GOP Debate Notes

Enjoyed the GOP debate last night, I'm still hoping for a Cain/Paul ticket. Those two could really get this country back on track in no time, even faster given a majority filibuster proof senate. Herman Cain and Ron Paul are the candidates I'm really the most excited about, they represent a different way of doing business that Washington really needs.

I can't agree with Ron Paul's assessment of Iran by any means but I do appreciate his ideas on nearly every other subject. Herman Cain is just that good to me, I could easily see him being elected and using business strategy alone getting this country back on track!

Manufacturers would flood the states again trying to get back to a business friendly atmosphere! That would expand the tax base, put people back to work, and generate all of the revenue the government needs to generate. I want to see a candidate come out and say we need to lower the debt ceiling! We need to freeze spending right now and cut all federal spending by a minimum of 10% across the board!

Romney is still plastic and fake to me and given the fact that he created Romneycare is still a problem with conservatives, Bachmann is too much of a firebrand and polarizing, Gingrich is a has been and compromises too much with liberals, Pawlenty I could live without pretty easily, and Santorum...meh. Didn't do much for me at all.

Gay marriage is still a state issue to me, if a state wants to allow it then by all means put it up for a vote. I want the federal government out of the lives of people as much as possible and it should be a choice for the people of that state. Limited government means just that to me, limited. Lots of limits.

This will be a pretty fun campaign season and no matter which candidate wins the nomination they all stand a very good chance of firing Obama from his job and ending his path of destruction.

All Is Not Alright

It's long been held that no one president can destroy a country and no one president can build this country. Well after the wild ride in the markets a lot of people are beginning to wonder about that. No the markets aren't our prosperity and country but they are a good indicator of how our nation is doing.

Important indicator too, like the unemployment number, the gross domestic product, things like that. Our country isn't doing well. It's all but a mathematical certainty that something bad will happen because of the government's big spending ways. We have too many unfunded liabilities and we are too far down the path to change course.

Congress needs desperate reform, new congressional approval ratings put congress around 10% approval. That's pretty low, really low. Congressional reform is a must. The people will demand it soon as they see how their country has been mismanaged and they are not happy about it.

Before the common people march on Washington to demand resignations of their leaders the leaders should really address this issue first and foremost. I don't advocate overthrowing the government at all, I advocate digging out the leeches and parasites that have entrenched themselves into our system. Those that have made our system corrupt and taken it's fruits as their own personal gains.

I advocate congressional reform, that they live under the same rules they decree for us. Our system is the best in the world's history, no country has grown as we have to become the lone super power in the world, now it should be our duty to take it back from those who are ruining our system and throw them out of office while imposing our rules upon them.

Citizen representatives was the goal of the Founding Fathers, now we do not have that. We have professional politicians setting up rules for them and another set of rules for the citizenry. This cannot be, at least for much longer.

There will be an event, a tipping point of some sort that will wake up the vast population and bring justice to Washington. I don't know what or when but we'll all know it when it happens.

Rain Again

It appears as if we have a storm coming in from the north, barreling down on us!
We could be in for a soggy day! That'd be a great relief from the drought we've had thus far! Things are starting to cool off and that's a major relief, we had a less than triple digit day yesterday, in fact it was kind of nice most of the day.

Today it appears similar but much wetter. I'm all about that, the garden will recover but I fear a few of the plants have already been burned beyond bearing fruit such as the tomato plants. The heartier plants are doing ok such as the squash and cucumber plants. A cloudy day would do them all a world of good.

So here's to a rainy day! May it produce as much rain as we need!

It's Not Ironic At All

The fact that the stock market has lost nearly ten percent since late last week, the fact that NASDAQ lost six percent in one single day, or the fact that the administration said none of this would happen if a debt deal were struck. That's not irony, it's intentional.

No one is this incompetent, no one. From 2001 to 2007 we had moderates in congress who instead of cutting the size of government while they were there grew it larger than we conservatives wanted. America got fed up with moderate, let's compromise with them conservatives and threw them out in 2007. Since then we have had unfettered liberalism.

The government has grown exponentially and three trillion dollars has been added to the debt under Obama.

Last November we threw the most liberal congress ever out after the rise of the Tea Party. The Tea Party is still ascending and will have a huge effect in the next election cycle as well. The GOP woke up, many painted themselves as the conservatives we wanted to send the first time but then we have the McCains in Congress who can't wait to compromise with liberals. They are next to lose their jobs in November 2012.

I've been talking to a liberal who sends me constant emails about how liberals are good, pure, know what they are doing with the economy, whatever the subject is liberals know better. He defends massive amounts of spending and yet gives no reason other than to take the wealth of others and raise corporate taxes. Let's see, if I were a corporation what would I do if I could make more money, avoid a ton of regulation, enhance my bottom line, and production costs low? Yep, my company is moving to Mexico and the jobs with it.

I hire people, a corporation is made up of people. It's not some conglomeration of monsters and metal. It's people who feed their families just like you and I do. I work for a corporation and I bet you do too. Big or small the word corporation has become a dirty word because of liberalism. GE made two billion dollars profit last year, good for them. Know who benefits? Anyone with a retirement program with mutual funds in it with GE stock! They get to have money when they are too old to earn it because GE made a profit in 2010.

Want to set our country into overdrive for two decades? Eliminate corporate taxes altogether, eliminate capital gains taxes, cut payroll taxes, and cut government spending across the board by ten percent.

We just took 1776 off of the stage, this might be the irony in what I'm blogging about today. It was about the lead up to the Revolutionary War, it might not be long before protestors march on Washington to demand resignations of all of those elected officials who have destroyed our country. We saw the Arab Spring, perhaps the American Fall is next...if we are not careful.

Sunday Was Tough

I did some fence work yesterday. R came over and helped me put some fence panels back up and there is still a lot of work to be done.

I cleaned up the fence line, tore out the old panels, dug a hole with some post hole diggers, and cut some tree limbs. Thing 2 helped a TON, she's a great worker! It would have taken much longer if it hadn't been for her helping me.

I'm sore, beat up, sunburned, and recovering but I'm ready for work. The heat was bad, the humidity was up, but later on we got a little bit of cloud cover and a little breeze. That helped R and I out. After all that we came in, collapsed, and cooled off.

The Date and T went grocery shopping, came home to find us still collapsed. What a long day.

It's Over

The show has closed, where the set once stood is now a bare stage again, and the theatre is back to being a blank slate from which the next show will enter existence.

Monday The Date will begin full week long rehearsals for the season opener. It'll be a great show and I'm positive it'll have big audiences!

I kind of apologize for the sparseness of today's update. I'm not much in the blogging mood, in fact a while back I seriously considered ending the blog. However it is a mental exercise to me anymore. Some people do the crossword puzzle, some the word jumble to keep their minds agile. I write something every day. It's my whetstone and while it is tedious to read at times it keeps the edge of my mind sharper than it would otherwise be.

I'm also a creature of routine. When I was younger I needed change and improvisation, the wine of the young. Now I get up at the same time, shower at the same time, leave the house at the same time, and definitely try to go to bed at the same time. If that doesn't happen it really throws off the next day. Once I could work a full day after a couple of hours sleep. Now I'm drowsy after nine, craving sleep before ten, and sound asleep a few minutes after laying down. Such is life anymore.

There are tremendous moments of happiness and joy and those are usually provided by my lovely wife and The Things. Things would be unbearably boring if they hadn't come into my life. Now while things are genuinely tough on us, we still have each other, shelter, lights, food, and a wonderful theatre family for support. I've still got a good job and we are Americans, blessed to be born in the greatest country ever known to mankind.

Four Out Of Five Finished

We have the fifth and final show tonight of 1776 plus set strike. Last night went well despite a power surge that knocked out the lights for a little bit. It killed the power briefly and rebooted the computer that runs the lights. The actors had to keep at it and they did for about a minute in the dark. The audience didn't seem to mind at all.

Other than that it went smoothly and we had a large crowd. Looking forward to this evening's show, it'll be the last of the season and then nothing will be on my evening schedule for a while.

Time For The Show

Yes, it's the start of the final weekend. Two shows and 1776 closes.

It's the end of a brutally hot week as well. Two brief rainstorms though made it bearable and offered welcome relief this week. I guess bearable is a relative term, whether you think you can bear it or not you still have to get through it huh?

Well my retirement packages took a beating yesterday. The Dow plunged a total of five hundred and twelve points. Guess Wall Street doesn't like what the politicians did anymore than I did. Giving this administration another blank check for possibly some future spending decreases. We are not being represented as we should be.

Simply put November 2012 the Tea Party needs to win more House seats and a lot more Senate seats and throw Obama out of office. To paraphrase then candidate Reagan, "Recession is when your neighbor loses his job, depression is when you lose your job, and recovery is when Obama loses his job."

The next President needs to run on this very simple platform, repeal the last four years of damage. One bill offered up to future President to sign, repeal every regulation, every law, every single thing Obama touched, thought about touching, freeze spending after a ten percent cut across the board and let America wake up from this nightmare of a joke called Obama. It'll be our own Deobamazination as Soviet Russia did once Stalin kicked off in 1953.

It's long been said not one president can build America and not one president can tear it down...I wonder.

Almost Over

This horrendous week is nearly over with. It's been a struggle on a lot of levels to get through so far. The heat, the amount of work that's come through my shop, Thing 1's fender bender and consequent fallout, and a handful of other things that have occurred this week.

Sometimes it's overwhelming but I know that just like anything else we'll survive and get through it. I really don't know if I can say things will get better or not, I don't know if I can say that we'll have a winning streak of a continuous string of calamities that will follow us around from now on.

I wish I could say for sure but I don't know the future at all but if the saying is right that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger then we will be King Kong standing on Mount Everest by the time this string of events is over with.

On the side of counting our blessings it did rain last night! We got a gully washer and it felt good!

American BBQ

Yesterday at work was murder. I was in a foul and grumpy mood all day long for various reasons the least of which was the weather. It did cause me to start daydreaming though and thinking about what I would do next if I didn't have the job I had.

I came to the conclusion of a restaurant owner in Belize. Might start off as a street vendor selling American BBQ. I really believe Oklahoma BBQ is a cut above the competition. I know of several great teams, some of the best in the nation are from Oklahoma. I've learned a lot from my coworker who regularly competes with many of these teams in fact.

The menu could be very simple, pulled pork and brisket, perhaps ribs but I'm not sure on that right now. Add coleslaw as a side and serve on bread and that's BBQ. I'd slow smoke the foods which is done around the world no doubt but as I said I believe ours is a cut above. The bark, the marinades I know, the sauces I can create, it'd be a lot of fun if nothing else!

Are there really any other cities in the world that are known for their BBQ? Is there a Memphis, Charleston, or Kansas City out there that is known for their BBQ?

You know something? Even if it didn't work out and I believe that since there is a large population of Americans in Belize that it would do just fine, I'd still be living off the coast of the Caribbean Sea!

Anyone want to open a restaurant in Belize with me? I could be convinced to leave soon enough!

Thing 1's Mishap

Thing 1 acquired literally a two hundred dollar minivan yesterday. It wasn't five hours later that it had been in an accident, poor girl is snake bit right now.
She's fine and the police officer agreed it wasn't her fault as a witness corroborated her story.

She had finished cleaning it and was coming home when a car was tailgating her, it moved to pass her, did and then brake checked her causing Thing 1 to rear end the car. The irate car driver then cussed at the very shaken Thing 1 until the police arrived.

A witness saw exactly what happened and relayed that to the police while another witness saw just Thing 1 hitting the other car but not the swerve or brake check. Thing 1 did not get issued a ticket despite the fact of rear ending someone, the police couldn't assign fault but chose not to issue the ticket based on Thing 1 and the witness's story aligning so well.

She is unhurt except for some ligaments in her shoulder that were stretched quite a bit. We took her to the ER to get checked out as a precaution. She's fine just going to be sore for a few weeks is all:)

It turned out fine and wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. Thank God above that she wasn't injured more than she was! A few days in bed and she'll be as good as new!

Week Off!

Well from the show anyway, Thing 2 and I aren't required for pick up rehearsal on Thursday evening so our next show will be Friday! That'll be a very nice break!

The producer's show went well enough but the cast was tired and worn down. You could tell they needed a break for a while.

Apparently there is a debt deal between Congress and the President, we'll see how much it cuts exactly and if there is a balanced budget amendment proposal requirement. It amazes me that the dems were wanting to raise taxes on the top one percent of earners. Exactly how much of a 14.3 trillion dollar debt can they pay? Fourteen trillion dollars is way more than any group of earners can pay. I say increase the tax base, reform the tax code so it's not as progressive and how about putting policies in place that makes businesses want to hire people instead of his regressive regulations that are causing four hundred thousand a week to lose their jobs and file for unemployment!

But I'm a simple man and now wise in the ways of politics...

Last Show Of The Week

The show went well last night. Today's producer show will cap off the first week leaving everyone a much deserved few nights off. The cast has weathered the toughest week of a show well and survived to receive two standing ovations for their efforts.
Great job everyone!

The nights off will coincide with the return of Shark Week on Discovery Channel! What a great week this is! Yeah there have been some Shark Week flops before and lots of repeats however this year should be a benchmark for the annual marathon.

Yes there will be some repeats in there from previous years but overall it's still an enjoyable week of marine biology with these ancient predators.

Recipe For Success?

I've been a casual observer of bad reality shows for a long time. Here's the recipe for a moderately successful show, and yes mediocrity is a bar they strive for.

You take a high maintenance "star", surround them with incompetent helpers, and hit the red button on the camera. It's actually that simple. I'm watching, I take that back Amy is watching Nail Files about this woman who has a nail salon called The Painted Nail in Los Angeles. She has an assistant, a publicist, and has been celebrities visiting her store.

Every tiny little thing causes a meltdown mainly due to helpers who don't help much. For example while dining at a very posh restaurant after a stressful day of fixing her assistant's mistakes of not paying the utility bills she gets a call from her assistant saying she is quitting. Now a minute ago she was telling her about how she doesn't trust her anymore and complaining to the camera about how much responsibility she has to take on as if she were Atlas himself. Now she is having a meltdown because the incompetent person quit!

She literally said the line, "How much can one human being take in one day?!"
Gee I don't know, why not ask the starving kids in India about how much they can take in a lifetime. You incompetent, self indulgent, vulgar, elitist, fake drama queen!

That's the drama. It's again that simple! I'd actually love to be a show runner for a show like this. I'd love it. I'd point actual reality out every second of the day to these idiots. I'd take every single foot of tape and design it to put the "star" in the worst light possible.

Anyone wonder about the decline of civilization? Yeah, this is a reason.

Rain!

Opening night went very well! The cast and orchestra melded together for a very good show! Over all it was solid despite a glitch or two here and there. Nothing major and nothing the audience would point out though as they don't get scripts to follow before a show:)

The cast party at Jamal's went very well. A rowdy time was had by a few while a good time was had by all. Jamal always lays out a great feast of cast party food as he loves cooking for others as much as I do. We said our goodbyes a little after one AM and headed home for the evening.

This morning I arose a bit after eight and put on a crock pot meal of roast, potatoes, an onion, and a sliced carrot. Along with spices and some beef broth it'll be finishing up late this afternoon. Just in time for a great comfort food meal before heading up for the second show this evening.

All in all it's been a fine week albeit busy week. I knocked off early yesterday afternoon to try and rest up before opening night. It helped, I had the shop in pretty decent shape.

This morning we also had an unexpected surprise. Rain! A full fledged rainstorm complete with thunder and lightning! I was going to mow this morning as some parts of the yard are needing it a bit but that's not happening now. The garden is going to grow very well now though! The squash looks amazing, the weather has been too hot for much tomato growth but the plants are doing well and growing great. The purple tomatillos plant is growing like mad! Next season we'll get things going much earlier as they are supposed to and add more staple crops like onions, potatoes, and such.

I plan on adding two or three more gardens next season as well to really get a lot of crops in the ground. It's about a month away from planting garlic which I cook with a lot. I've been investigating what kind to get, I'm sure there will be more than two or three varieties when we decide to buy.

Opening Night

Things went better last night than all previous shows that I've sat in for. The lights will be tight tonight, the actors and show the same.

I'm looking forward to going to bed tonight and waking without the alarm tomorrow. That'll be nice! It's been a long week for sure and now it'll be a nice weekend. It'll be a busy day at work, I know what's there to do.

All in all it's a satisfying feeling though to tech one of these shows. This show is a big show, lots of cast members and it's the season ending show. It's the finale and as such it should be remembered.

Hopefully the audience will be sold out, most summer musicals are sold out but with the Obamaconomy as it is I wouldn't be surprised to see half full houses either. Extra money is scarce with high gas and food prices right now.

Final Dress Tonight

After tonight it's showtime! The show is gelling and I'm sure the final bugs are ironed out this evening. I made a couple of more tweaks to the lights and a couple of more notes for myself.

I should be perfect this evening and for every show after this. As for now I'm getting ready for another day at work. I'm tired. I woke up tired. I'm mentally drained even though my body is willing.

My shop lacks air conditioning and it's be particularly busy this week. Lots of priorities and me to carry them out.

I've still got my loving family, The Date is still enrolled in school this coming semester, and we're going to do alright. Breaks are hard to come by right now but we'll survive the lack of them.

Another Long Night

Thing 2 and I left the theatre again around ten thirty. That makes for a long night and short sleeping hours. I hit the snooze button this morning twice.

The show was much better from last night, I expect it will be better again tonight before final dress tomorrow. Right now Jet is in my lap staring up at me, he had a long morning so far (about ten minutes) of running, chasing the big cats, and attacking anything that might move.

The rabbits are fed and have water, the dog is outside barking at who knows what, and I'm ready to go back to bed. Can't do that though so I'm going to stop and get a coffee and paper at the quick shop on my way to work. That's actually my custom to do so but depending on how hot it is I sometimes get a coke instead.

I'm more than a little upset with Speaker Boehner's debt ceiling plan. It essentially raises the debt ceiling by a one point five trillion dollars and cuts the same amount from spending. It will last until next April and really sounds like a wash to me. The simplest way to do something like this is to promote first a congressional reform act as I've blogged about before and then a ten percent spending cut across the board. Lowering the debt ceiling would be nice along with repealing fully Obamacare. The cherry on top would be a balanced budget amendment!

And that's why I wouldn't get along with anyone in Congress if I were ever elected.

Long Evening

The start of tech week went well enough. I got there at five thirty along with Thing 2 and we helped Tech Guy with the final stage preparations. We adjusted curtains and gave our best effort in getting an air conditioning unit going again.

After that I went to my perch in the tech booth to start loading cues. There's around thirty cues so it was easy enough. It was the first time I have seen 1776 since I'm not a theatre fan nor a musical fan so I had to find my way in the dark for a bit.

I believe I'll blow one or two cues tonight just because I'm still on the learning curve, by Thursday's final dress I'll be golden though.

I'm still sleepy and even hit the snooze button this morning. That's really pretty amazing for me as I'm usually awake and alert a few minutes before the alarm goes off but lay in bed regardless. That's the joy of tech week, and that's what we sign on for when we do a show:) It's a satisfying tired and a tired you can be proud of.

Tech Week

Tonight kicks off tech week, the busiest week of any show. The tech crew is brought on board to set light cues, tweak backstage prop wrangling, and get things set for opening night which is Friday.

It'll be a long week of long evenings. The show will be gone through with a fine tooth comb to get everything as polished as it can be. Tech week is also why I'm being selective with the shows I do now, it's a lot of work and demands a lot of time from you.

Fortunately Thing 2 is also stage managing and I probably would have been there anyway to either drop her off or pick her up. But we've got another show together and we'll both be there for it. I can't keep that girl away from the theatre, she'd actually live there if they'd let her. An old cot upstairs in the apartments/prop rooms and she'd be the happiest person in the world.

By the time her theatre career is over with here she'll be part of maybe fifty shows in come capacity, she's on pace for that many and she's going to be a freshman in high school next month! Yeah, she loves her theatre family!

So tonight 1776 gets the tech treatment and I'll be in the booth with my polishing rag.

Worked Hard Saturday

In the morning Tech Guy and I set up the lights for the summer musical and in the evening T and R came over and R and I cut down a tree in the back yard. He cut it down and Thing 2 and I hauled it out to the street for pick up by the city.

Hopefully they'll pick it all up this week and get it out of here.

Nothing much going on today thankfully.

Nice Evening

We visited with T and R along with Court and Mrs. Beersnob last night. Then we came back home and Court and Filmmaker Friend Chris came over and we just had a fun ole' time!

Nothing but a fun conversation and good memories!

After I came home from work I did catch President Obama pitch a fit on TV about the debt talks breaking down. There is no deal in place but they had come close. 3.7 trillion dollars over a decade? Yeah, that won't happen. Any time politicians can put off spending cuts to a later date they will because they won't happen.

We have a fourteen trillion dollar national debt and a 1.3 trillion dollar deficit this year alone.

Hear this, ANY DEAL must start with congressional reform first and foremost. Congress must be forced to live under the same rules they impose on us. No super sweet retirement pensions, no lifetime health care, no keeping of the campaign war chests. They should serve as intended and go back to the private sector and live with the rules they helped create.

That is the absolute starting position these talks should take.

Woohooo!

Yesterday I painted an entire aircraft, well the first coat anyway. We ran out of time before we could get to the second coat. It's been a long time since I've done that and it felt good that I could still do it well, fast, and efficient!

I was a walking sweaty bundle of clothing after though. I came home and took a shower. Caught a few winks on the couch and then headed to Third Thursday to run the sound for a night of guitar playing.

It went fairly well, a couple of technical glitches here and there but overall a good show. I'd change out the guy who plays at the end and put him in the mix somewhere else though. He's got a high smooth voice and he's a great player and singer but I don't care for his stuff. Everyone else loves him though so he'll probably close the show for many more shows.

It's Friday and I'm so happy that it is! Right now Jet is chasing Baby Kitty around the house. She'll go hide and Jet will poke around and stalk her, very funny for a kitten that's less than a quarter of Baby Kitty's size. Scotch is camped out somewhere and ready for a long day of naps.

I'm ready to put in my eight and kick off the weekend!

Third Thursday

Woohooo, one of my favorite days of the month!

Tonight is an acoustic guitar show at the theatre and I run tech for it! It's really a great show and anyone is welcome to come up on stage and play. The talent is solid and the songs laid back.

This heat wave is taking a toll on everything. First of all my temperament at work. My fuse is shorter and shorter each day. The fact that we are short handed while other shops are overstocked with people just infuriates me anymore.

It's hot and it's going to stay hot for weeks apparently. Our streak of days over one hundred is in the thirties now I believe. The paper said the record for a streak like this was in the nineteen fifties. So it's not unprecedented but that doesn't make it any cooler either.

Very Busy Day

First of all it was a hot and busy day at work, that lead into cleaning and organizing the apartments above the theatre that are used as prop rooms now. They were filthy, dirty, dusty, and hot as well. A handful of us attacked them though for the second week in a row and are making very good progress.

In a few more weeks they'll be organized and much easier to access for everyone in the theatre. After that I checked the lights for the musical 1776. I liked how they were set for the most part but will have to make a couple of changes. Mostly the gels will have to be switched out on the light bar in front of the stage.

The pickles are very good but I would like to change the recipe a little and add less canning salt. It called for a quarter of a cup for a gallon and honestly you can taste it and it taste competes with the garlic, onion, and dill and that shouldn't be happening. The second thing I'll change is putting them into the fridge immediately as they are crisp and crunchy but not as crunchy as the last batch from the alternate recipe.

This evening I'm making homemade grilled pizza again. It won't happen next week as I'll be in tech week rehearsals for 1776. So this week is it for a couple of weeks for Wednesday night cooking!

Pickles

The pickles have gone into the fridge this morning! That means as soon as they cool off all day they should be finished! They'll be cold, very crisp, and garlicy, oniony, dill goodness in a jar!

It's hard not to love a good crisp pickle, I actually enjoy looking at the jar with the pickles and spices around it. It just looks amazingly delicious and makes you hungry for more! Next season I'll be planting several pickling cucumber plants and I'll make gallon jars of them.

They are easy enough to do in large or small quantities. They really lend themselves well to making big batches of them.

Tonight I feast on pickles!

Early Morning

I've been awake since nearly three o'clock this morning but in that morning sleepy daze. Aware and awake but still sleeping in a way. I made Italian Beef yesterday and that's what I plan on having for lunch for a couple of days.

It's just an incredible and easy recipe to put together and let cook for hours. Get a roast, a crock pot, some sweet pepper rings in a jar (up to three jars depending on the size of your crock pot) a packet of zesty Italian dressing mix, a little beef broth, and the rest with water to cover the roast.

Put all of the ingredients into the crock pot, roast on the bottom and pour the jars of peppers over it as well as the dressing mix, pour in a little beef broth, and let cook for ten to twelve hours on high.

Take a fork and separate the beef, it should fall apart very easily but get the fat out of there. Scoop out the peppers and put them onto the beef and mix them with the meat, again with a fork. Serve on dinner roll or a bun. You'll be in meat lover's heaven for a good twenty minutes.

The Date and I watched the first season of Breaking Bad yesterday and then Thing 2 and us watched Insidious. She's been wanting to see that for a long time so we rented it and gave it a spin. It was ok but I believe Thing 2 is getting to the age where she realizes horror movies aren't really scary anymore. The Date even said it wasn't very scary. I thought it had a decent story, it crossed over into hokey a couple of times though.

The really bad bad guy that they were setting up the movie for really didn't do much in the end. That kind of sucked as it would have been more fun to unleash that creature instead of letting him almost disappear from the screen.

Breaking Bad is a very good series. The first season is only seven episodes long but we both believe we can get into it. Yeah it's a tough subject to watch as it involves making meth but it's really got enough humor to offset a lot of that horror. It's got drama by the shovelful though and situations pop up that really make you either laugh or cringe or both.

Give it a watch.

Pickles And A Wedding

While I was out getting a haircut yesterday The Date and T had gone to the farmer's market and she brought home a surprise for me. A bag of pickling cucumbers! So I found a different recipe and got right to making a batch of Claussen Clone pickles!

I used this recipe right here this time instead of the recipe that I used last time. The recipe last time was stellar, I just wanted to try something different. There is no shortage of Claussen Clones out there and I'd like to try as many as I can find.

This one was a bit easier as it used less spices and had onion in it while the last one did not utilize onion and had more spices. This one called for fresh dill heads and canning salt, the last one did not use much salt and used dill seed and crushed dill weed.

I did add a tablespoon of red pepper flake to one jar to spice them up and see how that goes. This recipe is also done faster, they set out on the counter for three days first and then go into the fridge for another day. That's four instead of seven days. This recipe is for a full gallon of pickles while the previous recipe was for each quart jar and was a bit more expensive to make as it used more spices.

So now they are on the kitchen counter and I shake them up to make sure the cucumbers are fully covered at all times. After that we attended a wedding.

Hollywood Actor and Red got married last night. It was very nice and the reception was great as well! World famous opera singer Leona Mitchell sang Ava Maria and it literally made everyone weep with how beautiful it was. It was so cool as she took the stage and walked passed the microphone and filled the hall with her voice only.

A great time was had by all! Thank you both for allowing us to be part of such a great time!

The Weekend And Grilled Pizza

Yes it's Saturday morning! We've got a wedding to attend this afternoon and Thing 2 has set call this morning. I'm going to have to get part of the lawn mowed, the rest I'm going to have to water so it doesn't die off.

The pets are all fed, coffee is brewing, and I'm blogging. It's the right kind of morning, the kind where you wake up! Last night I fell asleep around nine o'clock on the couch and woke back up close to midnight when I decided to head off to bed.

The Date had bathed the bunnies earlier in the evening, then we went to get some new air filters for the air conditioner. It was kind of slow at work but a few important jobs came in that had to be done quickly.

The other night I made pizza on my Big Green Egg. I learned a lot and plan on making it this coming Wednesday as well. Wednesday is typically the night where a couple of people come over and I make a nice meal. I love cooking for people, it's really one of my favorites things to do.

I know I need to do a couple of things different, first I didn't have enough fuel for the Egg to reach the 450-500 degree temps it needed to get to. I'll need to clean it out and start with a fresh bunch of lump charcoal. It hit 350 for a short time and could maintain 300 easily. That made for a longer cooking pizza on the baking stone. It tasted fine but I know I can do better.

Next I need to butter the crusts so they brown up a bit instead of being done and looking undone. Third I want to use a different sausage and possibly make my own pizza sauce. We used Boboli which tasted really good but it was sweet like Papa John's. I like tangy a bit better and found a recipe for that and I want to make it.

Everything else worked just fine though. The dough recipe was simple:
2 cups of flour
3/4 cup of hot water
1 tsp of fast yeast
1 tsp of salt
1 tsp of olive oil

Let it rise for a half hour to an hour and put a dab of oil on it so it doesn't crack when it does rise. Then you flatten it out, any old shape will do, spread some oil on it so the sauce doesn't make it soggy, then sauce it, add cheese and your toppings. If your grill is at the right temperature then it should take around eight to nine minutes to finish up. Oh and make sure you cook your ingredients such as raw meats first before putting them onto your pizza.

Drain the grease off of them for a while and your pizza won't be greasy like delivered pizza is. I microwave the pepperoni first for about thirty seconds and let it set on paper towels to get degreased:) It makes for a LOT better pepperoni pizza! Grease isn't floating on top of everything that way.

Grilling pizza is just that simple.

The Alarm Is Off

It always feels great to turn the alarm clock off on a Friday morning after you get up! It's a lot like meeting a goal successfully. Yesterday was and today is going to be very busy at work, I'm the only one there in my shop. My coworker has gone to a cooking contest at Fort Worth.

It's ok though, I can handle things by myself. It just gets very busy because without fail everyone wants something at the same time and it has to be done right then.

Regardless today is Friday, payday Friday in fact and it feels good! The kitties have been fed and now are running around the house at full speed chasing each other. The rabbits are eating their timothy hay and nicknacks. Zip is outside watching the morning arrive. Me, I'm typing this out to you and getting ready to meet the day.

I hope you have a great day and a fine weekend!

Here's To Not Caving In

The debt talks are taking front stage this week in politics. So far very little progress has been made. Both sides are agitated with the other side because they won't give in. Time is on the conservative side though as if they hold to their line of deep spending cuts and no taxes then it'll happen with or without a deal.

No deal means there will be automatic deep spending cuts as the debt is the first thing to get serviced and it will be serviced as money will still flow into the government on a daily basis. Obama wants taxes raised though but is refusing to cut his record amount of spending.

Senator Obama voted against raising the debt ceiling but President Obama is singing a different tune. I can't hold that against him though as he was against President Bush's war efforts but has continued every Bush wartime policy. Things are different from the campaign trail than they are after you swear your oath.

However that goes only so far, the Tea Party put into office a massive amount of conservatives with one united goal, cut federal spending. Not only were they put into office on the federal level but at the state and local levels as well, liberals are scarce in the halls of government now. That's a good thing but conservatives are going to have to stick to their campaign promises and rein in government and it's overreaching powers.

We are taxed enough as it is, all three levels local, state, and federal. When I can't pay my bills no one steps in to help so government will have to live under the same restraints as the rest of us, conservative and liberal alike. Normal American families are hurting right now and jobs are scarce, the economy is tanking after the bailouts AND the stimulus package. The Obama administration hasn't got any bullets left to try but to raise taxes which is its ultimate goal anyway.

The problem is he can't. Conservatives hold the House and they won't cave in to any tax raising pressure, hence the standoff. It'll be interesting to see how much in spending cuts happen now and in the future, Obama is stuck and must deal with the House on the Houses' terms now.

Half Way!

Perhaps I pay too much attention to the day of the week and getting through the day. After work we went to the theatre and started cleaning the upstairs apartments which house all of our props. It was dirty, dusty, and very hot work...until it rained!

Then half of the electricity went out and eventually all as we were about to finish up. We got a good jump on the place though and soon it'll just be organizing things. I came home after and took a shower. I was filthy and sweaty. I fried up some potatoes and onions and had supper.

The Date and Thing 2 were at the theatre for auditions for a teen show. It'll be a traveling show to raise awareness of teenage problems. The Date will have to play one of the adults in the show while Thing 2 will get a part, we just don't know which part yet.

Back to the rain for a moment, it was sweet! It was a heavy rain for a bit and really cooled off the triple digit temperatures. I didn't have to water the garden or anything, it was very nice. A welcome reprieve from the oven baked surroundings of nature.

As I type this all three cats are in their post eating crazy phase. The littlest, Jet, is chasing around the bigger cats and having a great time! The other two have accepted him in just under two weeks and have played with him nonstop. Both are big enough they can hold Jet down with a paw as he fights them so that makes it especially funny!

How The Garden Grows

It's really doing well! I believe the beans I planted have died due to the heat but everything else is growing and blooming! The grape tomatoes are doing well and they actually taste very cool! They have a sweet flavor to them and are smaller than a cherry tomato.

The bigger tomato plants are still growing right now and doing their best against the triple digit heat. I make sure they get plenty of water in the mornings and usually cool them down again when I get home for a little bit. I don't want to over water them but in this heat they need water too.

I think I planted squash because that's what looks like it is growing in one square. I thought I just planted beans but I might have changed that up some. The cucumber plants are doing well as well as the purple tomatillos. We'll have a ton of sweet potatoes for sure! I hope Thing 2 likes them as much as she says she does!

Begin The Grind Again

This hot weekend is over and a new hot week begins. I was baking a ham late afternoon yesterday, which reminds me it needed to cook perhaps another hour as it was still wasn't quite as tender as it should have been, when R knocks on the door.

We'd been expecting him as T had texted to see if he could borrow a rake from us. I sat the rakes out and thought it was him picking it up. Instead he was dropping off. He had a roof vent with him, the spinning turbine kind. He must have noticed weeks ago when we were installing the window that ours didn't turn anymore so he brought a new replacement and we installed it.

Fast job too, fifteen minutes we had the old one removed and the new one secured and it was spinning away. The Date packed up half of the ham and R went off on his merry way:)

Rehearsal is going very well for The Date. They had one yesterday and Thing 2 and I had her very prepared. We ran lines with her all weekend. Three times from me alone we went through from the start and I believe Thing 2 took her through once. She'll have her lines down and be off book very soon!

Hot

It's just hot out, it topped one hundred fifteen yesterday and got up to one hundred seventeen in some places around the area. That's dangerous, deadly hot. It'll repeat today so stay inside, drink water, and be safe.

All in all it's been a quiet weekend. Last night I made an appearance to Hollywood Actor's bachelor party at the theatre and enjoyed a few nice hours of fun and frivolity with friends. Filmmaker Friend Chris arranged everything and I believe everyone had a great time!

I delivered my music video project product yesterday evening around six. She was happy with the final cut and I made her a few extra copies as well to pass out. It was really a fun departure from what I'm used to and what I've done. I'd shoot another one again in a second if the opportunity came up!

A Good Morning To You

I've got one video project to wrap up this weekend that I traded a set of family portraits for. Work for work essentially. After that I've really not got a lot to do after. Beersnob and I have been waiting on a reply from our contact in Texas about our super project but it's been a week thus far and no reply.

I was going to get a shooting schedule hashed out with him but he said it's a very busy time of the year for him and his family. I know he'll get back to us as he has every time but right now I'm optimistic we can get it worked out and shot very soon!

I'm glad it's the weekend but I'm pretty well rested and don't really need the weekend to recuperate.

I'm watching Jet run around the house, stumbling plenty in his wobbly little gait. The seven week old kitten is a bundle of energy, unfocused kinetic energy! He'll be a great addition to our other two cats and all in all a great addition to the family:)

One Day Of Work

Well the past two days have been an adventure, I'm glad it's over with and we've returned home safely. The herd of pets we've got were also happy upon our return home!
Jet didn't really notice other than no one was there to feed him as much as he'd like.

Court came over twice a day and took care of everyone though and stayed for a couple of hours to make sure they didn't get lonely:) She's such a sweet person and thank you very much Court for doing that:)

I hit bed last night around nine and I don't think I tossed or turned one bit. I was out out out. The Date caught a nap on the way home, well pretty much everyone riding did at one time or another but me. I can do pretty well at long distance driving as long as we stop for bathroom breaks once in a while.

I work today and then I'm off for the weekend with no plans that I know of this weekend either. It'll be nice!

The Warped Tour

I don't think I saw anyone over the age of twenty three or twenty four go into the show. I'm positive they got younger.

As the teens streamed out no one appeared to be over seventeen. We were remarking on who had the worst sunburns as they walked past our parking place. One particular couple, again seventeen at the oldest walked past as I was reading lines for The Date's show had a pretty bad sunburn.

The Date heard a thump and I looked over the book and saw the boy laying in the grass with his girlfriend fanning him.

The Date got out and walked over to see if he was alright and he wasn't. He either collapsed of heat exhaustion or low blood sugar as he had not eaten since earlier in the day. She came back to our ice chest and got him a Powerade and a package of sliced apples with a caramel dip, both were ice cold. Then we took a pillow case and soaked it in the cold water and placed it around his neck. He was shaking so badly and weak he could barely chew anything. The Date alerted the firemen who were standing outside the gates who summoned the event's medical staff.

After a bit of time he was sitting up ok, getting a little better and his ride arrived. His girlfriend waved to us and off they went, hopefully to get him more to eat and drink.

We also had a very pleasant visit with two people from my past. They predated The Things one and two. I am very proud to see how wonderfully well they are doing, and while I'd like to say I had some influence on how they turned out I can't. I didn't have them long enough to make that difference but they are great now:) Wonderful family and one family starting out with what looks to be a promising future ahead!

I'm glad after the chaos they endured that they are well adjusted and happy adults:) The world is a better place because they are in it!

Country Boy

Today we'll be traveling to Bonner Springs Kansas to the Warped Tour this afternoon. That means I'm writing this Tuesday evening as we are leaving by five in the morning. I'm fine with early hours driving, I'm more of a morning person anyway. That's when I'm the most creative and the most alert.

However I'll just not have the time to get everything written out in a timely fashion. The subject of this blog is Aaron Lewis and his song Country Boy. The official video seen here features Lewis singing along with cameos by legendary country stars Charlie Daniels and George Jones.

Lewis proudly sings about his upbringing outside a small Massachusetts town. It's not Staind at all, the flavor isn't depressed nor hopeless, instead it offers glimpses into his rugged lifestyle as an individualist and self sufficient. That's America my friends.

It's not preachy but it's not lyrically complex either, instead it plays more like a modern version of Bocephus' signature anthem A Country Boy Can Survive. Instead of Lewis' nine or forty five Hank sings of a rifle and a shotgun. The album cover in Lewis' video even features the album cover of Hank's Greatest Hits.

A very pale but more contemporary attempt is Dirt Road Anthem by what I'd consider the developmental league of country music. Neither the heart nor power is present in such top forty trash. Anthem is a strong word as forgettable is more applicable. The testosterone fueled anthems by Williams and Lewis aren't even in the same category as Aldean which is seemingly more along the lines of movie of the week.

In fact when Aldean drawls out biscuits it's actually laughable while you actually know that Lewis lives the lifestyle he sings about. It's heartfelt and genuine and that's the difference. It's as if Aldean has painted his portrait in pale and sickly watercolor pastels while Lewis and Williams have laid out masterpieces in deeply saturated oil colors.

All in all that's my blog today and as we've just awoken to undertake this trip for Thing 1's birthday the family is all astir and waking. We'll return home Thursday afternoon so wish us luck and I'll report back tomorrow:)

One Day At Work

This is it, I work today and then tomorrow we're driving Thing 1, to the Warped Tour tomorrow by Kansas City.

We got a hotel and are coming back on Thursday. It should be quite the experience, The Date and I aren't going to the concert or anything like that but probably looking around to see what is to see.

Yesterday was spent around the house, then we went over to Witchy's house to swim for a bit with Court. After that we drove down to the park and met R and T to watch the city's fireworks show.

Got out of that and traffic and got back home around eleven. All in all a nice holiday!

Happy Birthday America!

Two hundred thirty five years ago we broke away from England and King George. America went on to become the most amazing country ever founded. Now it seems that I read reports that America is descending as the world's lone super power and it on track to become an also ran or average in a few decades.

There are entire genres of books dedicated to a post apocalyptic America, while I do read these and find myself looking at them as sort of a text book for preparation, I also firmly believe if it ever happened it would be a long ways away provided the dollar was never removed as the world's reserve currency. Then it would be a short fall into a more chaotic world.

That is something that the world doesn't really want though, they want clear leadership. They want the knight to come to their rescue when they need it. They want that knight to come from a shining city on the hill and that is America. It's very true we used to innovate everything here in this country, many things are now designed here and outsourced to other countries for production where they don't have the EPA hoops to jump through or the oppressive tax codes that prevent innovation and spur further production.

As I type this there is a debate in Congress about the debt ceiling. This debt ceiling is almost a boogieman or sorts as it is a limit Congress set upon itself not to go above. The GOP wants trillions of dollars in spending cuts while the Dems want tax hikes to fill the gaps. There is a clear standoff and it'll likely end with a compromise deal of sorts to temporarily raise the debt ceiling.

So what happened? Did the Founding Fathers foresee how far America would come? Did they see what kind of wreck our government would become, how corrupt, how singleminded it would become with partisanship?

I think they likely did. There are so many warnings in the Federalist Papers as well as specific amendments against an oppressive government to keep it in check. In many many ways the federal government has overstepped its Constitutional boundaries. It's massive now, spending more in a few hours than what our Founding Fathers had to spend in lifetimes.

Now what has evolved is that the more radical liberal Dems see the Constitution as an obstacle to be overcome or gone around while the GOP sometimes aren't any better at it. The true facts are that both sides are riddled with politicians who get elected and go on to become self serving leeches instead of servants of the people, no matter how well intentioned.

Both sides are just as bad, they both have people who benefit from backroom deals, fill bills with riders that benefit their districts, and enjoy the company of lobbyists way too much.

If I ever lost my sanity and ran for Congress the first thing I'd author and the fastest to be shot down was to replace the Congressional pension program with social security. Every single Congressman would live under the same rules they impose on everyone else, period!

No massive retirement program for servants of the people, they would then be inclined to go back to working for a living after serving and wouldn't impose rules that oppressed industry rather than using ideology as their guidelines. They would literally be servants once again as intended.

However I know that is a pipe dream as there are too many self serving politicians that would make sure the bill would never see the light of day.

America, baby we've come a long way, we've got many more good and great decades ahead of us. Yeah we're hitting a four year pothole now but hopefully we'll have lots of fiscal discipline come from this and many more good unforeseen things!

A Day With Jet

Jet and I napped, he got a bath, we played, and we got fed. He crawled on my lap, how to climb up onto the couch and almost jump off. He did jump off of the couch once, landed on his little head and rolled over onto his back.

Unfazed he trotted off to jump into his kitty cube. Jet is so tiny he frequently falls over when he isn't concentrating on walking. He gets fed about every two to three hours and takes long naps.

Yep, it's safe to say Jet and I are bonding well:) Baby Kitty is still jealous but we give her a lot of love and attention, Scotch is adjusting well enough. He likes newcomers to the family. Zip wants to play and the bunnies are oblivious.

All in all life is good.

Up Early

Teehee needs a hand this morning with his moving van so I volunteered to give him that hand and get up early on a holiday weekend. I'm awake at this time anyway so it's no big deal, might as well help him out:)

We also have a new arrival to our family of two teens, one dog, to rabbits, two cats, and now one six week old black kitten I've named Jet. He's still so small he'll knock himself over if he sneezes. I couldn't name him Rocket after my last beloved kitty but Jet is close enough.

He's having quite the difficult time right now washing his face and staying upright. Sometime today he'll get is first bath. That'll be an adventure. Cabaret was pretty good last night. I stayed for half of it, Thing 2 wanted to go home early so I took her home. I went back because there was a family onstage singing gospel and I wanted to see the rest of their set. Amazing!

My first day off was very nice, productive, and now I'm ready to tackle the second day!

Busy Day Off

I got up and edited the shoot from last week for a photographer friend this morning. I set it to music and essentially made a music video montage. It took around four hours after digitizing to sync up the clips with the music. She was happy with it when delivered but we are going to add some higher resolution pictures and double the of stills so I don't have to repeat them twice.

After that I purchased a small air conditioner for our bedroom as there are three full sized windows and two face a very hot southerly direction and bare the brunt of thermal force from the sun. It makes our bedroom very hot. I paid our bills for the week and filled up with gas and got a car wash.

Now after a busy working morning I'm going to post my blog, sign into League of Legends, and play away the afternoon on my day off, the first of a four day weekend!

Greece Now The UK

Yesterday and today Greece is experiencing a forty eight hour general labor strike. Today the UK is experiencing the same thing.

This is what happens in moderately socialist societies. They create a culture of leeches who believe the gravy train will never run out. It does, governments overspend and it destroys economies. These people are protesting pension reform. The government has no more money.

As you can read in the article more than just a few aren't heeding the strike. That means they get it, they understand that there has to be reform to public service workers in those countries. It isn't an endless all you can eat buffet on the public dime, it goes into debt and runs out.

This is the problem we are now dealing with in our own country, the problem they dealt with in Wisconsin and the problem they are dealing with in New Jersey. Public sector workers and unions are breaking the budgets, here's the simple breakdown: liberal politicians need votes, unions provide those votes but expect compensation when their horse is elected that they bet on. That compensation is generally in the form of better contracts which means higher pay. It's an endless cycle every two to four years.

Now if you want riots, general labor strikes, and mayhem here keep putting the people into office that believe that there is an endless trough that our leeches can feed out of forever.

It's got to end and the new battle lines are being drawn now between the public sector union worker and the private sector worker who pays their wages and supports the public sector worker well into retirement.

Not A Lot

After thundering up a very loud storm yesterday morning it swerved and went south of us sadly. This morning it rained and it was quiet...go figure.

Yesterday was a super busy day at work, hopefully the night shift completed what I left so I won't have another one.

RAIN!

Woohoooo! It's thundering up quite a storm outside right now and after looking at the radar I believe we'll get a nice rain out of this!

Yeah so the afternoon will be hot, right now it feels incredible outside and the garden will be watered naturally. Last night we enjoyed two steaks and baked potatoes that I grilled. No kids this week so it's pretty quiet around the house.

I rehearsed The Date with her lines for The Dixie Swim Club and kept her on the exact words she needs to say. The director is a stickler for exact wording so we rehearsed it a few times and stuck to every troubled spot for many many times.

She'll get this down and have a performance she'll be very proud of when it's over!

Sweltering Week

Every high this week is at or over one hundred. That makes for a tough week. At least Shakespeare is over with and so is children's drama camp. That leaves The Date going to rehearsal for Dixie Swim Club once a week and Thing 2 as helping the director of 1776.

All in all this is good for them both. It has given Thing 2 a ton of confidence in everything she's done. The Date has developed a lot as well but she was pretty confident to begin with. Thing 2 not so much.

I'm glad theatre is part of our life. I'm thankful for our theatre family as well:)
Now I've got to get outside and water those gardens for the day!

Sunday

One shoot today for the children's drama theatre camp and after that Shakespeare in the park which I might skip tonight. I've got to get my uniforms washed for work and ready for this next week to start. We'll see, it was a good enough show but it's all back to work tomorrow and yesterday was super busy. The wedding plus the show in the park made for a longer day than I thought it would be.

I was exhausted by the time the show ended and I helped load up.

Right now I'm watching a playful Scotch the cat bat at Mike and Audry the rabbits we acquired two weeks ago. The poor bunnies are trying to get a drink from their water bottle and he will reach his paw in and chase them to the other side of their cage. I don't think he would hurt them however they are too small to hold their own against a cat right now. Perhaps when they are full grown they can play together.

I finished reading A Clash of Kings Friday at work and I've been looking for another book to read on the Kindle. I don't want to start with A Storm of Swords because that would leave me only two books left in the series. A Feast of Crows and the very soon to be released A Dance with Dragons. With one more book in the series left after Dragons I'll have more than enough time to finish the entire series at my leisure.

Long Day

I've got to go to one of the events I really don't like going to and that's a wedding today. Yeah it's a happy time for the couple and all that but for me it means sitting in uncomfortable clothes and trying to keep from either dozing off or staying away from the family drama that always seems to ensue during these events.

After the wedding and trip back to town we have Shakespeare to go to. I missed opening night as my day was more stressful than most while I was at work but I'll be there tonight to cheer on The Date and Thing 2.

After this day I'll be done for the short evening that remains. I've been adapting myself to taste wines lately. I've never been a wine drinker at all but I've read of some of the helpful benefits of a glass of red wine a day. When it comes to hypertension or high blood pressure which I have the gene for then I'm willing to develop my taste for red wine. Wednesday I turned on the WunderRadio app on my iphone, plugged it into the speaker/holder, and listened to the radio while cooking with a glass of red.

Apparently there are a lot of differences in red wine, I happened to have picked up two table wines that had screw tops but I liked the bottles. More than likely I'll be picking my reds by how cool the bottle looks on the rack rather than taste, kind, or brand name.

It wasn't as hard as I thought to drink a glass either. Yeah it tasted a bit sour to start with but once you established the taste and determined it wasn't scotch whiskey then it was easier to recalibrate yourself to a glass. What I need right now is something that is relaxing after work and that's cooking and sipping a glass of wine in the kitchen.

Last night I did have three glasses though but as I said it was a particularly stressful day.

Garden Update

I've got bean plants sprouting up! Yes and tomatoes ripening as well, grape tomatoes! The garden is growing! The poor okra died, the cucumbers look a bit fragile but they are hanging in there a bit. The peppers look strong as well as the sweet potatoes.

All in all this is a very rewarding experience and I'm glad we undertook it. I'm looking forward to many years of gardening, it's just like Farmville but real you know!

In other news it's Friday, it's opening night at Shakespeare and I'm glad I didn't get involved this year. I'll be at the shows I'm sure but this heat is a killer. I've got my Shakespeare in the Park badge for the theatre so I'm content to never do it again. It's hard work and a hot show.

Very Nice Supper

Crime Reporter and Abostang as well as Court joined us last night for supper, perfect for me as I enjoy cooking very much and that made me very happy! I made sesame chicken and kung pao chicken along with homemade egg rolls. Court did a great job of rolling up the mixture in the egg roll wrapper! She hasn't really cooked before and I showed her how easy it really was to make a good tasting egg roll.

The noodles didn't work quite right this time though, I should have made stir fried rice instead. Next week is lasagna and one of my favorite dishes to make. I'm looking forward to that! I believe we'll have the same lineup and I'll ask Court if she wants to join us for supper again.

I usually make more lasagna than we can eat and it usually sits in the fridge until it goes bad if I don't eat any of it or The Date. Anyway Abostang also introduced me to a new game called League of Legends! Awesomely fun game, addictive game play, and a nice diversion from Starcraft 2 once in a while. We were up until nearly midnight playing it.

Fifteen Hour Day

Yesterday was one very long work day for moi. Got up at six as per my normal work day as well as age, I almost don't even need an alarm anymore for early morning rising. I am just up. Head off to work, which means lots of catching up after three work days off. I was right but it wasn't as bad as I had expected this time.

Finished a long day back at work and came home to make supper for my family. I saw The Date briefly during the time I was cooking before she had to go get Thing 2 from drama camp and head to the library to pick up a book she had reserved for Thing 1. By the time supper was done cooking it was time for me to head to my evening gig of documenting a photo shoot for a local magazine.

I believe this will turn into a music video right now, not really sure. I arrived just before six and left at nearly half past nine, two full tapes of footage and one happy photographer richer for the experiences.

Beaten and exhausted I returned home and promptly headed for bed, my day completed. I beat The Date and Thing 2 home as well from rehearsal of MacBeth. I'm glad I didn't help with this show, it's just too much with everything else going on and to battle the heat as well is worse.

I wished they would move Shakespeare to a different time of year instead of the HOTTEST weeks of the entire year. Early fall is nice, late spring is nice but June sucks.

Back To Work

I feel pretty good other than a pulled muscle in my neck and shoulder from mowing yesterday. Don't know how I did it but it's hurt and it burns a bit. It'll be fine in a couple of days.

All in all the time off is what I needed. I feel reset now and capable of taking on the grind again. My time off was productive though as Thing 2 and I built three raised gardens, and planted plenty of vegetables. Abostang and I captured first place in our league and have held it for two days now while advancing our lead over the rest of the field. We've even been getting more gold league players in our random games and are doing pretty well against them.

So now I get through this week, Shakespeare tech week is all of this week with the shows this weekend, The Date's weekly rehearsal is tonight, the drama camp show is this weekend, a wedding on Saturday, Sunday has me shooting the drama camp show for Tech Guy, and Skate and The Inavader's going away party is on Saturday.

We will miss them quite a bit. Skate is one darn good guy. They are on the east coast right now honeymooning before his assignment to Germany and new career path. Yep, missing them being around doesn't even begin to cover it.

Last Day Off

It's nice to have been off this many days in a row. Five days is great actually! It's a busy week ahead but it'll be the last big theatre week until the musical kicks off in July.

After that it's wide open except for once a week rehearsals for The Date in the season opener, The Dixie Swim Club. I'm still proud of her to have gotten into that show. If that director asks you to audition then she sees something she likes in you for one of the parts.

Yesterday we went to the city to let Thing 2 run rampant in the Asian supermarket. That was quite the adventure, she went into a frenzy. We got her under control again and she had a new tea pot, tea, and a drum thing that bangs when you turn it in your fingers. Very annoying.

Today I'll go up to the lawyer's office and see about what paperwork I need to fill out and something else I can't remember right off the top of my head. It's a hot day though, hot and windy.

First Real Father's Day

Although the adoption isn't final yet and there's still another step to go through the ex's parental rights were terminated and he is no longer relevant to any discussion about the girls. They are essentially mine already.

I wish I had met Thing 1 when she was younger but there's always a reason and a plan for things to happen the way they did so I trust and take what comes. I'm sure once she is out on her own and matures through the hard knocks of life then she and I will have a much better relationship. And then we'll become closer and have the father/daughter relationship we need.

Thing 2 is my girl though, probably from the first time she met me. Once The Date and I were married, maybe even before, Thing 2 used my last name on everything. She occasionally calls me dad, I think it's awkward for her to do that. It's ok though, she's never really had a father figure in her life until me. She just doesn't know what that's supposed to be like. She loves me though and I love her.

We finished our gardens yesterday, planted some beans, sweet potatoes, and another okra plant. I picked up some seeds for next year and we're looking forward to having a good growing season!

Garden Planted

Thing 2 and I accomplished planting everything yesterday except the sweet potatoes which will get their own garden. We've got three varieties of tomatoes, okra, bell peppers, banana peppers, and cucumbers. We've got bean seeds and will give that an attempt as well.

Not your typical garden actually since a lot of the main crops have been left out such as onions, lettuce, potatoes, and staple foods like that. We'll plant garlic early this fall and harvest next year in summer.

We filled up the second garden and now only the third garden remains to be filled. We'll get that done this morning when she wakes up. Then we'll get the sweet potatoes planted in that as they apparently will invade your whole garden with the tubers.

The pickles are done today! Honestly they were done likely two days ago on Thursday. I decided to take the cap off one of the three jars and put a bit more vinegar into it as I didn't fill it up quite enough. There was about a quarter inch of pickle at the top that wasn't being pickled. I couldn't resist and ate one...and proceeded to eat the whole jar myself.

They have a tiny bit of spice on the backside of flavor as crushed red peppers were one of the spices used as per the recipe. Delicious though! I'd recommend making your own! They have that Claussen crunch, they taste clean and crisp. They were cheap to make after purchasing the spices, and they are darn tasty!

Friday Morning!

Yeah it's payday but I've also been very busy this morning. I have been editing the shoot from last night at Blue Jay's Barber Shop where they specialize in old fashioned straight razor shaves with the whole atmosphere to go with it! It's really pretty unique and was fascinating to film.

After filming that last night I did tech for Third Thursday which is an acoustic guitar show at the theatre every month. Packed room and good performers as well! It was a nice time.

This morning Thing 2 and I went back out to Lowe's to get more compost and tomato trellises. We've got the second garden full now and some plants planted. When it cools off we'll finish planting and get the third garden filled. We are planting started tomatoes, okra, bell peppers, banana peppers, and we'll get some beans planted for winter.

I believe she got sweet potatoes as well but I can't quite remember. We are too late in the season for many crops that we use a lot of like onions and potatoes and such. That'll be next year but soon enough we'll be able to plant garlic! I use a ton of that when I cook so it'll be very useful!

All in all we have gone with three 4x4 by 8 inch gardens and let me tell you it's a lot of work building them and filling them in this hot sun! It was ninety eight yesterday and it'll be a little over one hundred today! We'll get them wrapped up pretty soon though and really that's the hardest part of this style of gardening. After this it's just crop rotation and harvesting! Easy enough!

I'm Off

I was nearing a breaking point at work. It was slow due to the inspection cycle and that means I had to find work to do for a couple of days this week. I decided to take off, I need a few days of rest and doing what I want to do to recharge.

Plan on making a trip to Lowe's today and getting a couple of tools, then some supplies to build our square foot gardens. I can build two 4x4x8 inch gardens and one 4x8x8inch garden for roughly one hundred dollars. That should produce enough food to supplement our grocery buying and reduce costs. We are in bad economic times right now and depending on what article you read it rivals the Great Depression in terms of economic indicators.

With at least another two years of bad coming it's time to move towards dollar stretching and square foot gardening seems the best way to go. Today is the first step! I'll get Thing 2 and we'll get this going today, she loves to be outside and loves gardening after Grandma showed her a few things last year!

The Date knows how to can and preserve foods so a portion of the gardens will be grown for future use. I want these to look pretty nice and I want Thing 2 to really enjoy doing this so it'll be fun for her and beneficial for everyone.

So today since I'm off work and tomorrow is payday we'll start our endeavor into gardening!

Nineteen Years

Today is my nineteen year anniversary at work. Nineteen long years means that on June 15, 2022 I'm finished, I'll clock out for the last time:) I'll be fifty two and have plenty of time to pursue other things.

I'll receive full pension and after a few more years I'll start to receive my 401k. I don't kid myself about social security. It's a good program that's run its course. I'd rather have all the money kicked into it now transferred to my 401k and let my managers handle it. They've grown my retirement in these rough times well enough.

Nineteen years and I hope the roughest patches are behind me at work. I'm sure that we'll never strike again. I hope anyway, I'll likely vote against it in the future if need be.

I'll earn another full week of vacation next year as well on this date. That'll make the next...last decade go faster! I won't have to be there as much! How ironic is that?

Nineteen years, I was a young twenty two when I started. I've lived through a lot of changes at work, a lot of hoops to jump through, a lot of nonsense, and a lot of struggling. I've got it made now though, some weeks I'm super busy, some weeks not so much. Some weeks I can't catch up, some weeks I'm more than caught up. It'll be just like that for the next eleven years. I'm almost in the home stretch, almost 2/3rds done!

Quiet Night

Had a pretty quiet night at home after grocery shopping. I made a chicken rigatoni dish and played Starcraft 2 with Abostang for a couple of hours. Thing 2 went to rehearsal, and The Date and I lounged around the house sharing the TV.

Abostang and I were promoted to the silver league last week and now we are ranked second and have knocked off some gold league players. In 1v1 competition I went 3-1 last night and everyone I faced was favored against me. If I keep that up it won't be long before I'm promoted to another league.

I forgot the GOP debate was last night, I'd have liked to have seen it however there's a dozen more debates to come before the election in November 2012 and the ousting of Obama. The big debates will be Obama vs. the GOP contender, if the numbers follow suit then unemployment will be double digits by then. I would love to see him explain his failures to the American public and with a straight face ask for their votes again. We literally put a worse Jimmy Carter into office.

Start It Up

One more week in the books, one more on deck. The pickles are looking...well like pickles. The recipe says seven days, I may not be able to wait until Saturday. It's a lot like making bacon, you shake the jar every day for a few seconds to mix the spices around. With bacon you flip the meat over every day.

Hopefully they'll be Claussen caliber pickles or better! When we get expendable funds again and I can get the square foot gardens built and filled with the mixture, we're going to plant pickling cucumbers for sure!

The Date used to can stuff so we'll have a way of preserving foods:) I've got no idea on how to can anything so I'm helpless in that department.

This week should be hot, the rainy weather kind of cooled things down a bit but now it'll get back over one hundred again. So be it, it's just apart of living here. Hopefully this week will fly by!

Rainy Night

I mowed yesterday, good thing too as it rained what seemed like all night long. In reality it was probably only a couple of hours or so. I'm glad I got it done yesterday though or it'd be a lot harder to do coming up!

Washed dishes, made enchiladas, got a few supplies to make Claussen dill pickles, and watched Ice Station Zebra on TCM as well as The Caine Mutiny. Is this what life will be like after I retire? I can only hope!

I also did a little bit of looking into the origin of Mason jars. I had never seen a brand with the name Mason on them. So I wondered if why they were called Mason. Turns out John Landis Mason invented the shoulder sealing lid in 1858 along with a zinc cap. Before that people used wax, cork, or leather sealers. The Mason jar had a threaded neck for the new cap to screw onto. Home food preservation was never the same after that.

Like most inventors who had a brilliant and culturally changing ideas, he sold his rights and died broke in 1902. Before home freezers were commercially viable in the home this was the newest bestest thing to preserve food in the home.

No Power X2

So after the night before and it's power problems I get to work and we are there maybe a half hour and the power to our building goes out. Then it comes back on for half the building.

Then maybe two hours later the power to EVERY building goes out and I wave the white flag and go home at noon. I get home and get Thing 2 squared away at drama camp at the theatre and come back. I decide the day is perfect for pulled pork so I find the thawed roast I had in the fridge, marinade it up, light the fire, and smoke the thing for six hours. It was a small roast so no need for the much longer smoking times that are usually required. However I did smoke it too long by maybe an hour as it was dried out in places.

Usually I cook an eight to nine pounder and that requires roughly two hours per pound to get it tender, this one was very lean and I really didn't account for the lack of fat. However by the time it was over the bark was all over and the meat, though over done, was very tasty!

Pulled the pork and added the sauce, put it on buns and supper was served!

No Power

Yep, it just came back on about fifteen minutes ago. It went off around eleven I think?
I don't know I was trying to sleep when this huge gust of wind hit and hit for ten minutes.

Power went out and that was that. The battery back up on the alarm woke me up and here I am! Yeah it was a rough night with no air conditioning or fans, not going to lie about that. Oh well, it's over and we are up and awake now.

The last day of the week! Hooray! This weekend will be nice, no plans yet but it'll be nice anyway!

Side note to yesterday's blog regarding our conference call with a new client, his partners LOVED the idea and they are now working on what we need to make this happen, they are supposed to have it back to us in a few days! That's exciting stuff right there!

Good Start

Beersnob and I had a conference call last night with our prospective client/business partner and it went very well. Beersnob and I sat at the pub around nine and chatted about how it went and he point out some things we need to be aware of if we go further ahead.

I'll be checking out what a LLC will cost today and see about getting that set up. All in all I felt very good about the call and what he had to say. He was enthusiastic about the prospective idea and we are proceeding ahead.

This is exciting news for me personally as it's an idea I had, gave it legs to run, and now it's on its way to becoming reality.

The Hearing

In case you hadn't heard the preliminary adoption hearing went very well! The ex's rights were officially terminated and the adoption can proceed without his consent! He's over, done, finished...other than he still has to pay his back child support and that increases monthly due to state imposed interest.

I enjoyed being off yesterday and really I didn't do much outside of making a roast for supper. A week like that and I could really recharge my batteries and improve my mood but alas I'm forced to hang onto my leave whenever necessary right now. Beersnob and I are currently working on a project that has the potential to be bigger than average and it would require traveling on our part to shoot it.

More on that as it develops but I LOVE this idea and so did our prospective client. We are setting up a conference call with him for this week to go into detail with them and possibly get this thing underway.

The Date turned in her notice at the library, the twentieth will be her last day there, I'm good with that. She will be launching her special project very soon and is in the process of getting things going right now! This is going to be a big thing for the area and it'll help people out at the same time who are finding it hard to stretch a dollar in this Obamanomy. Believe me we're all hurting and are getting sticker shock at the grocery store and gas pumps.

So I'm off to work to finish out the week now and await news from Beersnob that we have our conference call arranged. I'm looking forward to advancing this project quickly!

Hearing Day

This morning we have a preliminary hearing on the adoption of The Things. It's going to be a good thing and then I don't know the process but I'm guessing they will set the final court date after this.

It'll be nice to remove the "step" from stepfather. Thing 1 is on the fence about it at times but Thing 2 has been using my name since before The Date and I were married. The ex has literally disappeared and not even the lawyer can find him now. He's quit paying child support the last six weeks and since he's 92k behind I don't think he plans on paying for anymore.

I've read stories of men being put in jail for a fraction of that amount. This guy has slipped through the system for years now. It's really strange that he hasn't wound up in prison yet but it's imminent. This is a bed he's been making for years and soon he's going to be sleeping in it for 5-10 more.

It's really a shame that he has no interest in them. Don't get me wrong I'm glad he's gone, most likely for good and this 92 thousand dollar debt will haunt him for his entire life which is deserved and self inflicted.

Any hope for a better life will always be haunted by this until it is cleared up, and it likely never will be. It'll start growing exponentially by a state imposed interest rate and added to weekly by two hundred and fifty dollars. I pay half that amount into my 401k every two weeks!

It's a mess but thankfully we aren't on the wrong end of it!

The Reliance Project

If you read this I ask that you disseminate it to people you know, to churches, to charity organizations, to any philanthropist out there who may be interested in making their community a better place.

The economy isn't going to fully recover for some time yet, it's in trouble and cost of living increases will continue to rise putting a huge strain on monthly household budgets. If these tough times force someone on government dependence they don't give you the skills to get off of it easily or at all. Over time you can easily become a slave to a way of life.

I know there are things I don't know about this right now, get me in touch with smart people who can flesh this out on these bones of an idea.


The Reliance Project
Problem:

According to a recent article in the local paper up to 1 in 5 residents of this county are on food stamp assistance. While this is a sometimes necessary situation during hard times it also seems very high. This is a part of the country where hunger should be a stranger and a day and age in which no one should go hungry. This also leads to unhealthy eating as the food purchased is usually junk food or easy to prepare.

Problem 2:

With the rise in fuel and food prices seniors are at risk of extending their fixed incomes beyond their means. With these necessary costs creeping beyond the reach of many on limited incomes the problem of hunger arises again and is a haunting specter of things to come.

Problem 3:

Average families are looking at more ways than ever to save money just to keep their heads above water. It’s a tough time for everyone right now and for the foreseeable future. If gas prices go beyond four dollars per gallon it will eat up the household budget and leave little left for living expenses.

Solution:

I believe the time is right to form a project group to solve these problems by teaching basic gardening skills. I’ve read Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew. He teaches the basic skills of raised bed gardening with rationed space for planting. What is taught can feed a family indefinitely without the backbreaking work of traditional row gardening. I believe that teaching people self reliance will break the cycle of government dependence that robs people of dignity and the motivation for bettering themselves. This is done in a multipronged strategy as outlined below:

• Base of operations should eventually be a 51 food diameter Geodesic greenhouse dome, the price of this dome is $44,950. This allows for 2,200 square feet of growing space anytime during the year. It is dual purpose as it would be constructed in a public area, it’ll be a visible sign that hunger is temporary and self reliance is within the grasp of anyone who wants to break the cycle of dependence, learn to stretch a dollar further by learning these skills, or is looking to learn to be self reliant altogether.

• I’ll work with instructors/gardeners to produce a DVD course of everything taught. These can be sold to raise money to pay for the dome and scholarships for attendees who cannot afford to pay for a course (price to be determined) and learn the basic skills.

• I’ll produce the video course free of charge IF all proceeds go towards paying for people to attend training in the dome greenhouse.

• People who can afford to attend should be allowed to pay for a course and it should be enough to provide for a scholarship to those who are unable to pay.

• Proof should be provided for those on government assistance that they have abandoned government assistance in lieu of self reliance.

• How to prepare the fruits of the labor and preserving should also be taught. The food harvested is worthless unless you know how to cook it after all.

• Over time other courses can be added such as raising chickens for eggs and meat for example.

Benefits of The Reliance Project:

Learning a necessary skill that will enable you to feed yourself and family on an indefinite basis should be a reward unto itself. There are other benefits as well such as a healthier level of eating, less people on public assistance means less pressure on tax payers, a generation of people will be given their freedom to live anywhere and be able to support themselves in any economic condition. Food grown in the dome can be donated to food banks, senior centers, and sold at the farmer’s markets to support the overhead of the dome and training programs.

There are parts of this project I have not fully thought out as of yet and things I’ve not even thought to consider however I welcome any and all help in fleshing out this project to completion.

If we give a hand up and give them the tools to depend upon themselves they will in turn pass those skills down to others, many Americans don’t have these basic skills anymore, skills that were prevalent in the early 20th century.

Weekend Accomplished

After the fairly hectic schedule my family has had the past two weeks it's nice to be able to not do much this weekend. As I said yesterday I had a shooting job in the morning along with Beersnob but that was finished by eight. The Date went to work at nine and got off work at three which was nice to have her home for the evening.

We had been invited to the movies by Court but honestly neither of us wanted to get out much, The Date did head over to T's house after and hung out with the movie going crowd though while I literally vegged out on the couch.

All things considered I plan on doing much the same today. I've got a decent week of work ahead but there are a couple of things that could happen to make it a week to remember. If Beersnob and I land a potential idea then it'll be the week our small company really gets it's foot in the door.

Tomorrow I plan on blogging about the food stamp epidemic and what I feel local people can do about changing it and helping people become self sufficient. It's not easy to get off of government aid once you get on it and some people need to be on it. Some people just take advantage of the system and game it as much as possible though.

I feel it is one of my most important blogs in the near future though, well outside of the one when I get to announce I'm a real father after adopting Things 1 and 2. So tell your friends about tomorrow's blog, repost the link of facebook, and please think about what this idea represents to your community.

Cabaret

Last night's cabaret was amazing. I'm very proud of The Date! She did a great job but she wasn't the only one. Yeah I'm biased because The Date, Court, Red, and a few other friends including Teehee were the performers. It really was an amazing evening! Everyone had strong performances and Teehee was so good he drew a standing ovation for his efforts!

Yes he is that good!

This morning was filled with a shoot with the Divas at 6:30. Beersnob and I edited separate cuts of the shoot so our skills will mesh well! It's working, he did a great job and cut it very close to the way I did. He's a great partner to have!

For now it's going to be a quiet day, I'm making a sesame chicken stir fry and I really love the art of stir fry cooking. It's very difficult to really screw it up.

Here's Why I Got Married

I was going to blog about the economy again and the food stamp program. I've thought of a local solution that would help people off of food stamps and not with any government help at all but I'll save that for another day. Our county has one in five residents on food stamps right now and that's pretty high to me, it's a tragedy in fact. So stay tuned for another post on the matter in the coming days!

Now I want to congratulate my wife and T on getting parts in the upcoming season opener, The Dixie Swim Club. It's directed by CC who has a reputation of putting on a good show and she runs a tight ship. You'll feel you've accomplished something by the time you are finished with the show.

Yesterday was rough on me. I see medical bills piling up from Thing 1's hospital trip and I see the income stream coming in and they don't match up. I was pretty down yesterday and didn't know what to do about it really so The Date and I had a long texting conversation (texting because I was at work and pretty busy on top of it all) she assured me it was going to be ok. Things are just things and stuff is just stuff and it's not important as being together.

So this morning I get up to a very loving and encouraging note that has made my month. I want to preserve it on my blog because I feel it is that important.

Good morning my dear husband!
Nothing in life would be worth struggling for if you weren't in my life. Everything we do takes us forward, even if it seems backwards. When I feel lost, beat down, and consumed by failures, all I need do is curl up in your arms and instantly nothing in the world seems that important. A house isn't a home without love. No matter what house it is. I would live here the rest of my life as long as I knew you'd be with me and love me the way you do. All I want is to see you smile and laugh. I want to grow old together and do puzzles and watch our grandbabies grow like weeds. And when those days arrive, none of these hard days will even be remembered. It's just stuff, it's only money, and it all wears out, gets old, gets spent, falls apart and vanishes from memory. Love and time together sticks like gum to the heart. I remember songs my mother sang to me, things she did with me, not all the things we had. We'll get through this hard spot just like we have all the other hard spots. As long as I have you, I can do anything. I can never thank you enough for all that you do. I'm sorry for being so hard on you about things I know you have no control over. You are my confidant, the only one I trust, and I never mean to burden you. I can't remember what life felt like before you and I never want to know again how to live without you. God didn't forget me - he gave me you.
Love you with all of me - "The Date"

So that's it folks, that's the reason I got married to this wonderful woman. Now tonight she is going to sing in Cabaret along with Court and Red, I've heard their set and it's darn good! Looking forward to it tonight babe and I hope to see my friends there as well!

Trouble Ahead

From this article, "Interest rates are amazingly low and that, thanks to Ben Bernanke, is driving everything," Yastrow said. "We’re on the verge of a great, great depression. The [Federal Reserve] knows it."

How's THAT for an eyeopener? How about this one, it shows a very bleak picture of our economy. Regardless if this is the new Obama economy or not it really doesn't matter right now. What matters is that you are capable of supporting yourselves when meat is fifteen dollars a pound and scarce at the grocery store or bread is nine dollars a loaf.

When you can't buy food because your dollar is so devalued that it'll take a twice as many to buy what it buys now. It's imminent. Look that word up. A financial collapse is coming our way. Our retirements are likely going to be wiped out, our dollars worth less than the paper they are printed on, everything will be turned upside down.

Now is the time to prepare yourselves and family. Learn to grow your own food. Learn to be more self sufficient. Learn to raise chickens if you have to or some kind of meat that you want to eat and can butcher. Learn to butcher for that matter. We've gotten two very good books to help prepare ourselves, one is on homesteading and the other I went into detail about in another blog and it's called Square Foot Gardening.

I can't put a timeline on when the collapse is going to happen but the stage is set and I fear that our government won't be able to stop it. Might not even be able to lessen it's impact. Gas will get higher, food will get higher, and your dollar will not go nearly as far.

If we are headed for the olden days of soup lines and twenty percent unemployment then you can help yourself out and learn the skills people used when there were no stores around. When money was essentially unheard of because it was so scarce. Get that pioneering spirit and start to become self reliant.

Who's going to suffer? Yesterday on my way to work I saw a line outside our local grocery store before they were open. Yep, first of the month means new food stamps and they were there already. I'm all for the food stamp program for those who are on hard times and really need it badly but I'm all for food stamps being temporary too and NOT a way of life.

These people will starve if the economy collapses, they have become enslaved to the state. They have no skills at all to support themselves if the money isn't there anymore. They will turn to whatever means it takes to feed themselves and that is likely crime.

This won't be my family and I hope it won't be my friends.

What A Long Day

But I'm starting to get the hang of shooting a live game. What I'm used to is staged, I tell actors where to go and what to do, then I move the camera to stay on them. I know where they are going and what they are doing and I know where I'm moving the cam, easy.

Shooting live baseball is totally different. You have no idea when the ball will be hit, where it's going, or how long the play will last. Ten's brother is doing a great job of teaching me the ins and outs of shooting live sports. They have a pretty cool set up. It's pretty professional and would be a great tool to learn someday. I don't know if I'll ever have a need to learn to do live four camera shoot but learning a board would rock.

So thank you to you two guys for asking me to help with this, it's educational, fun, and it's a great learning experience. The game went ten innings last night, thankfully it didn't go until midnight! Now for a long day at work and I'll be making chicken enchiladas tonight for Crime Reporter, a request from last week! Looking forward to making enchiladas for the first time, it'll be interesting.

I've found several really good recipes that look very very tasty.