Uncle Tom's Blog Cabin

Dynamic Stupidity

2011-12-18T06:43:00.000-08:00

I haven't written here in a while...

I don’t know why, but I don’t like doing the same thing all the time. In some ways this is not true, but I like to think that varying my everyday activities somehow keeps me sane and more importantly, alive. I believe that survival is dependent on dynamic decision making. When I drive to work every day I make thousands of small but critical decisions. It’s making the correct decisions under pressure that I think are the most important. When there are cars flying by and I am turning left, I must make the right call. It is never the same twice, which is when things go wrong. I mean if you think things are the same. I see everything around me as a dynamic ever changing force, much like the weather. So many variables that you can never predict really, anything. The National Weather Service makes its’ living using supercomputers that are wrong daily. Just plug in the known variable and bing bang bong, it’s going to rain in Las Cruces. Normally the computer models are wrong. Life ain’t linear, yo!

I am wrong just as often, I’m sure. I make mistakes driving all the time. My timing isn’t always right or I don’t see the Mini Cooper next to me when changing lanes. Adapting to these situations is paramount. My normal work day consists of being conscious about the hazards around me. When I am walking around the work site, I make hundreds of decisions regarding my safety. The most important choices are when I am under stress. These are what make, or break, a person. I have been around great supervisors who are being sprayed in the face with sewage and calmly say, “Would you go shut that valve off over there?” And even when I turn the wrong valve, they say, “The red one over there.” These great leaders know when to yell and when not to. If someone’s life is in danger they YELL! But if it’s only minor injury or just getting wet, then the natural born leaders are calm in what others perceive as intense situations.

This leads me to another type of leader, a manager. Managers are people who can not handle dynamic situations well. They try to act calm but you can see them shaking, eyes twitching, mean while telling you how you should remain calm. You can see the fear behind their insane choices. They tell you to shut off the power to an electrical panel covered in water. You look at them with crazy eyes, to say no, but they think you should blindly do it. I say this is where the men are separated from the boys. Where free thinkers are separated from the herd. Sometimes saying NO does not settle well with the manager, but they get over it, usually. I am known for saying no to managers, and sometimes I am wrong. What pisses me off the most is when a manger comes to me for advice about things they know the answer to. “Hey Tom, how you doing? (no pause for an answer) Do you think it’s a good idea to spend 3 days compiling and analyzing data to present to people who don’t care?” When I was younger I would tell the manger “no” and explain that it is a waste of time. Now, I am am older and I always smile and say, “Yes, you should spend every waking moment putting slideshows together for your co-workers who love to see data about projects they don’t care about!” Then he scurries off to work and he leaves me alone, consumed with the idea that presentations are how to succeed. I can only imagine that these type of managers don’t understand, really understand, a simple Dilbert cartoon. It’s odd still that perfectly good leaders can be ruined when advanced to a management position. Dynamic forces in an ever changing universe that can seem to always be the same. Timing is everything.

Balloon Fietsa 2011

2011-10-16T07:40:00.000-07:00

Lizards Beware!

2011-05-02T18:08:00.000-07:00

12-twotwo-Fondue in Las Cruces---LIVE!

2010-12-21T21:36:00.000-08:00

Party today at our place...

Watch it live at 6pm till the wine and beer is gone.

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/twelve-22-fondue-las-cruces-nm

While Zoe Was Sleeping...

2010-12-02T11:27:00.000-08:00

Quail Families In Our Backyard

2010-08-26T00:20:00.000-07:00

A couple of families of quail have been bringing their babies to our yard.

Here is some video of them...

Turkish Tonight

2010-08-08T19:09:00.001-07:00

Turkish kebabs tonight!

2 years

2010-07-28T19:15:00.001-07:00

Can you believe it???

2 years!!!

Cat's Have Had It!

2010-07-05T21:03:00.000-07:00

Day 14 is approaching. The house is still empty. We are awaiting a moving truck with our furniture, etc. The cats have been pacing around with no furniture to play and sleep on.

Well...The cats started taking over the house and now I sit on the floor as the cats have realized they ARE the bosses. Sarah and I are just the feeders and cat litter changers. At least we know our place now.

This is our little family out here in New Mexico.

Day 11

2010-07-03T10:07:00.000-07:00

It has been eleven days since we moved.

We are waiting for the moving truck to arrive with everything we own.

Eleven days ago we packed light, for a week max. So, to me, that means a few pairs of socks and underwear.

I have run out of everything clean. My wife is the one concerned because she has to work in dirty, wrinkled clothes. I'm a bum so I am supposed to look and smell this way.

Well....The end is in sight now. All of our crap should be here on Tuesday, ending the fourteen day wait.

Goodbye air mattress, goodbye patio furniture in living room, goodbye empty house...and hello actual furniture, hello homebrewing supplies!

New Mexico or Bust!

2010-06-27T08:44:00.000-07:00

926 miles east of Nipomo, CA, we ended up in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Everyone asks "WHY?" and everyone says, "Well, at least New Mexico is beautiful...oh, you're in the far south? You should just smuggle aliens across the border."

We came here for work, since Sarah just graduated and took a job here.

So, we found a house to live in on the edge of town were only coyote's and cockroaches roam.

We are have an air mattress to sleep on and patio furniture in our living room. We're waiting for the moving truck to arrive.

Yesterday the cable guy hooked us up and it was like giving fire to a cave man. I opened my laptop and the light almost blinded me. We had gone days disconnected from the world and drifting aimlessly, but now we have been found. Got caught up on Hell's Kitchen.

The house is mostly empty and the few things we have are scattered around with no real place for them to go.

The cable TV box sits on the floor with nothing attached. To entertain myself I have been killing bugs and checking all the light bulbs to see if they work.

Yesterday, some little ants came in and started eating the cats food. I went to the store and found the aisle of death sprays and brought home 4 spray bottles. I believe in using every available chemical to kills pests. Sarah and I worked in tandem just like Bonnie and Clyde spraying away at the little invaders and watching them die.

Zoe and Blackberry, the two cats, are wondering around looking for new places to explore.

It's really quiet here. Maybe too quiet...

Sarah Graduates 2010

2010-06-14T23:47:00.000-07:00

Big news

2010-05-28T05:22:00.001-07:00

The big news is that Sarah and I are moving to Las Cruces, New Mexico!

We are moving for work. I will let you all know more about it soon.

Back on the Horse

2010-04-19T17:54:00.000-07:00

The last time I cooked in a crock-pot it imploded.

So, I had to get back on that horse, buy a crock-pot,and make something in it.

Today I made chili. I love chili. So today I followed some structure and a basic recipe, then tweaked it a little.

Below is the chili cooking in our new crock-pot:

Here's the what I did:

Ingredients:
• 3 pounds ground beef, browned (can substitute some beef for sausage)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cups chicken or beef broth
• 2 15 oz can beans (red, pinto or both)
• 1 14 oz can diced tomatoes (do not drain)
• 2 15 oz can tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 2 stalks of celery
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 7 oz can fire roasted green chilles or 2 Anaheim peppers, diced
• 6 cloves garlic, minced

Chili Powder (a little spicy):
• 1/2 tablespoon chipotle chile powder (medium hotness)
• 3 tablespoons pasilla chile powder
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2-3 tablespoons ground cumin, (3 Tbls can be a bit strong, but I like it)
• 1 pinch fresh thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon black pepper, ground
• 1 teaspoon salt, then add to taste

Tom’s Chili Recipe Directions:

In a skillet on medium heat, add olive oil and cook onions until soft and yummy. Add the celery and peppers and cook for a few more minutes.

In a large pot, brown the ground beef, making sure to continuously break up large pieces with a spatula. Once browned drain fat off of meat. Return the ground beef to the pot.

Add onions, peppers, and celery to meat.

Add the chili powder. Heat over medium heat with stirring for 15 minutes.

Add it all to to crock-pot and turn to high heat.

Pour in the broth, beans, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, cider vinegar.

Stir it up good and cook a long time.

Final Day- Beer Judge

2010-04-19T13:01:00.000-07:00

Final day of beer judging here in Lodi.

I started the day out tasting porter type beers. A porter is traditionally an English style but there are also American, Russian, and Polish types. This is a great style to drink. It is bold but very drinkable.

After the porters, I was judging a category called Sour Ales. These are something I have had before, but I don't drink very often. I can appreciate these for the difficulty and the balance needed to not be overwhelming and puckering.

Most of these sour beers come from Belgium, however one style called Berliner Weisse of course comes from Germany. These can be refreshing, some are deeply complex like a good wine, and others are more artistic and funky even downright nasty.

The category that is strangest is the Belgian Lambics. It is a tart and sour beer style. What makes it interesting , to some, is that it can be described as smelling like a barnyard, gym socks, or as I said when I was judging, "an old leather shoe. Sounds yummy right? In this style, these are compliments to the beer quality.

If you want to see what styles of beer are out there, check the BJCP styles.

So, that's my weekend and if you want to know more about beer judging go to the Beer Judge Certification site.

Day 1 - Beer Judge

2010-04-17T18:46:00.000-07:00

It was a long drive to get here. Out in the middle of Northern California in the town of Lodi.

I am here to be a part of a huge national home-brewed beer competition call the National Homebrew Competition. It starts out in several regional competitions through the US, then the winners at the regionals go on to a national judging panel to determine who has the best beer in America. I entered two beers myself, a Kolsch and an American Brown Ale.

My day here started out judging beer in the "stout" category. I tasted about 8 of these dark, roast coffee and chocolate flavored beers. Along with tasting I filled out a sheet with my comments about aroma, appearance, flavor, mouth-feel, and overall impression. I then assign a score somewhere from 13 to 50 points. I then discuss the beer with a fellow judge and we talk about the beer to make sure we had a similar experience.

After a great lunch, I acted as a judge assistant, called a steward.

It was a great and fun day tasting many types of homebrewed beer. Most of the people were great to work with.

Now I am back in the hotel about to take a nap. good night

When Samsung LCD TV's Go Bad

2010-04-11T20:01:00.001-07:00

Over the last 6 months, our Samsung 40" LCD has declined to work properly. It worked, but you would turn it on, hear clicking sounds until it finally turned on. The time to turn on has slowly increased over time. When it does come on there were blue dots were all over the screen.

Click to enlarge picture

As you see, even the cats watch TV at our house.

To temporarily fix this we would just turn it off and on again and it was ok to watch. Since it seemed to be getting worse I looked into fixing it.

I found thousands of people out there with the same problem. One thing they all had in common was the 1 year waranty was up and Samsung basically said "Screw you" to most people who asked for help.

The problem is a group of capacitors on the power board. For some reason, the capacitors "wear" out, the tops bulge up, and even some of the black electrolyte fluid leaks out.

According to a consumer affairs site "Samsung installed 10 volt 1000 micro Farad capasitors on a 12 volt bus of the power board."

After looking at our TV, we found all four 1000 uF capacitors were dying and fluid leaking out of the tops.

Click to enlarge picture

My thinking here is that I have three options:

1) Repair it myself for about $12 plus any soldering equipment I needed.

2) Buy a new power board for $100 from a place like http://www.partstore.com/Default.aspx .

3) Have a certified repair person fix it for who knows how much ($200 to $400 is common).

So, after some great information on the problem and a great YouTube video from a guy who shows us all how to do it, I was ready to fix it myself or blow up the TV trying.

Video Part 1 , Video Part 2

I removed the power board, heated up and removed the old capacitors, then soldered the new ones into place.

After completing the work and putting the TV back together, we tried it out...

It works! No clicking. No abnormal lag time to start up.

I'll keep you posted if it catches on fire.

Next time I think I'll buy a Sony.

When Good Crockpots Go Bad...

2010-04-03T10:21:00.000-07:00

There was a sound in the kitchen. The sound was glass braking. I looked to see where the two cats were. Both were sleeping soundly, not causing trouble. Huhhh...I wonder what that was?

Where is the lid to the crockpot???

The lid imploded into the spaghetti sauce. The cause: 30 minutes before I had chipped the edge of the glass lid. If you click on the picture to enlarge it, you can see the round handle from the lid in the center of the mess. Should I even be aloud into kitchens? That is a rhetorical question, thank you.

On a good note, I made baklava that was yummy the night before and nothing exploded.

What you see on the plate was my dinner Wednesday night.

Wife Blames Husband for Bad Chili

2010-03-29T18:32:00.000-07:00

I love chili! I really do. I like beans or no beans. I like chunks of beef or ground up chuck. I like it mild or spicy. It must have cornbread to go with it or it is incomplete.

I think about the ways I can add flavors that are layered and make you want to lick the bowl when you're done.

I demand good chili and there can be nothing less, just like making beer.

The only problem is that I suck at making it. No, really. It's not as bad as my Chinese food is, but it lacks the basic idea of chili, whatever that is. I have even read Chili Cooking for Dummies and I got more stupid.

Right now, the smell of chili has engulfed my home. The crock-pot is filled to the brim with my latest secret recipe. I spent almost an hour planning it. I know that's more than most men talk to their wife in a day, but not as much time as I play Wii.

Now, the back story here is about the last time I made chili.

You see, I am a victim of spousal abuse. I trust my wonderful wife who cooks great food to tell me the basics of many things in the cooking realm. Since her father is a famous chili chef, I figured I should ask her the chili basics.

I was WRONG!

She, not me, suggested a lot of red wine in it. OK, stop. Don't ever do that. It is not a good idea to add a lot of wine and especially not half a bottle!

I put half of a bottle of red wine in the chili. It went very wrong at this point.

There was some awesome chunks of beef and no beans. I set out to make the greatest Texas style chili in California. I failed to make even edible food. It was almost purple in color. Don't eat purple chili!

I did learn something from this experience...It was all my fault. Well, that's what she told me. When I told her that I added half a bottle of wine because she told me to, she said "That's way too much even for spaghetti sauce." Oh, now she knows! Great!

Now back to today...

I have a great tasting chili. I stuck to the basics. It tastes good now, but tomorrow for lunch it will be heaven on earth.

On a side note:

I may be sleeping on the couch tonight, if not for this article, then for the chili beans.

Good night from warm California.

Moving On...A Block Away.

2010-03-07T09:46:00.000-08:00

Well, over the last 2 months, Sarah and I have been busy.

We started the new year having to find a new place to live. We had to move because the owner was not paying the house mortgage and the bank the property.

We were given 90 days to vacate with an option to leave earlier for cash. We wanted to just get out out find a new place to call home. So, we went with the Cash for keys option and moved out in 30 days. The bank paid us the two months rent we would have paid anywhere plus $500 in moving fees. It was a bit scary but it all worked out perfectly.

We moved only a block away, so imagine me rolling a washing machine down the street on a dolly to the new place a block away. Oh yeah, it happened. A neighbor saw me moving the washing machine and asked if I was ok. I was fine, just looting a house that I live in.

So, we are now settled into our new home. The cats are back to their normal mischievous ways. We have a little more space and are back to our normal lives, whatever that means.

Home Cooking Feb 2010

2010-03-06T11:45:00.000-08:00

How about homemade tomato soup with an apple tart for dessert???

Here you go:

Skin tomatoes, chop up the other stuff,

cook it all, season, puree, simmer, season again, serve.

BASIL!

And for dessert...

an Apple Tart Fine from Gordon Ramsey's the F Word

2010-02-22T23:03:00.001-08:00

Christmas Eve

2009-12-24T21:45:00.000-08:00

I am out here, far from home, in Sugar Land, Texas. I am at the in-laws.

It's Christmas Eve and the stockings are laying on the floor by the fake fireplace where they can be mauled by the wild cats loose in the house.

The presents are wrapped and under the tree that has no color. Santa has been good this year as the booty is great.

The weather has turned cold, as it should be for Christmas.

Have a great Christmas!

SWMBO

2009-12-23T08:25:00.000-08:00

I came across this acronym, SWMBO, when I was in a beer brewing forum. Sometimes I don't bother to pay attention to the geek acronyms, but this one I liked.

It seems that we men are tough and independant, well...as much as we dare to be.

It all comes back around to the same old thing...

does She Who Must Be Obeyed approve?

I am sure that SWMBO does NOT approve of anything. That is why the old men I know have given me valuable advice such as "It's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission."

Risotto for Everyone

2009-12-10T11:12:00.000-08:00

What they heck is this risotto stuff?
Is it pasta or rice?
Why do so many chefs make this dang stuff?
What is the correct pronunciation?

The first time I saw risotto being cooked was on Emeril. He made a Halloween special version that was black with squid ink. I am not sure how squid ink tastes but I was curious why Emeril was making a rice dish that he seemed to think was so special.

Before I made risotto, I wasn't even sure if I had eaten it before. It turns out I have had it all my life but I didn't know the name. It's funny because I also realized that Rice-a-Roni must be a quick version of risotto.

The basic procedure for making risotto goes as follows:

1. Have a prepared stock hot and ready to add to risotto
2. Saute any meat or veggies now (to be added at end)
3. In a wide saucepan, add butter, onion, and garlic. Saute just a minute.
4. Throw in the rice, stir it up, let sit for a couple minutes.
5. Add wine, let absorb
6. Add stock solution 1/2 cup at a time, letting each addition absorb.
[Should take about 30 minutes]
7. Throw in cooked meat or veggies and freshly grated cheese, stir, serve.

When you consider making risotto, the stock is the heart of the flavor. Of course the purists, or people who have time, make beef, chicken, or vegetable stock from scratch. Well, I don't mind the stock from the store so much, but I did make fish stock recently for seafood risotto and it was great. Certainly making the stock from scratch gives control over the flavor.

Another thing to consider is the wine used. Just before adding the stock to risotto, a little wine is absorbed into the rice. This can affect the flavor just like the stock does.

Here's some pics of some recent dinners:

Throw on a crab cake, some cheese and Enjoy!

WHAT THE HELL???

2009-12-07T20:20:00.000-08:00

I don't know what to say about this TV commercial...

Hardware Store

2009-11-28T20:15:00.000-08:00

For over a year now, I have been having to travel out of town to get my hardware store fix.

I can walk into Home Depot and just wander around for an hour. I dream about the things I could build, the work bench I could solve the world's problems on, cat towers I can create, and things that would make life better.

Here in the little town of Nipomo, we had a dying hardware store that lacked the most basic tools or hardware. It went out of business, as you might have guessed.

After much anticipation, Miner's Ace Hardware opened it's doors. Hundreds of pickups and hundreds of deprived men ascended to see tools, wood, and screws...and we don't know why. I guess it's a cave man thing. I don't care, I just like to go and wonder through every isle and know every type of bolt, hammer, drill-bit, shelf bracket, and chain saw that is available. They even have something everyone should have, Anti-Monkey Butt powder...

One important part of the hardware store experience is old men. They are the pros of hardware shopping. They wonder the isles looking for obscure items that may not exist and just love asking the teenage boys were they can find a 45 degree flaring tool. The kid always has to get on his radio and ask a more experienced worker to assist.

One of the old guys favorite things to do is flirting with the young female cashiers. It is a subtle art form they have worked on for years, likely since about 10 years old. They do sneaky things to spend more time with the cute cashier. Things like removing price tags so she will have to figure out the actual price. Sometimes the cashier just makes up a price to get the old man away. Another tactic used by old men is to buy something everyone on earth knows how to use, then ask the pretty young cashier how this items works. He will listen and say things like "I didn't know this saw could cut wood" or "So you turn this light bulb to the right to put it in the lamp?"

Of course you could just buy your stuff and get out, but the old men want more of an experience out of the visit. It isn't uncommon they have no idea what they came in for. It is also common, after an hour wandering around, they will leave with nothing.

When they get home their wife will say, "You were gone three hours, did you get the 3-sided tape you needed?" and the man will shrug and say "No, I looked everywhere and they didn't have it."

Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T09:16:00.000-08:00

Ahhh, Thanksgiving is finally here. All the preparation and planning is coming to head.

This year we have guest coming over for a feast. My Uncle Dan and Grandmother are dropping by to eat. The meal is being served at 1pm, so the bird had to go in early, at 9am. Well early to me. The turkey is an eleven pounder, so the anticipated cooking time is about 3 hours.

The bird...

I got a new digital dual probe thermometer just for this (and homebrewing of course). So I sterilized the probes, stuck them into the disease covered bird, and now I am ready to watch the temperature rise! I wasn't sure where to put the probes, but since I have two of them I placed one in some place near the thigh (whatever that is) and the other in the breast (I know what that is). I figure I can take the square root of the average and it should be close enough. Well, actually the wife will have gotten out of bed by then (noonish) and taken over all cooking decisions. I'll be watching football and entertaining guests.

(See the two black wires coming from the bird below?)

The favorite part for Sarah is the Pecan Pie. She made it yesterday and it is ready to eat!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

WKRP Turkeys Can't Fly?

2009-11-26T08:52:00.001-08:00

Canyon City, 1947

2009-11-14T17:23:00.000-08:00

[This is the story of a prison escape as told by my Grandmother. She lived in Canon City, Colorado (pronounced "Canyon" City) for some of her life. ]

Christmas Eve in 1947, Canon City, Colorado was in the middle of a snow storm.

The snow was coming down heavy when twelve prisoners escaped from the local penitentiary.

The Warden, Roy Best, swore he would catch every last one of them, dead or alive.

Out of the snow storm, one of the escaped inmates came upon a home in the countryside. A farmer and his wife were at home doing chores. The inmate came into the house unannounced, taking the couple by surprise. He had fashioned a pistol from materials in prison and used this to hold the couple hostage.

The cold and hungry prisoner told the woman to go into the kitchen and cook him a meal. He held the man at gunpoint.

She returned with the food and served him. As he sat eating, the farmer's wife returned from the kitchen with salt and pepper and a large hammer. She knocked the escaped convict out cold with a single blow.

Word spread that she had taken down the dangerous prisoner herself, so a famous singer, Kate Smith, sent the farmer's wife a fancy watch and a note telling her how much of an inspiration she was to women everywhere.

All twelve of the prisoners were eventually captured.

------

I don't know any other version of the story, but there was a movie made in 1948 with the actual warden starring as himself. It tells a different story, but I like my grandmother's better.

Great Pumpkin Disaster

2009-10-27T20:01:00.000-07:00

Fall is such a fun time of the year. The leaves change, the weather is unstable, and Halloween is near.

I love watching It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown and eating lot's of candy.

One thing I love is picking out a pumpkin.

This year we went to a pumpkin patch at Avila Valley Barn, near Avila Beach.

There were hundreds of families and kids running wild looking for that perfect orange squash. We took a real hayride out to the pumpkin patch and started to look around.

We saw many pumpkins that were quickly dismissed for defects, holes, or other inexplicable reasons. I was looking for a more wide than tall pumpkin. Sarah was looking for a taller, slender one. We took our time looking at all parts of each pumpkin that fit the initial size and shape requirements.

After some time, Sarah found the perfect pumpkin. It was tall yet wide enough for the shape she was planning to carve out of it. She deemed it the best in the patch. She wanted to look a little more, just in case, so she walked away planning to return to her pumpkin.

Meanwhile, I found my ideal pumpkin. It was more round than tall. Perfect.

"Arrrrrgggggg! Nooooo!" I heard a scream from across the patch. It was some deranged woman pointing at a little girl kicking a large orange pumpkin. Oh, it was my wife. She seemed to be signaling me about some problem.

"She took my pumpkin. That little girl stole the only pumpkin I wanted in the whole patch!!!"

I consoled my upset wife. I offered advice like, "Tell her it has some disease" or "Maybe she will see another one before the hayride comes back."

Nothing helped. Sarah just looked at the little girl rolling the pumpkin over to her dad. Soon the vegetable was in the protection of the girls' dad. Sarah kept one eye on it while she reluctantly searched for another, second-rate, pumpkin.

She found one that would do. The little girl never changed her mind. We all got on the hayride back to pay for our future jack-o-lanterns.

After some ice cream, we heading home with a less than perfect pumpkin knowing that some little girl was going home with the most perfect pumpkin in the whole patch!

Beef Wellington, Part 2

2009-10-20T18:20:00.000-07:00

The last time I made this traditional English dish, I didn't get it quite right. It was good, but the meat was a bit tough and the seasoning was a little too light. So, this time I need to tweak a few things.

For starters, we got the best fillet mignon cut of beef from a local butcher. I added more spices and fresh garlic. It turned out great.

Here's what I did...

First, I seasoned and seared the meat, then set aside to rest.

Then...

Plastic wrap down.

Parma Ham

Mushroom puree spread onto ham.

Mustard covered beef fillet placed on yummy stuff.

The meat and coating is rolled up and chilled

Puff pastry is spread out.

The meat is placed into the center of the pastry dough, then egg wash is applied to edges.

The dough is folded.

The pastry is egg washed and scored, then ready to bake.

It is done...Beef Wellington!

I like this commercial

2009-10-15T21:15:00.000-07:00

My Sweet Thang!

2009-09-28T19:48:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is a big day. I have been preparing for weeks. This is not something I take lightly, well, normally.

It the wife's birthday!

The Korbel champagne is chillin'. Thank you.

The Strawberry-Balsamic Vinaigrette Cupcakes are made, check.

Presents wrapped, check.

Cats ready to party, check.

Happy 26th my love!

Wanted...

2009-09-21T19:27:00.000-07:00

I may be a married man, but I ain't dead.

I don't mind a beautiful woman who wants to "check me out" or let me know I am a prize to be had.

I know, I know, you think that it never happens, but it does!

That's right ladies are lining up to meet me...from all over the world!

Here are some recent emails I got:

Hello stranger,

Do you on former search your princess?

I have your address, but dont know works it or not? If you have received my letter and want to know more about me, please write me back. my e-mail address: lovepie8@rambler.ru

I will explain as have received your address and will tell more about me in next letter.

Hope to receive your letter soon

Alexandra

...and...

Hello! My name is Lina!

To me of 26 years. Also I live in Russia! I never had children and never was married!

I search for love, friendship or creation of family! I the good girl which dream to meet the love!

I hope you will answer me soon on wash email: {%URL %}!

I shall wait...

KISS KISS

2009-09-07T21:36:00.000-07:00

Wow! What a great, long, and productive weekend! I had three days of fun, relaxing, and even some chores got done.

On Friday nights Sarah and I find ourselves at a weekly gathering of Cal-Poly MBA students and professors. They call these wine-socials Hobnobs*. We drink, talk, and enjoy good food and drink.

*Hobnobbing: ORIGIN (in the sense 'drink together; drink each other's health): from archaic hob or nob, hob and nob, probably meaning 'give and take'.-The Concise Oxford Dictionary

On Saturday, we went to San Luis Obispo for Brews and Bites. The local beer breweries were having a little party.

Sunday, we rotated the tires on Sarah's car and did, well, nothing else productive, although I find relaxing very productive.

Today was a holiday. I brewed a batch of beer, an American style pale ale.

For dinner, I made something I had been wanting to try, Beef Wellington.

This English dish is a common entree on Gordon Ramsey's Hells Kitchen TV show. I don't think I have ever had it. So I looked it up and I found the recipe and a 2 minute video on how to make it. Mine was not as pretty, but it was yummy and almost as easy as he makes it seem.

Beef Wellington Recipe:

http://www.channel4.com/food/recipes/chefs/gordon-ramsay/beef-wellington-07-12-21_p_1.html

The video and recipe come from a show called the F-Word broadcast in England. The recipe and video are from the British TV station, channel 4.

Some of his recipes are found at the site below:

http://www.channel4.com/food/recipes/chefs/gordon-ramsay/

I'm Melting...

2009-08-29T19:24:00.000-07:00

I am dying here. It is 90 degrees in the house. The high temperatures had been in the 70's and then it changed. Now it's 95+ and NO air conditioning. Oh well, I may survive.

I did get out today. I got a hair cut, went grocery shopping, and saw an air show. In Santa Maria today there was a small air show, with no air. I mean that all the planes were grounded, so you just look at them. No flying and No aerobatics. It was nice to walk around and see them.

I got a burger at a Boy Scout stand and noticed this flag pole they made.

I saw a wolf under a military jet.

A nice Mustang...

Some planes/jets:

In the middle of the planes was this weird car, called Black Betty. It was very out of place. The owners are trying to win some fuel economy automobile X-Prize and wanted to show it off. I think it's ugly and there is no room for golf clubs.

When I got home, I saw a cat in a bag. She is trying to hide from the heat.

Day 10

2009-08-26T20:32:00.000-07:00

On Sunday I made buffalo burgers while I brewed a batch of beer. I grilled the burger, added some Dubliner cheese, and yummy!

Monday I made Orange Chicken on rice...

Tuesday, I was a bad boy. I ate out. I would say it was horrible, but it was not. I ate at Frank's Famous Hot Dog's in San Luis Obispo. YUMMY! It wasn't my fault. I was limited on time. I had a class to attend. You see I am in Beer Judging school. Something called the BJCP is how you become a beer judge for homebrewing competitions. Basically I taste beer from all over the world and write what I smell, see, and taste. It's hard but I do it anyways.

Tonight, Wednesday, I got home from work and took the kitties outside.

Zoe was hunting for an easy meal. She likes moths. She spots one up high...

She brings her fresh kill in for her sister to play with. Zoe is the hunter, Berry is the finisher.

[Click on Pics for a better look]

Berry is full from the meal and has to relax a little.

It was my turn to eat. I made Shrimp with Green Curry Sauce. The sauce was from Trader Joes. It wasn't too bad, but I think I'll make my own in the future.

And here it is...

Day 4

2009-08-20T20:52:00.001-07:00

I had an interesting week at work. I survived the six month probation period. Two other workers were fired during their probation period. One of them even went to the city council meeting after he was fired and told them someone better watch what is going on at the plant. We are supposed to be at the "end" of the construction to "upgrade" the wastewater plant, however, the engineering company has made repeated errors that are costing them. Needless to say, the plant will be done about two months late.

I still have not eaten out since the wife left four days ago. I seem to be on a streak of Mexican cooking. Last night I grilled a beef tenderloin marinated in Carne Asada seasoning. I added grilled peppers and onions, then had fajitas.

Tonight, I made enchilada casserole. Oops, that may a bit too much for one person to eat!

Tomorrow is Friday. I will be dog sitting for the neighbors, golfing, and making a batch of beer. Dinner will be either green curry with shrimp or buffalo burgers.

2 days

2009-08-18T18:18:00.000-07:00

It's been two whole days and I have not eaten out. I'm ok, thanks. I wanted to stop today and get two tacos at Jack in the Box, but I kept on driving. One day at a time...

I am making orange chicken over rice tonight. The chicken and sauce are frozen, but I still have to steam rice and bake the chicken! Am I supposed to eat vegetables when my wife is out of town? Hmmm, I'll see if I can find anything. Is beer a veggie?

I feel like I may not make it for the whole two weeks. The cravings for fast food and sushi have become stronger.

I hear voices! Oh , never mind it's just the cats wanting dinner...got to go.

The pizza

2009-08-17T21:59:00.001-07:00

Sausage and olive pizza!

Cooking the sausage...

Fun with the dough...

2 Weeks, No Wife...

2009-08-16T17:59:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I just dropped her off at the airport. The wife will be gone for 14 days. Sometimes I like to bachelor it up, drink beer, and eat crappy food. Since I do that while she is here, I think I will change it up a little bit.

I recently saw the movie Julie & Julia. It inspired me to cook all the recipes in the Julia Childs cookbook. I rushed to Border's Books to pick up a copy, but they were out of copies. So, I formed a back-up plan.

My plan is to NOT eat out for two whole weeks. I must make all my food. I know it's crazy! I know I shouldn't do it. It won't be easy.

I made a trip to Trader Joe's and the non-hippy grocery store. I have what I need for about a week or more of meals. The cats have decided to not allow me to cook for them, so they are having their normal food.

Tonight I am making pizza from scratch.

Golden ticket

2009-08-16T14:03:00.001-07:00

Do you have your golden ticket?

One Year

2009-07-27T07:33:00.000-07:00

[Click to enlarge]

I met Sarah in Kansas almost seven years ago.

We have been together since.

We were in no hurry to get married.

When the moment came, we did it.

One Year Later...

Some of the things people told me about marriage were wrong.

I did not know that my wife would want to trim my ear hair. I did not know we would argue about whether the dishwasher was ready to run or not.

Today we start our 24 hours of celebration. We got a nice, romantic place to relax, swim, and enjoy each other's company.

Cheers to our first year and to many more with the love of my life.

Have some champagne tomorrow, July 28th, and celebrate with us.

Whales, again

2009-07-20T22:22:00.000-07:00

From a fishing pier near Avila Beach, California, we saw whales feeding. These were very close! (click on pictures to see larger view)

[Whale photos by Nicki Fratus]

The sunset...

Come on By!

2009-07-19T19:50:00.000-07:00

Here on the beautiful coast of California, people seem to want to visit us more. This confirms that we are not as interesting as the places we may live. It seems that if you want to see your family and friends more often, remember the old business adage, "Location, Location, Location."

We are near the beach, have vineyards very near, and the high temperatures in the middle of the summer average 80 degrees.

We welcome all who venture near to stop by and have a visit.

Our latest visitors were our friends Nicki and Steve from Walnut Creek. They brought along their new born baby, Tony. He was not as ugly as many newborns, even a bit likable and cute. Here's a pic of the little guy:

Zoe checked him out...

Blackberry liked to play on the baby related items...

Here I am with Tony.

Ok, enough about the baby...

We went wine tasting as well.

93 Years

2009-07-05T21:14:00.000-07:00

The year: 1916, the middle of World War 1 and Germany is at war with everyone.

Monet was still painting
German's were dropping bombs from blimps on Paris
A woman was arrested for talking about birth control
Pancho Villa and 1500 Mexicans attacks New Mexico! (Yes the one here in the USA)
The light switch is invented
William Boeing starts Pacific Aero Products (Which later becomes Boeing)

In the midst of all this my Grandmother was born. 93 years later, I went to church and lunch with her! She still has a great witty sense of humor.

I.T.

2009-07-04T10:44:00.001-07:00

So you're new on the job. You are given an office with a nice view of a brick wall with trash cans scattered beside it. The only thing in the office is an old desk chair and a dusty computer. You sit down in the squeaky chair at your desk, turn on the computer and wait for it to boot up. Five minutes later, the outdated computer has loaded Windows 95 and now wants a password to login.

You know this could be trouble, but optimism is still high on your first day. You look around for a company phone directory. Posted on the wall is a notice, "If you need I.T. help with your computer, just login and go to..."

Damn!

Oh, you better watch it, think positive, you just have to call IT. It shouldn't be a problem. The phone list shows a person name Chris in the IT dept. You look around for a phone. "Why would there no be a phone in here?" You may ask. Well, IT has control of the phones as well and you have to talk to them about getting a phone.

You walk out of your office into a foreign maze of cubicles. You stop and ask the first person who makes eye contact how to find the IT department. They call the IT tech and they say to wait in your office and they'll take care of you. So you walk back to your office and wait. All your work is of course on the company server you can not access.

An hour goes by and you are about to go find someone when a small man with thick glasses walks in. He says, "move" and sits in your chair. He types in some stuff, makes some noises, then stands up and says "You're all set" and walks out.

You are into the company network now. You must create a password that is 44 symbols long using no letters in the English language, must have 2 Chinese characters, and you must change it every week. The computer you use gets slower everyday and shuts down randomly. But, hey, you don't want to have to call IT now do you?

At every job, I have had some issues with the IT dept. Sometimes it actually works out well, but so often it does not. The computer is slower after they "clean" it out and my email receives emails only on Tuesdays. It some cases I have had the IT tech say he would be back with my wireless router, then two months later I just get another job because its easier than getting IT to finish a job.

If you want to see a funny British comedy called IT Crowd go here :

http://www.dailymotion.com/related/xzwlv/video/xzwml_the-it-crowd-episode1_family?hmz=746162

Ice Cream

2009-06-20T22:12:00.000-07:00

Weekends are for many things. Some weekends are for cleaning, but not this one.

We took a long walk through the woods, walked on an ocean pier, drank some wine, ate at a new restaurant, and grilled burgers and corn.

Of course, I made some beer. But the new thing was ice cream.

In 1972, the first pocket scientific calculators got into the hands of people who had previously only had a slide rule. Don't get me wrong, I did not exist yet, but like slide rules, the hand crank ice cream maker was doomed from the beginning. Electric versions of both became the standard.

Enter me, 36 years later, at a local flea market purchasing a 1972 Waring Ice Cream Parlor for $2.50. I got a simple, quick recipe and got to making some home-made ice cream!

2 cups heavy cream (1 pint)

2 cups milk

3/4 - 1 cup sugar

1-1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1/8 tsp. salt

I added the ice and salt to the outer-ring of the mixer and set the timer for 20 minutes.

Now it's time to reap the rewards...

2009-06-15T19:06:00.000-07:00

I am baking an enchilada casserole right now. The house is smelling yummy about now.

Last week at work, I have been working hard. I dug a ditch, did some plumbing, trouble shooting a new system we use for thickening wasted solids, and computed rates we would waste solids. I climbed down a 20 foot ladder into a water tank and cleaned "muck" out of it. I got dirty! I loved it too.

The weekend was great! The weather was perfect...California perfect.

Sarah and I attended graduation for her friends at Cal Poly. After, we went to a reception at Edna Valley Vineyard. With appetizers and bottomless wine glasses, I had more Chardonnay than I should have in a day.

Saturday evening, some friends visited from Sacramento and they stayed overnight.

Sunday was a great day. We ate breakfast at a cafe here in Nipomo. Our friends drove back north towards Sacramento. Sarah and I now had the house to ourselves. We played with the cats then, like the cats, took an afternoon nap.

When the evening cam, we headed to Shell Beach, just north of Pismo Beach. We went to look for migrating whales off the coast. We sat on a cliff, looked out onto the Pacific and watched a pod of about a dozen whale mothers and their calves swim past.

Most likely we saw grey whales as they migrated north. We had binoculars and got a good look at some. We watched to group swim off as the sun set.

Box Shopping

2009-06-01T20:38:00.000-07:00

I made an error. I know what your thinking. "Not him, Tom's too cautious and thinks before he acts." Well...I had to slip sometime.

I was playing with one of our cats, Blackberry. She has a tunnel made from a cardboard box. I cut too many holes in it and now she doesn't want to play in it (That's what my wife told me). Apparently she "feels" unsafe in it now. So, I felt very, very bad about having my cat mad at me for ruining her favorite tunnel. So I kept that in mind the next time I went shopping.

I was feeling like an adventure today, so, I went to Walmart in search of vacuum cleaner filters and belt. I have one of those bagless Hoovers. The belt is starting to slip and the main filter has a hole in it. It says to change the filters every few months. I chose every few years. I checked the inventory at Walmart and found the filters and belt. I checked out the latest in vacuum cleaners as well. Holy crap, I found a standard vacuum for $46. I added up the cost of the main filter, the final HEPA filter, and belt...$42! So, I did the same thing I did when I went to buy ink for my printer...I bought a whole new vacuum instead of parts for the old one.

It wasn't easy however. I had to look at every feature of every vacuum cleaner they had. I wanted an easy to empty bagless"dirt" compartment. The Bissel Powerforce had that. It was $46, the cheapest one that was normal size for an upright. The selling point for me was the washable filters. I had gone all this way to buy filters, so naturally I liked the idea of washing the filters, just like the air filter in my Jeep. It saves you money and trouble in the long run.

Also included with this vacuum was a perfect size box for the cat to play in. She now has a tunnel that she can go in and hide...when the vacuum scares her.

Name This Plant!

2009-05-31T10:34:00.001-07:00

In a farm field near my work in Lompoc, CA, these plant are growing. I like to eat these with a bit of mayonnaise. Sarah likes these with olive oil and vinegar.

[CLICK ON PICTURES FOR LARGER VIEW]

Memorial Day

2009-05-31T08:34:00.000-07:00

After work, we left Nipomo at for Phoenix heading south on the 101. We drove along the ocean to Santa Barbara, then inland to Los Angeles. We drove east through the desert to Palm Springs, over the Colorado River, and finally into the Phoenix Valley.

As I was driving into Phoenix, several bright lights flashed in my eyes from the side of the road. It was 2 am, and I figured I was hallucinating or the "Mother Ship" had come to get me. I soon realized that in Arizona they have vehicle speed cameras, much like the red light cameras. I was going about 68 mph in a 55 zone.

We arrived in New River at 2:30 am, 570 miles and 9 hours and 30 minutes later.

At about 10 am the next day, I awoke to the sounds of birds and other farm life . I was ready for some coffee; It was ready for the drinking. Mmmm...just what I needed.

Sitting outside I could see mountains covered with cacti and other desert flora. The area around the house had some interesting decorations.

In the backyard, was the strangest camping trailer I have ever seen. It's called a TAB.

Here on the farm, there are many animals. Outside, there are 2 horses, 2 farm dogs, a poodle, and 9 chickens.

Inside, there is another dog (who survived an owl attack), and a bunch of alien looking hairless cats.

On Saturday, I drove to Phoenix and visited my Dad. We did some Father/Son stuff like repairing a clothes dryer. He lives in a beautiful house filled with cats.

The big event came on the night we had mud-oven pizza and homebrewed beer. Sarah's Aunt built the oven from things found in the desert near the house.

The oven was heated up for three hours and then the cooking started. Pizza after pizza was baked. Each one was better that the last. It was all so yummy!

(The picture does not do it justice)

I didn't want the weekend to stop. We left for home on Monday afternoon. We hit holiday traffic in Palm Springs. It lasted for a little over an hour, then we got moving again. We watched the sun set in the smog of L.A. We drove though Hollywood on our way home. The cats were very happy to see us get home. I was happy to get home.

Well, now back to the daily grind.

Best Beer in the World!

2009-05-20T17:25:00.001-07:00

This has been a good week so far, and it should only get better. While I am suffering from a cold, I am above it.

Work has been very interesting. At my job, we are starting up a new wastewater plant around the antiquated or old plant. One plant is complex enough, but starting up and running two at the same time is challenging. I love it! I am running all around the plant checking this and that. The computer control system says one thing but in the field it may be different. The best part, aside from the challenge, is that I am on almost equal footing with the experienced guys. At this new plant, they about as much as me when it comes to operating it. For example, I had heated discussions with experienced co-workers about how to operate a system within the new plant. I was trained on it. I started it up and showed them what we all had learned in training. Then they said, "Fine, then you run it" and they walked away. So I operated this unit for the day until it was operating well enough to run on its' own. I enjoy interacting with the engineers and solving issues as they come up.

To top off a good day at work, I shared my latest home-brewed beer with the wife. I designed a mild Scottish Red for our trip to Arizona. She is reluctant to taste my many concoctions (with good reason), but bravely tried it. She took a sip and said, "That is the best beer in the world!" Well, at least that is what I heard. She claims that she said, "That is the best beer you have brewed." Whatever, same difference.

This week, we planted some tomato and thyme plants.

Finally, we are off to New River, Arizona tomorrow for a weekend at Sarah's Aunt's. It is in the desert where humans are not made to live. The only thing out there is coyotes and people who like to watch them chase roadrunners.

We will be treated to mud-oven baked pizza and live entertainment (me). We will drink homebrew, eat, and be merry. It seems more like a retreat than some one's home. I will visit my Dad as well in the Phoenix valley.

Only one more day of work...

Trader Joe's and The Drive-In

2009-05-08T22:54:00.000-07:00

It was a week of firsts.

It was the first time Sarah and I went shopping at Trader Joe's. I know, we are behind the times. We just aren't the type for "hippie" foods, or so we thought. My problem has always been that the food is "weird" and the prices are higher at these type of natural foods. But, maybe I have loosened up on this idea that natural foods are "hippie" foods...maybe. The chocolate lava cakes we got made everything ok.

Date night was Friday night. I surprised Sarah with something neither of us had done.

We went to a drive-in movie!

We saw the new X-Men movie at The Sunset Drive-in in San Luis Obispo.
Now that was COOL! Sarah loved it, which means I did too. We had nachos, hot dogs and soda pops. The movie was great and so was the sound. We turned the radio to the 100.7 and watched...

We will do this again.

Oh, if you are wondering, that's a 58 Edsel.

Top of the World

2009-05-03T18:27:00.000-07:00

A co-worker and I took an adventure today. I went to a near-bye mountain called Figueroa. It is in the central Los Padres National Forest. It has camping, trails, and some nice views of the valley below. On the California coastal range, this is the top of the world, at 5000 feet.

An abandoned fire lookout:

We met some mountain folk who liked to horse around...

Wash and Maybe Dry

2009-04-18T18:25:00.000-07:00

There are reasons that women do the laundry and other household chores. NOT because it's a woman's duty to cook, clean, and do the laundry. If I thought that way, I would join a cult where people agree with me. I have never had the luxury to think this way, even now that I have a bride.

The reason some women do the laundry or clean is because the men are NOT doing it right...In the their eyes at least.

You see, I just can't figure out what clothes of my wife's I am supposed to put into the dryer after they are washed. OK, some things Sarah has told me NEVER are to be dried. Things that are delicate or have under-wire in them. The trouble is that there seems to always be an exception to the rule. In the case of bras, I never dry them.

Delicates? Crap, I don't know what that even means. I am a man who has never owned anything "delicate" much less can identify any.

It is these "grey" areas were I get into trouble. In the case of her shirts (or whatever they are called), I dry some but not others. I am to hang them on the drying rack instead of the tumble dryer. No problem if the items were easy to identify. There are shirts of all colors, some with strings, straps, lace, and of course, they all seem delicate! What about colors? Is it light or dark? Khaki is what again?

I have the simple answer, besides her doing her own laundry...

Just hang out to dry everything she owns?

NOPE, can't do that because some things she likes dried with those dryer sheets that magically take all bad things away.

I do hang up any article in question. Sometimes that means there are things hanging all over the house. I know I am not alone because when I am at other male friends houses I find woman's' clothes hanging about. You might think they are the same types of articles, but no, this woman has her own things she must have hung to dry.

Just like her Dad and all other dads, I will dry something that should not have been dried. She will tell me I am in idiot and ask me why I dried her $200 diamond studded cashmere khaki blouse and made it so small the cat can't wear it.

Since neither of us love to do laundry, I'll probably still be doing her laundry as often as she does mine...

...but risking life and limb every time I make a decision about what to put into the dryer and what to hang up to dry. Wish me luck.

2009-04-17T19:30:00.000-07:00

I have been brewing about one bach of beer a month. The latest (pictured) is a scottish ale.

Sarah and I have been invited to a ranchhouse in the Arizona desert for some home cooking. They said, "We'll make the wood-fired pizza, you make the beer." So, I am making a yummy amber ale for this event. Apparently, it takes about month to build a mud/brick oven. Same time it takes to make the beer.

-Beer is the answer, I just can't remember the question.

Zoe the Grim Reaper

2009-04-01T19:11:00.000-07:00

If you have a PC, then you know of the blue screen of death. It is what happens when the computer has a nervous breakdown and can't function. I can't cause the blue screen on purpose myself, but my cat that can't open a cat food can herself, does.

Only one thing can cause this...Zoe, the Grim Reaper...

"NOW PET ME HUMAN!"

Wedding is Official!

2009-04-01T18:53:00.000-07:00

This has been a surprising month for us. We got the long awaited California state tax refund and...our wedding pictures and albums are here!

Everything surpassed our expectations (except how long it took). I can't wait until we have room to put up all these incredible pictures of my beautiful bride.

Some of you reading this will receive albums from us soon.

What??? A calendar of Sarah and I?

Photos, albums, and cat:

And finally, this is the picture that I can't stop looking at...(Click to enlarge)

Man at Work

2009-03-27T21:05:00.001-07:00

During construction of the plant, I wear the hat and vest.

Wife is NOT Roommate

2009-03-26T17:39:00.001-07:00

Did you know that having a roommate is NOT the same as having a wife.?

You see, in the past, I have had several roommates. I have had some great roomies and some not so great. My best friend, Justin, and I were roommates without much issue at all. In fact Justin and I had a third roommate that changed the locks on the door when we left his VCR on!

So, a roommate is someone that you are around but don't really have to like. In most cases I did like my roomies, but not always. When I didn't like my roommates, we had separate rooms and lives. Simply, we only had to interact once in a while.

It is not the same with a wife. You could do that, but you might not want to. Unlike a roommate, you have to communicate often. If you have an argument, you don't go to another room and slam the door. You now share a room. So, when you want to get away, it's not that easy.

In many ways, Sarah and I are like roommates. We have fun together, share the bills, and work at keeping the house tidy. We eat Chinese food, watch TV, and hang out together.

It is tough at times. When I just want to be alone, we share a bed. It is not the kind of thing to take lightly. When you share a bed with your spouse, you have to figure it out. I have gone to bed angry, always about stupid things like money. It sucks laying in bed next to someone you don't want to talk to, much less touch.

I realized that someone was right when they said "Never go to bed angry." They didn't say with your spouse, but now I know that is what they meant. We are very happy, but like roommates, we have our times when things just ain't so fun.

It seems that we are starting to understand this a little more. It's not so much marriage as it is close-quarters cohabitation. No matter what, I have to come home and be with my wife/roomie.

No one said it would be easy, but no one said it would be this much fun either!

Poodle Sitters

2009-03-21T20:19:00.000-07:00

Sarah and I are poodle sitting tonight. The neighbors asked us to watch thier dog, Cosmo, while they attended a soccer tourney. Below is Cosmo and Sarah.

And the Reward:

For Sicker or Poorer

2009-03-17T22:10:00.001-07:00

My wife said to me tonight, "Why didn't you fart like this before I married you!"

How to Ruin a Pizza

2009-03-17T21:46:00.000-07:00

It's hard to do...ruin a pizza, and I did it.

Pizza is so simple, anyone can do it!

I had the pizza crust, fresh mozzarella, pepperoni, and sauce. Well, actually we had left over sauce from spaghetti. That's the same thing as pizza sauce right? Sure, it's all just tomato sauce.

I was sure that Sarah wouldn't even notice. I'll just put a whole bunch of cheese and pepperoni and it will be great!

It came out of the oven nice and crisp from the pizza stone. It looked YUMMY!

Sarah took one bite and said "This is spaghetti sauce!" She ate only a few bites and left the slices for the cats.

Apparently it is not the same a pizza sauce. Spaghetti sauce may look, smell, have the same seasonings, but it is definitively NOT pizza sauce!

I have been banned from making pizza, for life.

[This will go well with my ban on making chinese food and salads that have more than three ingredients.]

Sunday

2009-03-08T21:10:00.000-07:00

Today was a great day with the local brew club. We learned a bit about flavors and smells in beer. Sometimes beer can have "off flavors" and it is good to recognize these when brewing your own. A funny thing about it was that Rolling Rock beer was used as an example of dimethyl Sulfide. The beer has a different flavor, that most beers do not. Apparently drinkers of Rolling Rock like this because when Anheuser-Busch bought the company and fixed the brewery so no "off" flavors were produced, customers complained. The dimethyl sulfide was then returned somehow to the process. This month was Irish style beer month at the club meeting, so I got to try all sorts of smoky flavored beers.

As you may have read, I have been reading the Jenna Jameson autobiography. It is a decent read, but I found it to be far too predictable and even a bit of a let down. If I would have guessed the background of a porn star, it would be just like hers. She came from a difficult childhood with no "real" parental support. She chose a bad man, got heavily into drugs, became a stripper, and viola...a porn star is born. Of course along the way she thinks she is choosing it all to make a better life for herself, but really just did most things because she had low self esteem. Oh well, she's fine now, I think. I guess I just wanted to hear her side of the story.

So, back to the beer subject. I will soon be submitting some of my homebrews in a local contest...Next the WORLD!!! (cue evil laugh)

Truth is Stranger Than Fiction

2009-03-04T08:47:00.000-08:00

My name is Tom and I am a non-fiction junky. I am sure I have read over a hundred. If it is reported to be interesting, and the person who did something interesting wants to tell the story, then I want to hear it.

Autobiographies and mostly-true stories, these are what I live for. I prefer first hand accounts. I have an affinity for non-fiction and prefer it to fiction. I am not sure why I care what Lance Armstrong was thinking while riding up a hill in the Tour de France. Why Do I care what inspires other people? I don't know why I like story after story of what makes a person who they are. Am I looking for an insight or "secret" to life? I don't know.

For some reason, I just like reading and hearing stories about peoples experiences in life. I have read the story of a black woman who got a law degree at Harvard and said the whole Harvard thing was a joke. I continue to read fishing stories of men in pursuit of wild trout.
(Note: Many do not think fishing stories are non-fiction or any actual form of literature)

In high school I had a great class, Multicultural Literature. The instructor was a passionate Latina who showed us a whole new group of authors that I had never heard of. People from all walks of life and various cultures that had interesting stories. For an impressionable white boy from a small town, these stories of a growing up in a barrio or ghetto were incredible. The stories of people surviving war, famine, rape, and near death really grabs a hold of me, still to this day.

When I look at my bookshelf, I have many books on many subjects. Most are non-fiction. I do like some fiction such as Michael Crichton, Mark Twain, or the Harry Potter series.

I have read some stories that possibly changed my life. The book "Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou and "A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier" by Ishmael Beah.

Some I read just because I wondered who these people "really" are. For example, the autobiographies from Tony Hawk, Lance Armstrong, Dog the Bounty Hunter, or Chef Gordon Ramsey. When you read Gordon Ramsey's book, you will see why he is the way he is.

I read books to peer into other cultures or places I would otherwise never be able to. People such as Richard Wright and Ernesto Galarz's "Barrio Boy" opened my eyes.

Some books are because of an interest in science. A book by Richard Feynman gave me humorous insight a physicists' mind and the making of the first hydrogen bombs. An untold story written by two astronauts "Two Sides of the Moon", told the tale of the space race to the moon by the USA and Russia.

Sometimes I go on a tangent of topics like sports or Mt. Everest. I read four or five books by people who had climbed and survived Mt. Everest. I even got DVD's on Everest. I think Sarah thought I was going to take off and go the mountain. These stories of exceptional endurance and not giving up are great reads to me. The best book I read about climbing Mt. Everest was "Left for Dead" by Beck Weathers.

I just ordered two new non-fiction titles.

The first one I just couldn't help myself, retired porn star Jenna Jameson's "How to Make Love Like a Porn Star: A Cautionary Tale." Complete with lovely pictures of her. The second book is "The Ice Opinion" by Law and Order actor Ice T. He talks about where he came from, gangs in L.A., politics, and other topics. I somehow find this stuff interesting.

Maybe I just like to read.

Poo Plant Diary: Week 4

2009-03-02T19:56:00.000-08:00

I knew today would be an interesting day at the poo plant when I heard on NPR that global warming protesters would be out in a snowstorm in D.C. Irony you might say.

This was a basic Monday. Most people were in a bad mood, and I just starting finding things to do. At some point one of my coworkers told the secretary that she had the air conditioning too cold and people were getting sick because of it. Oh boy, that started a day long fuss about who is changing the settings and who should be. The conversation was brought up on our two way radios for all to hear. This led to an impromptu "safety" meeting about how people can get sick at work.

I am not in the building long enough to care. If it's hot, I leave. If it's cold, I have a jacket. This stupid issue was carried throughout the day. When the secretary left, she was said something about how difficult it was to work here.

I am starting to settle in at the new job. I actually have been sent to do various tasks around the plant on my own. I am not aloud to make any changes to the plant or process without direct supervision. I work in teams and on my own.

Today, my boss said there was a "grease log" at the influent headworks (where the poop comes in the plant). In a sewage system there is grease, oils, and other things that are sticky and float. This crap can build up in pipes leading up to the plant and then form a large plug, partially blocking the flow of the pipe, much like a clogged artery. Anyways, it turned out to be no big deal. We broke it up with high pressure water hoses and went about normal business.

It's easy to be humble when a mixture of hose water and sewage splashes you in the face. You quickly learn to keep your mouth shut while doing these things.

NASA Taurus XL OCO Mission Launch(Failure)

2009-02-24T18:07:00.001-08:00

Unsuccessful

2009-02-24T17:36:00.000-08:00

The rocket launch last night was great, but the outcome was not. Read the story and see video here.

We watched an incredible sight of the rocket lifting off and going up, up, and way up. The sound was great! It was spectacular! We say the first and second stage separation, and then it was out of site at our location. We soon found out the the final separation of the metal fairing holding the space vehicle did not open. It plummeted to the antarctic ocean.

My own video tape of the launch proved a failure. I have nothing but other peoples video and pics to show you all...

Rocket Launch

2009-02-23T21:05:00.000-08:00

Tonight while you are sleeping, Sarah and I will be looking to the sky as another rocket launches at Vandenburg Air Force Base. The last time a launch happened, it was cancled, then when they did launch it, we missed it.

So, we try again to see a launch go off. This launch is a smaller 4-stage rocket which will deliver a scientific instrument to measure the atmospheric carbon dioxide. Click here to read more about it.

Married 1.0

2009-02-20T23:23:00.000-08:00

No Comment...

Death, Taxes, and Cats Laying On Laptops

2009-02-16T20:25:00.000-08:00

It's tax time. I know this because I'm staring at documents that make no sense to me, no matter how many beers I drink. -- Dave Barry

Ahhh, the joys of arranging stacks of 1099's, w-2's, forms 8889, 8880, 8917, and 1040 (with schedule B and D of course). All this crap sent from the many jobs, banks, and various other sources of taxable income. They say it's the digital age! I lay it all out on the floor, organize it, start a spreadsheet to tally up our data, and then come the attention-starved Feline Buzzards of the vast and boring house...

As you know, you can never attract only one buzzard to the tax carcass...

It is hard enough to even start doing this excruciating task, but add the cats and soon I was playing with feathers and catnip toys and forgot whatever it was I was doing. And yes, I did take a lofty deduction for cat-interference.

...24 hours later, I finally completed the taxes for our first joint return. It was interesting doing both Sarah and my taxes this time. She has many things that I have never seen before. I think I got it all worked out, mostly due to the fact she had last years return to aid me. It looks like Uncle Sam has been robbing us blind this year! Thanks to all the losses in stocks, investment funds, high costs of school, we will get a decent refund.

Regarding our home state of California: Uncle Schwarzenegger ain't paying anything...unless I send my ferocious tax cats to collect...

Valentine's Day

2009-02-15T21:42:00.000-08:00

Wondering what we did for February 14th? This is all you need to know...
(click on picture to enlarge and drool)

2009-02-08T20:09:00.000-08:00

A week has gone at the new job. The week went fast. Things seem to be going well. I look forward to the next week.

This weekend, there was a break in the rain, so we went to see the Elephant Seal colony just north of here (see video below). It was fun seeing those huge, randy animals mating. There were new babie seals (pups) everywhere.

Elephant Seal Orgy

2009-02-08T17:18:00.001-08:00

2009-02-05T19:17:00.000-08:00

While my chicken Currie is simmering, I thought I might type up a little blurb here.

The new job is going great. It is not a job for people who think about germs as a "bad" thing, don't like rain, panic easily, or don't like sick humor. I must not mind all this since I only think of this when I am telling others what it is like.

Today was a muddy mess, but a good day. I got rain gear, which was much needed since it rained all day. I was mentored by a different person today. He was eccentric but the best trainer I have had. I realized today that I am not intimidated by the wastewater plant as much as I thought I would be.

We had a safety meeting today that comprised of me signing my name, hearing gossip, then leaving. Unlike my last job, they have Internet and server access on a thing called a computer. We had a seminar today about a chemical pump system that will be used in the new plant. After the overview, we went out to physically check it out. The company who was installing it tried to show us how it worked, but the city plant workers noticed right away something was wrong. They found a valve closed nearby that was very important to the system functioning. It keeps us on our toes. As this new plant is being constructed around us, we will do our best to keep an eye on the functionality of what will be left for us to operate.

When I was out doing plant checks or rounds, I found water bubbling up from a gravel road. I called another operator over and he asked me if it was hot water. I touched it and it was warm. Apparently the construction crew had crushed a pipe. I even got a compliment from the operator today when he said, "At least they didn't hire an idiot."

At home, Sarah is having a tough time with her classes. She studies all the time. We have been trying to watch a rocket launch from the local Air Force base, but they keep postponing it and now the weather is bad. So, it is not likely we will see one launch for a month or so.

Well today is Sarah's Friday and tomorrow is my first Friday at this new job.

2009-02-04T17:30:00.000-08:00

Last nights rocket launch was scrubbed just before lauch. So, we may be out there again tonight.

2:22 am

2009-02-03T20:07:00.001-08:00

What are you doing tonight at 2:22 am?

Watching a Delta 2 rocket launch from Vandenburg Air Force Base? Me too.

Here is a site about it...Click here

Poo Plant Diary: Day 2

2009-02-03T17:31:00.000-08:00

Day two at the poo plant was a bit more interesting.

Of course we had our usual breaks every two hours and then an ice cream break, but I actually participated in dirty work today. I assisted in the inspection and repair of a part covered in poo. We replaced some parts and tightened others. I was the "gopher" for tools and holding the ladder. I had to get some wrenches twice since they were dropped into the aeration basin we were working in. I even used a pipe wrench, twice!

After lunch, a low pressure alarm for the plant water system buzzed. I threw on my hard hat* and safety glasses and followed the operator in charge of me, Brian. We went to the site of the water tank and checked all the pumps. We radioed the boss. He radioed the construction boss. They radioed us. No one hit a pipe and no one knew where the water was going. After running all around looking for water, we found out two tanks were being filled by the construction crew. They talked about telling us, but didn't think it would impact the system. We reset everything that needed to be and what do you know it was time for the daily meeting. Nothing was discussed that I can repeat here, and certainly nothing useful was done here.

For the last half hour of the day, I took a nice walk around the plant. I looked at the new parts of the plant (Not online), since they contrast the old plant so well. I walked through each area and each building trying to trace the water or other products as they go through the system. I got to know her a little more, since it will be my home for a while.

Tomorrow, I have SCADA training. This is the computer control system that the plant will use to monitor the plant. It would have helped us today in identifying where the water was going. Most of these guys have never seen it. I can't wait to be involved in the start-up as it happens.

*Since the plant is being completely upgraded, the entire area is a construction zone. We are required to wear hardhats, safety glasses, and yellow vests during this.

Poo Plant Diary: Day 1

2009-02-02T17:44:00.000-08:00

Today I started a new job.

I work for a city on the central coast of California at a wastewater (Poo) plant. As, you may know, I had previously worked at a wastewater plant in the lab. This time things are not so, lets say, "sterile". I am an Operator in Training.

I have never worked in a labor union or city type of atmosphere. I noticed that things are different. The biggest thing I noticed was that people all took breaks at set times throughout the day. I am not used to this. Lunch can be the exception, but even then I commonly took lunch when there was a break in the work I was doing. the fifteen minute breaks were never really a big issue for me, unless I was working hard. To these people, a break every two hours is the way it is.

Here is what happened on my first day...

Day 1
8 am: I arrived at the plant, met my supervisor then, toured offices.
8:30 am: An Operator, Pete, showed me around some of the the plant.
9:30 am: Pete took me to a store to buy hard hat and safety/sun glasses (city paid $50)
10 am: break
10:15 am: Drove to town 30 miles away and got steel toe boots (city paid $150)
11:20 am: Stopped at Mexican restaurant and had tacos for lunch
12:15 pm: Arrived back at plant and the boss told Pete and I to go to lunch. I just had lunch, but Pete seamed like another lunch would be nice, so he went to the break-room. I walked around outside.
1 pm: More touring of the plant, got picture taken for city ID card.
2 pm: Break
2:20 pm: Took a tour final outfall or where the treated water goes to a creek.
2:50 pm: Attended a daily meeting for maintenance and operation staff. A bunch of yelling, cussing, and figuring out what got done and needs to be done. A lot of goofing around, including jokes about farting. On the up side, it lasted only ten minutes.
3 pm: Another meeting, this one was for me. My boss and I went over a list of basic items I need to complete as a new employee.
4 pm: Gone home

The plant is being completely upgraded and redesigned. If you are interested in reading more about this plant, the website is here. I am happy that I am with this team at a time when change is "king" and the old guys are crying about this new system. I thrive on absorbing all the new stuff! At the same time, I have to learn the old "hands on" with the old plant and equipment.

24

2009-01-28T16:39:00.000-08:00

Tick-tock... tick-tock...the minutes are counting down as I have only 24 hours left at my current place of ill-employment. My days of hydrocarbon testing are done, for now.

I am leaving the "poisoned" attitudes behind. Good thing too, I was just starting to run out of all the things I needed to do my job! I gave my two-day notice yesterday and had my exit interview today. The HR gal asked me questions like, "What are the top three reasons you are leaving the company?" Uhmmm...I don't want to die! Well, I did come up with some short answers, but I tried to leave it behind without making a big deal about it. Companies like this get what's coming to them. The county is currently changing it's "laws" to be able to regulate "Gross Polluters" and other companies like this one.

So, I am moving on. I have to go in tomorrow to work, but I don't have any projects to work on. The last day at places is always strange. I don't see things the same. I will probably go and say goodbye to some of the guys. One person in particular, a fella named Nate, he started the same day as I did. We went through company orientation together. He also just gave his notice to leave the company to take a job with the state transportation department, Cal-Trans. He leaves this Friday. We almost made it through the probation period, but in this case the company didn't last it's own probationary period.

Goodbye...

...to a company that has a blank web site
...to a company that spills more than babies
...to a company that when you look it up on the Internet, you say WTF!
...to a company that never noticed I was there

I guess, when they hand me my final check, I'll just go.

Now here is a salute to this "great" company:

Why Me?

2009-01-25T10:50:00.000-08:00

Not again!

It seems that no matter where I go, I get summoned for Jury Duty. I have been called several times over the last several years. I am lucky, however, that I have not actually had to go. I always have to plan that I am going, then it's cancelled at the last minute.

Well, I just got a new summons for Feb. 2nd.

I think it will be funny that as soon as I start a new job, I may have to take time off for Jury Duty.

4 day weekend

2009-01-22T16:11:00.000-08:00

I am starting a four day weekend today! Woo Hoo! I have been working 8 days straight, so it's my time to relax.

I am on the cusp of starting a new job at a wastewater plant. I have my health physical tomorrow. This seems to be the final thing I have to do to get the job. I am not sure what day I'll start, but it should be soon.

I won't miss my old job too much.

Yesterday, I told my current boss, "It would be easier for me to get a new job than to get the supplies I need to do this one." He laughed.

A bunch of SLOB's

2009-01-11T22:15:00.000-08:00

What do you call 25 guys and gals who stand around drinking and talking about beer?

Some call them SLOB's! In fact they call themselves SLOBs or San Luis Obispo Brewers.

I recently attended my first meeting with this loose-knit group of home-brewers. As you may know, I have been brewing beer in my kitchen for the last six months. I can't stop. I have brewed a few good batches now and thought this would be a good way to share and get some input about my beer.

So, I packed up a few of my latest Imperial Pale Ale bottles and hit the road.

All I can say is that this little "meeting" was both a dream and a nightmare. I had some brews that I loved like a nice Dopplebock and Strawberry Mead. Mead is a honey based brew that is light and pleasant to drink. This one was fruity and similar to champagne. I also had some that just made me say, "Whoa, that's interesting" like the sour Belgium beers. Others, like the very strong Russian Imperial Stouts helped me realize some things I may not like.

I shared my pale ale with the group and they actually did not spit it up and tell me not bring anymore. I received a couple of compliments even. One guy said, "Well, I don't smell or taste anything wrong..." and another said, "What hops did you use?" I take these as compliments since they didn't give me hints about how to brew better or say "Why does your brew taste like dirty socks?"

This was one interesting social group or maybe subculture would be more descriptive. I expected people to talk about their beer in detail then serve us. Each tasting taking five to ten minutes. I expected a formal tasting type of setting, not unlike a wine tasting.

I was wrong. I showed up to Doc's Cellar brew shop and was told to fetch a cup and help my self to a brew on tap in the fridge. The meeting started with us organizing the order of brews to be presented, like at a wine tasting when they serve the light whites to the bold reds. However, unlike a wine tasting, these guys did NOT have a place to pour out any drinks, like a spit bucket. These guys drank, it seems, everything! I did not.

So we started with a nice German pilsner lager and then it got weird fast. The theme was spiced brews for the winter season, so we had many strange concoctions, including pumpkin spiced ale.
Anyways, I tasted 23 types of beers*. The first ten I drank freely, but then I realized I was getting a bit sauced or light on my feet. The remaining beer I had to just sip and then pour out the rest. I should have said "NO" at some point, but I hatted to miss even one.

The final drink I had was something called Barley Wine. It is a strong type of beer that is aged for a year or so. I don't think I'll ever want to make any, but it sure was uhmm...interesting.

After some time and a cigar, I headed home to a wife that won't want to kiss me for a few hours.

*Below is the list of brews served:

Cider - Dave
Pilsner - Chris
German Hefeweizen - Russell
American Red Ale (Hallertauer hops) - Eric B.
American Red Ale (Chinook and Amarillo hops) - Eric B.
Dopplebock - Andy
Imperial Pale Ale - Tom J.
Belgian Strong Ale - Mike
Strawberry Mead - Daryl
Spiced Ales - hosted by Jason
Belgian Grand Cru - Ken
Spiced Vanilla Ale - JJ and Scott
Spiced Ale - Eric V.
Oaked Spiced Ale - Richie
Chocolate Coconut Porter - Chris
Pumpkin Ale - Jason
Heather Ale - Jason
Gruit - Jason
Russian Imperial Stout - Russell
Russian Imperial Stout - Ken
Barleywine - Dave
Barrel Project - Jason

Picnic at the Beach

2009-01-10T22:30:00.001-08:00

***NOTE***
The song I used has been silenced by "the man", so enjoy it in peace.
If the video below stops working, please leave a comment so I can fix it. Thanks

Photos Essay of Work

2009-01-10T19:53:00.000-08:00

Below are photos I have taken at my work recently. The inside pictures are of the laboratory where I work. The outside photos are of the refinery and oil pumps nearbye.

Christmas 2008

2009-01-05T21:24:00.000-08:00

Our left-leaning Christmas Tree!

Below, Blackberry is in our new picnic basket!

Sarah is young at heart and loves to color, so I got her some crayons and a coloring book...

Sarah got me this beer brewing book. It has recipes for things like Smoked Habanero Beer and other crazy things. I love it.

The cats also got some gifts...

And finally we had a great Christmas dinner with ham, scalloped potatoes, stuffing, and green beans with chestnuts.

115 to 1

2009-01-02T00:07:00.000-08:00

Odds, luck, or maybe even skill can provide you with great things that happen, and not so great. Sometimes I have been lucky. Sometimes life just bites me in the ass.

When I moved out here to the Central Coast of California, I thought getting a decent job would not be difficult. Wrong. This area has people driving to work here from all over, even two hours away, one way. The demand for a "good" job out here is more than I knew it would be. Some people say it's the economy. I just know I am here now and this seems to be how it is.

Before Sarah and I moved down here to Nipomo, CA, I was applying for work. I elicited the help of head hunters, posted my resume on any site I could find, and talked to people-who-might-know-people in the area. I received phone calls and even offers for pre-employment testing and interviews.

When you apply for a job you consider that a couple of people have also applied. You figure at least one person is as qualified as yourself. This is both a survival and logical idea. You actually have no real facts to base this on. You are only guessing about your "competitors." I am smart enough, have some experience, but what I really rely on is my interpersonal skills. I interview well, as long as I don't say something too stupid, which I have.

I was recently selected for a job from 115 applicants. That's 115 to 1 odds. I applied, then took a test, then interviewed. When I found out how many took the pre-employment, I all but counted myself out. It's funny because I also interviewed for another job with less applicants that I was more qualified for, but did not get the job.

That is the "humor" in life. You get the yin, then the yang. You get the bad, then good. It's strange how it's always been this way. You find the love of your life, then your dog dies.

I saw Marley and Me, the recent book made into a movie. It's great example of how you from such happiness to feeling such great loss. Everyday is really like this. When my brother passed away in January of 2001, my sister just gave birth to her first child. Our calendar in January is marked with a death next to a birthday.\
\

So, at the same time the odds may be in my favor, there is always something after that which balances it all out. I don't think of it as good and evil or anything that deep. I think I just try to get passed it and go on the what's next. Hopefully the next thing is better.

It's like winning $1 on a $1 lottery ticket...what's the chance?

Maybe 115 to 1.

New Years

2008-12-29T19:37:00.000-08:00

Sarah and I had a great Christmas. We have Christmas tree with a slight lean to the left. It is nicely decorated. After New Years the house will no longer smell like pine. I'll miss the smell.

We stayed home with the cats. We opened gifts, ate sausage rolls, drank champagne, and enjoyed a relaxing day. We cooked a traditional California ham dinner.

For New Years eve, my sister is driving up with her family from San Diego. I can't wait to see my niece and nephew.

I have been waiting to see about another job. I have been offered a position at a wastewater plant, as an operator in training. I am negotiating the salary now. In pay, it is a step back, but within one year I'll be making what I typically make. After two years I can be making much more. It is a path to a line of work I enjoy. I like the problem solving nature and reliability of the job. The only way in is to start at the bottom, but I can quickly, in two years, be making a nice living, even doubling the first years salary.

The negative is the timing of this opportunity. Sarah and I are tight on cash now, and then I choose to change jobs at less than $20 an hr...I am not sure if I'm crazy, but I just can't keep working for this small oil company that is slowing corroding away. I have to change. When I go to work there are the simplest things that make me worry having a job tomorrow. Everything is falling apart at the refinery. I can't get things I need. Everyone around me struggles to solve problems with no resources. The company is on the news often for spilling oil down creeks, etc. This is one of those companies that will be left off of the resume, sadly.

Despite all the negatives, I have had a good experience at the Santa Maria refinery. I learned a lot of things I did not know and met some great people. They keep the refinery going every day with "duct tape and wire" as they say.

Look for me making a transition soon. I am looking forward to a new work environment. I think I've been alone in the lab too long.

Feliz Navidad de Pollo???

2008-12-22T17:23:00.000-08:00

Twas two days before Christmas when I heard a knock at the door. The cats scattered about as I descended the stairs. I flung the door open and no one was around, but a box that said Chicken Pack lying on the ground!

I took it inside to see what it could be, since no one sends chicken instead of candy.

To my surprise I did find inside, CHICKEN! I mean LOTS of it.

I had Blackberry check it out to make sure it was safe to eat.

51 Gourmet breasts!

That's right.

There are several types including Cordon Bleu, which I like!

Thanks Helen and Bill!

In-laws...Some send me champagne, others chicken.

I had to clear out the freezer.

Here's before:

And after putting the chicken in:

Feliz Navidad de Pollo!

Two Cats and a Man

2008-12-20T17:19:00.000-08:00

Here I am sitting on my lazy boy chair after work. It's peaceful and quiet except for the rain, cats meowing, and my stomach growling.

I can't stop the rain, but I can take care of the other two items. Sarah is out of town for the week, so I can do what ever I want!

First, the cats need to be walked. Normally I let them into the back yard for their half hour of play in the yard, just like prison. After the cats got some fresh air, we came inside for dinner.

I spooned out some wet cat food for each of the cats. Since Mommy wasn't home to make up rules like, "Cat's aren't allowed to eat on the counter!" the cats ate in style...

Let's see, now I need something to eat. I took a look in the fridge and freezer and didn't see anything that peaked my interest. Hmm, I did see birthday cake. What would go well with cake? I know, I nice homebrewed English ale. Ahhh, dinner is served...

Now thats a good dinner!

The cats snuggled up while I did some chores around the house.

"I Lost My Office!"

2008-12-09T17:42:00.000-08:00

A funny thing happened this week at my work...

The word on the street was that the main offices of our company would be moved from the oil fields to the refinery, where I am. Not exactly welcome to the old timers who like the peace and quiet, but I don't care either way. A new building will be added to the current offices. Part of the plans were to remodel the current administration offices to accommodate the new group. This is were the interesting part is.

Last Friday, a crew showed up and started gutting and tearing the office interior apart. They started in the hallways, and the workers in each office kept working. Soon, the dust from the deconstruction was too much, so they wore dust masks as they worked. We even gave the construction crew dust masks to wear.

Everyone went home Friday night.

Monday Morning was when things went bad! The deconstruction laborers had worked all weekend tearing the place up. My plant supervisor came into the lab were I was working and said, "I lost my office!" I looked at him quizzically. It seems they filled his office with doors, desks, and various parts of the building. Apparently our main office forgot to tell our office workers that they should go on vacation for a week or two during the remodel.

Now if this was me, I might get a little pissed off with someone. If I had no warning that I would not be able to work, then I might have some words to share with someone.

My boss, the plant supervisor, is very different from me, and rightfully so. He has been there thirty years and is only a couple years from retirement. So, he just lets things happen and waits for his retirement.

The office secretary has lost her desk and was seen wondering around the plant today.

The plant supervisor has not been seen since early Monday morning when he lost his office.

The Week of Surprises

2008-12-07T18:12:00.000-08:00

This coming week holds a few interesting possibilities for me.

I have two job interviews. I do already have one, but lets say I am looking for more.

My current job leaves a lot to be desired.

I am interviewing for a wastewater plant operator for a city, then the other is a wastewater laboratory analyst, grade 2, with a county.

My current job is one strange place.

I was hired with the title "Chemist", yet I am a materials strength technician more than anything. The job description for the position said "Must have experience with common organic laboratory instruments such as HPLC, GC/MS..."...WHICH THEY HAVE NONE OF! No problem, I like learning new stuff. Of course, I didn't take this job because I was going to make a career of it.

Anyways, I am looking forward to a new job in a new city.

Married Life

2008-11-30T12:16:00.000-08:00

I was in the shower just now (TMI?) when I realized I have been married now for over 4 months. Wow, how the time flies. One minute I am in a tux watching Sarah walk down the aisle... then next I am in Maui...and now it's been over 120 days.

All my life I have been preparing for this horrible transition to married life. As a kid, I learned about marriage by watched the Honeymooners, I love Lucy, Married with Children, and the Cosby Show.

Like any relationship, we each have our roles. These roles can change, and they do constantly.

I have settled into my duties that comes with being a roommate, or in my case, married. Just like a roommate situation, you each have to do certain things to maintain the status quo. We each share many of the daily tasks like dishes and feeding the cats. Some tasks one of us hates, so the other person takes it upon themselves to do that task all the time. We each have started to find our own unique groove.

My "groove" involves certain tasks that I don't mind doing. I commonly find myself doing any fixing of things, moving heavy objects, trash, kitty litter, toilet cleaning, and for some reason, vacuuming. Sarah tends to do the laundry more often than me, cleans the kitchen, and the bathroom counters and mirrors. She also keeps things less cluttered than me. I like large piles of crap scattered throughout the house. She prefers things in their places. I think the piles are their places!

We haven't really talked about all of these jobs we perform independently. When one of us does not perform their usual duties, then the other just takes up the slack. Normally this is not done with much fuss, but we do have our days where I test Sarah's patience with a large pile of clothes on the floor or some other atrocity.

Either way, the things that need to be done get done, by one of us. Sometimes it's as simple as Sarah giving me a subtle hint like, "There is a lot of dirty laundry" or "The light bulb in the bathroom burned out."

Ahhhh....marriage.

The Visitors

2008-11-28T22:28:00.000-08:00

I am sitting in the kitchen waiting for my a new batch of pale ale to cool down for fermentation.

It has been a busy week here in the Johnson house. I have been working the oil refinery job every day, but we also have had some guests. A friend, Adil, flew out to visit from Kansas. He was a roommate of mine. He is going to medical school in the Caribbean this January. He wanted to see California, since he never had. It was funny because he is not used to having mountains around, so he was taking pictures of them off in the distance. We went to the beach a couple of times and ate fresh crab, halibut, and other fish. He found a sand dollar. We watched surfers at Pismo Beach. I showed him "real" California things like beaches with "Shark Attack" signs and building that you could die in during an earthquake. See pictures below:

Two days ago, Adil flew back to Kansas as my Dad was driving here from Phoenix. So now my Dad is here. Yesterday we had a classic Thanksgiving dinner that Sarah made. It was great! Today, we went to Solvang, a Danish village near here. I'll put up pictures soon.

Fondue, FON"DON'T"!

2008-11-19T20:53:00.000-08:00

I may have committed treason, heresy, and even blasphemy. But, most of all I have done a bad thing. I have committed a sacrilege to the world of fondue cooking. The basic meaning of sacrilege is "An act of disrespect or impiety toward something regarded as sacred."

Maybe you make fondue with wonderfully fresh shredded Gruyere and Emmental cheeses. Maybe you add a nice wine, after taking a sip from the bottle first. Or, maybe you rub a freshly sliced clove of garlic in the bottom of the pan before you add the wine and cheese. Maybe you like a little "Bam" to it and add some Kirsch brandy.

If this is your idea of fondue, then you should hate me. Before you send an angry mob, I too have made the aforementioned fresh ingredients to compose a great fondue.

However I was weak today. I went to the store to buy the cheeses for fondue. They had Gruyere, but no Emmental. Crap, I thought, now what? Then, I saw it, the "BOX."

This box contained all the ingredients for Swiss fondue. It had the cheeses, starch ,wine, and brandy. I thought, "No way, it can't be good, it can't." It said in the lower right hand corner of the box, "Product of Switzerland"...sold. I threw it into the shopping cart and grabbed some bread to go with it.

I got home and threw it together in my recently acquired electric pot. There is probably some fondue rule also about using only flame heaters.

I cooked it up and it was not much different from the norm. In fact, when the daughter of the blog Twelve Two Two Fondue ate my "squeezed out of package" fondue, she said it was an 8 out of 10! In fact, the only real complaint she had was the brandy in it.

I hope my Father-in-Law does not read this...

Tom's Eclectic Ribs

2008-11-15T20:18:00.000-08:00

I have never cooked good spare ribs, until today. My plan: Smoke the ribs till they are yummy!

What actually happened was not so simple...

It all started out well. I patted a little rice vinegar on the ribs to help make the meat receptive to the rub. I rubbed the ribs with salt, pepper, garlic powder, thyme, and who knows what else I threw in there. Finally, I brushed on a light coat of BBQ sauce.

I started up the electric smoker and added the wood chunks. I also turned on the BBQ grill.

First thing, I wanted to sear the ribs on the hot BBQ. I threw them on the grill and got them browning up nicely, when the gas ran out! Crap! Well, they went in the smoker a few minutes early .

The smoker was up to temperature, so I put the ribs in and planned on about 3-4 hours of waiting and chillin'. I went into the house loaded the dishwasher and started it up. I went about my business around the house.

I notice it was quiet in the house about 20 minutes later. I checked the dishwasher. No power to it. I checked the circuit breaker and noticed it had tripped. I reset it then the whooshing sounds of the dishwasher started up again. Ten minutes later, again, the dishwasher was silent. I reset it again and checked the smoker. It was cool, not hot like it should be. Wait a second, it can't be, the smoker and the dishwasher are on the same circuit? Sure enough, the smoker had only smoked hot for about 20 minutes of an hour. The meat needed to be cooked still, so I turned on the oven inside to 300 degrees and when it was heated, I covered the ribs in BBQ sauce and put them in for another hour.

I used 3 "ovens" to cook this one rack of ribs, but let me tell you...mmmmm they were so good that even Sarah, from Texas, thought they were delicious.

The Gifts That Keep on Giving

2008-11-15T09:29:00.000-08:00

Everyday we are using the wedding gifts we got from our generous family and friends. I use a 12 inch Circulon deep skillet several times a week. I've made Bombay Curry, pork dumplings, and many other dishes in it.

We use a fancy stainless steel coffee maker every morning. The coffee stays hot for hours after you make it, with no heating coil. When I say hours, I mean four or five.

We use our Noritake dinnerware set everyday.

We got so many gifts, it was unbelievable! I have never used so many nice things in the kitchen. We constantly use so many of these gifts that I am reminded of how much my friends, family, new-family, and my new companion for life, Sarah, mean to me. Thanks.

2008-11-14T21:45:00.000-08:00

I have one full week of solid work under my belt. Yep, feeling pretty good.

Some of my accomplishments this week:

1) I found out I look good in coveralls and a hardhat

2) I ate homemade lunches for 5 days in a row

3) I only played solitaire for 10 minutes one day

4) I managed to screw up everything I touched, but I'm still employed

...and finally, I found out how to reuse rubber gloves 5 times before throwing them out (My boss is very frugal)

It was an interesting week. The company's motto is "Working For A Profit." Mine too