Serenity Now...

After purchasing Steven Raichlen's BBQ Bible, I was excited to try out some of the recipe's. The first attempt was Australian Beer Battered BBQ wings. I sent the wife out for the specific ingredients and was all set to go yesterday. I made up the marinade and threw the wings in for the suggested 4 hours. When the time came to cook, that's when the fun began.

My Mother was over for a visit and the wife was putting our youngest to bed. My older daughter was running between helping me and playing with my Mom. For those of you who do not know me or my family, chaos is the standard when things even go slightly out of whack and yesterday was no exception. I prepared the coals on the BBQ and threw the wings on the fire. Literally five minutes later, my Mother comes out to see how it's going and some of the wings are getting burned. Panic ensues. Since the wife is bathing our youngest, the water on the stove was boiling for Gaby's mac & cheese. I send my Mother in to throw in the pasta and start freaking out about the fire. I'm trying to move the wings around in an attempt to not burn them, but the coals have now heated up to 10,000 degrees. I'm yelling for some water to douse some of the coals - my Mother has caught one of the dish towels on fire from the gas stove because she couldn't find a potholder for the boiling water and Gaby is knocking on the glass window to get my Mom's attention. Serenity now... My Mother then declares, "What's wrong with you people!" Line of the night. I'm telling Gaby to stop tapping on the window and asking my Mom to bring out the BBQ sauce. My Mom is running back and forth and freaking out. I throw on the sauce and there is even more burning. I think the wings are done, but my Mom insists that they need more time. She was right, of course, so we threw them back on for a few more minutes. Overall, the wings were great tasting, but there were some that were still red inside - I hope I don't get sick from that stuff.

Lessons learned: don't use so many freaking coals (an issue I've had before, but still haven't learned), have all my stuff outside BEFORE starting, and don't have my Mother over to help.

Serenity now...

Before popping the question - use these guides...

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/greek-wives.html
http://iws.ccccd.edu/grooms/goodwife.htm
http://www.merrycoz.org/yc/GOODWIFE.HTM

job leeches

One thing that chaps my a$$ is job leeches. A job leech is someone who works for a major corporation that saps their workplace of everything it offers and does any passable work. There was someone who recently retired where I work and this person did next to nothing. I only worked with this person for two years, but I am inclined to believe that there hasn't been much more effort given in the past. What kills me is that this person completely took advantage of the overtly accommodating employer and yet returned very little if anything in service. Yet over the years, either no one called them on their poor performance or just let it slide. What pushed me over the edge was when this person was retiring, they made it sound like their life's work at the company was of value. I guarantee that no one will even blink once this person is gone and that just drives me batty. I don't mind a person sliding by on an issue here or there, but a 20+ year career should give an accurate representation of a person's worth and that just didn't happen in this case. The last thing that gnaws at me is how this person can look in the mirror and think that they deserve anything for their daily slacking.

Things I hate #1

People who have a ton of items, but will not let the person who has 1-2 items go before them. What the hell? What possess these people? Are they so mad that they had to wait they refuse to let anyone in front of them no matter how much sense it would make? I always let someone with just a few items go ahead of me if I have a cart full of stuff. I just don't get it.

ICU for dogs & cats?

Are you kidding me? I was listening to one of my favorite people to hate, Kristine Kraft, and she was going on about her dog who was coming out of ICU? Did I really here that right? There is an ICU for dogs? What the hell? Call me callous, but if my pet gets to the point where they need major surgery that requires they stay in an animal ICU, I'm putting that puppy down. I understand people are close to their pets, but training someone as a surgeon for an animal seems a bit much, when their skills could be better utilized on humans. Maybe I'm wrong here, but I just think that if someone is brilliant enough to perform major surgery on an animal could be better utilized in a hospital working on humans.

If you like the NFL, you need to live on the West Coast

Nothing is better than a Sunday when the NFL is playing. You can start your morning with ESPN's warm up at 8:00 am and bask in the glory of the NFL until around 9:30 pm! You get three games to watch and sandwiched in between is NFL Primetime. I love this time of year.

I remember my first trip back east during the NFL season. I was in Florida for a business trip that lasted two agonizing weeks (maybe I'll post on that one day). Sunday rolls around and I'm up at nine to start watching football. I turn on the TV, but there is NO FOOTBALL? What the hell? Where is my football? It isn't until 11:00 am that ESPN starts their coverage - agh! I was up past midnight for the Monday Night game the following day. I don't know how football fans survive on the East Coast.

Under God flap

Well our moronic atheist from Sacramento is at it again. Michael Newdow (sp) has successfully argued a case against teachers leading their classes in the Pledge of allegiance because the words "under God". Newdow's argument was the same as last time which revolved around the separation of church and state. I understand the necessity of separation between church and state, but the funny thing is that references to God appear in a number of places that could be considered "the state". Just pull out your wallet and right on the back of the bill reads, "In God We Trust". The same phrase is mentioned all over court facilities and when you take the stand you have to swear on a Bible. I can understand that atheists may not want to say the words, "under God", but can't they just not say the words? Why make a court case out of it unless there is some other reason. I don't see the issue, but this nutjob has a problem and now our tax dollars will once again follow him to the Supreme Court where I hope the issue is decided once and for all.

Chemistry

First off, I cannot tell you how excited I am that football is back. Welcome back old friend. Now on to chemistry. Monday Night Football has been missing something since the days of Howard Cosell, chemistry. The current program has John Madden (by far, the greatest color commentator today) and Al Michaels. Al was fine when he was the network's boy, but he stinks as a play-by-play guy. The other problem is that there is absolutely zero chemistry between Madden and Michaels. Madden is the most affable guy and Michaels is as stiff as they come. The perfect pairing was Madden and Summerall, who got kind of feeble towards the end of their run on FOX. Summerall came back last year to spell Mike Patrick on ESPN and he seemed fine, but MNF needs to lose Michaels quick. Most MNF games are the cream of the crop for the season, but it's painful to listen to Michaels appear as if he's human and can relate to anyone.

I almost forgot another travesty, the horse trailer. I'm sure the genius staff at MNF were looking for something along the lines of the Turducken, but the horse trailer is a lame idea. Each Monday night, Al has John pick who should go on the horse trailer and it couldn't be any more of a forced effort at best.

Katrina was just a developers plot?

You have got to be kidding me...One of my many guilty pleasures is listening to what the leftist Moonbats are saying over at Air America. One of Air America's main mouthpieces, Randi Rhodes, is now saying that the devastation of hurricane Katrina happened because the developers wanted to build resorts on the shorefront and they actually want the poor to die in LA? Most times, I just listen to laugh (the days after the last election were priceless, especially when Jeanne Garofolo cried), but this is crazy talk. Everything is not a conspiracy people...

Rolling Stones

I was in the gym this morning and a Rolling Stones video was on from the 90's I think. I like the Rolling Stones, but they haven't made a decent LP/CD since Tattoo You. I'm all for getting by, but it just infuriates me when bands put out albums just to put out something new. I'm pretty sure the Stones can survive just fine on what they own already, not to mention all the touring they do every year. It saddens me when good bands put out crap.

on-line selling

I'm not the most experienced user of eBay and the on-line selling/buying craze. I've only bought a few items from eBay until recently. I heard about a cool local service called Craigslist, http://sacramento.craigslist.org/, that was a local posting board for free. A friend of my wife recommended it and told of how easy it was to use. I posted two items out there last week and one guy called and then decided not to buy. There was another person who wanted the same item, but it sounded fishy. This guy wanted to buy the item at the listed price and pay for it via Western Union. I would then hand off the item to a courier who would pick it up for him. Once the other guy dropped out of the running, I decided to give this weirdo a try. As soon as I gave him the information, sure enough an e-mail arrived from what appeared to be Western Union telling me that I could expect a money order in a few days. It felt phony right away, but my desire to sell the item held out hope. The guy had already scheduled FedEx for a pickup the following day, but I wasn't sure about it now. I went back and re-read the messages from Western Union and the text appeared to be written in somewhat broken English. I was pretty sure that it was some kind of scam so I wrote the guy back and said that I wasn't going to send it until I actually received the money order and cashed it. I then went out of the internet and sure enough, all it took was a search for Western Union BidPay and a scam where a buyer posing as Western Union shipping to Nigeria (I know, crazy huh?) was looking for suckers. That confirmed it for me since the shipping label this kook sent me was for Nigeria.

I guess the moral is to beware of something that appears too good to be true.

volleyball

I love volleyball. I started playing when I first worked at the place I ended up working at now (another time for that story). A few of us went out to the sand courts in the quad and started playing. It wasn't long until a more experienced player came over and asked if we'd like to know the rules to the game we were butchering. Once we had the rules down, we started playing everyday at lunch and had a blast. We became so cocky that we held a tournament in our group to see who was the best of the best. I ended up winning with my best buddy and we thought we'd made it to the top. We were so cocky that we searched out and found a local outdoor tournament. At work we usually play 3-on-3, but this tournament was 2-on-2 and not in sand, but grass. We figured that it would be a cake walk. We were sorely mistaken. The day started off fine, but we quickly learned that 2-man is way different than 3-man. Not only did we lose every single game we played, by the time I got home I felt like I'd been run over by a Mack truck. We stuck with the game and eventually got better.

I've played pretty much every possible way you can: indoor 4's, 6's, outdoor 2's 4's 6's, sand & grass. Two person sand is by far my favorite, but living nowhere near a beach makes that a tad difficult. There are some local sand courts that I play on now and then, but my dream is to one day live near a beach where I can play everyday. Volleyball has become not only my favorite sport, but a passion in my life. I was even lucky enough to meet my wife while playing.

Random Thoughts

I don't have anything earth shattering to post, so I thought I'd just riff for a while.

Got to see my beloved Steelers play last night and it was a sight to behold. First three touches resulted in TDs for the Steelers as they coasted to a win. The 1st team defense couldn't stop McNabb and company as they marched down for their 1st TD. Looks like it could be a good season.

Today is the anniversary of Elvis' death. Don & Mike, radio guys from DC, do one heck of a tribute and can be heard on the web at WJKF.com.

No one can really screw up hot dogs, right? Wrong. Last night we had some friends over to watch the game and have dinner and I was going to BBQ some dogs. I had a fire large enough to heat our home and placed not some, but all of the hot dogs on the grill and walked inside to watch the game. I came out after two plays and every hot dog was charred black and some were on fire. I took off all the dogs and headed to the store, d'oh! I came back and cooked them correctly this time, cover on and away from the super hot coals, and all was well.

I can't wait until the elections of 2006 because it seems like both sides have cast aside all manner of civility in the debate. Perhaps some of it's due to the internet and it's ability to communicate instantaneously ideas. Or that a two-term President causes both sides to foam at the mouth. Whatever the reasons, it will be interesting to see what happens in 2006 and if all the chatter leads to anything.

That's it for now...

old friends

Recently, I ran into an old friend who was still in contact with my other old friends as well. It had been almost a decade since I had really talked to these folks. We were lucky enough to get together at a local park and catch up. Everyone had changed in one way or another, but remained the same too. Some had married and had children and others had grown from their life experiences. One overriding thought kept circling my mind, I should have reached out long ago. I'm sad I missed out of some of life's biggest milestones with my friends, but am glad I found them again. Each one reminded me of the past and how much fun we used to have running around. I look forward to what the future brings and know that it'll be richer now that I have them back in my life.

jerk-o-meter?

If this thing catches on, http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/J/JERK_O_METER?SITE=TXPLA&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT, I'm done for...ha-ha!

Porter too?

My football season took another hit with the announcement that Joey Porter, the guy who's jersey I just got for this season, will miss all of preseason due to knee surgery. Everyone is optimistic, but damnit, I can't help being a tad worried. We need both Porter & Duce to make a run for the Super Bowl. I too hope they'll both be back soon and healthy.

On a side note, I joined an ESPN free fantasy football league yesterday to get ready for my own fantasy draft and the following is a list of my players: QBs: j. delhomme, b. griese, RBs: d. mcallister, b. westbrook, m. faulk, c, taylor, WRs: r. moss, r. wayne, d. jackson, d. bennett, l. fitzgerald, c. rogers, TEs: a. gates, d. clark, DEF/ST: eagles, K: r. longwell. We'll see how I do in the ESPN league!

The whole Sheehan thing

I actually feel sorry for Cindy Sheehan. I feel sorry for her loss, but even more sorry that she is now the latest tool for the far left. The whole thing is really low. To use a Mother who has lost a son is disgraceful even for the far left. I actually took the time to read the original article, http://www.thereporter.com/republished, and it really does appear that she changed her tune just as Drudge reported yesterday. In the article, Sheehan and her husband actually discuss if when they meet with the President they should bring up their opposition to how he's handling the war, which I thought was odd. After the meeting, the article clearly states that Bush did indeed comfort the grieving parents and they were grateful. Now it appears that Sheehan has been reading all of the far left's absurd assertions that the entire war was fought for oil. I'm sure she sees herself as someone who can make a difference in her opposition to the President, but does she also realize that she's being used as a tool for the far left in their bid to retake the Congress and White House? All the lefty blogs/sites have Sheehan's story plastered everywhere and are using it as a talking point in their daily complaints about Bush. Sheehan is now being mentioned on Al Jazeera which I'm sure will be used over there as another example of how they are the ones winning the war on terror. Crazy...

BB6 update

Howie has to be the stupidest man ever! First he screws up by not putting up anyone from "the friendship" and instead turns on his own group. I admit that James tried to save his own butt by selling out his group, but deal with that after taking care of business. Now with the threat of that idiot Eric returning, "the friendship" will have the numbers to just start picking off the good guys. On top of Howie's first major screwup, he then can't get the other mental midgets to prevent James from winning the power of veto! James could have been taken out by three out of the four people who could have participated, but somehow no one figure that one out. Each season, the producers manage to find people more inept than the last group. Unbelievable.

Yes, I am ashamed at how much time this show occupies, but it is one of my many guilty pleasures.

You know your fat when...

The other day, I was finishing up giving my daughter a bath when she made a comment about my body. She looked at my chest and remarked, "One day mine will be big like that too." Perhaps it's time to think about a diet....ha-ha.

Duce?

My favorite football team is the Pittsburgh Steelers and I was saddened to see that Duce Staley had to have knee surgery and will be out for a month. Reports say that he should be back in a month, but who knows what's going to happen. I'm still stoked for the season, but bummed that one of their primary weapons is dinged up. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05220/550592.stm