Holtz, to give the pregame speech. Did anyone else notice who was in the locker room before the Michigan game when Notre Dame came out with all their guns blazing? That's right Lou Holtz and I bet he gave the team the pregame speech. Swallow your pride Charlie and bring him in your job may depend on it.

I really think this game will be closer than a lot of people think I wouldn't be surprised if the Irish pull the upset. If this game was at ND I would pick them but it's in southern California so I have to go with USC 32 ND 23. And ND will go to a bowl game and Charlie will keep his job for one more year but that will be his last chance.

USC used to be my second favorite college team years ago but anymore I have grown to hate them. This might actually be the first time I openly root for ND. I must be going insane. HELP!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

2008-11-26T20:50:00.003-05:00

After reading a couple of blogs this last week regarding the freshly fallen snow I was reminded of this little bit I read a few years ago. After a little searching, thank god for google, I found it again. I thought it might be appropriate to post it now before it's to late for everybody to move somewhere warm. I did change a couple of words to make it more "family" friendly.

Sept. 12, 1993 Moved to our new home in Maine. It is so beautiful here! I
love it!

Nov. 24, 1993 It snowed last night! Woke up to find everything blanketed
with white. It looks just like a post-card. We went outside and cleaned
the snow off the steps and shoveled the driveway. We had a little snow-
ball fight, (I won!), and then the snow-plow came by, we had to shovel
the driveway again. What a beautiful day! I love it in Maine.

Dec. 2, 1993 Well all the snow melted. I hope we get some more.

Dec. 12, 1993 More snow last night! I love it! The snow-plow did his
trick again at the driveway.

Dec. 19, 1993 More snow. Couldn't get out of the driveway to get to work.
Am exhausted from shoveling. Frickin’ snow-plow!

Dec. 25, 1993 More of the white shit fell last night. I've got blisters
on my hands from shoveling. I think the snow-plow hides around the corner
and waits until I'm done with the driveway! Asshole!

Dec. 25, 1993 Merry Frickin' Christmas! More goddamn snow! If I ever get
my hands on the son-of-a-bitch who drives the snow-plow... I swear I'll
frickin’ kill him!!!

Dec. 27, 1993 More white shit last night! Been inside for 3 days! Can't
go anywhere, cars stuck in a mountain of goddamn snow! The weather man
says to expect another 10" of the white shit tonight. Do you know how
many shovels full of snow 10" is?!!!

Dec. 28, 1993 The weather man was wrong. We got 14" of the white shit!
At this rate it won't melt 'till frickin' August!!! The snow-plow got stuck
just up the street. The guy asked if he could borrow my shovel... I hit
him with it!!!!!!

A Trip to the Barbershop Part Duex

2008-11-24T20:20:00.003-05:00

Well that didn't take long, the snow is back today. Yep 2" of the white stuff, enough snow that I had to shovel off my decks today. Doesn't it seem a little early? I wouldn't mind a little global warming sent this way if anyone has any to spare right now.

Saturday was time for another haircut and none to soon I might add. I had let it grow out a little and I was starting to look like a certain nephew who shall remain nameless. Well maybe it wasn't that bad but it sure felt like it. I have been getting my hair cut here in town since we moved here but I have never been satisfied with the barber. Every time I told him how I wanted it cut he would cut it the way he wanted. Frustrating. I procrastinated for a month longer than I should have trying to find a new barber so finally Friday night I got serious.

I started by getting online and googling barbershops in Fond Du Lac. You see I gave up hope trying to find a barbershop around here so I figured I would search the largest town close to us which is Fond Du Lac. My search found places like Sam's, Charlies, you know places that sound like barbershops. It also found hair salons, beauty parlors (I don't think so), and tanning salons. Tanning salons? I thought I was looking for a barbershop. Ah but one name stood out among all the others, a place called The Barbershop. Now for those of you that can still remember what you did more than 2 hours ago you might recall back in March I wrote a post about a place in Virginia I use to get my hair cut at called The Barbershop. Yippe kay yay could it be? Have I finally found what I have been missing in Virginia? Can this be the place when you walk in you pull yourself up to bar and watch the high definition plasma TV on the wall while you wait? Wood floors, lots of barber chairs, and mens magazines? Yes I said mens magazines no Red Book, or Glamour, or Seventeen here only Popular Mechanics, Sports Illustrated, and Field and Stream, real magazines. And as luck would have it there is one of these bad boys in Sheboygan too. So the decision was made, Saturday morning, opening day of deer season here in Wisconsin, I would venture to Sheboygan and get my hair cut.

Saturday morning I drove myself to Sheboygan in search of The Barbershop. It wasn't to hard to find since it was right across from the new Pig in Sheboygan. (For those of you not familar with the Pig it is a chain grocery store here in Wisconsin also known as Piggly Wiggly, dumb name for a grocery store huh?) So far so good, not a lot of cars in the parking lot today just as I had expected because like I said earlier it was the first day of gun deer season here in Wisconsin. I walked through the door and to my right are all the barber chairs all in their own individual stalls. To my left was what I wanted to see. The waiting area with two big screen plasma TV's, mens magazines, free peanuts to eat and you even get to throw the shells on the floor, free coffee and bottle water, yep this is how a waiting area should be.

For me the waiting area will have to wait for another day because today it's not busy and the hair cutter, barber, stylist, whatever says to me "Is this your first time here?"

Of course I answered "Yes."

"Well then let me explain" she says as I notice the almost perfect English in a completely understandable voice, "Over here....yak, yak yak....over there....yak, yak, yak...and finally right here...yak, yak, yak." Finally she says "Follow me."

It was nice to have a natural born, English speaking, full blooded American from Green Bay Wisconsin (I learned this as she was cutting my hair) explain things to me but I'm just here to get a hair cut how hard can that be?

She led me back to my own personal stall (kind of reminded me of a horse stall) and barber chair. "Hang your coat up there and have a seat." she says cheerfully.

Have you noticed I haven't once said "huh?" or "what?" to her. That's because I can understand every word she is saying to me, miracles do happen.

I settle into the barber chair and she spins me around and says "Here." She hands be a remote control to a TV. "You get your own privite high definition plasma TV to watch while I cut your hair."

"SWEEEEET! What channel is ESPN? I want to watch Sports Center."

I'm not sure what good this did me since I had to take off my glasses and I couldn't see a damn thing after that.

She asks "How do you want your hair cut?"

Me: "Short."

Stylist (Isn't that what they call lady barbers?): "You sure?"

I'm not sure she wanted to cut my hair off like I wanted so I responded "Yeah I haven't had a hair cut for a while because I couldn't find a barber that would cut it the way I want it cut."

Stylist: "Okay I will cut it like I cut my fiancé 3/4" long all over."

Me: "I want it cut with a number 4 guard on top and a number 2 guard on the sides."

Stylist: "You sure that's pretty short?"

Me: "Listen I'm here because the last barber I went to didn't listen to me and always cut my hair the way he wanted to."

Stylist: "Ok short it is."

Now things are going pretty normal for the type of haircut I usually get. Buzz off the hair, trim the eyebrows, trim the ear and nose hair, good conversation and ESPN Sports Center playing in the background. Life is good, I found a barber shop I like.

Normally this is where my barber shop story ends but not today we're just getting started.

Just about the time I think we're done she spins me around in the barber chair and says "Lean back."

Me: "Whoa where we going here?"

Stylist: "I'm going to wash your hair."

Now for some of you people out there this might seem normal but for me the only people ever to wash my hair are my mother and myself and I got to tell you I didn't enjoy it when my mother washed my hair she scrubbed so hard it used to hurt.

When she tipped me back I wasn't sure how far I was going but I had comfort in knowing I couldn't go any farther then the floor. For some reason either I am to tall or too short but my head on the first try didn't line up with her head washing sink. Finally after a couple of adjustments success.

While she was washing my hair she suds up my hair and starts to message my head and face. I think she is trying to get me to relax but I got to tell you I hate people touching me especially when I'm not sure what is going to happen next. I found out later this is part of the haircut I'm not sure why but it is and we'll leave it at that. I was starting to enjoy it when she quit and rinsed off my hair. My hair gets washed, without any more incidents and it didn't even hurt, while the stylist (I just can't call her a barber) is gabbing away. She then dries my hair off.

At this point I have my eyes closed because I didn't want her to poke me or get shampoo in my eyes. When I finally open them I see the stylist coming at me with a rolled up towel. She forms it into an 'O' and lays it on my face. It's warm and its actually feels pretty darn good. I'm not sure what is going to happen next, legal or illegal, but she starts to message me again and it's starting to feel really good. Just about the time I think I could doze off she rips off the towel, kicks up the barber chair and takes off the garment they put on you when you get your hair cut. But she's not done yet off to my left she plugs in some vibrating device and starts to move it all over my shoulders and back. What a way to end a hair cut.

I finally get up out of the barber chair and for some strange reason I have a craving for a cigarette. I follow her up to the cash register and she asks me "Are you paying with cash or credit? If you pay cash it's $10.00 and if you pay by credit it's $10.50."

I tell her "Cash" and also give her a $2 tip and walk back out into the cold trying figure out what just happened all I wanted was a haircut.

I might have to go back again this Saturday and see if I can figure it out.

Yippe Kay Yay.

History is Made

2008-11-23T08:04:00.002-05:00

Thank god that's over with. I'm not talking about a trip to the doctors, a funeral or even a wedding what I am talking about is Michigan football. Yep Michigan made history this year and I'm not talking about good history either. You see Michigan just completed its worse year ever in its one hundred and some years of college football. I knew yesterday against Ohio State would be ugly heck I even watched a couple of episodes of Man Cave during the game just because I couldn't take it anymore.

Some people want to know what is wrong with Michigan. Well nothing really I knew a year ago they would struggle to get into a bowl game I was just hoping they would make it. Lloyd Carr left the cupboard bare so to say. I think he knew there was going to be a serious lack of talent this year and so he retired last year. Or maybe he knew he was going to retire soon and he didn't recruit near as hard as he should have for the last couple of years. Either way he left Coach Rodriquez nothing on offense this year. I believe there was one returning starter from last year. All the skill positions were filled by freshman or walk ons this year. I heard the announcers say yesterday that Michigan dressed 30 freshman or walk ons for yesterdays game. It's hard to win against quality teams when that happens.

The defense is another story though. This is a unit that was returning some starters from last year. And the positions where players graduated from last year new players were filling the spots that weren't freshman. The defense was a huge disappointment this year. While at times they could be dominating far to many times they gave up big plays. In years past you rarely saw Michigan give up big plays to any team. Yesterday there were at least two long runs for touchdowns and a couple of long passes. I would keep the defensive coordinator, Scott Shafer, for one more year but he would be on a short leash. One more year like that and he's gone.

Michigan will be better next year and probably even get into a bowl game to start a new streak. Coach Rod has already recruited two new quarterbacks that fit his style and run his offense next year. I wouldn't be surprise if both Steven Threet and Nick Sheridan leave Michigan withing in the next couple of years because I doubt either one of them will get another chance at Michigan. I have nothing against these two its just Michigan's spread offense just doesn't fit them. I think Steven Threet can be a good quarterback in the right system. A year ago I was excited by the hiring of Rich Rodriquez but at the same time dreading this season but now the season is done and I'm just excited for next year.

On to Michigan State, it turns out they are frauds after all. I didn't expect them to win yesterday but I thought they might at least make a game of it. All I am going to say is MSU doesn't deserve a New Years Day bowl game. Why embarrass the Big Ten anymore then they have been already this year. How many years away are we from the MAC conference being more relevant than the Big Ten?

Notre Dame. Okay I'll try not to laugh while I type this and I will openly admit I was cheering for Syracuse yesterday. How can you not want a team that just fired its coach, going on the road to play, and a 20 point underdog to win? I have a question, where was touchdown Jesus on that last field goal? Normally whenever ND is in that situation a big gust of wind will come along and carry the football through the goal post for a game winning field goal. I also have a question for Charlie, the play caller, Wies; Why did you throw three straight bombs at the end of the game when you had 45 seconds on the clock to work the ball down into good field goal range? I know you didn't have any time outs left but the clock does stop in college football whenever you get a first down. You would have plenty of time to get lined up and spike the ball and call a decent play. There is only one person to blame here and it's Charlie. I doubt if ND fires him this year because of the contract Charlie has but I'll bet there are some pissed off alumni this morning. Oh one last question, will Notre Dame except any bowl invitations this year? They have turned them down before after mediocre years.

Notre Dame made history this year too. The most loses over a two year span since they have been playing football. Congratulations to both them and Michigan.

Here is this weeks top 5.

1. Alabama
2. Florida
3. Texas
4. Oklahoma
5. USC

Good bye to Texas Tech you pretenders. I'm sorry but when you get beat by over 40 points I have a hard time considering you for my top five. As impressive as Oklahoma was last night I still have Texas ahead of them because if you remember Texas beat them fair and square earlier this year. I'm not sold on Alabama being my number one team yet but they still have to play Florida this year so that will work itself out. It looks like it's going to be a SEC vs. Big 12 national championship this year.

My Heisman is as follows:

1. Colt McCoy - Texas
2. Tim Tebow - Florida
3. Sam Bradford - Oklahoma
4. Gramham Harrel - Texas Tech

I don't think Colt McCoy will win the Heisman this year but I think he is the best college quarterback and the best overall player this year in college football.

It's time for my Detroit Lions prediction. Everyone knows they are chasing history to be the first team in the NFL to finish a season 0-16. I don't think it will happen (but I also didn't think Obama would get elected either). The Lions have two chances left to win a game this year, this weekend against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and in a couple of weeks against the Vikings. I have no stats or logical reasoning why the Lions have a chance to win today so I am going on gut feeling and saying today is the day. Detroit Lions 24 Tampa Bay (boy are we embarrassed) Buccaneers 17.

Be sure to tune in next week when I give some more useless uninformed predictions and opinions.

Bachelors, Frozen Turf, and Babies

2008-11-21T20:07:00.002-05:00

If you are reading this part because you think this is some update on the show "The Bachelor" well you are in for a big disappointment. This is about me being a bachelor again, well at least for the next month. This morning I dropped the wife off out in the middle of nowhere so she could hitch a ride back to Michigan. She will be staying in Michigan until Christmas when she will come back to Wisconsin with me. If you're thinking Christmas? That means he must not be coming for Thanksgiving you would be right. I will be spending Thanksgiving alone this year, well not alone I will be with the Lions. The Lions? What did I do to deserve this?

This also give me a chance to cook some meals I normally wouldn't cook if the wife were here. That means watch my other blog for the next month and you will see the kinds of food I really like. You can expect lots of shrimp, rice and pasta.

I'm hoping while I'm here alone for the next month the walls don't start talking to me. And if they do I hope I don't answer.

When I got home tonight I walked out to the mailbox and discovered the ground is froze. When did this happen? I'm not sure I was ready for that after all didn't I just mow the lawn not to long ago? How far away is snow now? I got to tell you it's way to early. I'm thinking about writing mother nature a letter to remind her it's not Thanksgiving yet so there is no reason to get in a hurry to turn down the temperature. I think I will remind her about global warming too. How will we ever prove global warming if our ground is frozen in November?

Today while a work I received a phone call from Amy. You might not think this is unusual but this is the first time she has called me at work. She calls me from time to time on my cell phone or on the home phone (usually fathers day or my birthday)but never at work. At first I thought something must be wrong but she was in a cheerful mood, which is a minor miracle. (I hope she doesn't read this and if she is I am only kidding, honestly). Anyway she says to me "You're going to be a grandpa!" I say "I am. Who did Lee knock up?" Well I thought it was funny. I told her she was making me feel old too. Just in case you don't get my ramblings Amy is pregnant. Let's hope for a healthy baby.

So that was my Friday a little lonely, cold and feeling a little bit older tonight.

Introducing: Jock's Good Grub

2008-11-19T22:10:00.002-05:00

I think I may have mentioned in an earlier post I was going to create a second blog where I was going to put all my cooking episodes. If you look over to the right of this blog under BS Somewhat Worth Reading you will see on top a link to my new blog.

The blog is still under construction (but let's be honest all blogs are always under construction) but I think it is good enough to finally unveil. I see a couple of people have already found it but so far all they have been able to read are reruns from this blog. I have been moving some of my old post from here to that blog so if some of the episodes look familiar you will know why. Be patient because scattered among the reruns will be first run episodes for the next month or so and after that everything will be new. Tonight is the first episode for the new season.

I am also adding some of the wifes baking. She has been doing some pretty darn good desserts lately and I think they deserve to be mentioned. I have a pumpkin pie episode she made already to go and I will be posting it in the next couple of days. I think this might be the best pumpkin pie I have ever had.

I hope you enjoy reading the blog as much as I enjoy cooking the episodes to share with you.

The Frozen Tundra....Part Duex

2008-11-18T21:48:00.003-05:00

When I left you yesterday we were about to walk through these gates to a real live football game.

Only one problem, we had to get through the security check first. It took just about 20 minutes to get through the security check station. They pat down everyone going through the gates for contraband. The guy next to me got caught trying to sneak in a bottle of peppermint schnapps. The security guard gets a disgusted look on his face and casually tosses the bottle behind him into a dumpster that is full from all the other bottles that have been confiscated. This is the worse line I have every been in to get into an event. Don't they know about the wands every other stadium uses to check people? Probably not after all this is Wisconsin.

Once inside we find our seats (it is now midway through the first quarter) and the first thing I notice is the names that go around the stadium on the ring of fame.

I chose Reggie White because out of all the names on the ring of fame because I think he best exemplifies what pro sport athletes should be. Reggie was a class act and it is too bad he died shortly after retiring from the NFL.

Let's get to some action on the field, afterall that's why we are here.

Halftime.

The guys in the front in full dress uniforms just got back from Iraq a week ago. The guys in the back just got sworn into the Army and more than likely be heading to Iraq in a few weeks.

This was a great halftime show with a tribute to the men and women serving in the military complete with a song being sung by a soldier.

And an eagle that took a lap around the field before landing on this guys arm.

Halftime is over and back to the game.

As I mentioned earlier this game was all Packers as they won 37-3. I had plenty of chances to get pictures of Devon Hester returning kicks. I was hoping he would return one all the way but it never happened.

I wish I had taken more pictures of the people that dress up for these games. The Packer fans certainly get the award for the most creative costumes. I did get this picture of a lady (at least I think it was a lady) sitting in front of us.

This is one of the milder getups I saw on Sunday. Next time I will give a better effort to get some of these pictures.

That's it, that's all I got. Next time I will do better and take pictures of some of the more interesting things like people and vehicles.

Welcome to the Frozen Tundra

2008-11-17T22:01:00.002-05:00

What a beautiful day for a football game, 32 degrees, snow flurries in the air and a slight breeze. Yep football was meant to be played outside, it's the only way to watch it too.

I was offered a ticket to the Packers and Bears game Saturday morning and there was no way I was going to turn it down since I think one of the items on my bucket list is to go to a football game at Lambeau Field in December. Ok so it's not December yet but the weather felt like December.

Just in case you are not sure what Lambeau Field looks like here is a reminder a picture I took last summer on a rainy day.

I was told if I ever went to a game I must do the tailgating thing before a the Packers game. This was definitely the largest tailgating party I have been to. I think there are a lot of people here that only go for the tailgating and I don't blame them. I think the tailgating might have been more fun than the game itself. Unfortunatly I didn't get all the pictures I wanted too we got rushed for time because of how long it took us to get to the stadium. There were several cars, buses, vans and who knows what else all in that pukey green and gold of the packers. And I don't know why they call it gold when it looks yellow to me.

But we did have time to fire up a grill before the game and down a couple of brats and since it is Wisconsin a couple of beers too.

There are all sorts of people wearing all sorts of stuff too. This guy was tailgating next to us and believe me he was having a good time.

How true that shirt ended up being since the Packers beat the Bears 37-3.

We got the brats on the grill along with the sauerkraut.

They're looking good eh? Time to eat.

Come on, come on put some of that kraut on here.

Mmm good stuff, I think I found a new way to eat my brats, sauerkraut and dijon mustard.

Since it is getting late tonight I will save some pictures for tomorrow night. If you come back tomorrow will go through these gates and see what's on the other side.

How to Fix Michigan

2008-11-16T09:12:00.002-05:00

After reading a couple of other blogs this week it reminded of an article I read a few years ago about Michigan. We all know what is wrong with Michigan but what we really need are solutions. This article comes from the Mackinaw Center for Public Policy. I think they hit the nail on the head with their 10 points here and this would be a good beginning. If you want to read more from the Mackinaw Center you can go to their web site.

http://www.mackinac.org/

Transforming Michigan

(Note: The numbered points below are key policy recommendations that the Mackinac Center is distributing around the state on pocket-sized cards. Here, under each point, we incorporate links to other documents that provide further explanation and documentation. Dozens of additional policy suggestions can be found in a 2002 study from the Mackinac Center entitled "Keeping Michigan on Track: A Blueprint for a Freer State" and in a 2005 speech entitled "Michigan at the Crossroads: A State of the State Address.")

___________

In today’s global environment, Michigan’s economy must be strong and competitive. Anything less means we lose jobs and businesses to other states and countries. A strong economy means we can better support our families, our schools and universities, our charitable institutions, and our local communities. Here’s a partial list of what we need to do:

1. Eliminate the Single Business Tax. The SBT has been rated the worst business tax in the nation. Removing it, not redistributing its burden, is critical to job creation and expansion.

A New Beginning: Ending the Single Business Tax

2. Impose constitutional restraints on expenditures. Future state spending increases should be limited to population and inflation in the form of a Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights amendment to the state constitution.

New Year’s Resolution: A Taxpayer Bill of Rights

3. Restore financial integrity to Detroit. The appointment of an emergency financial manager for Michigan’s largest city is necessary to restore the fiscal management Detroit needs to once again be a driver, not a drag, for the state’s economic development.

Privatization: The Motor City’s Renaissance Engine

4. Eliminate discriminatory economic development programs in favor of broad-based reforms. The state should focus on creating a fair and positive environment for everyone, not picking winners and losers through subsidies or selective tax favors.

Why Michigan Should Shelve "Economic Development" Programs

Should Government Hand Out Economic Favors?

Time To End the Economic War Between the States

MEGA’s Track Record

5. Require legislative approval for new regulations. State agencies should submit major regulations for approval by the legislature before they become law. Regulations should be subject to rigorous analysis of their costs, benefits and implications for the rights of property owners.

Seven Environmental Challenges Facing Michigan

Improving Michigan’s Regulatory Environment

Proposed Water Legacy Act: A Bad Idea for Michigan

Is the Governor’s Water Legacy Act All Wet?

Regulating the Regulators: Adopt a “No-More-Stringent” Law

6. Repeal the Prevailing Wage Act. It needlessly balloons the cost of state and school construction/renovation costs by nearly $300 million every year.

The Wages of "Prevailing Wages" Less Money for Education

Prevailing Wage Repeal Would Save State $400 Million Annually

Michigan's Prevailing Wage Law Forces Schools to Waste Money

7. Expand the ability of parents to choose the best and safest schools. Make schools more competitive, accountable, cost-conscious and choice-driven. Reform tenure, certification, teacher health insurance and school finance to empower parents and school boards instead of union hierarchies and distant bureaucracies.

School Choice in Michigan: A Primer for Freedom in Education

A New Direction for Education Reform

8. Protect property rights. Enact a statutory prohibition against the exercise of eminent domain for private economic development and require compensation to property owners for regulatory "takings."

A Strategy for Reform in Michigan

Michigan Supreme Court Ruling on “Beachwalking” Erodes Property Rights Ruling

Property Damage

9. Deregulate telecommunications and electricity. Michigan’s archaic regulatory regime is stifling innovative technologies and keeping rates artificially higher than the national average.

A Variety of Telecom Publications

Assessing Electric Choice in Michigan

10. Pass a Right-to-Work Law to ensure freedom in workplace representation. No worker should be compelled to pay money to a labor organization as a condition of employment. The 22 Right-to-Work states have all outpaced Michigan in economic growth.

The Effect of Right-to-Work Laws on Economic Development

The Time is Right for a Right-to-Work Law

Should Michigan Become a Right-to-Work State?

Categories: Economic Development; Regulation
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Only Two More Weeks Left

2008-11-15T10:36:00.003-05:00

Well there is only two weeks left for college football, well okay there is only two more weeks left for Michigan football and afterall that's all that really counts anyway.

We do have several weeks left for the Detroit Lions though. How lovely is that? Yeah I know they are 0 for the season so far but for some odd reason I still watch them every Sunday. I am starting to think I like disappointment in my life. This week they are at the Carolina Panthers who are at the opposite end of pro football life with a 7-2 record. There is no reason to think the Lions actually have a chance to win this game. I know the great Daunte Culpepper is starting for the Lions again, I mean who can argue with last weeks performance 5 for 10 passing for 105 yards and 1 interception. I think he deserves to start don't you? Actually I am glad he is starting because I don't think it really matters who starts at quarterback for the Lions on Sunday because they aren't going to survive anyway. Let's keep this short and simple Panthers 38 Lions 6. Thank god the Lions have Jason Hanson or they would be in real trouble.

Michigan plays those brainy guys from Northwestern today at Michigan Stadium. Northwestern was having a good year until two weeks ago and now they seem to be going in the wrong direction. Michigan on the other hand looks like they are improving every week. Two weeks ago I would have given NW an easy win but now I'm not so sure. If, and I mean if, Michigan plays the way they did last weekend they will win this game easily. I think Michigan may have played its best game of the year last week so I don't think they will duplicate it again this week.

Hold on I got a phone call coming in...Hello....Hi John (not peej)...You got an extra ticket?...To what?...Green Bay Packers football game?...Sure I'll go.....We're tailgating before the game?....I pick up the brats for you.....Ok...Thanks, see you tomorrow.

Okay I'm back. Anyway Michigan 27 Northwestern 24.

Michigan State is off this week so they shouldn't be able to screw up their chance for the Rose Bowl but I wouldn't bet on that this is afterall still Michigan State football team and anything is possible.

As we already know if you read Sarah's blog Notre Dame is playing Navy this week at the home of the Baltimore Ravens. I say the heck with the game I am more interested in the Inner Harbor in Baltimore, that's a much more interesting place than a Notre Dame football game. ND has struggled for the last couple of weeks on offense so it will be interesting to see what ND team shows up today. I think this could be a good game today because Navy is much improved in the last couple of years. Navy is riding a one game winning streak in this series after ND won like 40,000 games in a row. I really think this game can go either way but I am picking the Irish today. It's hard to see them losing 3 games in a row. Notre Dame 31 Navy Midshipmen 24.

There you go this weeks useless uninformed predictions. Let's see your predictions and see how you stack up.

Update on Michigan Tech football: They didn't make the Division II football playoffs so their season is done. They finished at 8-3, not to bad especially where the program was at just a few short years ago.

Sweet and Sour Pork

2008-11-11T20:20:00.003-05:00

Notice the name change this week? No more Sunday Dinner - 9 November 2008 type headlines. I found out whenever I wanted to go back and find a meal I previously cooked I had to click on every Sunday Dinner Post to find it. Needless to say it got to be frustrating so now I am starting to label my titles with the meal of the week or formally known as Sunday Dinners. Does it mean I'm not cooking a meal every Sunday anymore? No not necessarily it only means that whatever I post might be cooked on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, etc. Or maybe I cooked it in the morning, noon or night. You see Sunday Dinners was starting to run my weekends. I felt like I had to do a dinner every Sunday and it was starting to feel like a job. There were times the wife wanted to cook something and I would say NO NO you can't I HAVE to do my Sunday Dinner today. I also felt like I had to do full blown dinners every week. There are lots of other ideas I want to do they just aren't Sunday Dinner types. I think this will help me do these other ideas.

I am also think about putting my cooking stuff on another blog much like young Shae did with her stories. They never seem to fit in here and the title Jock's Random Thoughts just doesn't fit a food blog. I think I have done enough meals in the last year to have a pretty good food blog right now. (If anyone knows how to move posts from one blog to another please share.) This blog will be left for all those family related things, sports posts, and maybe a little politics. To be honest that is what it started out to be the food thing was just an accident.

Okay enough rambling let's get on with this weeks Sund....opps I mean this weeks meal of the week.

Anyone who lives around Midland knows they have the best Chinese restaurants and if you aren't aware of that just move anywhere else and you soon will be aware of it. We have lived in both Virginia and Wisconsin and we have never been able to find any chinese restaurants equaled to he ones in Midland.

I love my chinese food and I have withdrawal pains when I don't eat it every now and then. Since we can't find good chinese restaurants around here naturally I thought maybe I should try to make my own. Most of my forays into chinese cooking so far have been disappointments but one dish I have started to figure out is Sweet and Sour Pork.

Let's introduce the cast of characters.

I think I got everything in the picture this week.

If you want to make good sweet and sour pork you first need to have a good sweet and sour sauce. Sometimes when I am making this at night I reach in the cupboard and grab this stuff....

That's kind of like cheating for todays meal so I decided to go the old fashion way and make my own. It really isn't all that hard and I actually have all the ingredients already in the cupboard.

The sauce is garlic, ginger, apple cider vinegar, pineapple juice, sesame oil, ketchup, soy sauce, red pepper, and brown sugar. Bring all this to a boil and add sherry or red wine vinegar with corn starch to thicken it up a bit. It's as easy as that and in five minutes I have a pretty darn good sweet and sour sauce.

Time to cube up the pork and start browning it.

Now if you really know your sweet and sour pork you will already know the pork is usually coated with corn starch and deep fried. Since I'm not into deep frying and really don't need any more deep fried foods than necessary I brown mine on the stove. I know it's not really classic sweet and sour pork but since I'm running this operation I will cook it anyway I find fit.

Since the pork is browned now things start to happen. I crank up the heat and add the onions and green peppers.

Mix them in with the pork and let cook for a couple of minutes.

Quickly add the sweet and sour sauce I made earlier.

Stir everything together and bring up to temperature and then add the pineapple and green onions.

Time to plate up this delicious meal, start with some rice.

Every now and then I forget to start the rice but not this time.

Now add the sweet and sour pork to it.

Mmm good stuff if you like sweet and sour pork. Here take another look....

Go ahead and smell it. Smells like chinese, probably because of the sesame oil I used.

My next chinese meal I make will be Mongolian Shrimp, my favorite. I have tried to make it before but always been disappointed. In that true Porter spirited though I will not give up, sooner or later I will figure it out and when I do you can be sure to find it here or my new blog.

Stayed tuned.

Welcome to the Party

2008-11-09T08:42:00.003-05:00

I didn't do my college football predictions this week because after I posted my Sunday Dinner Episode on Friday night I really didn't feel like writing another post on Saturday. If I had I would have picked Michigan to loose, MSU to win and to be honest I wasn't really sure who I would have picked between ND and Boston College. But guess what? We still have time to predict the Lions game today.

Jacksonville Jags vs. the Detroit Lions

First of all let's welcome to the party the Lions newest quarterback Daunte Culpepper. I'm not sure this is a wise decision for either party. Daunte has not been in football for the last year and a half because of a severe knee injury a couple of years ago. With the problems of the Detroit Lions offensive line, and if you watch them you know they are really offensive, Daunte will have to run for his life. Just one problem he can't run. I suspect his game life with the Lions will only last a couple of games before he gets hurt and spends the rest of the year on injured reserve with Kitna and Orlovsky.

On the other hand what are the Lions thinking signing a washed up, has been, never was quarterback? Culpepper's best years were when he had Randy Moss and Cris Carter as wide receivers and all he had to do (or any quarterback with Minnesota at that time) was throw the ball up in the air and either one of them would come down with it. Once Moss and Carter were gone from the Vikings Culpepper turned into one of the worst quarterbacks in he league.

I just don't understand why the Lions would waste money on him. What does this say about their number 2 draft pick, Drew Stanton, two years ago? Is this another Matt Millan wasted draft pick? I say let's get him in there and see what he can do and find out if the Lions need another quarterback. I would use Drew Hanson, their practice team quarterback, before I would use Culpepper. I have a feeling that we will see one if not both of the Drew's before the season is done.

If the Lions hope to win a game this year it has to be today against he Jaguars. The Jags lost against the Bengals last week who were the only other team that hadn't won a game this year. The Jags have some internal problems of their own but I'm not too sure that will prevent them from winning the game today. I think this may be the most boring game in the NFL this season with neither team doing a whole lot of scoring. Jags 17 Lions 9.

MICHIGAN

We must send out another welcome to the Michigan defense for showing up to the party in Minnesota yesterday. All I can say it's about time too. The defense was suppose to be the back bone of the Michigan team this year until the offense got itself on track. Up to this point they have been a big disappointment but yesterday they finally played like they are suppose too. The big difference was they tackled. Meanwhile the offense looks like it is starting to figure out this spread offense. I know they still have a long way to go but there is improvement every week and you can't ask for any more than that. The score to the game, 29-3, was a lot closer than the score should have been. I think the Wolverines could have easily scored 45 points if the offense was running in top gear. Once Coach Rod gets the right quarterback in his system the future will be bright.

Notre Dame

There is nobody to welcome here in fact I think we might want to send out and invitation and invite the Irish offense to the next game. What happened? Ever since the second half of the Pitt game last week the offense has gone into the tank. I predicted a 6-6 finished for the Irish but that was more wishful thinking on my part. I actually thought they would end up with a winning record but now I'm not to sure. They need one more win to become bowl eligible and right now I'm not sure where the win will come from. If they don't make a bowl game will they fire Charlie? If they fire Charlie who will the next coach be? Will it be Brian Kelly one of the masters of the spread offenses? Am I getting ahead of myself? Probably but I like it when the scrutiny is on the other team and not mine.

Michigan State

Didn't watch this game and didn't really care about this game but we must welcome the Spartans to the Big Ten Championship game. Boy that's hard to admit but it looks as though the Spartans and Penn State will be playing for the right to go to the Rose Bowl in a couple of weeks. Boy talk about a screwed up season.

Michigan Tech

Michigan Tech beat Northwood University yesterday 25-13 to finish the season at 8-3. The only thing left for Tech to do is to wait for an invitation to the Division II playoffs. I will keep you posted.

Here is this weeks top 6.

1. Alabama
2. Texas Tech
3. Florida
4. USC
5. Texas
6. Oklahoma

No changes this week but stay tuned I think we may have some changes coming in the next two weeks. It looks like I was right about Penn State they have a good team but they don't deserve to be in the top five and if I did a top 10 it would be close there too. If I have to predict who will end up in the national championship game this year right now I will guess Florida and Texas.

My Heisman is as follows:

1. Gramham Harrel - Texas Tech
2. Colt McCoy - Texas
3. Tim Tebow - Florida

I moved Harrel from Texas Tech ahead of Colt McCoy because he was on national TV last night and he impressed everyone. I still think he is a product of a system and if I was drafting a quarterback for the NFL I will still take Colt McCoy ahead of him.

Be sure to tune in next week when I give some more useless uninformed predictions and opinions.

Sunday Dinner - 2 November 2008

2008-11-07T20:16:00.003-05:00

It's that time of year again when the sun starts to slowly sink farther to the south making the days shorter and shorter. That means the mornings are getting chillier and the days are getting colder. It also means hunting season is here and it won't be long until deer season opens. Even though I haven't gone deer hunting for the last couple of years it doesn't mean I can't cook some of the food I normally cook for hunting season. The one meal I like to cook this time of year when the temperatures cool off is..............

......Chili.

Just so you know I am not a big fan of "normal" chili, by that I mean burger, chili powder, beans, tomatoes and water. A few years ago I was watching an Emeril Live Episode and he made chili, not just any type of chili but sausage chili and instead of using water he used beer. Needless to say he got my attention. It wasn't long and I decided to make it and ever since then I make sausage chili once if not twice a year. I did make one slight change from his recipe Emeril used andouille sausage. Since I could never find andouille sausage when I lived in Michigan I decided to use chirizo instead. If I was the only one eating the chili I would only use chirizo but since I was afraid it would be too spicey if I did only use chirizo sausage I decided to use half chirizo and half sweet italian sausage. I will mention that I did use all chirizo once and ended up winning a chili cook off. Grand prize was a $25 gift certificate from WalMart. Lucky me eh?

Let's get started with the good stuff. First let me introduce you to this weeks cast of characters.

First we must start by browning the sausage and then add some the this weeks cast in the browned sausage.

Now it is time to add the beer.

Okay so I didn't use all beer this time like I normally do I decided since it was just me and the wife I would only use a half of bottle of beer and a half of box of chicken broth.

Bring this to a boil and time to add some more stuff.

Let this cook for a hour to and hour and a half and it should look like this.

Nice and thick and tasty just the way chili should be.

Now that we have the chili cooked we need to decide what type of bowl to serve it in. We might choose one of these...

Nah that bowl is for cereal.

How about this one?

This bowl is normally used for soups, chowders and stews. I suppose it can be used for chili but I think I have a better idea. How about this....

You don't think that looks like a bowl? How about if we do this then?

Now does it look like a bowl? It is hard to beat a bread bowl but try to find one that is the right size. Normally they are to big or to small I can never find the right size. This particular one is a little big but it will do.

I think it is time to fill it....

Don't forget to add the shredded cheddar cheese and green onions on top.

How about a little different angle......

I'll rate this chili a 4.75 spoons out of 5 only because I used chicken broth instead of just beer.

The big bonus with this meal is you get to eat the chili soaked bowl afterwords too. Now how can you beat that no bowls to wash.

How about one more look at this weeks episode.

Perfect meal for a cold chilly Sunday but the only problem was it was 65 degrees on Sunday. Oh well can't be perfect.

It's a New Day and the Sun Will Rise Again

2008-11-05T18:12:00.005-05:00

I think this may be the first political type of post I have done since the election started. I refrained from doing any political post before now because I want everyone to vote but I want them to learn about the candidates themselves and vote for their candidates because they think they are the right ones for the job. I want people to be informed and to get informed on their own. I want people to discover for themselves values and issues they think are important and vote accordingly. I don't want people voting for candidates just because I am. I want people to think for themselves and do what they think is right.

I hope the election went well for everyone because it sure didn't for me. If you haven't figured out by now I tend to lean just a little to the right when it comes to politics. I have had people ask me how can you be a republican when both of your parents are democrats? The answer is simple and can be summed up very easily. In my view the republicans stand for small government where people should take care of themselves and not depend on the government. The democrats believe in big government and believe the government should provide for all our needs and services. I know this is very broad and simple definition of republicans and democrats but this is how I see it. Since I believe everyone should take care of themselves and not look for handouts from the government that puts me in the republican party. It shouldn't surprise anyone that I don't believe in taking money from one class of people and redistributing it to another. In its simplest terms it is called welfare. Welfare has been proved to make people lazy and even more dependent on government.

Obama doesn't worry me as much as Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid do. I can't stand to even look at Pelosi she looks so clueless whenever she speaks. Pelosi and Reid will try to push their liberal agenda down the American people's throats but I think Obama will govern from the center and not agree with everything they try to do. I really think he will do what he thinks is best for the country whether or not I agree with him. I won't fault him or anybody else for doing what they believe in or think is best for the country I just hopes he has an open mind and listens to the other side too, I think he will.

I'm not real upset that Obama got elected I don't dislike him like I did the Clinton's. That just may be the best thing about Obama getting elected now the Clinton's will be out of the White House for at least another 8 years, that's something I can live with. If you remember the first thing Clinton did when he got into the White House is reneged on his tax cut promise to millions of Americans. After just 3 weeks in office he declared the country couldn't afford it and all tax cuts would be suspended. I will be interested to see if Obama does the same thing, it wouldn't surprise me. If he does the republicans will take over the house in 2 years and they will control the senate within the next 4. That is what happened to Clinton and it will happen to Obama if he doesn't make good on his promise to cut taxes to the middle class. Since I am squarely in the middle of the middle class (I think anyway, who can ever tell) I am looking forward to that tax cut but I'm not expecting it to arrive anytime soon. I just don't think it is going to happen.

The stock market went down today and I am sure that had something to do with the election results but it will bounce back, it always does. I think it will be a slower recovery than if McCain had gotten elected but that's my opinion.

I am not a big McCain supporter either. He is one of the problems with the republican party. Some of the republicans think they need to pander to everyone much like Clinton used to. I think the republican party needs to get some "balls" and go back to their roots. The party has lost its way and seems to be wondering around lost. Let's get back to the conservative values that made the party great.

Here is a list of what I think us conservatives need to do:

1. We need to get people to believe in themselves and take care of themselves.

2. We need to tackle the immigration issue, put up that fence in the southwest, throw the illegals out of the country and make them come into the country legally.

3. We need to get independence off foreign oil. We need to drill, drill, drill and drill some more baby. Wind and solar, while sounds nice, isn't the answer to complete energy independence.

4. We need to start building more nuclear power plants. We need to get rid of the red tape and fast track the nuclear plants and get them online as soon as possible. We need to further develop clean coal technology.

5. We need to start developing hydrogen fuel cell for cars no matter how long it takes to develop. Hydrogen fuel cells are a long term solution but there is no reason this country can't be leading the way. Hybrid cars aren't the answer. Do you realize that if everybody owned a hybrid car and plugged it in at night to recharge the batteries that there isn't enough electrical power in the country to charge them? And quite possibly when you plug that car into your wall outlet you may be polluting even more because your power maybe coming from a old worn out coal plant that is discharging more pollutants into the air than a gas powered car does?

6. We need to stop bailing out Neanderthal companies that just can't seem to keep pace with the needs or wants of the people. We need to even up the playing field by taxing imports as much as other countries tax our exports. I believe in free trade but I also believe in an even playing field.

7. We need to build a strong defense and a strong military. We need to be able to keep our country safe and strong. We're not safe from the terrorist and probably never will be again. We need to chase terrorist no matter where they go and let them know they can't hide from us.

8. We need to privatize social security and let the people have the say how their retirement is handled. We need to make it mandatory everyone must have a retirement account (presently called social security) but have a choice where it is invested. If you were to take the money you pay into social security plus the matching money your employer pays in for you and invest it in your own plan and keep the capital gains without being taxed you will have over $1,000,000 when you retire at 62. Right now you are left with about $225,000 the way the government does it.

9. We need to have competition among all school systems. Competition and choices makes for better services and products. This is how it works in the "real" world why can't it work in our school systems? Our colleges and universitys' seem to do alright with the competition for students I'm sure the rest of our school systems would do just fine too. Competition would rid our schools of the bad teachers that presently litter our school systems. Would some school systems fail? Probably but so what, maybe they shouldn't be teaching our children anyway. People should be able to take the money from the state for each student and use in whatever school they choose. It can be either privite, public or charter, it shouldn't matter it should be our choice.

10. We need to get rid of special interest groups they are ruining this country.

11. We need to get rid of pork barrel spending. I am tired of senators and congressman taking money for their home districts for useless an unnecessary programs and projects.

12. We need to get rid of big government.

That's a few of my points I think the republicans need to do to get back to their roots.

I am not a President Bush fan either. I am grateful to him for keeping us safe ever since 9-11 and I don't think this was an easy job. But I didn't like him taking a big government under the Clinton administration and making it even bigger during his administration. I didn't like his stance on immigration, I didn't like his pandering to big oil and I didn't like his bailout of the banking industry.

We need to get new leaders for the republican party, leaders who will take us back to what the republican party is suppose to be. There are a few people out there that can fill this void but we need to find more.

It reminds of the title to Bernard Goldberg's book "Crazies to the Left of Me and Wimps to the Right." How true it turned out to be.

How to Go From Hero to Goat in 5 Minutes

2008-11-02T09:07:00.005-05:00

Anybody who reads my post knows I am not a big fan of Notre Dame football but even I felt a little bad for the field goal kicker for the Irish. The poor guy hits a long field goal in the third overtime to tie the game up again to sent it in to a 4th overtime and then he misses a chip shot in the 4th overtime. From there Pittsburgh runs the ball down near the goal line and hits what amounts to a point after attempt to win the game. As much as you can put the blame on the field goal kicker for ND for losing this game I put the blame on the ND defense for not being able to stop Pitts during regulation. I think ND was up at one time 17-3 and again late in the 4th quarter they were up 24-17. Pitts ran the same play 3 times in a row late in the 4th quarter to tie the game up. Now I'm no genius but when a team runs the same play 2 times in a row don't your think you should defend against it the third time too just in case they may try it again? The blame for this loss goes clearly on the coaching staff.

The ND/Pitt game was the best game I watched yesterday. It was a well played game with both teams playing hard and clean. Clausen is finally living up to his billing as a quarterback. The offense finally looks like it is coming around and is much improved from a year ago. The defense is improving too but they have to be able to stop the other team when it counts. Until they are able to do that they will be just an average team. The next few weeks will be interesting because the Irish play a lot of average teams and the games can go either way. Somewhere the Irish will get the final win and become bowl eligible but I have my doubts if they will get to play on New Years. The next few games will be entertaining until they get to USC and then they will get slaughtered.

What the hell was Wisconsin thinking yesterday? They had the game won against MSU and gave it away. MSU was prime to be beat yesterday and Wisconsin blew it. MSU didn't even deserve to win the game and in the end neither did Wisconsin. The Big Ten championship is going to come down to the Penn State/MSU game at the end of the year. Talk about a confernence being turned upside down. MSU better enjoy this year because next year they will be back where they belong at the bottom of the Big Ten.

I suppose I have to mention Michigan somewhere in this post. I think they are trying out Obama's economic plan this year. Mich is redistributing their wins to the less fortunate. Socialism doesn't work in economics or football. When I look at Michigan's remaining schedule I can see them redistributing more wins. When the season started I knew the offense would struggle because Rodriguez doesn't have the type of quarterback he needs to be successful. But the defense? Come on, they returned most of the starters from last year. This defense should be able to dominate teams like Purdue and MSU. While the offense is showing gradual improvement in every game the defense continues to get worse. I can't tell you how many times they have stopped the opposing team behind the line of scrimmage just to let them go and get a first down. It comes down to this, TACKLING. Michigan doesn't tackle very good. This all comes down to coaching. I'm not going to blame Rodriquez for the defense, although he needs to take responsibility for hiring the guy, I am going to blame the defensive coordinator. When Ron English was the coordinator Mich rarely missed tackles. Rodriguez hired Stanford's defensive coordinator from last year. Stanford. When was the last time any Stanford team won anything? They hired him because his teams are always at the top of the NCAA in sacks on the quarterback. But what good does it do to get to the quarterback if you can't tackle him once you get there? Hey Scott Shafer I got an idea why not teach your players how to tackle. That's all I got to say about that.

On a brighter note this week Michigan Tech beat Tiffin in a thrilling come from behind win 32-28. You can read the complete story here:

www.michigantechhuskies.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=18800&ATCLID=1615982

Here is this weeks top 6.

1. Alabama
2. Texas Tech
3. Florida
4. USC
5. Texas
6. Oklahoma

There's my top six for this week. I don't like Alabama at No. 1 but I can't find a reason for them not being there for now. Texas lost to Texas Tech last night but I think if they played 10 times Texas would win 8 of the games. I will still rank Texas Tech above them because they beat Texas when they had too. I can't put Oklahoma above Texas either because Texas has already beat the Sooners this year. Texas Tech plays Oklahoma State next week and Oklahoma the following week so stayed tuned I have a feeling this may change. I also moved Florida and USC up because I think in the end they may be the best teams in college football. And still no Penn State, sorry I'm not a believer.

My Heisman is as follows:

1. Colt McCoy - Texas
2. Gramham Harrel - Texas Tech
3. Tim Tebow - Florida

I think the Heisman race has come down to three finalist with Colt McCoy having a slight lead on the other two right now. I like watching Gramham Harrel of Texas Texas but I think he is a product of a system. Colt McCoy is the real deal.

Be sure to tune in next week when I give some more useless uninformed predictions and opinions.

I Need Help!!!

2008-11-01T09:04:00.002-04:00

Oh boy here we go again another weekend of depressing football games. I think I may find some help from a doctor to help cure my weekend depression. What did I ever do to deserve the punishment of watching Michigan and Detroit Lion football games? Haven't I had to endure enough torture this fall? Between the two of them they have 2 wins in 15 games. Oh well I can always hope for the future because that is all I really have anyway.

Let's do something different this week and start at the bottom of the food chain and work our way up.

First up is the Detroit Lions. They are playing at Chicago this week and I'm not sure anything else needs to be said. The Lions are looking for their first victory but I don't think they will find it here. Chicago has a good defense and Detroit has a terrible offense. I can't see the Lions improving this week since the game will be outside and could be a little cold too. Da Bears will run the football, throw the football and control the clock. Let me see now how about Chicago 31 Detroit 6.

Next up is Michigan State. Wisconsin comes into Lansing this week riding a one game winning streak while MSU is coming off their emotional high of beating some team to the east of them (I can't seem to remember who that team was.) If you look at the records of the two teams this seems like an easy pick since MSU has a much better record than Wisconsin. Wisconsin has been a big disappointment this year. At one time they were ranked number nine in the country and then Michigan beat them. They preceded to loose their next three to start 0-4 in the Big Ten. I really don't understand this team and I think they are better than their record indicates. When I consider this and the fact that MSU is coming off an emotional high from last week I think I will pick Wisconsin. I know the game is in East Lansing but I think in true Spartan fashion they will go into the tank this week. Wisconsin will stop Ringer which is the only offense the Spartans have. MSU is too one dimensional on offense to beat the better teams. Wisconsin 27 MSU 10.

Now we come to Notre Dame. A week ago I was ready to pick Pittsburgh in this game despite the fact that ND is playing at home. What happened? Well Pittsburgh got throttled last week and their quarterback got knocked out of the game and spent the night in the hospital. I'm not sure if he is playing this week or not but even if he is I'm not sure if he will be okay. I also remembered who coaches this team, Dave Wannsetedt, Mr. choke artist. I don't know if he has ever won a big game in either the NFL or college. Since I came to my senses now I will pick ND 27 Pitts 17.

Michigan plays at Purdue this week and this is the game to see who stays out of last place. Michigan's season is shot, a bowl game is out of the question and all they have to look forward to is next year. But Purdue is in worse shape with their decade being shot, a coach who is retiring after this year (at least I think he is), and going steadily downhill since Drew Brees and Kyle Orton graduated. Purdue has never been known to play good defensive football and now their offense is just as bad. If Michigan's disappointing defense plays anywhere near their ability I think the offense can get enough done to get them a win. I will pick Michigan 17 Purdue 13.

There you have it this weeks uninformed, fly by the seat of my pants predictions. Let's see yours.

Sunday Dinner - 26 October 2008

2008-10-29T19:40:00.004-04:00

Here is a Emeril recipe from the Food Network Web site. I would cut everything in half.

Chicken and Smoked Sausage Gumbo with White Rice

Prep Time:
30 min
Inactive Prep Time:
0 min
Cook Time:
3 hr 30 min

Level:
Intermediate

Serves:
6 to 7 cups, 6 to 8 servings

1 tablespoon plus 1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 pound smoked sausage, such as andouille or kielbasa, cut crosswise 1/2-inch thick pieces
4 pounds chicken thighs, skin removed
1 tablespoon Essence or Creole seasoning, recipe follows
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups chopped onions
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped bell peppers
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
3 bay leaves
9 cups chicken stock or canned low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup chopped green onions
2 tablespoons chopped parsley leaves
1 tablespoon file powder
White Rice, recipe follows
Hot sauce

In a large enameled cast iron Dutch oven or large pot, heat 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook until well browned, about 8 minutes. Remove the sausage with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Set aside.

Season the chicken with the Essence and add in batches to the fat remaining in the pan. Cook over medium-high heat until well browned, 5 to 6 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pan, let cool, and then refrigerate until ready to use.

Combine the remaining 1/2 cup oil and the flour in the same Dutch oven over medium heat. Cook, stirring slowly and constantly for 20 to 25 minutes, to make a dark brown roux, the color of chocolate.

Add the onions, celery, and bell peppers and cook, stirring, until wilted, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the reserved sausage, salt, cayenne, and bay leaves, stir, and cook for 2 minutes. Stirring, slowly add the chicken stock, and cook, stirring, until well combined. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, uncovered and stirring occasionally, for 1 hour.

Add the reserved chicken to the pot and simmer for 1 1/2 hours, skimming off any fat that rises to the surface.

Remove the pot from the heat. Using a slotted spoon, remove the chicken thighs from the gumbo and place on a cutting board to cool slightly. Remove and discard the bay leaves. Pull the chicken meat from the bones and shred, discarding the bones and skin. Return the meat to the gumbo and stir in the green onions, parsley, and file powder.

Spoon rice into the bottom of deep bowls or large cups and ladle the gumbo on top. Serve, passing hot sauce on the side.

I love the fall and fall cooking. It is a time of year when on a chilly fall Sunday afternoon, football games are on in the background, Lions getting their ass kicked, you can put the dutch oven on the stove and let it brew up a Sunday Dinner all afternoon. This week is a good example of a meal for that chilly day. What is it? Let's take a look.

Now do you know what it is? It's GUMMMMMMMBOOOOOOO time. I love my gumbo there are so many different ways to cook it. You can put ham in it, turkey in it, chicken, shrimp, crab, sausage, okra, or just about anything else you can think of. For this week I chose chicken, shrimp and sausage. Just take a look at this weeks cast of characters.

Once again can you tell what ingredients I forgot? Well if you can stayed tuned long enough the answers are down below.

Gumbos are pretty simple to make, really. The hardest part is making the roux and if you follow Alton Brown's way even roux is pretty simple. The traditional way of making roux is to use equal parts oil and flour and stir with a wooden spoon over medium low heat for an eternity. As Emeril says it takes two beers. In other words as long as it takes the average person to drink two beers is how long you need to stand by the stove and stir. There is a better or simpler way however. There might be some gumbo purest out there who will disagree but for me this is a no fail way to make roux. There is nothing more annoying than to stir roux for 20 minutes or more and end up burning it in the end. But no fear there is the Alton Brown method of making roux. First preheat the oven to 350 degrees. stir up equal parts of oil and flour, stick it in the oven for 1-1/2 hours and give it a stir every 20 minutes or so. In 1-1/2 hours this is what it will look like.

Almost perfect everytime.

Once the roux is made put it back on the stove over medium low heat or so and add the chopped up veggies.

I'll admit once again I don't remember if this is a trinity or maripoix. Does it really matter? Nope.

Cook those veggies for a few minutes and dump in the meat. In this case boneless skinless chicken thighs and andouille sausage. I should mention that I browned the chicken thighs and sausage in the dutch oven before I cooked the roux. Mix everything together, add the seasonings, in this case bay leaves and fresh thyme.

Now it is time to add some stock. My choice is shrimp stock. You can use chicken broth you buy from the store or make your own but since I had a bag full of shrimp shells saved in the freezer I decided to use shrimp stock. Shrimp stock is easy to make just dump the shells in some water and let simmer for a hour to a hour and a half.

Don't forget when you are about a 1/2 hour from the end to make some rice.

Ahhh good eye if you said there is one of the forgotten indgrediants.

Let all this goodness simmer on the stove for an hour and a half or so and then add the shrimp.

Don't forget don't let that shrimp cook to long or you will over cook it. Once the shrimp is cooked here is what it will look like.

Now it's time to add this stuff.

Oh another good eye if you said this ingrediant is missing from the above photo too. Do you know what File' Powder is though? I will let everyone guess or google it and leave your answer in the comment section.

Right now it is time to take a look at the finished product though.

Mmmmmm good. I will rate it a 4.75 out of 5 forks. I made better gumbo the last time I made it so I can't rate this one as high.

If you have never made gumbo don't be afraid to try. Follow the instructions above for making roux and after that it is as easy as making microwave popcorn.

Update
This is totally unrelated to my Sunday Dinner post but I received this today and thought it was one of the funniest things I have seen this campaign season.

http://www.peteyandpetunia.com/VoteHere/VoteHere.htm

Since I can't figure out how to make a link work from my post you will have to cut and paste the link into your browser by yourself. I think the funniest part is Bill Clinton.

"Hey Vern Round Up the Cows We're..........

2008-10-26T08:37:00.012-04:00

I decided to take a trip yesterday after the Michigan Michigan State game to East Lansing to see how much of the city the students would burn after MSU defeated Michigan in football. I like a good bon fire as much as the next guy so I didn't want to miss this opportunity.

When I got to East Lansing there were these two guys standing outside Spartan Stadium having a conversation. One was named Earl. Earl was about 55 years old, 5'6" tall and weighed 280 pounds. His face looked like an old piece of leather that has been left outside way to long. He wore and old insulated flannel shirt with the elbows worn out. Because of his stature the flannel shirt hung out over his beer gut and kept his feet shaded quite nicely. In that true Michigan fall fashion Earl wore an orange hunting cap. Earl also chewed tobacco as evidenced by the dried tobacco juice running down the corners of his mouth.

The other named Vern was 35 years old and 6'2" tall and weighed about 160 pounds. To say he looked like a telephone pole would be and understatement. His nickname was slim. Anyway Vern wore old Carhart bibs with the pant cuffs all but worn out due to them dragging on the ground for years. Underneath the bibs he had a old MSU hooded sweatshirt on with tattered sleeves. The hat he wore was one of those with silk screen printing,vinyl mesh back, looked like it had been soaked in used motor oil, left outside for a couple of years then washed in his mothers washing machine.The printing on the hat said "A BAD DAY FISHING IS BETTER THAN A GOOD DAY AT WORK." Vern had a stubble of straw sticking out of his mouth and held a Bud Light in his left hand.

Both are alumni of Michigan State in fact Earl is head of the Alumni Association.

This is part of an actual conversation that took place outside of Spartan Stadium on the campus of Michigan State between these two MSU alumni.

Earl: "Hey Vern round up the cows were takin' em home."

Vern: "What did ya say?" You see Vern was to busy watching the Coeds walking past on the opposite sidewalk to really care what Earl was saying to him.

Earl: "I said 'Git your head out of your ass and round up the god damn cows we're takin' em home!'"

Vern: "We're takin' em home? Why for?"

Earl: "Word comin' from the east of here that Sparty just beat those arrogant asses of Michigan and they'll need the football field after all."

Vern: "We're takin" em home? Oh darn it I was hoping we could leave em here to fatten up for the winter."

Earl: "If State would've lost to those arrogant asses then we could've of left the cows here to graze because State wouldn't need the football field anymore. They were gonna shut the program down."

Vern: "Why were they gonna shut down the program?"

Earl: "Well Michigan is so bad this year that everybody beats them like a dirty rug. If Sparty were to lose to them it would've been such an embarrassment the school was going to shut down the football program and let our cows graze on the lush grass of the football field."

Vern: "What's happened to those arrogant asses to the east? They always beat us like a rented mule."

Earl: "Not really sure but I heard they have a new coach and a new offense they are trying to learn, something called the dinner spread or something like that."

Vern: "What happened in the game?"

Earl: "Not really sure but I heard that Ringer guy had a big day. Also heard something about AA's defense giving up a lot of big plays."

Vern: "I thought AA's defense was suppose to be good this year?"

Earl: "Not really sure but I heard that Ringer guy had a 60 yard gain for a touchdown just before the end of the first half and one of AA's safteys took a bad angle and gave up a long pass play for a touchdown to start the game."

Vern: "Well regardless it a great victory for Sparty today."

Earl: "Yep, but it reminds me of that Japanese captain that said 'I'm afraid all we did today was awaken a sleeping giant' after they bombed Pearl Harbor." Earl is staring blankly to the east.

Vern: "You think we will back here next year?"

Earl: "Yep."

Vern: "Do we have to clean up all this cow shit?"

Earl: "Nope, I don't think anyone will notice."

Vern: "Can we go to the bon fire tonight?"

Earl: "Not really sure we have a lot of chores to get done tonight."

Time to talk Notre Dame football. Okay let's not turns out they had another bye week this week.

Michigan Tech didn't fare so well this week either. They lost to Saginaw Valley 40-23 yesterday at SVSU. If you want to read the article here is the link.

http://www.michigantechhuskies.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=18800&ATCLID=1611313

Here is this weeks top 5.

1. Texas
2. Alabama
3. Oklahoma
4. Texas Tech
5. Southern Cal

I still am not including Penn State in my top 5 because when I look at the teams in my top 5 and ask myself 'Can Penn State beat any of these teams?' I answer myself 'No!' I also dropped USC to No. 5 because of their less than impressive victory over Arizona. I think I may have them over rated.

My Heisman is as follows:

1. Colt McCoy - Texas
2. Tim Tebow - Florida
3. Gramham Harrel - Texas Tech

I think the Heisman race has come down to three finalist with Colt McCoy having a huge lead on the other two right now. Next Saturday will be interesting because Texas and Texas Tech play each other.

Vern and Earl Update:

Vern: "Hey Earl wake up I think we're lost."

Earl: "Cough, cough" Earl spits tobacco juice all over the cab of his 1978 Chevy truck. The truck is a beautiful two tone color of brown and white with most of the brown on the lower half of the truck being that lovely Michigan rust. When you look in the bed of the truck the first thing you notice is the fenders have rusted away years ago. As Earl likes to say "Now I can see how many cords are showing on the tires from inside the truck."

Earl: "What the ....., where are we? I was dreaming I was at a Motel 8 sitting around the pool watching all the babes. You better have a good reason for waking me up."

Vern: "I told you I think we are lost."

Earl: "You were suppose to turn left at US 127."

Vern: "I never saw US 127 so I kept drivin'."

Earl: "Awww jesus chr......were's the map."

Vern: "We don't got no map you always say you can find your way out of anywhere."

Earl: "You dumb ass .....look right there it says 'Ford Field.'"

Vern: "I don't know where Ford Field is but maybe we can ask one of these nice people coming out of the place for directions."

Earl: "Well I'll be a monkeys uncle you finally have a good idea for once in your miserable life."

Vern: "Let's ask this guy with a Michigan hat on carrying the sign that says 'Fire the Entire Lion Organization and Start Over NOW!!!'"

Earl: "Hey mister can you tell us how to get to US127?"

Mich Man: "Screw you, first my football team gets beat yesterday by Moo U and now today I had to endure another loss by the Lions. Go find your own way out of here. I'll bet you guys are Michigan State fans too."

Vern: "Yep" with his chest puffed out looking all proud "I was the valedictorian of my class too."

Mich Man: "That figures now I know I'm not helping you." The Mich Man jumps into his new 2008 Hummer SUV, fires up the motor and slams the transmission into drive and squeals the tires all the way out of the parking lot and heads west.

Vern: "Jeez Earl what was his problem?"

Earl: "I don't know but what a moron. Hey let's ask this guy over here with the CMU hat on and wearing the Washington Redskins sweat shirt. Hey buddy little help over here, can you tell us where we are at?"

Redskins Fan: "Sure you are in Detroit at Ford Field where the Detroit Lions play."

Vern: "Detroit Lions? Aren't they a football team?"

RF: "Well yeah, at least they pretend to be. They haven't won a game all year."

Earl: "Sounds like that team in Ann Arbor."

RF: "Haha boy how the mighty have fallen, it kind of reminds of Notre Dame a couple of years ago."

Vern: "Hey I think we beat that Notre Dame team a few weeks ago. Boy I gotta tell you they weren't very nice to our cows when they came out of the stadium. They were tellin' us if they were an agricultrual school they would engineer some type of cow that could produce twice as much milk as ours."

Earl: "We're not sure where the city of Notre Dame is but we don't ever plan on visiting it."

RF is thinking: 'Boy what a couple of dummies not wonder they are lost.' "Hey what do you have in the trailer?"

Earl: "Cows, we were going to unload them at Spartan Stadium yesterday if the football team lost because someone said they wouldn't need the field for the rest of the century if they lost the game against those arrogant asses to the east."

RF: "Well I will tell you what boys right here is a football field and it appears nobody is using it. Why don't you unload your cows here and let them graze."

Vern: "Why that is mighty nice of you mister, what do you think Earl?"

Earl: "That's a hell've of an idea, I think we will do it."

Vern: "Look Earl it even has a roof over to protect our cows for the winter."

Earl: "Oh yeah another bonus. I'll tell you what Vern why don't you back up to that door and we'll unload 'em."

Vern: "I'm all over it Earl guide me in."

Earl: "Okay stop that's good, open the doors and let 'em go!"

Vern: "Look at 'em go, they're gonna love this."

Security Guard: "HEY YOU TWO STOP RIGHT THERE YOU CAN'T DO THAT!!!!"

To be continued....

Are You Ready for Some More Football?

2008-10-24T22:17:00.002-04:00

Yep hard to believe but it is the end of the week again so that means it must be time for some more silly football game predictions. We have a full slate this week so let's get on with it.

I think I will start with the Detroit Lions they are playing the politically incorrect Washington Redskins this weekend. Normally this would be an easy pick to make because the Lions usually give up 21 points before they decide to put on the pads and play football. The Redskins have only lost twice this year while the Lions have yet to win a game. The Lions are starting a quarterback that has one total start under his belt in the NFL and the Washington Redskins have beaten both the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles on the road this year. Aw who am I kidding Redskins 38 Lions 6.

Let's talk about the big in state rivalry this weekend. No WMU and CMU played last week the rivalry I am talking about is Michigan State and Michigan. I say rivalry but let's be real here it is only a rivalry for MSU, remember little brother. This really isn't a rivalry for Michigan it just another game. Michigan biggest rivals are Ohio State and at times Notre Dame. These are schools with real football teams and real football traditions. Michigan State is basketball school that tolerates football while waiting for basketball season to start. This will be interesting this year only because I am waiting to see if MSU goes in the tank like they normally do after getting trashed by Ohio State. As bad as Michigan has been this year if MSU doesn't win this game they might as well close down Spartan stadium for the rest of the century and let the cows graze on the grass. This is MSU's best chance and probably their only chance to beat Michigan for the next several years. You see MSU is dominated by seniors and their best player, Ringer, is a senior. The pressure is clearly on MSU to win this game and we all know how MSU does when the pressure is on. I think MSU will get lucky, yes I did say lucky, and somehow beat Michigan this year. Final score will be 23 to 13. Enjoy it little brother it will be your last for awhile.

Notre Dame travels to the wet state of Washington this week to play the Washington Huskies. On paper this seems like a no brainer with Washington being 0-6 on the season and they have been blown out of most of the games they have played but we have a problem people. It seems Ty Willingham, the coach of the Huskies, once coached the Irish until they unceremoniously fired him and brought in some fat guy who knows where every buffet in the state of Indiana is located and replaced him. The only thing wrong with my theory is while Willingham will be fired up and ready his players won't be. You see they probably don't know where Notre Dame is or even care and most of the players probably don't even know Willingham coached at Notre Dame. This revenge game will only be played in Willingham's head. Notre Dame 45 Washington Puppy Dogs 17.

There you have it, my predictions. Bring on the ridicule, your arguments, and your biased opinions and see how you stack up with your predictions this week.

Eat Your Heart Out Kiddies

2008-10-22T20:16:00.003-04:00

I thought I would show you my dinner for tonight. This was so good I think it will be a future Sunday Dinner Episode. This was a trial run for a meal I was trying to duplicate from a restaurant. I did add a couple of my own twist to it though.

And look no peas.

Sunday Dinner - 19 October 2008

2008-10-21T21:24:00.003-04:00

With this post I will officially be caught up on my Sunday Dinner Episodes and get on to bigger and better things like football predictions. I know you all look forward to those.

This may be a record for a Sunday Dinner for how short it will be. I didn't take near as many pictures as I normally do because the Lions were on while I was cooking. Yeah I know, I know, why am I wasting time watching the Lions when I could be doing more constructive things like cleaning toilets or castrating pigs. Well I guess I like to be disappointed on Sundays.

This weeks Sunday Dinner Episode isn't a disappointment at all. This weeks Sunday Dinner is the ultimate in comfort food.

Beef Stew. I love the stuff, I could eat it once a month. The leftovers are even better come Wednesday night.

Let's take a look at this weeks cast of characters.

As usual there are a couple of ingredients missing see if you can guess which ones.

Beef stew is pretty simple to make, start by browning some stew meat.

Once the beef is browned add some wine and scrap all the yum yums off the bottom of the dutch oven. Once that is done add some beef broth and other seasonings and add the beef back in and bring to a boil. After it comes to a boil cover and let simmer for an hour or so. I then add the carrots and a half hour later I add the potatoes, pearl onions and mushrooms.

Let it cook for another half hour or so until the potatoes are done and then guess what?

That's right add those nasty peas. And don't forget to take out the bay leaves.

Once the peas are cooked it's time to serve.

There you have it the Ultimate Beef Stew courtesy of Tyler Florance from the Food Network.

Did you notice the big ole onion in the middle of all that goodness? That's the best part about making beef stew, eating the whole onion that has been cooked in the stew. Don't get in my way when there is a whole onion in beef stew you might get hurt.

I'll rate this stew a 4.75 our of 5 forks. I'm not sure what to do to give it a 5 but I'm sure I forgot something or other besides it gives me something to shoot for the next time I make it.

Once again let's take one more look.

The ultimate in comfort food right there my friends.

Sunday Dinner - 5 October 2008

2008-10-20T21:13:00.002-04:00

Finally I'm back to full operation again. Not only was my wireless modem bad but my wireless Internet connection to my pc was bad too. Verizon was good enough to replace my modem buy I had to replace the wireless connection. Oh well somebody has to spend money and get this economy going again.

I have a mini backup for my Sunday Dinner Episodes so I think I will do two this week and get caught up. I will be skipping one week because while my computer was on vacation last week I didn't make a Sunday Dinner. If you remember that was the Sunday before I had to take the LEED test so I was busy studying up for the test. I do have, however, an episode from yesterday that I will be posting later this week.

This Sunday Episode meal is a perfect type meal for a cool fall day. It is a old comfort food that should get more attention paid to it. If you are a chicken lover and always looking for different ways to use chicken this may be the one for you. I normally use Rachael Ray's recipe but this time I opted for a different recipe. If could remember where I got it from I would tell you but since it has been a couple of weeks since I cooked it I can't really remember. If somebody really wants it I am sure I can come up with it though.

Without further adieu let me introduce you to this weeks Sunday Episode.

Chicken A la King or something like that. A couple of times a year I get a craving for Chicken A la King and like most cravings I get I can't get it out of my mind until I make it.

Let me introduce this weeks cast of characters for you.

First thing we must do is marinade the chicken in some buttermilk and probably some other indgrediants which escapes my mind at this moment.

Stick the chicken in the ice box for a minimum of 2 hours. Meanwhile we can get started with the preparation of the other characters of this episode.

Start with hacking up some veggies.

Throw them in a good ole cast iron skillet.

And cook until soft.

Add a little bit of flour and stir in and let cook for a couple of more minutes.

Add a little wine, now I know it is suppose to be white wine but all I had was red wine so I used it. You can cut out the wine completely and just use chicken broth too if you want.

And speaking about chicken broth it is time to add it along with a little half and half. Yeah I know it is suppose to be real cream but I think I have told you before I don't really need the cream and milk just doesn't get it so half and half is a good compromise. Most of you out there probably know already but if you don't half and half is half cream and half milk. Now doesn't that just make a whole lot of sense? Pretty original name eh?

Time to add the chicken and let cook until done. Once cooked it is time to add the peas and I would show you a picture of the peas being added but it was out of focus so I threw it out. Not all my pictures turn out.

While the chicken is cooking we can take this time to toast up some bread. Our choice this week was an Italian loaf brushed with a little butter and toasted in the oven.

Once done this is what it all looks like.

Mmmmmm good, leftovers for the middle of the week too, can't beat that. I am giving this meal a 4.5 out of 5 forks because I was suppose to use white wine instead of red wine. Other than that I thought this chicken A la King was better than the Rachael Ray recipe I have been cooking. If you are after a quicker way of cooking Chicken A la King Rachael's recipe is a good one to use though.

Let's take a look at that first picture again.

My, my that does look good. Long live the King.

Saturday Recap - Redwings 5 NY Rangers 4

2008-10-19T09:06:00.003-04:00

At least one of my teams is winning to bad it's a hockey team and not a football team. But we must talk football this morning and not hockey.

I'm not sure what else I can say about Michigan that hasn't been said already. The bowl game is out of the picture breaking their streak at 33 or something like that. I'm not sure there is another winnable game on the schedule either although I am sure they will pull an upset somewhere when we all least expect it. I'm not going to complain though because I have been following Michigan football for 40 years and this is the first losing season I can remember. Oh I remember one year when they finished 6-6 or something like that but still not a real losing season.

What upsets me is everybody complaining about the coaching and the people who think he should be fired. I'm not sure what everybody expected this year but anyone with any knowledge about football knew a year ago this year was going to be tough because the entire offense was graduating. Michigan has one person left from last year on offense everyone else is either a freshman or sophomore. This fact along with Rich Rod installing a completely new offense at Michigan and you are left with a team that is going to struggle for a year if not two. The other problem with Michigan is they were left without any quarterbacks from last year. Their starter graduated and the second string decided to transfer when Rich Rod was hired as coach because he didn't want to be in the spread offense. I not sure any of the quarterbacks Michigan has left would start for any other Division 1 school. Threet is the only one that could possible start for another team but even he needs more time.

Michigan will be back if everybody stays patient. And for those of you not Michigan fans enjoy it for now because in a couple of years when they finally get the personnel they need for the spread offense Michigan will once again be back on top.

Yesterdays game was a surprise at least for the first half. I didn't think Michigan would hang on to the lead because Penn State is too good on offense this year. What I did like in the first half though was Michigan finally ran the spread offense like it is suppose to be ran. The quarterback ran the ball for yardage and that opened up the inside for the running back to gain some yards. I'm not sure why Michigan got away from this but they did in the second half. Once again I'm not sure why Rodriguez changed quarterbacks in the second half but I thought it completely changed Michigan.

Let's talk MSU football. What is there to say they got their clocks cleaned by Ohio State. MSU is just what I thought, one dimensional, and OSU exploited them. If you stop Ringer you stop MSU. What will be interesting is will MSU fold like a cheap lawn chair like they do every year or will they bounce back? They better not sulk to long because I think next week is the MSU/UofM game and MSU doesn't want to lose to Mich this year. MSU is loaded with seniors and this is their best chance to beat Michigan and if they don't it could be years before they do.

Michigan Tech won again this week beating Indy 31 - 28. If you want to read the article here is the link:

http://www.michigantechhuskies.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=18800&ATCLID=1606497

Michigan Tech is now 6-2 and plays Saginaw Valley next week.

Here is this weeks top 5. It sure has changed since I last posted my top 5 from two weeks ago.

This weeks top 5:
1. Texas
2. Southern Cal
3. Alabama
4. Oklahoma
5. Texas Tech

You may be wondering why I haven't included Penn State? Well I still am not sold on them or the Big Ten. When the Big Ten team can beat a team from another conference other than the MAC then I will give them some consideration.

My Heisman is as follows:

1. Colt McCoy - quarterback - Texas
2. Sam Bradford - quarterback - Oklahoma
3. Tim Tebow - quarterback - Florida
4. Gramham Harrel - quarterback - Texas Tech

For now I think this is a four person race. Stayed tuned it will probably change by next week.

Here Come the Lions

2008-10-18T08:56:00.004-04:00

Oh boy a lot has happened with the Lions since we have talked football. Millen has been fired, Kitna is gone, and Roy Williams was traded. All good moves in my opinion.

First of all Millen had to go, the experiment has ended. He had 8 years to right the ship and all he did was sink it. I still don't understand why Ford stuck with him so long but thank goodness he is gone.

Kitna is as good as gone too. He was actually put on injured reserve but I think the real message was "Its been nice knowing you but...." I think Kitna quit on the team in the first couple of games and the players knew it. I really don't think the Lions had any choice.

The Roy Williams trade was a steal. They sent Roy and a number seven pick to Dallas for a No. 1, No. 3, and a No. 6. Dallas got raped. Roy's contract was going to expire at the end of the year and he was free to sign with anybody as a free agent. I would have traded him for just the number one pick but let's give the Lions credit here they finally did something right. It was a good trade for Williams too because Texas is home for him so he should be happy. I don't have a problem with Roy but the Lions need draft picks right now not receivers. Now we just need somebody with the Lions that knows how to use these draft picks. Good luck with that one eh?

The Lions are at the Houston Texans this week and the Texans have been struggling just as much as the Lions. The Texans did, however, win their first game last week so they are ahead of the Lions in the respect. My predictions is if the Lions play with the same intensity as last week they will finally get their first win of the season. I think they will because they had a game taken from them last week and they are going to play like it's us against the world. I don't expect the offense to score a lot of points but I think the defense may have found their identity last week and keep the Lions in the game. I think this will be the Lions 17 Texans 13.

Michigan is favored by 23 points today against Penn State. Wait......what did you say? Penn State is favored by 23 points? Holy cow what has happened? Has the world been turned upside down? You say Michigan lost to a MAC team last week? UUUUUUUHHHHHGGGGGGG......what in the world is going on? Doesn't everyone know PSU hasn't beat Mich for the last 9 years? Doesn't everyone know PSU coach is 80 something years old and the team plays like that at times? My my how times have changed at least for this year. PSU 35 Mich 3. Michigan doesn't have an offense and without an offense against Penn State they will have a long day.

Michigan State plays Ohio State today. Let's not discount MSU's chances today because OSU has not scored an offensive touchdown for a couple of weeks. If MSU stays with its game plan and pounds the football at OSU they have a chance. This is the week Ringer can propel himself into the Heisman trophy race. OSU Suckeyes 24 MSU 17.

Notre Dame has a bye week this week which is probably good since they lost last week. Their schedule is about to get a little tougher to finish up so they can probably use the extra time to heal up and get ready.

That's it for this week, good luck to all your favorite football teams this weekend.

I'm Baaaaack

2008-10-16T19:09:00.003-04:00

Well I am kind of back anyway. I have an internet connection but my computer will not hook up to it. My wireless connection doesn't want to work and I can't find my disk to reinstall it. So for now I am using my laptop from home until I get my other computer figured out. What that means is no pictures for awhile until I get my other computer going. Or I will have to install the software in this computer so I can upload pictures, edit them and upload them to my photobucket site.

So what has happened since my crash. Well the stock market crashed with my internet connection, the Lions still haven't won a game, Michigan can't win a game, the Red Wings have started their defense of the Stanley Cup, the leaves have turned all sorts of colors here (if I could upload a picture I would show you), I passed the LEED test so now I am a LEED Accredited Professional, and the bears are still shi...............whoa stop right there, what did he say? What the hell is a LEED Accredited Professional?

LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and is part of the U.S. Green Building Council and they are responsible for expanding sustainable building practices that lead to responsible environmental design, energy efficient design and healthy working environments, blah, blah, blah.

I wanted to take this test for the past year and I finally decided to do it. Why? Well it gives me a little credibility among architects and engineers when it comes to designing energy efficient buildings. It means more opportunity for designing buildings for clients that are interested in energy efficiency and registering their buildings with LEED as being energy efficient and environmentally friendly.

I will admit anybody can take this test but it does help to know a little bit about building construction. It also helps if you have been through the LEED certification process too. The test isn't easy either (at least for me) only because it is closed book, only 34% pass the test. Now I know all you young ens out there will think big deal. Well it is a big deal because most test I take, at least in my profession, is open book, open notes. There isn't really any reason to memorize anything because in the real world you can always open a book to find out what you need to know.

My problem with closed book or memorization test is my brain or hard drive is already full. If I want to remember anything worth remembering I have to get rid of something from my memory. This isn't easy. I know I have all sorts of useless information floating around in my hard drive but you never know when I might need it. This is where I am like Grandma W I just can't throw nothing out. You never know when some of this information might become useful. Let's say you don't have any buttermilk to make your pancakes well I happen to know if you take a glass of milk and a tablespoon of lemon juiced or vinegar you can make a substitute for buttermilk. Or how about my old '72 Cutlass taking 5 quarts of oil whenever I changed the oil. I know useless information but if I ever run into someone with a 1972 Olds Cutlass and they want to know how many quarts of oil it takes I can tell them. Or how about the real dimensions of a 2x4 piece of lumber is really only 1-1/2" x 3-1/2"? I know who cares but you never know when it might come in handy.

So here is the problem my hard drive is full and how do I remember LEED info for a test? Easy, it's called RAM. That's right random access memory or the temporary memory I use when I am awake during the day. I crammed my head full a half hour before the test and I hoped I would be able to recall it when I needed it. It must have worked because I scored a 190 out of 200. When I left I did a brain dump and immediately forgot almost all I learned. Now just so you know I didn't just cram a half hour before the test I also spent a weekend and two nights reading and taking sample test. And just so you know I think I only passed one of the three sample test I had. I think the reason I didn't pass the sample test is I hadn't memorized anything yet.

Tonight I am happy because I agonized over this test for the last two months and it's finally over. It is like a big weight lifted off my shoulders. A month ago I got blamed for us losing two jobs because we didn't have a LEED AP person in our office. I got blamed because they expected me to be the person with the LEED AP. The real reason we lost the jobs is because the owners didn't go out aggressively enough to land the jobs for ourselves. They screwed up but they used me for the convenient scape goat. Needless to say as soon as a job opens up in either Michigan or back where I worked in Virginia I will be leaving here.

Well that's enough catching up for one night maybe tomorrow I can get back to football predictions.

Temporarily Unplugged

2008-10-10T08:24:00.002-04:00

I have been temporarily shutdown at home this past week. I have been having troubles with my dsl connection lately and I finally found the problem this past week. I have a bad modem. The new one is due to arrive either Saturday, if UPS delivers on Saturday, or next Tuesday.

Since I can't do my normal Sunday Dinner Episodes I will probably do 2 back to back next week to get caught up.

As far as football predictions let's just say the Lions will lose, I think that will be a safe bet.

Saturday Recap - How Long Before Hockey Starts?

2008-10-05T15:08:00.002-04:00

It was a rough day on Saturday for my football team. They looked like a young team again trying to find their way. I expected these kinds of days this year because Michigan is so young on offense but this game was lost by the big plays the defense gave up yesterday. Oh well what are you going to do? I look forward to watching them again next week. At least there is hope for them right now I am watching the Lions and the score is 31-7 in favor of the Bears.

What a joke.

Again I didn't watch Notre Dame play but they must of had a good first half. It looks like Sarah will have a bowl game to go to this year.

As far as Michigan State is concerned their defense won the game yesterday. Just as I thought if you can stop Ringer you have a chance to beat them. Ringer didn't have a great day yesterday and MSU only scored 16 points. As more teams figure out how to stop Ringer MSU will start to struggle to win games.

Michigan Tech had a good afternoon. Once again here is the article from the MTU website:

"HUSKIES BITE NO. 25 BULLDOGS FOR 21-7 HOMECOMING WIN
Written by: Michigan Tech
Release: 10/04/2008

HOUGHTON, Mich. — Phil Milbrath rushed for a career-high 202 yards and Michigan Tech’s defense came oh-so-close to a shutout in a 21-7 Homecoming win over No. 25 Ferris State at Sherman Field this afternoon. The seventh-largest crowd in school history of 2,989 saw the Huskies outgain the Bulldogs 389-240 in total yards to improve to 4-2 overall and 3-2 in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

Tech held possession of the ball for more than 37 of the game’s 60 minutes. Nearly 10 minutes of that possession time came during the only scoring drive of the first half. The Black and Gold started on their 14 yard line and ran off 18 plays before Milbrath tallied his 13th touchdown of the season on a six-yard run.

The score was 7-0 at halftime, and game remained a field position battle until early in the fourth quarter. Ferris State downed a punt at the one-yard line to pin the Huskies back.

Quarterback Steve Short then guided the hosts on a 99-yard drive to paydirt. A 46-yard pass to Bobby Slowik was the key play on the drive before Short sprinted inside the right pylon for a 14-0 lead.

After Tech’s Ben Foelker intercepted his first career pass on FSU’s ensuing possession, Milbrath put the game away with a 52-yard run.

Ferris pulled starting quarterback Tom Schneider in favor of Kyle Parrish on the Bulldogs’s final drive of the game. It paid off as Parrish found Rahseem Jones-Salaam for a 30-yard touchdown pass with 34 seconds remaining.

“Our defense played really well today,” said head coach Tom Kearly. “They maybe deserved to get the shutout. To hold the No. 25 team in the country off the scoreboard until under a minute to play was big.”

The Tech defense allowed just 13 first downs and only 100 yards passing in the game. Junior safety David Carmody led the defense with 10 total tackles. Senior linebacker Sean Spellman tallied eight tackles.

Milbrath’s 200-yard performance was the first of his career and boosted his season total to 806 yards. The sophomore, who entered the game as the GLIAC’s leading scorer, added two touchdowns to run his season total to 14 TDs.

Short finished 11-of-18 for 130 yards passing. His favorite target was Keith White, who snared four balls for 44 yards.

“Steve managed the game well once again. We took what the defense was giving us, which was a normal box and extra coverage downfield. The running game was there all day, and Phil was a real workhorse today.”

Michigan Tech improved to 3-1 at home this season and 10-2 in its last 12 games at Sherman Field.

The Huskies will travel to Findlay next Saturday (Oct. 11) for a noon kickoff.

Notes: Tech has won six straight games over Ferris State including last year's Homecoming contest. The Huskies have won six consecutive Homecoming games overall ... The Huskies were 34 seconds away from their first shutout since Nov. 11, 2000, a 34-0 win over Findlay."

A least one of my teams are doing good this year.

Here is this weeks top 5 and I am sure it will change by next week.

This weeks top 5:
1. Oklahoma
2. Missouri
3. Alabama
4. LSU
5. Texas

I moved Missouri to No. 2 because they were impressive and Alabama only had a so so game other than that no other changes this week. Look for changes next week because Texas and Oklahoma play each other.

My Heisman is as follows:
Max Hall - Brigham Young University - Quarterback
Tim Tebow - Florida - Quarterback
Chase Danials - Missouri - Quarterback
Sam Bradford - Oklahoma - Quarterback
Javon Ringer - MSU - Running Back
Colt McCoy - Texas - Quarterback

If you don't know already we had visitors this weekend. Mom and her friend Helen Grass stayed for the weekend. Now I have to ask how many of you out there have ever had your second grade teacher over for a weekend? Mrs. Grass, as she was known way back when, was my second grade teacher. She even taught me a couple of things this weekend. She knew what kind of pear tree we had in our yard and explained what the pears are good for. She took some home with her and she is making some pear relish. I am looking forward to trying some of her pear relish.

With visitors comes some responsibility to entertain. What do you do to entertain to senior citizens? Well apparently not much, all they wanted to do was take a drive and see the diary farms in the area. One of the impressive things in this area are the farms. They are taken care of with many of the old barns still standing and still in use. They also wanted to see the wind generators in the area. You see we have lots of wind generators for producing electricity around us. The last I knew there were more than 200 in this area.

This picture was taken a couple of weeks ago from atop of a cheese plant. This is a small sampling of the wind generators in the area.

Our first stop of the day though was at the local farmers market to pick up our produce for the weekend.

We also took a trip to the cheese factory, at least that's what we call it. The real name is Cedar Valley Cheese. It is an actual cheese factory with a store in the front. We all spent way to much money in there it's not hard to do if you like cheese.

After that we bought some groceries for out Saturday night meal. Even though I was doing the cooking I wanted to cook something on the grill. I wanted them to choose but they left it up to me and if you leave it up to me this is what you will get stuck with.

And if that isn't good enough for you you will also get stuck with some of this.

Mom bought some beets and roasted them. Once everything was on the table this is what it looked like.

How do you like that kids? This is the best meal I have had in a long time. Did you take a good look in the upper left corner of the table? What is it? Could it be? Want a closer look? Here you go.

Not quite sure yet? Want a better look?

Oh yeah red cake. It don't get no better than that. What a great way to top off a great meal.

Normally on Sunday mornings I will just have some eggs and toast but since we had company I normally make something different like pancakes and eggs. The last time mom was here I must have mentioned the french toast I make whenever Amy is here. She asked me to make it because she wanted to try it. This isn't just any french toast this is................

.........Banana Stuffed French Toast.

Ohh this is good stuff especially if you have homemade maple syrup to go with it.

With breakfast being done the women packed up and left for Door County here in Wisconsin.

It was nice having visitors here for the weekend since we don't get to many around here. What isn't nice is the Lions just lost 34-7. Maybe they will fire someone else this week.

Sunday Dinner - 28 September 2008

2008-10-03T20:33:00.002-04:00

Okay so I'm running a little late this week, again. I've been getting home at night and been a little lazy this week. I have no real excuse its not like I have been overly busy at work this week. It's just one of those lazy weeks. Maybe reading about the 49 mile bike journey wore me out. I guess I'm not sure but that's my story for now and I's sticking to it.

This weeks Sunday Dinner Episode isn't about any great ideas I came up with this week or about any inspiring cooking shows I watched this week. Nope this weeks Sunday Dinner comes from the freezer. You see I am trying to clean out the freezer right now so we can start to load it up again this fall with soups and gumbos. By having soups and gumbos at your fingertips in the freezer you always have something to eat on those lazy days. I know, I know my freezer isn't big enough right now for those lazy days.

Enough about that let's get on with this weeks Sunday Episode. Let me introduce you to this weeks episode.

Barbecue pork with cole slaw. One of my favorite meals of all time. If you slow cook the pork butt (I'm not sure why it is call a pork butt since it comes from the front shoulder of the pig)it will turn out nice and moist and some of the most favorable meat you can eat. Mmmm I love the stuff.

This weeks cast of characters includes the following.

Pretty simple really. First thing we must do is make up a rub for the pork butt. To do this simply dump a few ingredients into a bowl and mix them up.

There are so many different rubs out there you can buy or like me you can make your own. The most important thing to remember is use what you like and like what you use. I think we have heard that before eh?

The idea of a rub is to just what the name implies, rub it all over the meat. Pretty obvious huh? After the rub is rubbed all over to your liking it's time to go to the grill.

As you can see I have added a pan of apple juice, water and some left over white wine I had. Why the white wine? Because like I said it was left over and why not use it up.

While the pork is cooking away its time to make up some cole slaw. Normally I will just buy the jarred stuff off the shelf buy today I decided to make my own. As you can see it pretty simple ingredients.

Let's check in on the pork butt.

Mmm, looking good. I did try one thing different with this pork butt. Normally I would cook the pork butt for 10-12 hours on the smoker somewhere between 200-225 degrees. I have read a couple of recipes lately that said to cook the pork from 300-350 degrees and it will cut the cooking time in half. I decided to try it to see if there was any difference or not and see if cooking the pork butt is worth the extra 4 hours or so.

Let's take a look at the finished product.

What do you think? Can you tell I cooked it in half the time? Well to be honest it looks good and it tasted good but, but it isn't as good as cooking it for 10-12 hours. It was lacking some good smokey flavor I can get when it cooks for 10-12 hours. I will give it a 4 out of 5 forks this time, good but not excellent.

To be honest though it did come out good enough to do it again. When the time doesn't permit and I am feeling like bbq pork I will definitely do this again.

Oh should I mention the bonus of cooking a whole pork butt? Just in case I didn't I will now, with the leftovers you can make bbq pork pizza. Take a look.

Good stuff.

Saturday Recap - It Was a Wild Ride

2008-09-28T10:04:00.003-04:00

Whew I'm glad that's over. I'm not sure I can take much more of that. What am I talking about? How about yesterdays Michigan Wisconsin game. Watching that game yesterday was like being on a roller coaster of emotions. In the first half I went from trying to figure out if they would ever win another game this year, to are they ever going to score again, to are they ever going to get another first down again. I knew a year ago when Michigan lost its entire offense and hired a new coach to instill a new offensive system this could be a long ugly year. I just didn't think it could get this ugly. Then the second half started. I mean how bad could Michigan lose? 38-0? I didn't think so because Wisconsin is the type of team to come out and run the football to take time off the clock, of course I was counting on Michigan not turning the football over 5 times in the second half too.

Then it started, slowly at first, you could see the game starting to change. Michigan's defense started to exert themselves, and let's give the defense huge props here because they never quit, they stopped Wisconsin on several 3 and outs. Meanwhile the Michigan offense started to eek out a first down here and there. Pretty soon they are moving the football. Michigan finally scores and the game is now 19-7.

There's a pulse, the stadium is finally coming to life, the offense is starting to show flashes of what it can do. Another 3 and out for the Wisconsin offense. The Michigan defense is starting to take over the line of scrimmage. Meanwhile the offense gets the ball back and promptly drives down the field and scores another touchdown, score 19-14. Now I am on the edge of the couch urging the defense on to stop them again and give the offense another chance. I didn't have to wait long, I didn't even have to wait for the offense to get another chance. The defense took matters into their own hands and intercepted the first pass and returned it for a touchdown. I am no longer sitting on the edge of the couch I'm now standing, celebrating with the 109,000 fans in the stands and the countless others watching on TV, silently singing the Victors fight song in my head while the band is playing it on TV in the background. The score is Michigan 20 Wisconsin 19.

There is still a lot of time left on the clock, too much time on the clock if you ask me. How long does it take for 8-9 minutes of a football game to tick off a clock? When it is your favorite football team and they are struggling for wins this season and are hanging on by a thread that 8-9 minutes seems like an eternity.

Then Michigan stops them again and the offense gets the ball back. A long run by Threet, classic spread offense play, a few runs up the middle and Michigan pounds the ball in the end zone again. I can't believe what I have just witnessed. Michigan down 19-0 at half, only 1 first down in the first half, 5 turnovers in the first half, and now they are ahead 27-19 with 4-5 minutes left in the game.

Michigan isn't out of the woods yet. They only have an 8 point lead and all Wisconsin needs is a touchdown and 2 point conversion to tie it up. If you are a Michigan fan you know they are capable of blowing a lead like this and end up breaking your heart. The last 4-5 minutes are a nervous time trying to get the clock to speed up trying to get this game to end. Wisconsin had other ideas, they drive the ball down the field and score with only 13 second left on the clock. The score is now 27-25, within one 2 point conversion of being tied. Now it's time to pray. This isn't Notre Dame where touchdown Jesus presides over the football field and miracles just happen, nope this is Michigan where is seems bad things tend to happen to the home team. I didn't want overtime, regardless what happens Wisconsin still is the better team and I figured if it went into overtime Wisconsin would pull out a victory. I am now sitting back down nervously waiting for the 2 point conversion try. Wisconsin quarterback drops back, passes, and caught in the end zone.

DAMMIT!!!

I slumped back into the couch thinking overtime. But I was also thinking I don't care how this game comes out Michigan showed me something today. They showed me they won't quit as a team. They showed me they can be competitive this year. They showed me what is in store in the future with the spread offense at Michigan and all the athletes Michigan has. The defense showed me they are a presence to be reckoned with, they will keep Michigan in games this year and if the offense can muster a little bit of offense they will have a chance to win. Regardless of what happens I am extremely happy with the second half.

But wait a minute, there is a flag on the play, a penalty. Who is it on? Come on, please be Wisconsin.

Ref: "Penalty Wisconsin, illegal formation, 5 yard penalty, replay 2 point conversion attempt."

I can't believe it, is Touchdown Jesus in the Michigan tunnel somewhere looking over the Wolverines? I don't care what it is Michigan has a second chance. Now I am back to standing up to watch the last play.

The Wisconsin quarterback drops back and fires the ball through the end zone.

"INCOMPLETE, IMPCOMPLETE, MICHIGAN WINS, MICHIGAN WINS!!!!!!"

Now I can go to the party tonight where all the Wisconsin grads will be and not have to listen to them tell me how Michigan is a terrible team and is not longer relevant.

While watching the first half I couldn't help but think it looked more like men verses boys out there and sadly to say Michigan was the boys. It was hard to watch, the fumbles, the interceptions, the futility of the entire offense. It's a good thing Michigan has a good defense. I know they gave up 19 points in the first half but the offense kept putting them in bad field position. Out of those 19 points there was only one touchdown scored.

But today the boys grew up a little bit. Do I think Michigan football is back and a force to be reckoned with? No, I am realistic and I know there will be plenty of rough stretches ahead with this young team. I am just hoping they finish at least .500 so they get to a bowl game. This is a team that can beat any team in the Big 10 but at the same time they can lose to any team in the Big 10 and I think their chances of losing are better than their chances of winning. I have said it before and I will probably say it again this team will only go as far as their defense can take it.

If nothing else at least for one day they gave me some hope.

I watched some of the MSU game and I have to say I am not as impressed with them this week as I was for the last 3-4 weeks. Maybe they had a slight letdown after their big win over ND last week, it wouldn't surprise me if that is what happened. I thought their defense was better than they played yesterday and the offense looked to one dimensional. MSU is relying on Jevon Ringer too much and somewhere down the line they will pay. I'm not sold on MSU anymore and I will have to give them a couple of more weeks to see how they play.

I didn't get to watch the Notre Dame game but it looks like they got their offense untracked. Now let's not forget this was against a terrible Purdue defense but ND still managed to score 38 points and for that we must give them their props. ND has an easy schedule from here on out (other than USC) and it wouldn't surprise me if they play on new years. Shoot let's be honest ND can have 4 losses and play on new years and still be in a BSC game. I can't complain to much though because Michigan gets bowl games they don't deserve too.

Michigan Tech didn't fare to well this weekend. They traveled to that team in Grand Rapids and played. Here is the article from the Michigan Tech website this morning.

"ALLENDALE, Mich. — No. 2-ranked Grand Valley State controlled tonight’s battle of nationally-ranked teams, defeating No. 23-ranked Michigan Tech, 52-6. The Lakers improved to 4-0, while the Huskies fell to 3-2 overall and 2-2 in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

GSVU scored on each of its first five drives and seven-of-nine possessions in the first half to grab a 45-0 lead at halftime.

In the second half, Tech took its opening drive to the endzone. Phil Milbrath chewed up 34 yards before Steve Short found Keith White open across the goalline. Tyler Cattelino’s extra point bounced off the right upright, leaving the score 45-6.

After stopping the Lakers on their first drive of the second half, Tech’s Akeem Cason broke off a 63-yard run to the GVSU 10. The visitors worked their way to a second-and-goal situation before turning the ball over on downs.

Grand Valley capped the game’s scoring at the 5:29 mark of the fourth quarter.

Cason finished with game-high 98 yards on 11 carries. Short was 8-of-15 for 66 yards.

Defensively, Tech posted nine tackles for loss including four sacks. Eleven different players had tackles for loss. Drew Vanderlin recorded seven tackles including 1.5 sacks. Freshman Chet White had a team-high nine tackles in the game.

Michigan Tech will return to Sherman Field next Saturday (Oct. 4) for Homecoming. The Huskies host Ferris State for a 1 p.m. kickoff."

Next week will be another tough test with Ferris. Let's hope for a better outcome.

Regarding this weeks top five I think we are in a highly fluid situation. With the best teams in the SEC and Big 12 conferences they will continue to knock each other in and out of the top 5. With the limits being place on scholarships the big time programs like Michigan, ND, LSU, Florida, USC, etc. can't horde all the players out of high school anymore. This has evened out the competitive edge in college football and made it much more exciting to watch. You never know anymore who will win or who will lose.

Here is this weeks top 5 and I am sure it will change by next week.

1. Oklahoma
2. Alabama
3. Missouri
4. LSU
5. Texas

A lot of people have Penn State in their top 5 this week but all I can say is sorry I am not sold on any team in the Big 10 or the ACC.

This weeks top Heisman candidates again in no particular order.

Knowshon Moreno - Georgia - Running Back
Tim Tebow - Florida - Quarterback
Chase Danials - Missouri - Quarterback
Jeremy Maclin - Missouri - Receiver
Javon Ringer - MSU - Running Back
Colt McCoy - Texas - Quarterback

And one last thing for a Saturday recap we must mention the passing of Paul Newman. He was one of my favorite actors while growing up. He will always be remembered for his movies but let's not forget about his foundations and charity work. He has donated over $250,000,000 to charities over the years. He is a true patriot.

Week 4 - Detroit Lions vs. The Bye Week

2008-09-25T20:31:00.003-04:00

Boy oh boy what a week for Lions fans. The ax finally fell on Matt Millen even if it was 2 years to late. I don't mind giving someone a chance but 7 years of futility? Come on Mr. Ford, no wonder your auto company has problems. In his seven years of drafting he drafted a wide receiver 4 different times. What other team has ever done this? I don't have a problem with Roy Williams or Calvin Johnson, both are worthy of a number one draft pick but Mike Williams and Charles Rogers? If the Lions did their homework on these two guys they would never have drafted them. Rogers had problems with illegal drugs while at MSU and Williams never had a good work ethic while at USC. These are things that a good scouting department will find out BEFORE they draft a player.

The first thing Millen did when he joined the Lions was fire the head of scouting for the Lions. I can't remember the guys name but can you guess where he ended up? How about the Pittsburgh Steelers. And we all know what they have done for the last seven years. I'm not saying the Lions would have the same success if they would have kept this scout but I really doubt if they would have sunk to such lows if he was still in charge of scouting.

Right now this team is a mess with the seven years of incompetent scouting. Millen has left the team with little talent but at least he is gone. Hopefully the Lions will get it right this time and hire someone with experience in building football teams. I am hoping for Floyd Reese or Ron Wolfe. Reese built the Tennesse Titans who went to the super bowl a few of years ago and Wolfe rebuilt the Packers from nothing. Whoever they hire can't do a worse job then Millen.

Let's talk about this weeks game. The Lions vs the bye week. Tough call but I give the advantage to the bye week.

Sunday Dinner - 21 September 2008

2008-09-23T19:16:00.002-04:00

The summer of 2008 has come to a close but the weather is still nice enough to grill outside. It's hard to tell how many more nice Sundays we will get for grilling but I am taking advantage of them while I can.

I try to do simple Sunday Dinner Episodes that are easy to reproduce in the home or outside on the grill. I think this weeks episode is a great example of this. Let me introduce you to Brick Chicken....

This is one of those things I have been wanting to try for sometime now. I was going to do it last weekend but the weather prevented me from trying. I really doesn't get much easier than this for cooking. Just follow along and see.

First the cast of characters for the first scene of this episode.

You may recognize these characters if you have been following along for the last few months. That's right these characters are for brining a chicken. But before we an brine the bird we have one thing that needs to be done.

We must cut the backbone out so the chicken will lay flat on the grill. Once the backbone is out we can mix up the brine, insert the bird and put everything in the ice box for a few hours.

When it comes time to grill take the bird out of the brine, rinse off and pat dry with paper towels. Patting the chicken dry is what will make the skin golden brown and crispy.

Time to get ready to introduce the cast of characters for scene 2.....

Pretty simple eh? I told you this would be simple cooking with simple ingredients. Brush or spray on olive oil and season with whatever seasonings you like. What is in the picture is what I chose, okay I didn't choose these ingredients they came from the my Weber grilling cookbook.

Now this is where this version of cooking chicken is different than others. You place the bird skin side down over high indirect heat and place bricks on top of it.

So you don't think that looks like bricks on top of the bird? Well good eye, since I don't own any bricks I used my cast iron frying pan with a lid on it.

The reason for the bricks (or frying pan) is it presses the skin down onto the grill for more even cooking. The second reason is the bird is suppose to cook a lot more even throughout.

After about 40 minutes flip the bird over and finish cooking it for 5 minutes or so directly over medium hot coals.

After it's cooked and plated with the rest of the meal it looks like this.....

That corn on the cob is best, I cooked it just like I did a couple of weeks ago. The chicken will get a 4.75 out of 5 forks. Nice and juicy, cooked evenly through and nice browning from the weight of the bricks, opps I mean frying pan. Definitely worth another try especially because how easy it is to cook.

In the end though let's be serious, it's just another way to cook chicken.

My Classic Movie Scenes

2008-09-22T20:01:00.002-04:00

After I looked at a post the other day with someones favorite Family Guy scenes it got me thinking about a post I have thought about doing for some time now. I have wanted to post some of my favorite movie scenes of all time but with all the elections stuff, football and meals to cook I haven't had time. Tonight I am finally going to take the time to do it.

If you watch these scenes you might see a pattern, perhaps a disturbing pattern.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, best western ever made, okay maybe Blazzin' Saddles is.

Cool Hand Luke, one of my favorites.

The Shining - This is the best of Steven King and the best of all suspense movies. I know a couple of punks that will remember this scene.

Fistful of Dollars, perhaps my favorite scene of all time. Whenever this movie comes I at least watch until the movie gets to this part.

Apocalypse Now, I love the smell of Napham in the morning. I love this scene he sits there and talks like he is in a mall parking lot. Bullets flying all around him and it doesn't faze him in the least.

The first Diry Harry movie where all the classic lines of Clint Eastwood came from.

More Dirty Harry from Sudden Impact.

Another from Sudden Impact

I could go on and on with Clint Eastwood movie scenes but I will stop for now. Maybe next time I will do some of my favorite comedy scenes.

Saturday Recap

2008-09-21T09:18:00.003-04:00

It's another early Sunday morning and while I am contemplating todays Sunday Dinner Episode I thought I might as well get yesterdays football games out of the way.

Michigan - A great day for Michigan football, they never turned the ball over one time, didn't give up a point on defense and the coaching was flawless. Oh, what did you say? Michigan didn't play yesterday? Well that was probably a good thing since the lawn didn't need mowing yesterday. I guess I will save the lawn until next weekend when they play Wisconsin.

Michigan Tech - Yes MTU Huskies, believe it or not they were on national TV Thursday night. They showed up on Fox Sports Detroit and also on CBSC which is the college sports station for CBS sports. I found them in time to watch the second half. Here is the game recap from the MTU website:

"Phil Milbrath exploded for 189 yards and four second half touchdowns to lead Michigan Tech to a 47-21 win at Northern Michigan tonight at the Superior Dome. The win, witnessed by 8,672 people at the dome and a national television audience on FSN Detroit and CBS College Sports, was accompanied by the Miner's Cup, the traveling trophy for the rivalry."

Pretty impressive eh?

Sorry all I could find for sports at MTU.

MSU and Notre Dame - Since they played each other yesterday this will be easy. I'm not sure what to make of this game yet. Is ND's offense that bad or is MSU's defense that good? I think it's the ND offense since they really haven't done much this year other than a couple of drives against San Diego State and maybe one against Michigan last week. I think Charlie needs to find another quarterback because the one he has now isn't showing any improvement. I will give credit to the MSU defense though they look much improved from a year ago.

I will give ND's defense props though. If it wasn't for Ringer this game would have stayed in the single digits for the final score. Any games ND wins this year will have to come from their defense, they are much improved. All I can say about the MSU offense is it's a good thing they have Ringer.

Since we are 4 weeks into the season it's time to start posting my top 5 football teams.

1. USC - Didn't play this week but still looked good
2. Oklahoma - Didn't play this week but still averaging over 50 points a game.
3. Missouri - Won over Buffalo 42-21
4. Florida - Won over Tennessee 60-6
5. Georgia - Won over Arizona State 27-10

Who to watch for: Any team in the SEC conference.

Top Heisman hopefuls (In no particular order)

Knowshon Moreno - Georgia (Don't you love that first name?) - running back - 23 rushes, 149 yards, 2 TDs
Tim Tebow - Florida - quarterback - 8 for 15 passing, 96 yards, 2 TDs
Chase Danials - Missouri - quarterback - 36 for 43 passing, 439 yards, 2 TDs
Jeremy Maclin - Missouri - receiver - 14 receptions, 168 yards, 2 rushes, 25 yards, 1 TD
Rey Maualuga - USC - Linebacker - Didn't play this week (I got to have a defensive player in there)
Javon Ringer - MSU - running back - 39 rushes, 201 yards, 2 TDs.

Week 3 - Detroit Pussycats vs. San Fransico 49's

2008-09-20T08:41:00.002-04:00

There is no reason known to man why I should keep following the Lions. Well maybe there is one to see how close they end up to the number one pick in next years draft.

This week they are playing a team in as bad as shape as they are in. Will this give them a chance? Hell no. The 49's are the team that hired Mike Martz after the Lions fired him last year. After that they signed the second or third string quarterback from the Lions roster last year and inserted him as their number one quarterback. I read somewhere this week where Martz would still prefer Kitna over O'Sullivan. I say give him to them, please.

I expect O'Sullivan to have a career day tomorrow. Martz is the type of guy that will do anything to get revenge on a former employer. He thinks he is a offensive genius and his system will work anywhere. I am not a Martz fan but I too think his system will work against the Lions. Everyones system works against the Lions.

As for the Lions if you watch last weeks game I think Kitna quit on the Lions and the fans. I think he quit before he threw the interceptions, in fact I think he quit before the game started. The players know this too because there is a lot of distention inside the locker room right now. Kitna doesn't think Martz should have been fired from the Lions last year. He believed in his system and likes to play in his system. Some of the other players don't share the same sentiments as Kitna about Martz and so there is a locker room divided. I think the only way to cure this problem is to get rid of Kitna and play one of the other quarterbacks. It is time to make changes, big changes if the Lions ever want to be a NFL franchise again.

My prediction for the game is SF 38 Lions 13. Kitna will be replaced at half time and hopefully cut from the team before the bye week gets here. It is time to play one of the other quarterbacks.

Luckily Michigan doesn't play this week so I can avoid some more embarrassment this week. Since they don't play I thought I should throw my 2 cents worth in on the MSU vs Notre Dame game. This might the year for MSU, it has been about 20 years since the last good year. ND will struggle against the MSU running game (the MSU running game is called Ringer). ND gave up large chunks of yardage last week to Michigan who is inexperienced with all the freshman starting for them. I just can't see ND stopping MSU. I also think ND will have a huge letdown this week and couple that with MSU having this game circled on their calender for the last year I think this could get ugly. Prediction MSU 35 ND 17 and that's being kind.

Sunday Dinner - 14 September 2008

2008-09-17T22:08:00.004-04:00

Mother nature reared its ugly head this weekend and completely changed my plans for this weeks Sunday Dinner Episode. I shouldn't complain because I can't begin to even count how many Sundays in a row I have been able to use the grill outside. Sunday morning when I woke up the rain was still coming down (thank you Ike) so I jumped into the car and headed to the grocery store with a new plan for this week.

I always have a few things stored away in my noggin just for days like this. Since it is fall and the weather is cooling off it's a good time for some chowder. And since it is turning to fall and I am making chowder the wife is asking me to make corn chowder.

The wife likes her corn chowder so come fall she will ask and ask for me to make it so I thought I might as well get it out of the way this year. Besides this is a good time for corn chowder because you can still find good corn on the cob.

Let's meet this weeks cast of characters.

Quite a cast this week don't you think?

First thing to do is find that old friend called the dutch oven. Some of the best winter time meals come from this vessel. Start out with browning some apple smoked ham.

While the ham is browning we might as well chop up some veggies.

I can't remember if this is a mirepoix or trinity. Just looked it up on the internet it is a mirepoix. Whatever, throw it in the pot......

.....and cook until veggies are soft.

I should mention this because like every other week I forgot one cast member in the picture above, the white wine. I used about a half of cup of white wine to deglaze the dutch oven after the veggies were cooked. I let this cook until the white wine is almost evaporated and then I move on.

Chop up some potatoes and add them to the pot and then just add enough chicken broth (low sodium) to cover potatoes and bring to a boil. While waiting for the pot to come to a boil we might as well cut the corn off the cob.

Hey don't throw those cobs out we can still use them. Add the cobs to the boiling mixture and turn down to a simmer.

Let simmer until the potatoes are tender.

Once the potatoes are tender you have a decision to make. Do you like your chowder thick or thin? I prefer mine thick and since I am cooking today I am going to make it thick. All I do is take a spoon and smash the potatoes against the side of the dutch oven until I have the chowder to the thickness I like.

Once this is done I add the corn we cut off the cobs earlier and then I add the half and half.

If you can find real cream it is much better but if you are like me you don't really need any real cream in your life. I suppose you could use regular milk too but hey let's not get to carried away.

I heat this back up real slow so the corn will cook but I don't let it come back to a boil.

While the chowder is heating back up I get my garnish ready.

And cut some bread because whenever you are going to have soup you need bread.

And now it is time for the final picture with everything put together.

A little close up of the garnish.

I love green onions on any soup, chowder, or chili.

This weeks Sunday Episode gets a 5 out of 5 spoons. I think the apple smoked ham and the fresh corn on the cob put this chowder over the edge. I think it might be my best effort to date for corn chowder.

The next cold day you have give this one a try. Easy to make and you probably have most of the ingredients on hand. I have made it several times without ham or bacon and it still comes out good.

Why You Can't Trust Politcal Ads

2008-09-16T20:15:00.004-04:00

Have I ever mentioned that I hate political ads? The candidates distort daily what was said the day before by the other candidate. The reason I am bringing this up tonight is because after I got home tonight and turned on the news (yes it was Fox News) there was a great example of what a candidates will do to distort the news. This clip is appearing in an Obama campaign ad.

Here is what was really said.

I can't believe a candidate is allowed to distort a quote this bad. I know it happens to both sides but this is ridiculous. How can a candidate do such a hatchet job on a quote? Where is the responsibility? Why do us Americans put up with this crap during every election? This is the type of crap that turns off people from voting. Don't the candidates know this or are they just to out of touch to care? Whatever it is something has to happen and hold people accountable for this kind of BS. Let's get this straight I am not blaming Obama for this ad. I blame his political machine who will stop at nothing to get him elected.

I'm sure Obama doesn't screen every ad for him running for president just like McCain doesn't either but somewhere someone has to take some accountability for these ads. Just like Harry S. Truman said "The buck stops here." Obama and McCain need to rein in their marketing departments and stop this crap before they turn off the entire voting population.

As I write this tonight I am listening to Gov. Hucklebee say the same thing I have been ranting about. Just knock it off, both of you and talk about the real issues that Americans care about.

This is one more reason why you can't believe a lot of the stuff your see or hear. It's enough to make your head spin.

The Tread is Cut

2008-09-14T17:58:00.002-04:00

That's it. I've had enough. Today I took the first step to rid myself of the Lions. I reached down and cut the thin thread of hope I had left for the Lions. For the rest of the year I am going to take delight watching them fall all the way down to the first pick of next years NFL draft. The race is on and I'm not sure anyone can stop the Lions from getting that pick.

What is it with Kitna? He has never won with any other team he has been with so what makes the Lions think they can win with him? I just don't get it. Am I the only one who thinks the Lions would be better off with either Orvlosky or Stanton? The Lions would be better off with one of the Michigan quarterbacks right now. How can a quarterback be so stupid as to throw the three interceptions in the fourth quarter? These weren't great interceptions the Packers came up with they were bad throws. Believe me I am a Charles Woodson fan but he didn't do anything great to intercept those balls.

And speaking about Charles Woodson I am still upset the Lions didn't go after him when he was available 3 or 4 years ago. This guy takes away half the field all by himself when he plays corner on defense. With him on the field all the Packers have to do is defend the other half. How could the Lions miss this? He did the same thing in Oakland when he played there. Oh that's right, the reason is Matt Millen.

I'm not even starting with Matt Millen. I don't have enough time or memory on my computer to go there.

I have to give the Lions defense credit today though. After they gave up huge chunks of yardage in the first half they could have quit but they came out and played a good second half. They only made one real mistake and that was on the long pass play that set up the go ahead score in the fourth quarter. Even after this score the Lions still had a chance to win. All they had to do was drive down the field and kick a field goal. Thank you Jon Kitna.

If I were the Lions I wouldn't even let this guy hold the clip board on the sidelines. Hey Millen SEND HIM PACKING NOW!!! Please before it's to late.

Okay I'm done, I feel better. Go Patriots.

Oh yeah one more thing if you can't call me when your favorite team is losing then don't call me when they are winning. Don't expect me to get up and answer the phone just so you can rub it in.

Okay now I'm done.

Saturday Recap

2008-09-13T21:59:00.002-04:00

Okay I will give credit where credit is due Notre Dame won the game today. Both teams had to play in the same conditions with the same refs. But I must give a recap of the game and the way I saw it.

First of all Michigan. The youth of Michigan's offense really came out in this game. In the first quarter alone they committed two fumbles, one was a lateral behind the quarterback, and they were costly. Once Michigan was down by 14 points I knew they would have a hard time coming back because their offense isn't clicking yet. I have to give the young Wolverines credit though because they did fight back only to give the ball up down near the goal line, twice. It is hard to win when you give up the ball like that. Hopefully they will learn.

The defense was alright, they didn't really do anything to lose the game but they didn't give a dominate performance like I was hoping to win it either. The defense will need to get better because the offense will struggle all year to win games for them.

After ND beating them today I think I may have to revise my picks for the rest of the year. I am hoping for a 4-8 season now.

As for ND I hope the fans don't get to caught up in this victory because ND didn't really win this game as much as Michigan lost it. Michigan out gained them on offense and that isn't a good sign considering Michigan's recent struggles on offense. I will give ND's offense a break because it was pretty ugly weather during the game. Michigan gave them the first 14 points of the game. Let's keep in mind too that ND gave up 131 rushing yards to a freshman running back behind a very inexperienced offensive line. Wait until ND plays MSU, a team with a real running game.

This is a feel good game for ND and they needed one but next week against MSU they will be brought back to reality. But enjoy it for this week. It wouldn't surprise to see ND show up in the top 25, heck they will probably show up in the top 5 rankings because the national media will be gushing all over them thinking the magic of Charlie Weis is back.

As for MSU I watched the game and it was pretty ugly. I have to give them a break though because of the weather. MSU was lucky to have a running back of Ringer's capability for a day like today. He certainly made the difference today. He will give ND fits next week. This could finally be the year for MSU with a win next week they should have the confidence to play with anybody in the Big Ten. I will give props to MSU's defense too for getting a shut out today.

It is half time for Ohio State right now and it isn't looking good. USC's speed is showing up in the game. OSU looks a half step slower right now. I will say this though that Terrel Pryor is going to be a great college quarterback. Michigan was so close to getting him and what a difference it would have made if they did.

Week 2 - Green Bay Packers vs Detroit Lions

2008-09-11T21:15:00.007-04:00

Sometimes all we have is hope and sometimes the hope we cling to is a thread, a very, very thin thread. The thread of hope I cling to is frayed and looks like it might be about to snap. This thread of hope is about 40 years old now so you would expect the thread to be old and worn out. You may wonder what is on the other end of this thread of hope or you may already know, it's the Detroit Lions. I don't know why this thread hasn't broke by now and if it doesn't break soon I just might end up cutting it with a pair of shears.

Now mind you there are ways to fix it but the problem is only the Detroit Lions can fix it and I am not sure they can do it. How can they fix this thin thread of hope and start to make it into a thick rope? How about start by finishing the season at or above .500. From here make the playoffs and maybe just maybe actually win a playoff game. Then we can start to dream Super Bowl. Just imagine if the Lions won the Super Bowl the celebration in downtown Detroit. It may not equal the Cubbies if they ever win the World Series but it would be close.

After last weeks debacle in Atlanta where the worse team in the NFL last year manhandled the Lions little hope was left for the rest of the year. I mean how can you give up 7.6 yards per carry and three of those carries was the quarterback taking a knee at the end of the game. How can you allow the worse team in the NFL to set a new franchise record for rushing? How can you let a rookie quarterback playing his first game in the NFL complete his first pass for a 74 yard touchdown? Where are these great wide receivers of the Lions? And why aren't the Lions utilizing them more? Where are this years draft picks? Are the picks so bad that they can't even start on a team like the Lions? That whole game was an embarrassment for a Lions fan.

The Packers, whom the Lions play on Sunday, looked like the same old Packers of the last 16 years. Their defense was good and the offense looked like it never missed a beat even though Brett Farve is gone. Aaron Rogers even threw a couple of passes like Brett would throw.

It's just like the old saying goes "The more things change the more they stay the same." With that being said this weeks prediction Lions 31 Packers 17. That's right you read that right, Lions 31 Packers 17. Why would I pick the Lions? Only by gut feeling. I have a theory (one of many when it comes to picking winners and most don't mean a thing) when picking NFL teams; when a team is on the road and loses bad watch out when they come home to play. They usually play with a chip on their shoulder and they go out with something to prove. Same holds true in reverse when a team comes off a good home game and goes on the road, especially after playing on Monday night, they can have a let down. That is my hope for this week no matter how thin the thread may be getting.

Let the laughter begin.

Sunday Dinner - 7 September 2008

2008-09-10T22:20:00.003-04:00

It's a new chapter in the Sunday Dinner Episodes starting with this week. Now I must warn you this weeks episode might not seem so different from this past summer but as long as the weather holds out I will still use the grill. Plus if I am going to be doing some tailgating episodes I almost have to do them with a grill. I mean let's get real have you ever saw a stove and oven at a tailgate party?

This weeks episode is something I have been wanting to do for some time now. Originally I was going to post this meal as a random weekly post but the more I thought about it the more I thought this would make a great first tailgating Episode.

What am I talking about? Well let's take a look......

Hamburgers, well at least for the wife mine is actually a cheese burger.

You are probably looking at the picture right now thinking to yourself "That cheap bastard didn't even use hamburg buns." There is a reason for that, the first hamburgers ever made were made with plain white toasted bread with no condiments. The place that claims to have invented hamburgers is still in business today and still uses the same gas fired toasters they used in the beginning. And from what I understand if you go in there and ask for ketchup you won't get it. I'm not that radical and maybe I am being a little cheap by not using hamburg buns but I get tired of watching half of them mold and being thrown out.

I normally start out with sirloin burger because it has little fat content but the store didn't have sirloin this week so I had to settle for ground chuck. Sirloin does cost a little more per pound but when it is just the wife and I it doesn't really add to no more then a few pennies.

Hamburgers are on of my favorite food groups so I don't know why I don't eat them more. In the summer we eat them about once per month and in the winter even less. Maybe it's that fast food stigma that gets attached to hamburgers. I stay away from fast food so maybe that is why I don't eat many hamburgers any more.

Enough of the chit chat let's get on with the real reason we are here. First let's introduce the main cast of characters.

If you noticed I didn't use the above mentioned white bread for toast. I use the bread I have on hand and this week like all weeks it is wheat bread.

First things first and we must cook the bacon.

After the bacon comes the onions....

I spray olive oil on them and then sprinkle some salt and pepper on them too.

After the onions have a good start it is time for the star of the show, the burger.

Once the burger is cooked it is time to bring out the structural engineers and start building the burger, my ultimate burger.

Stack those grilled onions on...

Now some bacon....

And yes that is apple smoked bacon.

And now for the finishing touch....

Grande Provolone cheese, simply the best of provolone cheeses.

Lower the grill top for a couple of minutes and presto.....

....my ultimate cheese burger. Oops not yet we must prepare the toast.

Spray a little olive oil on the bread and watch them carefully it doesn't take to long to burn them. Believe me I know I have done it.

The only thing left to do is to decide on condiments.

My choices are kosher dill pickles, stacker style, dijon mustard, and Frank's Red Hot.

Put all this together and this is what you have....

The ultimate cheese burger, well at least my ultimate cheese burger. That's the beauty of hamburgers there is a thousand ways to make them and everybody has their own favorite.

The potato salad will get a 3.5 out of 5 forks because our quaint little market didn't have fresh dill available and I was to lazy to drive into Plymouth to find it. The burger will get a 5 out of 5 because after all this is MY ultimate burger.

Now tell me what is your ultimate burger?

Saturday Recap

2008-09-07T10:11:00.006-04:00

I thought I should do a quick recap of football games played on Saturday especially since Michigan and Notre Dame play each other next week.

Michigan
Boy oh boy Michigan could have lost this game as easily as they won it. The offense doesn't look good right now and I am not sure they will fare much better throughout the season. On the plus side Michigan has athletes at all the skilled positions it's too bad they are all freshman this year. The offensive line doesn't look good and you need a good offensive line with any offense to have any consistency. I would have more confidence in the running backs and quarterbacks if the offensive line could block. Let's talk quarterbacks, hey coach settle on one and only one quarterback. I don't care which one, although I prefer Treet, but settle on one and try to develop him. Treet missed some easy passes to some wide open receivers. If he completed his passes this game would have been a lot different. I think he will get better but it will take time.

Now the defense is a different story. The defense is playing the way people thought they would. They gave up some yardage to the Miami offense but the Miami quarterback is pretty good but still only managed to score 6 points against Michigan. For Michigan to finish above .500 this year the defense will have to continue to play this way. Oh boy I sound like a Notre Dame fan hoping to finish .500.

Notre Dame
I am going to give ND a pass this week. It is tough to play your first game against a team that has already played a game the week before even if it was San Diego State. You can see Jon Tenuta has put his stamp on the defense as they chased the quarterback all over the field. The offense is a different story. Jimmy Clausen showed flashes of what people expect him to be. Let's be serious though doesn't Clausen look more like a surfer dude that belongs on the beaches of California waiting for a tasty wave to ride? This offense should be better than it is by now. Charlie deserves the credit here as he is suppose to be a offensive guru. This could be a long year. I may have to revise my prediction for next week to 3-0 and I am not sure what team will get the 3. With Michigan, Michigan State and Purdue on the schedule in the next three weeks the year could go down hill fast for Notre Dame. If it does it will give ND plenty of time to find a new coach for next year. How about Brian Kelly or Skip Holtz?

Michigan State
Didn't watch any of the game but it looks like they might be on track this year. I don't know how good EMU is but when you win 35-7 against anybody these days it is pretty impressive. My only concern is the running back Ringer carrying the ball 35 times for 135 yards. They need him and if they continue to overwork him he may not be there by the end of the year when they need him most. Could this be the year?

Ohio State
Who cares right? They got caught looking ahead to next weeks game with USC. I was rooting for Ohio, the other Ohio, and the big upset but OSU got it together in time so this couldn't happen. Damn.

This years sleeper team is East Carolina coached by Skip Holtz. They defeated the Virgina Tech and West Virgina University in consecutive weeks. Pretty impressive. They have an easy schedule the rest of the year so it is conceivable for them to be undefeated by the end of the year. Is Skip a master motivator like his dad Lou? Did Lou burn to many bridges when he left ND? Could Skip be in line for the ND job next year? Time will tell.

Sunday Update:
It's official the Lions have been eliminated from the playoffs. Is there a dumber quarterback in the NFL than Kitna? There is a reason he has been cut from other teams. Do the Lions actually think they can win with him? I want to see Drew Stanton. If they are going to loose why not play a quarterback that might have a future with the Lions.

And don't get me started on the defense.

Anybody know of any other teams that might need a new fan? Tell them to send their resume to me I'm looking.

Lights, Camera, Action

2008-09-06T09:29:00.001-04:00

I got this idea a week ago about posting what it takes to get my Sunday Dinner Episodes on my blog. I never gave it much thought but I put in a lot of time to get these done. It may be time better spent elsewhere but it is my time and I can use it anyway I want.

1. Either early in the week or close to the weekend I try to come up with an menu or recipe I haven't done yet. As weeks go by this gets more and more difficult to do. I have grilling cook books, past recipes I have saved and the internet to search but it still takes time. I also have to find recipes both the wife and I like.

2. I will normally decide what I am cooking and then I decide how I am going to cook it. Just because I might find rack of lamb in a recipe book doesn't necessarily mean I am going to cook it according to that recipe. Now I have to search for the way I want to cook it or the way I think I or the wife might like it best. This takes time and I normally do this on Saturday morning before we go shopping so we only make one trip to the store. Going to the store around here can be a bit frustrating too. When we lived in Virginia we could find almost anything we needed for the recipes I use. Around here some items you would think should be easy to find isn't always necessarily so. I do try to use recipes with simple ingredients because the last thing I want to do is buy $5 ingredient and use it once.

3. When Sunday rolls around I figure out how much time I will need to cook the meal. I usually end up late because I never alot enough time. Once this if figured out I have to have get the camera set up to take pictures.

I never use a flash inside anymore I only use my tripod for still shots. This has made a big improvement in my pictures and I recommend it to anybody taking still shots inside.

4. Ingredients need to be lined up for their photo session but I always seem to miss an ingredient.

This actually helps because now everything is already out for me to use. As I use the ingredients I put them away so I don't use them twice.

5. At some point while I am preparing the meal of the week I have to go out and start the charcoal.

It will normally take anywhere from 20 to 30 minutes to have good hot coals to cook from.

Now it is time to decide do I cook over direct or indirect heat and do I need hot or medium coals to cook with. What I am cooking for the week will decide what heat or method I cook over. By now I have dragged the camera outside to start taking pictures of the cooking operation.

6. Time to start cooking.

By this time I am normally rushing around trying to take pictures while the food is cooking and also not letting to much heat escape by leaving the lid off to long.

7. Once everything is cooked it is time to eat. Not so fast my friend before we can eat pictures need to be taken of the final plating of the meal.

Now we can sit down and enjoy the meal.

Now you may be thinking to yourself "That doesn't seem to bad." Well to be honest I am only half done now. For me that is the easy part the hard part is still coming up.

8. By this time all the pictures have been taken. I normally will take between 40 and 50 pictures by the time I am done. Thank goodness for digital photography. The pictures get uploaded into the computer and I sort through them all getting rid of pictures I don't like. I try to save the best of the pictures and also try to get down to less then 10 for posting.

9. Once I have chosen the pictures I want it is time to Photshop them. That's right I use Photoshop on all my pictures thanks to my much older sister. This takes time cropping, adjusting contrast, sharping, adjusting colors, etc. I think it's worth it because it will take an average picture (one of my average pictures) and turn it into a good picture.

10. After the Photoshopping has been done I upload all my pictures to the Photobucket website. Why do I do this? I discovered you can control the size of the pictures much easier. Plus it gives a backup place for my pictures. I discovered the Photobucket website from older sister again. I couldn't figure out how she was able to get those nice big pictures on her blog until one day I noticed if you double click on the picture it would take you to her Photobucket site where she stores her pictures. Well I'll be a monkeys Uncle that is how she does it. I have been doing it ever since I discovered this. If you double click on one of my pictures it will now take you to my Photobucket site where all my pictures reside that goes onto my blog. If you ever see a picture you want from my blog you can go here and get it. And to let you in on a little secret every now and then if you go there you can get a sneak preview of upcoming posts. Sometimes I upload my pictures a couple of days before I post them on my blog.

11. This is the hard part for me. This is the part I wish I had paid more attention in English class. This is the part where I must write the Sunday Dinner Episode. Sometimes I think I would be better off letting the pictures tell the story. It takes me anywhere from 1-2 hours to write an episode. I will write, edit, write, edit, write some more, edit some more and when I finally think I am done I hit preview and so I can view what it looks like before it goes on my blog. I normally will find mistakes and correct them and then hit preview one more time and check it again. I still make mistakes that get onto the blog but oh well, I knew when I started it wouldn't be perfect.

12. Finally I feel comfortable enough to hit the little orange button that says "Publish Post" at the bottom of the screen and let the whole world see what I am up to on Sunday.

There you go, this is what I do every week to get Sunday Dinners on my blog. This is why every now and then it takes a few extra days to get the Sunday Dinner Episode on my blog. I enjoy doing it because if I didn't I wouldn't do it.

Enjoy your Sunday Dinner this week.

Week 1 - Lions vs Falcons

2008-09-04T20:41:00.002-04:00

After my rousing success last week predicting the Michigan vs Utah game I thought I might as well try with the Detroit Lions too. I have been a long time Lions fan in fact just about as long as I can remember. I'm not one of these people who lived in the state of Michigan and for some ungodly reason roots for some other team. I'm also not one of those people that left the state and turned into a fan of the local team. Nope, I am a fan of the Lions through thick and thin and believe me there has been a lot of thin since I have been watching them.

Since I have been a fan of the Lions I have endured through Wayne Fonts "Deer in the headlight" comment and Daryl Rogers "What does someone have to do to get fired around here?" There have been so many quarterbacks it's hard to keep track of them all. The first quarterback I can remember for the Lions is Bill Munson and the latest Jon Kitna.

But the Lions have had their bright spots too. How about Lem Barney? He was a great cornerback and my favorite Lion along with Charlie Sanders when I was a kid. I got to see these favorites of mine along with Altie Taylor when they used to tour the state in the winter playing basketball in the local high school gyms. There have been others since like Barry Sanders, Robert Porche, and Chris Spielman.

I know the last few years have not been kind to Lions fans but one of these years, one of these years they will surprise everyone and turn it around. I am hoping it will be this year as I do every year.

I was thinking about doing a week by week prediction on the Lions season in one posting but I think I will do a prediction every week instead. My predictions will not be based on emotions, at least I will try not to let it, but I will try to honestly give my assessment of the upcoming game as best I can. I will warn you however I don't have the time to research the other team so most of my predictions will be based on how I think the Lions are playing at the moment, what they have done in the past, and the 3 win and lose rule. What is the 3 win and lose rule? Well for some reason most NFL teams won't win 3 games in a row or loose 3 games in row. It happens but more often and then not the 3 win or lose rule works.

Let's get on with this weeks game. This week the Lions go down to the Georgia Dome to take on the Atlanta Falcons. If there is one team in worse shape then the Lions it is the Falcons. The Falcons bring in a rookie quarterback and a new coach. The Lions finished the preseason 4-0 but that doesn't mean a thing right now because everyone starts over when the real season starts. But one thing I did see during the preseason games I was able to watch was a defense that is tackling better than I have seen them tackle in years. They led the entire NFL in defense in preseason and when is the last time this happened? It is the defense that gives me some hope this season. They revamped the secondary and if they can get a little pressure on the quarterback this year the defense will be just fine. That's why I think the Lions defense will handle the offense of the Falcons.

The offensive of the Lions will be interesting this year. I don't think they are as good as they looked during preseason because after all Jon Kitna is still their quarterback. I have never been a Kitna fan but with the two receivers he has all he has to do is throw the football up in the air and let someone run under it. This is the recipe the Minnesota Vikings used years ago when they had Randy Moss and Cris Carter playing receiver for them. But we are talking about Kitna here and who knows what we will get from week to week from him. There are reasons he has been let go by other teams and if you watch him you can see why. He doesn't always make the right decision and sometimes he can't make a decision. That is one reason he takes so many sacks during a game. Which brings me to the main problem the Lions may have this year. The same problem they have had in prior years, they just don't have a good offensive line. Oh they will be fine this week against Atlanta and people will be persuaded into thinking the Lions have finally turned the corner but as the season mounts and injuries start to take their toll on the thin offensive line the offense will start to sputter.

Just not this week. The Lions will play a great defensive game and the offense will look like a bonafide NFL offense. The Lions receivers will have great games and the running game will get their yards this week. I also think the Falcons will struggle on offense with their rookie quarterback. Final prediction Lions 24 Atlanta 13. Lions 1-0.

Sunday Dinner - 31 August 2008

2008-09-01T09:30:00.002-04:00

Well well look at this the Sunday Dinner Episode posted the next day. How efficient is that? It helps to have Monday off and the only thing I really need to do today is read some more for my upcoming test. Oh I better not forget to go pick up the wife either since she will be arriving on the boat around noon today. And speaking about the wife since she is gone this is my chance to make a Sunday Dinner I have been looking forward to for a long time. Since she doesn't like seafood or mushrooms can you guess what this dinner will be all about? If you guessed seafood and mushrooms you would be correct.

Shrimp and seafood skewers with a portabella and roasted pepper salad. Mmmm good.

Let's get started.

First let's introduce the cast of charcters for the Portabella and Roasted Pepper Salad:

Lots of flavors going on here but first thing we must do to make this salad is "FIRE UP THE GRILL!!!"

Roast the peppers.........

Mix a marinade up with the ingrediants in the above pic and apply to the portabella mushrooms..........

From here is is pretty simple cut up the peppers and mushrooms, mix together with some capers and some of the marinade that was reserved from the mushrooms and let set for an hour or so at room temperature.

Enough about salads though let's get to the real stars of this episode:

Scallops, shrimp and anduille sausage.

First thing that needed to be done was to make the marinades for both the scallops and shrimp. The scallop marinade is a little more involved because it starts with browning the anduille sausage on the stove top with onions, EVOO and water. Once the water evaporates and the little brown bits form on the bottom of the pan the pan gets deglazed with the white wine vinegar. Dump what is left over from the pan into a bowl and add oregano, a little more EVOO, salt and pepper. Add the scallops and let marinade.

For the shrimp mix together lemon juice, EVOO, paprika, granulated garlic, salt and pepper. Pour over the shrimp and let set for a half hour or so.

Once this is done it is time to go outside and one more time "FIRE UP THE GRILL!!!!" Yeah the original fire wasn't hot enough to use again.

Once the fire is hot enough it is time to fix up the skewers.....

....and head out on put them on the grill.

Aren't they looking good?

Just wait until they are done. Oh wait through the magic of pictures they are already done.

How about a closer look....

Oh my don't those look good but before I can sample one I must, as hard as this is, get the entire meal on a plate to take the final picture.

The salad will get a 4 out of 5 forks. It could have used more mushrooms in it but it had good flavor. Definitely a keeper.

I will give the shrimp a 4.5 out of 5 forks and the scallops a 4.75 out of 5 forks. The marinade on the scallops was great. I wasn't to sure about marinading the the scallops but it turned out the be the way to do it. I might have to put the wife on a boat more often so I can enjoy my seafood. I must admit I think it is my favorite type of food. And what a better way to top off a meal of this caliber then with this.....

That will do it for the summer portion of Sunday Dinners cooked on the grill. Oh I will still be using the grill into the fall for some Sunday Dinners but it is time to do something new for the fall. I am still not sure what I am going to do so I was hoping for some suggestions. I am leaning towards doing some tailgating episodes but that takes me right back to the grill and I would like to wean myself off from the grill before winter gets here.

Regardless what happens stayed tuned because Sunday Episodes will continue.

My Labor Day Saturday

2008-08-31T09:38:00.004-04:00

I don't know if everybody knows or not but I am a bachelor this weekend. I put the wife on a boat Friday and sent her across Lake Michigan to visit her family in Michigan. She is due to sail back into Wisconsin on Monday.

So what am I doing this weekend in Wisconsin? Well I thought I would take advantage of being alone and study for an upcoming test. This is a perfect weekend for that. While she is gone I thought I might take advantage of the situation and cook some of the things I like and she doesn't.

We'll start with Friday night. After work I went to Sheboygan to the local fish market and bought some of my weekend supplies. I was looking for fresh shrimp and scallops, as fresh as can be found in Wisconsin anyway, for a couple of my meals for the weekend.

I love my shrimp and scallops so for Friday night I thought I would do a combo meal with them. I could have ate them right out of the frying pan but I had other ideas. I combined them with some onions, red peppers, garlic, white wine, olive oil and whole wheat pasta and came up with this...

This is a pretty darn good start to my weekend don't you think?

Saturday morning I get out of bed and the first thing I decide to do is write my post for last Sunday's Sunday Dinner Episode. While doing this I eat my breakfast which consist of extreme labor to make.....

Cinnamon Life Cereal. I have one bowl a week and it is every Saturday. I can't tell you how many years I have been eating Life cereal in one form or another but it has been a long time.

After the early morning chores are done I load up the garbage and take it to the dump. On the way back I decide to stop at our local market in Elkhart Lake to purchase a couple of items I will need later in the day. While I was there I couldn't help but stare at the doughnuts on the counter. I decide to by one and the lady says "We have some more back here in this box. They just came in and are real fresh." I checked them out and said "Give me that one."

Apple fritter, my favorite of all time. This is the plate 30 seconds later.

Nothing wrong with a good apple fritter. I glad all I bought is one because I don't need one of these everyday.

It's a beautiful day outside so I decide to mow the lawn before the Michigan game comes on. Since I have been busy for the last two weeks the lawn hasn't been mowed for three weeks. I think it needs it.

Win or lose this is an exciting day in Michigan football. This is a team that has been rolling along in the same direction for the last 40 years. Not that it was a bad direction but let's face it, it was time for a change and change Michigan did. They hired the guru of the spread offense so I was excited to see how they looked. The team they play first, Utah, has a lot of returning players who a very capable of running the spread offense. This is a good first test. Michigan's offense came out struggling and the only reason the Wolverines got the first 10 points is because Utah gave the points to them. The offense is really struggling and the defensive isn't doing any better. Utah is showing Michigan how to run the spread offense. The defense looks like they are a half a step slow right now. I thought the best part of the Michigan team was suppose to be the defense. The first half was brutal, I expected the offense to struggle but not the defense. I am disappointed.

But time for a half time snack.

Little sister brought my attention to this snack and when I saw them in the store I thought I would try them. Not bad for a potato chip. I like the pepper on them. Several years ago I switched from salt to pepper on my french fries so it makes sense it would be good on potato chips too.

On to the second half. Utah scores a quick three points but that is where the Utah scoring stops. The Michigan defense takes over and play great the rest of the game. This is the defense I thought we would see. The offense still struggles but Michigan changes quarterbacks and all of a sudden the deep threat is back. The new quarterback, Threet, has good accuracy. This will start to open up the running lanes if they can start to complete some down field passes. The offense starts to show some spark but it is to little to late and the final score is Utah 25 Michigan 23.

I'm disappointed but I also expected Michigan to play this way. They will get better as the weeks go by but I don't think Rodriguez has the quarterback he needs for his system right now. I am sure his number one priority will be a spread offense type quarterback for his recruits next year.

Now that the game is over it's time for dinner.

Portabella mushroom burger. Another food item the wife doesn't like. How does anyone get along in life without seafood and mushrooms? I can't imagine. This turns out to be a pretty darn good burger. A tapenade that includes anchovies, olives, onions, garlic and olive oil, portabello mushrooms (of course), fire roasted red peppers, and toasted buns.

And what is dinner without dessert? Actually I rarely eat dessert but not today, look what I have...

Oatmeal blueberry cookies. There isn't much to say here except for they will give the best chocolate chip cookies a run for their money. These are so good you will need to hide them so nobody else knows you have them.

That is about it for a Labor Day Saturday. I ended up falling asleep last night so I don't know who won the race I was watching on TV. Pretty exciting around here.

Sunday Dinner - 24 August 2008

2008-08-30T09:42:00.002-04:00

I know I am getting later and later getting these out but I have been to busy during the week to get everthing done I need to do to get my Sunday Dinners on my blog. In fact I think I may have come up with a post idea for a later entry, Producing a Sunday Dinner Episode. But even as busy as I have been this week I still managed to get this episode on before tomorrow, Sunday.

With all the excuses out of the way let's get on with this weeks Sunday Dinner Episode. What is it? Will let's take a look.....

Barbecue country pork ribs.

Now I will admit the last couple of times I have tried to cook country pork ribs I have screwed them up terribly. Well maybe not terribly because they were still edible but believe me I have had much better. I was determined this time to get it right, after all if I didn't I would have to pull out an archived upcoming post I have planned. I can't do that because this wouldn't be a real Sunday Dinner and we can't have that. The pressure was on to perform.

This weeks episode is a two parter starting with the bbq country ribs. Here are the main players in part one of this weeks episode.

Ignore the corn they were being photo hogs this week and jumped into the picture. They actually star in part 2 of this episode. But as you can see for the country ribs it is pretty simple this week. A little salt, pepper and some homemade bbq sauce.

And to introduce the players for part 2 of this weeks episode......

You already know the corn but the rest of the players are butter, salt, pepper, granulated garlic, dried basil, and parmesan/reggiano cheese.

With all the introductions done it is time to "FIRE UP THE GRILL!!!!!!!"

First thing to do is get the country style ribs on and let them cook for an hour or so. While the pork is cooking we might as well get the corn ready.

The butter needs to be warm enough so all the ingredients can be mixed together. Once mixed it gets smeared all over the corn. Now it's off to the grill.

Now just let the corn cook for 15 minutes while turning frequently. Oh don't worry about those burnt, oops I mean dark areas, that is just flavor being added. At least that's what they tell me on Food Network.

Let's take a peak at the pork too to see how it's doing.

So far looking good. Here is what it looks like when everything is done.

I have to confess the baked beans were bought from our local meat market. I got to tell you once you taste these you would be hard pressed to ever make baked beans again. If you want to know something funny the baked beans cost more than the country pork ribs and corn put together. We bought the country ribs on sale for $1.99 per pound and the corn was $1.00 for three ears at the farmers market in Sheboygan. Other than the beans if you are looking for a cheap meal here you go. In that respect this is a 5 fork meal.

Like I said above a cheap meal but let's get our individual rankings done now. The country style pork ribs get a 4 out of 5 forks. The ribs themselves were excellent, nice and juicy, great flavor but the bbq sauce is holding them back today. It wasn't my best effort in bbq sauce making. The sauce had very little flavor and I am not sure why. I mean it's okay but not how I like it. The corn gets 5 out of 5 forks. This is the best corn on the cob I have ever had. Maybe we bought it at the right time, maybe it is the type of corn, maybe it is the ingredients I used on the corn before grilling it or maybe the grilling did it. It is probably a combination of the above but I will tell you again it was excellent.

Well that's this weeks Sunday Episode with one week remaining for the Sunday Episodes cooked on the grill. After this coming Sunday I am not sure what direction I will be going but I do plan on doing the Sunday Episodes. I am sure I will continue to do Sunday Episodes for time to time on the grill this fall until it gets to cold outside but I need ideas. I am thinking of tailgating episodes or fall harvest type episodes or comfort food episodes. I am think of leaving the comfort food episodes until winter and I am leaning towards tailgating episodes right now because it is football time. Let me know what you think I should do.

Well it is time to go now. I need to take the garbage to the dump and mow the lawn before the Michigan football game starts or maybe I should wait on mowing the lawn until Michigan plays just in case they stink.