Friday, December 23, 2011
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
349- Never Trust...
My friend Kip once said, "you can never trust a chimp." Truer words were never spoken. RIP my good buddy.
Saturday, December 10, 2011
345- Busy Day
We filled our sack full today. It was a busy and action packed day.
First it was up and out of bed and off to Starbucks to collect my Happy 15th (free coffee), then off to the gym for a workout on the elliptical and weights, to the USMC P-X for some Christmas shopping, to the Commissary for groceries, eating lunch, making spinach dip, wrapping presents, bringing the Christmas stuff down from the attic, finished the stucco repair on the house, putting up lights, trees and bells on the front porch, eating supper, bringing the tree into the house, typing out a Christmas letter, making a photo DVD, addressing / sending out Christmas cards, getting two boxes packed / ready to mail and finally typing it all into my blog.
Time for bed already.
342- Less Cards Being Sent
We have noticed the trend over the last 5-6 years has been to get (and send) fewer and fewer Christmas Cards through the Mail. This season we will only be sending out about two dozen to just the family and close friends. Everyone else will get a nice e-card from us. Thank you 1-2-3 Greetings.
341- It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas...
Santa is already wrapping his presents for our house.
339- Lonely Cat
Without his partner in crime... Rocky is a lonely cat and follows us around the house all the time.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
338- Going Bowling
I follow two college football teams. My Alma Mater is Michigan State and although they lost to the Wisconsin Badgers by 3 points for the Big Ten Championship, they'll still be going to the Outback Bowl (Tampa) against the Georgia Bulldogs on Jan 2.
My adopted team, the San Diego State Aztecs, will be playing in the R+L Carrier Bowl against Louisiana-Lafayette on December 17 in New Orleans.
Saturday, December 3, 2011
336- Priorities in 1981 Still the Same in 2011
Reagan knew what to fix... somehow Obama was confused.
Sunday, November 27, 2011
332- Gutters!
WE now have rain gutters on our house... I never thought I'd get that excited about something like this. but yahoo!
... and we have been making 17-18 kWtHrs of power each day over the holidays!
331- Tailgating at Home/ Chargers Suck
We BBQ'd some ribs and made some chili for a little backyard BBQ/tailgate party before the Chargers game. That was pretty fun... sadly it was the only fun as the Chargers managed to lose in overtime to the hated Denver Broncos 16-13.
330- HomeBrew
I've tried home brewed beer about a half dozen times or so... and it never tasted any good. (but I never told the home brewers that!). But Gary and I made a batch from Mr. Beer and it was.... good!
Thursday, November 24, 2011
328- Happy Thanksgiving
This has been a rough year. My wife got deployed to the war in Afghanistan, my father passed away, all the kids are away at college or moved out and we had our cat put to sleep. Yes a rough year... but still I am Thankful.
My wife returned on Halloween night. Safe and sound.
I was able to visit my father before he had the surgery that he had complications from. Saw him in full health and energy. I will remember him that way.
Lots of good things have been happening:
We have our health and the love of family.
I still have a job (two of them) and my wife and three children are all employed.
We have a (non-leaking) roof over our heads and food in our bellies.
These are the things jumping into my face right now- but there are plenty of others that if I could sit and think about it I could write down.
Happy Thanksgiving and remember the story about the half glass of water...
An optimist thinks it is half full
A pessimist thinks it is half empty
and an engineer thinks it is twice as big as it needs to be.
327- NanoWriMo Continues
It won't be a good story but I'm, at 32,680 words out of 50,000 and only six days left. Can I do it? Do I want to do it? Only time will tell.
326- Black Friday Coming- Are You In?
Not me. Went to Walmart a lot of years ago... it was a zoo. We ended up buying a small reefer that we didn't need.
The other (and last) time was a few years ago at Fry's Electronics Store. Got there about ten o'clock and the place was packed. Found a parking spot in less than five minutes... went in saw that the checkout line wrapped itself around nearly every aisle. Noticed all the good deals were long gone and decided to leave. Took us nearly an hour (in the rain) to get out of the parking lot. Had the car turned off most of the time while just sitting there and not moving.
No More Black Friday for us.
Saturday, November 19, 2011
323- Writing Month
trying to get to 50,000 words.. and only at 21,000 with just 11 days to go... probably won't make it.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
322- Anniversary of the Heidi Game
1968 – Viewers of the Raiders–Jets football game in the eastern United States are denied the opportunity to watch its exciting finish when NBC broadcasts Heidi instead, prompting changes to sports broadcasting in the U.S.
321- Turkey Roasting 101
To prepare the turkey for roasting, first remove the giblets (and save for gravy or stuffing). Next, rinse the bird inside and out and pat dry with paper towels.
- If you are stuffing the bird, stuff it loosely, allowing about ½ to ¾ cup stuffing per pound of turkey.
- Brush the skin with melted butter or oil. Tie drumsticks together with string (for stuffed birds only).
- Insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh. The thermometer should point towards the body, and should not touch the bone.
- Place the bird on a rack in a roasting pan, and into a preheated 350 degree F (175 degrees C) oven. Use the following chart to estimate the time required for baking.
- Bake until the skin is a light golden color, and then cover loosely with a foil tent. During the last 45 minutes of baking, remove the foil tent to brown the skin. Basting is not necessary, but helps promote even browning.
Weight of Bird | Roasting Time | Roasting Time |
10-18 lbs | 3-3.5 hours | 3.75-4.5 hours |
18-22 lbs | 3.5-4 hours | 4.5-5 hours |
22-24 lbs | 4-4.5 hours | 5-5.5 hours |
24-29 lbs | 4.5-5 hours | 5.5-6.25 hours |
- The turkey is done when the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F (75 degrees C) at the thigh.
320- Hipsters?
Hipsters (also scenesters[1]) are a subculture of young, recently settled urban middle class adults and older teenagers with musical interests mainly in alternative rock that appeared in the 1990s. Other interests in media would include independent film, magazines such as Vice and Clash, and websites like Pitchfork Media.[2]
Hipster culture has been described as a "mutating, trans-Atlantic melting pot of styles, tastes and behavior[s]."[2] Christian Lorentzen of Time Out New York argues that "hipsterism fetishizes the authentic" elements of all of the "fringe movements of the postwar era—beat, hippie, punk, even grunge," and draws on the "cultural stores of every unmelted ethnicity," and "regurgitates it with a winking inauthenticity."[3]Others, like Arsel and Thompson, argue that hipster signifies a cultural mythology, a crystallization of a mass-mediated stereotype generated to understand, categorize, and marketize indie consumer culture, rather than an objectified group of people.[4]
Sunday, November 13, 2011
317- Making Solar Power
We have a new man working for us... it's Red E. Kilowatt... the solar energy panels now on our roof. It was exciting to turn it on and the first day watch the meter spinning backwards and making electricity.
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