You tell me

And thats that..

2011-06-25T00:04:00.000-07:00

Bill was high... had an "accident" and killed the 8 year old son of some chick I knew.. the chick that got the same kid her son a tattoo and caused a huge rift that almost became a war..

He treed it... she was belted in so was he.. the kid wasn't and became a projectile...

Hes been charged with manslaughter...fleeing a fatality accident... substance abuse and driving while impaired and some other stuff guanteed to make him die in prison... theres no one to rat on, nothing to trade.. hes all about being done..

To bad they didnt put a Glock in his mouth and dump a full mag.. not that the brooder deserves any better

And then this one time at band camp....

2011-05-30T21:12:00.000-07:00

Jimmy got 10 years, Rob got 80.. Bill sold them to keep his weak ass out of prison... he got sold by his GF to keep out of jail....she went to lock up anyway because she didn't stay clean...everyone else is in jail... Controlled buys mostly and trafficing.. some receving beefs and mr tuffy got beat down with a baseball bat....

I dropped one of my gigs.... they did a back ground check on me and I passed.... a problem came up when a friend raised a question so I did a background check on them...

They didn't pass...... and that was that..

I hang out with some bad boys, but I know what the deal is...theres no pretentions or bullshit about criminals, drug addicts and whores..its who they are and how they live..but they are true to their natures...which one deals with...

a wolf is a wolf ....a dog is a dog.. they are who they are.. and I fit in, but live a straight life, except when Im cracking heads....and even then I keep legal...

This other bunch.. in the words of Brick Top...had all the qualitys of a dog save loyalty..and were slimy corporate bastards...

So I shift gears... I had suspicions....So I kept on with classes.. meetings, symposiums and all the little things I have to do...

I can make a nonprofit corporation just as easily as I can work for one....I can write the same, grants provide the same services .... keep the grant administration % and even pay salary for being a consultant....theres a lot of faith based preparedness money to be had and I know the language...

I try to see things from as many directions as possible... and be ready for whatever..I already have the forms from the corporation commission and I know stuff... I've been involved a time or two...

My foot is stiff as a carp but getting better...I still want that cane... silver head...all pimped out.. you know...like that.

My foot hurts

2011-05-22T23:55:00.000-07:00

10 frigging days.... but I can finially hobble...a little..

I may need a cane.. but one which is stylish, maybe has a sword or flask built in...a silver head..secret compartments and stuff...

something I can wave an gesture with as I rave incoherently.. and heavy enough to cave in the hood of a Buick..

Im looking forward to it...

She has the notion I should read to her

2011-05-17T17:47:00.000-07:00

Which is a good idea as long as no Sylvia Plathe is involved..

2011-05-14T11:20:00.000-07:00

Whos your kitty...... I kinda like kittens, they kinda like me.. it was always a treat to have them climb up and sleep under my beard.. or stick their head in my mouth, cause they're fuzzy weridos...they have no idea we're a different species...or 400 times bigger...they demand to be fed..petted.. face rubbed.. smelled.. washed.

look at that face

we know who the future bad ass is..

The green and the red...

2011-05-14T03:54:00.000-07:00

The color of the muck is now a nice olive green shot with red ..its made the journey from clear and foamy to clear.... to white and now at last green and red...

The red is why you avoid asprin..... the blood gets thinned and one hemmorages... then you end up dead from a lung bleed...

So I'd as soon avoid it.....and just not take the asprin......

Pandemic influenza 101......

I feel like road kill......not in a sense I'd enjoy some..... but in the "Oh God a truck ran over me" senario.. eyes running, nose running, coughing, sneezing.... sucking air as I cough till I get colic like an infant... gurgling...

We won't talk about dinner...or even think about it...

When shes not around

2011-05-13T13:33:00.001-07:00

Its like the whole day is.........lacking

2011-05-11T08:36:00.001-07:00

http://money.msn.com/shopping-deals/article.aspx?post=56c49c8f-8509-40ba-b035-26c2e5093b9b&gt1=33009

2011-05-10T10:59:00.000-07:00

A study in South Korea suggests about 1 in 38 children have traits of autism, higher than a previous U.S. estimate of 1 in 100.

The estimate, which translates into 2.64 percent of children, is far higher than the estimated 1 percent rate seen in studies in the United States and Europe.

GMO import ban was lifted by Korea in 2008.....

SEOUL.....Tue Jul 1, 2008 3:19am EDT

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea may import more than twice as much genetically modified corn for food use as expected this year, a government source said on Tuesday, as soaring prices force companies to accelerate the switch to cheaper varieties...

Interesting no?

Monsanto... makers of Round-Up as well as the completely safe and non mutagenic agent orange...spray genetically altered food crops with round up to kill everything but their product.. it doesnt take a lot of brain power to put two and two together... its enviromental poisioning thats the cause of autisim.....Rather than spontainous and normal genetic mutation.....

Heart attacks went way up once hydrogenated oils became the general rule...

See also diabetes...and cancers of various types linked to chemical sweetners and modified corn sweetners... from GMO corn yet again.... add to that soy products and a pattern develops..

Califiorina is now producing GMO chick peas.... so Lo and behold they now have an 8 fold increase in autisim...

"Consider the prevalence of food allergies among children with autism. The fact that the incidence of autism has exploded in conjunction with the introduction of GMOs into the American diet may be a red flag that something is amiss"

Ya think?

Remember the tobacco lobby? Safe asbestos for schools... safe radiation...full body X rays for broken toes?

South Korea, the world's third-largest corn buyer, imported 330,000 tonnes of GMO corn for food use for the first time in May and June, and this year's total may rise to 1.2 million tonnes, or about 60 percent of the total demand from the food sector, a Korea Food and Drug Administration source told Reuters

erk

2011-05-10T09:48:00.000-07:00

Im sick... its been on its way via sinus, fever, pain, pains....congestion... however my lungs are clear and lungs getting clogged is mostly what kills ya....

So... its all good..

I have a low tolerance for fevers, but too bad.. its not like its topping 142 degrees... which is about when a pork roast is done....

Ahh the G/F....

I just kinda want to crawl into bed and hide....

My skin hurts.....but that aside... I think about her fingers being cool and smooth as she draws them slowly and lightly tracing across my face ..

Bet that would make the pain stop....

One eye waters almost costantly and I have this sick dog thing going... replete with bad dreams and convulsions..(caused by fever) ...the worst thing is..Im not my usual cheerful and brilliant self...and I tend to flop over an go to sleep with no warning.. which fine with me since Im not driving....I just dont want her feeling slighted and neglected

hahahahaha.. except its 90 degrees and the hair on my arms stands up for no apparent reason...... then I shiver..

Awwww

2011-05-09T17:10:00.000-07:00

I was deleted from news vine, its seems all you have to do to arouse leftist ire is be rational....

A news story pointed out that gay men had double the cancer rate of normal men... I suggested we needed a telethon to save them from the Darwinian consequences of their own actions...

Aids, colostomys, life spans 20 years shorter than the norm.... all tell the story.. and the story is... un-natural acts, have natural consequences... step off of a cliff and gravity passes judgement on you.... warning someone of those consequences isnt a hate crime....

The issue is natural law and cause effect.. which shows political correctness to be exactly the sham real people say it is...

Further, I think the health care system needs to exclude behaviour caused disease from treatment.... be it aids, drug and alcohol related liver destruction, junk food and big mack induced heart attacks, diet induced diabetes of smoking...

Further let McDonalds pay for their customers by pass surgerys and Diet coke can pay for their customers cancer treatments...or... people can just quit eating it.....
Geneticly altered soy beans and the use of round up/ agent orange....is another issue.... Korea has an autisim rate of one in three...

Its not polio vaccine that caused it.....and its not an accident...

Adventures in bone marrow..

2011-05-09T10:13:00.000-07:00

What do you do with a surplus bone marrow?

I decided to saute mushrooms in it for breakfast..... which was a moment whos time has come...

I think I had a foodgasam...

Let the marrow melt and come to temp while you slice enough mushrooms to cover the skillet without crowding... when the temp is right....let the saute begin..

I turn the mushrooms individually... because its the best way to get them all the same color..

At the end when the fungi are brown, the seasoning begins... a couple of cranks on the pepper mill.. a fat pinch of thyme...and salt to taste at the last second...

I have a cookie tin thats used as a bread box... the tin is round.. the bread is round... so it makes sense.. the bread got tossed on the burner and breakfast was served.. no cumin for a change.. it wouldnt have hurt though...

That being said..

I have a new culinary secret weapon.. nobody uses marrow bones for much except for dog gnaw thingies.. which is stupid because marrow goes back a long way...cave men cracked mastodon and buffalo bones for it... the medieval types had long spoons and picks to get it...

it went like this...

2011-05-08T17:38:00.000-07:00

I had a plan involving chicken stick food with spicy yogurt... flat bread, cumin etc... which worked out.... I was looking for commercial application...

There was some un-fore-seen twists..... mostly involving the bone marrow I decided to slather on the skewered chicken as it cooked....

Eeehaaaaaaa.... theres still some more tweaking to do... the tatziki should be tighter so its not so juicy.... which can be fixed by hanging and salting the grated cucumber so the liquid is drawn out...

Service is on aluminized gyro papers....waxed paper.. or goggles, rubber gloves, an apron and a shower cap...

Oink.....

2011-05-07T15:11:00.000-07:00

Mexican butchers love me.... Im so not a white guy when it comes to food... I found some NZ mutton for to make stick food which was unusual enough......... and then I discovered pickled snout.. which amused them no end...they're telling me what it is and Im reading the jar which is in Spanish/Mexican... yo tendes mendes.... besides a snout isn't easily confused with anything else.... I plan on mutton/flat bread and tatziki in the near future... followed by 5 gallons of meneudo....

Ohohohohoh.... they also had beef face...or at least cheeks, which makes the best chili.. they also had bull nuts... which I don't eat because its more a novelty for poseurs than normal food...

I love Mexican markets... hahahnaha they have such good stuff cheap... and I don't have a bunch of vegan twats protesting my dinner...

They were out of goat...... bastards..

El Patron...

2011-05-04T11:41:00.000-07:00

The guy that looks out for me has been called up....my war with dispatch is a problem since I can't get in and update my available info.... But I can do "local" and I just got the call to have my little day bag ready..

Ha.,. Like I don't always have one... I'm sort of irked... out of the area its a commitment of 14-21 days.. local is hours or at most a couple of days...

Still....

Just because....

2011-05-03T19:23:00.000-07:00

I need tatziki.... but still... sticks and curry were involved... I cooked the onions an garlic from the marinade...and used that instead of my beloved tatziki.. chicken on a stick...onions an what not on the side......

Wrap it ... then slide the stick out... which just sounds dirty for some reason..

Add whatever.. cumin, curry spices, black and or red pepper, onions...

Then eat it..... which sounds dirty too......but its prolly just me cause I get like that.....The bread is just right..... and the whole kabab thing would prolly make me money cause its better than anything I can buy.. the bread cost a quarter..one chicken breast made 3 skewers.. which was about a dollar for the three...soooo... the money is right.. if I sell for $3.50 each...even $2.50 depending on the market.. ahhh $3.50 each two for $5.00... with tatziki...onions and all that..

The red curry worked for me.... ha..

And the end result..

2011-05-03T12:59:00.000-07:00

The line was crossed from Chapati to Naan only its Persian/Iranian not Indian... the differences are.....olive oil not butter...wild yeast/sourdough not a yogurt culture and no baking powder.. which is just lazy and nasty...and shows a lack of confidence in the leavening process..

Iranian naan has a few dead ringer recipes...which doesn't shock me at all.. most cultures do...

It took 10 minutes..there was more but I ate it... its all soft and chewey... dressed with oil, salt and cumin...

I had to pay nearly $5 for bread that was not as good or fresh....Im still annoyed....and not doing it again.... even a day old my bread is a week fresher than anyone elses...and not cardboardy...

Tameing the wild yeast....

2011-05-03T12:20:00.000-07:00

First you catch the yeast... you make a flour, water and honey slurry... then take it for a walk out doors... sit in the shade, let it breathe.... and seduce the yeast thats floating around everywhere to come and grace your slurry with its presence.....

Mine took about a week to get lively...adjusting the ratios till I got it at 50/50.... and twice what I need on a given day.... its all gurgley... one cup of the starter to one cup of flower... is just right...
since it works out to 1-1/2 cups four to 1 cup water...the magical 3 to one ratio... I use half the glass...... then fill it up again with half water an half flour slurry and it mutates into sourdough...

The reason I use a glass is so I can see bubbles come up the sides which tells me all is well on the yeast ranch... the critters are healthy an happy..... I use half of it each day an recharge the yeast food....I could dry or freeze it for later.... but this is easier... you can see the dough ball working in the background under the glass thanks to my little microbial slaves....

Sourdough....chapati

2011-05-03T11:53:00.000-07:00

I keep doing flat bread.. I can make the sexy Italian an French types...but its the chapatti and pita that fit my life best... its versatile... I roll it out as thin as a match stick or thinner...but it raises on the burner..I stick it in the pizza oven and it goes mad because the heat is so even.. it gets this pretty pita pocket, swells up all at once an can't make it through the door.... I'm mentally stuck on open flame to make my bread... be it a gas burner or coals... BBQ or campfire... this is how the chapati starts.....rolled out matchstick rather than paper thin.... then it goes direct on the grate over a lit burner...

You can see how it starts puffing here and there...I move it around so it cooks evenly..the turn it over when its at a point I like it....

The idea is to keep it flexable...and a little char is ok with me...so I'm kind of lax about turning it...

Its just like I like it...

The grate is from my kettle grill......I use the thing everywhere...

food the other f word...

2011-05-03T11:14:00.000-07:00

Today I opted for chicken liver pate... which I happen to like but only make every few years or so because of refrigeration issues... travel and logistics..

But today was the day.. I took 1.25 lbs of chicken livers an onion, a few garlic cloves.. random spices, a pair of anchovies cooked it all together.... braised the livers.. softened the onions till they were translucent... skinned an de-fatted the livers... then ran it all through a food processor..with a shot of vodka to punish the livers and a little olive oil to smoothe it out......an cause I didnt have chicken stock..or port

There other ways to do it.... you can add bacon, labani, cream cheese, port....mushrooms... pork fat... but. I figure salt, pepper, onion and garlic and an anchovie is pretty good for a start... I put parsley an red pepper on top... later a couple of hard boiled eggs are going to be chopped for a garnish..... the jar is a screw top... which I like cause they fit in in my carry on bag...and don't break.....they work fine for hummis, olive spread, pate and things of that nature...... tahini I carry in the jar from the store... an pack around it...

bits an pieces

2011-05-02T13:54:00.000-07:00

You peel bell/sweet peppers the same way you do chilis.. char and blister them over a fire, then put em in a paper bag so the skin an flesh seprates.......then assuming you've finished peeling them........ yes then you toss about 8 bell peppers in 1/3 cup olive oil along with 3Tbsp red wine or "basalmic" vinegar.. 1/2 cup chopped scallions a crushed clove of garlic..salt an fresh ground black pepper to taste... a little rosemary..and its all good under the hood..add some to the hummis an make it pink... have it by its self...put it on kefta.. its sort of a condiment..but not...I can't find a rule saying you cant make a sanwich out of it...I like it out of the jar by its self..

Hummis is as hummis do....

2011-05-02T13:17:00.000-07:00

I'm lazy...so I use canned garbanzos..I look at the labels, no salt.. just garbanzos AKA chickpeas and water..I was pretty irate after havin to pay $4+ for hummis...

You can get the dried beans an cook them yourself then instead of 75 cents or $1 you pay 10 cents... but thats on you...I use cans for speed... weavels can't get in the can...an Im lazy...

I usually pass the garbanzos through a food processor... and leave a little texture..but this time I used a blender an made it smooth like peanut butter....

anyway... you drain the garbanzos and empty the contents into blender with a couple of cloves of garlic..and enough olive oil or tahini so it doesnt clog up... you also add lemon and salt to taste.

The proportions are for a 1 lb can.. or 3/4 cups dried chick peas.. the recommended ratios are..

3/4 lemon juice

1/4 cup tahini..... yeah well..sesame oil...olive oil all have the same function....I do like tahini.. but its bitter in the back of the throat... you can get away with peanut butter... but its anarchy...

1/3 to 1/2 cup water.... if I use anything its the bean juice...but I like thick hummis..

The recipe says a clove of garlic...Ummm.... 3 is more on point, cause I like the burn from raw garlic...

Salt to taste... "they" say 1/2 teaspoon.. whatever... half of that will be just as good...

Fresh ground black pepper to taste.. I use red flake.. but...its always your world so you can have it however you want... you can peel an add sweet peppers, chop black olives into it..green olives, clamata olives...herbs... anything you want...

Cumin on top of it works for me.....no tahini.. just olive oil.. but it changes all the time.

The days effort, the soon or whenever bread..... and a photo of what the hummis looks like, I recycled whats her faces container.... I have others that are better...but some days things are how they are..I have no idea how the photo got all tweaked.. but you can see the dough ball and how the hummis peaks, so its all good..

Container 101...at home I use whatever is close at hand be it the vile tupperware or ziplock storage junk....I'll reuse yogurt containers... cause Im cheap...and well, cheap... thrifty an frugal etc... but I want good quality if Im traveling...so I use screw tops... or did till I discovered the glass wire tops... which I intended to use for shaving soap, but happen to be uber sexy for holding my lunch...the thick glass keeps the temp even...I can see what the real is inside and.... screw tops leak no matter how good they are..

That being said...I made olive spread while I was getting busy with the food processor.... olives, anchovies, garlic..capers.. parmasean...

I got some chicken livers to make pate later.. just because... anyway.. lunch can be fun.. boiled or pickled eggs, flat bread, hummis,olive spread, pate, labani, pickled an marinated mushrooms... roasted peppers....cold cumber & yogurt soup...fruit..ya know?

If I want to piss people off ....I take a burner an make chapatis and stick food on the spot...

I love civiche...and leche de tigre...greek salads.. boccatini and grape tomatoes.. but thats all another day.. I need more glass containers...an bigger ones..

Sourdough updated...

2011-05-02T01:30:00.000-07:00

The wild yeast capture operation was a success..... bread was made and eaten... more starter sits on the fridge.... I just wanted to make sure I have my skills where I want them.. I can also start a fire with flint an steel....rock bangin too if I have to..

But I digress.... I mostly make chapatti... with no yeast or other leavening soooo.. its an exercise in the arcane....in the end it was pretty classic sour dough...and a nice crusty thing... but chapatti work for me...

I ate half of the new sourdough before I decided to take a photo....

Then it started taking on porn overtones...

Ha...together at last...

2011-04-30T22:11:00.000-07:00

It all comes together..... the shiny oven, the copper plate/s and the horribly expensive but not exactly fresh store bought bread.... which reminds me the clerk was a snotty vegan asshole with out enough male hormones to develop facial hair... he was big, but soft..no defined features or muscle mass...he lacked a chin, an adams apple or any male attributes... I tried being polite...but it sorta went south... don't like your J-O-B? Q-U-I-T... faggot.

I was the first customer of the day so he had no stress issue other than being told to "get fucked asshole"..after he got snotty...which I provided as therapy and trust me he deserved it.. had I had a little more time....I'd have had a chat with his boss and fixed his issue.... but whatever.. he has enough problems being him.... its gotta sting to feel like your life should be better but your stuck being an apron wearing douche.... sort of like Starbuck uber superior "barrista" or clerks/"intellectuals" in any mega chain book store.... hahahahah... so young, so bitter, so mediocre and less than average.... so not original...sooo...zero impact...

Twat.... other than that... I scanned the plaza after class, it was full...easyups were all over... vendors here an there..business was being done, money made..I need to come back soooooon
the town was a beauty... serious it was just what I needed.. cept for the over priced bread..

While the bread rises

2011-04-30T12:30:00.000-07:00

The sourdough starter is active.. and the dough is rising..

I was in the mountians yesterday... so I stuck it in the fridge and now it has to wake up an puffify the pizza base....

While I was in la pueblo de tourista e yuppie tools... I went to the store and bought lunch.. flat bread, hummis, yogurt, fruit the usual..... I make some expensive food cheap... the bread was $4 and not 5 minutes ago fresh.....the hummis between $4 and $6 it was good, but..I know what it costs to make....I dont even want to talk about tapenade or any of that.. $10..

The thing is, it all costs less than $1 for me to make....an Im kinda thrifty/frugal ....I wont do that again..

OOOoohhhoooo

2011-04-30T12:17:00.000-07:00

The famous copper plates.. they're 12" across and pretty heavy, Im sort of likeing them as plates or chargers...so I wanna keep a couple... not that I forget they have destiny..

Till then they need polishing...

Projects...cooking and doing hand-work are when everything comes together.. its my zen and when everything else goes away...

2011-04-30T08:05:00.000-07:00

It was a long day I went from desert floor to over 6,000 feet...

Trees

Long day...

2011-04-28T20:13:00.000-07:00

I got those copper plates from Bill finially, so the still project is about to start up again.... there were 7 pieces.. which means I get to try my hand at making a few copper pans as well... so Im excited..

I also got my deployment number and ID...

Long story.... but its a good thing involving multiple background checks which I passed, but I kinda knew I would.. I take pains to color inside the lines and know where I am legally no matter whats going on with my hooligan pals who are all locked up now except Bill...

Im to pretty for jail....

Class tomorrow, its over 3 hours away..but whatever its not like I don't do it on a regular basis..

I have sourdough starter.... and bread in the works.. so now I keep feeding the starter like a virtual pet that Im going to eat...

I think I need to do a market or two and generate some cash aside from everything else.. and the soap thing is looking good... its just about getting ingredients by the 55 gallon drums....

Ha.... plotting and scheming.. over and above what I tell....

Keep it simple....

2011-04-28T10:31:00.000-07:00

I think its a desert thing....

"By bread and salt we are united".

Moroccan Proverb

Bread signifies all God given provisions,
the abundance in simplicity, the Giver and gift of life in its continuous flow,
first things in the day, essential priorities.

"A traveler on the mystic path
is content with a loaf of bread;
By its light he may be turned
towards the Light of God."

Rumi

Aish, "life," is an ancient Arabic term for bread;

Accordingly, it is treated with reverence throughout the Muslim world.
Before kneading dough, the baker blesses it with "Bismillah," and again before putting it in the oven. Mistreatment of bread is a sign of disrespect toward the Source of all sustenance.
If a piece of bread is found on the ground, little time will pass before someone picks it up, kisses it, says "Bismillah," and sets it in a safe, clean place.

In most homes bread is served at every meal, and is used to scoop up food; dunk into soup, stew or tea; or roll up with cheese, olives or herbs...

Theres a few reasons I make my own bread.....

Deja Vu all over Again...

2011-04-28T02:50:00.000-07:00

Ahh dinner..tomato an eggplant pomodoro...mushrooms... chopped olives three different cheeses and a couple of anchovies which are the hairy eyebrow looking things.. rosemary and thyme were involved... along with crushed red pepper...and that seemed to do it...

It went like this.....

2011-04-27T12:02:00.000-07:00

Glycerine soap base...check
Glycerine... check
Vitimin E oil....check
Myrrh essential oil.... check....
Bentonite clay... check

Sexy and expensive fossil soap thingie/jar which I have a fetish for... check

I like the ammonites and little shells of proto clams and a scallop or two and what not

Phaze two... when you add bentonite the color of the soap isn't so pretty, its more..bleh

Up close its kinda... greyish, bluey and I dunno...... the fact I made it on the fly and slopped it around didnt help..but my intent wasn't presentation it was function..and as far as function went it was pretty cool

Seriously the lather was as thick as whipping cream... dead white and lasted forever... the glycerine was just the thing to smoothify my leathery exterior.. Im thinking aloe next, balsam and some other add on luxurys, not that myrrh wasn't a nice touch... I don't want to add colorants to the soap.. so next go its kaolin to see it that gives a better look... theres a red clay that looks nice but I need to find a primary source or I can make soap without clay.. its only in the mix to make it slippery...so a control sample without clay is prolly a good idea... how much slip does it give vs the fugly factor being the question.. I got a good shave out of it regardless..an now Im all soft an pretty...

I'll think about colorants a little, titanium dioxide is what gets used to make soap white its also an ingredient in sunscreen..soooo who knows..I reserve the right to a Darwinan evaluation

Sharp and shiny...... its just like that...

2011-04-24T04:18:00.000-07:00

The random collection.. guess who is going to barber school to learn how to give a razor shave, which is becoming a big deal again for manly men....

I haven't forgotten about rebuilding razors or pimping them out with ivory or pearl handles...

This one needs some cosmetic love polishing and a honeing..its a Geneva Cutlery razor and a little collectable, which means zero to me cause I like to use them... but its a little different..and Im thinking it might be a nice graduation thing... polish it.. hone it, give it some strop time...

Im workin out some shave oil and soap formulas so she can be all exclusive and mysterious..

Some things evolve...

2011-04-24T03:07:00.000-07:00

Ok, now its on a pan and the reason for that is its a soft yeast dough that cant support its-self and will ooze through the grate... and you'll notice its a yeast dough.. not the usual unleavened chappati.... it helps the cheese brown too...

And there it is..... the pizza is olive, mushroom and cheese...which works for me, the dough is whole wheat and leavened.. plus I went for low moisture mozzarella instead of really fresh made the same day stuff I like.....No sense being a snob.....I was thinking it would keep the crust nice.... which it did..

I'm thinking it (the Pizza) should cool on a rack like other breads, so the steam can migrate..

Its 4 mushrooms..I tablespoon, chopped olives and cheese to cover.. you can go wild if you want and add anything.....actually you should...

As the bronco bucks and the clown dives into the barrel

2011-04-21T05:30:00.000-07:00

So we switch projects back and forth...

Shes busy trying my recipes and fixing em for the kids.. which seems to be working out all around.. the food is good, not pricey and enough out of the ordinary its exciting.... but not in the Anderew Zimmer lets eat the monkey schlong kind of different..

Lets just do real food... not a plateful of BDSM animal wang freak show....

Bread, Pizza, Sourdough, Bruschetta, Spicy Yogurt/Tadziki, Hummis and stick food.... Civiche, Labani, and now Mozzarella to enhance pizza thats already way over the top.

Shes seen how much my favo stuff costs..its uber expensive to buy, but cheap it is to make... like my beloved olive, anchovy, garlic stuff..... that doesn't include recipes I snag from all over cyber space to show her how varied recipes for the same foods are...

And how its ok to tweak hell out of things......

That being said...... I'm on soap detail till she catches up...food recipes I exude like a honey bee exudes honey...

But soap.....ahhhh a challenge.. glycerine or coconut oil based what physical propertys do I want, what scents... which oils and clays... since it is for shaving soap... I have some distinct ideas about foam density.... how long it lasts and how much slip factor can I get for a straight razor... do we need aloe, almond oil, lavender, myrrh (which I actually like) lemon..... classic manly stuff that doesnt smell like a dead hooker in a vat of chemicals...

Olive oil soap is good..but the lather is lacking....

Anyway the division of labor has put that in my lap.... or on my throat rather.. since I use a razor..I need to be the judge....

Shes taking a class to learn how to do razor shaves.....so I need to see she has a custom and very exclusive shave soap...plus a sexy razor or two..

I've been shaving with straight glycerine...then I added some to my regular shave soap.. and it was pretty sexy...I found out how to cure drag with bentonite....so I have some things to find out..

Its science baby.... not metrosexual stuff, seriously I take better care of a saddle than I do my face...(let the metaphore go.. I mean it literally) .... most guys do...

So Im on it...

Don't ask...

2011-04-18T03:06:00.000-07:00

3 oz Olive Oil (Refined 'A' Grade)
2 oz Castor Oil (1st Press)
1 oz Jojoba Oil, Clear (Organic)
1 oz Kukui Nut Oil (Organic)
1 oz Rosehip Oil (Virgin)
2.5 ml (1/2 tsp) Frankincense & Myrrh Natural Fragrance Oil

I had a food boner....

2011-04-17T22:56:00.000-07:00

Instructions are in the blog before this one........ the only thing I'd do different would be to leave off the salami and goat cheese... the rest of goat cheese has its destiny in a salad or spread on bread....

And it doesnt have to be round.. exact or any particular way.. you can even have it on a ugly plate you dougnt for 10 cents at a yard sale... which reminds me, I still need a pizza peel...or wooden serving boards...

Like this...

2011-04-17T22:34:00.000-07:00

One... pre-measure your flour and water..

Two......add a tablespoon of honey or sugar to to the water....
Three... add the water to 1/4 cup of the flour and make a thin slurry thats baby bottle warm...

Four.....sprinkle yeast on top of the flour water honey stuff.........

Then you let the slurry sit till it bubbles and foams so you have proof the yeast is alive and doing its job.... i'll take 10- 30 minutes...

Five...Then you add the proofed yeast slurry to the flour.... along with a Tablespoon of olive oil and some salt.. and stir it all together till the bowl comes clean...

Then you turn it out on to your work surface..... knead it smooth.. form into a ball then put the ball in a bowl, cover the bowl with a damp towel and let it double..

Except in this case because the air is so dry here..... I oiled the ball and covered it with a clear bowl so I could keep an eye on it..the dough ball gets oiled in any case because it helps it not stick and raise freely....

The dough doubles... then you get busy, in this case I made four rounds... I didn't roll it out, I stretched it...because I like the little bubbles...which is what makes bread lite..

Then the next bit..the dough is shaped and docked to keep it from balloning up like a pita, I used my fingers mostly...I did poke around with wooden fork.... but fingers were better.. you also want the edges thicker than the center to hold stuff in place....

And the pizza building begins... I don't use red sauce a lot..there are to many other options like garum which is about 2000 years of old school

And now some more, I was experimenting today, Italian sausage, goat cheese, dry salami, green olives..roasted peppers..

And a little more... the salami was sweating which has gotten it eliminated from future pizzas for the same reason the pepperoni was...I don't like greasy pizza.. actually I do like greasy pizza, its just not the best choice one can make.. but I don't eat enough for it to make a big difference if I indulge every year or so... Italian sausage is fine if one wants a meat topping.. and it can be pre cooked then drained..

Anyway.. it gets a little fancier..

Then you cover the whole thing up with mozzarella to hide the salami evidence... I like fresh rather than pre-shredded.. but its pretty much personal preference.. the cheese is like a lid and keeps everything succulent as its cooked..

And we're so near the end..I'm doing the rest on the oven rack... green olives with pimento, dried basil, rosemary, thyme

I gave it 5 minutes then took it out because I was food horny..

Then it gets whacked up into 8 pieces

Do yours how you like it.....an let the haters, hate....

They don't have pizza..and you can't make it out of tofu

Ok then....

2011-04-14T10:34:00.000-07:00

Dough..

Two cups whole wheat.. or white.. flour.... you can use half white/half wheat...you can grind your own flour with a quern stone.. which I'd actually do because Ima freak about medieval cooking and baking.. but I digress....

Two cups flour....

One cup water...

One Tbsp olive oil... I just use the cap from the bottle... so who knows..

About a half teaspoon of salt... and thats it..

Its a dryish dough.. if you want it more elastic use more NEXT time....

Mix wet and dry ingredients in a bowl till it all pulls together... then knead the resulting mass on a work surface to develop the gluten and it all smooths out..

Let it rest, covered with a damp towel....or in a plastic bag... so the dough relaxes a bit..

Sneak up on the dough.... divide it into golf ball size wads, shape into balls... then roll out into thin 7" circles.. the thinner the better I think.... but you do it like you want it.... you don't have to make them perfectly round.. everything is "Ish" they can be ovals.. starfish.. rectangles.. your going to eat them...not make engine gaskets

Its like a chapati...or thinnish pita.. I mostly pre bake them... in a HOT oven, under the broiler, or in a skillet (NO oil....NONE)..... even directly on a gas burner... hot is what you want so it puffs from steam inside and doesnt become card board.. I've used a BBQ grate.. done it over live coals.. short of the bread catching fire.... anything works.. and even if it catches fire.... its still good...

I don't use red sauce on pizza much.... mostly I like chopped olive, garlic and anchovie spread..

On top of that goes whatever sliced mushrooms you have.. cooked and drained sausage (if you like it)... whatever melty cheese you like..or combination there of....I/E pepper jack/mozzarella/parmasean ...Feta doesn't melt.... goat cheese is sexy, but Im obsessing about goat cheese this week...

On top of the cheese....pepperoni if you like it.... and not the lard stick type... the good stuff..

I like green olives on top... marinated red peppers for color....and hot red pepper flakes...for heat..

After that.... under the broiler it goes.. cheese gets melted, maybe sort of browned a little....

Pizza gets eaten and the cycle is repeated till someone passes out... the dried rosemary, red pepper flakes and basil gets put on after the cheese is melted.... so they dont burn or burst into flame..

I make a yeast and a sour dough too... but Im really liking this type... the Fluffy one grated parmasean into her dough..which works too.. its your world..your dinner..there are no rules..

And the side effect...

2011-04-13T23:47:00.000-07:00

I dont buy pizza.....reason being..... I notice the boxes tend to be soaked with grease on the bottom.. and its seepage from the pizza, not something the box sat on.... and I can't think of an acceptable reason for it to be like that... other than cheap ingredients and bad practices..

I never cared much for commercial pizza dough either. it was always a lot like calling wonder bread, "bread" and Im not goin for it..

So.. I make my own breads and pizza doughs..... sour dough, whole wheat...herbs in the dough.. cheese an whatever.... its all about using the real stuff... not "tastes like" not "cheaper" not "easier" or "we save .35 cents per unit for 500,000 units a week and corporate gets a cashgasam"....

So.... its about whole wheat...which actually has a flavor... real cheese.. non greasy sausage and pepperoni.. I like dried herbs... cause the flavors are more concentrated..... but a nice fresh basil is kinda sexy... so is fresh mozzarella... kalmata olives, goat cheese and morrel mushrooms once in a while...

Why pay for something that you can make better that you buy?

The bottom of my pizzas didn't have one spot..no supporating grease anywhere.. even cold.. it was still clean.. none of that crisco pie thing when it sat for a while......

Point of the diatribe being.... its worth the trouble to do... on every level.. and pizza doesnt have to be a heart attack in a box..

I like it for kids.. they engage with the whole pizza thing... and like setting up their own toppings, doing designs and and experimenting.. its time together and pretty much fun... a non-fucked up interaction with an adult or two...by which I mean the kids...not me...

Kinda fun with a girlfriend too, its all impressive cooking together and you can ply her with red wine....till she thinks your cute..and maybe do-able at some point...

Feel the peel....

2011-04-13T16:48:00.000-07:00

This is what Im ranting about, turns out they have just what I want at Target with a short handle....

Make that Bed Bath and Beyond cause their photography is better, their peels are cheaper

not to mention having a subtil get your pizza freak on vibe

Oh so you wanna be bad and eat pizza? It looks like what one needs to binge purge and smack that ass all in one stop...

I think I need a leather apron, shoulder length black rubber exam gloves and steam punk goggles to go with this.. You gotta beg for that extra cheese.. and you know you want it..

So I cleaned the pizza oven...

2011-04-13T15:48:00.000-07:00

I decided I wanted to try a different method... the broiler uses my gas.. and sometimes I get electric when Im in a park or camp ground....

So.. whatever... besides I need to be ready for the random college campus and side hustles..

It took 5 minutes start to finish... rolling the dough while the oven pre-heated which was 1 of the 5 minutes.... I bagged the pepperoni an left it off..same with the sausage... it was olive love, mushrooms and cheese... rosemary, basil and red pepper flakes...

No smoke was involved.... my oven ran sweet...it was so perfect... I cooked on the grate its-self rather than a pan... which worked out fine an kept it all crispy an good...

I normally make a 6" pizza or breads like this one.. but the oven will cook a 10-12" pizza or a reasonable size foccacia.... which makes life easier on the girl friend front.... I think I may get a peel to work on and serve with..rather than my old heart shaped cutting board...

Now I'll obsess over pizza and those recipes for a few months.. its funny since I got the oven for making pita bread.. not pizza.... I needed fast high heat cause thats what makes the pita blow up.... and I wanted an electric option cause Im sort of cheap and lazy..

well.....

2011-04-13T13:17:00.000-07:00

I got a call this morning about my up-coming grand tour/class extravaganza... which was scheduled to begin thursday....

Day one.... the classes are full I didn't get in and no speakers are scheduled..... sooooooo..

Day one I don't need to go ....which saves a ton of money I don't have.... the good news is... I've already had the classes.. I don't "need" them... its just about staying on top of things and observing the instructors...

But everything else is on and I only have to spend one night in town.. to bad its Friday cause party traffic and fuckwads are kind of the rule.... and Im more of a book store and bistro guy..only not gay..

We won't talk about shopping for shoes, hats and dinnerwear... art supplys and the various random quirks I have.. I know I'm not gay.. Im not in that good a shape physically... even if I do know how to cook, dress and dance..

All that aside.... I want to find a coffee shop with table cloths for a change.... Normally its all about grab and go at a fuel stop, which is "ok" its not like the old days when coffee sat on a burner for three days... its actually good coffee now... thanks to the free market system and competition for the consumer dollar... its just not a latte or espresso...and there are no tables or lite conversation... its urban rather than urbane...

Or as an option...theres the ever popular quest for a Sonoran hole in the wall cafe, which has to do with meneudo and goat stew or tacos....and I note any of the afore mentioned items scares Canadians who are trying to pass as white people.. so.... I look for dark faces..lots of red and green paint and no English signage...

Which gives me pause.....ever see a "Canadian" resturant? Nope....its because there is no market for cream of hotdog soup with maple suryp... white bread and hot dog gravy or hot dog pot pie..

Twats...... they're always the ones that bitch about Mexican food being Mexican....then snivel about paying cause the food "including the milk" was to "spicy" as they steal the tableware for "souviners"..... and the Mexicans think Canuks are white...which creates a lot of racial problems and confusion....

Mufukkas.....La Migra, needs to jamb up the cannuks way more than the Mexicans... the US has enough whiney bitches... we really don't need the spawn of draft dodgers and traitors wandering around.... Eh?

An I need some new music....

Stills an what not...

2011-04-12T22:38:00.000-07:00

Well....maybe its not a still in the Ozark sense....its an Alembic and is used for harvesting essential oils..Juniper, sage, pine, medicinals and what not.. some times they get used for brandy... I have heard rumors of them being used for whiskey as well.... but Jamisons is cheap enough that I wouldn't bother....

The pots cost a pretty penny which I dont have......but I do have some skills at banging out metal.. and theres no shape on the unit I havent made out of sheet iron when I was building caulderons and tankards..

The chargers Bill has to sell me are 3/16-1/4" thick and about 12" across...which is perfect for my purposes...I have heavy tube and copper sheet hidden..... so this project can happen pretty easily...

And I need to work with my hands a little..... worst case senario I have a sexed up copper cauldron and a sauce pan or two....

Im still trying to get my mind around the day... I made more pizza but left out the pepperoni..

I have 3 or 4 days of.... "hey howdy" coming up..classes and God knows what... I got the official line on what I study... the decision is... anything I want..as much as I want.. and Im pretty much a valuable commodity..I bitched about the exams.. the system, lack of certificates..and all the insider beefs on can imagine... turns out the supervisor has the same issues... so Im gold other than that.... I want to go get the copper...

Bill is in a tourist town...and all is well ..he has a girlfriend in Las Vagueness.. theres some hints that theres a spot for me....and I need the money... but its a been there done that gig ya know?

I would set up and run my own thing.. so who knows.. he still has his glass blowing equipment.. and I havent forgotten the notion of lamp working beads, perfume bottles, pipes and sex toys...

Yeah I know... but now weed is legal so making pipes is not a paraphernalia beef....

Its medical supplies..... I'd do it for the irony.....

Bread porn...

2011-04-12T18:37:00.000-07:00

The famous flat bread.... I should have followed through the full process... from dough to cooked on the grill.... to topped... then shoved under the broiler so the cheese melts....

I pre-cooked and drained some loose sausage... doing that mize-en-platz thing.... which I don't think I spelled right... but its a French term.... therefore beneath my dignity to spell check.....

Aside from the sausage.... there were sliced mushrooms... basil, oregeno, thyme, multi shredded Italiano cheese....a scanty spray of emergency and not real good pepperoni.... tomato and eggplant sauce I customised into pizza sauce with garlic and sundry herbs...

The traditional, olive oil, olive, garlic, parmasean and anchovie stuff I put on everything...

I don't use a lot of sausage or pepperoni..... I use them mostly as a seasoning rather than an ingredient... I have no idea when my thinking changed in that regard... It still tastes good to me..and I use 3/4 less than I did.... so bonus...

Ha.. Im pretty happy with "just" olives, mushrooms an cheese..and its not a fat-bomb..

I mopped out the pepperoni grease and ate what looked disturbingly like a one eyed smiley face that was in the middle of a stroke... But I wasnt being all that attentive to symmetry.... it was a tough day.. and I was kinda hungry..

The pepperoni goes on top so the grease doesnt soak the base an I can sorta dial it back a bit... maybe I'll just not use it anymore.... or hold out for the high end stuff..this was sort of a dire straights situation....

I made Rayta for dinner yesterday.....

I'd forgotten how much I liked spicy yogurt and cumber .... now the fluffy one wants to make chutneys... which is another big favorite for me... when the temp hits 125+... trust me you need all the appetite stimulants you can get..

Other than that...today suckkkkkked...

I got a call from Bill.... he has some copper chargers I wanted to buy..which make dandy rounds to beat into sauce pans.... or a still...

Its an Irish thing....

Speaking of O my Gawd..

2011-04-08T17:36:00.000-07:00

While writing about pizza and real life..

I get a call regarding next week, I have stuff to do next week, which is the famous :forward momentum type activity"......school, networking, being seen etc..... they want to know what I want for my meals for the three or four days..

Ha... most of what they offered I wouldn't eat...I usually fill an ice chest with what I normally have and call it good, no sense arguing or explaining.. besides it looks so good discussion is redundant..

I did manage to find a greek salad and fruit.. everything else, aint gonna be happening.. they did have a foccacia bread... but unless I can read the label.. Im not too interested..

So I'll do my usual stop and shop.... just in case..

O my...gawd...

2011-04-08T16:43:00.000-07:00

I have stuff to do next week, which is forward momentum type activity..... which is unrelated to my real life.... its just work, school, being seen...and "Networking".....

Real life is the GF and the fact I do a lot of different kitchen stuff.....like read cook books, write recipes an take photos cause I want to make a cook book.... then theres the recipes themselves... which is sometimes about competitions and cook offs... gaining or losing weight.. fat vs muscle... handling blood sugar..lowering blood pressure... avoiding bad juju... Chinese medicine.. keeping the ya in my yang....

I have my regular diet/regimen...which involves baking my daily bread.. the fluffy GF likes it.. she discovered bruschetta.. and likes that.. olive spread is good.. tapenades, artichoke spreads.. pomodoro... a big list of stuff... we haven't discussed nut spreads.. but shes a smart lady.. and walnut butter is sorta good... same with hazelnut an almond... changing up the rummaging food is fun... so.. we evolve..

Same with the bread... I make a basic flat bread which is more Indian than anything else.. but it can be adjusted and made all sexy pretty fast.. I just happen to like plain..

She has kids.... kids need food that is/are sexy.. which means pizza.. but screw pizza hut grease bombs... kids need good stuff.. so ok... pizza hut can't compete with real olive oil.. hand kneaded dough.. slow raised, wild yeast sour doughs.. cracker crusts.. real sauces or lack of sauces.. uber custom tops.... or my demented ideas of what goes on pizza...

No cheap ass "pepperoini" thats just.... red grease.. they get the good stuff, aged, fermented and so good.... nothing else will do.... same with sausage... cheeses... olives.. mushrooms..

Trust me.... ... just cause I like flat bread, olive oil, basil and salt doesn't mean Im not schooled in the fine art of OMG pizza... replete with crusts that often get eaten by themselves.. cause they're that good...

Each ingredient stands by its self.... the crust.. the sauce, the pepperoni, the cheese etc..all need to pass the test.... and I like fresh Mozzarella... not the nothing taste bricks or pre shredded packing material.... I mean soft, lush and pretty.. sort of like the GF..

I like canned olives.. but klamata are sexier... so thats that... goat cheese is sexy too... but not everyone likes it.. the mushrooms... ever try morrels on a pizza?

Long story short..... Im working out the pizza doughs, sauces and tech for her... she can work the rest out with the kids..so they get it just how they want it...

They'll be so spoiled they won't even look at a box pizza.. just like I am.... hahaha

You do it your way..

2011-04-08T16:30:00.000-07:00

I do most things my way.. some chick told me once "your used to having everything your way" like it was a bad thing.... I just said "yes I am" and let it go.. because part of the deal about having everything my way.....is recognizing a fake and not caring what they think about who I am..

Besides... I really am used to having my own way...

The fluffy one thinks my habit of doing things my way is a good thing.... especially cooking .. since I share my recipes and we work out things together... She collects my rantings and cooks them... takes photos and puts them in a little book...with the recipes..

Its way to have dinner together.....regardless of logistics... she adjusts it all to suit her tastes.. an everyone lives happily ever after...

Which isn't a bad thing... she gets to have things her way.... it makes for a happy GF.

bioengineering

2011-04-07T12:21:00.001-07:00

http://cspinet.org/new/201012151.html

Plan B

2011-04-04T14:22:00.000-07:00

I got tired of using the comal to make my bread, so I thought it was time to show the grill trick... you can use expanded metal, ungalvanized hardware cloth, the grill out of a BBQ, even make the bread in the BBQ.. I like a little dark on the bread... it comes from cooking over a thousand or so campfires... and likeing brick oven pizza.. its the nature of the beast...

Bread from the grill.... all bubbly and good... hahahah

I slathered it with black olive spread and cut it into sections.... At least its mostly black olives.... Olive oil, anchovies, garlic, green olives, pimento and mushrooms were involved.... I recall basil, red wine vinegar and thyme.... being part of the process..

Which is the result of talking to the G/F about sexing up the basics.. via tapenades, bruschetta toppings, olive spread.. hummis with red peppers.. melted cheese, which I do a lot.. I really needed a tomato to chop up.. maybe some shrimp to add a little extra.. a boiled egg.. the idea is to build on the basic bread and add according to whats available.. sometimes its oil, garlic and salt.. others its anything from artichoke paste to fish roe..mozzarella and shrimp..mozzarella and mushrooms... the big trick is to like whatever you have on hand.

The same bread made on a comal a few days ago...parmesean salt an cumin..

I forget the best part..

2011-04-03T23:01:00.000-07:00

She gets it.... we have similar interests..and my knowledge base is so broad its hard to find anyone that can follow along as I bounce around..

Its not that I'm exceptionally smart or educated... I've just been around a long time, so I know stuff by default..and the whys..

The best part of it all is she doesn't roll her eyes up in slack jawed stupefaction while I rant..

Well then..

2011-04-03T18:16:00.000-07:00

So I showed her what my day entails... or at least a personal study type day entails..

Which has nothing to do with professional life... its just random information I stash away, like Genitically modified food crops.. and who the actors are.... The Ukraine famine which everyone has forgotten as well as the Katyn Forest massacare and who was invloved in that..

Forgotten facts... hidden historys and things that make ones skin crawl... stastics relating to genetic diseases and insanty.. which I read all day then confirm, cross index, evaluate and then get new info.. Slavery, the potato famine and who was behind both... who sold the food exported to whom and why... Who bought, transported and sold slaves..who owned the ships and plantations.. where the real epicenter of slavery was.. turns out it wasnt north america..

Hours of it.. slow steady and focused... 10 hours at a whack isn't out of line for me and being distracted isn't happening...

Sometimes its fun... soap stone cookware, copper.. rennstuff... events, gem an mineral shows.. fossil collecting areas... arts and crafts.. recipes for soap... prices on straight razors.. were to get this an that..

I know a lot of stuff because I work at knowing stuff....

Just as safe as agent orange.....and Aspertame

2011-04-02T17:49:00.000-07:00

Monsanto is a US based agricultural company. Its key business areas are agrochemicals, seeds and traits (including GM crops) and GM bovine growth hormones. Until the late 1990s Monsanto was a much larger ‘lifesciences’ company whose business covered chemicals, polymers, food additives and pharmaceuticals as well as agricultural products. All of these other business areas have now been demerged or sold off. Historically Monsanto has been involved with the production of PCBs¹, dioxins and the defoliant/chemical weapon ‘Agent Orange’.²

^{Who now assure us GMOs are safe regardless of proven science to the contrary...}

http://www.walletpop.com/2010/02/04/monsanto-the-evil-corporation-in-your-refrigerator/

http://www.groovygreen.com/groove/?p=2921

http://www.zcommunications.org/nutrapoison-by-alex-constantine

The FDA is ever mindful to refer to aspartame, widely known as NutraSweet, as a "food additive"-never a "drug." A "drug" on the label of a Diet Coke might discourage the consumer. And because aspartame is classified a food additive, adverse reactions are not reported to a federal agency, nor is continued safety monitoring required by law.1 NutraSweet is a non-nutritive sweetener. The brand name is misnomer. Try Non-NutraSweet.

Food additives seldom cause brain lesions, headaches, mood alterations, skin polyps, blindness, brain tumors, insomnia and depression, or erode intelligence and short-term memory. Aspartame, according to some of the most capable scientists in the country, does. In 1991 the National Institutes of Health, a branch of the Department of Health and Human Services, published a bibliography, *Adverse Effects of Aspartame*, listing not less than 167 reasons to avoid it.2

good reason to worry

2011-04-02T17:13:00.000-07:00

Lots of talk these days about the bullying of young boys and girls in school by more aggressive students. This brings to my mind the biggest bully of all: the biotech company, Monsanto Corporation.
Taken in context, Monsanto’s list of corporate crimes should have been enough to pull their corporate charter years ago. And yet we allow them to continue to destroy our food supply, our health and the planet. Monsanto or Monsatan?
Take a look at the company’s track record and decide for yourself.

Agent Orange: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agent_Orange
Monsanto was the major financial beneficiary of this herbicide used to defoliate the jungles of Vietnam and destroy the health of American troops and their offspring. It also allowed Monsanto and other chemical companies to appeal for and receive protection from veterans seeking damages for their exposure to Agent Orange and any future biotech creations.

Aspartame: As far back as 1994, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released a report listing 94 health issues caused by aspartame. It has been shown to cause slow but serious damage to the human body and yet it is used extensively in many commercial products.

Saccharin: Studies have shown that saccharin caused cancer in test rats and mice; and in six human studies, including one done by the National Cancer Institute, that consuming artificial sweeteners, such as saccharin and cyclamate, resulted in bladder cancer.

Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH): A genetically modified hormone injected into dairy cows to produce more milk, despite the fact that more milk was needed. The cows suffer excruciating pain due to swollen udders and mastitis. The pus from the infection enters the milk supply requiring more antibiotics to be given to the cows. BST milk may also cause breast cancer, colon cancer, and prostate cancer in humans.

RoundUp: The world's most commonly used herbicide and weed killer has been linked to non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, in a study by eminent oncologists Dr. Lennart Hardell and Dr. Mikael Eriksson of Sweden. Used on genetically modified crops resistant to RoundUp's active ingredient glyphosate, environmentalists and health professionals are concerned that far from reducing herbicide use, glyphosate-resistant crops may result in increased residues in food to which consumers will be exposed.

Genetically Modified Crops (GMO): Monsanto created Frankenfoods by gene-splicing corn, cotton, soy, and canola with DNA from a foreign source. Consequently these crops are resistant to massive doses of the herbicide, RoundUp, but in turn herbicide-resistant superweeds are taking over. After running into resistance in the west, Monsanto is pushing GMO crops in third-world countries.
According to physicist, ecologist, and activist Dr. Vandana Shiva, “Syugenta and Monsanto are rushing ahead with the mapping and patenting of the rice genome. If they could, they would own rice and its genes, even though the 200,000 rice varieties that give us diverse traits have been bred and evolved by rice farmers of Asia collectively over millennia. Their claim to inventing rice is a violence against the integrity of biodiversity and life forms; it is a violence against the knowledge of third-world farmers.”

Terminator Seeds: A technology that produces sterile grains unable to germinate, forcing farmers to buy seeds from Monsanto rather than save and reuse the seeds from their harvest. Terminators can cross-pollinate and contaminate local non-sterile crops putting in danger the future seed supply and eventually giving control of the world’s food supply to Monsanto and the GM industry.

Standard American Diet: According to the Organic Consumers Association, “There is a direct correlation between our genetically engineered food supply and the $2 trillion the U.S. spends annually on medical care, namely an epidemic of diet-related chronic diseases.
Instead of healthy fruits, vegetables, grains, and grass-fed animal products, U.S. factory farms and food processors produce a glut of genetically engineered junk foods that generate heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer. Low fruit and vegetable consumption is directly costing the United States $56 billion a year in diet-related chronic diseases.”

Like thats an accident and not covert Genocide?

The original letter

2011-04-02T14:07:00.000-07:00

I like how he gets painted as a nut job or unqualified by industry whores and useful idiots in the disinformation frenzy.... it reminds me soooo much of tobacco "scientists" attacking real science..that proves theyre murdreing bastards..

The letter was intended as to alert the government about preliminary research results that indicate serious problems. As Dr. Huber himself clearly states, more research is needed.
January 16, 2011

Dear Secretary Vilsack:
A team of senior plant and animal scientists have recently brought to my attention the discovery of an electron microscopic pathogen that appears to significantly impact the health of plants, animals, and probably human beings. Based on a review of the data, it is widespread, very serious, and is in much higher concentrations in Roundup Ready (RR) soybeans and corn—suggesting a link with the RR gene or more likely the presence of Roundup. This organism appears NEW to science!
This is highly sensitive information that could result in a collapse of US soy and corn export markets and significant disruption of domestic food and feed supplies. On the other hand, this new organism may already be responsible for significant harm (see below). My colleagues and I are therefore moving our investigation forward with speed and discretion, and seek assistance from the USDA and other entities to identify the pathogen’s source, prevalence, implications, and remedies.
We are informing the USDA of our findings at this early stage, specifically due to your pending decision regarding approval of RR alfalfa. Naturally, if either the RR gene or Roundup itself is a promoter or co-factor of this pathogen, then such approval could be a calamity. Based on the current evidence, the only reasonable action at this time would be to delay deregulation at least until sufficient data has exonerated the RR system, if it does.
For the past 40 years, I have been a scientist in the professional and military agencies that evaluate and prepare for natural and manmade biological threats, including germ warfare and disease outbreaks. Based on this experience, I believe the threat we are facing from this pathogen is unique and of a high risk status. In layman’s terms, it should be treated as an emergency.
A diverse set of researchers working on this problem have contributed various pieces of the puzzle, which together presents the following disturbing scenario:
Unique Physical Properties
This previously unknown organism is only visible under an electron microscope (36,000X), with an approximate size range equal to a medium size virus. It is able to reproduce and appears to be a micro-fungal-like organism. If so, it would be the first such micro-fungus ever identified. There is strong evidence that this infectious agent promotes diseases of both plants and mammals, which is very rare.
Pathogen Location and Concentration
It is found in high concentrations in Roundup Ready soybean meal and corn, distillers meal, fermentation feed products, pig stomach contents, and pig and cattle placentas.
Linked with Outbreaks of Plant Disease
The organism is prolific in plants infected with two pervasive diseases that are driving down yields and farmer income—sudden death syndrome (SDS) in soy, and Goss’ wilt in corn. The pathogen is also found in the fungal causative agent of SDS (Fusarium solani fsp glycines).
Implicated in Animal Reproductive Failure
Laboratory tests have confirmed the presence of this organism in a wide variety of livestock that have experienced spontaneous abortions and infertility. Preliminary results from ongoing research have also been able to reproduce abortions in a clinical setting.
The pathogen may explain the escalating frequency of infertility and spontaneous abortions over the past few years in US cattle, dairy, swine, and horse operations. These include recent reports of infertility rates in dairy heifers of over 20%, and spontaneous abortions in cattle as high as 45%.
For example, 450 of 1,000 pregnant heifers fed wheatlege experienced spontaneous abortions. Over the same period, another 1,000 heifers from the same herd that were raised on hay had no abortions. High concentrations of the pathogen were confirmed on the wheatlege, which likely had been under weed management using glyphosate.
Recommendations
In summary, because of the high titer of this new animal pathogen in Roundup Ready crops, and its association with plant and animal diseases that are reaching epidemic proportions, we request USDA’s participation in a multi-agency investigation, and an immediate moratorium on the deregulation of RR crops until the causal/predisposing relationship with glyphosate and/or RR plants can be ruled out as a threat to crop and animal production and human health.
It is urgent to examine whether the side-effects of glyphosate use may have facilitated the growth of this pathogen, or allowed it to cause greater harm to weakened plant and animal hosts. It is well-documented that glyphosate promotes soil pathogens and is already implicated with the increase of more than 40 plant diseases; it dismantles plant defenses by chelating vital nutrients; and it reduces the bioavailability of nutrients in feed, which in turn can cause animal disorders. To properly evaluate these factors, we request access to the relevant USDA data.
I have studied plant pathogens for more than 50 years. We are now seeing an unprecedented trend of increasing plant and animal diseases and disorders. This pathogen may be instrumental to understanding and solving this problem. It deserves immediate attention with significant resources to avoid a general collapse of our critical agricultural infrastructure.
Sincerely,
COL (Ret.) Don M. Huber
Emeritus Professor, Purdue University
APS Coordinator, USDA National Plant Disease Recovery System (NPDRS)

Hot off the www

2011-04-02T13:54:00.000-07:00

The widespread Internet posting of a letter by a retired Purdue University researcher who says he has linked genetically modified corn and soybeans to crop diseases and abortions and infertility in livestock has raised concern among scientists that the public will believe his "unsupported "claim is true.

(Calling research that exposes danger to human life an "unsupported claim" it a tactic used by Monsanto and others in agribusiness, tobacco and drug industry)

Monsanto... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agent_Orange they said agent orange was safe too...and the claims were "unsupported" you'll also notice the use of agent orange was meant to destroy civilian food crops.. and force migration to American controlled cities.... and remove the support and supply structure for combatants...by induced famine very close to the Ukraine model for genocide..

The letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has been posted on dozens of websites ranging from the Huffington Post to obscure gardening and food blogs, generating discussion on message boards about the controversial topic of genetically modified crops and their potential effect on animals and humans.
But other scientists (funded by the bio tech industry) say they have no way to verify professor emeritus Don Huber's claims because he won't provide evidence to back them up.

"People in the scientific community have at times made outlandish claims (Like the tobacco industy scientists claims of product safety for instance?) but it's been based on research that was flawed in some way, but at least the data was provided to be analyzed and critiqued," said Bob Hartzler, an Iowa State University agronomy professor who called the letter "extremely unusual, especially coming from the scientific community."

Huber, 76, wrote the letter to Vilsack in January, warning of a new organism he claims has been found in corn and soybeans modified to resist the weed killer Roundup.

Huber wrote that the organism could lead to a "general collapse of our critical agriculture infrastructure" and further approval of Roundup Ready crops "could be a calamity."

(Im not even thinking GMO's are a set up for an engineered famine in the US....Just like the one in the Ukraine that killed between 7 and 10,000,000 goyim... its just real convienient...and total serendipity a bonus)

Monsantos creation and use of agent Orange in Viet Nan was a proving ground for the idea that destruction of crops and covert genocide would be accepted by the world just like it was in the Ukraine..... Which the US and other nations are now being set up for..

Huber told The Associated Press the organism that concerned him was found in much higher concentrations in corn and soybeans grown from so-called Roundup Ready seeds than in grains grown from conventional seed, although the samples of conventional crops tested were too small to get a reliable result.

Huber believes the pathogen has made genetically modified soybeans more susceptible to sudden death syndrome and corn to Goss' wilt. He also claims it's linked to spontaneous abortions and infertility in livestock that eat feed generated from those crops.

Huber said he wrote the letter to Vilsack because he thought the U.S. Department of Agriculture needed to take immediate action and provide resources to further research his claims. He said he doesn't know how it reached the Internet.

Huber said he sent the letter through a third party so it could be hand-delivered to Vilsack.

The USDA acknowledged it had received the letter, but it doesn't appear USDA is investigating the matter.

"It has been confirmed that no letter addressed to Secretary Vilsack from Dr. Huber has been received "directly" by USDA," the agency said in a statement to the AP. "The only copy we received was forwarded by a third party, and we do not respond to third-party letters." The USDA declined to comment beyond that statement.

Monsanto,(Web search for legal actions against this fine company and their products) the St. Louis-based company that developed Roundup resistant seeds, said in a statement it was "not aware of any "reliable" studies that demonstrate Roundup Ready crops are more susceptible to certain diseases. (Not aware= ignores/denies )
GM crops have undergone a rigorous safety assessment following internationally accepted guidelines,(set by international industry) and no verifiable cases of harm to human or animal health have occurred." thus sayeth Monsanto...who can always be trusted to put the public safety over profit.. just like the makers of agent orange, tobacco, trans-fats, fake sugars, food dyes, asbestos, xrays and other radiation caused no "verifiable harm"

Huber's letter identifies himself as a retired Purdue professor, and it has left the Indiana university known for its agriculture programs in the uncomfortable position of being linked to research it can't verify.

"This is not Purdue research being carried on by people at Purdue University," said Peter Goldsbrough, director of the university's plant pathology department.

Goldsbrough said Huber declined to provide evidence supporting his claims or the names of his research partners.

"If someone is making a new discovery, they normally want someone to know about it and if this was an important environmental or agricultural problem, you would want to engage other people in finding what the causes of the problems are," he said. "I don't know what would be gained by not sharing."
Goldsbrough said nothing is being done to strip Huber of his association with Purdue.

Huber, who now lives in Melba, Idaho, said he started his research at Purdue and continued it in collaboration with other scientists in the Midwest, Florida, Brazil and Canada after retiring in 2006. He declined to name the other scientists, saying they asked to remain anonymous because the attention would distract from the research. (they would lose funding from agribusiness or be fired)

Huber acknowledged he was taking an unusual approach by not submitting his finding for other scientists to review. "The information on the new organism was new enough that there wasn't time for peer-reviewed papers and that it was serious enough I felt it was very important the secretary know what the situation was and that they exercise some caution before moving forward," Huber said.
The USDA, meanwhile, has moved ahead with an expansion of biotech crops.
In January, the USDA deregulated alfalfa and in February it partially deregulated sugar beets that have been genetically modified to withstand Roundup, which contains a chemical called glyphosate.
Paul Vincelli, a plant pathology professor at the University of Kentucky, said he talked with Huber last fall after he was asked to review a Kentucky researcher's work on the same topic. Vincelli declined to identify the Kentucky researcher, (which is now OK because he isn't Huber or rocking the boat) saying his review was a private consultation, but he said he has seen no evidence to support Huber's claims linking a new pathogen to crop diseases or animal fertility. (then he contradicts himself in the next sentence)

Vincelli said while research has shown the use of glyphosate may make some plants more susceptible to disease, (which does support Hubers claim) he is not aware of evidence of a new pathogen that increases that risk as Huber claims.

Vincelli said Huber is highly distinguished and well respected in the scientific community but said his recent work was "highly speculative."

( Meaning it contradicts agribusiness and monsanto claims of safety... like hand washing contradicted the once common pratice of surgons and doctors not washing their hands or instruments because they didn't accept contagion thoery....and that wasn't so long ago was it?)

"I'm not saying the claims are true or false. What we need is really good science on this issue," Vincelli said. "We're talking about extraordinary claims, and we need at least ordinary evidence in support of these claims."

(and we hear from the other side of his mouth.........Again)

Like this....

2011-04-01T16:38:00.000-07:00

I need to be in alternative living an thinking mode.....its like a mini vacation for me.. clears my head and actually gives me some pleasure and personal satisfaction..

I got busy thinking about hay boxes... wrapping my crock pot in a sleeping bag and slow cooking for free.... lets take it a step farther.. I really like the Thermos cooker.. its about $200 and worth every dime to me...

But... if your finances are light and having top of the line vacum insulation isn't in the cards...

As an option Im thinking one of these.... filled with vermiculite pillows that pack all snug around your pot... plus if you need extra water storage... you kind of have it on the ready... I use the things as ice chests too... but only for pickled foods, milk and dairy stuff.. you dont want chicken stuff in your water... the coolers are cheap, effective and easy to deal with..

Then theres the ice chest or chilly box..... same insulation pillow space blanket liner trick.. I just like vermiculite... fiberglass is ok... I just dont want to deal with it... straw and hay breaks down.. and while it works..I want something more long term..

You can have more than one pot in this set up .. plus theres extra storage if you need it cause you got lucky foraging again.. cheap and effective, easy to handle... they look good and make the transition from normal to emergency pretty painless...and normal.... mentally ice chests are about camping, picnics and fun... its a comfort thing that can keep your head right and it really is all about attitude...

Then theres this option which is kind of sexy... and makes a nice addition to ones camp decor and can be home made if you wanna... insulate the floor and walls with bead board and another space blanket... add the usual vermiculite pillows and its all good... line with plastic sheet it'll even hold water.. besides you can sit on it.. the other stuff is good.... but this is kind of home made sexy... you can do the same thing with an ammo crate, a foot locker, a plastic storage bin, a cardboard box..

One last note the insulation pillows dont have to be vermiculite.. they can be polyfil, buck wheat, rice hulls, saw dust, wood shavings, pillows from the motel 8.... or a sleeping bag engineered to fit...

I have the chests and coolers NOW.... when things do go south even if its just a three day or week long power outage...getting supplies at Wallmart isnt going to happen... forget refilling your propane... getting ice or much of anything else... unless your snowed in...and I've done that for a few weeks at a whack too.. its not a big deal if you know the basics.. like where to get water.. and not die, get cholera, worms or dysentary from drinking it... trust me sterilizing water is a priority.. which is another use for the rocket stove or solar oven...

Did you ever see this....

2011-04-01T15:00:00.000-07:00

Its part of my fixation with third world tech thats been stepped up and made sexy... and the rocked stove meets that criteria... or at least this one does.. I've seen a few made out of mud and tin cans.. they work fine... but this one is pretty AND works fine.. it burns twigs.. brush, sticks, dry grass...one is a dual fuel charcoal model...which is way cool.. so Im thinking...

I want one....

I've done this a time or two....it works and lots of people in the world are doing it now my bread cooker is cast rather than sheet iron, but its the same idea...kinda, sometimes I use a grate..

Phase two is retained heat cooking.... bring the pot to a boil on the stove first thing in the morning... then put it in a hay box to keep cooking... or one of these sexy shiny things... which is basically a giant thermos..they're great for beans, stews, congee, chicken stew kinda things... currys, rice... think of it like a non-electric crock pot...

I have used straw boxes, wrapped the dinner crock pot in a sleeping bag and done lots of things with a regular thermos....... but given a choice....I want the pretty one for my day to day life...its sexy and wont scare people..

Now theres the solar cooker, slash hay box issue... this one is a home built that I thought was great.. its prolly the color..and that it can be stuffed with insulation to keep cooking regardless of sun.. or how the pot got hot in the first place... see rocket stove again...

I have one of the cute units shown below... its straight solar...but gets up around 350 degrees on a so-so day...they cost between $250 an $300 but they are top O" the line..

There are others but they boast any sale they make in the US subsidizes third world sales.. getting gouged to subsidize anything pisses me off.. especially racist social engineering... and "white liberal" guilt..

Any way.... you get the idea... "off the grid" doesnt have to mean digging for roots with a stick.. it can be pretty plush what with solar water heaters, pasturization, solar panels and wind turbines.

Homes don't have to be 2,000 square feet or even have brick, stone or wooden walls...I like rammed earth and adobe..its been around for a few thousand years..and works ya know?

I really like tents... medieval and pimped out, which is handy since I spent a lot of years working renn faires... What makes it different than sheltering in Hati is attitude and what you know..

I like this stuff...its my normal..

She saw my dark side.....

2011-03-31T14:14:00.000-07:00

Rocket stoves and video was involved....

My nomadic "the world is in the brink of disaster" dealio involves rocket stoves.... they're simple cheap, effecient.. they burn twigs and stuff, grass, paper..leaves...charcoal

Which facinates me... cause Im a camp fire guy.. fire ring, 3 rocks to hold a pot, griddle, grill or what ever...

Cept some places don't have wood.... at least not campfire fodder... but nearly everywhere has twigs.. So Im interested..

There is a demo on you tube.... "how to feed your family on flour, water, oil, salt and twigs"....or something like that.... I got that the twigs were to cook the bread... not eaten.... and since it was a rocket stove video... I figured it wasnt a boy scout wrap dough around a stick vid....

I know what flour, water, olive oil and salt bread is.... I know what a rocket stove is... and everything related to what he was doing...... I just wanted to see how he did it...

OMG... I kept hopeing hed catch fire it was soo bad.... the second I saw the bag of cheap ass wall mart, white flour and funky canola/rape seed oil.... I knew this guy didnt like what he was doing.. it started bad and got to worse fast....

Granted my breads arent perfectly round but at least they look like I was paying attention..... and they look nice.. I add a little cumin.. some red pepper flakes an olive oil or garum.. even a tapenade when its done.. and its good stuff..

Then theres hummis... whole wheat flour and chick peas last a long time as do anchovies... so I keep all that stuff on hand... same with cumin and red pepper flakes.. but thats my idea of how its done..

This guy was talking about feeding his family on the "bread" he made.... talking stupid shit about jelly... and peanut butter... which isnt made from peanuts its hydrogenated oils that has peanut flavor in .... looking at that $4 a ton white flour he was using.. you know the cheap bastard wasn't going for the good stuff...... and besides... where was he planning on buying it?

His senario was no power..armageddon, bare survival mode... yeah, good luck with that... best get a jack rabbit for dinner... or some pigeons..

It was demeaning to bread..... if he tries to feed his family that, I bet he gets shanked... and I noticed, he didn't eat the "bread" he took a sissy bite an that was that... it was kinda fugly.. but well made bread "hot off the rock" is good stuff which gets wolfed down not nibbled..

Bastards.... I relly need to have a "what cha gonna do now" cooking school.... replete with solar ovens, retained heat, pressure cookers and Rocket stoves... and teach how to catch a rabbit/pigeon or the neighbors dog...

A 50# bag of beans lasts a long time... and you can have pintos, pinks, northerns, lentils, and on and on.. black beans, navys, black eyed peas.. chick peas add a bag of white and another of brown rice or 12.. whole wheat flour.. or better still the wheat its self and a hand mill....

I know where this guy lives..... its on the coast and lush... he can scrape whelks, muscles and barnacles off the piers and rocks... get a seal... gull eggs.. seaweed.. crabs.. mushrooms, all kinds of stuff and he goes on about preparedness and feeding his family?

Hahahaa... better work at it.... cause there won't be a wallmart around...

I kept sending her the link so she had to watch it..... it was all sad....

The stove was cool though..... he had it on his truck tailgate just like I cook... kinda made the same bread dough... I just use good ingredients....and tend to be sort of horrible about knowing what I can eat in the neighbors yard...

Man cannot live by bread alone...... Hahahahaha.. he needs a quail, a rabbit, mb a pigeon or dove... some mesquite beans and nopalitos... a lizzard or big ass rattlesnake...

Give us this day our daily bread.... is just lazy and ungreatful...

Gotta have skills...

2011-03-30T13:47:00.000-07:00

"You know, like numchuck skills, bow hunting skills, computer hacking skills. Girls only want boyfriends who have great skills."

--Napolean Dynamite

Which reminds me....

2011-03-28T12:49:00.000-07:00

The juggeling act goes on....... hustle, scramble, hustle.. avoid the yawning pits in the road and the big assed bear traps... then maybe you have a grab at the brass ring... or at least thats the thoery...

Razors... if you get the best you can find.. your set for life...

Not the most expensive... the best and.... there is a difference... I try hard to find the best whatever... I dont want 5 cheap anything.... I want one...

I live in small areas...mostly under 200 square feet.....it began when I was a kid living in flea bag hotels with one washroom per floor.... I kept it up working rennfaires and craft shows.. it was all about trucks, tents and tarps, there was the occasional apartment.. they mysterys of which I never did figure out..

However thats not the point..... I've never had the luxury of wasting money on shite....or the room to store said shite.... everything has a destiny and purpose..there are no string collections, drawers full of dead batteries, old cell phones or cheap flashlights that never work... no ink pens that are dead... none of it...

I'll spend $20 on a pen..... but it's gonna work no matter how long it sets.... I have paid over $100 for a Mont Blanc..... but my $7 papermate was a nicer pen....so I sold the Mont Blanc to some guy who hated the idea of me owning one.... can't have the lower classes being all uppity now can we.....

So... papermate is good.... I do like waterfords and Cross pens.. but the agenda is different.. its more an art thing.... I still want the right feel and flow... which is ironic given my hand is anything but beautiful....something about broken bones, misspent youth and nerve damage ending in penmanship no amount of pratice will fix...

Still... I like pens with silver barrels... maybe ivory if they aren't totally gay.. horn, ebony.. all things interesting... not that I collect or buy them.... its just a fancy... a notion... Im not bent to take pen in hand...or ceremonially sign anything... and the $7 pen is just as good for my purposes..

I keep thinking about the fluffy one......and 200 square feet... then I study actual floor plans, thinking... this could be art... its not like Im not a tricky bastard.... Think Vardo... gold leaf, carving, stained glass.. wheel engraved.. etched.. glue chipped.. hard wood everything.. leather this an that... custom whatever...

Not to mention solar panels an a neon kit.... pneumatics...

Mobility, 10 acres in some green Eden... and a garden shed.

I keep stirring around...making notes... and sooner or later its going to come together...

2011-03-27T23:04:00.000-07:00

Today was the day I unveiled one of my ridiculous habits.... aside from keeping stuff in cigar boxes... having more than one set of scissors. and a silver thingy for aspirin.... The issue of having 16 or so straight razors on hand wasn't addressed the one on the left is ivory...some are collectable an kinda pricey.. Puma, Double Duck and HenckelsTwins..

I like the notion of shaving as zen.... the razors themselves as art and old school bad assery ..

Talking to the fluffy one it occours to me her son is getting to be that age...and I need to be introducing him to the proper rituals or want to at any rate....nobody gave enough of a fuck to show me the good stuff when I a young guy....so I had to chase it...but whatever.. it worked out, he wants to know stuff.... an I know stuff...

Im thinking maybe I might get my hustle on and find him something amazing... and maybe rebuild and sell a few while Im at it... a good razor ready to shave is a couple of hundred bucks.... so I think I can make a few bucks... what with access to ironwood, ivory and some other material for scales... not to mention some silver smithing....and a little scrimshaw....Hobby stuff... cause I don't really have a lot of time for actually earning a living...or know what to do with money in my pocket

Live by the sword, die by the sword..

2011-03-27T16:30:00.000-07:00

Eat or be eaten.....

Choke the chicken or be choked by the chicken..... in this case I was choked, not my chicken..

Rice and white meat kinda get caught half way down if Im not careful.....an sho nuff I wasn't careful.....

So I'm choking.. cant breathe.. forget calling anyone cause, its not happenin.... what am I gonna say? Gaakkkkk?

I manage to shift stuff around so I can breathe..... which was kinda good..but its sketchy an subject to being cut off...so I have to control a few impulses not panic and get my plan B together... I can't swallow the bolus or puke it up.. then I started foaming.. but Im breathing.... the block is in my chest... not throat.. so plan B comes apart... theres no way to make a hole.... then the sweat comes.. the whole diaphoretic sweat thing.. just before you die..

I'm thinking... my body is being tricked and over reacting.... so I call bullshit on the whole process... my heart isnt an issue... I am breathing...so it just is what it is...

Now the bolus is swelling.....and its 45+ minutes to a ER.... the gag reflex is a constant battle cause the lump needs to go down not up so I don't choke out...

I figure the odds and drive to the ER... I have to stay calm... move slowish...not get excited..don't spike my blood pressure or start breathing heavy....no dislodging the alien.. but theres the foam issue and Im trying not to drown....so things got fancy...but I make it to the ER.... Sweating like a pig.. trying not to wretch or drown....pass out or get too excited...

Breathe in breathe out.... you have 4 minutes once your heart stops and the clock starts ticking once breathing stops..... I'm figuring the odds are good.... I laid out the problem and things are getting ready for a little worst case action.... then I start drinking water to lube it up an maybe force things down....

Nope.... I'm gagging and wretching but nuffin good is happening.... dry heaving so hard my legs shake.... and Im dehydrating....

All good... WTF can one expect.... nothing can go either way....

They plan on giving me a shot they think will relax the smooth muscles..... I'm thinking.... and if that doesn't work? I keep at it.... straight posture... moving.. cause you never know... then it gets bad..

So I wander off...... Im just starting to heave again and feel the lump break loose, which instantly ends the wretching..... Angels sing... I say. "I'm raizin up ya'll" "I'm Audi" "C-ya"

The nurse has the shot ready... but 5 seconds too late... I'm swilling water and on my way out the door like a stray dog on a mission... which I sorta was....

Mission being get out the door... before I get Ebola, Anthrax or the Plague.... the whole "have a seat on the exam table" creeped me out.... being as how someone left a used latex exam glove on the table.. and latex is porus, so what good are they exactly?

We wont talk about the face masks they were passing out..... I know what it takes to stop H1N1 and it wasn't these Michal Jackson costume looking things..

But I suspect everything......its my nature....and I'm a professional

Shoulda stuck with chili verde for breakfast...... not chicken.. the whole thing kinda messed up my morning....

Lunch was a caprase salad.....an my stuff is sore... my swallowing stuff.. not the other stuff... that'll teach me not to run around feeding my face without thinking about what Im doing... or lubing the chicken....

Whos long distance now?

2011-03-26T13:16:00.000-07:00

Increasing workloads are blamed for couples now spending less than an hour a day talking while together, with one in five of us spending just 15 minutes a day chatting in person....

You can be alone in a room full of people....... live with a stranger you have nothing in common with and when the story is all said and done...

Thats the "norm"....

But then lots of other things are the "norm" and equally fucked up....So I don't do them either..

Mine is more......15 minutes of damn you look good... is there time to see you naked? Then conversation ensues.....which has nothin to do with pink bits....

I like my GF.. I talk with her every chance I get and do it for hours cause I like her and think shes important... I can't say hello in 15 minutes much less what color panties are you wearing..

How was your day.. how goes the struggle.. what do you think that light at the end of the tunnel is? Daylight or a train? What do you want, need, hope and think... hows the kids doin.. OMG hes old enough to shave? Lets look at straight razors and start him out old school cool...

15 minutes...... they don't mention 12 of the 15 norm is evasion and bullshit...then the remainder is anger....

But I don't like fast food either...even if its the norm to have X times a week.. My GF is younger than me... and maybe thats out of the norm except for rockstars and politicians.. we never asked about that..... we just like what we like.. the norm at my age is to bond with the couch.. not a woman....

Forget school, degrees, changing ones profession.... or doing much of anything.. its not the norm...

Except...... I question who decides what the norm is? I can't remember delegating that authority in my little world....so Im thinking someone needs to fuck off...

15 minutes isnt enough.....and I wonder who bought that con... who made silly shit more important than the person whos willing to live with you.... wear the duck mask and dress up like tinker bell to get you off.... not to mention conspire towards a better life together...

I dunno....I claim the right to decide my own norm....and not make the GF cry...or feel like shes a fringe element rather than my bestest pal...

I like hearing about work, kids, plotting and scheming...random herbalisim and arcane bits of the day... Granted Im a yup/yep type conversationalist.... but Im paying attention...and in the same room..

Seeing the GF smile an be happy is way more important than anything I can think of off the top... I go "huh" a lot....cause Im not a relationship control freak.. she can have opinions, argue the point ask anything...say anything she wants...ask me what color boxers Im wearing... be herself cause thats how it needs to be.... I want her, to be her with no fixin, no "you'd be perfect if" bullshit.....I figure I can keep her interested in me without mind fucking her into submission...

I blame the hat.... the hat knows its the shit....and doesnt need to prove it is...

So... we have fun.. we like talking and make time for it.... all night some nights.. all day other times.... I think yesterday it was whey, tofu, chili verde, lilac vegital, work, kids, a request for me to connect with the youngest on a site I cant ever remember.... working out..recovery food...weight lifter ice cream...a cute smile or two, hornyness...flea markets/flea market stick food stomach aches and life in general..

More than 15 minutes worth.... and its our daily deal... shes at top of the pyramid... everything else is..... not the top..

An shes right 15 minutes is about the start of a good smooch...... and I mean SMOOoooooch no absent minded cheek pecks....

My oh my..

2011-03-25T11:38:00.000-07:00

Odd day yesterday.....

Drycleaner interview... seamstress interview... thrift store haunting.. truck checking up on...I got recognized at one ot those road side places by someone I hadn't seen in 10 years.... and told "your never going to blend in" "all you have to do is open your mouth".... "even if you just stand there not saying a word..... you talk shit"..

Yeah well..... OOpsee..

Other than that... there was some comment from the cleaner.. we were talking about my suit and jackets.. I explained about them being wool summer weights and good quality... cause I sorta know what to look for and how to buy clothes....

I was told she knew I was one of those men that "knew how to dress"...even if I was uber casual in my usual black T shirt, jeans and vest.... I was well kept.....my personal matinence had been done and there was no foot dragging or slouching...shirt tucked in, clothes clean and not guyiffied... which was kinda nice...

Its easier to have good posture.... stand up straight etc....

I blame the Lilac Vegital... theres a thing I have to do.. and its business formal so having my suits in top shape is kind of critical..the hair and beard is dealt with....all trimmed up and pretty..

I need to do a photo in full regallia....rather than my day to day scramble clothes... not that it matters to me...... its mostly to amuse the G/F.... the clothes are the work "uniform" and its part of the evaluation... I can't show up in boots, chinos and a wife beater and even think about getting in the door... much less all the stuff I have to do....

Ya have to be ready.... my biggest problem is to watch how I move and stand...not let that "on the corner" thing slip in.. hahahaha...

But if youth isnt mis-spent, its not youth is it?...So I try to be aware of how I move......not all nervous and twitchy aware.. just less Doc Holiday with that one eye brow cocked..which I sorta fail at...

Work onna truck got done.. not much, but some...Im thinkin seriously about _______________
I don't really want to.."but"

Other than that, its classes..... dinner and cravings.. I've had it to easy lately, a hot plate and now gas for my stove.... I deliberately made bread in the gas flame so it would burn a little... cause I missed the taste... I need to build a fire and cook outside for a bit to get it out of my system... Im wanting that whole smoke and "char" thing.... only on the bread though.. not the stick food ..

The hat sez...."Oh?"

2011-03-24T21:39:00.000-07:00

I tidied up my beard after this by about %50 and am now more sleek and areodynamic....... you can even see I have purty lips now.......

Another day of... I dunno

2011-03-23T10:46:00.000-07:00

I have classes' and exams about every two days... which I pass.. mostly because I pay attention and actually study...

So now I'm scheduled for the big show...which means, more hurdles to jump and hoops to leap through.. more full scale activity...and what not..

I get that its not as much about lab rat feeder bar stuff.. or maze cheese..

Its an elimination process... you fail, you're washed out... and ironically the consolation prize is... not much consolation..

No... real simple.. no... anything I get tasked with gets done.. period, if I have to study for weeks thats what gets done... if I have to grab my bag and run for the door in 30 minutes at 3 AM.. I do that..

I still need a new hat.....

Not that I don't make this one look gooooood....... Im just feelin some new hat lust.... fur felt, fully lined, Stetson- Homborg hat lust.... same style.... just, more...everything.. so the haters have something to talk about...

Fear the hat... feel the hat, want the hat... bow down to the hat...

you know you want to...

Dang...

2011-03-22T17:03:00.000-07:00

Dang... my phone is jumpin and email is coming about as fast as I can answer it... Its sort of scary how things are starting to fall into place.... but that is kind of the idea innit?

I bit it off.... so that is that... its not like I can't handle it...

Im just not used to things going my way..

One day closer.. one step closer...its funny I can handle "no" over and over... or things falling apart one after the other and even deal with absolutely heart breaking dissapointment in everything that matters....

But things going my way... scares me.. not that I'll fall down.... Im just... antsy.. I wanna grab it and run...shreiking "mine biches" and bounce around in unholy glee.... but can't...

The clock is tickin.... and its no longer about "can you step up an do this" its "can you last"..sort of like being 30 seconds tougher than someone your in the ring with.... not the ultimate anything.. just 30 seconds more determined to gut it out........

Now lets see if I can make being stubborn pay....

One step at a time.. one day at a time... ya know?

The fluffy one has an interview.... I'll know stuff by the end of the month... plus I have a plan B money plan......cause Im tired of being broke.... I need a new hat...

And I like a nice hat.....

Lunch... kinda

2011-03-21T14:51:00.000-07:00

The bread is cooked on a comal.... griddle, heavy skillet, a grate....a shovel... whatever, it puffs up in a minute or so..... then you turn it

Then you add the cheese if you want it.... parmasean... monterey jack, pepper jack.. I like parmasean... its got more flava....

In the end you can add cumin, paprika, red pepper flakes, salt and thyme... depending on your bent

thats kinda it ......yogurt, fruit mb stick food, hummis or whatevers close, an tea.. green or masala

Hahahah...

2011-03-21T10:57:00.000-07:00

I almost had to block myself.....but I found the follow/stop following thingy in time...

Gawd...

Today is all relaxed, tomorrow I'll worry about the truck, and doing all that....

Right now I'm on a flat bread kick....usually I eat it while its still hot from the comal..but I'm thinking why can't I hold it for a few hours... granted theres no preservatives or anything but whole wheat, salt, oil and water.....but the bread should stay pliable for a little bit... like a pita or tortilla...

Basically I want to carry it with me for lunch pre-cooked rather than make it on the spot like normal.. making the bread on the spot a little too non-Caucasian for some folks and creates curiosity I don't want......... besides black business formal and flour don't mix so well....

Progress no?

I can buy "ok" bread at my pre-evaluated food stops, I just prefer my own baking... I can make it about as fast as walking into a bakery..getting the goods and waiting in line...and its cheaper..fresher, blah, blah, blah.... .30 cents instead of $3...

Not that my lunch isn't subject a of debate all ready..

Lunch..or is it dinner..

2011-03-20T18:41:00.000-07:00

Caprese salad... tomatoes, fresh mozarella, olive oil an basil....thats kind of it.. I made flat bread and slathered it with the famous anchovy, garlic, olive oil concoction... and a little parmasean...

Long week.... I tried to follow a friend and ended up adding me to my own blogger.. and I'm not that into me....

One more for the dunny series....

2011-03-20T10:13:00.000-07:00

Yeah well...... I have a thing about taking photos in dunnys.... which is disturbing on a few levels since carrying a camera into one raises eyebrows.. not that I care... I just like to document graphitti.... mirror matinence, ambiance, vandalisim...and my appearance at 3AM or whatever....

So... thats done..

2011-03-20T09:58:00.000-07:00

And the sun comes up....this is from the parking lot at my food stop, I got lucky and found stuffed grape leaves, greek yogurt, fruit an what not for the day..

The class got dealt with....and it turns out the information is restricted.. Which seems to be a theme lately...

I ate a doughnut as an act of PD solidarity.. while the director is telling me the coffee is summatrian and ground that day..... blah blah blah... but he knows I run around on scant sleep and coffee is my substitute for the will to live.... and knows me well enough to mess with me over my habits...

It was worth doing though... even if 99.9% of it was stuff I already knew... now I get "recognition" for it....by recognition, I mean college credit.... I've researched and some colleges cost $60 per credit for the obscure JR colleges to $300 for a top 4.. the average is $150-200ish...

Class let out....

I bailed to check in at another place to get my uniform shirts and got drafted into a First Aid/CPR class.. which took 45 minutes and annoyed me..

My previous training was at the professional rescuer level/wilderness its on you type..... which took 8 hours dealing with chunks missing and multiple horrors.. this was...... meeh "put a bandaid on it"..

I dont think they'ed do well seeing a human flayed down to the bone much less dealing with it..

But..whatever.. the class met their needs.. and got my mind off dessicated corpses, who don't need first aid at all... Still it wasn't a loss because I was observing the instructors critically.. and know what not to do when its my turn...

People left with more questions than they came with.... the idea is to give folks information they trust and are confident in using... ya know? Not mystify them to the point they get confused..

Its literally life or death..... and needs to get done faster than you can think...

I didn't get my shirts, the commissary being closed...but it was Saturday so Im not all that twisted over it....Lazy fukkers..

ironically

2011-03-18T12:57:00.000-07:00

I opted out of the crime scene class A, because I was more interested in mass care and shelter operations B...

Mass Care and shelter class B was then cancelled after I had opted out of the Crime scene class A..... But at least I didn't drive 6 hours to be told there was no class like last time...not that I flipped out my contact did...

Then I got an email saying... "you need the crime scene training" A, and I was informed the instructor is a big deal... which he is...and I've been hearing about how good the class A is for a while...

So I signed back up....for A..

Then..... Im told college credit.... paid for by them.... and retro active....for God knows how many credits are inolved for work I had no idea was even elligible college credits.. so who knows..

I have over 150 hours....of lecture, labs and practicums in the one discipline... if 15 hours of "in class" time equals 1 credit.... Im staring at about 10 credits....which are worth $150-$250 each..

And its all bonus stuff, I hadn't counted on.. The rest of the credit info relates to internships and other schemes I have going....

One 50-minute period per week for 15 weeks is less than or equal to

1 semester credit hour ...........

Laboratory, Practicum, Clinical Field, and Similar Experience

Two 50-minute periods per week for 15 weeks is less than or equal to

1 semester credit hour

Studio and Similar Experience

Three 50-minute periods per week for 15 weeks is less than or equal to

1 semester credit hour

Today..

2011-03-17T20:15:00.000-07:00

The result if the exercise is..... a barrage of recruit email and phone calls that I didn't expect, I was just looking for a good report.....

Then later in the evening I was told a block of credits would be paid for...that classes I didn't consider as credit classes do in fact count.. even the pre-requisites count and get paid for..

Its a huge jump forward of 13 credits or more and paid...so were boys now hahahaah..a credit costs $300 sooooooo......I like the program and it just got priority..

It was Killa

2011-03-16T08:06:00.000-07:00

The evaluators checked me out and I was found to be proficient..

The Director is excited.. there were hundreds of people running around and I knew a whole bunch of them.. I proved I know my stuff and my skills arent just on paper or in the classroom..

I am fit for my position.... so my rating/Manna/Mojo/JuJu... shot through the roof...

No photos were done.... on account of security.. the location was and is secret... there were about 100 cops running around and it was locked down... Mass decon, transport, security checks...people, animals anything... we had to prove we were able to process X% of the population within X radius in X time.... Decon, Feed and House...

It was great.... In the beginning I was being baby sat by a more "experienced" agency rep... but I adapted so fast he was reassigned...

I ended up asserting and instructing staff about protocalls...Mainly because I was tired of hearing the wrangeling.....then it was about confirming assignments and tracking personel requests from cradle to grave.... made dozens of contacts, defined inter-agency agreements then broke it down to staff again... with a don't go around me or break chain of command..

I forgot all about being nervous.... or having any anxiety... once the bell rings, you do what you do..

If the shoe fits.... make sure it looks good..

2011-03-16T07:33:00.000-07:00

I thought about my hat fetish and decided to do take shoe pics instead.. I have about 15 hats.. not caps, hats.. Fedoras.. Straws, a Homburg, Stetsons .."son"..a leather cowboy hat that just screams trailer park, a trilliby or two.... one or two custom jobs...and work hats I didnt count.. slouch hats and the ever present boonie hat..which I like cause I can use it like a bucket to pour water over my head and then wear it wet....

But today is shoes... the famous standard business type... with a cap toe.. I have a few new pair in boxes..cause Im a freak about having back up shoes.. dress shirts still in the packages.. etc.. which is long story.. packages of boxers, new socks.. its kind of weird really.. 30 or 40 ties.. but I never know what I'll be dressing for.... so thats how it is.. I didn't bother with the boots.. or woven pretty shoes.. which I have a few more pairs of...

Then theres these but they are more about getting my Mojo werkin going out in the big city.... not they don't need a brush up they got sort of dusty and dim from not being used... I like for them to glow in the dark...

A word of advice.. never wear good shoes to a hillbilly wedding, wet grass and mud is kind of a no-no but its not like I don't have a few more pair...The Bostonians are hidden somewhere..but Im still good...

I got kinda stuck on wanting deer skin or elk hide, cap toe shriners... Im about due for some fun and the fluffy one in into it.. you know.. shine up, see the sights.. give people something to talk about..

Confession.....s

2011-03-14T04:15:00.000-07:00

We were talking, she splurged on some new boots.... and has ideas about other things, mostly to do with black cocktail dresses... girly, girl heels....garters, nylons and you know..

And I get to have an opinion ...... my tastes lean towards classics, main reason being, the good stuff never goes out of style and lasts forever...

Part two is...... how its made and of what trumps who its made by...

I like lambs wool suits and silks cause the material drapes right, but that doesn't matter if its a lame cut..

I don't care whos name is on the label.... chances are Im going to take it to a tailor anyway...and past a few hundered bucks your just paying for a signature by some limp wrist..

Then theres hats... she's only seen one... I have a few.. I like fedoras but who doesnt? I have a thing for Panamas..Optimos and big brim Planters maybe a Mombasa... but they're getting popular and its messing up my sartorial self expression..

I like Homburgs.... all kinda godfatherish or notorious big lookin.. however, whatever I don't care...and the secret is fur felt is nicer than wool but it multiplys the price a few times....

The last thing was shoes.... hahahah.. its so sad, Im stuck on fully lined cap toe shriners.. Seriously.. I like Florshiems for work... Bostonians for dress up and tonight I was eyeing some Bruno Maghli cap toes....

I like elk hide and deer skin in the uppers... the cap I like to be cow hide, its all weird and funny given my lifestyle...hand made silk ties.. hahahahaha I like linen and or cotton shirts.... but wear black T shirts, leather vests, blue jeans and boots for everything but classes...

Polyester must die......

Anyway....shes all pretty an curvy...long legged, its gonna be soooooo easy.... then we go see the alterations people an OMG... something short.. something long... something black an something red...mb taupe or cream... then the cloth... same rules..wools silks and cottons..

Who knows..... or find a Chinese tailor.. hahaha

Custom tailored silk dress shirts run about $75... and once they have your info.. they can bang em out by the truck load....

Why I know that stuff I have no idea.....

Tomorrow is the day

2011-03-11T20:36:00.000-08:00

I slept most of the day...or napped at any rate, at least I'll have some rest when 4:00 AM comes even if its the tail end of my day.... I'll have some reserves..

Then..... got the bright idea to jump jurisdictions so I can fast track and get more classes which I've done before.. I did a class last night which goes into the resume.. and have more lined up to keep me busy...

That they happen to be interesting is a bonus......

The truck is coming together... which translates into making money selling stuff.... I contacted a friend of mine, he suggested odd jobs... and Im thinking I should put up flyers... why not? I like doing different things...and know how to replace a water heater...

And its not a bad gig....... I could still baby sitting knuckelheads and making zero forward movement....

Headway

2011-03-10T20:45:00.000-08:00

I think I have the truck issue resolved and the clock hasn't run out, so we talked about it and got things clear...

The job hunt is still crap.. but my truck is my job..and I haven't forgotten how to make money..

So its going to work.. I can carry a lot of shiny baubles hither and yon.. which has been part of my deal for years... rennfaires and road side markets... gem an mineral shows, meta physical and new age type gigs... if the money is there I can get it... one days work equals one months money at a good spot..

Who can resist henna and ankle bells.... crystal balls and incense, bugs in amber or weird stuff in general... its not like you can get anything I sell at Wallmart...

The new Disaster Services class is on the 12th..... the crime scene thing got moved to the 19th and now I get both with no stress. ... But I tend to be lucky and it resolves yet more conflicts...

I want that Spanish class... its a priority.. I run into more Spanish speakers than crime scenes.. and I need a language for my degree so logic dictates I move in that direction...

Besides its more of that luck Im prone to... I never count on it, but I make the most of it...

carpe noctum..

You really can't panic, break down from stress, get discouraged or let yourself give up....because you never know when things are going to shift...you need to be ready for plan B or to improve plan A....

So now I relax... fill out my registration and pack.. then go into study mode.. its a different type of work but the pay off is huge on the back end..

Another day...

2011-03-09T18:57:00.000-08:00

Truck... nothin... Job "A" nothin..... the truck is annoying me...so is the job.. if a guy is that jammed...up get a temp... Me...I have my DOT physical and Im good ta go...

I did get an apology over wasting my time and money.... but that doesn't make it all ok.....I want to be made whole as the courts say....

The new class is on the 12th..... except thats when I have a crime scene preservation exercise..

So I need to decide...... which moves me forward?

Im down for a three day symposium in April.... I get fed.. and they offer Crime scene preservation as a break out session..... but more importantly they have CPR, AED and First Aid yet again..which I need to renew.... the next thing is Spanish for emergency personel.. More mass care planning and some other classes I want...

I read the menu and the meals arent bad so I'll actually eat the stuff rather than take a basket like usual... ok I'll take a basket...just because..

Its an important gig... seminars and symposiums are part of the recruiting process.. as well as where you make and renew connections... I looked at the guest speakers and instructors lists..... I know a lot of them... so its a must...

Im still thinking about it......

Part of the trip close to the mine..and a different river..

2011-03-09T03:10:00.000-08:00

Its all in an area I hide out at..speaking of washed out bridges, dirt roads, nearby mountians along with various nooks and crannies... the bridge was great about letting the water flow under it...but when the water went over the top there were some problems... not that a bridge is needed most of the time..or even a road for that matter..

The road pavement kind of got washed out with the bridge.... the trak on the left goes around the bridge head

And a lone camper not that I'd really call it camping..its more like a guy parked on a flat spot.. which I might add is in a flood area 30 feet lower than the washed out road...which is why the soil is different, pale, and not much for brush.... but its not the rainy season and hes happy havin fun..

Desert Pavement looks like this.. coarse and rocky blackened by a few eaons of sun... his camp got like that from sand and silt being deposited by flood waters..

River trip....

2011-03-09T01:55:00.000-08:00

It flooded, people died, houses got lost... it was even a declared disaster

Not that one would suspect since its not exactly screaming water, water everywhere

And heres a little secret no one mentions... a 40' tall pile of tailings and dirt which (possibly)backed the waters up like a dam till it washed out....the face thats exposed is 30' high... ..which the Army Corps of Engineers somehow missed...along with the rest of the anomoly.... people died upstream in the (speculated) back up.... but commercial interests (seem to) always trump the public interest.. I had to put in the (disclaimer things) so I don't get sued or appear critical of Gov inaction then end up on a no-fly list...

A little more of the river and you kinda get the idea.... things arent really what they seem and what happened last year doesnt mean its going to be like that this year...its called a flood plain for a reason...people just tend to forget.... I've seen 30 feet of liquid hell with cars floating away more than once..and you've got no chance.. your not going to drive through it.. one guy I know tried driving through 18" of water... and ended up on a 6 foot deep hole where the roads pavement had been scoured out by fast water...

The whole area is marked with flash flood warnings.. and you don't see it coming looking overhead...it can be a storm in the mountians 25 miles away and you'll never feel a drop of rain..

All that water and the fishing blows......

Busy, busy....

2011-03-08T23:53:00.000-08:00

I have a river walk to post... but its late and Im tired and think 36 hour days might be called for....

I was making flat bread... goofing off.. rolling it thin enough to see the plate pattern through then thought how flexible it was and so close to filo....which let to speculation.. an a what if I use cheese in the folds instead of butter moment... so I did it....I forget how many times I cheesed, folded, rolled turned and re-cheesed....till it was more cheese than flour...

I chilled it... then rolled it out an tossed it on the comal..... sacrey good....it puffed up like mad and was somewhere between a cheese straw an a cheddar tortilla, soft was good and crispy better....so Im thinking a little work with a cookie cutter and I have the key to some weird ass completely wrong nachos...

I made chili verde which started with a pork roast the size of my head...... and went from there.. now I have to eat it.... hence the chedder tortillas... no photos got made,

I was busy obsessing.... then stuffing my face.. no sleep, lots of stress, paper work glitches and getting sand bagged, the truck is supposed to be done in a week but still no work has gotten done... so I fall back on kitchen zen... which is my go-to therapy..

ahh well tomorrow is a new day....hahahahaha and Im not even close to done.. Bastards...

2011-03-07T23:39:00.000-08:00

This was part of the day.....

I spotted a quartz out crop..which usually means mine or prospect, which was the case...

Sometimes there are petroglyphs, grind stones or stone tools and heres the prospect which didnt pay off..

And some more this.. rather than that

2011-03-07T05:31:00.000-08:00

The day was longer and more complex than one may think....I did a river walk to show a friend how our rivers act.... a mine, a mill site, a prospect..a stone cabin, Mexican terracotta to pretty up my dinner... and amuse my GF... some wild flowers

And an old homestead... which always gave me a funny feeling and questions I have no answer for... "Why" being a biggie... What did they do? How did they live...

No electricty.. no cooling... nothing.. no light... maybe gas lamps or kerosene... or they just went to bed early... women tended to die around 26....and I think thats a generous recollection...

It all has bearing on why I dont use A/C, I know people did without it till recently... we're just weak now

keeping cool needed a hole in the ground behind the house..where it was shady at one time there was no road..no powerlines..just a track in the dirt.. not that its nuch better now... and prolly worse.. given the neighbor hood... trailers like the ones across the street blow up and burn all the time.. I even have a photo of one going up.... just a little further down the road, I lived out here for a couple of years and have a friend who still does..

Another one goes up in a blaze..I lived about a mile away and stuff blows up on a regular basis in that little compound.... it was special.....this time stuff caught fire and some brush went up too.....it was dandy and no fire department either.. besides a weapon I carry binoculars, they save me a lot of walking.... no zip ties and duct tape... I look for trails...mines, prospects, caves, quartz veins.. which tend to point to mines, I like to look at anything out of the norm... discolorations... geologic weirdness...shadows..... when I was a young guy... I'd climb the moutians and scan the desert floor for old camps, roads.... green areas.. trails converging on water holes.. that was some rough fun....and it was before light weight pack and camp gear...

Whats the old saying if your stupid you better be tough? I still look at the mesas and wonder whats on top.. what are those little shelves hiding...whats in those shadows... why is all the plant life dense there but not there....or different... I never really got over being curious...

Shopping..sorta

2011-03-06T21:46:00.000-08:00

What can I say..

I need to change from Chinese blue & whiteware, jade or stone bowls and random stuff from the Martha Stuart Collection to a more colorful type..so Im thinking looka here

and

I like little plates and bowls, meze, tappas.... and I like a lot of red and green food... which looks gooder on colorfuler plates, plus theres the whole olives, eggs, chopped onions, nuts and dried fruits thing... blown glass....oil, anchovies, civiche.. all of which is pretty food..

Sort of weird I'd think about that.... considering....

But whatever... the only things that arent complicated is my dinner and my relationship with the fluffy one... so I tend to get excited about both....

It wasn't a total loss

2011-03-06T18:08:00.000-08:00

Once you leave pavement..... theres places to go...things to see or explore...

Mill Sites and the view....

The sun always has that bright glare when you look out from an unlit place

you might have to walk a little which is a lost art...

A prospectors cabin

More of the cabin...like its not obvious

A little pink paint to brighten it up all

I carry a gun when Im out . you never know when your going to run into a thief or someone tearing things up, a drug lab, or some hinkey situation... those bullet holes didnt get into whats left of the walls by accident.. and sometimes the assholes think its a fine opportunity for robbery or sport if your alone..... a few years back my camp at Roseavelt lake got surrounded by some guys...who had fun in mind till they heard me work the slide on my 12 gauge then I heard one say oh shit hes got a shot gun.... which wasn't exactly what they had to say earlier... then it was "what you got for us old man" I guess deer slugs wasn't good enough....

People dissapear all the time..so you kinda need to be on your toes and fairly alert.. avoid guys carrying rifles, places giving off chemical smells...more people than you can deal with in a brawl...look out for snakes and mine shafts.. don't get stuck in the sand.. take lots an lots of water even in winter... there isn't any 911.. besides they only show up "after" its over

Last week there were shots fired when I was in town about the time I was getting ready to sleep before driving to Phoenix.........I asked some about it when I got back......I was told it took over an hour for anyone to show up....

Out here, it would take days if ever, so one needs to be ready for whatever.... not that Im twitchy or paranoid about it... thats just how it is... like wearing a flotation vest on a boat..

Ohh

2011-03-06T13:16:00.000-08:00

I sent a WTF? letter in when I got back.... and it seems the big cheese is a work-o-holic since he answered on a sunday, not that I didn't send it after hours on a Saturday...

Evidently I get reimbursed......and someones head hits the floor.

I don't much care about the last part, its not like it was an act of malice..I just don't like my money or time wasted by anyone but me....

Dandy..... and a little more

2011-03-05T20:28:00.000-08:00

Im up at 3:30 its early but going to sleep again isnt going to happen....

So I shower, check my email for time, cancellation, contact info.... the usual.. it costs $40 for fuel and 6 hours of drive time just to make the trip....I'm out by 4:00... an on my way, I stop at the usual happy place for office supplies.... its all good, I show up an hour early sign in and relax get my mind right for study notes and go into pay attention mode....

I talk to a woman from Nicaragua.... cause Im the only one who speaks any Spanish and get her a seat for her CPR class...she tells me about 2012 and how shes scared to go to Cali... and some other stuff.. which was a horror.. sandinistas.. losing her brothers, sister, cousins, friends... finding the bodies of her family.... and my Spanish isnt good enough to answer..

The Instructor for Spanish classes comes....and I double check what I understand....I was on the money...and he intreprets for me so I can answer more that "Yup" in Spanish.. which my GF knows all about.... turns out the interpeter lived only 2 miles from where I grew up.... So he kinda knew my story.... Sometimes you gotta be tough to be white...hahahahah of course now most of my cousins are cafe con leche.... but thats not the story.....

There was no class......... he calls a supervisor.. she says "that class was last week" my email says March 5th... so I sent it in.. Im not retired, but not working $40 is a big deal.... 6 hours of driving is a big deal....

I'm pretty hot...but kept it professional...

OK..... I bolt, buy fresh chilis.... shop, get some cheese.. yoghurt.. a cucumber, everything I've been bitching about..... no sense losing the opportunity...

I stop at a store I like.... take photos... cause its worth seeing and part of my world tour fixation..

I go see the Chinese guy I worked for a few years.. but who hung me up this year and hired 4 transients instead of me.. But whatever...no hard feelings......cheap bastard...

Still I wanted to show how great the stuff was....... the antiques and mega fossils..Theres Mosasaurus jaw set 6 feet long.... a smaller one that was a full skull... ya know..geeky cool..

I'm all happy.. taking the shots and he comes up then says "no photos" of course I say Huh?

"Security reasons"

Oh? What the Communists after you? La Migra? You back on your child support?

He said no..it can show alarm system, camera locations, how the doors are secured, a map of the high ticket items....

So I STFU and showed him the photo I'd taken, then deleted as he watched.... I said no problem I get it......it was serious... so Im fine...

Then I got a revelation......

He told me that someone broke in a year or two ago........it was after I took photos of the containers being unloaded... the inference was pretty plain..

He didnt think of the tweaker mother fucker he kept around that worked "free" for a place to stay...

I just said "thats why you didn't call me to work..... you think Im a thief... why didn't you call the police?", "Right then so I could be cleared... search my house... whatever"...

I take drug tests, empty any bags or pockets, Im asked to..... it doesn't offend me......it just proves Im in the clear..innocent..

It made me sick...... I was there looking for something to add to my decor take some photos for the fluffy one........ I didn't expect that shit at all.....never.. no ones ever lost merchandise, money or anything else on my watch.. Im proud of my record... even breakage was nil.... now theres tons of it.... but winos do what they do...

I'm looking at this guy....Im a good friend, Im loyal..I trust the people I let in my world..... after a while haha...... all I can think is "Punk fuck you" he convicted me without even letting me know theres a problem?

I'd have drug him to my house and let him and the police look at everything and trust me I keep recipts... notes, journals, inventorys..... then graciously accepted his apology and asked for more money...

And that was that...... I crossed him off the work for list....months ago.. I crossed him off the friends list as well.... Tomorrow Im telling people what he said and its not going to go over well at all...

Today had some dandy moments......

Ready for tomorrow

2011-03-04T18:09:00.000-08:00

I missed two questions on my test.... I didn't capatalize "Fundamental Principals" since neither began a sentence and neither word in any combination is a noun...... I answered "fundamental principals" and got marked wrong..bastards..

I answered flood on a multiple choice "disaster" question.... the fact is 95% of all disasters are weather releated.... and the testing agency maintains that the "correct" answer is apatrment fires... Ummmm ..no, a personal emergency or loss isnt a disaster to a city..

The federal govamint backs my definition of disaster... and fundamental English backs the other one..

Anyway I bitched about it.... I hated the materials on general principals..

Ahh the irony

2011-03-02T22:35:00.000-08:00

Remember the rough gigs crack?

I was offered a job and said yes... there needs to be some more t's crossed and i's dotted...

But Im the guy...

I really need the work..... or at least the money. Work I always have plenty of....

Scraped from the "news"

2011-03-01T18:29:00.000-08:00

Mar 01, 2011 (The News Tribune - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Nine sixth-grade boys were expelled from Stewart Middle School Monday after officials at the Tacoma School learned about their suspected participation in a so-called "Fight club"....

I notice they learned about the suspected participation after a parent sent a cell phone capture to a TV station of a fight in a bathroom and some random kids home....

Remember its a suspected fight club they got suspended for....rather than an actual fight club...

Not that what kids do in their own homes is the school gestapos business... since the school gestapo can't manage to deal with what happens on school property....

Not that I'd especially care to have school personel hanging out in bathrooms watching 6th graders pee... given the number of school personel that get caught boofing kids every year...

Maybe thats the issue.. gym teachers dont like the pretty, pretty boys bruised ...or maybe the idea they might learn to fight off said teacher in the shower...

Its what Tacoma teachers are famous for...google "Tacoma teacher arrested" or "Tacoma teacher molests student"

But the schools are all over kids being kids....

I dunno..

2011-03-01T16:47:00.000-08:00

I'm still bothered by the having had the worlds worst latte.. it wasn't only a bad latte it was bad coffee..

I'm annoyed and offended....

Im really thinking about taking back some beans and a grinder and explaining the concept of espresso grind....

Then move on to the idea of the foamed milk being added to the shot rather than the reverse..

I don't want to talk about the whipped cream...... which wasn't cream but rather some cheap crap in a can.. which had no business in my latte anyway..

Unngh.. he was foaming the milk and all I could think of was its getting close, then he dumped it into a cup before it was done... Ive foamed a bit of latte milk now and then... I know what it sounds like.....

Notice I said milk? Not half and half? There is a reason most barristas use 2% or nonfat.... it prevents a pudding skin from forming on ones latte...

I do things for my own pleasure....and manage to have some standard of professional quality, if I don't get results I want on my own, I find someone to show me how via bribery, corruption or whatever, assuming I can't figure it out....

Too bad, cause the place was cute or at least could be... I eyed the work area.. and Im thinking. I could make money it has the magical 4 tables..

First thing... make real baked goods, a nice classsic cheese cake or ameretto type, macadamia nut cookies. .. cinnamon rolls or Danish, bar cookies, even chocolate truffels on date night.. which have a better shelf life than Danish.... a different thing every day of the week...

Food ...I can handle.. same rules.... a chalk board outside different special every day..so I don't get twisted...

Followed by no plastic anything anywhere, including the table cloths, cups, light fixtures or anything else... there's no plan.. I just get really interested in little cafes, it fits with my habits and cook-book/recipe writing...

Evidently that latte pissed me off.... Hahahaha

I doubt I'd make the cut... my cooking is about dinner, not the current minimalist trend, decorating a plate with dots of deconstructed food goop surrounding a celery star fish and carrot curl...

I like bread, stuff on sticks, things that are hot, prolly dangerous, lead to excess and make you crave them... like pizza, BBQ, Chili, Salsa, cornish pasties, and salads the size of a dinner plate.. and critters.. I don't care if they have, fur, fins, feathers, scales, shed their skins..live on or under rocks....

I bet fresh pasta with a shrimp would be killer... then there is mushroom raviolli... cheese ravioli, sausage ravioli..spinach ravioli with maybe planked salmon and asparagus wrapped in Prosciutto..caprese salad.. foccacia.. pesto..

Just thinkin.... it would be interesting..

And in the end

2011-02-28T23:08:00.000-08:00

I made dinner and relaxed.. more pozole, green chilis an pork... tomatoes an chilis... and the new thing.. and smoked clam empanadas... which were dry grilled, not deep fried... or fixed like the Indians do it... or steamed like dim sum.... I was just messing with the bread dough...

Im thinking shrimp...and even fruit.....

The day was magical.....

2011-02-28T22:54:00.000-08:00

Magical as in voo-doo.. undead, queen of the zombies

Meet my beloved truck....which my more beloved GF wanted to see.... its being "worked on" in thoery sort of.... its a beastie, work horse, mother ship and portable domecile.... when I drop my house on wheels in storage.. I have a tent..and other stuff to make life easy....

Said truck has hood popped cause I was checking on progress... but you can see, two fuel tanks, a shell for storage and what not...it has a standard tranny.. cause I like picking my own gears for a climb... theres a radio.... but its for listening not talking... I have my cell phone and wireless for that.. a solar panel and some other stuff which is hidden since I like being non-descript and not attracting attention...

Anyway..... I opened the hood.... ta da..no work done.... I already put the timing gears on slid the cam in... set the timing.... all I ask is..put it together.. set the lifters... which is another no sweat project.. button it up and call me when its done.... for which you get my surplus truck....

The surplus truck, a Dodge, is just an errand vehicle... not a beast.. its an automatic, doesnt carry the weight I need.. its just a run to LA thing that got ok gas milage.. and more survivable if I had a wreck.. Im not a car guy.. you can't toss 5 sheets of plywood, a wheel barrow a BBQ and a goat..in a car......

This is the other truck which is being given to pay for work on the Ford... and a good deal BTW, it runs fine..has no major issues... and sort of pisses me off because at this poind I'd as soon finish up myself and trade in or sell the Dodge then put a down payment on an econo box... since all I really need to do to live is haul my head around not 2,000 lbs of Rennstuff... to sell..The famous surplus truck econo compromise.... its nice.. WTF?

Anyway the day went on.....

I needed coffee and decided to try a road side attrraction.... it was all roadside...all miner and cowboy stuff... things dug out of the desert... the usual..

Meet the worlds worst latte.... granted it had steamed milk or at least half and half but no foam. it had espresso....but not really....as it was drip grind Yuban Coffee in a can from Wall mart or where-ever it was on sale for $3.... He steamed the milk...dumped the shot into it... used whipped cream to top it off and called it a latte, the ignorant twat... I nearly had a siezure..

THEN I ran into someone I know....... Whatever your thinking..is prolly close... but its still America and being different is allowed (for now).. hes lived in his little motor home for over 10 years, he was telling me about being surrounded by SWAT based on his paint job and rumors...

I told him to come stay out by me..... which is funny, since I don't let anyone near me... but, hes actually honest and trust worthy... we hung out, I had real truck stop coffee he opted for a hot dog.... cause he has a scant will to live and a food obsession...God knows I have my obsessions..

Then I wandered here and there... people coming an goin, opening and closing, buying and selling whatever... even the sink out of the motorhome..

Need a wind turbine? A boat?

Theres hundreds of these little places...

Street food and random experiments

2011-02-27T18:57:00.000-08:00

I keep working on recipes... I really like street food... and it doesn't matter what culture.. lately its been tappenyaki..... I have that down... along with its cousins kababs, sashlisk, yakatori, tacos, burritos, gyros... and anything close..

Stuff in a bowl.....noodles... golden rice, Chili, miso soup, pink beans, pintos, hummis.. and then there's BBQ.. Bulgogi, Fajitas, Carne Asada, Chinese BBQ.. Spit roasting, pit roasting, wood, charcoal... hot rocks.... grilling.. brisket, corned beef... anything

Key theme being..can it be done on a truck tail gate, camp fire.. portable kitchen or concession stand.... I always did like taco carts... which went from baskets, to carts too trucks which are now all..

After talking to her fluffyness last night I decided to make a levened/sourdough flat bread....

Which entered the OMG zone of good stuff... in her part of the world sourdough is a big deal... so, my response is......"ok.... this is how you do it" .....lamb and goat is easy to come by so that kind of determines the next steps... she likes yogurt so now its all about tzatziki and souvlaki on a sourdough flat bread..

Tzatziki goes like this...sorta

2 cloves garlic, minced finely
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups greek yogurt, strained .. you can use regular yogurt which you hang in cheese cloth or muslin for a few hours till it thickens
2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded and diced
1 tsp. chopped fresh dill (optional) some people use mint..or cilantro which is again optional
1 tsp. lemon

I sprinkle my dinner with red pepper flakes and cumin once its all hit the bread, some people use white pepper but that makes no sense to me....its not mayonayse...

Give em a Greek salad with herbed feta and call it good or fancy up the salad with goat cheese and double the price....

Oh damn.... then there is..... goat-cheese, sour-dough, crayfish quesadillas...assuming I dont use phyllo dough and make somethin like a spanakopita mutant....which actually sounds good too...

Dnner

2011-02-26T18:08:00.000-08:00

As far as flat bread food goes tonight was (Mexican) chorizo (not the damn Spanish kind), eggs, onions.... and garlic was included... chilis... and thats about it..

I need cheese.. more beans and maybe some crema.. not that I use it much... I'd as soon have yogurt....but I end up slipping and sliding into East Indian or Middle Eastern type dinner...

I guess thats what fusion stands for.... Fucking Up Some Ingredients Over Nostalgia...

You start out making a Mexican dinner.. substitute an ingredient then start thinking how good some cucumber in your yogurt would be and end up with Tatziki on your taco....

Storms on the way..

2011-02-26T17:03:00.000-08:00

Phoenix is claiming thunderstorms and violent type weather is on its way......... which may or may not knock out power and internet for a few days.... I can't take my test today since the pages won't load.... even Blogger is kind of jacked up, which is all third worldly and what-not..

I made hard copys last night when I was out and about.. so I just study more and call it good.. I checked on my truck, and may have to jerk someone up, cause Im getting jerked off.. people think cause I don't tense up, it means I won't , which isnt the same at all....I just try to be easy..but that can come to an end..

Its been months.... and needs gettin done.. now..

I checked on Bill again.... hes gone, having fled the State to avoid some consequences.. which makes it worse.. more people got prision time, including his former GF..or it could be he was embarrassed... he'd been warned.. schooled and had every opportunity to get off the tracks when the train was bearing down on him.....

I got spotted.. I need to hide.. it wasn't bad stuff.. Im just not wanting to deal with people.. Im becoming like a character from to kill a mocking bird.... Im just not comfortable... so I wander out at night...

Which is funny given how I live and work... rennfaires being the least weird..

Its raining now.... Im tired.. I want something.. I'd say "long for" if I weren't a guy and hetrosexual.. not to mention the fact I have no clue what it is I want...

Maybe its a corned beef sandwich....

More from the return trip

2011-02-26T15:30:00.000-08:00

Given that the country is rife with "dead" volcanos... which arent as dead as they are supposed to be.. we have a few hot springs.....this one is surrounded by bamboo for whatever reason... everyone has their vision of what they want to do with their business and life.... which is way more interesting than Best Western or Sheraton.. even IHOP but I tend to like dives and roadside attractions

Not that the water isn't hot everywhere in the summer.... But hots springs I tend to avoid.. since I have a thing about not being steamed like a pork bun during an earthquake.... or any other time for that matter...

Another view... without the make up....or signs...which makes sense because no one is to the south anyway.... its just desert to Mexico so they save the paint money... The springs are in the stone building...and this is the tourist season...hahahahahaha.... really it is...

So you can see there is no exaggeration...... this is looking south.. so whos going to read the back of the signs, aside from the coyotes, snakes and lizzards?

The Post office... located next to El Dorado Hot springs which is not Indian Wells but less than a half mile from them to the west down potholed road that turns to dirt.. which, they all do.... cause thats where the fun starts...

.I dunno what the mattresses are for.... I told the guy his sign was too cool to pass up without a photo.. He kept laughing and working the whole time I was babbling about photos for people in the UK and NZ.. so they can see what we're really like...and who we really are.. He was good with the idea of being the real US ambassador...

Back to the interstate.....follow Indian School road make a left... or go straight and end up in Salome and more little desert towns.. repelte with petroglyphs, abandonded gold mines, meth labs and some more Americana....

The photos got scrambled by blogger but you get the idea

And.....

2011-02-25T21:37:00.000-08:00

There was a return trip....this is the rest area I stopped at in the dark....now its in the light and to the South....my biznezz is done and I'm headed West....

And then theres this to the north...