Second Trip

Today I made the second trip to the Taylor shop, to drop off a second pair of pants and a jacket.  The pants needed the hem done and the jacket... Let's just say my profile is has changed a bit since 2005.  I was excited though, I had brought a pair of pants for profile modification, but try fit just fine.  Naturally, the fellow only takes cash or check, neither of which I had, so the first pair of pants will remain until next week.  

I was feeling quite frisky after the Taylor shop so I washed my truck.   Correction I went through the machine.  I did a cost benefit analysis, and decided that I could pay the extra 3 dollars to let the machine do it.  When I manually was my truck at the car wash it takes 5.00, the car wash was only 8.00, what would you do?

This was not a spray only wash, it had the vehicle eating spinning brushes, which was probably good, since I cannot remember washing my truck.  It was tired of all the winter road grit being on the sides of the truck, my white truck is nice and white now, instead of gray.  Below is the splendid view I had during the wash.  I can only imagine what my truck thought, "Oh no... Not the brushes!!!!"

Classic Video Games

Over Christmas I busted out my old xbox, which I have not played in over 2 years.  I got it set up over Christmas, and realized that I only had one controller.  Since it is 3 generations behind the latest xbox, I had to go to eBay to find controllers. I was really excited when they came in, the excitement was deflated because it did not include the breakaway cord.  First off, who designs a video game controller that needs a break away controller?  Secondly, it's a video game controller, why would it have not come with the entire cord.  

Tonight the missing cord pieces came in allowing  Mr C and Ms E to race each other without running through the kitchen.  They both crawled into the chair and made some laps in fast cars.  

A certain nostalgia wells up when playing on fibre classic games, like the old ninitendo or the even older Atari.  Those were the days, a basic joystick and a single button.  Instead of a controller with 8 buttons, 2 arrows, two thumb stickes, and a breakaway cord.

Sam I Am

Children's books can be very amusing, and fun.  Dr. Seuss had a great run on fun quirky books.  There are many to choose from, and I think Fox in Sox is one of his harder books to read.  The subjects of his work stretch from getting out of bed, to butter & bread, to brushing teeth, to the "Zans for Cans..."  Oh, the Places You'll Go is one of my favorite Seuss books, I like most of them.  

There is also Margret Wise Brown, who wrote such classics as Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny.  Growing up I read a lot of Mike Mullegan and Maryanne, which is the book about the steam shovel that dug so fast and quick it forgot to dig itself an exit ramp.  

Reading and words have become such an important part of my life, and job.  Someone asked me what I did as a safety person, and my response was... Wait for it... Communicate.  At the time I was either investigating, writing policies, talking on the phone or giving training presentations.  

I can say thanks to my parents, probably more my mom, grandmother, and teachers for instilling the value of reading in my life.  My mom can still recite Bruce's Loose Tooth, a story which she read to me a lot.  My grandmother always asked what is was reading, and helped me get into the Hank the Cowdog seris.  My mom also made sure I was in the jounior great books program in elementary school.  

I have to admit that after college is when I started reading for pleasure, and will also confess that I have read all of the Harry Potter books, at least twice.  John Grishom's books are also very captivating.  Now that I have written, I am off to read.

Fun Kitchen Inventions

Yesterday I was listening to a new podcast on my way to work, it was from America's Trst Kitcehn.  They had reviewed some kitchen gadgets and highly rated a Chicago Mettalic Pie Drip Protector.  It sounds like a great idea, and to top it off, it has a silicon non-slip disk in the middle so the pie dish does not move around when entering and exiting the oven.  

Ok do not cook many pies, this year I think the total was two.  One Jeff David and on Pumpkin Pie.  Based on the frequency of baking, I will probably pass on getting one, if you bake a lot of pies it is worth looking into.

The other gadget that was reviewed (thrashed would be a better description) was a liquid dry material measuring cup/ scale.  Unfortunately I do not have the name of the manufacture.  The reviewed said that t had a whole list of things it could not do: no dishwasher (would not work at Natty's), no microwave, now soap and water... and she went on to say the her measuring cups were real work horses in the kitchen.  I would have to agree with her on that point, which is why I have 5 Pyrex measuring cups (2 - 1 cup, 2 - 2 cups, 1 - 8 cup). The big one does not get used all that much.  There are times when they are all dirty, and while they are not fancy with a scale, I can wash them in the sink, or the dish washer, heat them in the microwave.  

One of my favorite gadgets for Mexican food is the taco holder.  It keeps your tacos from falling over on their side and spilling thier contents, or even worst landing in the beans.  Refried beans are not to bad on the taco, Taco Bell has the double taco with a soft tortilla, Refried beans and then a crunchy shell.  Who knows, perhaps the inspiration came from a taco the fell over.

January Cold

In this fast paced electronic world we find ourselves in, the days of picking up the photo album and flipping through pages have gone.  These days with the digital cameras, I find myself taking many, many more photos that I would have with my old N70 film camera.  Development cost are really reasonable with the digital camera, if I do not like the shot, two buttons and it is gone forever.  Never to see the surface of photo paper.  Tonight, I was doing the modern version of looking at the photo album, staring at the computer screen (similar to my screen at work) and pressing the arrow key as I went from photo to photo.

Don't get me wrong, I really, really enjoy the digital pictures, there are times, when I long for days gone by.  When you would do things like, 

• Swipe your friends camera and take random photos
• Hand out disposable cameras at wedding receptions to see what the crowd sees
• Spend 15 minutes in awl-mart filling out the film pouch before dropping it in
• Starting at pictures, attempting to recall just what the subject was
• Finding the random roll of undeveloped film in the junk drawer in the kitchen
• Standing in the dark room, as the image you captured, magically appears on the 8x10 Kodak paper in Black and White.

Today's picture was not taken today, it is actually from the fall of 2012.  Taken at a great restaurant in Florida.  While flipping through photos, this one made me think of a time when things were warmer, and the air was less abrasive.  Fall on the white beaches of Florida is wonderful, not to hot, not to crowded, and the water is still warm.

The Cruise Ship

Ella and I finished Ella's cruise ship over the Christmas holidays.  Lego's have come a long way since I was a kid.  You can build stars ships, a Harry Potter Castle, or even some of the scenes from "The Lord of the Rings."  I could hardly image what Tolkien would think about the little plastic pieces (which are a killer on bear feet, and household organization) being transformed into his characters and scenes.  What is next for the brick creating geniuses?  The Lego store rates in the top five of places to go shopping, also in the top five are William-Sonomia, and the Apple Store.  Although the Apple store is losing so e of its luster, because I have everything I need, and it is normally super crowded.  While I have everything I "need" at William-Sonomia, I like to look and see thing I would like to have.  Also, it is not as crowded or heitic as the Apple Store.

In other news from the day, many kids went back to school after the Holiday Break, as did many adults, well not to school, back to work.  Thus ending one of my favorite times of the year.  This year it all felt rushed, like trying to make a connecting flight in Atlanta's Hartfield airport.  With turkey day and Christmas Day so close together.  Next year I am going to lobby for Mexican food on Christmas Day.  It is strange to think that the two big turkey and dressing meals in America, are served withinv 30 days of each other.  Maybe some sort of brunch would work better on Christmas Day , just imagine... Grilled  Chicken, with waffles, and biscuits & gravy.  Eaten a around 10:30, after the delights of the stockings are unpacked, promptly followed by a NAP.

The Lego Friends Cruise Ship, Sailing the carpet brown.  Blue carpet just does not work for me.

Gas Station

When I was a kid there were only two, maybe three types of gasoline, regular and unleaded.  I went by the gas station today, and there were 5 different selections, although two were the same thing.  They had premium, mid-grade, regular unleaded, E-10, and (oddly enough) E-10.  Until I relocated to Oklahoma, I can't remember seeing a pump specifically for the E-10 gasoline.  As far as gasoline goes, E-10 only has 10% Ethanol added into it, and it has the same octane as regular unleaded.  

The octane number on the gas is actually the average of two octane test, the Research Octane (RON) and the Motor Octane (MON).  Both are documented in the ASTM test methods, and both use an engine that is made to knock, by adjusting the air fuel ratio.  So on the pump when you see the sticker R+M/2, that is what it is.  

Back in the days when I was cool and drove a 66 Mustang (high school), there was only one station that still sold leaded gas.  It was the Allsups, at the corner of Wilson and McGee.  Back in those days, I did not have a functioning gas gauge so I stopped in every 200 miles for fuel.  

The Thing Is...

Fiestaware, dishes that are manufactured by Homer Laughlin, are dishes that you either like, or could care less about.  I fit into the class of individuals who like, or are emphatic about.  Unlike my varied musical taste, I can attribute my fondness for these Classic American dishes to my parents.  I ate on them when I was a child, and they (the Fiestaware) was painted with lead paint.  Upon discovering they were not the most healthy dishes, my parents retired them, deciding to keep the dishes.    When Homer Laughlin came out with the unleaded dishes our family was back in the Fiestaware business.  My wife likes Fiestaware as well, so when we got married we picked up sets of yellow and colbalt, dishes.  We also have an entire set of the white dishes.  More recently we have collected some green settings, and Amy has gotten some of the Christmas dishes.

Last year I was at the department store looking for a salt and pepper shaker, and asked the sales associate in the dish section about it.  She made the following observation, "I notice that people that are looking for Fiestaware to purchase for themselves really are emphatic about the stuff, and are specific about the colors."  I fit that mold.  Pictures below are my breakfast and cup of coffee, after having a Pack 349 Science lock-in, I was in need of my caffeine filled beverage.

The lock-in was a blast, the kids had fun, the adults had fun, and I fell asleep while watching Stat Wars.  When I was the kids age, before the VHS or even shorter lived Beta tapes, I was luck to catch Star Wars on TV once a year.  These days, I can pop it in anytime in the DVD player and give it a spin.  In a way, the is a very nostalgic view point, it takes some of the magic out of watching the movie.  Needless to say, a great time was had by all.

Five Dollar Shake

Ella and I ran some errands this morning and this afternoon, the list is long, with a lot of variety.  Ella was an excellent trooper and we met up with the rest of the gang for some time at the mall and lunch.  On a side note I did go by a real tailor shop so he could put the hem on some new slacks I purchased.  It was quite the experience, he had a little stage I stood on with 3 mirrors and I could hardly understand the fellow.  On the brighter side he said he could adjust some of the clothes that, well... are a little sung these days.  

While I was in college the epic movie that is not in chronological order came out... "Pulp Fiction."  A movie that included a great deal of interesting dialog, a quote from scripture that is not in my bible (yes I  looked in college), and the dive dollar shake.  Today I can proclaim that I had one of the best shakes ever made, even better than the five dollar shake.  It was the $6.95, shake that Cap and I split.  You will notice in the picture that the straw is huge, which always reminds me of Marian (grandmother on dad's side).  She used to say that the McDonalds straws were like pipelines, because they are so big.

I Need Coffee

Like the Lone Ranger riding off into the sunset I headed to work this morning, of course I was in a pick-up, it was dark and cold.  All in all, to very similar at all, but rewarding none the less.  I tired really hard to go to bed at a decent hour night, perhaps I should have chosen music instead of a podcast. 

I started listening to "Wine for Normal People," thinking that he discussion about grapes from France, or Washington state would put me to sleep but it did not.  I found myself utterly captivated by what gifts to purchases, and conversely not to purchase for those wine loving individuals around the holidays.  I'll give you an hint and say that  I am not in need of any books, not cute wine t-shirts.  

The end result was my drinking a cup of coffee at work, said cup is pictured below.  It was a pretty good cup, I find that the ceramic cups help cool the coffee to a desirable temperature, the fact that it was frigid in my office helped as well.

Yes, that is a little glimps of coffee, new technology (telephone) and old technology, the pen and paper.

Football

It was a relaxing day at our castle today.  There was some Lego building, laundry, a game of apples to apples.  I played a few cards that I did not think would win the hand, yet they won the hand.  Took the kids to ride the mono, however the cold front rolled in about the time we left, so they did not ride long.

I made a list of things I want to do outside of work, some involve work around the house, others are fun.

Since the kids were watching the Rose Bowl, they decided that indoor football would be fun.

The End of 2013

The holidays have been good, busy with lots of time in the car, and a great deal of Christmas music. We have hit three different states, and along the way I figured out how to move this blog around, e.g., get it assigned to my current email address.  As I get older the holidays change, as families spread out and grow.  Amy's family size is greatly increasing as her cousins families are growing. 

The end of the year is fast approaching, with a little more than 24 hours left.  Why are we so bound by time?  As if somehow a little more than 24 hours from now I, like Cinderella will manically change.  Almost a month into the 39th year of my life, and I have become very introspective.  Attempting to diagnosis myself, so I can make grand proclamations about how I will change next year. I will stand outside like a squire from the days of knights, tournaments, jousting, and men in tights.  

  

The Sock Connection

When did socks become some complex?  Mine and Mr. C's socks are simple, match the size and color, white, brown, tan, short, or long.  Ms. E's socks, are a completely different affair.  There are each individually paired, a pink set with hearts, a pink set with circles, a pink set, with sparkly trim, a purple set with pink hearts. I spent a good deal of time trying to reconcile the socks in the laundry with the socks in the "lonely clothing article" basket.  The place where single socks go to find a date, like the dance club down stairs.  Some days they hook up with thier perfect match.  Occasionally, they hook up with a partner that is not quite perfect, only to be parted in the washing machine.  The washing machine is like a disco for clothes, with the lights turned Devon they dance around.

Fancy Pants Dinner

Tonight we went out to dinner without the children.  Since we did not have the little one we tried a fancy steakhouse.  Growing up my version of fancy steakhouse would have been the local K-bobs or in college Texas Roadhouse.  The establishment we went to was a bit more upscale, I wore a tie and slacks (yes with a shirt) and did not stand out in the crowd.  I still feel a bit uncomfortable at these places, and tonight was no different.  I ordered a glass of wine, which they gave me half of, then the waitress showed up with an apology and the other half.  When I completed glass one, (keep in mind that was 1/2 of the entire "glass") I noticed some stuff in the glass. When I inquired about it, they said," it is unfiltered wine and that is residue. Most wines are filtered this one is not, they use a paper filter to catch the sediment."

"Oh, okay I understand the filtering process."

"The unfiltered wine is supposed to have more flavor..."  It was at that point when I had to fight back the urge to tell him that I was not some hick from the Texas panhandle (not entirely true) and that he should go about his business.  I did not therefore I listened to his disortation on the filtering of wine.  They made really good scalloped potatoes, even though they used the French name, as if using the French word for "turd" would make it a more pleasant substance.  The report on the steak, it was good, but I have cooked better out in the middle of now where while camping, with out potatoes au gratin.

The best part, was have a long chat with Amy, it was far superior to the food, and I made her laugh at some point in the conversation.

Writing at the Park

I want to write but the words escape me, like an elusive prey.  Describing my days in a succinct pattern of prose.  Catching the mundane acts of the day with literary extraordinaire.  

Pausing to look up as the children slide down the slick green tongue of the playground.  Landing like a sack of flour hitting the floor.  For a moment, a stoke of the second hand, they stop.  Popping up like a small explosion as they race for the stairs again.

Parents flying kites, trying to get their children interested on holding the line.  They have the choice, run around with friends, or stand here, tethered to the kite gracefully flying high above.  

The laughs, like a gaggle of ducks spreads across the play ground like a wildfire.  With infectious energy the waves of laughing and screaming.  Brothers, sisters, cousins, friends with no concerns.... Expect when it is time to go.

High School Reunion

TA few weeks ago (well more than an month ago) I attend my high school reunion.  When I showed up at the place, a group of us walked up to the front door (locked) then we tried the back door (locked).  So we wrapped on the window, and they let us in.  It was a precursor of how the remainder of the evening would go.  Everyone who attend had a great time, and many beverage was consumed.  

There were many people from out of town, and some that were staying in hotel because thier  family moved off, as for me, it was back to the bedroom I had in high school.  It may be my self-awareness, I think I would have won the contest for most gray hair.

Z-PAC

As drugs go, the Z-PAC is one of my favorites, for the following reasons: 

1. I can actually say it without getting tongue tided
2. Other than day one, it is a once a day pill (no getting up in the middle of the night
3. It is not penicillin (which I do not tolerate, if you know what I mean)
4. As a drug, it is easy to find
5. It has such a cool sounding name, like that of a rapper

While I am not exactly sure when I caught it, I go sick.  When I finally threw in the towel and went to the doctor at the urgent care clinic (my dr did not have a spot until early next week), I was diagnosed with the following:  Onset of double ear infection, respiratory infection, secondary sinus infection, and a sore throat.  The doctor prescribed me a Z-PAC.  These are the days when I occasionally miss Dr. Wally.  I could go in, tell the doctor my symptoms, and that I needed a Z-PAC, he would return a few minutes later, not with a prescription, but with a trail pack.

At any rate, most of last week I did not feel well, and today, I am feeling like a human being again, just in time to go bak to work.  The bug I picked up could have come from the office, or it could have come from that exotic Las Vegas, in a city that never sleeps, I imagine the sickness does not slow down either.  Which would explain why there is a Walgreens Pharmacy on the strip itself.

Las Vegas Wedding

This past weekend we went to Las Vegas for a wedding, not mine, but my sisters wedding.  It was a fun time.  The wedding was really nice, it was not done by a midget Elvis, or at the drive through wedding chapel.  It was on a balcony overlooking the Bellagio's water fountain, and when they kissed, the water show started.  

As far as fun family outings, we found several G rated activities, which included the indoor amusement park at Circus Circus, Riding the Deuce, dinner at the Rain Forrest Cafe, the Shark Reef at Mandalay  Bay, and finally, the taxis'.  I had a very memorable conversation with one driver about the economics of Energy, and oil.  

Las Vegas is like a melting pot of ideas, thoughts, desires, love, hate, and risk.  It is the only place I know, where you can get married, in the same manner you get a bacon cheese burger from Sonic.  Additionally, it is a place with some very beautiful buildings to walk in/through and admire, all while sucking in second hand smoke.  One of the best signs that I saw said, "The restroom facility is non-smoking," while you had to contend with second hand smoke at the Monte Carlo food court.  It is a city of irony, with thousands getting married their each year, but the city's motto is, "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas..."  which is a little contradictory in my mind.  

One place I forgot to go by while I was there was the "In-and-Out Burger".  I saw it on the taxi ride back to the airport, and thought, shoot... I missed that one.  

Congratulations to Natty and Kale!!!

Cookbooks

When I first started looking around at cookbooks, I used The Joy of Cooking, probably not the best place to start my culinary adventure.  To be honest, I really only cooked a couple of recipes out of that cookbook, yet I still have it.  It has a substantial number of recipes in it, however, there is not story to connect some if not all of the recipes back to the cook.  Since the Joy of Cooking days, I have greatly expanded my viewing of cookbooks, along with my cooking ability.  I must point out that some of the first things I cooked, were family recipes, which you never quite find in a cookbook.  A few years ago my mother and sisters were raving about The Pioneer Woman Cookbook.  I wanted to check it out with out purchasing it, so I went to the library website to request a copy.  I was shocked to find out there was a 12 person waiting line to get their hands on this book.  (Which puts it in parallel to some of the New York Times Bestseller books I have requested.)  I got it, looked it  over, thought that it was nice, and a couple of Christmas' later, Amy or I got it as a Christmas present.  As I understand the evolution of the cookbook, it started out as a blog titled, The Pioneer Woman.

Yesterday, I went to the library and was looking at cookbooks, and found the Texas response, or possibly precursor to the Pioneer Woman.  The cookbook is The Homesick Texas Cookbook.  Now I am not sure if this started out as a blog, however, the author, Lisa Fain, does have a blog, which is titled, Homesick Texan.  I flipped through the book and decided to check it out, only to find that it has some great recipes, including my personal favorite mexican food dish, Stacked Enchiladas (although in this book they are name "West Texas Stacked Enchiladas.")  I think that my friends, and wife from New Mexico may disagree that the Stacked Enchiladas were devised in West Texas, instead of New Mexico.  They are best, with two fried eggs on top, cooked over easy.  While I have made then a couple of times, without a recipe I may try this one out to see how it works.  Additionally, it has recipes for corn and flour tortillas, and tamales.

Tonight, partly inspired by the cookbook bloggers, I took a couple of kitchen pictures, while I made a dish that was out of a completely different cook book.  During this process I learned that capturing the blue flame of natural gas, requires patiences, no flash, and either a tripod or kitchen counter.

Gas and Cast Iron Griddle

Tortilla and Yellow Fiesta with Pork Chili Inside

Fat Tuesday

This week host a couple of unique days within the secular and Christian calendars.  First off there is Mardi Gras, also know "Fat Tuesday".  The last day of feasting prior to Ash Wednesday, and the start of lent.  It is a unique coupling of celebrations, like a smoker going through a carton of smokes the night before he quits.  While I have never been to a Mardi gras feastivle, what I have seen on television, the news, and other media about the New Orleans celebration leads me to believe these reavelars are not preparing for a period of fasting.  Much like St Patricks Day, the secular society has used it as a reason to drink green beer in excess, and over look the fact that it is a day to honor a saint.

The season of lent itself is interesting.  It is supposed to be representative of Jesus' 40 days of fasting, yet tradition says that we can break the fast on Sundays.  In realitily it is much more a representation of the humans and their battle against temptation.

When I first started observing lent, I gave up things that I did not eat anyway, like watermelon.  I am ashamed of my lack of knowledge in the subject during my first years of observation.  It is more than just giving sometime up, one can sacrifice their time, and spent more time reading the bible, or praying.  I have some friends who fast, and know several Catholics who observe the no meat on fried, and eat fish (which is still meat).  For around 10 years I almost always gave up Dr. Pepper, the in 2010 I went to the dr during lent, and was informed I was getting fat.  (I did not need an individual with an advanced degree, and special training to tll me that.)  However, I did swear off Dr. Pepper, and have not had one since.

If you are struggling with what to give up, try something new, and pick up a bible study, the bible, volunteer work, or a commitment to pray and seek God out during the day.

Hook'd Bar & Grill

During the past few weeks, I have had a desire to return to a view like the one below.  It is a vey of the City Park Pier, in Panama City Flordia, from a seat at Hook'd Bar & Grill, which was a neat place to eat.  When we had dinner there, it was followed by a short walk to Kilwin's Chocolates for desert.  

 

Ground Hog Day

Today, being a Saturday, meant that my normal schedule of listening to NPR's Morning Edition, did not happen.  I did not realize that it was ground hog day until the middle of the afternoon.  At which point, I had been in the back yard picking up in my shorts and sandals.  It felt very spring like today, and I hope that there is not 6 more weeks of winter.  All of the beloved Christmas decorations are in the attic, with the exception of this hideous snowman/Santa Christmas ball which will become property of the city's sanitation department Monday.

I was in high school, when the movie Ground Hog Day came out with Bill Murray.  It was a fun show, and an interesting concept.  My life would not be going very fast if I had to go back and start each day over if I did not get everything correct in that day.  There are several days, however, that I would not have minded a do over.  The one thing those days almost always have in common, is the failure to engage the mind, prior to engaging the mouth.

So to all of the overgrow squirrels out there, Happy Groundhog Day!  ...does anyone know if he saw his shadow?

Pinewood Derby

It was Pinewood Derby race weekend for pack 349.  This year I made a car for Ella and myself.  So we had three cars racing, the results, of the speed were below par, however, the kids had fun designing their cars, picking stickers, and paint.  All three cars had some dodge bright green paint on the.  There were some amazing cars, next year I think I will start earlier in the year, to provide more time for design and building.  One of the scout masters made a bathtub car, complete eith bubbles and a rubber duck.  It has been many months since I had a project in the garage in the evening, and it was refreshing to have something else to work on.

This past week, I set a record for the number of days I left the office after 6:30 pm, not a stellar performance on my part.

Andy's Frozen Custard

This past weekend I experienced Andy's Frozen Custard for the first time my life, in Springfield.  On the way there I asked my sisters how it worked, and they informed me that you picked a base, either chocolate or vanilla, then pick the other things you want in it.  I was taken back because I wanted strawberry, which is one of the best fruits ever.  First off, it is red, vibrant red, with a splash of green at the top. Red and green are Christmas colors, so what is not to like about that combination.  Additionally, strawberrys are very flexible, they go in ice cream, smoothies, chocolate, salads, you can eat them whole, or cut them up.  While they don't go into pie, they do make Yummy jelly.  On top of that they ave a wonderful texture, with all of the little black dots on the outside.

Back to the frozen custard...  ...they went on to explain that they were like the Dairy Queen "Blizzard" only called "concrete".  So I was ready, until the girls started rattling off the long list of items you could add into your concrete....
Almonds
Bananas
Butterfinger
Butterscotch
Cheesecake
Cherries
Coconut
Carmel
Chocolate syrup
Crused nuts
Heath bar
Hot fudge
M&M
Marshmallow
Oreo
Peanut butter
Peanut butter cups
Peanuts
Pinnapplee
Pretzels
Raspberries
Reeds pieces
Strawberrys
Roasted pecans

With such a large selection criteria,  I froze in a moment of uncertainty.  "If I choose poorly my desert will be ruined", is what I thought.  So, I did the most uninspirable thing I could think of, I said, oh, I will take one of those too.  Not my finest ordering moment, but I must say, it was a wonderful desert, and I am glad went their instead of Orange Leaf, with the rest of the gaung.

Iron Chef

The first time I heard that there was a show on the cooking channel called "Iron Chef" I made the natural assumption that it was a cook off using cast iron cookware.  I should point out that all I knew was that it was a cooking show with a competitive flare, and had iron in the title.  I ran with this assumption until I got cable tv at the house, and watched the show.  The first one I saw was actually the original Japanese version, complete with the great voice overs. I thought that it was great, where else could I learn that you can make ice cream, using some fish as an ingredient, or that I. Japan they have peaches that cost $40.00 each (not per pound, per peach).  

In today's fast paced highly competitive America, I think it is facts sting that we will collectively watch a tv show that ends with ______ your fired.  All the while a sports team with a losing record can make it into the playoffs, and. We don't take score at the soccer games.  Even the Academy Awards changed from the winner is, to the award goes to....  We live in a competitive country where people see for focus on the wrong competitions.  I have seen parents go nuts when their child did not get enough playing time, or did not score in a game, all the while having little to no passion around their school work, grades, and the amount to television they watch.  

If you want a true iron chef, go to one of the chuck wagon cook offs, one more competition, to watch, but at least you can taste the product, visit with the cooks, and vote for your favorite wagon.

Dad It's Still Christmas Time

This morning Ella asked me if it was still Christmas time because there was snow on the roof.  My first thoug was, "how did I miss the snow when I looked out the window." I told Ella it was not still Christmas time, and put the conversation in the back of my mind since it was Sunday fun day, which included attending worship and Sunday school.  When we left I looked at our roof and it all made sense, the "snow" Ella had seen was frost on the roofs.  Kids are super observant, even when they act like they are not.  Ella has associated snow with Christmas time, I sould also point out that while the exterior illumination is in the garage, the tree is still fully decorated.

This past weekend we also attended Bright Nights - Boy Scout Edition - Friday night, and we got to spend the night at the Science Muesum.  It was fun, the kids had a blast, we slept on the floor on an air matters that had a slow leak, which was not very comfortable.  The kids built a few things, played at the tree house,  and we went to the plantierum, and I dozed off durning the presentation,  stars are fun and exciting, but I can only listen for about 5 minutes.

The End of 2012

Once again the annual marker of time is coming to an end, and with that, we have an entire new year to look forward to.  We, being the humans that we are, like these time markers in life.  The other day Amy and I were chatting (a good thing to do with your wife) and she was recalling some random details about life which occur 7 or 8 years ago.  I had no, and I mean no, recollection of the event.  She says she remembers some of these little details because she has lived in more places, and these moves severed as natural markers.

My goal for 2013 is to spend more time writing in this blog.  Since that is a little on the vague side, lets just say my goal is to publish once a week.  In the past I have found this exercise of blogging as an time to introspectively look and write about life.

Last year was a great year for us, we have been busy, with work, school and kids.  I have not spent as much time cooking the last three smooths, which I attribute to changes at the office.  We had a great fall break vacation to Panama City Beach, Florida.

Demotivator - Blogging

I saw a one of those inspirational calendars, that was not actually inspirational today in the office. The subject was "Blogging". It had a great picture of a rock formation and underneath it said:

BLOGGING

Never have some many people with so little to say said so much to so few

Here is the hyperlink to the website. (http://www.despair.com/blogging.html) It is actually a "Demotivator" most of which I find to be very funny. This one, rubbed me the wrong way. I was not offended, or insulted. In this world of sports, rock starts, country music awards, and celebrity tracking, I find a great deal of activities that are more useless than blogging. In the end, I admitted that I blog occasionally to one of my co-workers.

I find writing to be a release of sorts, let me clarify, writing at home is a releases of sorts, well actually writing at home when it is not work related is a release for me. I could lament about the lack of time I have to do this, however, most of the time it does not take long. I must admit that I am sitting on the back porch typing on the laptop, listening to the noises of nature, and the city.

The Speed of Life

Life with its many mysteries,often feels like a asteroid. Shooting across the cosmos of the routine, spinning around and around. The path sometimes well charted, other time as random as the Chaos Theory.

Between work, school, cooking, soccer practice, soccer games, and spring time yard work,up feels like down and down like up.

Life in Warp Speed...

Perpetual Motion

Ella is constantly in motion when she is awake. Running as fast as a freight train, as happy as a clown... Except when she is tired and does not get what she wants.

Then she becomes a bear, not the cute cuddly bear... but we love her anyway.

Bath Time

Lately I have been playing music during the kids bath time, using my iPod. My iPod has a WIDE variety of music on it. From Run DMC to Amy Grant to Vivaldi's Four Seasons. It is interesting to see their reaction to various musical styles. For example, tonight we have been listening to a compilation of music from Central America, and they both seem to like it. Perhaps they are just tolerating it, however, Mr. C was dancing to it while getting ready to get in.

I know that my parents played some music for us when I was there age. I do not know what type of music they played for me, nor do I know what influence it had on my musical selection as an adult. I do remember playing lots of their old 45's on a record player. It was the likes of the Beatles, Peter, Paul, and Mary, Credence Clearwater Revival, and the song "Big John.

ABBA

I have to make a confession, I like ABBA. That is correct, ABBA the Swedish Rock band that rose to fame in the 70's. I only have one of their records, the greatest hits records. My fascination with them started this past summer. A number of years ago, Amy purchased the musical movie Mamma Mia. Which is a story built off of ABBA's greatest hits. I watched it one summer night last summer and was captivated by the songs. The song Super Trouper is not about a guy in the audience watching the performance. It is instead about a type of spot light, the Super Trouper, which was used in show business.

Cast Iron Griddle

The cast iron griddle is a must for any kitchen. I use it to cook all sorts of things, grilled cheese sandwiches, hot dogs, pancakes, fired eggs, pancakes, ect. The best part of a seasoned cast iron griddle, is that clean up is easy, as long as you don't burn anything on it.

Tonight we had a combination of grilled cheese sandwiches, hot dogs and cold ceral.

Lunchroom Stories

In the break room there are several of use that usually eat lunch at the same time. For this week, the discussion has been a little more random than normal. Food has been a big discussion point for a couple of days. I told two food related stories that are, or should be embarrassing. Each story was when it occurred, these days it is just funny.

The Shrimp

Growing up in the panhandle of Texas did not lead itself to much seafood. I really enjoyed eating shrimp, and we would travel down to Galveston each summer. My shrimp spectrum was very narrow, it consisted of jumbo fried shrimp, and popcorn fried shrimp. While attending McMurry one year during finals they made steaks and shrimp cocktail. Being the shrimp lover that I am I went for the shrimp cocktail. With a plate piled high with these shrimp, that did not look much like the fried shrimp, I dug in. Crunch, crunch, crunch... Thinking that something was not quite right I observed one of my hall mates peeling the shrimp and asked, "What are you doing to the shrimp?" "Peeling it of course, did you not peel your shrimp?" My response was, "peel it why would I need to do that, it is kind of crunchy." I learned a lot that semester, all the internal organs of a cat, how useful fruit flys were in genetics, and that you really should peel the shrimp cocktail before eating.

The Dish

One meal that we ate growing up was call "The Dish." It is made up of macaroni, ground beef, tomatoes, onion, tomato paste. It was really good when my mom made it. After Amy and I got married I decided to make "The Dish." I got the receipt for my mom and followed it. It called for 1 c of macaroni, ground beef, ect. All of which I dutifully placed in the 9 X 9 cooking dish. The first bit I took after cooking was kind of crunchy, and I thought, "oh it is the top." The second bite, still crunchy. It was at this point I though that something was a miss. I placed a call and was lovingly informed that, "you have to cook the noodles before you put them in the dish." Which was followed by a quick trip to sonic.

Sunday Lunch

While I was growing up Sunday Lunch was a meal, that we celebrated together as a family. Contrary to the advertisements on television, our Sunday meal was eaten at Marian and Father's (grandparents.) After Marian passed, Honey (mom) took up the torch of feeding the Patmans after church. Honey and Marian were both fantastic cooks!

I cooked lunch today, and I think one of the keys is to make dishes that can be heated quickly, or cooked while we are off at church. I have a great many culinary advantages that Marian did not have. For example, I can reliably program my oven for an timed start. I also have two refrigerators, she only had one.


Occasionally we would hop in the car after church and drive to the Furrs cafeteria, in Pampa, Texas to have sunday lunch with my cousins from McLean. This was another highlight of growing up. As a kid, I was AMAZED with the different selections, and see to remember getting the fish patty frequently.

SInnerman

Tonight I cued up the soundtrack for the "Thomas Crown Affair" (1999) durning bath time. The first song up was a song titled Sinnerman, or Sinner Man. I was surprised that I did not get any negative comments from the peanut gallery, especially since the song is 10 minutes in length. It is a lively song, with a fast beat, and the lyrics are sort of hard to make out in the Nina Simone version.

I purchased the sound track, in part because I really found that song intriguing. In the movie it is play as Thomas enters the museum to return the painting he had stolen. The song does not to my knowledge have an author attributed to it. It is classified as an American Spiritual.

The peanut gallery is exposed to a wide variety of music when I am around. From classical, to piano, to certain alternative bands. I watch the lyrics closely, and prefer to spin a little Third Day, or the Orange County Supertones "Chase the Sun", both are christian bands.

The Twelve Days of Christmas

We have lots of Christmas stories at our house. In fact, today, on 1/12/12, we read The Twevle Days of Christmas. The collect of books we have traverse the span, from The Night Before Christmas, by the original author, to the more modern A Pirates Night Before Christmas. Arrrgh!!! Christmas books are read throughout the year. In the middle of the summer, we are likely to read The Gingerbread Pirates. Over the last few years, I have seen an increase in the number of Pirate Christmas books. Which begs the question, did Black Beard celebrate Christmas.

Would the pirate christmas celebration involve walking the plank in your swimming suit? Its christmas in the Bahamas, so I think the water would be nice. A dinner consisting of hardtack and cackle fruit eggs? Did the crew take a break from swabbing the deck?

Over the years our Christmas Traditions have changed. In part because we have gotten older, changes in our geographical locations, and the passing of loved ones. I have also noted a change in what I enjoy out of Christmas. When I was my son's age, I was focused on what I would get. Now, I enjoy watchings others open up their suprises. This year we had everyone at our house for Christmas. It was a lot of fun. We played the guessing game, a christmas tradition that my grandfather got us started on when I was 10 or 11. I also got to eat fried grits, the only day of the year that it is an option.

At this point the tree has 1/2 of its ornaments, and there are boxes waiting to be packed, as we pull the christmas decorations down.

Butter Side Up

Tonight we read the Butter Battle Book by Dr. Seuss. While it is quite entertaining, especially when one is young and learning to read, I have never understood the Zooks. Zooks are the characters that eat their bread butter side down. It seems like all you would do is make a mess on your plate with the butter on the bottom of the bread. Unless of course, you turned it upside down when you put it on the plate. Would this simple act turn you from a Zook to a Yook?

An interesting point about the Butter Battle Book, it was censored in some libraries during the cold war. Yes, censored because of its position on the cold war. The supreme court is taking up a casing dealing with the FCC's decency enforcement. The individuals are seeking to strike down a precedence invoking the first amendment. I believe strongly in the first amendment, and the second, and well really all of the amendments. However, I do not think the constitution gives anyone the right to be vulgar or indecent. It does give use the right to speak freely and give opinions. Is not being able to say F&$k over the broadcast channels going to limit your ability to eloquently speak your thought. I think not, if anything, the limitation on vulgar language will enhance the dialect.

Cap in Helicopter

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Cap in Helicopter, a photo by Germburner on Flickr.

Here is a picture from yesterday's trip to news channel 4's studio. Cap went with his cub scout den, and I went along to. It was pretty interesting.

They got to sit in the helicopter, and watch the anchors and weatherman give the news. When the weatherman was done with his news cast he said, "come on over boys for a picture." It reminded my of Willard Scott, and all the other weathermen.

The news cast seemed disjointed in the studio because the anchors would talk a little, then the news would transfer to a live reporter, or something previously recorded. The studio sets were not as big as I though they would be, in my mind, they are huge, in reality, they are just big enough to get the job done.

Nicodemus

"Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself," Leo Tolstoy

Aside from changing ourselves, one of the most challenging things to do, is change the perspective about some teaching we have been taught all our lives. This was the subject that we talked about today in Sunday School. The Pharisees, when you hear this what comes to mind? Individuals who are power hungry, sneaky and sly? That is certainly the perspective one gets through the mainstream christian church. While they completely missed the teachings of Jesus, in the day, they were well respected members of the community. In his day, Jesus was the individual who was though of as the trouble maker.

What are we to make of Nicodemus' nighttime visit to Jesus, described in John 3:1-11? Take the story and reread it thinking the Nicodemus' is part of the "in crowd." It changes some of the perspective. Jesus, even talking to one of the leaders of the Pharisees does not change his message, sugar coat it, or minimize it in any way. Nicodemus is met with the response, "Very Truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above."

Bright Night

Last night we participated in one of the OKC Science Museum's Bright Nights for cub scouts. It was a lot of fun, and we got to sleep in the museum. In addition to that, there was a limited number of participants, and listening to others who had been, it was not jam packed. So we had the run of the place.

We watched a movie in the IMAX Theater, that they do not call IMAX, watched the star show in the planetarium, and watch some live science demonstrations. The down side of it all, is the children are a little cranky because they went to be around 1:00 am. Outside of being ill, I think that is the first time they have seen 1:00 am.

Surprising enough, when it was time to go, the kids did not throw a fit, or protest. It has been a pretty low key day, they did have the neighbor over for a little and raced Mario Kart on the wii. Bright night will be remembered with much more fondness, when we forget how little sleep we got. The 4 hours of sleep I did get were great.

1.0079

The molecular weight of Hydrogen (H) is 1.0079. I learned that information while I was in organic chemistry class several years ago. By the end of the year I knew, and still no the molecular weight (mw) of several other elements.

Armed with that information, I set off after college to change the world. Unfortunately, the molecular weight of hydrogen has not yet helped me change the world, strike up an interesting conversation, or even show my intelligence during a competitive game of trivial pursuit.

The majority of the information I use to change the world I live in I have learned after college. I did learn many skills in college that help me each day as I read, review, interpret and explain the written word of our governmental agencies.

While I do not use all the information I learned in college, I have been blessed by its teachings. I grew up in a household where the question was not, "Are you going to college?" Rather the questions were, "Which college are you attending, and what are you going to study?"

For that I have my parents, and grandparents to thank, for that expectation.

I 40 Eastbound

The department of transportation is currently working on a project to re-route I-40 through OKC. Today, the eastbound side of the new roadway was opened. It was odd driving down the west bound side with no traffic on the other side of the freeway. As I understanding the existing portion of I-40 will be turned into a "Boulevard" connecting I-40 to downtown. It will be complete with shopping... I am afraid that when the project is completed, that my home commute will be longer, and more frustrating.

http://www.40forward.com/

E-Mail Accounts & Letters

Does an e-mail account every go away? This is a question that I have in the days of forwarding e-mail from one account to another. For example, I think my sister has 3 or 4 e-mail accounts. I think one is used for junk mail, one gets sent directly to the smartphone, and the third is probably forwarded to the account that is then sent directly to the smartphone.I have an e-mail account, that they system does not recognize my userID. The account still forwards e-mail to my new account, should this concern me?

Last night I sat down and wrote a few cards to put in the mail, the United States Postal Service system, for a change. When I was in the 5th grade I went to church camp (one kid got left at camp when we left but that is a different story) I sent my mom a post card, because there was no phone. I wonder if C&E will send much personal mail when they are adults, or if all communications will be electronic.

I for one enjoy getting letters in the mail. I think, wow they took the time to write me a note, and mail it. I do mean time, I can type about twice as fast, and 100 times neater than I write most of the time. Which is one reason that I do not hand write my journal.

Rationalization

As human beings we have the ability to rationalize all manner of thoughts and beliefs. There are many examples that anyone could rattle off at this point to make the case that humans can rationalize anything. I will use a case I heard today. An avid University of Oklahoma (OU) fan rationalized the Oklahoma State University's (OSU) win last night by saying the following;

"Well you know it was not OSUs game to win, it was Stanford's game to lose and that is what happened. Stamford lost. Rather than celebrate the fact that a team from the individuals home state had one, the outcome was rationalized, because OU did not rank as high in the BCS polls.

I am guilty of rationalizing situations, outcomes, thoughts, and behaviors, all in an effort to come to grips with life itself.

2012 Here We Are

As holidays go this New Years weekend was spent recovering from a cold and possible sinus infection. Neither of which are very happy, joyful, or full of bliss. I did' get to spend 4 days with the kids which was nice, and I did not have to work, also a plus. I was greeted with blank stares when I ask my family what they wanted to do in 2012. A little disappointing for the first family meal of the year, what more could I expect out of a 7 year old and a 4 year old.

With the electronics of the day, and the ease at which anyone can post a blog post, I have done an abysmal job in keeping my blog up to date. A task that provides a brief period for reflection when I take the time to do it.

I was getting a hair cut over Christmas Vacation, and I sat amazed watching all of those grey hairs falling onto the barbers apron that were coming from MY HEAD, when did this happen?

Easter Observations 2011

Easter Sunday, a joyous occasion for Christians around the world. This morning, when I was getting the ham ready for the world, the thought struck me that this would be unclean in the Jewish Law. Having ham for lunch was not in their book, and their I was before church, rubbing my hands all over that spiral cut ham.

We went to the 9:30 church service which was a little hard for me to explain to Cap.

Cap, "Are we going to early church?"

Me, "No, we are not going to early church, but we are going earlier than normal."

Cap, "The only time we go to early church is when I am singing."

Me, "That is correct, but we are not going to sunday school this morning just to church."

Cap, "So we are going to Early Church."

At church I saw some interesting things. The guy setting next to me was checking his email on his blackberry, and I do not me just a glance, he was reading it. There was a lady a couple of rows in front of me that had here Super Grande Starbuck coffee cup with her. Last, but certainly not least, was the adult male (age between 24 and 35) that had a beard, was wearing a yellow shirt, and pruple shorts. Well, just like me, at least they all came to church this morning.

Saturday, April 23, Schedule

7:00 - Awoke
7:05 - Put on Sandals
7:10 - Washed fruit for breakfast
7:15 - Let Ella out of her room
7:25 - Began mixing the homemade (from scratch) whole wheat waffle mix
8:00 - Served Breakfast with Amy's help
8:20 - Washing Dishes
8:45 - Getting ready to head to soccer field.
9:15 - Leaving for soccer fields, have water for everyone, 2 cameras, 4 chairs, 2 kids, 1 soccer play
11:45 - Leaving soccer fields
12:00 - Fire up grill upon arrival
12:01 - Put Squash in Oven
12:02 - Burgers on Grill
12:30 - Run out of propane - burgers finished on the skillet
12:55 - leaving with Cap to attend birthday party.
1:15 - Arrive at party
3:00 - leave party, heading home
3:05 - Stop at Randall's to by a couple of things for Amy.
3:25 - Arrive home, Ella is awake, and has not rested much.
4: 25 - cutting up veggies for Shrimp fried rice
5:34 - Serving Shrimp Fired Rice
6:10 - Kids feed, kitchen cleaned, sit down to read book.
7:10 - Help Ella and Cap with Shampoo in their hair.
7:30 - Story time
8:30 - Leave for Store (need propane, dish soap and Tylenol.
9:20 - Arrive at home
9:45 - Help with the dishes
Current Status - sitting on back porch, still wearing my sandals... ...I am tired!

A day in picture 4/18/11

A day in pictures from the BBC News.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-13117243

it begins with a couple of people leaving a music festival in California. The ground is littered with empty water bottles.

it ends with a photo of a what appears to be a cherry tree in blossom sticking out of an overturned car in Japan.

Waffles

Tonight for supper the kids wanted Waffles, so Amy and I made them Waffles. They were pretty good if I say so myself. One of my favorite meals growing up on cold days was waffles, biscuits and gravy, or pancakes and an omelet for dinner on cold snowy nights. Now that I am south of I-10, there is not much snow or many cold nights. It was really Cap's idea to have them, and I probably would have said no, but Ella has a cold.

Ella and I laid down in our bed today and watch Maisy, with english subtitles, and spanish voice. It was nice, afterwards she went and had a nap.

Cap had a soccer game, he has decided that his favorite position is goalie. While he did not say it, I think it is because there is less running up and down the field while playing that position.

German Chocolate Cake

I had a busy weekend in the kitchen, which was fine with me. We only ate out once, on Sunday, after church. I did determine that it takes less time to make Hamburger, Shrimp Fried Rice, and Grilled chicken, than baking a German Chocolate Cake from scratch. Thats right boys and girls, eat your heart out because I can make one from scratch. I also made some cinnamon raise bread this weekend, which was very tasty. The kids are both in bed asleep, which is where I will be heading shortly. McMurry University did name a new mascot, we are know the McMurry War Hawks. If you ask me, I find this more offensive than the Indians, any day of the week and twice on sunday. That is all that I have to report tonight, nothing too deep or thought provoking.

Cap Playing Soccer

Cap Playing Soccer, a photo by Germburner on Flickr.

This weekend was the first game of the season. This year Cap is on the Rockets, and in this picture he is playing Goalie (a word that I don't know how to spell.)

Strawberry Oreo Ice Cream

Tonight after we had the hamburgers, and potatoes that I cooked, we set off in search of desert. An adventure it was not as we knew the destination before we left. Sweet Things Ice Cream, where I had a single scoop of Strawberry Oreo, in a cup. I prefer the cup as it does not make much of a mess. The ice cream was really good, it was a combination of the fruity strawberry sweetness, and the deep chocolate sweetness that comes from the oreo's.

No iPod

I have listened to my iPod going to sleep almost every night since October 28, 2008. This is of course with a few exceptions. This past week started off with a potential disaster in this respect. I left town on a 5 day business trip, and realize as I was leaving town that my iPod was in plugged into the computer on the desk. To go back and get it would have costed about 1 hours driving time, leaving me to have to make a decision. I could go back and get the little boggier, or see what it was like without it. On the plus side, I knew that I had packed the earbuds, so at the least I could put them in my ear to fake it. I chose to risk it, and carried on my travels without the iPod. I hit pay-dirt the first two nights because the hotel had cable music channels. The last three nights, I used my computer and Pandora to play some music.

Aside from the sleep, I use the iPod to listen to music or pod cast when I tire of the audiobook I am listening to. I was forced to use the seek button and listen to the FM radio during these periods.

Winds of Change

There are some songs that are instantly recognizable after only a few bars of music. One of these songs for me is Scorpions Winds of Change. The song was released in 1990, my high school days, and it is the only song I remember Scorpion releasing. The song starts with the music being whistled, and then it goes into a ballad. The song invokes a general memory of high school, no particular event, just the fun times we had in High School

For me there are many songs that invoke some memory. For example, Soul Asylum's Runaway Train, takes me back to a camping trip I took with Terry, Steven, and Cory to Cimarron Canyon, New Mexico. We camped in the Pondersoa camp ground for 6 days, then drove over to Red River and spent one night in a hotel before heading back. The camping trip was the first one that we had taken without any parents. We did not get into any trouble, and we did have a raccoon stalker at the camp site.

Two songs, Hammer Time (MC Hammer) and Vogue (Madonna), and to a lesser extend Barbra Ann, remind me of the first time I went to the state competition for drafting. While not quite as manly as the state football playoffs, it was a lot of fun, almost like a 4 day school paid for vacation. Those two songs were on MTV when we were staying at the "Value Inn" just off of I-35 on the north end of Waco, Texas. It was also the first time I saw a Piggly Wiggly. I managed to go to state 4 straight years, and had a lot of fun. Fortunately my Senior year, we upgraded to a better hotel, in a safer part of town.

Pretty Good Skier

After dinner Ella and I were playing around with the soccer ball in the back yard. I would gently kick it to her, and she would throw it back. Then she change to where she was going to hike it back to me like a football. So I took up the ch allege of kicking it between her legs. Which got me to thinking about snow skiing. (I know that is the same as going from dot #1 to dot #35 on connect the dots.) I managed to get pretty good at it as long as I was close. My memory flashed back to lining up behind a skier in front of me, and sitting down, laying back on my skies, then shooting the moon. This moment of reflect drove me to come to grips with the fact that I was a pretty good skier at one point in my life. It was nothing for us to shoot down the face at Wolf Creek, hit the waterfall area, or take a chute that was no wider than our skies were long. We managed to survive all of it. Of the new inventions in the world, the one I would have enjoyed the most was an iPod. It was really tiresome carrying a couple of tapes, and extra batteries along with everything else we carted on the mountain.

Editor

Tnoght I glanced through several old posts, some from 2006, and some from 2010. After reading those, I decided I needed an Editor to proofread my writing. Any volunteers... ...no, I did not think so.

Square Sink - Round Tile

Sinks, a device or fixture that is in almost every bathroom, and kitchen I have ever been in. I have always associated sinks as a round object. This is despite the fact that most sinks are not a circle, rather they are an oval, or even a square with rounded corners.

Tiles, are yet another item that are found in abundance in bathrooms and kitchens. In my house they are also found in the entry, laundry room, and living room. As a general rule all the tiles that I have seen have been square. Some are big, and some are small.

This evening my "norm" was challenged by a restroom that had a square (straight corners and everything) sink, and round tiles. Which brings up the age old question, "Why do we readily accept the 'norm' and are or can be put mentally off balance by the 'exceptions'?" Our fast acceptance the norm will stifle creativity. On occasion, my kids seem to drift off to a land that they have created in their head. They will sit there and happily play with this or that toy imagining it is part of a family, or a pirate, on a great adventure.

Lately, I have felt like I have lost my creativity, or at least not had much to write about. I was listening to a podcast about The Onion, driving back from Beeville the other day. One statement was made about their desire not to get stuck in the repetitive creativity loop. A cycle that has the same set of jokes, or headlines. The last several post I have made, seemed to be stuck in this "creativity loop". A much deeper question: Am I creative at all? I think I have some degree of creativity, I am no Monet, Picasso, or Shake sphere. The is mainly because I cannot really paint, nor write sonnets in old English.

Dr. Pepper on Fat Tuesday

As the season of Lent is upon us, it is time to reflect upon our lives. This year I will be giving up Dr. Pepper, so I celebrated today with the equivalent of the old "Big Gulp.". Which in todays over the counter soft drink standard is more like a medium.

Obama Foodorama

I read an article once upon a time in Newsweek about a "Weblog" or blog for short. I found the entire concept interesting, and that is probably one of the reasons I started keeping a blog. We have many different outlets for getting information delivered to other people, the blog, a tweet (I do not do this), facebook, a newspaper (which still exists today), and the favorite Television.

A television news show can take an 8 hour intellectually stimulating debate and boil it down, like a distillery, into two 30 second sound bites. Neither of which, is much like the overall tone of the debate or argument. These news bits seem to feed the American Public, as opposed to going out and reading information on your own. We allow others to help us formulate our opinions. If you do not believe that, look at all of the news shows, in which the reports give their commentary, or thoughts on a situation.

So I was reading the news last night, looking for information on the proposal to cut public radio funding. I came across a blog about the presidents food, and dinning experiences. Which is interesting on several fronts. First, the fact that people are interested in what the president is eating, or his latest dinning experience. While his may be a little more extravagant, a Bourbon marinated pork chop cooked in my kitchen, is similar to a Bourbon marinated pork chop cooked in the presidents kitchen. Well there is one small difference, my pork chop, did not have to go through security. I am thinking about starting J's food blog, how is this for a title.

The Big J and His Food
A Look at the Cooking and Eating Habits of an Aspiring Home Chief

The Presidents blog is put together, by a paid staffer, with more abundant resources and time to complete the assignment. Big J's has limited time resources, and will not be as "professional" in its appearance.

See the Obama Food Blog
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Fritos

I am currently having a bit of a crisis. I cannot find the Sony Reader, which I have managed to misplace. It is a great little device, that I need to find, so that I can finish the book that I was reading. The other crisis, is that I do not have any chips to eat. (Perhaps the term crisis is a bit strong.) It is still an issue, as I like to eat my chips and hot sauce about this time in the evening, and since it is a Friday, one of my 7 favorite days of the week, I was going to have a tasty beverage with my chips. They complement each other.

Lent is coming up and I have not decided quite what I will be giving up. I think this year I might fall back on the Dr. Pepper, as I have gotten in the habit of drinking more of them that I used to. This has help the Levis Strauss company, as I have expanded my wardrobe, not just in number, but in size. Besides Dr. Pepper, I might give up the stinky chips aka Chile Cheese Frito's. I have not decided.

My air conditioner is running, it is 9:48 pm, in the first week of march and it is running. The heat is coming and will be here before I know it.

Fog

Driving through the fog is always fun. I did it for about 1 1/4 hour this morning. Driving though the fog, is like driving through an new universe. Much like the first time you drive some where in the dark, but with the fog, it could be the 345 time, and still, it is like a new universe. The fog shrouds the world around the car as we are driving. There is a difference between walking in the fog and driving in the fog. Most fog is not super dense, and difficult to walk in. When one takes the same density fog, and you are now going 60 mph, it seems much denser.

Living life is sometimes, like driving in the fog. One can never be quite sure the direction they are going. As the fog shrouds the surroundings, so does the hectic life we lead. Busy doing this, that, or the other, and we miss our turn. So busy that we do not see the beauty in the people around us, or we are to concerned with our own destination, that we miss a yield sign at life. When we do those things, we allow the beautiful things of life, pass before us. Life is Beautiful, if you ever take time to stop and gaze at the beauty. You will also miss the miracles of life, and by miracle, I do not mean the 1980 USA Hockey team, or the fact that the Red Soxs have actually won a few world series;s. The miracle of life, is that God can take us, create us, and love us, for who we are. He does not love us for what we have done, what we are going to do, or what we plan on doing. He just LOvES us!

Go Fish -

When I arrived at the Castle (chateau, manor, abode, or whatever you chose to call you home) A,C,E, AKA ace, were sitting down to play go fish. I joined them, and using my super powers learned while playing 42, and paying attention to who was asking for what I pulled down 8 pairs. I was pretty excited by this, last time I played, I manged to squeak out 5 pairs. I am thinking, "I bet them!!!". (This is an illustration of my competitive streak, playing my wife, and kids who are in K and Pre School.) So we count up the number of pairs, and I am tied with C, who also has 8. My bubble was burst, I though, we could squeeze in one more game. In the second game it was a 4 way tie, because everyone got 6 pairs.

In the end, I have decided that I might not be the mastermind of Go Fish. The blackberry has taught me I am not the mastermind of "Texas hold'em". I went all in on a Q high straight, the guy sitting next to me had an A high straight. Down the drain when my play money. As night falls here I realize that I will have to practice more with the cards, and the poker. There is nothing like family fun night with Go Fish, Trouble, or even Chutes and Ladders.

Descisions

Decisions are made all the time. Today, I made many decisions, most were small, with little impact, like waking up on time. (Always a good decision in my book.) I made decisions about what I was going to where, items at work were decided upon, and action taken.

Now if i was three, one of the biggest decisions of the day would be, what Pajama's I was going to select for sleeping in. Next to that decision, a three year old would be selecting which stories their parents would read, while they played, and appeared to pay marginal attention to. To be three again, it sounds pretty inviting, until you realize, you don't get to decide much after all. Wake up when you are woken up, and go to sleep when your parents tell you.

I was informed at work that last night were the Oscar's. This information was passed to me, down the hall and through my door, in the form of a conversation down the hall. Had those two individuals not been talking about it, the entire event might have gone without me noticing. I am sure there were great movies made this past year, I for one, have chosen reading, and writing as a more creative way to spend my time.

When you read a book, you engage your mind. When you engage your mind, you think. When you think, you gain wisdom. When you watch a movie, you munch on popcorn. When you munch on popcorn, you drink a soft drink. When you drink a soft drink, you have to go to the bathroom.

Do you choose WISDOM, or the bathroom?

Legos

Legos are awesome I want to get that out of the way first. Legos are a toy that can be played with if you are 3 or 33, I should know, I still play with them. Legos were designed in Europe in the 1940's and have been a favorite of builders with small hands for many years. Cap, Ella, and I have built everything from a space ship, to a boat. All it takes are a few blocks, an idea and a little imagination. Our favorite things to build are planes, cars, and space ships.

I though that I would have more to say about legos, but I do not.

Day of Meetings

Todays Schedule
7;30 to 8:00 - Meeting to review alerts.
8:00 to 9:30 - Staff Meeting
9:00 - 11:00 - Conference Call
11:00 - 11:30 - Presentation to procurement.
1:00 - 2:00 - Incident Review

And how did you spend your day?

Who is Cee Low Green

Last night I wanted to see what the music scene was like, by watching the Grammy's. Normally I tend to avoid award shows, because most of it is just pomp. I managed to watch 10 minutes of the show. Keith Urban, Norah Jones, and some other guy, sang "Jollie". Then they gave the award for best song of the year. Of the seven nominees, I had heard only one of the songs. It was at that point I realized (a) watching was a waste of my time (b) I rarely listen to pop music (unless you count Beethoven), (c) I am out of touch with today's music. So, who is Cee Low Green, and what kind of name is that?

Perhaps I should do some reading on the Oscar nominees, to increase my pop knowledge. However, I think I will just read a book instead, and engage my mind! Any activity more American's should do.

The Confrontation

Today as Cap and I were leaving church, I heard the high school kid cry out B.S. (The entire words), several times; six to be exact. He was upset because he did not call "shot gun" first.

For whatever reason, I decided that I should talk to the boys, and I gave them a little lecture about language. I hope they will think more when they are talking but I doubt it.

When I was in the 6th grade we were playing Romans and Christians outside of the church at youth. One of the older kids, was running around the corner when he slipped. I heard a loud F@#*! Come out of his mouth. I always felt let down by that. I never will forget the experience, it was the first curse word I ever heard at the church. Unfortunately, it was not the last.

Quantitative Easing Explained

The Pumpkin Patch

October is well in swing and last weekend, Cap and I went to Lowes last saturday. When we walked in Cap saw the halloween decoration, and then the Christmas decorations. So you can purchase you ghost decorations, and hang them off of Rudolph's antlers.

Yesterday we went to the Pumpkin Patch, which is much more than just a patch. It had a play fort, pedal carts, a dinning hall, a couple of fields if christmas trees. It did have a pumpkin patch, and to quote the hay ride tractor driver, "The Jack-o-latern pumpkins were brought in from a different vendor this year.".

Everyone had a good time as we searched for the Patman Family Pumpkin.

Muddy Water

The other day I was at the Library and discovered that not only do they have audio books on CD, and you can Check out, but they also have music. I was going through the stacks of music, and found two CDs. The first, was a critically acclaimed Miles Davis Jazz CD. The second, was Muddy Waters, Greatest Hits. I have listed to both albums and I have to say, that the Jazz that Miles Davis puts on reminds me of trying to get out of a corn maze. The music will be clicking along at a stead rythm and notes, then all of a sudden, wham, you hit the dead end of the maze, and the music goes haywire. The rythm changes, and the notes, cords and melody take a U turn, and throw the listener for a loop. Jazz... the music that sounds like abstract art at times, and Paublo Picaso at others. The Muddy Water CD was what I was looking for, a more John Lee Hooker sound of Blues.

I went back today and picked up Wynton Marsalis, and a classical violin CD, and another audio book. THe book is written by Karl Haasien, and I have several other audio books by him. This past week I listened to Airframe by Michael Crition, and it was great. An 11 hour read and I listened to it in about 5 days, of course I put on around 600 miles of travel with work. At this point with as much driving as I do, purcahsing audio books each is getting uneconomical to say the least. That and the pool vehicles that I get, all have CD players, which my old company truck did not.

Last but not least, I did an experiment today to see if I could use all 5 lbs of flour in a new bag in one day, and I succeded. We started out the morning with homemade biscuits (2 cups), then started with the bread (8 cups), I should mention that the bread machine was not used, then we made some blueberry schones (2 cups), and lastly pizza dough (3 cups). Needless to say we ate well, and I spent a lot of time in the kitchen, cooking and talking to the kids about cooking. Ella help me top the pizzas, and cap helped with the scones.

Homemade Bread

I did it, all by myself, if you are wondering "what" it is, the homemade bread. This is without the use of the bread machine. It was an interesting process, kind of fun, and not at all as bad as I thought it would be. This does not mean that you will soon see "J's Cafe, your home for coffee and breads."

Another bit of exciting news, while it is still hot outside, I do not feel like I am "MELTING" the second that I walk outside. Football is back on TV, and it does not look like the Astro's or the Red Sox's are not going to be going to the playoffs.

Learning to Read

When I was a kid, particularly when after I started High School, my grandmother always ask me what I was reading. My normal response what nothing, or what ever I had to read in school. She always had a book or to that she was reading, and help get me to read the "Hank the Cowdog" books when I was a kid. (My parents or mom help along those lines as well.). It was not until I was out of college that I finally discovered the enjoyment in reading. This can be correlated with the end of required reading, or that I had time in the evenings to read. Tonight Cap, with a little help, read "Going to the Firehouse" by Mercer Mayer. I hate to boast, but this makes me proud, particular since he wanted to read it.
Over the weekend I was listening to a MLK speech on the forming of a new nation (when Guine became independent) in his speech the he stressed on the importance of education, and the first step, was learning to read. So here at our house we do lots of reading to the kids, as they learn how to read, how to write, and how to be kids.

Cap Self Portrait 8-29-10

Cap Self Portrait 8-29-10
Originally uploaded by Germburner

Say Cheese

Ella Self Portrait 8-29-10

Ella Self Portrait 8-29-10
Originally uploaded by Germburner

Need I say more...

Play Mobile Pirates

Play Mobile Pirates
Originally uploaded by Germburner

The great thing about toys is that you can use your imagination. We were playing with the Play Mobile toys the other day, and Santa ended up being the skipper of the Pirate Ship. It makes Ho, Thar, and Ho! Ho! Ho! fit together. On a side note, Ella calls all of the figure people "Bad Guys" from the pirates, to santa, to the Explorer that is in the back of the picture.