One Man Web Log

God Bless America

2012-02-12T18:52:00.000-08:00

This is my new favorite video. It doesn't get any better.

Big News: Jack White to release solo album

2012-01-30T20:16:00.000-08:00

Jack White is going to release a solo album. Here a song from it here: Hear "Love Interuption"

(you have to click the "Play" arrow near the top of the page)

There is no question that the album is going to be good. It is afterall Jack White his ownself.

JK Harris In Liquidation

2012-01-12T03:53:00.000-08:00

Seems like the pennies on the dollar settlement once promised by JK Harris have come full circle:

http://www.loansafe.org/jk-harris-in-liquidation
JK Harris and Co., at one point a nationwide firm offering to settle people’s tax debts for pennies on the dollar, came to a humble end in a Charleston courtroom Tuesday.
Dogged by consumer complaints and large legal settlements, deeply in debt and unable to find a way out, the Goose Creek-based company’s proposed bankruptcy restructuring was converted to a liquidation. A trustee has been assigned to scrounge up what assets she can find to repay creditors.
Many creditors, including consumers who are collectively owed millions from settlements of claims that the company misled them, will get nothing.

Who's Next?

Video of the week - Betcha can't do this

2011-11-17T22:42:00.001-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yojUpMPt2vk&feature=related

"Oops"

2011-11-09T22:10:00.000-08:00

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-57321982-503544/rick-perry-fails-to-remember-what-agency-hed-get-rid-of-in-gop-debate/?tag=contentMain;contentBody

If you have not seen it yet, click on the link above to see Rick Perry self destruct during the debate earlier today.

La Quinta Daytona

2011-11-04T07:30:00.000-07:00

Above are pictures from the La Quinta at Daytona. It was originally another hotel/motel that is about 30 years old and was purchased by the current owner who got a La Quinta Franchise so it is not completley similar to most La Quintas as far as facilities. It has the mexican clay roof, good sized rooms, a heated pool, and a great view of the ocean.

Gopher Tortoise

2011-11-04T07:24:00.000-07:00

Above is a picture of a Gopher Tortoise taken at Ponce Inlet which is about 9 miles or so north of Daytona. They have a nice park there with a pier, a beach, and we also saw some dolphins in the inlet. The turtle was eating lunch and not too concerned about much else.

Atlantic

2011-11-02T11:54:00.000-07:00

Above is a picture I took looking straight out into the Atlantic on Daytona Beach. There was a good breeze but the air was envigorating. The ocean produces some good breathing air and I was really feeling it here.

Venice Florida

2011-11-02T11:48:00.000-07:00

I don't know if I took any pictures at Venice. Maybe I have some I took with my phone. I will add them later if I find them. We spend a couple of days at Venice and it was very nice. Again the weather was just about perfect and the beach was great. It is a little farther south so we were able to take a dip in the ocean. It couldn't have been more relaxing. Whenever it got a little warm, I would just plunk in the ocean for a little bit and splash around. We had to walk a little bit to get to a quieter section of the beach but we still ended up chatting with several really nice folks who strolled by. Everybody seemed to be high on the fresh air. On the way back from the beach one day, we stopped to pick up a sandwich at the KT deli at 454 E. Venice Ave. When I went in I met Toan, the owner and his wife who's name I don't remember but she had a very cute personality. Toan did most of the talking but his wife would smile and also make comments that didn't agree 100% with Toan. Toan offered me some home made eggrolls to sample and I asked him what else he recommended. I ended up getting a french vietnamese sandwich and some eggrolls. This is the place to grab a sandwich in Venice. He told me he recently updated the menu to include homemade eggrolls and other vietnamese choices but a lady who was in there getting lunch told me that the Cuban press sandwiches were good also. Toan also told me where to get the best vietnamese buffet food here in Houston at our local chinatown. I am going to check it out and will update the blog when I do.

Roses are red, the sky is blue...

2011-11-02T11:36:00.000-07:00

Above is a picture from when I was sitting at the campsite one day at O'Leno. I was sitting there relaxing and the sky really looked blue and beautiful so I clicked a picture of it. This was perfect weather for camping. No misquitos or humidity. A little too cool in the evening but we had a fire so it was about as good as it gets.

Destin Florida & Grayton Beach State Park

2011-11-02T11:21:00.000-07:00

We stayed one night at Grayton Beach State Park. When I looked online at the specific picture of the campsite that I reserved also online, it looked very private because it appeared to be fenced in by vegitation and trees. However, when we arrived, there was a campsite directly behind it that bordered the back of our site. There was a clear view if thier RV which was facing us, a fire burning, and also a loud radio playing Southern Rock. I have no problem with Nascar and Nascar fans. I enjoy a good Nascar race myself. Still, A nascar party was not what I imagined when I booked this campsite. We went to the forest ranger and the moved us to another site but it was till pretty close to the nieghbors. Also there were trails all around our campsite that lead to the the restroom shower area so people were walking by at all times of the night with flashlights. There was also a neigbor who treated us to several hours of classic rock. We could clearly hear the conversations from two of the nearby campsites. Grayton Beach Park is a nice place as far as the beach and park area but the camping experience is more of a place to stay or somewhere you would want to have an RV. Not good for tent camping. In the middle of the night I was dreaming along and I woke up into a sleepy haze hearing animals walking around our tent and then thrashing around on our picnic table. I thought I had put all food items in the car's trunk but I left a lunchbox and a can of nuts out. As I looked out the window, it looked like there were two bears trying to claw my lunch box open. I was half asleep and I was thinking to myself, "are there black bears in florida?". Then I woke up a little bit and realized that it was two very large and fat racoons who must have gotten that way by eating well from what they stole from campsites. I shined a flashlight at them and they marauded off to pillage the next campsite.

The next day we cut this particular venture short went over to Destin and checked in to a Motel 6. It was as sparse as most motel 6's but this one had a kitchenette and the room was actually pretty large compared to any Motel 6 room I had seen before.

Below are a couple of photos I took when we were eating lunch under a public Gazebo. I should have clicked a few more but I was busy enjoying the really beautiful beach. It was perfect weather. This part of our trip was actually the day before we camped O'Leno which I have already posted pictures of in the previous post.

National Lampoon Vacation

2011-10-30T17:06:00.000-07:00

Above is a picture of our outdoor hotel for our recent visit to O'Leno State Park in Florida. Florida has a great state park system. Very well organized and all facilies are well maintained. The campsites are set up for RV and also Tent with some being tent only. Most have electrical and water at each individual site.

O'Leno has an interesting history. Originally it was a town called "Keno" after the gambling game but back in the 1800s it was change to "Leno" because of pressure from religious elements and also business people that didn't want to offend anybody. Then when the railroad was built, it passed by Leno and it became a ghost town. Later on in the 1930s, the forestry department made a state forest out of it and it was referred to as "Old Leno" and is now called O'leno. Within the boundaries of the park, the Santa Fe River goes underground and resurfaces down the line. They have an amazing system of hiking trails and I took a few pictures which are posted below:

Above you can see some of the palm tree type shrubs that are all over the are and concentrated in this particular area where I snapped th photo. I imagine that there was some clearing done and the palm shrubs took over.

Below is a picture of a suspension bridge build back in the 30s:

If you are ever in northern central florida I would highly recommend a visit to this park. Camping is $18 and a day visit is $5 per car. They have hiking and biking trails as well as plenty of fishing and also swimming area. Be careful not to swim in the wrong place or you might come across a gator. For more info, check out the Florida State Parks web site which is very good.

big easy

2011-10-27T15:08:00.000-07:00

The French Quarter is alive and well. Below are a couple of pictures I took during a recent daytime visit. It was a good time which was made even better by the guy who works the door and seats people at the Royal Cafe. We were walking by about 11 am and he was hawking the passerby's with an invitation to eat blackened chicken, shrimp creole, etc and he also hawked out that our dog was welcome. We had a dog stroller and thought it was funny. When we got hungry we decided to take him up on the invitation. The guy loves his job. He made sure we felt right at home and sat us at a table with an open air street side view where we could watch the goings on and interesting people. No matter what you look like or how you dress, you will not feel out of place at the French Quarter. Give em a visit and enjoy yourself while supporting some great culture.

Time for a Party

2011-10-18T05:30:00.000-07:00

I think it is great that people have the opportunity to voice thier opinions and participate in peaceful protests.   However, I do think it is a good idea to know exactly what it is that you are protesting about.   In the "Occupy Wall Street" movement the participants are saying that they are fed up but it isn't really clear what they want "Wall Street" to do.   Are they wanting to shut down the stock market and the banking system and possibly bring in a new group of capitolists who are not driven by greed?   It just doesn't work that way.

The problem is that if they got rid of every member of "Wall Street", there are plenty more who will come in and do whatever it is they can get away with. AIG, Enron, and every other type of scandal or fraud will repeat itself as long as people can get away with it. That is just the nature of people.

The solution isn't to ask the players to start playing nice. The answer is in the officiating. Washington, and the state legislatures, should be the primary focus. As long as people put up with a system where elected officials can be paid off without concequence, then they will continue to get the kickbacks. People do need to take to the streets. Particularly on Tuesday in early November.   We need to elect representatives who are not part of the current two party system because it is broken.

The time is right for a real third party that is not just the extremists from an existing party like the "Tea Party".   Thier answer is to "revolt" and be hard core Republicans.   We need a true "Tea Party", one that doesn't just hi-jack the name but actually represents something different which is honest representation. It is time that American Citizens have more representation than multi-national corporations.

Basically, it is time for America to be America.

Einstein & Twyman: "I done told you so already"

2011-10-17T06:05:00.000-07:00

A few weeks back it was reported in the news that scientists had clocked nutrinos traveling faster than the speed of light. This is a finding that would imply that time travel was theoretically possible and was also at odds with the theory of relativity according to our boy Albert Einstien. Now it comes out that they likely did not account for the rotation of the earth (relativity) and the movement of the tracking device in relation to the earth.

I have already explained here on the one man web log that time travel is not possible and will never happen. If it was ever going to happen, it would have already happened in the future and we would know about it here in the past which is at this precise moment the present.

Albert explained it as follows: E=MC2

I explained it here on the one man web log a few months back: http://marctwyman.blogspot.com/2011/07/science-cathes-up-to-one-man-web-log.html

Read more about it here:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2394747,00.asp#fbid=OA9BZlZhNOI

Taxmasters - News story from the internet today

2011-10-13T11:13:00.000-07:00

(picture from ABC news story referenced below)

http://goingconcern.com/2011/10/will-jk-harris-and-taxmasters-join-the-tax-lady-in-the-late-night-tax-problem-solver-body-count/

Below is an op-ed from the above link:

Will JK Harris and TaxMasters Join the Tax Lady in the Late-Night-Tax-Problem-Solver Body Count? By Joe Kristan

“Pennies on the dollar” may be a great pitch on cable television, but it’s not a surefire business plan. Desperate taxpayers who have paid money up front to JK Harris to resolve their tax debts at a discount are joining the IRS as potential “pennies on the dollar” creditors now that this leader in the tax settlement industry is filing for bankruptcy protection.
This is the second major blow this year to cable TV ad revenues. Earlier this year “Tax Lady” Roni Deutch gave up her law license in the face of charges that she took fees up front to resolve tax debts and failed to follow through.
Tax nerds see the late night ads when we get home and wonder how these outfits manage to get such great deals out of the IRS when getting the Service to actually forgive tax debts is like pulling teeth from a grumpy rhino for the rest of us.

TaxMasters now stands as the biggest remaining player in the TV tax settlement business, but they have their own problems. They were de-listed last month from the OTC Bulletin Board to the pink sheets for failing to file their 10-Q due August 15. The last reported trade for Taxs.pk is at 13 cents. They have also been sued by the Minnesota Attorney General for allegedly deceptive practices. ABC News reported on the suit:

The Minnesota attorney general says many of the company’s employees are skilled tele-marketers who have little knowledge of the complicated tax issues faced by people who have fallen behind in filing their returns or making tax payments. “When you call, you think you’re talking to a tax professional,” said Swanson. “You’re really talking to just a salesperson who’s trying to get you to sign up.”

So maybe the secret is that the late night settlement outfits are staffed by telemarketers who just happen to be awesome at selling pennies-on-the-dollar deals to the IRS. If that’s true, though, they seem to be having a lot of trouble turning what would truly be a remarkable and valuable skill into profits.

Texas Toast

2011-10-12T07:33:00.000-07:00

Here in Texas, our boy Rick Perry decided that he was going to save the country.   Lucky for the rest of the country they are not as embedded in political ideology as rural Texans.   Little things like kickbacks and extreme opinions kind of get in the way when it comes to getting elected at the big time level.

The truth is that in Texas the lieutenant governor actually more important when it comes to legislation.

The problem with Perry is that he wants to continue a "war on science" by teaching sunday school in science class.   I don't have a problem with global warming skeptics that are scientists. However when a pure ideolog oposes the concept of global warming just because he is supposed to, that is like attacking Christopher Columbus because the earth is not flat.

The bottom line is that Rick Perry is a phoney.   Anybody who supports him is willfully ignorant.

Texas had many great things to offer and Rick is just not one of them.

and then there was one

2011-10-08T19:53:00.000-07:00

There used to be 4 major players in the "Tax Resolution" business.

First it was American Tax Relief - shut down by the FTC

Then it was Roni Lynn Deutch - finished off by the state of California

and now JK Harris is filing bankruptcy to get out of hot water:
http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2011/oct/07/jk-harris-to-file-for-bankruptcy/

There definitely seems to be more to the story but either way, karma is a bitch.

Little Woman So Sweet

2011-08-25T17:47:00.000-07:00

Hey You!

I just posted a video on Youtube if you wanna see it.

http://www.youtube.com/user/MarcTwyman#p/u/0/2LQrp_t6480

It is me playing a Blind Boy Fuller Tune on acoustic guitar.

night night

What now?

2011-08-21T21:50:00.000-07:00

This guy is done.

brother can you spare a dime?

2011-08-05T20:18:00.001-07:00

Well it looks like the politicians just wasted some more of our money. S&P Just downgraded the USA to less thatn a AAA credit rating for the first time ever and in doing so they cited political brinksmanship that made the risk unpredictable. If the elected officials had not put thier party and ideology before country, we could have saved some money. The Tea Party happened a long time ago and it should be off limits for anyone to use it as a title for thier organization just like it is telling when someone claims to have God on thier side or hi-jack the American Flag.

So from the One Man Web log to all the ideologs: Up Yours!

Fear and Cowardice

2011-08-05T15:49:00.000-07:00

I was watching a movie online just now, one of the hanibal lector ones called Red Dragon. It struck me when Hanibal told the young retired detective that he had fear but was not a coward.

It made me think. Most poeple may have already thought about it but it isn't possible to be brave if there is no fear. Bravery, or the lack of cowardice, is only applicable if there is an element of fear. The reason our founding fathers were so great is because they were facing a situation where they would have been crazy not to have fear at some level. They stood up to the English powers and if the revolution failed, they would have surely been shot or hanged.

The latest fiasco from our current round of elected representatives was in my opinion cowardly. Nobody wanted to step away from worrying about what their particular group of supporters would think and they all just behaved predictably. Sickening stuff.

OK, it is now back to the movie.

Nanu Nunu

Science Cathes up to One Man Web Log

2011-07-25T20:49:00.000-07:00

OK, Here is a story from todays news:

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/07/25/time-travel-is-impossible-scientists-say/

The headline is "Time Travel is Impossible, Scientists Say"

And here is a quote from the story:

By proving that even a single photon must obey Einstein's theory that nothing can travel faster than the speed of light, Hong Kong physicists believe they have debunked the idea of time travel once and for all.

A Hong Kong University of Science and Technology research team led by Du Shengwang said they had proved that a single photon, or unit of light, "obeys the traffic law of the universe."

"Einstein claimed that the speed of light was the traffic law of the universe or in simple language, nothing can travel faster than light," the university said on its website.

"Professor Du's study demonstrates that a single photon, the fundamental quanta of light, also obeys the traffic law of the universe just like classical EM (electromagnetic) waves."

Now here are some quotes from One Man Web Log entries that pre-date the "scientific breakthrough" :

http://marctwyman.blogspot.com/2010/05/to-hawk-or-not-to-hawk.html
I can't go into it with mathematical equations but I don't think warp speed is physically plauseable.

http://marctwyman.blogspot.com/2010/05/scientific-breaktrhrough.html
I was driving through the U-Turn at Gessner and Katy Freeway and maybe it was the G-force of approximatley 1.009 Gs that gave me the proper frame of mind to come to the indisputable conclusion that time travel will never be possible. No matter how advanced human technology advances it will never happen...

http://marctwyman.blogspot.com/2011/01/time-and-space-travel.html
As far as time travel goes a trip down "memory lane" is about as real as it is going to get. At least considering the parameters of the physical universe as we know it.

Is the Chili good here?

2011-07-24T20:37:00.000-07:00

The other day we went to Chili's and I decided to try the chili. I asked the waiter if it was good and he kind of laughed but he said it was. I thought it was OK and I figure that it is a good represention of what it is supposed to be which is a Terlingua style chile. However, It is a little bit more chili tasting that I prefer. Not necessarily too spicey but too much of a chili (chili powder) taste which I understand would be correct as far a what folks would expect.

Last night I decided to make a batch in the crockpot my ownself. I used about a half a bag or so of red beans (dried), a couple of cans of diced tomatoes, a can of chili paste, a container of sodium free free range chicken broth, about 6 or 7 fresh jalapino peppers (seeds removed), a good amount of ground turkey meat, a couple of good sized white onions, a bell pepper, about a half a batch of celantro (chopped) and a bout 8 celery stalks chopped. I also added a good bit of chili powder, some garlic powder, some onion powder, some Mrs Dash, a little black pepper & I think that was about it. I rinsed off the read beans added all the ingredients. I cooked the turkey meat with some chopped onion in a large skillet and then added it also. I let it cook on the lower of the two crock pot settings and I tasted it this morning and added a little bit more chili powder. I was thinking about cheating a little bit and adding some Sweet Baby Ray's bbq sauce but I decided against it. It came out pretty good. It isn't the purist's chili but it is something I can eat for several days in row and not get overpowered. I had some tonight with som brown rice and it tasted pretty good. If a person wanted to get really serious about it, they could add some of the peppers in stages but it has just enough kick for me but more importantly a good flavor. To me it is just hard to go wrong with a crock pot. You just throw a bunch of stuff in there and about 8 hours later, it ususally tastses pretty good.

Casey Anthony

2011-07-17T19:56:00.000-07:00

I sympathize with the jury because they had to find that beyond a reasonable doubt that the mom killed the kid. The prosecution did not have an official cause of death and without that it is hard to convict someone of murder. As far as I am concerned, if the public is going to be mad about the results, they should be mad at the prosecution for going forward with a case without enough evidence to convict. They should have either waited until they had the evidence needed for the murder conviction or they should have charged her with a different crime. Maybe endangerment of a child or child abuse. Florida seems to have a history of going after people without proper evidence. Janet Reno did it and got famous in the process. It turned out she was creating evidence through hypnosis that did not stand the test of time.

The "Tax Lady" is done

2011-07-02T20:25:00.000-07:00

Check out this video of Roni Lynn Deutch apparantly blaming the state bar of California for the mess she is in:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmajIcRShL8

Yesterday she plead "not guilty" to contempt of court:

http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=18579082&postID=5831369971147613124

American Tax Relief, Another of the 4 major players among the "Tax Resolution" companies, was shut down by the Federal Trade Commission:

http://www.ftc.gov/os/caselist/1023083/101109atrpi.pdf

It was a state attorney general lawsuit that was the first domino in bringing down Roni Lynn Deutch and just last month the State of Tennessee won its case against another of the 4 major players in the "industry", JK Harris. This is was not the only state level AG action that has focused on JK Harris.

http://www.legalnewsline.com/news/233089-tennessee-wins-case-against-jk-harris

The Solution?

2011-06-11T23:26:00.000-07:00

The country is in deep do do financially and the legislative answer from both sides seems to be a nice pork sandwich. I am thinking maybe we should be having a salad. Or maybe a nice healthy bowl of soup.

There was a deal

2011-05-02T00:02:00.000-07:00

There is no question that there was some sort of deal. Osama was holed up in a mansion not far from Islamabad. No way that the Pakistani intel folks were not clued in. They have been playing both sides all along.

Either way. It is a great moment for America.

Tauelangi Angilau

2011-04-29T20:13:00.000-07:00

We just got back from our two-day Galveston mini-vacation. We stayed at the LaQuinta on East Beach and Kathy, the manager who works nights, took great care of us. We got a good deal on a suite so we had plenty of room and an ocean view. Luckily for us, weekdays are still not booking up like they will be once things heat up a litttle but overall Galveston looks like it has come back pretty well. As far as the Seawall, Murdocks was the only place to rebuild over the water. The fairly new Hooters restaruant was washed away and never returned and of course the Balinese is still gone also. One thing that struck me when driving down Seawall Blvd. after dark is that too many of the street lights are out and also they need a little more lighting along the sidewalk. Even if just for a several blocks or so just to create a little better place to take a stroll in the evenings.

I brought my laptop along so I felt like I had jettisoned into the current century when I was able to look at Denny's Menu online to call in my order one morning. Of course Denny's was close enough to see from our window but it was still convenient. I guess most places offer free wi-fi but it was something I had never taken advantage of before. LaQuinta does provide a breakfast with choices of Belgian Waffles from the waffle machines, orange juice, coffee, yogurts, cold and hot cerials, as well as a selection of muffins and also bread that could be toasted.

We spent about a half a day at the beach just relaxing. I set up a couple of umbrellas and a pen for my dogs so we were pretty well prepared. There was a bit of a cool breeze but the water was actually comfortably warm. That reminds me; I still need to wash and vacuum the car.

A bit of sad news also. Hurricane Ike claimed one more victim during our stay in Galveston. A 65 year old man from Utah named Tauelangi Angilau was killed during the demolition of the Flagship Hotel which was damaged by the water and waves during the storm.

The Blues

2011-04-14T00:26:00.000-07:00

The internet is funny sometimes. Here is the wording of a link that got fabricated and displayed in a banner add based on my browsing activity: "The Blues - Symptoms, causes, treatments of The Blues" Then it gave the web address to a medical site of some sort. I guess Comander Data could have answered this one a long time ago if someone had bothered to ask him. Now that IBM has "Winston", we can defer other age old questions to him. I think I like it better when there is still a little bit of mystery but what can you do?

The Real Deal; Mr Quinn Sullivan

2011-04-10T22:37:00.000-07:00

This kid is a real guitar player at any age. See for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4xVkTr01l0 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewm_7mzfZi0&feature=related

Civil War

2011-04-08T10:21:00.000-07:00

You know, if you think about it, the Civil War really wasn't all that long ago. Crazy stuff. What a terrible time to be a soldier living in America. They have been running a series on PBS for the last several nights and I have caught bits and pieces of it. It really souded like Lincoln was a great leader and a great human being. Sad he got killed by an idiot but he got the important stuff done. Hopefully, looking back on it, he would have been satisfied with his contribution to humanity. The other obvious thing that struck me is how good a General Robert E. Lee was. In terms of American values, he was fighting for what I consider to be the less than the best cause, but back then, in the minds of the Southerners, I am sure they rationalized it was more about states' rights.

Police search home of actor Charlie Sheen

2011-03-11T00:18:00.000-08:00

(Reuters) - Police searched the home of Charlie Sheen on Thursday looking for firearms that would have violated a court order against him, but they found only bullets and an antique rifle, a lawyer for the actor said.

Thats right, the link doesn't work. There is enough Charlie News out there that I don't need to be a supplier.

I know he has put himself out there but even if he has, I don't know if it means he has to give up his rights. Maybe they would have searched his house even if he hadn't been so public with all his rants and such. Still, I can't help but wonder.

Somebody call the ACLU.

Two great tastes that go...

2011-03-04T21:59:00.000-08:00

=

PLUS

Well, Not exactly.

But I did see a guy on TV cooking apples the other day so I decided to try it myself.

I cut up an apple and cooked it in a little bit of cooking oil and sprinkled cinnamon and sugar on it. Then I realized I needed some sort of pastry to go with it so I got a couple of of those half cooked flour torillas they sell at the store and cooked them in the same pan I had used for the apples. I sprinkled cinammon and sugar on them also and then made some apple cinnamon tacos.

I have noticed before that if you put a little bit of butter on a flour tortilla and cook it, but not too much, it gets kind of a sweet taste. The cinnamon apple tacos actually tasted pretty good.

corny southwestern update

2011-02-26T21:47:00.000-08:00

The stew/soup crockpot concoction/recipe from the last post turned out pretty good.

I had put enough chili powder to enhance the "southwestern" style zing that I like but not so much to overpower everything.

I was also glad that I didn't use the whole bag of 15 variety beans.

The only thing I addded was a can of corn after it was cooked and that seemed to help the texture and fit the recipe just right. One other thing that might work is some finely chopped raw onions added when it is served but I haven't tried that.

a total crock

2011-02-25T14:37:00.001-08:00

Today I decided to use the crock pot to cook some beans and chicken.

Here is what I put in there.

Half of a bag of Hursts 15 Bean soup mix (it is a bag of beans with a flavor packet. I didn't use the flavor packet.

3 Chicken Breasts cut up

3 peices of bacon cooked in the microwave first between paper towels and then cut up

3 carrots cut up

3 or 4 celery stalks cut up

one and a half onions chopped

2 Jalapino peepers without the seeds

1 Bell pepper chopped

2 potatoes cut up

1 can of diced tomatoes unsalted

A good few shakes of Garlic Powdr

some onion powder

Several good shakes of Chili powder

a few good sprinkels of Mrs Dash

Oh Yeah, You gotta put some water in there also.

Thats all I can remember. I put it on about 3 hours ago. It already smells good but I know it is going to take a while for all the beans to cook right. I may cheat a little bit.

I guess I will find out how it turns out tonight.

ps. don't use your fingers to clean out the Jalapino's. Cut the pepper in half longways, take a spoon and under running water scrape out the seeds. Do this last and then make sure to wash your hands with soap and water right after that (before you touch your eyes or mouth). You need to use soap because the oil from the Jalapino needs to be broken up to be removed.

The way it has always been done

2011-02-25T12:19:00.000-08:00

Hello from the one man problems of the world sovling brigade:

I was just listening to a radio talk dj republican guy talking about the middle east and how if revolution takes hold in the middle east and Saudi Arabia goes down to fundamentalists then we are all going to be chicken fried as far as our economy becaues we do not have enough energy to run things without thier oil.

My thinking is that if we can put a man on the moon then we can figure out how to produce, or actually capture, energy.

It is a simple fact that all of the energy we are using originally came from the sun. Dinasaurs either ate plants or other dinasaurs that ate plants so if oil came from dinasaurs then it ultimately came from photsenthisis or the bioligical converting and storage of the suns energy.

The natural answer is to capture the engergy from the sun and with all the advances of chemestry and biology to the point that they are not actually connected, we can do this.

There you have it,

Now go out and grow yourself a can of oil.

Bye

Mississippi John Hurt

2011-02-13T22:55:00.000-08:00

Mississippi John Hurt is well respected as one of the great fingerpicking blues guitar players.

Here is a video of him playing a spiritural called: "Walk that Lonesome Valley"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgdLVWgU4G0

I really like this song. It is also interesting to see what a gentle personality that Mississippi John Hurt had in introducing his song. Very authentic in more ways than one. I think Im gonna learn me how to play this song. Then maybe I can walk the lonesome valley a little better my ownself.

Here is a version of Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis doing the same tune (sans the Jordanaires) with a little rockabilly guitar to go with it :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guJnpSSTERo&NR=1&feature=fvwp

I do like the back up vocals by Jerry Lee Lewis.

Here is June Carter and her sisters doing the same tune:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79a-qg6t5fw

& if you have time, click on this one to walk somemore:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1fFO92vxoQ

This one is from the movie "Oh Brother Where Art Thou?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAs4L9AKUKk&feature=related

Mubarak is done

2011-02-11T12:38:00.000-08:00

The people have spoken in Egypt and Mubarak is out.

I hope they are able end up with a representative form of government that is not oppressive. There is no doubt the terrorists will try to step in but I am encouraged that there has not been alot of anti-American rhetoric attached to this revolution.

I heard that Twitter and Facebook were the conduits for the whole thing. I imagine that social network sites will be shut down from here on out many countries around the world where the people do not get a voice in the government.

I now join with all Americans in wishing the people of Egypyt the best.

Here is a video of some of the celebrations:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8q37tYtXoBw&feature=watch_response

I like the one where the Taxi Driver put flags on his windshield wipers and pushed them forward so the flags were waving.

It is really touching to see the people so happy. I know things can get messy during a transition of power but Damn, I hope these poeple get to stay happy.

Conan Plays Guitar

2011-02-10T12:36:00.000-08:00

Unless you are Jay Leno, You will like this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfxu8qbY4Is

Conan O'Brian Interview

2011-02-10T12:28:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGyv0hXrulQ

Wanda Jackson - Rockabilly Queen

2011-02-10T12:18:00.000-08:00

Here is a video from Wanda Jackson's appearance on David Letterman:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzDfYidKU5c

Jack White produced her latest album and has kind of put her back on the map. This performance rocks in a way you just can't do at home.

Watch this one for some history on these two & more about the album:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCN4kVcgK5w&NR=1&feature=fvwp

It's like the Beatles

2011-02-10T12:10:00.000-08:00

The other day it was in the news that the White Stripes will no longer exist as a band.

Here is a video of some vintage stripes that seems to capture what they were about:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03YUgHAshSo

I don't know if Jack White will be able to capture the rawness of the stripes on his own. I am sure he could if he really tried but it is harder to have the true punk rock vibe once you have made it to the big time like he has. The other thing, it is hard to recapture what Meg did on drums. That may seem strange to say but she was a big part of the White Stripes, probably much more than people realize. There was something about the chemestry or that made thier music rock at the core.

I wish both of these kids the best.

jack & alicia

2011-02-10T12:07:00.000-08:00

Here is a video with Jack White and Alicia Keys:

It seems to have a little bit of a James Bond type quality to it to me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icrNkmf9uyQ

There is a short section somewhere past the middle of the song where they do a call and answer with some scat vocals and lead guitar where it kind of sounds like Robert Plant in the early Led Zep.

Tattoo'd Lady

2011-02-09T22:35:00.000-08:00

Here is another one from Rory:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uezV4zn8tvI

Cool song here. The intro is again a clue about how Rory was unpredictable and did not play cliche style riffs. A true original.

More of the story of Rory

2011-02-09T22:30:00.000-08:00

Check out the intro. This was years before VanHalen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-k4iocWURPk&NR=1

Rory Gallagher

2011-02-09T22:27:00.001-08:00

Hiya, hello, & Howdy.

Here's Rory:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1zsRRt1FWE

This guy was really something. He was known more as an electric guitar player. One of my favorite songs of his is called "Calling Card".

Very Talented individual, and very entertaining.

One heluva guitar player.

Rasta Bob Vibration

2011-02-07T20:58:00.001-08:00

Check out this video of Bob Marley with his band and the Three I's:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGO8HN1QQdI

You can find plenty of Bob Marley Videos on Youtube by just doing some simple searches using Bob Marley or The Wailers.

It is interesting how Bob used to go into somewhat of a transe before he started singing. He does it on the video above. It seems like partly showman ship, some ganga, and also a bit if just getting lost into the music and channeling what is.

Here is another:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pd2GZqQOuRw

This one is called the Rastaman Chant:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmFhvWhiACg

& I hope you like Jammin Too:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TR5Qo4Pnc94

& of course, Redemption Song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFGgbT_VasI

Los Quatros Amigos

2011-02-05T21:01:00.000-08:00

These guys really rock:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uw1bHaUk1CM&feature=related

If you don't like this video, Please kindly never speak to me about music.

Thanks,

Rock On!

Democracy in Egypt?

2011-02-03T08:22:00.001-08:00

We here at the one man web log have generally stayed out of political discussions but there is no hard and fast rule and besides that "so what?" if we do.

I am hearing politicicans talking about our responsibility to spead democracy in Egypt. Today it is John McCain speaking out.

My opinion is that we need to spread democracy here at home and we don't actually have a responsibility to spread our own ideologies around the rest of the world. Spreading our "Ideals" is a little different and that could use some work. Generally American policy has been shortsighted and we have aligned ourselves with who ever was in charge and looked the other way as far as "atrocities" and inhumane behavior. Sadam was our boy at one time. The Shah of Iran was our ally and so was Marcos in the Philipines. We have a fairly long history of aligning ourselves with people who are now probably sitting at a common poker table in hell. Really evil villain types and we stood by them until the people had an uprising and then we unsuccessfully tried to jump onboard. That is a failed policy and it won't work in Egypt any better than it will work in Pakistan if the people over there get worked up.

We promoted the idea of democratic elections in Palestine and they democratically elected a guy from Hamas which is considered to be a terrorist organization and now we don't want to officially recognize him.

My point is that we can't just pick and choose when we want to have high and mighty ideals and then use that as an excuse to stick our noses into the business of governing other countries.

behold virtuosity

2011-02-01T20:59:00.000-08:00

For the regular readers here, You probably noticed that I deleted my recent posts about "the state of rock & roll". I just didn't feel aimless ramblings were up to the standards that we try to keep around here so I used the delete button a few times and I feel better now.

I have been listening lately to a CD that used to belong to my dad called "Andres Segovia My Favorite Works". It is a compliation of songs he performed and recorded and peresonally assisted in the selection of for this CD. According to the liner notes, he selected the songs in the final year of his life.

The music on the CD is from Spanish Composers and it is obvious it was all composed or specifically arranged for guitar.

There are several striking things about these recordings. One is that Andres Segovia is an absolute master and I have never heard anyone to equal his skill level as a guitar player. None.
Of course this isn't a huge revlelation since he is the most well known classical guitar player of our time. These songs are not just 2 or 3 minutes and the playing is so clean and clear it is simply amazing. No mistakes whatsover and I don't think it is because of editing. Another thing is how well he seems to "feel" the music and his use of dynamics. A third thing that is amazing is that as you listen to the music, you can forget you are listening to a guitar player and start to hear the story he is telling. The songs he chose to perform shows his excellent taste in music and a beautiful appreciation for art.

He was able to make very difficult feats of guitar artistry seem effortless and it never sounds like he is showing off even one iota. He is the only guitar player who I have ever heard who used harmonics and it didn't sound the least bit contrived or put in just to show that he knew how to do it.

The CD says "MCA Classics" at the top and the title is "Andreas Segovia My Favorite Works". I don't know if it is still being distributed but I imagine that it is.

Again, Everybody knows who Andreas Segovia was but he still I was am just blown away by how good he was. My dad always liked both Andreas Segovia and Carlos Montoya. Montoya is know for being a great, if not the greatest, Flamenco guitar player in the world. There are some who list other flamenco guitar players but Carlos Montoya is easily the most well known. I have agree that my dad had excellent taste in guitar music and I know he spent hours listening to both of these guys.

In our next lesson we will cover Watermelon. Is it a fruit or a vegitable?

Please do your homework, get plenty of sleep, shave the back your neck, and wash behind your ears. Also, be nice to animals. Everybody knows that besides just being unkind, a person who is mean to animals is just a pure creep. I know that some of you take pride in your creepyness but there is no reason to be cruel just for the sake of cruelty. Enough of that already.

That's it. Lights out. I don't want to hear a peep.

Time and space travel

2011-01-18T21:20:00.000-08:00

Hello,

I know I already covered this but I was J-walking across Richmond Avenue today near Augusta and it occurred to me that time travel is not as simple as it may sound. I have no idea why that when I am crossing a street and hurrying to not get run over that I would think about such a thing but it is a fact.

In the movies, whenever there is a time machine, the "travelers" always end up at random places at random times since the "kinks" have not all been worked out. But since the Universe is everexpanding and Planet Earth is constantly moving, it is impossible that time travel would work without some fairly lengthy calculations.

As far as time travel goes a trip down "memory lane" is about as real as it is going to get. At least considering the parameters of the physical universe as we know it.

Like I said, I know I have covered this but I still am puzzled why I would be thinking about this while quick-stepping across the road to avoid traffic. This may seem like a trivial concern but so what?

Y2K + 11

2011-01-01T21:55:00.000-08:00

Some people think the world is going to end in 2012.

As far as I am concerned, if there is an asteroid headed towards earth, I don't want to know about it in advance.

For all practical purposes, the world ended for Nostrodomus and the Mayans a long time ago.

The other day I was watching a show about a scientist who found blood vessels in dinasaur bones. They seem pretty certain that they are going to be able to get some dinasaur DNA and put it in chicken embryos and make dinasaurs again. The scientists have come to believe that birds are all decendents of dinasaurs and share the same dna so if they can just make it turn on and off the right way and wha-la.

an excellent source of cholesterol

2010-12-31T17:19:00.000-08:00

Howdy again, happy New Year.

I heard that Snooky is going to be in the big ball on Time Square. I hope she doesn't throw up on everybody.

OK, this one isn't for the vegetarians. And if you got a beef with me for not being a vegetarian, I understand. The only question I have is why do you have those sharp fangs called canine teeth? Are they made for ripping lettuce and carrots apart?

We picked up some T-Bone steaks but they were thinly cut. The problem with a thin steak is that if you cook it too much it gets dry and if you like your steak medium well with a little bit of char on the outside then thin cut won't work too well for that.

We also happened to have some bacon in the fridge so I decided to cuts some slits on the edge of the T-bones and I wrapped each side with a couple of slices of bacon. Before that I putt some garlic powder, onion powder, and black pepper on each steak.

Once I had it all put togeather, I cooked them in a large skillet with a couple of tablespoons of cooking oil over a fairly good heat. I used a smaller flat skillet to hold them down once they started cooking.

As far as the tatste test? Don't worry about it. Why do you think they put bacon on meat in fancy restaurants? There are certain things you can't go wrong with taste-wise and bacon wrapped around meat is one of them. It is kind of like melted cheese. That's why people like pizza. If you disagree, then try a pizza with no cheese and get back to me.

Rock on and congratulations to Dick Clark for still being alive.

Happy new year.

savings by design

2010-12-31T16:29:00.000-08:00

Today I was sitting out back on my lawn furniture. I may not have mentioned it before but last year we bought som new lawn furniture. The iron kind that is painted black. The chair is suspendeded by a spring type peice of metal on each side and it forms a rocker that doesn't smash the dog's or thier toes.

So far our collection has just one piece which is the chair but as far as I am concerned, it is a great collection when you want to sit down under the outdoor ceiling fan.

Today I was taking a break out back and there was a squirrel burrying acorns from my neighbor's Oak Tree. I have seen the squirrels carrying acorns back and forth for some time now as they get ready for the winter but today is the first time I saw on doing any burying. I guess they wait until there is a good rain and the ground is soft.

It was kind of amazing to watch. It looked like the squirrel was regurtitating the acorns. I would see a convulsive type movement and I could see a lump int he squirrels cheek/throat area as it was happening. I am going to have to read up on the interenet to find out more about it but at this point I am going to have to say that my research results are that squirrels actually regurgitate the acorns.

The squirrel would look around, find a good spot, and then do some digging and convulsing and the next thing you know he was pushing the acorn into the ground with a borroughing motion and then he had a routine where he put the dirt back and patted it down. I guess they have a sectin of thier brain dedicated to remembering where they buried the acorns later on.

It is pretty amazing how nature works. I am sure it is all part of a bigger picture where the Oak trees produce acorns the scquirrels will like and the squirrels plant the acorns and forget to get some or maybe the squirrel dies or whatever. The bottom line is that the squirrel gets some food and the Oak Tree gets it's seeds distributed over a greater distance.

I imagine you are asleep by now so enjoy your nap.

exit through the gift shop

2010-12-30T11:57:00.000-08:00

We watched a documentary a couple of nights back. Click this link to find out about the DVD from IMDB.COM:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1587707/

It was about a french guy in California who filmed everything in his life and he got interested in filming street art. He eventually met one of the biggest and baddest street artists of all; a guy who street name of "banksy" but kept his identity secret.

Eventually the french guy gets the idea to do his own street art and sell it at a huge art show that he promoted. At the end, the other street artists seemed to be not so happy with the french guy but in my opininion he didn't do anything except expose how much of a contrived situation art shows can be.

If you can print up some art an sell it for a million dollars, I will take my hat off to you. Especially if you want to hit it with some spray can paint and make it worth $24,000 and I still get to keep the hat.

38977 and counting (or clicking)

2010-12-23T14:23:00.000-08:00

I just checked saw the "views" number on my Youtube video account has something like 38,977 views and it made me think.

I wonder how many of those were actual views. It could have been me just clicking on each video all those times and I don't have any views at all. How dissapointing is that? I also wonder how many complete views there are. Most of my videos are longer than what is recommended for getting the highest number of hits but I don't care.

Besides that, I don't have much to say except Happy Festivus you all and to all a good night. Also happy new year and whatever else blows your skirt up.

You know, being alive is a cool thing. We are all going to die at some point but it is pretty amazing while it lasts. Don't think about it too hard or it will make your brain hurt.

Speaking of making your brain hurt, I just heard someone on TV talking about Jermain Jackson having two kids, one of them is named JerMagesty. Hopefully that won't mess him up too bad. The other thing is that his Uncle Randy, Jermaine's brother is also the father of Jermasty's half sibling. I don't remember if it is a boy or a girl but Randy was married to the woman first and had a child, then Jermaine stepped in to make it a "family affair" and have two children of his own. It made my brain hurt to think about it but I finally figured it out that they are still just both uncles and the kids are both cousins and half brothers and sisters. How freaky is that? Talk about a Sister Cousin.

I don't know how I got off into that but sometimes you have to wonder. This isn't the kind of thing you see at Walmart unless of course you are in the TV department and the Jerrry Springer show comes on. I guess Jerry is still in business but he seems to have gone downhill.

As I told you already, Not much to report on. Except I am making plans to travel to Europe in 2011. It looks like we will be in London, Amsterdam, Germany, Beljum, and France. I plan to eat some chocolate in Beljum (however you spell it) and maybe have a cup of coffee in Amsterdam if I have time. I don't think I am going to climb the stairs to get on the Eifel Tower. I think it will be good enough just to look at it and maybe eat some french pastry. Maybe I will borrow someone's dog so I can take it in a restaurant. I have never been there before and I would like to check out some of the historic sites. I know up there around the Black Forest is where the battle of the bulge took place and there is supposed to be a really cool museum somewhere around there but I am going to have to do some geography homework so I can pretend like I am with it.

OK that is enough for now.

Please go away and come back some other time.

Documentary Report

2010-11-28T21:27:00.000-08:00

To Whom it may concern:

Hey Yall,

Hope the family and everybody is doing fine.

To pass some time and relax, we have been watching a couple of documentaries lately. One of them is called " The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia". It is about some folks from Coal Mining Country. I lack the verbal skills to correctly describe what it is all about so you can check out the DVD trailer on this YouTube video. Please keep in mind that it is not rated "g", or even "pg" so please do not let lead you to ruination.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3ysuG2O0zw

Another one that we are watching, but haven't seen the whole thing is about Mike Tyson. I wasn't sure what to expect but this one is kind of interesting if you are not already familiar with the actual story of Mike Tyson. What has hit me so far is that he didn't become Champion of the World just because it came natural to him. I knew already that he had been pretty much adopted by a mentor figure but I didn't realize how focused Mike Tyson was on becoming a great boxer. He studied films and focused on being an accurate powerful puncher and really was lead through a regimentied and diciplined program that resulted in a guy who would step into the ring and end the fight before everybody had a chance to get comfortable in thier seats. Just like Mohammed Ali, He focused on the psycholigical aspect of defeating his opponents as well as the physical. You may or may not be interested in this story but Mike Tyson remains something of a spectacle to me. Not that I find him to be hideous or anything like that. He is a guy who had nothing, got everything, and then pretty much lost it all but still has not "gone away". Regardless of all his other qualities, he has a sincere and (blatantly) honest quality about the way he presents himself.

This report seems to have fizzled and I haven't really given a proper rating to either DVD but as the kids used to say back in the day, It is what it is.

So keep the cards and letters coming and if you "owe your soul to the company store" please remember to remit your payment in a timely fashion.

Thank you to all Veterans

2010-11-11T08:53:00.000-08:00

Today is the official day to honor Veterans here in the United States of America.

It is without any reference to any political affiliation or opinion that I hereby proclaim an expression of sincere gratitude and recognition to all Veterans.

Thank you for your service and sacrifice.

mesquite barbequed chicken vegetable soup

2010-10-29T14:07:00.000-07:00

Howdy from the electric soup kitchen. I hope your doing fine.

Lately, I had the idea to make some soup and here is how I ended up doing it.

First I made some soup stock using onion, bell pepper, celery, and a good sized carrot. I put it on to boil and then I went out and fired up the grill.

Normally I have been using Pecan wood and haven't used Mesquite, except sparingly, since it can overpower the flavor of the barbeque. This time I wanted some of that type of flavor so I grabbed several chunks of mesquite threw them in chimney starter device that I really love.

Now, the idea is to get some flavor but you don't want to dry out the veggies or the chicken, since that is what makes the soup taste like soup (and not water). As you can see from the top picture, I threw 3 chicken breasts, a couple of jalapino peppers, a red bell pepper, an onion, a green bell pepper, a couple of good sized potatoes (cut up), a small piece of German Sausage, some celery, and I think that was about it, on the grill. Again, don't cook everything too much, but get some grill marks and some flavor.

The soup stock was cooked, I went back and took the cooked garlick cloves, carrot, bell pepper, and onion, out of the soup stock and put them in the blender with some of the soup water. I threw away the celery since it has those fibers and I didnt want that in the blender.

This part is very important. Power up the blender and imulsify the veggies from the soup stock (not the grilled ones). Before you pour that mixture back into the soup base, make sure to strain everything else out. Then go ahead and pour the blender pureed veggies back in to the stock. That will give the soup base a little texture and color. You will like the effect so didn't skip this step.

Now take all of the grilled items and chop them up and add them to the pot.

I forgot to mention that at the beginning, I also addes some garlic powder and onion powder, as well as some black pepper and a few other spices. Use what you like.

When I took the grilled items off of the grill, I put them on a big plate. Pour the juice that drains onto the plate into the soup also.

At this point, everything is almost already cooked so just bring it to a boil and then turn off the fire and let the pot sit covered for a while to continue cooking. Spoon up a little and give it a taste to see if it needs any more spices, It probably won't.

I don't use salt in mine but there is some sodium in the celery.

I am eating a small bowl right now just to sample it for this review and I have to give it a thumbs up. It is some of the best damned soup I ever made. It has a southwestern type flavor that you wont find up in New York City.

Next time you want to impress yourself, try this recipe your ownself.

Rock on Brothers and Sisters!

The Staircase

2010-10-22T10:31:00.000-07:00

I just got done with watching a Documentary called "The Staircase"

We got it on Netflix.

Learn more about it here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0388644/

I give this one a good rating because it is well done and has an interesting subject matter. Actually, there are a few different interesting aspects.

It is about the trial of Michael Peterson, an author, from Durham, NC. He was accused of murdering his wife. I won't tell you how it ends so as not to ruin the show if you decide to watch it.

I would have liked to have seen a little more of the trial but that wasn't entirely the focus of the documentary so I understand. Also, from watching the extra features on the DVD, I learned that the Prosecution stopped giving full access to the film maker after about 3 months into the process.

Check it out if you like this kind of thing. Theare are a several interesting charactars; Particularly the lady who is part of the prosecution team. She is almost like a cartoon character in some ways. I don't say that in a negative way. She is just who she is and happens to have developed or inherietied quite a persona.

Enron: The Smartest Guys in the room

2010-10-17T19:26:00.000-07:00

Here is the movie trailer for a documentary I just watched on Netflix:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zMakN-EMLg

Being from Houston, I found it kind of interesting. The Enron story is pretty much about human nature. People will rationalize just about anything if it is presented to them in the right way and they get a paycheck in the process. It seems to be a universal theme that greedy arogant assholes always claim excellence. Some things never change.

Basically, it wasn't much different than your average street hustle but just on a much bigger scale. Of course the guys at the top claimed they didn't know anything but they did end up in handcuffs at the end of the show.

Lucky for the surviving Enron Execs that this didn't happen a couple of hundred years ago. The Texans back in the day would have just tarred and feathered the scoundrels and moved on.

Salesmanship

2010-10-15T20:20:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQ3c3WZ-3UU

click it!

redigitized

2010-10-13T18:49:00.000-07:00

First of all, Congrats to the Chilean miners, thier families, and the news media consuming public. It would have been pretty sad to know those guys were trapped and then didn't make it out.

A week or so back, the computer at the house started making noises. I took a listen and it was the hard drive. It wasn't really in the 2010 October budget but I had to go out and buy a computer.

One thing that may have contributed to the demise of our computing machine was that I recently made the decision to get high speed internet. I had tried to sign up a couple of times before but I always got irritated at the process. The other thing was that I wanted to keep my same email address but enough was enough and there you have it, and so forth, an well, as they say, ect.

Once we got the better computer connection, I started watching more music vidoes and movies online and it seemed to be making the computer work a little harder and it seems like it was running a little hotter than it should have and I think that is what did the damage.

My plan was to go to Wal-mart and to Office Depot and just pick out the best deal. I went to Wal-mart and there wasn't anybody who worked there who knew anything about computers but I did come across a nice man named Santos. Santos likes talking about computers and I don't know why he was in the store but he took great interest in advising me. We finally settled on the right model and it turned out it was out of stock.

Next I went to Office Depot and a young lady, who was very courteous, was showing me the computers. I finally just asked her which one she would recommend. She said it depended on what I was going to do with it. I told her that we just do normal stuff and I didn't want to spend too much money but I wanted something that would still be up to date and compatible for at least the next six months or so. I asked her again which one she would recommend. She still sadi it depended on what I was going to do with it. I told her that if she would just tell me which computer to buy, I was in the mood to buy a computer. I asked her if she got paid commission and she said she did. I told her that she needed to go ahead and tell me what to buy. I am not exagerating. She flat out refused to sell me a computer.

After that I went over to Best Buy and they had a desktop model that came with a nice monitor and a printer, and the whole package was about $584. There was a guy assisting me and he kept talking into a wirless thing. It had an earpiece and and a mic and he was acting like a secret service agent. I would be talking to him and I couldn't tell if he was talking to me or who ever was on the other end. It turned out that it was "the manager" on the other end. I told him I wanted the computer and he kept fooling around and doing other stuff and finally when I got his attention I aske him a question about a back up disc and setting up the computer and he told me it would cost $84. I then asked him if it had a word processor and he told me it would cost another hundred bucks or so. I then asked him if I could plug it into my TV and he said that he could have a member of the "Geek Squad" install the correct piece of equipment. I had already told him I was gonna buy the thing but he kept on fooling around and the manager came over and told him to wait on somebody else also (at the same time) so I told him I would come back later.

I then went over to Sams Club and saw a computer I liked but nobody was there so after a while I left. I went over to Radio Shack and almost bought a computer there but it was a display model and I didn't like the idea of the keys being banged on by kids or whoever.

I went over to Conns and there was a lady who asked me which computer I liked the best and I told her I didn't know because they were all turned off. She then asked me between two specific models which one I would pick. She didn't know anything about computers but she did ask me to buy one. I appreciated that but I was tired and I she didn't seem to have a clue about computers so I left.

This all took place in the period of about an hour and a half but I was gettting hungry and tired and decided to head home and I was passing by Office Max and decided, what the hell, I will stop on in.

There was a guy working there named Freddy and he was helping a guy who was about to buy a computer but he was making a call so Freddy spoke to me for a little bit and told me which computer to buy. He advised me to buy an Acer that was on sale for $399. It was a laptop with 3 gigs of ram, 320 gigs of memory, an Intel Pentium processor and already came loaded with Microsoft Works which has a word processor, a spread sheet, and other Microsoft Office style programs but just not as up to date. He also advised me to buy a thing with a couple of fans to set the computer on to keep it cool as well as a particular program to protect against spyware and other computer virus type infections.

Freddy probably didn't know any more about computers than the girl at Office Depot but he was honest with me and told me what I needed to hear. He told me specifically which items to buy and also what not to "waste" my money on. I normally don't buy the extra warranty but he told me it was a good thing to have so what could I say? I am glad now that I did buy the warranty so I appreciete the fact that he recommended it with confidence.

Basically, He did what Zig Ziglar said was all that needed to be done to be successful in sales. Zig's advice is to help people get what they want. I wanted a computer and Freddy helped me get it. Thank you Freddy.

I am sure that in a few years from now this computer will seem slow in comparison but right now I am flying through the digitized universe and consuming it at a rate that I have never experienced before. It is really too much for me. I have watched several movies, documentaries, and other stuff also. One movie in particular that I enjoyed was called "Play it Loud" which has Jimmy Page, Jack White, and the Edge. Check it out. I also watched a good part of a Rolling Stones Concert from a couple of years ago produced by Martin Scorsese (sp?). Those guys may be old but they still rock. I don't care what anyboy says. It is a free country and and as long as they can draw a crowd and everybody has a good time, I don't see the harm in it. Mick Jaggar is crazy and a high energy entertainer. Keith Richards may have lost his boyish looks but he is still an amazing riffmiester. The dude adds so much to the sound and knows when not to play also. They are really a tight band and they have a pretty good catalog of songs to choose from.

OK, that is all for now.

Elvis in the land of Sushi

2010-10-10T11:22:00.000-07:00

Howdy Partners,

Today's lesson is about hamburgers. Chop you up some good ol german sausage and mix it in with the hamburger meat. Then add some chopped onion and bell pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, spices, and cook the burgers over charcoal topped of with pecan wood. Vegitate on that.

During Recess, please check out "Dead Elvis and his One Man Grave" on the youtube video link below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0tbGeUrGfs

Seems like he is still eating the peanut butter and bananas in the underworld.

Here he is in Barcelona:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbU5uejhHik&feature=related

One of the benefits of advertising myself as a "one man band" is that I get to hear from other one man bands and Dead Elvis is currently touring Japan. If you are going to be out that way, please check him out. He will rock the tulips right over your head.

Here is another interesting character called "Reverend Beat-Man" who sounds like Howling Wolf. He also has a one man band but this video is somewhat of a sacreligious appearing cartoon presentation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jE9rk-dWek

Of course, I don't claim to be a literary critic but I have come to realize that all art and music that appears to be sacrelidge at face value is sometimes the complete opposite. When I was 13 years old I used to listen to an album by Jethro Tull called Aqualung. It contains quite a few references to the Churh of England and Christianity but what it is really mocking is the phoney values and abuse of religion being perpetrated by the perpetrators of such things. Power is a powerful drug. If you are the only guy who can fix a transmission, then when someone needs you, well, then you can call the shots.

Until next time,

Continue to seek the truth and enjoy good barbeque in the process.

Thanks

"Ruby Tuesday" is a name

2010-08-28T10:53:00.000-07:00

A few Tuesdays back, I took the opportunity to go to the Houston Museum of Natural Science. We were thinking of going to the world famous funeral museum but when I looked on line and found out that the HMNS had free admission on Tuesdays from 2 until 8, my cheap side took over.

The museum itself was absolutely fascinating. I was amazed and wonderfied.

When we first got to the museum section, I was looking at a fossil from about 5 million years ago and there was a fellow there who told me that he "wouldn't mind having that in his living room". It was a nice fossil in deed. I talked with the cat for a little while and it turned out he was in town from Alabama to get cancer treatment. I don't remember his name but I do wish him the best. He had been dealing with the cancer for several years and somehow I do think it is not going to do him in. He had a good attitude about it and he was getting treated at one of the world's best cancer treatment centers.

The HMNS has really come a long way since the last time I visited and if you haven't been lately, you gotta go man. It is really cool and there is something for everybody. They had a section about oil exploration and the enviromental impact but I didn't have time to check it out in detail. I mostly gazed at fossils, rocks, gems, shells, and stuff like that. They have a mummy in the basement and you can even see his toes.

I thought I had taken a picture of the "sloth" but I didn't find it on my phone. They even have the world's largest snail there. It is the actual world record snail.

After we got home, I took a break but I decided to head over to the Brittmore Icehouse where I had heard that John McVey has a regular Tuesday night gig. I got there kind of late and caught the final 4o minutes or so of his last set. I had seen John McVey play quite a few times as part of the house band set at the Shakespeare pub. I had also seen him play with his band at the Shakespeare pub during one of his official gigs there and also at the Elegant Hogg when he used to have a gig there. Basically, I thought I had a good Idea of what kind of player he is.

On the particular Tuesday night a few weeks back that I stopped by the Brittmore Ice House, it was a hot day, and also a hot night. There were a few "regualars' at the bar and a couple of folks sitting outside at a picnic table but there was no one sitting at the tables near the bandstand. Tuesday night is not big night for bars but John McVey would normally draw some folks in. I am pretty sure the heat was a factor.

When I got there, I ordered an ice cold beverage and then sat at the table right in front of the bandstand. John and his band were playing as a "three peice". Basically it was John, the bass player, and the drummer. I don't remember seeing these particular musicans before but they were very good. The drummer was high energy and both guys definitely pros. John played pretty much nonstop; going from one song to the next and it was truly amazing. He played several instrumentals that completely blew me away. The arangments were not the standard blues progressions and sort of had a surf feel to them but the main thing was John's Guitar playing. I really have not seen anybody play much better at the "club" level pretty much ever. John has the licks. Talk about a guy who had probably forgotten more riffs than most guitar players know, John is that guy. The only difference is that I think he actually rememers the licks.

I have mentioned him before here on my website, but please do take the opportunity to check him out if you like blues, guitar, or cool music in general. He is the real deal and seems like a pretty nice guy on top of that.

Rock On John McVey. May the Force be with you!

Pamela Anderson had the answer

2010-08-22T21:04:00.000-07:00

Well, I forgot to mention that the gutter still leaked after the Plasti-dip experiment so yesterday when I was out and about, I stopped of at home depot and bought a tube of silicone.

I got up on the roof when I got home and put on a laytex glove and appled the silicone to the joints and then smeared it around to make sue I had everything covered.

Earlier today, I got up on the roof and poured a bucket of water in the gutter and there were no drips. Hopefully, I finally got the job done.

I should have done it the right way from the begining but sometimes you just gotta figure things out as they happen.

Quick Easy Electric Enchiladas

2010-08-22T12:17:00.000-07:00

OK folks, Just checking in for a minute; I got several Irons in the fire today.

As I just splained to you, I am busy today. Still, I got hungry and I didn't want to eat something boring. I looked in the fridge and there was some leftover Wolf Brand Turkey Chili from when we had Chili-dogs and also some left-over Rosarita Vegetarian Refried beans. I decided to make me some microwave enchiladas.

I took four corn tortillas and put them on a plate.

Then I put some cheddar cheese in each one, and also a good sized spoonful of Turkey Chile and a little bit of the refried beans and I microwaved them on high for about 45 seconds; long enough for the tortillas to get soft enough to roll up with out breaking them.

After that I added some finely chopped onion, Rolled them up and topped them off with some more chili, some chopped onions, and finally with some cheddar cheese.

I put them back in the microwave on high for about a minute and boom.

Believe it or not, they actually taste pretty much like enchiladas.

Also, You don't have to add the beans. You could use Cheese and Chili only, or if you had some leftover chicken, beef, or even spinach, You could use that or whatever else you like in an enchilada.

Next time you want a Tex-Mex flavor and are in a rush, "Do try this at home"

Later.

Baby Please Don't Go - Marc Twyman's One Man Electric Blues Band

2010-08-09T23:02:00.000-07:00

About a week or so ago I added (to public view on Youtube) a video I made a couple of years ago you can see it by clicking on the link below. (USE BACK ARROW TO GET BACK HERE)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuYyY2C8XBM

What are you waiting for? Click the link!

Plasticized & Rubberized

2010-08-09T11:33:00.000-07:00

I woke up with my mind in the gutter again. I was thinking that I could get some of that stuff they used to dip plyers in to make the handles have a rubber coating. My oldest brother, Lon, worked as a teenager at The Company Store which was a hardware store on Gasmer in Southwest Houston. It was during the ten speed bicycle craze and they were a distibutor for Murry (I think) brand 10 speeds and due to Lon's high mechanical aptitude he was the guy would assemble them for the customers. He ended up working at other bicycle shops and was very good and constructing 10 speeds from the best components he could get.

I think he probably got some of the rubber coating stuff at the hardware store but either way I do remember us having it in the garage and it seems like he used it to coat some plyer handles or something.

So this morning, I was thinking maybe I could get some of that stuff and paint it on the joints of the gutters to condomize the gutter to fix the leak problem. I went to Home Depot and spoke to a guy behind the paint counter and told him I was looking for something that had a rubbery textrue that I could paint on my gutters to seal them up. At first he said he didn't have anything like that but then he said "wait a minute, I think we do have something like that". He took me to the aisle where it was located and he showed me two items. One was an undercoating material for vehicles and the others was the "Plasti Dip" that I was thinking about this moring. I thanked him for directing me to what I was looking for and he went on about his business. I looked around a little and they also had a spray can that could be used to line the back of a pickup truck and I thought about thatone and then right next to the "plasti dip" can, the one that opens like a paint can and you dip things in, they also had a spray version. It was perfect. That way I didn't have to ruin a paint brush or clean anything up. It was the laziest and most effective solution that I could think of so I bought it.

I came on home and was so excited about spraying the stuff on the inside of the gutter that I shook the can all the way home so there would not be any delay. I was about ready to head out back and all of the sudden I realized I didn't have my cell phone in my pocket. I spent about 5 minutes looking for the phone and finally found it under the seat of the car.

I then regained my composure and went up on the roof and sprayed the "plasti dip" where it needed to go.

Now I am hoping for rain. I could just use my garden hose to test it but that doesn't seem right. It would be like violating the "prime directive" on Star Trek. I can't be fooling with anything like that. I will do the right thing and wait for the natural process to take place. Besides, if it turns out that it never rains again then I don't need to worry about it anyway.

I have to go now. I want to go look at the sky.

Until next time, Just rock it like you mean it. Why the hell not?

the nature of water - the water of nature

2010-08-08T12:13:00.000-07:00

Hi,

Just to give my regular reader(s) an update, I thought I would check in and let you know the latest.

This morning, I got up on the patio cover and sealed up sections of the rain gutter where it looked like the water was getting through. As noted in the last post or so, I readjusted the pitch of the rain gutter to prevent water from pooling up and then leaking out of the joints and dripping through the patio cover roof near my back door.

I got the job done and then I decided to doodle around and I came up with a brilliant design to hook up the sunscreen that I had taken down while I was working on the gutters and the fencing around the patio area. I got that done and I fooled around for little longer with some unfinished odds and ends and put up some of the garden tools I had left on the patio cover after chopping down a large shrub and cutting it up. Then I decided to go in and take a shower and have a glass of cool water. It is good stuff that cool water, especially when a person is thirsty. Then cooked a couple of pieces of chicken breast. They came out good but I am not going to go into the cooking instructions right now but I think I will call the dish "Spice crusted chicken".

After that we watched an episode of "Little People Big World" on DVD from the library and so on and so forth.

At some point after that I thought I heard a raindrop hit a window or something. Then I heard some thunder. I rushed outside to see if it looked like it was going to rain but it didn't look certain. There was some thunder and some clouds but they didn't seem to be covering the whole sky. Then a little bit after that I heard a few rain drops. I was sitting under the outdoor ceiling fan and sipping on cool water and hoping for a good rain so I could see how my raingutter repairs had worked. It started to rain a little bit then it stopped. Then it started back up a little. It wasn't covering the ground or a blanket of rain but I decided to be patient. It was a light rain and I sat there and hoped it would last for a while.

As I sat there I started thinking about farmers back in the day before irrigation and how they had the same kind of thought process but it was a little bit more life and death as far as thier crop and thier ability to feed the family went. I thought about how water, sun, and things like that are all very important but there needs to be a good balance. Floods are bad and people can die in the desert without water.

I continued to sit there and ponder and I saw a bluejay or some other type of blue bird and he seemed to be enjoying the light rain. He was fluttering around in the shrub and chasing bugs and I noticed how the birds were chirping and it was really a good moment. Very peaceful and it was nice to take the time to enjoy nature right in my own back yard. This went on for a while and then I decided to go inside since the rain had lighten up to a light sprinkle. A little bit after that I went back outside and the sun was out and the grass and the shrubs all looked refreshed and then I decide to go back in and I saw it. Right there on the ground was a small puddle of water right where I didn't want to see it dammit. I cussed under my breath and forgot all about how at peace I was with nature and all and then I got back up on the patio cover and had a gander. There was still some water pooling in the gutter but it looks like I just need to seal it better. I can still fix it but it sure killed my buzz. If the wonderful and life giving water would just stop finding its way down through the rain gutter, then I could feel proud of my self again. And yes, Sometimes it is all about me.

There you have it.

Now go back your homes. The show is over. Disperse.

The power of marketing

2010-08-07T16:51:00.000-07:00

The heat has been hot for several days now but we finally got some rain. I know I am sounding like an old person but we needed it. The other exciting thing was that I got to check and see how my gutter repairs worked out around my patio cover. We had a pretty good shower and everything was beautiful. Water started coming out where it was supposed to and I was so proud. Then all of the sudden there was a drip near the door. Then it turned into drops and then all of the suddent almost a stream. Also there was a little coming down along the side of the chimney. Don't get me started on the chimney. I would rather have a window there but right now I got a long rectangualar monstrosity with two by fours on the corners and the cheap siding that Pulte homes used to use. Nowadays I they use hardyplank.

OK, back to the humidity. It was pretty miserable. My dream of sitting under the patio cover and enjoying a refreshing summer show came tumbling down and instead water was splattering all over the place.

After the rain stopped, I waited a while and went outside and got the ladder and got up there to have a look to see what happened. I had a pretty good idea that it was the rain gutter holding water since the water kept dripping even 15 minutes or so after the rain. It turned out I was right. There was not enough slant to allow the water to drain out of the gutter and there was also a leak at the joint right above where it was dripping. I had put some sealer in the joints but I missed one side and also the end cap that butts up to the wonderful chimney.

It took a while but I finally got it pulled loose and didn't tear it up too band. I hammered it back in and gave it enough pitch to stop the water from pooling. I could tell because there was still standing water and once I made the adjustment, It drained out. Thank you gravity.

While I was eating some chili and rice a commercial came on and the announcer came on and and said "Come see George at the Verizon" and then a guy was talking and It sounded likc George Costanza from Seinfeld. I looked the screen and there was a guy dancing around in a monkey suit.

So there you have it. While the rest of us are sitting around watching TV, eating chili, and fooling around in the gutter, Some genius figured out that they could put a guy in a monkey suit and sell tickets. There is still hope for America afterall.

Oye Como Va

2010-08-04T19:39:00.000-07:00

Buenos Dias,

I am here in the heart of TexMex country, Houston Texas. People in Houston are in a hurry so I am going to tell you how to make spanish style rice in a hurry. I am talking instant rice and no, don't go buy a mix packet because that is what it will taste like.

I wasn't in a hurry but I have been using instant rice because it is convenient and also doesn't get a pan all stuck with rice. I used a pyrex bowl and put a glass plate on top of it (in the microwave) Today is the first time I tried adding anything to the rice and I was surprised how well it worked.

Chop up some onion and celery and put it in the bowl with the rice and then add some chili powder, garlic powder and some margarine or butter, whatever it is that you use. I used I can't believe it's not butter light. When you put the butter in, don't melt it first, it will be clumped up but just stir everything togeather. The butter will kind of hold everything so that nothing settles to the top or bottom. Then add some cold water from the tap. The idea is that you do not want the butter to melt until the cooking begins to keep it spread out evenly. Don't overdo it with the chili powder or garlic powder but put enough in to give it the flavor. As far as the chili powder, you can tell if you have enough based on the color.

Thats about it, Microwave it about 4 minutes or so and let it sit (still covered) for another 5 or 10 minutes and you will actually have some authentic tasting rice. Mine came out pretty good if I do say so myself but I was hungry when I ate it so maybe I was biased but I was till proud of myself.

Speaking of being proud of myself, Today I stopped by Home Depot to buy some gate hinges. I have some chain link gates that have been in the back yard for several years and I wanted to put on on the end of a 4x4 post that is part of my patio cover. They sell a "lag bolt" that would work perfect except for the fact that it is a pretty long and good sized bolt and I didn't want to thread that into the 4x4 because it would take away a some of the strengh of the board. It would make it as strong as a 4x3.25 and I didn't want that. I looked around for a while, asked a Home Depot employee for advice and then decided to go over to Lowes. They basically had the same stuff at lowes but I kept looking around and I found a eye bolt. It is made to thread into wood and has a round shaped hoop on the end. I then got a 2 and a half inch long 5/8ths bolt and some nuts and made a holder for the piece that hooks up to the gate. At one point I was about to give up but I kept telling myself that with all the hardware and stuff they had at these types of stores, the solution was there. I even told the cashier how proud of myself I was. She didn't seem overly impressed but she was polite about it.

I took a picture just now with my phone and it is at the top of the page. I found a bolt that was not threaded on the part closest to the part your hook the wrench to and then I used to nuts so I could tighten them against each other so as to be able to lock everything in place. The picture is of the bottom hinge but the top one looks pretty much the same. It actually took me alot longer figuring out how to come up with a plan than actually installing the gate.

I did something else amazing today but I am too humble to keep going on about myself like that so that is going to be the end of the report.

Red Beans and Ricely Yours,

The One Man Web Log Staff.

The absolute best hamburger you ever had in your life!

2010-08-03T11:02:00.000-07:00

Aloha from Texas:

I get a weekly email from Jeffrey Gitomer. He is a sales trainer and has a little different spin from some of the standard stuff which is all good but Jeffrey does less re-packaging and he also has a common theme that I really like. He actually believes in taking care of customers and giving a good value. His focus is generally on building relationships with customers and he promotes the idea of using the internet.

It doesn't matter if you are not officially employed as a "salesman" (or woman), the stuff he talks about can help anybody. If you want to sign up for his weekly email, then just do a google search of "Jeffrey Gitomer" and sign up. It is free.

His email this week had some stuff about how to deal with "uncertain economic times". Again, I like Jeffrey and I do recommend that you sign up for his free service but I do not agree with the idea that we are in "uncertain" times now anymore than we have ever been in "uncertain" times. That is the essence of the future. It is always uncertain and our economic situation here in America is pretty much a relative thing. If you just got off a raft (and entered the country legally) and you had previously been living in a poor part of Africa or Pakistan or somewhere where you had to hustle just to have a bowl of rice, then I would say that America is a land of great opportunity that you have never experienced before. If you, on the other hand, have just seen your retirement account shrink over the past couple of years due to the stock market then I would still say that America is land of great opportunity. Nationally, unemployment is at about 9.5%. If you really believe that you are not in the top 90% as far as what you have to offer, then I would recommend that you seek spiritual and emotional guidence and then maybe enroll in community college or learn a trade. Keep in mind that running your own business is probably the best way for someone who has nothing to get a bigger chunk of the pie. Do what ever you like. If you like sewers, be a plumber. It doesn't matter. You can make money if you want to. I figure that at least half of the people who are unemployed could get a job pretty quick if they were willing to make some drastic changes. If you live somewhere where unemployment is way higher than 10% because the factories just got shut down, then move. We have a great highway system and it isn't that hard to do. Just put your mind to it.

OK. Thanks for letting me get that off my chest.

Let me return for my personal quest for excellence:

Today I decided to make the "Best Cheese Burger Ever".

I wanted to use ingredients that I had on hand so I worked with what I had. First I thawed out some hamburger meat and cut up some Russet Potatos. While the french fries were cooking, I prepared the hamburger meat by finely chopping some onion and mixing them in with the meat and also added a couple squirts of "Sweet Baby Ray's" barbeque sauce. Another trick I saw on TV was to make the center of the burger thinner sort of like a doughnut so that you don't end up with a big round hamburger when it cooks.

I also took some bacon and put in the microwave inbetween some paper towels and cooked it where it was pretty well done. I also sliced some tomato and onion and got some pickle slices out of the jar. Of course, I had to have a little bit of lettuce and we had a head of Iceberg so I used that. The other ingredient was grated sharp cheddar cheese.

Now the burgers and fries were almost cooked and the bacon was done also so I toasted some bread using my flat skillet using a little bit of "I can't beleive it's not butter" on one side. I didn't have actual hamburger buns on hand so I used some wheat bread.

I assembled the burgers in this order:

Bottom slice of toasted bread
A little mustard and Miracle whip(for a tangy zip)
pickle slices
Burger
Cheddar Cheese
Bacon Slices (1 peice total per burger)
onion slices
letuce
tomato slices
top slice of bread (also with a little miracle whip and mustard)

That is it. The "Best Barbeque Bacon Cheese Burger" I ever had. It was pretty good and having freshly made french fries with it was nice also.

Now I did try to keep it healthy by cooking the bacon very well and also by using sharp cheddar so I didn't have to use as much. I also cooked the burgers pretty well and put them on a paper towel to drain excess fat.

The idea of making the best hamburger you can make is really important in today's lesson. If you like avacados an mushrooms, or even soy burgers, then you can still make the best burger ever. The general idea is that no matter what you do, do it. Don't fool around. Why the hell not? It is a hell of a lot better to eat your attempt at the best tuna sandwich ever than just eat a tuna sandwich. By the way, finely chopped onions is the trick for a good tuna sandwich but don't overdo it.

So there you have it. The secret to success. Just like the Nike commercials say "Just do it" and maybe you will end up just like Tiger Woods or OJ Simpson. Congratulations in advance.

Keep on Rockin!

In the desert, It's hard to remember your name

2010-08-02T22:25:00.000-07:00

I had to do some work on the roof of my patio cover today. My rain gutters needed to be reatached and I had to replace some wood and put in some flashing.

It was pretty damn hot so I could only stay up there for so long and I had to come in and cool off. Finally, I decided to wait til tonight and at about 10pm I hooked up a shop light to an extension cord and it was much better.

Tomorrow I have to cut up some dead branches and I had leftovers for dinner.

What else do you want to know?

Oh yeah, I have a mexican built Fender Stratocaster that I have mostly used for a back-up guitar. I did a little work on it the other day to fix a short but I couldn't find the problem. When I put it back togeather it worked just fine. Hopefully it will remain one of life's mysteries and I won't have to worry about it anymore.

Several years back I had bought a set (of 3) Fender Custom Shop "Fat Fities" pickups and installed them in my main Stratocaster that I bought in 1988. I put the pick-ups out of that guitar in the Mexcan Stat, which is black. Then at some point I took one of the pick-ups from the 1988 guitar and put it in the neck pick up position on the mexican. This particular guitar used to have a humbucker in the bridge position but I don't roll that way on strats so I put in a single coil in it's place. I think it is what they called a "Texas Special" or something like that. It has pretty good size fret wire which Fender started doing after Stevie Ray was popular. The good thing about this guitar not being played so much is that the frets are still in good shape and the guitar plays well so I think I need to play it a little more often. You never know.

Well, I hope you got everything you were expecting in visiting my blog today. Customer satisfaction is very important to us here at the one man web log.

Good Morning.

sniper shovel

2010-07-31T16:39:00.000-07:00

Good Evening.

Today I planted a few shrubs. The Houston Garden Center over on the Katy Freeway is where I usually buy shrubs & stuff like that. Usually, the fall is the best time to buy but the have sales going on right now since it is so hot in Houston right now. It really is too. Yesterday, while I was looking around and picking out some shrubs, I was about ready to get back in the Air Conditioning and do it another time but my perserverence perservered.

I was walking around and I ran into the dude over there who gives out advice on what to buy. He either really knows what he is talking about or he is a very good bullshitter. He always answers with confidence and makes a solid purchase suggestion. I told him I had bought some red tip photenias over there about 15 years ago and at that time they were supposed to be very easy to take care of. Since that time they have become less hearty and succeptable to blight or fungus or whatever it is that makes them die so fast. He pointed me out to some "silver" (in the sunlight) looking shrubs and I picked of three of them and then went over to Walmart and bought three bags of scotts top soil (.75 cubic liter). Walmart is cheaper for stuff like that.

I had left the shrubs and bags of topsoil on my driveway and today I carted them around to the back yard. My plan was to work in stages to keep from getting too hot but I didn't expect to be coming inside after just moving the shrubs to the backyard. I had my straw hat and a towel over my head so I looked like a landscaper and I brought some water outside and tried to stay in the shade as much as possible. I also brougth two shovels, one regular looking shovel made for digging and one that my dad, Kent Twyman, had used to plant trees and shrubs in our family home back in the 1960s. We had nine kids in the family and Kent wanted us to have trees to climb in so he planted fast growing trees. He knew trees and plants pretty well and I am sure he would have preferred to have Oaks and other trees like that but he planted quite a few chinese tallow trees. When I was a kid, there were plenty of trees to climb and we did spend a fair amout of time in the trees and shooting china berries with our slingshots. Many of them are already gone but they served the purpose and Kent was happy that his kids had trees to climb. There was one tree that was right outside the kitchen sink window that had a natural "crows nest" and I used to climb up there and watch the fireworks going off at astroworld at 10pm. It was a pretty good distance away but I could see them pretty well. Even as a young teenager, it was nice to have a place to "hang out" at night. It was very peaceful to be up in a tree but you had to stay alert. I never did have a fall. My dad had convinced me at a young age that I was a good tree climber and now that I am older, I realize that he was just giving me confidence but since I had so much practice, I did turn out to be a pretty good tree climber after all.

Well, back to today. I dug the holes, put some topsoil in, and then finished planting the shrubs. The "sharpshooter" shovel that my dad used to use made the job much easier. It is a little bit worn but still cuts right through roots & such and does a fabulous job.

After that, I spent the rest of the day in the AC, made some noodles and I took a nap. I had some dreams but if you want to know the contents of all my dreams too, that is going to far. I told you about my dinner, my shrubs and my childhood of climbing trees. Seems like you should be satisfied with that.

OK, I will tell you how I made the noodles but that is it. I just used some elbow macaroni and boiled them with a little olive oil. As far as the sauce, I didn't start from scratch but it was still pretty good. I used a jar of "Classico" sauce with "mushrooms and ripe olives". I also added a can of diced tomatoes (salt free). In a separate pan I put about 4 large cloves of chopped garlic and about half an onion, chopped up also. I then threw some hamburger meat in with the onions and garlic and put a little bit of garlic powder, black pepper, oionion powder with parsley, and some other spice but I don't remember which one. Once the meat was cooked, I drained off the fat and dumped it in the large skillet with the sauce and diced tomatoes and left it on simmer for about an hour. That is the trick if you use store bought spagetti sauce, You gotta cook the acidity or whatever it is out of it that makes it taste like it does if you don't cook it for a while. I also put some parmesan cheese in with the sauce to cheat a little bit and that was it.

See, this is really too much information. You are creeping me out again and I have to go.

Bye.

David and Kathleen Bagby

2010-07-24T11:05:00.000-07:00

Last night I was watching an episode of Dateline NBC and it was a story about a man named Andrew Bagby that was murdered by his girlfriend and then it turned out the girlfriend was pregnant. She was indicted for the murder of Andrew but fled to Canada, where she was from, and the Canandian court system didn't extridite her back the USA for trial but instead let her out on bail.

The Grandparents of the baby, Zach, moved to Canada to be close to the baby and in the end the crazy girlfriend killed herself and the grandbaby. It was really a sad story but it was also very compelling just how decent the grandparents were in the way they tried to do everything they could to help Zach and aftewards they helped get the laws changed in Canada.

Compared to anything I have ever seen on TV David and Kathleen Bagby are the most amazing couple ever. God Bless those folks.

Here is a link to a story about a scholarship fund set up in the memory of Zach:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38387899/ns/local_news-pittsburgh_pa/

Here is a link to and an excerpt from a story about the murder suicide:

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/s_150829.html

Turner, infant son found dead

Dr. Shirley Turner's attorneys thought their client was ready to face a September hearing in her continuing legal efforts to avoid extradition to the United States to face a murder charge in the shooting death of Dr. Andrew Bagby, of Latrobe, once her lover and father of her 13-month-old son, Zachary....

Here is a link to an article about the documentary made about the Dad, Andrew, that was intended to be given to Zach. It now turns out to be a tribute to both of them and also the amazing grandparents, David and Kathleen Bagby. There is nothing that can be done to replace the losses they have faced but I hope they find some peace and happyness. They really do deserve it.

http://www.moviezeal.com/dear-zachary-a-letter-to-a-son-about-his-father/

id speaks to ego

2010-07-23T13:25:00.000-07:00

I decided to play a few tunes on my accoustic guitar this morning. It goes well with a cup of coffee. After a while, I remembered a dream that I had last night where I was looking for the particular guitar I was playing. In the dream, I was looking around and couldn't find it and finally I remembered it was in its case (where I always keep it). Thats the whole story so I hope you are not disapointed. Still it stuck me as interesting that it seemed like I had made a decision to play my guitar when I was still asleep.

It is funny how sometimes we take things for granted. Just a while ago I was hungry and decided to "settle" for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Then I started to think about it. The fact is that it was a damn good sandwich and even though it sounds like a cliche, there are people all over the world that would appreciated just having a couple of pieces of bread. Same thing with peanut butter or even peanuts.

I know my regular readers will think I am in a slump here but it doesn't get any more real than peanut butter. Peanut butter shows how much human beings have advanced. At some point someone had to dig up the first peanut and eat it. Somone figured out that peanuts were better to eat when they were cooked and the next thing you know someone was eating chocolate and bumped in to someone eating peanut butter and the rest is all marketing history. That may seem boring to you but if you thought of it first then you would be the millionaire and not senior Reeces so I don't want any sour grapes.

Grapes is another good example. Whoever thought up how to make wine out of grapes had to have an intitive imagination. As long as it takes wine to ferment, it wasn't something that they didn't have to really think about and be patient with. I guess it was more of an accident like reeces peanut butter cups and someone left some grape juice in a container and forgot about and then decided to drink it anyway and liked the buzz. This is going to call for some research.

If you are going to kill a chicken...

2010-07-22T11:40:00.000-07:00

If you decide to murder a chicken then the least you can do it cook it right. As Charles Barkley once said "Anything less would be uncivilized". The bible even says that "what ever thy hand findeth to do, do it with might"

Well, I know there are several "mighty" good ways to cook chicken but the goodest way of them all has to be fried. What is better than fried chicken? I used to think that Kentucky Fried was good but now that I am older it just doesn't do it for me. The best fried chicken that you can buy in Houston is at "Frenchy's". They have several locations. The original one is by U of H but they have one somewhere around Stella Link and also one one Belfort near the Soutwest Freeway. Just look them up to be sure.

Barbequed Chicken is pretty dang good also but you have to be careful not to overcook it. You want that barbequed taste and the crispy on the outside goodness but you don't want a peice of dried out chicken when you are done. I think the best way to grill a chicken is direct grilling. Right over the heat. Using a smoker doesn't really get the job done. I cooked some on the grill not too long ago. I have a medium sized weber grill and I highly recommend that as a good value. They have them at Walmart for about $69 right now already assembled. I have had mine for years and it still has not rusted out. I bought some wood chips at Walmart also. They have small bags for about $2.49 and a variety of woods. They didn't have pecan wood which is a favorite of mine so I bought some hickory and some cherry. I don't use mesquite too much because it seems to overpower the flavor but if you use mesquite, just don't use too much. They have instructions on the bag to make a foil pouch but I just got the coals going and right before I put the meat on the grill, I added the chips. They smoke pretty good right at first so be careful not to breathe in too much. You can also soak them in water for about 20 minutes before throwing them on the coals. Same thing works if you have some old pecan shells or pecans that are not good enough to eat. The general Idea is to have a hot enough fire to cook the chicken but not too hot. If you do the vents right, you can leave the chicken for about 20 minutes at a time before you have to turn it.

OK. Back to Fried Chicken. Yesterday they had chicken breasts and drumsticks at HEB for $1 per pound (limit 2) so I bought some chicken and when I got home I decided to fry it up. I think I posted about it before on here but usually I used flour. This time I decided to use some cracker crumbs. I had some low salt Saltines and I threw some on the counter and crunched them down pretty finely with a rolling pin. Then I mixed that with some flour and spices. I also had a bowl of just flour and a bowl with milk with an egg mixed in.

First throw the chicken in the flour and then dip it in the milk/egg and then sprinkle it with some spices of your choice. I mixed up some garlic powder, black pepper, and Mrs Dash. You can even mix some chili powder or whatever else makes you happy. Not too much spice that the cracker crumbs wont stick.

After you have the chicken piece soaked with milk/egg and sprinkled with a spice mixture, then roll it in the cracker crumbs/flour mixture that has a little spice in it also.

The best cooking oil I have found for fried chicken is the Wesson Best Blend. Don't used corn oil. It is rated better for holding up to the heat but the taste is not as good. There are all kinds of good oil to use so take your pick. You don't want the oil too hot but you want it hot enough to get the job done. Use your best judgement. Heat it up a little extra in the beginning so that when you drop the chicken in, it will not cool down too much. Also, You gotta use some oil. Put enough to cover the chicken about half way so that you don't have to turn it so many times. It will cook more evenly. Golden brown is good but some people like it cooked a little more.

There you have it. You can now impress your friends and neighbors.

If you really want to do it up good then wash it down with some chocolate cake and lemonaid.

Good Night.

Waiting for the news

2010-07-13T08:06:00.000-07:00

We should hear this week if the effort for the new "cap" on the oil leak was successful.

I am more than just a little bit disapointed in our efforts as a country to deal with this threat. To me it seemed like the politicians were worried about who to blame instead of fixing the problem. There will be plenty of time to assign blame but from the moment the leak happened, The common goal of protecting the Gulf and the Gulf States should have been the focus. Just like in a time of war, the President is the President. He got elected based on the rules set up by our founding fathers. It wasn't time to campaign. The bottom line is that I am disapointed in America as a whole that we did not pull togeather and stop the leak sooner. I am not pretending like it is a simple fix but if we could send a man to the moon and rescue the Apollo 13 astronauts, we should have been able to get this done. There won't ever ask Tom Hanks to star in a movie about his particular mishap.

Dammit People, Let's start being Americans first and then worry about politics second. Get involved in the political process and then respect the process.

We need to do better!

If you need an electrician Call R.S. Electrical Services in Katy

2010-07-10T09:12:00.000-07:00

A several weeks back, the main breaker for our home tripped and started tripping more often after that. A guy from the power company told us that the main circuit breaker itself was probably bad. I thought this made sense since we had not added anything for the past year or so that would have increased the load. Also, even after we started to be careful not to use appliances and AC units at the same time, it still happened.

I have done some electrical work around the house before and did install a new breaker one time also but it was not a "main breaker". I know that in thoery that I could do the job without getting electrocuted but I didn't want to test that thoery in practice. The problem is that when I changed out a breaker before, I just shut off the main breaker and the wires were no longer "hot". There was still a live wire coming into the electrical box but as long as I didn't touch it, I was safe. This time, The actual wires going in to the circuit breaker would be "hot" since it was as it is called the "main breaker". The way to deal with that (in thoery) is just to make sure that I don't touch the exposed part of the wire while I am working on it and also when I use the screwdrive, just make sure not to touch the metal part. The problem is that I am not an Electrician and I didn't think I wanted to test the theory and find out that as I was getting shocked that I was wrong. Also, I didn't want to take the chance of the screwdriver slipping or me loosing my concentration for even the briefest moment and end up fried so I decided I needed to call an elelctrician.

I didn't know an electrician off hand so I looked on the BBB web site for houston and found the guy that was located closest to my home. I found R.S. Electrical Services which is owned and operated by Richard Simmons. He is located less than a mile from my home and had an "A" rating and no complaints. My thinking is that if I could find someone close then it would be an easy quick job that they could do on the way home as thier last stop. My other thinking is that I would be doing business with someone in my "community" and since the economy is slow right now, I would be happy to give them some work also.

I called Richard the morning of June 28th and he said he would come by. I asked him if he had the main breaker I needed on his truck and he said probably not. I asked him if it would be OK if I picked up the breaker just to save time and an extra service call charge and he had no problem with that. In the process of looking for the breaker, I found an electrical supply house here in Houston and the guy quoted me $249 for the part. I called Richard and asked him about this and he said it was "a little high". With Richard's direction, I went over to Home Depot and found a GE brand circuit breaker that was the right part. I had previously been under the impression that I had to have a Siemans brand circuit breaker but Richard told me that the GEs were interchagable so to go ahead and pick it up and he would make sure it was the right part when he got there but he was pretty sure it would work. I went to Home Depot and paid $61.

Later that day, Richard showed up at my house, installed the circuit breaker, used his electrical testing equipment to check things out and also moved the circuit breaker I had previously installed to the other side of the box to balance the load and all he charged was the cost of the service call exactly as he quoted on the phone.

If you need electrical work call R.S. Electrical Services at 713-202-7619. Please be sure to tell him Marc Twyman gave you his number.

On behalf of Marc Twyman's One Man Contractor Referral service, Thank you for letting us help.

Sunburn Health Benefits

2010-07-10T06:06:00.000-07:00

My dad, Kent Twyman, used to work for the Houston Post and one of his long-time accounts was a nursury called "Paul's Greenthumb". Kent would prepare the copy for the add and also do a "lay-out" by phsically cutting and pasting the different sections of paper using an exacto knife and rubber cement. Nowadays, it is all done with computers. Kent would write some text every week and in the center of the Paul's Greenthumb add put in a little humorous story that not everyone would get. There was even a guy that my parents knew who would save the adds one time when they were at a party, the guy read them to the group to make everyone laugh. Kent wouldn't have ever done that himself. It wasn't his style.

OK. The item that I am getting to is that in one of his Paul's Greenthumb adds, Kent said something about Paul not being intimidated by the sun. He said if there was any question about that people go see for themselves and just go visit Paul and take a look at his "Sunburned Tongue".

This morning I woke up thinking about "funny". The actual concept of funny and how it came to be. To me, if you really think about it, and you believe there is a god, then you would have to agree that God created "funny". That seems simple enough but ponder on that for a while. I could explain it to you better but that would not be as good as you figuring out all the implications for yourself.

BP gambles with the Gulf

2010-05-23T07:03:00.000-07:00

I do not what I am hearing on the news about the Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico. It turns out that the volume of crude oil that is being released at the Gulf floor has been grossly understated. It also makes me more cynical about the fact that BP has been using toxic Chemical Dispersants to help the oil not all come to the surface so there are no accurate pictures to put on the news.

BP gambled with our Gulf of Mexico from the very beginning. They did not spend the money to have a plan in place to deal with a worst case scenario. They also gambled with the idea that if they dipersed the oil, they would be able to cap the leak. Didn't happen.

I would say that they have gambled and lost twice but that isn't really the case for the people making the Corporate decisions. They Gambled but they will not be the losers. They will most likely be set for life.

To Hawk or Not To Hawk?

2010-05-02T17:12:00.000-07:00

http://http//www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2010/04/stephen-hawking-says-earth-sho.html

I think it is normal at some point when a person is growing up to wonder about the size of the Universe. I remember spending a fair amount of time laying in the grass looking at the sky and clouds or if it was night time, I would usually lay on the sidewalk and look at stars. It was a simple question but how could the Universe just go on forever. And if it did stop, what was on the other side of that? Then it leads to wondering why anything ever existed at all let alone human beings and human comprehension. It would make me feel wierd to think about it too long but when I was growing up, we didn't have computers or computer games and if it snowed in Houston, I would have to walk to school in the snow, etc.

OK, Now for the next scientific enlightenment. I read about Steven Hawking talking about how we better be careful to send out messages into the universe to see if anybody answers. With billions of stars out there, I can agree that there is a some statistical probability that there could theoretically be life out there somewhere but I think when you consider how long it would take them to get here, we don't have too much to worry about. I can't go into it with mathematical equations but I don't think warp speed is physically plauseable. Besides if it was possible to travel that fast, you would have to keep slowing down just avoid running into a star since it doesn't seem like you would be able to do much steering at the speed of light or anywhere close to it. As far as Aliens coming here to plunder our planet, that doesn't make much sense since they would have to pass so many other galexies and solar systems that they could probably just find the raw materials they were looking for before they got here. The other thing, is that they would have to have a pretty long life span to survive the journey. About the only way it would make sense is if they figured out how to download thier brains into computer type storage and OR they actually created artificial life forms with computer brains and robotic functions. If it got to that point, it doesn't seem like they would need anything that we have that they could not find somewhere else.

Still, I take my hat off to Steven Hawking for being able to grab the headlines but if we are going to worry about something traveling through space that will do us harm, we should just focus on being able to blow up an asteroid so we don't end up like the dinasaurs. It seems inevitable that we are going to blow up the world before that happens.

I think it is best to just try to avoid stress, have a good diet and enjoy life while it lasts.

Just be happy that you were not born as a fish. Especially the fish that I am getting ready to fry. I have mixed up some cracker crumbs, flour, and corn meal, and am going to put some spices directly on the fish. I got some frozen talapia that is a "product of india" and we are going to have some red potatoes and a salad.

Rock On, Nanu Nanu, Live Long and Prosper, and so forth.

In other news, the state of Arizona is hiring 16.000 ex KGB agents to ask people what business they have being free in America and if they don't answer they will waterboard them in the name of democracy.

Scientific Breaktrhrough

2010-05-01T19:00:00.000-07:00

Greetings from the here-and-now.

I was driving through the U-Turn at Gessner and Katy Freeway and maybe it was the G-force of approximatley 1.009 Gs that gave me the proper frame of mind to come to the indisputable conclusion that time travel will never be possible. No matter how advanced human technology advances it will never happen. If it was going to happen we would already know due to the fact that time travelers would have already come on back from the future and as much as people talk there is no way that somebody wouldn't have already said something. The other simple fact is the lottery would always be rigged and I have seen enough TV commercials showing lottery winners to know for a fact that those folks don't usually look like time travelers. If you need any more proof than that, then it isn't going to matter since you will never "get it" even if you did have a time machine.

the latest in entertainment technology

2010-04-07T19:06:00.000-07:00

I don't think I agree that the movies in 3D are actually 3 dimensional. They are more 3 dimenensional than a 2d movie but what is considered 2D in today's market actually a little bit 3 dimensional if you really look at them. The whole thing kind of buying a really expensive audiophile sterio system. You could spend $80,000 and get a really great recreation of live performances or you could actually just go out and see live music. But at the same time a top quality system like that can really be something to enjoy. If you really want true 3D, then just go to a play. And please, No talking, textng, or kicking the seat in front of you during the show. Do you really think the people in front of you can't feel that. Do you really need attention that bad?

Golden moments in Snowboard History

2010-02-19T18:39:00.000-08:00

Yes. Hello. I am doing fine and so forth. How are you?

Of course nobody really wants to know how you really are. It is sort of a strange custom. Just like shaking hands. I do it just like everybody else but there are some people that I would rather not shake hands with but the problem is that I don't know specifically which ones. Some foks just don't wash thier hands after going to the bathroom and how am I supposed to know if they just sneezed in thier hand 2 minutes ago? Why can't we just give each other a friendly wave. I am OK with the fist bump but it is too confusing to know when someone else is going to know. First they stick out thier hand when you offer the bump and then you switch to a handshake and they throw the bump. It is just too akward.

Speaking of sneezing, I did happen to catch Shaun White and the rest of the Olympic Snowboarders in the medal competition the other night. The only way he was going to lose is if he fell down in both runs. They took the best score from eather run so that is what it would have taken. He really is a talented guy and I wish him the best. Congratultions Shaun! Thanks for winning a Gold Medal for yourself and the USA.

As far as the next topic, That isn't quite ironed out yet. I could talk about all kinds of things. I am good like that. Pick any subject. OK fine, I will talk about popcorn.

I like cooking popcorn the old fashioned way. I actually enjoy standing there and shaking the pan in anticipation. It seems like it takes for ever for the first couple of pops and then all of the sudden it is pure rock and roll. Kids today wouldn't understand but Jiffy Pop was alot more fun than microwave popcorn.

Now you are getting a little too curious about what I will say next and it is creeping me out.

Bye

instructions not included

2010-02-13T22:29:00.000-08:00

I don't understand why it is supposed to sound like a better deal if I got to mail in a form and then never get my money even if I do. I generally don't buy things with mail in rebates.

I tried to sign up for a better internet connection and they want to add about $100 to my next bill and then mail me a rebate form that I can mail in and get my $100 back. It sure doesn't sound like anything they would put on a commercial.

That has to be a great job working at the Mail-in Rebate Processing Center. No pressure at all.

2010-02-07T02:21:00.000-08:00

I don't know how old I was when I first saw the Beatles film "Help" on TV. They had this one scene where the Beatles walked into thier home. There were 4 separate doors going in to what looked like 4 separate apartments and when they got inside, it was one big place separated in to 4 individual spaces. However old I was when I saw it, I kinda knew they didn't really live exactly like that but I liked beleiving it anyway. Kinda like when you get just a little too old to really in Santa Clause but you keep it going in your mind because it is so damn fun. I am sure I covered that before so back to the 4 lads from Liverpool.

It is almost sad to listen to who play music that are about my age when they talk about thier musical influences. It always sounds like cliche. The Beatles are a standard influence. Just like Stevie Ray for people who played blues music but it is a fact that both the Beatles and Stevie Ray influenced quite a few people and also the reason that many people took up music as a hobby or somthing to do. Certain performers just have a way of reaching out to people. Thier lyrics and songs and thier entire personality seems to be able to strike a chord and thier fans felt like they personally knew them.

The Beatles were all equally important in my mind when it comes to actually making up who the Beatles were. Even the drummer. Ringo's personality as well as his excellent drumming skills were key ingredients. He wasn't the kind of drummer that would play the best drum solo but He had the knack for getting the right beat and creating the right sound. John Lennon was always the Beatle that struck a chord with me the most. Even with his solo career. All the songs weren't necessarily commerically great but at the same time he was John Lennon and it didn't matter.

If I am lucky I will never meet Jack White from the White Stripes. To me he is just one of those types of performers. His approach to everything is really cool. I like the way he is able to mix all types of music into his own garage band style & he can do it with just him and a drummer. Not to take away from the Drummer. Meg is just as important to the White Stripes Sound as Ringo was to the Beatles. It might have been a cool jam session but Buddy Rich could not do what Meg White does. It is almost like she is figuring it out as she goes along but gets it right. The White Stripes do pay homage to the original blues artists and they seem to "get" where they were coming from.

The reason that I wouldn't want to meet the White Stripes is because I would would be a starstruck idiot and sound like every other fan and I would then have the memory of knowing I was a pain in the ass to meet. Why the hell would they want to meet me anyway? They got people lined up just waiting to meet them in every city. I imagine they get sick of all the people with back stage passes hanging around thier neck. Not that they don't appreciate thier fans but after a while, I am sure it feels like you have met enough people to run for president.

If you are having trouble followng my train of thought then "welcome to my nightmare". Actually I did wake up pretty early but I fell asleep early also. Do you really need to know that? Why are you reading these personal details? It makes no sense at all. It is Sunday Morning and you should be standing on your driveway waiting for the Newspaper to get delivered so you can read all about the Superbowl. You better make sure to read all that sports fluff before the game because once they play the game, it will be done. Personally, I don't care too much about the SuperBowl this year. My team was the Texans and they didn't make it. Who knows? Maybe it will actually be a good game.

Now go back to sleep!

Copyright / Tradmark - one man electric blues band

2010-01-31T09:48:00.000-08:00

OK,

I just did a google search of the term "One Man Electric Blues Band" and I found another dude is using the same name for his music act. I know this wouldn't bother most people but most people didn't put all the time and effort into the creation of the "one man electric blues band". Also, "other people" didn't work as the equipment manager for Marc Twyman's One Man Electric Blues Band.

It is actually something I copyrighted in 2005 and I have a digital time stamp showing that I used the term much earlier than that also. It is a trademark that I have established on the world wide web and is unique to me.

Used to be that if I googled "one man electric blues band", I was the only one who came up as an exact hit.

I am not as upset about it as the bass player (my left toe). It it was just up to me, I would let it go but I really don't think the rest of the band will feel the same way.

Not from the Shrimp's persective

2010-01-24T10:36:00.000-08:00

Hola, Aloha, and Como Estas?

I just cooked some shrimp and they came out right.

Back sometime around 1984, I got the idea that I wanted to open a Seafood Restaurant. I worked for a short time at several different Seafood Restaurants and I started making a book of Recipes based on things I learned at each kitchen. I had recipes for Fried and Broiled Fish, Shrimp, Oysters and also the various ways to prepare and serve King Crab, snow Crap, soft shell Crab, Blue Crab, Dungeonous Crab, Crab Claws, Detliff Crab and more. I had a good recipe for Seafood Gumbo and also Clam Chowder. I determined which place had the best way of cooking French Fries, onion rings, and also baked potatoes. Then at some point a very dear friend to me decided that they would help me by offering me a job so I kind of lost my direction with the Restaruant idea. One thing I did learn about restaurants is that the owner has to be there all the time in order to watch the way customers are treated, food is prepared, and also make sure that food is not walking out the back door to feed the employees and thier friends. It is a real art to keeping food cost down. It costs money to throw away food also.

Fast forward to today:

I decided to cook some Fried Shrimp and I used the same basic recipe as a place called the "Crazy Crab". They have long since gone out of business but were located in the Westwood Mall area in Southwest Houston. Thier philosopy was to not put spices in the breading or on the shrimp but instead to have all the spice be contained in the "Cocktail Sauce".

Start out with Fresh Shrimp (if possible) but frozen will work.

Butterfly the shrimp and then after rinsing with water,

drop them into a bowl of flour.

After that dip them into milk/egg wash(Just mix an egg into a small bowl of milk),

Then coat them with Cracker Crumbs. It takes a little work to crunch up the saltine crackers (i used unsalted) Use something like a pie or layer cake baking pan and press then place the shrimp on top of cracker crumbs and then drop a handful of the cracker crumbs on top of the shrimp also. Press them down to make the crumbs stick but not hard enough to deform the shrimp too much.

Once you have all the shrimp prepared for frying, Then fry them in some cooking oil that is hot enough but not too hot. You want them to be golden brown and it is a good Idea to put enough oil in the frying pan that the shrimp will be submerged.

Then serve them with some good cotail sauce.

We ate ours with some green beans and microwave baked potatoes. It works better in the real oven but just clean some taters, punch holes in them with a fork (about 4 or 5 stabs) so they don't split and then coat them with olive oil.

I also have some dieting tips but I will share them in another post at a time of my choosing.

Rock Onward

Relgion vs Darwin???

2010-01-17T06:18:00.000-08:00

I understand that back when people thought the earth was flat it would have been considered herecy to say the world was round.

Personally, I think Ben Franlin would have understood. Ben is one of those guys that even though everybody in the world knows they were amazing, my typical reaction when I read about him is to be astounded at how incredible a dude he was. Just like listening to Mozrt. Ben is the kind of guy who could do all the different things he did and at the same time do everything that you or I did and do it better.

If you want to share in my Amazement, then do a Google Search and read up on him.

I mention Ben because he was a scientist and it is quite evident that he did not see that as an attack or even in conflict with his personal religious views. I don't think Darwin was trying to make any kind of statement about religion when he did his science & I am pretty sure he "got" that. He was just being a scientist.

I got started thinking about this after watching a PBS special about DNA. I think it was an "episode" of Nova.

To me, It doesn't attack the idea that God made the world in "seven days" to consider that he may have done it using "evolution". If you think about it, a "day" is how long it takes the world to spin around one time. But when God made the world, it wasn't spinning. Who are we to assume how long a "day" was for God? Why is that Shakespere didn't have to just lay everything out? When they made me read Shakespeare in English, I had no idea what the story was about. We had to write a book report about it and everybody pretended like they just got it. I didn't. Why shouldn't God be allowed to write like that? Why would it be sacrilege to assume that God would write in his own astoundng style. He is afterall God.

OK, Back to the Sunday School Science Lesson:

Wait, I see the bell is fixing to ring and I don't want you to be late for Churh and we will pick up where we left of last week.

Walking on Sunshine: No Generic Substitute available

2009-12-27T13:25:00.000-08:00

I don't think I ever gave the final garden update but the it has now been mowed over and I will probably just stick to tomatoes and cucumbers this year. Maybe some more lettuce. That was kind of cool. I will see how lazy I am in the spring. I wouldn't mind growing some onions.

Back on topic, I am getting sick of all the prescription drug commercials. I like listening to Classic Rock on the radio but nowadays it makes a person feel like a geezer. They advertise drugs for old people. TV isn't any better. Even my local Cinimark in Katy. I went to see a movie over there a couple of months ago and before the previews they had a commercial for the new Katy Cancer treatment facilities now available. Not that it isn't a good thing and will make it much more convenient for people who need the help, It is just that when I plop down $9 for a ticket and then 8 more for some popcorn and a drink, I want to get the traditional magical movie theater experience. I don't want to be thinking about any particular illness that I am somehow now the target market for thier advertising.

The other thing is that the side effects sound worse than the actual ailment that the pill is for. They have the wonderful music and people runnging through fields of flowers with no allergy symtoms but then you get a warning to stop using the drug if you have a stroke, kidney failure, or cough up blood. And is always such a small percentage that actually die but that isn't what I consider a good selling point. Of course they are required by law or fear of getting sued but damn. What about the one where they tell you to call your doctor if your erection lasts longer than 6 hours. Just consider how long it takes to get to see a doctor. You have to figure that most people are not going to be taking sexual enhancement drugs during work hours so if you do need to call a doctor, then it will be the emergency room. It won't do any good to call them but you better hope that there are not any heart attacks or other more serious cases that will get seen infront of you. If after 6 hours you decide to go to the emergency room, it is going to take 15 minutes to half an hour to drive over and then at least half an hour to be processed and then you have to wait until it is your turn. It could turn out to be a 10 hour erection before you actually get help. It is like your fears from Junior Highschool have come to pass. Also, I wouldn't be surprised if there aren't a few women out there who figured they had put in thier time when it comes to having sex with the old geezer that they are married to. There had to be at least a few that really wish that viagra had never been discovered.

I do believe in going to the doctor and getting the appropriate check ups and blood tests and so forth but it does scare me a little when I hear that over 30 percent of all treatments after false positives are not needed. There is no question that the health care industry is just that. An industry. I even saw a study on TV that when business is slow in a particual area or they have too many hospitals. Those health care networks just generate more tests and unneeded procedures to make up for it.

There is no way around it. Nobody Gets out alive.

What else?

Not much really. I have reconfigured my one man band using less equipment. I got burned out on carrying around so much equipment and having to set it up and break it down that I decided to see what I could do to make it a little more mobile.

I decided to eliminate the symbols and the actual Bass drum but I did come up with an Idea to purchase an electronic drum machine brain and I now put a second drumstick on my foot which extends backward and I made a Hi Hat in to a Low hat and I then put a sensor on it and which will fire off the bass drum sound when I hit it. It actually does sound tighter. The next I idea was just to run everything through the mixer and amp into one speaker. I am currently using a bass cab but I might see if I can find a powered speaker and elimnate the need for the amp. I do like the idea of it being a bass rig since I am running a bass drum and bass gutiar through it. Maybe I will just add a horn tweeter and see how that works for small settings. I am thinking of looking for a gig here or there but am not that organized yet.

Besides that you will have to go buy a newspaper or something cause that is all I got.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Austin Wonderland Limits

2009-07-25T22:04:00.000-07:00

My sincerest digitized greetings to you all and thanks for stopping back in.

Last night I went over to the "spot" on 18th street. It would fit into the "dive" category as far as venues/bars go but that is how I like em. Even though I had a diet coke and then a glass of water, I like the honest feel of a local beer joint with live music. The Blue Flash band was playing and it was Beverly's birthday. She is a friend of the band and the girlfriend of one of the crew. I was invited to play a couple of tunes so I had brought my guitar along. Lately I have been playing my Epiphone SG. It is a white one with a set neck. That means the neck is glued and not bolted to the body of the guitar. It is also different in that there is a cut out in the body for the wood to slide into as opposed to a neck that just flatly bolts on like a stratocaster. There is a distinctly different sound. In the old days, Epiphones and Gibsons were made at the same factory and I have heard that in some cases, the only difference is the label. Nowadays, The epiphones are the import models that are made to specs in this case in China. I know I could go and spend about 800 or a thousand dollars more and get an official Gibson but this one sounds just fine to me so until I can afford one of those I will stay content with this one. Besides I like the guitar. Blue Flash was in excellent form and Marty J was looking like he was doing well. They have a new drummer that I don't know but he is very good. I started out the second set with the band and played 3 songs. Then a guy named Leonard Low Down Brown came up and played for a while then back to the Blue Flash lin-up with greg, ron, and Marty. I really enjoy listening to live music so it was a good night for me.

Tonight I decided to mow the back yard before it got too dark. I took a look at garden number 2 and there was a ripe canteloupe just sitting there. It was in the garden but it wasn't hooked onto a vine. I guess when they get ripe they just come loose. I also wondered if maybe someone hadn't gone to the grocery store as part of some elaborate hoax but this don't look like no grocery store cantaloupe. Maybe I will take a picture of it and add it later. I also found another squash. I was glad to see it since I thought I had harvested the last of the yellow squash. Over in Garden number one I found there were quite a few ripe cherrytomatoes and some more cucumbers alos. I also found one cucumber that I had missed and it is huge. I just decided to leave it and maybe see if it gets bigger. It is too big to eat now anyway. I am going to use it to see if the seeds from it can be used next year.

After all that I decied to click around the TV and got caught up watching one of those "48 hours mysteries" about a dude who was appealing his conviction. I don't want to ruin the ending but he was not guilty. After that I clicked over to PBS to see who was on Austin City Limits and it was Carolyn Wonderland. I had missed the original broadcast so I fired up the DVR. The first half of the show was Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings. I had never seen Sharon before (pictured above left) but she is very entertaining. Carolyn is orignally from Houston and she has grown from being Houston's favorite to becoming a Texas favorite and now she is even bigger than that. I first became aware of her from seeing her at the Shakespeare Pub Blues Jams from time to time back about 8 to 5 years back. She would stop by ocasionally and it was always a memorable event for me. The first time I saw her play I was an instant fan. The times I saw her at the Shakespear Pub she mostly played blues. She is a hell of a blues Singer and guitar player both. One time I had my amp on the stage at the blues jam and when it was her turn she plugged into it. It is the same amp that Little Joe Washington and Ozell have played through also. Little Joe and Ozell have both played my gutiar also. Little Joe always was borring guitars and one time Ozell was there getting ready to play after me and since I was all set up I just handed him my guitar and he took over. It made me realize tha my rig at the time was just fine. He was a hell of a player and I realized I needed to focus on playing and not buying new amps. The amp I am talking about is a 70s Silverface Twin Reverb (fender) that I bought at a pawn shop sometime around 1994 or thereabouts. I now usually play through a blues Junior since the Twin Reverb it a 100 watt amp and it is pretty loud and heavier to carry. But back to Carolyn Wonderland. She did a short interview after the show and did talk about being from Houston which was cool since alot of people in Houston are proud she is from around here. It was also very relaxing to get to watch some good music in my own living room. It was one of the best Austin City Limits episodes in a long time.

dropping names & false claims

2009-07-06T20:02:00.000-07:00

I never liked it when people who play music list all the people that they have "shared the stage" with. It is even worse when the person they "shared the stage" with has passed on. So what? Does that mean that person endoreses your music?

This past weekend I had a few days off so I decided to get out and about and see some live music. My friend Greg from the blue flash band was hired to play with a band Saturday night at the Last Concert Cafe which is basially an outdoors venue. The place has been around for a long time and is located on the outskirts of downtown Houston on nance street. There is a mexican restaurant and then a large outdoor area with sand, hoola hoops, picnic tables and a nice stage and sound system.

After I happened onto a really good parking space, I parked and entered the establishment and paid the cover charge. As I walked in I saw a guy that I recongnized named Mark May. He is a local guitar player that auditioned with the Allman brothers and also toured with them as an opening act. He doesn't know me so when he walked by I didn't bother him. The entrance takes you straight to the bar which is indoors along with some restaruant tables. I then went on "in" to the outside patio area and found my friends that I was meeting up there. They were sitting at a table and I went around and greeted everyone. There was also a lady that I didn't recognize so I introduced myself and told her my name was Marc. She said it is so nice to meet you and she gave me a hug. I was looking at my friends while she gave me the hug and I am sure I had a puzzled look on my face. She then asked me if I was going to play "call on the blues" so then I knew she thought I was Mark May. I told her that I was a different "Mark" and it didn't seem to upset her too much.

Later on I saw Mark May sitting at a table so I walked on over and asked him if Paul Ramirez was there. He is a guitar player that I know from several years back when he was in the 420 band. They hosted Jam sessions and also hung out at some of the blues jams. Mark told me that Paul was not there and I told him the story about the lady hugging me and told him that I know what it is like to be Rock Star. It turned out that the lady was there with her husband who was the sound man and knew Mark May was going to be there but I left that out to make the story sound better. After that I left Mark May alone. He doesn't know me and I didn't want to bother him. He was there to sit in with the band greg (from blue flash) was playing with and when he did play, He just plugged in and it seemed like he was already warmed up. I didn't reallyl stay all that long because I didn't want to be driving when the bars closed and the drunks were out so I headed on home about about midnight.

On Sunday I still had some energy left so I headed over the Sunday night blues jam at the Shakespear Pub. I got there early so I could catch the house band. They started at about 9. There was a guy named John McVey sitting in. He plays gigs there and is a club favorite. He is an Austin Blues player that moved to houston and is a local favorite who is very good. The band sounded great but the crowd was kind of small being that it was the end of a 3 day weekend. There were no other "jammers" there so I signed the jam list. I was the first "jammer" so I played after the house band. I have seen John McVey play several times and met him before but he meets alot of fans so I assumed he wouldn't have a clue who I was. He left his guitar and amp on the stage so I said hello to him and told him that he was welcome to sit in on my set if he wanted to. It was me, Spare Time Murray on bass, And Dave Corbett on drums. Both from the house band and a solid blues rhythm section. I played my first tune and there were about 5 or 6 poeple in the bar and John McVey came on up and plugged back in. He sat in for a couple of songs and it was very cool. I told him afterwards that I really appreciated it and I think could tell I was sincere. I also jokingly told him that I was going to call the newspaper and update my website and say that I "shared the stage" with John McVey.

I don't know the moral of the story. Maybe I just wanted to let you know how humble and honest I am. The truth is that if you like live blues you will probably enjoy catching a love show with either Mark May or John McVey. Mark May is a little more rock oriented but he can play the blues and will not let you down. John McVey is usually described as Texas Blues and a favorite of mine.

Now I think it is time for a nap.

Nite nite.

People for the ethical treatment of salads

2009-07-05T11:02:00.000-07:00

I was in HEB, my favorite local grocery store, on Friday. It was crowded because everybody was buying stuff for the holiday weekend. I decided that since it has been so hot for so many days straight that I didn't feel like cooking outdoors and went with a plan to do fried chicken. I bought some drumsticks and chicken breasts and also some cooking oil. Last time I fried chicken I used corn oil because of the temperature chart on the back of the container. It really didn't come out all that great and I do think the oil was the reason. It wasn't bad, just not great. This time I went with Wesson "best blend" which was on sale for 2.49 for a large bottle. I was on the same aisle looking for the best type of flour. They had some mixes for frying chicken but I don't like those since they all have loads of sodium. I went ahead and got some store brand all purpose flour. The flour I had been using is labled "bread" flour. I was still looking around and a dude came shopping along who works at the store but was off duty. He is the guy who works a in the area between produce and the meat and fish sections. He will cook free samples and then promote a special using those samples. I generally don't eat the free samples but I have watched several of his presentations and he seems to know how to cook. I said hello and told him I recognized him from his job and then asked him if he could give me any tips on what to use to fry chicken. He said the flour I selected was the best way to go but he said a good trick was to put the spices on the chicken itself before you put it in the flour. He said to use an "egg wash" and I didn't question him at the time but I assumed he was talking about milk and egg. I prepared the chicken the way he said but I wasn't sure if I should have put the spices on first and then dipped it in the milk and egg or aftarwards. I decided to dip it first, then the spices, then the flour. Usually I haven't been using milk and eggs but just washing the chicken in water and then going straight to the spiced flour. I also used two skillets to cut the cooking time. It did come out well and I will probably do it pretty much the same way next time. I might try some with out the milk and egg just to compare. I might also try double dipping to see how that comes out also.

The salad in the picture above is all from the Garden. I had hoped to be able to eat a 100% actual garden salad and some tomatoes did ripen up in time so I had the cucumbers, leaf lettuce and tomatoes. I ended up cutting the cherry tomatoes in half and using a balsamic vinegarette dressing. I am a humble person but it was very good. We had a little cold fried chicken, a good sized salad, and some bread I bought HEB in the bakery section. If you are jealous of me right now it probably won't be a sin.

Hey PETA, What about misquitos?

2009-06-21T11:15:00.000-07:00

First of all, If you are from my Homeowners Association, My front yard looks fine. I just have had a bout with allergies and am holding off on mowing the back until I get past that.

Above are some pictures I took today. I am starting to get some watermellons. As you can see in relation to the blades of grass, they are pretty small right now but I am still excited about the thought of fresh watermelons. I am going to keep my fingers crossed.

I had planted some additional green bean plants and harvested some today along with the squash. I am planning on cooking them in the same pan with garlic and onions. I think the beans will take a little more cooking so I will add the squash last.

Also, You can see that the tomato plants have gotten pretty big and there are starting to fruit also but nothing has turned red yet.

If I do plant again next year, I am going to plant everything that worked this year and try some new stuff also. I will also pay more attention to the spacing and location of plants. I will do the lettuce again but only in pots since that is where I am having the best luck. I tried transplanting some from the garden into pots yesterday and I am hoping that they will take.

There was a misquito biting me on my leg today and I swatted it. I know PETA got mad at President Obama for killing the fly but I hope they cut me some slack since the misquito bit me first. It was self defense so I hope they don't picket in front of my house. If they do maybe I can bribe them with fresh fruits and vegetables.

I won't tell them about the chicken that I am thawing out. It was already dead when I put it in the freezer but I don't think they will approve. I am going to use the large stainless steel skillet and cook the chicken on top of brown rice with spices, chopped onions, garlic, and whatever else I find in to throw in there. Maybe some carrots but I am not sure. I think I have told you enough about that so don't ask me any more questions.

Gday Mates!

The Bad Guys Win

2009-06-15T21:14:00.000-07:00

The Lakers are a good team and Kobe is a very good player but I still don't care for em. I liked Shaq but he was humble. I think it takes a certain amount of humility to be as good as Tiger Woods or Michael Jordan. Sure there has to be natural talent and a huge competetive drive. Kobe has both of those. He is a pure shooter and he can also drive to the hoop and on top of that he is an excellent defensive player. I still would not consider him the number one pick for my team and I wouldn't hire Phil Jackson either. Congratulations Assholes. You too Jack Nicholson. Good for you. You goofy bastard.

Ive fallen and and I cant get up

2009-06-14T12:33:00.000-07:00

I thought I was all ready for the switchover from anolog to digital. I had even passed the test when they did it on the news. They said if you can see the broadcast now you are ready. I had sent off for the coupon for the converter box but since I passed the test, I did not buy one. I think I even posted about that here. When the official switch happened the o ther day I could still get a few channels but about half of them would not come through. I guess I was getting the channels that were being transmitted in digital but not high definition.

I had several choices. One is to get cable TV or buy a new TV or maybe buy a DVD recorder that would convert the signal, Or do what I did and just head over to my friendly Neighborhood Walmart and buy a converter box. It took me a while to get over the fact that my coupons had expired and I didn't want to wait on the federal government so I just paid full price which is about $49.

I felt kind of embarrased walking through the store with the Converter box. I was worried that someone would see me and I would have to explain that I don't have cable TV or an up to date TV. I did make it out of the store safely and I got everything all hooked up and I am able to use my existing DVR which is set up to take in an analog signal.

Garden Salad Surgery

2009-05-30T15:41:00.000-07:00

The Squash in the picture (above) is about ready to harvest. I planted two varieties and this one is called "Early Golden Crookneck. There are some of the other variety, "Early Summer Straigtneck" that are growing also.

Overall the garden is getting tangled and I need to do some work. I put the metal posts in last week but the plants are not gravitating towards them so I guess I will actually have to do some work. The Tomatoes need some support now so I am probably going to have to figure something out.

Hopefully I will get a chance to work on it tomorrow but today I was to lazy, I mean busy.

Oh yeah, The lettuce in the containers seems to do a little better than the ones in the ground but I will have to wait and see. No sign of any cucumbers or tomatoes yet. I was hoping to make a salad. We will see how it goes.