Burn Baby Burn

Sooo.... I'm on a diet.

The wife and I have been panning on it for a while, but we werent very serious about it til now. As of monday, I have been cutting my caloric intake in about half.

Of course, since I was averaging somewhere around 5000 calories a day; that's still a fair bit of food.

I won't say this is typical for me, but it wouldn't necessarily have been unusual for me to eat something approximating this in a day:

Breakfast:	Qty.	Calories	Total
Sausage McMuffins with egg	2	450	900
Hash Browns	2	140	280
Coffee, 4 cream, 4 sugar	2	160	320
Lunch:
Crispy Chicken Classic	1	450	450
10 Piece McNugget	1	420	420
Hot Mustard Sauce	3	50	150
Large French Fries	1	570	570
Dinner:
Crispy Chicken Classic	1	450	450
20 Piece McNugget	1	840	840
Hot Mustard Sauce	5	50	250
Large French Fries	1	570	570
Total:	.	.	5200

Now, this isn't to say that I ate that every day; most days I didn't have breakfast for example, and I certainly didn't eat THAT much fast food (though there was a lot); but I snacked a LOT; and it is substantially representative of what I've been eating for the last ohhh say 10 months or so. Basically since Mel and I were joined up, I've been overeating rather drastically.

Prior to that time, my weight was relatively stable, between 365 and 385 for around 2 years. As of a few days ago, I'm at about 440lbs; meaning I've gained between 55 and 75 lbs in 10 months, or about 7.5 lbs a month.

In order to gain 7.5 lbs a month, you need to eat about 27,000 extra calories in that month; or a little less than 1000 extra calories a day... which pretty much fits in with my patterns; because I generally didn't eat lunch, or breakfast before getting together with Mel, but I snacked a lot more.

My weight has pretty much stabilized at 420-440 given my current 5200 calorie diet, and it was pretty stable at 365-385 given a 4200 calorie diet, taking the median of both weights, my basal burn rate (at my current average activity level) seems to be between 11.2 and 12.2 calories per pound, which is about average for a relatively sedentary, but employed fat man.

The human body is a marvelous thermodynamic engine; simply to stay awake and upright, we need to burn between 16 and 24 calories per lean body mass pound (depending on your basal metabolic rate, activity baseline, the outside environment temperature, and exactly what you're eating), and 6-8 calories per fat body mass pound. The average for all humans is 10-12 calories per pound.

Funny thing; the "secret" to weightloss really is about math. Oh fitness is about excercise, and activity, and metabolism, and a thousand other things; but weight loss (and weight gain) is nothing but math and thermodynamics: For every 3500-3600 calories you consume over your basal burn rate (that 11-12 calories per pound I mentioned) you will gain 1 lb. For every 3500-3600 calories you BURN above your consumption, you will LOSE 1lb (excluding water weight of course).

So anyway, Mel and I are on a diet (she's gained about 35lbs over the past 10 months; pretty much exactly half what I have, which is funny because she weighs almost exactly what I do); and we have both cut our intake in half.

Now, I'm used to controlling my intake (no, not recently, but I used to be a semi-pro athlete, and a serious power lifter; you learn this stuff); but Mel isn't, so we've worked out a system using Google Spreadsheets, to share our intake totals.

Note: This is a GREAT idea by the way; don't obsess over your intake, but really look at what you eat, and you'll be surprised. It's scary how much we eat and don't even think about it. Sharing it with someone else helps keepn you honest, and keep you working at it.

Now here's the thing, cutting your intake in half from 5200 calories, is actually pretty easy; I'm going to share some menus with you, and when you look at them you'll thing "God theres no way he could have been eating twice that"... no, really, I was.

Anyway, the general protocol for rapid weight loss is to cut your stabal basal burn rate in half; slower weight loss by 25%; so that's what we're going for.

Another technique, is to set a target weight, multiply by your basal burn rate, and then cut IT by 25%.

Funny enough, BOTH of those numbers, come out about the same for my target weight of 265 to 285 lbs; and Mels target weight of between 145 and 160lbs (I'm 6'2" and she's 5'9"); at 2400 to 2600 calories per day for me (which is about what Mel is eating now), and between 1400 and 1800 calories per day for Mel.

So anyway, we've set targets at 2600 and 1600 calories respectively; and so far we're doing pretty well.

I want to share our week so far with you; not only to help keep US honest, but also to show everyone out there that you don't need to eat nothing but lettuce and wheat germ to lose a LOT of weight.

Day	Item	Qty	Cal	Total
9/11/2006	Starbucks venti iced white mocha	1.	650.	650.
	Starbucks fiore	.66	570.	376.2
	12oz can Mt. Dew	4.	170.	680.
	10oz filet mignon, pan broiled	10.	50.	500.
	Large roasted potato	1.	290.	290.
	Seasonings and oils	1.	150.	150.
Total Calories				2646.2
Excercise	Calories burned in excercise	.	.	.
Basal Burn	Calories burned per pound	440.	-11.	-4840.
Calorie deficit	Calories burned in excess of consumption			-2193.8
9/12/2006	Turkey Sandwhich 2x sliced bread 75cal ea 3x turkey slices 60 cal each 1x cheese slice 90 cal	1.	420.	420.
	Chips	1.	160.	160.
	Pickles	2.	10.	20.
	Soup	1.	150.	150.
	Oz. Pork tenderloin, trimmed, pan broiled	8.	40.	320.
	3/4 cup basmati rice, cooked in chicken broth	1.	150.	150.
	Oils and seasonings	1.	150.	150.
	Tblsp gatorade	3.	50.	150.
	Vanilla ice cream, cup	1.	320.	320.
	Cookies	2.	100.	200.
Total				2040.
Excercise	Calories burned in excercise	.	.	.
Basal Burn	Calories burned per pound	440.	-11.	-4840.
Calorie deficit	Calories burned in excess of consumption			-2800.
9/13/2006	Coffee, oz	40.	.5	20.
	Heavy cream, tblsp	4.	50.	200.
	Raw sugar, tblsp	4.	33.	132.
	Cup, cranberry juice cocktail	1.	140.	140.
	Cup, watermelon	1.	45.	45.
	Naval orange, medium	2.	50.	100.
	Buffalo burger, oz	5.5	35.	192.5
	Large soft roll	1.	250.	250.
	Cheese slice	1.	90.	90.
	Bacon slice, broiled	2.	44.	88.
	Potato wedges, oz	5.	35.	175.
	Pyramid hefeweizen	20.	12.	240.
Total Calories				1672.5
Excercise	Calories burned in excercise	.	.	.
Basal Burn	Calories burned per pound	440.	-11.	-4840.
Calorie deficit	Calories burned in excess of consumption			-3167.5
9/14/2006	Coffee, OZ	40.	.5	20.
	Heavy Cream, tblsp	4.	50.	200.
	Vanila sugar, tblsp	4.	48.	192.
	Polish Sausage	2.	150.	300.
	Roll	2.	120.	240.
	Slice (1/8), 16" pepperoni pizza	1.	320.	320.
	Filet mignon, oz	10.	50.	500.
	Sauce (pan drippings, hot sauce, vinegar, milk)	1.	150.	150.
	Butter, tblsp	1.	100.	100.
	potato, large, baked skin on	.5	280.	140.
	Sweetcorn, fresh kernel, cup	1.	130.	130.
Total				2292.
Excercise	Calories burned in excercise	.	.	.
Basal Burn	Calories burned per pound	440.	-11.	-4840.
Calorie deficit	Calories burned in excess of consumption			-2548.
9/15/2006	Pastrami, extra lean, boiled in mustard	6.	50.	300.
	Bread, sourdough, slice	2.	75.	150.
	Mustard, tsp	6.	3.	18.
	Potato chips, oz	1.	160.	160.
	Pickle, nathans deli, spear	2.	10.	20.
	Slice (1/8), 16" pepperoni pizza	4.	320.	1280.
	Cannoli	1.	375.	375.
Total				2303.
Excercise	Calories burned in excercise	.	.	.
Basal Burn	Calories burned per pound	440.	-11.	-4840.
Calorie deficit	Calories burned in excess of consumption			-2537.

So this week, I've eaten, pastrami, sausages, pizza, pork tenderloin, roast beef, Filet mignon twice, even ice cream.

So how much have I gained from eating all that? After all, it's all rich fatty food right? Well, yes it is; though not as much as you might think; but I wasn't kidding when I said weight loss was all about thermodynamics.

You might have noted, that over the past 5 days I've eaten about 13000 fewer calories than I've burned at basal rate; and I haven't changed my fluid consumption habits at all.

So how much have I lost then?

Well, I wish I could tell you accurately, but my scale isnt accurate above 400lbs (though it will read), but it's somewhere around 5 lbs.

Now 5 lbs isn't much; but I haven't even STARTED excercising yet (I need to drop a bit more for my knees, and my wind; for anything other than walking and basic calisthenics); and also, I havent been too restrictive of my food intake. The real result though, is the 20 or so pounds I'll drop this month if things keep going this way. Then I'll adjsut my intake down a bit, and keep going.

I figure once I get down to 400, then I can start back with moderate excercise, other than walking. Sure enough, after christmas I'm planning on picking up a serious home gym (a freeweight machine and a circuit trainer. No bowflex pansy ass shit here).

Mel is starting to lose as well; though obviously not as fast as I am, because I'm starting from so much heavier than she is.

So, I have almost 150 lbs to lose, and Mel has about half that. If we can keep at it, diet, excercise appropriately; I figure we can do it in a year; but I'll allow for 18 months for plateaus. Funny enough 18 months will be just around the time of my birthday.

Of course 18 months ago, I made the same damn promise; but then life took a giant dump on my head, and jsut getting through it took over; I got lazy,a nd I just didn't give a dman.

Well, now I give a damn. I want to be back down to 285, back down to a 42" waist, a 52" chest, and a 20" neck (vs my 56" waist, 56" chest, and 21" neck right now - god I am fat); by the birthday after next. Mel wants to be down to a size 14, maybe even a 12 at the same time.

Wish us luck, and hell, do it yourself if you need to.

If you want to view our progress, check out the spreadsheet. If you want to use it yourself, here's a blank copy to use as a template: FitnessLog.xls

Get a grip on yourself

(pictures will be added to this post later as time allows)

There are a LOT of ways to grip a handgun, and each is appropriate to different situations, different hands, and different guns. There are even a lot of very small variations to specific grips.

For decades, the 1911 was shot with the bullseye grip (and the bullseye stance) usually with the tucked under thumb. This position isn't very fast, although it can be extremely accurate for longer distance shooting. The marine corp was teaching this style of shooting all the way up until the adoption of the M9.

The thing is, the bullseye grip was developed for; and is best used with, revolvers. It is designed so that it is easy to re-cock a single action gun with your dominant hand, as well as be useful for a long double action trigger pull (and is especially good with a long barrel). The problem is, the bullseye is a poor hand position for using the safety, and poor for rapid fire and rapid re-acquisition I.E. it's bad for recoil control. Also, it is just bio-mechanically "not quite right" for the shape, and balance of auto pistols.

Since the '50s and especially since the development of IPSC; there have been a lot more grip styles tried, refined, rejected, folded, spindled and mutilated.

What most competitors have settled on for their (mainly) 1911 style pistols is some variant of what is called the "Gas Pedal" grip; where the dominant thumb rests on, and pushes, the safety like a gas pedal. In fact, there are specific safeties developed for the 1911, which look like gas pedals; which is where the style gets its name.

Of course, as I mentioned above, even within the gas pedal grip, there are near infinite variations, from the "hitchhiker", to the "tucked, full high wrap, thumb over thumb".

The classic gas pedal grip has the dominant thumb folded over the safety, with the support hand wrapped round the bottom corner of the gun and your dominant hand, in what's called a "half teacup"; and the support thumb pressed either into the top of the dominant hands middle finger; or into the support side of the trigger guard.

The gas pedal is fast, natural and easy to index into, points well and gives good recoil control. Unfortunately, it's very easy to accidentally wipe off the safety when you didn't mean to; it can be somewhat inconsistent, inducing twisting into your grip; and you can easily accidentally hit the mag release (especially on modified race guns).

I used to use the classic gas pedal grip, but I found that the safety could snag on things, or get wiped off at the most inappropriate times, and that my presentation was slower, less natural, and less consistent than I wanted.

I switched to a variant of the thumb over thumb gas pedal grip a while a go, and while it's not quite as naturally easy to control recoil, the recoil control is actually stronger (it just feels weirder), and I get good results.

With the thumb over thumb, I'm personally faster and more consistent in presentation; and my thumb positioning gives more positive control over the safety.

Now, as I said, I use a variant of the thumb over thumb: the high, full wrap, forward, thumb over thumb, either tucked or untucked depending on the situation.

In this grip, the gun is drawn with the second knuckle of the support hand thumb tucked under the safety and indexed forward, with the safety on, and the pad of the dominant thumb pressed against the second knuckle of the support thumb.

For non-competition draw, the tucked version of this grip is used; and the dominant thumb is kept tucked under the safety; until when ready (presenting the gun), the thumb is brought over the top of the safety, wipes it off, and THEN presses firmly on it (negative pressure), to assist in recoil control.

Importantly, until the weapon is presented, positive pressure is kept on the dominant thumb; keeping the safety in the up position until it is to be wiped off.

Whether tucked or untucked, some folks also keep negative pressure on the slide stop to prevent the stop from being accidentally engaged during recoil, but I think that's a bad idea. I like to index the tip or side (depending on high or low wrap) of my thumb on the pivot pin of the slide stop.

In competition draws, or whenever the weapon will be presented immediately, the thumb is always kept on top of the safety for speed and consistency; and the support thumb knuckle and muscle at the heel of the hand are used to keep positive pressure on the dominant thumb; keeping it from wiping the safety off accidentally.

In this google video, you can see Todd Jarrett demonstrating the LOW wrap version of the forward thumb over thumb grip

I'm almost entirely in agreement with Jarret, I'm a BIG advocate of the full wrap grip; I just use the high wrap, instead of the low wrap.

What's the difference?

In the high wrap, I index both thumbs forward; my dominant index finger along the frame and top of the trigger guard (presuming a 1911), and my support hands finger wrapped around the trigger guard past the distal joint, and into the medial joint if I can (some guns that doesn't work for). This is also called the "Plaxco Grip", after James "Mike" Plaxco (an IPSC shooter) started using it some time back. Of course theres no coincidence, that Mike has HUGE hands; and he also likes REALLY skinny 1911s (he "invented" the thinned competition 1911 grip frame in the early 80s).

In the LOW wrap, all of the support hand fingers are wrapped UNDER the trigger guard, with the support pinky finger wrapped under the dominant finger, giving a very slight teacup. This is also called the "Enos", "Leatham", or "Enos-Leatham" grip after Rob Leatham and Brian Enos, two well known IPSC shooters who started using it in the late 80s; and have

there's not a lot of difference between the high, and low wrap; really its a matter of comfort, preference, and hand size.

If you have large, strong hands, the high wrap is very effective at reducing muzzle flip. If your hands are smaller, it isn't very effective; but wrapping under the pinky with the low wrap can be, especially is you use dynamically opposed tension in your grip technique (one hand is pushing forward and down, the other pulling up and back).

There is one other big difference between the high and low wrap (and the classic gas pedal); and it has to do with the shape of your safety. With the classic gas pedal, and the low wrap position, a long, wide gas pedal safety is much better. It's faster, and gives more support to the dominant thumb.

In the high wrap position, your dominant thumb is supported by the knuckle and heel of your support hand; and because they are tucked in so close, the wide gas pedal gets in the way; slowing down your safety engagement and disengagement, and potentially wiping the safety on under recoil - which is a BAD thing.

For years, I've used the gas pedal; but I don't like how thick it is. It snags on things, and catches on my thumbs; and it really just isn't necessary for anything other than speed shooting. Just yesterday I switched from an ambi gas pedal, to a slimline extended single side. I like the way it handles a lot more; and I'm sure it's going to clear and present better. I don't have to move my thumb as much, and the narrower extended rib doesn't drag on the heel of my hand from the high grip.

Oh and there is one other thing I disagree with Jarret on, and that's the square isoceles stance. For speed shooters the square stance isoceles position is great; but for combat shooting, I think it's a bad idea (for MANY reasons).

I personally use a modified weaver, that is a combination of a fighters stance, weaver, and isoceles. It's fast, presents a smaller target area; is well balanced and maneuverable, and is easy to present to. No, its not as fast or easy to present to as the square isoceles, but I think it works better in the real world rather than at an IPSC shoot (especially from partial cover).

It makes no difference at all

From WND, a source I normaly take with a pallet load of salt, but this guys opinions are well known:

"An internationally known Princeton "bioethicist" and animal-rights activist says he'd kill disabled babies if it were in the "best interests" of the family, because he sees no distinction in the child's life whether it is born or not, and the world already allows abortion."

That's the money quote, but you really should read the whole thing.

I agree with him on one point: I also see no difference as to the ethical and moral status of a baby, whether born or unborn.

As for the rest, the man is a sociopath in the purest definition of the term; in that other human beings are unreal to him, and have no inherent moral or ethical value; not does he have empathy with them.

This is also the same guy who thinks that it's ok to have sex with animals, if they like it; and that pedophilia is OK if the children consent; among other disgusting ideas.

And this folks, is the lefts most revered "bioethicist".

Rockstar Supernova - Finale - all in, all done

Here it is, the big enchilada (when was the last time you heard that one? It used to be common, but I havent heard it in years).

In the first week, I picked Storm, Dilana, and Magni as strong competitors; and here they are, minus Storm who's only been gone two weeks. Of course I also picked Dana, who went out in week six; and I thought Toby and Lukas would have been gone weeks ago; but hey, can't win them all.

So this time, they do a "bottom two" instead of a bottom three, and send one home; to have a final three; THEN they do the final performances.

Last night, everyone but Dilana was in the bottom two; which means Dilana got the most votes last night by far.

The Eliminator:

Magni Asgiersson - Jimi Hendrix, "Fire": Magni goes for the high energy "fire" from a few weeks back; and he jumps right in hard on it. His voice sounds a bit rough tonight, but he's really got the energy up. Good performance; though not particularly memorable. On thing that strikes me tonight, as well as it did last night, is how well Magni performs WITH the band, as opposed to either Lukas or Toby. Of course this could be a disadvantage, because it means he doesnt stand out as much from the band.

Toby Rand - Billy Idol "White Wedding" : Again, when the chips are down, Toby goes to the punk, and comes back with White wedding. As with the first time he performed it, I think he's putting too much sneer and swagger into it, but he IS doing a Billy Idol cover, and the crowd is TOTALLY into it, so who can complain. EXTREME energy, hot crowd interaction, but his vocals are a bit uneven.

The Decision:

And Gilby pops out with the exact argument I just wrote; he's TOO good with the band, and he doesnt stand out enough in front, and they are sending him home.

I totally disagree with the logic, I'm sure that Magni is the best choice here if they want to make a real band out of Supernova; but it just means that the competition for the final three is weaker.

At this point I think it's clear, they don't care about a long term band here, they are looking for one high popping album; in which case Lukas has already won this because he'll guarantee a shitty album, with massive sales to teen girls, and no-one else.

The Final Three:

Lukas Rossi - The Verve "Bittersweet Symphony" : Nasty. He's flat, and warbling all over the blace. No breath control, no tambre... This is the worst he's been since before the vocal coach. He's got no volume, no power, all frog grunt, and the band is drowning him out. Good energy, good crowd interaction, but his vocals are just awful. Seriously, there's no way he should be getting away with that at this point.

Dilana Robichaux - The Police, "Roxanne" and original "Supersoul" : She sounds great here, though her voice seems a bit harsh. Great crowd play, good emotion, good power. Excellent performance, even though again the vocals were a bit rough.

Toby Rand - The Killers "Somebody Told Me" : And again the high energy, punkish tune. Kind of a broken record here, but as always with Toby great energy, and great crowd interaction. This guy REALLY plays the crowd better than any of them except Storm. Man he really needs to stagedive here. So far it's the best performance of the three, and if he would jsut do something to seal the deal... but no. Speed punk, and great fun... I dunno, I like his the best, but I wish he'd sealed the deal.

Victory or Death:

Ok, now I'm not silly enough to think the singing ability of any of them matters right now.

If, as I suspect, they are solely going for a one hit demographic pop, they're goig to pick Lukas, and relase one album with "Head spin" as the first single, and grab the cash and go.

They could actually do something interesting with Dilana or Toby (or Magni or Storm for that matter); but I don't think they want to do that.

Of the three, Dilana is clearly the best singer, and Toby is the best "performer"; but clearly the ratings are with Lukas, the demographics are with Lukas (more than half of all new music is purchased by girls between the ages of 9 and 16), and I guess they are in it for the cash afterall... but god he does indeed suck.

They talk up Toby before sending him home; and really I think that's best for TOBY; who is going to get a good punk contract out of this.

Anybody serious about music is wanting Dilana to win; but I just think they're going to go with Lukas.

"As any good band would do, we listen to our fans. Obviously we agree with our public, Lukas, you're our boy; welcome."

Commercially the right decision, artistically the wrong decision; and the band knows it. They know that Dilana, Storm, and Magni were the best; but none of them NEEDED Supernova to be stars, and Lukas does.

So, for their first performance as a full group, they sing "Be Yourself and other cliches", which is a pretty cool tune. It's got a great hook; but Lukas sounds like a dying cat singing it. His voice is completely gone.

I was hoping for so much more; instead we're going to get a protools masterpiece, with arty emo videos...

And they sing us out, with "It's all love", which Magni rocked weeks ago; and including Magni on guitar.

God Jason, how could you ov all people sell out like that. I can understand Gilby and Tommy lee doing it, they have no cred and no reputation left to squander, but man, what were YOU thinking?

Oh well, there's an album I won't be buying. On the other hand, Magni, Storm, and Dilana are definitely on my "to buy" list.

Secure Storage

So, I’m looking for a long term, secure, but easy to access weapon and emergency supply storage solution for my expedition right now.

I need one storage solution for the following:

1. two compact long guns, possibly AR or AK types with folded or collapsed stocks, possibly shotguns with the same; and 20 magazines (or reloads) for these long arms.
2. two full sized handguns (auto pistols or revolvers) and 10 reloads for these handguns.
3. a basic tool and maintenance kit for the weapons
4. two tactical flashlights, and two spare sets of batteries
5. a hatchet, a machete, two full size belt knives, two pocket knives, and two multi-tools

Seperately, I’m looking for secure storage for:

1. A full emergency medical kit (the size of a large school backpack)
2. A full tool kit (call it 2 cu ft.), plus two fire extinguishers, flares, reflectors etc...
   
3. 2 two person compact shelters, along with stakes, a mallet, and foam pads
   
4. 4 ponchos, 4 blankets, some hurricane candles, two rolls of TP, and a pack of babywipes
5. 50ft of a useful rope, and 250ft of paracord, and a set of bungee cords and tiedowns
6. A spares (fuses, lights etc) and fluids kit with two rolls of duct tape (another 2cu ft.)
7. A case of MREs, gatorade, iodine tablets, dehydrated foods, instant rice, coffee etc...
   
8. Two full sized mag lights and two compact tac lights, and a spotlight, with spares
9. A compact camp stove with pot and pan, and two collapsible 5gal water containers
   
10. A jump start kit (1100amp battery jumpstarter with inverter) and compressor

The 10 above don't necessarily need to be stored together in one box. For example the tools can be bundled together with the jump kit; the food can be separate, the emergency medical kit can be separate, but I need to keep consistent with the piorities below. In fact, for my two fire extinguishers I WANT to keep them separate for easy access; and I keep a jerry can for fuel seprate as well (I store it empty most of the time... the arizona sun).

Importantly, all the storage needs to be relatively portable, as compact as possible, easy to remove, and easy to move around the cabin (as well as easily secured around the cabin).

Right now I’ve got all the second list in a cargo net, and everything but the guns scattered around the truck; but I have no solution currently for the guns.

In an ideal world, the gun storage would lie flat on the floor of the rear cargo area, or under the rear seats; but still be movable for when we fold the seats flat.

I’m very seriously considering getting a custom storage box for the guns fabbed up at a local sheetmetal shop. It would be something like six inches thick and cover the entire rear cargo floor area, comforming to the wheel wells.

If we make the center section a foam lined slide out drawer, with hinged liftup lid sections to allow for fuller, easier access; the wider sections around the wheel wells would just be hinged liftup lids for random small items.

Basically the whole thing would act as a false floor, to maximize the useful cargo space and minimize the impact of the storage itself. All our normal cargo could be stacked on top of it.

The other supplies could go into one good sized truckbox in the back over the false floor, and be secured with load straps or bungees; or more likely one big box.

So I know what I want, and I know there are some things on the market that might work, certainly woudl for at least part of the solutin. Anyone have any experience or recommendations here?

How do you explain?

Yesterday, our older girl had a question for us...

"Why is the flag low? It's supposed to be up high..."

How do you explain 9/11 to your kids?

Hell, it's not like it has an explanation that makes sense to anyone; never mind to a four year old.

"Honey, you're right, normally the flag IS supposed to be hihg, but sometimes, to remember something sad, the flag is flown low. It's called half staff, or half mast".

"Why?"

Well, now... how exactly do you respond to that...

So, I showed her the picture on my blog, and I said "I've got something important to explain to you honey".

Mel brought our youngest girl over as well, and I sat them both on my lap in front of the computer.

"Honey, look at this picture"

"These were some big buildings in New York. Before you were born, 19 very evil men stole some airplanes, and they crashed them into these buildings. They killed 3000 people".

"But Why?"

"Because they were evil baby; and we're still fighting the people like them right now".

"Are there other pictures, I want to se what happened?"

"Yes honey, there are, but they're too grown up for you"

"But I'm a big girl"

"Honey, I'm not even big enough for those pictures, mommy isn't old enough for those pictures. No-one is old enough for those pictures".

Rockstar Supernova - The Final Countdown

The final week, the final elimination, the final countdown. I don't know about anyone else, but something feels missing to me without Storm.

The bring Ryan back for the "comeback encore", and he does "Back of My Car", and does a much better job of it here than he did the first time. I forsee hit single here really. Ryan is releasing his new album "Dark Horse", and this is a great way to launch it.

Oh and he gets a new car too. Coolness.

The Reviews:

Toby Rand - Radiohead "Karma Police" and original "Throw it Away": Not bad on Karma Police, but Toby doesnt have the breathy sweet, flasetto that Thom Yorke does, and it doesnt work as well full throated. Good performance though, and he's definitely making it his own rather than trying to do a straight cover.

Now, cool move pulling Magni up to play guitar on "Throw it Away". A little more polish on the song this time around but a little LESS intensity or energy. Not bad, but it doesnt have the impact of the first time I heard it. I still think it's a great song, and total hit single material. Drawing on the back of Magnis head... funny but I dunno. Good crowd interaction, and picking up magnis guitar from him, very cool. Now comeon, stage dive dude, you know you want to.

Lukas Rossi - Coldplay "Fix You" and original "Head Spin": The only good thing about Lukas doing this song is that it will be even clearer that he's the worst singer up on that stage. I'll give him credit, this is his best vocal performance so far. There's almost no choking strangulation here; but honestly, the band was doing all the work. I couldnt hear HIM over the harmonization from the band. No impact really at all to my mind. Good performance, jsut, I dont think he's got it.

So he takes it down to a solo shot for his original, and makes it into an emo wail; which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I don't like the song, but it sticks in your head.

Listening to the band though, it's pretty damn clear he's not the one.

Dilana Robichaux - The Police, "Roxanne" and original "Supersoul" : Oh no... Roxanne? Oh noooooo. Oh bad bad. Dilana may die on this one... But she doesnt. She actually does a really good job of it. Great acapella opening, and transition into the guitar pickup. Smooth, lots of power, good performance. VERY active but not jumpy performance. Good intensity, I like the way her eyes look here. Getting the whole crew up on stage with her was cool (including Ryan on guitar). I'm really impressed by how well she did this VERY hard song.

Now, supersoul. I'm not sure if I like this song or not, but she performs it very well. It's got a good hook to it, and an unusual sound; like the others, I can see it as a single, though I don't think it would chart high. It's got a cool creepy vibe here; and a solid slide into the power, then back into the creep. Walking out among the crowd worked out pretty well for her, and singing to the band was cool. Overall, pretty good show, though it maybe hurt her vocals a bit. Really just a kickass performance.

Magni Asgiersson - Deep Purple, "Hush" and original "When the Time Comes": Lesse, deep purple one of my favorite bands, hush one of my favorite songs, theres a high bar here... I would have keyd it a bit lower here, and not pushed the tempo up so hihg; but it adds energy to the tune. This performance is VERY amped up. Hell Magni looks like hes on something. You can really see how god a band leader he is here, with the jamming. Great performance.

Nice attack on the intro. The song is more agressive this time around, and I think he upped the tempo a bit. It makes sense that he amped up hush a bit as the lead in. Very active on stage, and GREAT grunt. Not as much crow interaction as I expected. It seems they arent into it as much as with the other rockers. Great energy, great performance, but for some reason Tommy didnt dig it.

Okay, clearly it's Magni and Dilana in the lead; and from the band reactions they're leaning toward Dilana, but I'm not sure she's the right choice. I think of her more solo with a backing band.

Honestly based on what I've seen tonight, I'm predicting Dilana as the winner, but I still think Magni woiuld be the better choice... though honestly not by much. As to who get's eliminated, Lukas is worse than Toby, but demographics say they should lose Toby first... Ahh those little teeniegirls who clog up my comments.

Tomorrow should be interesting.

We thank you from the skin of our teeth

And it's week one in the NFL, with the patriots off to an inauspicious, albeit victorious beginning; with a 19-17 win over Buffalo on this Ty Warren sack for a safety.

Won by a safety? Man when was the last time THAT happened.

Oh and funny enough, this win brings the all time team record (regular season) to .500; with 356 wins and 356 losses over 47 years. Of course that covers some pretty rocky years; the record since Bob Kraft took over is a far more respectable 131-80 (62%).

Oh, and another milestone, this is Bill Belichicks 100th regular season win as a head coach (100-77 for 56%), only the 31st coach to do so in 100 years. Even better, his patriots regular season record goes to 64-33, making the teams "Belichick era" record a VERY respectible 65%.

Of course we all know what Belichicks post season record is with the patriots now don't we.

Ok, my view on the coming season: I'm not gonna say it's an easy schedule, but it aint all that hard

Sep 10		Buffalo
Sep 17		@N.Y. Jets
Sep 24		Denver
Oct 1		@Cincinnati
Oct 8		Miami
Week 6		BYE
Oct 22		@Buffalo
Oct 30		@Minnesota
Nov 5		Indianapolis
Nov 12		N.Y. Jets
Nov 19		@Green Bay
Nov 26		Chicago
Dec 3		Detroit
Dec 10		@Miami
Dec 17		Houston
Dec 24		@Jacksonville
Dec 31		@Tennessee

Even given the lackluster pre-season performance, I'm happy with our prospects.

I think we've got the Jets and Miami twice each, Buffalo twice (we've won once, if barely), the Bengals, Detroit, the Bears, Houston, and Tennessee as likely wins.

Sorry titans boys, I think TN is a sick man this year; and yeah I know Miami had a great streak a the end of last season, but it was a fluke. They have players but no team, and they got Steamrollerd by the steelers. Buffalo is never easy to predict, especially against the pats; but barring another stinker like Sunday, I'm confident. The Jets... well the only reason they won this weekend, was because it was against the Titans. Pennington and Mangini have a long way to go togehter before we can expect a winning team.

Denver and Indy are likely losses I think. In fact I would expect the playoff semifinals to come up Pats, Colts, Broncos, and with the easiest schedule in the AFC, the Steelers.

I'm thinking tossups on Green Bay, Jacksonville, and Minnesota. I gave up trying to predict Green Bay a loooong time ago, and I expect J'Ville and the Vikes to have good years this year; in fact I almost put them both in the likely loss column.

So I'm thinking best case, we go 14-2, but thats not likely. I'd love 12-4, but I'm guessing more like 11-5; with a worst case 10-6, down to Denver, Indy, Jacksonville, Minnesota, Green Bay, and once to Buffalo.

The NFC is a charlie fox again this year, and I'm having a hard time calling it.

On the low end side of thing, I'd guess the Cardinals finish just below .500 (best case is 8 wins). SF should continue its decay, while the Saints maintain their record as the worst team in NFL history. Detroit is going to get creamed by their schedule alone, never mind not having a team. It would surprise me if the Packers got much above .500.

I'm thinking somwhere around the middle of the pack will be St. Louis, the Buccs, Chicago, and the 'Skins. St. Louis has an easy schedule, but they just aren't that good a team, so I expect they'll float in the middle. The buccs are a better team, but they have a much harder schedule, and I don't think they have it together this year. The skins.. eh... their schedule is middling, they have decent if not great talent, and they COULD do something this year, but I don't think they will. The Bears... I dunno... I'd guess something like 9-7.

I expect we should see good things out of Atlanta, Carolina, and Minnesota. Solid performances with decent schedules.

What's really got me confused, is the "maybe" teams. If these guys get it right, and given their schedules; we could see MAYBE Seattle, MAYBE Dallas, Maybe the Giants, and MAYBE Philly, doing something interesting (though I expect Philly might self destruct). Hell, even the Buccs , the bears, and the Skins could be maybe teams. I'll know better week four.

Just a wild ass guess, but I'd say the NFC semi-finals look something like the Falcons, Panthers, Vikings, and... uhhh.... come back to me week 4. Seriously I can't even come close here.

Alright, my predictions for the AFC Semi-final and championship games?

The semifinal is almost easy to call, because of quality of team and quality of schedule:

Denver - Indy - Pats - Steelers

The AFC championship though... I'm not happy about this... much as I hate to say it; it would very much surprise me if the final wasn't Colts - Steelers.

The ideal for the Pats would have the Colts and Steelers killing each other in the semi-finals, in which case I can't really call that game; but I'd expect the Pats to take the Broncos if the weather is cold, or if we get home field (or both).

I expect good performance; but I don't expect another superbowl this year. We'll see.

Wouldn't it be nice though?

One thousand, eight hundred, twenty six days

September 11, 2001, 8:46am Eastern Daylight Time:

1826 days, 5634 dead,
and we will continue
until the mission is complete

Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty. This much we pledge—and more. -- John F. Kennedy

We Will Never forgive

We Will Never Forget

We Will Never Stop

god I love Lester

A Hell of a day

Well, the day started off waking up next to my beautiful wife; followed up by a chicken fried steak, and a short stack of pancakes.

It is ending with falling asleep next to my beautiful wife; preceded by sezchuan beef and rice.

In between, there was 4 solid hours of shooting out in the desert (well, not very desert really. Pretty gorgeous place to shoot), involving several hundred rounds for myself, and at least a thousand total (there were five of us there).

JohnOC got to play around with my former shotgun, and we shot some hand tossed skeet. It's been a LOOOONG time since I've tried to break a bird, and I only managed two out of 10. John did a bit beter, but Kommander manage to get about 50%.

Then Jim got his hands on the shottie... now understand he's never shot one before... and... well... lets just say I think he was a little too excited by it. Grin a mile wide though.

The result include many broken clay birds, and one unlucky desert jack. Of course what I want to know is how stupid a long eared rat (yes, that's what bunnies are) has to be to wander across a live fire range; while hundreds of rounds are going down range. Now bugs wasn't running across there, he was jsut sorta hoppin around without a care in the world.

Now let me recommend something to you, if you've never tried it. Some of the best targets in the world, are clay birds. They cost about $0.05 a piece at Wal-Mart (less if bought in large lots), and they are both incredibly visible at nearly any range, and marevelously reactive.

There are ready made target holders for them if you want; but you can also just pick up a bundle of 50 garden stakes at home despot for about $5.00, and hang them off the top of the stake. Let me tell you, at 4.5" they are surprisingly difficult to hit with a pistol if you arent expecting it; but once you've got the knack they're greatly satisfying. They're certainly a lot harder to hit than the 6" or 8" dinner plate racks commonly used in speed shooting games.

Oh and that 4-1/2" size, well if you can hit that consistently at 7-15 yards, you can keep a shot in the lethal zone with no problem.

Oh and how awesome is my wife? Aafter all, she love guns, liberty, good food, and Sci Fi and fantasy (among many other very cool things). She's getting her ccw in a few weeks, and she already knows at least one of her christmas and birthday presents is a new gun... and she's thrilled by the idea.

There are days when I am absolutely sure I'm the luckiest man in the world.

Rockstar Supernova: Week 10 Eliminations, Lukas Finally On the block, and WHAT THE F$%@

Yes, Lukas is finally in the bottom three.

Yesterday I said:

"My guess, is that the bottom three will be Toby, Lukas, and Dilana, but it could easily be Storm instead of Toby; and Lukas could be kept alive by the emogushqueens in which case everything is up in the air. The results from the early voting muddy the picture even more so who knows."

And for the most part I was right. Toby was in the bottom three at some point last night... in fact EVERYONE was in the bottom three (there ARE only five of them), but it ends up being Storm, Lukas, and Dilana.

The Reviews:

Magni Asgiersson - Supernova, "It's all love" : I like the sound he chose here, and it's a cool arrangement. It's very current pop/rock sounding though, much lighter than I would expect from these guys. Magni sounded... finished, polished, like he'd been rpacticing with the band for years. He looks and sounds right up there. Great energy, great performance, I'm even more certain now he's won it, and everyone else is jsut killing time.

Toby Rand - Original "Throw it Away": And Toby gets the encore, which I'm happy to see. He REALLY rocks it from moment one. This is his first single for his solo tour. Toby has a real career ahead of him here; jsut not as the lead singer of Supernova. Oh and he won a car for this, so hey, kick ass. Great energy, and he just sounds perfect. Class move dedicating the song to Steve Irwin too. Oh and the house band FRIKKEN ROCKS. GREAT crowd work, and camera play. Rockstar all the way.


The Elimination:

Storm Large - Pink Floyd, "Wish You Were Here": This is my favorite Pink Floyd song, so I have high expectations. I sing this song on stage, I've performed it hundreds of times, I KNOW how this song is done, and I'm worried for Storm. She looks awesome here by the way. Relaxed and comfortable on stage, she's where she wants to be; maybe a little bit off time though. Not quite right into the change... not enough resonance, a bit dead sounding. Much better into the vocal bridge and refrain, and a decent close. I was wondering why she went with such a quiet introspective choice, when her forte is hard punk rocking, but she dedicated it to her mom, so I kinda get it. She was good, but I'm still worried. She snag this song looking like she was expecting to be eliminated, and she signed off with a definite sad note. I think SHE thinks she's gone.

Dilana Robicheaux - Cheap Trick "I Want You to Want Me": Uhhhhhhh, what the hell is she thinking of doing this song? She goes and does a hard punk version of the song, missing the time changes a bit, but really messing around with the song as a whole. Fun stuff, if a little bit off time, and gravelly. Plus, she can barely walk here. Very memorable, high energy very fun, very committed. She REALLY wants this. Even a semi crowd surf, with her bad leg. Great crowd interaction. I'm not sure she actually knew the words to the song, but who cares she had fun.

Lukas Rossi - Original "Head Spin": Well I'm glad to finally see him here; and I HATE his original; but maybe he can convince me he shouldn't be eliminated here... Anyway, he goes right into it, and he's much more comfortable on stage to start the song, but he's vamping it up a bit much. EXPLOSION into the refrain. He's got his whole gut into this tune. I expect this will do well as a solo track among the teengirls. Good crowd interaction, but he's getting spastic on stage. I hate to say this, but as much as I dislike him, and this song, his performance here was better for supernova than Storm and Dilana. Besides which, I think the band would lose half their ratings from the teeniegirls for the last week. I'm sure Lukas is not going to win, but I think he's safe tonight.

Honestly, I think both Dilana and Storm are far better than Lukas, but as I said, they just won't eliminate him before the end of the show. Storm already has a successful career, and she NEEDS Supernova less than the others do, so I think that counts against her.

and she is gone.

I'm kinda irritated that the band didn't explain their decision; buit the band clearly knows she's already a star. Maybe it was just that, she's already a star and she doesn't need Supernova enough. In fact I think she's going to do better having LOST this than winning it, because Storm is going to break LARGE. She KICKS ASS, and she's gorgeous. The world is not going to leave her alone.

So, it's down to four... and I think Toby and Lukas both know they aren't it. Toby is awesome, but he's a modern punk singer, and his whole vibe isn't supernova. Lukas... Lukas is a little emobitch and Tommy SHITS bigger than him.

So to my mind, it's down to Magni and Dilana, and I just don't see Dilana beating our icelandic friend.

Sad But True

HT to Rodger

What a piece of work is man

"There is no biological difference between the physical makeup of man, and other mammals. Any other view of man, is based on unscientific factors; and is only the influence of your artificial morality, faith, or religion".

That's a quote from a member of a mailing list I'm on. This is the "best" argument liberals, extreme leftists, pro-abortion activists and the like come up with for why it is OK to murder an unborn child (and in a fit of self contradicting circular - nay moebius strip - logic, why it is not ok to "murder" animals for meat or medical testing): We are nothing more than our biology, our biology is no different than other animals, therefore we are no better than the animals. We kill animals all the time, so there must be nothing wrong in killing unborn babies.

This is the ultimate statement of moral relativity; relating man to animals, to say that there IS no validity to our morality, because we are determined by our biology; and thus no better than the animals (in fact we are worse because animals don't lie).

A man is a rat is a boy is a dog.

Are we then nothing more than the sum of our biology? Is our worth determined thusly? If you truly believe this is so, then you disgust me; but I am certain from their own statements and "phiosophies" that they do not. They are simply cherry picking this piece in a hypocritical and internally inconsistent attempt at self justification in something they truly know is wrong.

But I digress.

What a piece of work is man! How noble in reason! How infinite in faculty! In form and moving, how express and admirable! In action, how like an angel! In apprehension how like a god! The beauty of the world! The paragon of animals! And yet, to me, what is this quintessence of dust? Man delights not me; no, nor woman neither, though by your smiling you seem to say so.

Man is superior to all other life forms that we know of.

I make these judgments not in biology, nor in faith; but in realization. Only man can self actualize. Only man has true sentience on earth (though some other species are close). Only man can learn of far history in detail and speculate of the far future. Only man can reason above the base level. Only man can overcome his baser natures, even if imperfectly, to create art, music, philosophy, love...

No other test is necessary, MAN IS SUPERIOR to all other lifeforms that we know of.

I love my dog. He is greatly intelligent; in fact he is most likely more intelligent than many profoundly retarded humans. He is kinder, gentler, more efficient, less deceitful, less "imperfect" than man.

Does this make him superior to us?

Man delighted Hamlet not, for he was deceitful, and treacherous and imperfect; but does that make man inferior to the animals?

Of course not; and if you believe it does, I invite you to live in the jungle, naked, and without a knife or gun. You will see then what the beasts are; and how man differs from them.

Man has inherent value, over and above biology; BECAUSE WE ALONE AMONG ANIMALS ARE SUPERIOR TO OUR BIOLOGY. The whole is greater than the sum of it's parts. The spark of life, that sentience which indeed and so very clearly lifts us above the other beasts of the jungle is what gives us our worth. The most despicable human being is worth more than a million fish, or cows, or rats, or bats; BECAUSE HE IS A MAN.

Dismissing a human life as mere biology; be it a full grown man, or "merely" an unborn child; is loathsome. By doing so you bring yourself back down to the level of beasts, who can understand no more than food, fear, and fucking.

Rockstar Supernova - Down to the Wire

Alright, one week to the final, and its game time. This week, EVERYONE get's an original song performance, as well as a classic rock tune; and Dilana is looking rocky.

I have a feeling tomorrow we're going to see two eliminations, so the stakes are as high as they'll ever get.


The Reviews:

Dilana Robichaux - Roger Daltry, "Behind Blue Eyes" and original "Supersoul" : She's in trouble with this song if she screws it up; and it is NOT an easy tune; worse, she doesnt know the tune. I'm worried for her here. She starts it off, and it's about the sweetest and clearest her voice has been this whole season. Interesting choice into the change, not bad, but I would have put some grunge in it, and more power. I think she's intimidated by the song. The chair on stage isn't working, and her performance doesnt have much energy; but she's compensating for a major injury (she tore her calf muscle), so we can giver her some credit. Roger Daltry is a tough act to follow certainly, and this wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either.

Her original is interesting. It's reminiscent of several modern and nu metal groups, and maybe a little bit of Nirvana in there; but still original. The band is kind of drowning her out a bit, and she's VERY gritty here, too much so I think. Very cool song though, and her energy is much higher here than on the cover. Pretty good, and the ending was great for about 10 seconds, but again, I'm a little underwhelmed. It would surprise me if she wasn't singing again tomorrow

Magni Asgiersson - The Beatles, "Back in the USSR" and original "When the Time Comes": Great song, one of the beatles more rockin tune, and some great surf rock references. He goes for a straightup cover, though he throws a little sneer into it. He's elvising it up a bit for the crowd. I dunno, it's cool, but I was thinking it would be even better, and I'm a little dissappointed. He goes into the reprise and he really cranks it up, and now he's kicking some ass. for the close. Not bad.

For his original, he's singing a translation of one of his Icelandic songs; which appears to be a modern hard rock style tune. I like the groove, and of course he's singing it very well (he wrote it affter all). Good energy, cool performance, great intensity. Maybe a little more crowd interaction might be nice, but he's singing his guts out. I can see supernova doing this song. He really cranks it up on the final verse, and gets the crowd into it. Intensity even higher, energy even higher, agression even higher, GREAT finish. Kickin.

Storm Large - David Bowie, "Suffragette City" and original "...Ladylike": Storm gets to go totally punk, with Bowies punkest commercial tune, and her own original "ladylike". Come on, with a title like that it HAS to be nasty fun. Oh, and Dave came up for the cover, fuckin a. Kick ass song. I dont like the key and pitch decision here. I think she should have gone high, and hit the scream into the refrain, instead she goes for low and mannish. This is Bowie, you don't want that, in fact she's FAR lower than the Duke, and I think it's a mistake. She's got great energy, and intensity, and the crowd is into it. It aint bad, but it could be a hell of a lot better. Oh and JESUS CHRIST SHE HAS HUGE FEET. The hit should have been at "Wham Bam Thank You Man", and there was no big pop.

Now her original is in the right key, and she's pitched appropriately. Kind of a creepy talking intro, and the tension is building. Good break into the refrain, and she's getting into it, upping the energy and intesnity as she goes. Good performance. VERY suggestive lyrics (of course). Great energy and grunt into the reprise. GREAT scream. Very sexy, and I swear to god she just came when she performed there. No I'm not kidding, look at her eyes, and her chest, and the slackness in her features now that it's over. I'm telling you she had an orgasm.

Lukas Rossi - Bon Jovi "Living on a Prayer" and original "Head Spin": I'm cringing jsut at the thought of him singing "Living on a Prayer", but I'm open to him not sucking... I just don't think he can do it. Not only that, but he's doing it solo, no band, jsut him and an electric. He's turned it into a bad nirvana song. Of course the fact that he looks like he's giving the mike a blowjob. Playing to the little chickies. I really, really, really want to kill this little bitch. He's emo yodelwail crysinging FUCKING BON JOVI. He's SOOO dead. Soooooo so dead. He's gone tomorrow for sure, thank fucking GOD.

His original is even worse. I swear to you, I can almost see his shrivled little testicles crawling off the stage in shame. Great energy and intesity at least, but he just sucks. The song is repeititve, and whiny, and not original in any way. I'm sure the little emo pillowbiting kidlets will love it. Performance wise though, I think this is without doubt his BEST performance. His intensity and crow interaction were great, but the song is horrible.

Toby Rand - The Killers, "Mr. Brightside" and original "Throw it Away": I dunno about this song selection; though it worked for Marty last season. Toby is so flat here, and he's not getting the timber he needs here. The song is supposed to have a lot of tonal highlights, and range. Toby is singing it with no headroom. He sounds pinched and flat. Which is too bad, because his energy and crowd interaction are otherwise great.

The original on the other hand reminded me a lot of Dramarama, and other bands on the new wave/punk/new romatic edge; or the modern revival of it (I could see My Chemical Romance doing it). Cool tune, great performance. Great energy and crown interaction, and he's having fun with it. The house band is really rocking this. The song is really catchy, and everybody loves it.

Now, theres five of them, and three bottom slots, so this could get interesting. Magni was soild but not great, Lukas sucked, and Dilana was iffy; but the little teeniegirls are voting for Lukas as fast as they can use up their text messages so who knows... Storms cover wasn't very good, but her original kicked ass; and the same could be said of Toby. Magni was pretty good either way, but the

My guess, is that the bottom three will be Toby, Lukas, and Dilana, but it could easily be Storm instead of Toby; and Lukas could be kept alive by the emogushqueens in which case everything is up in the air. The results from the early voting muddy the picture even more so who knows.

Saying this for YEARS

BTDTGTTS

Recipes for REAL Men, Volume 16 - 10 minute DTG (Damn, that's good) Dip

So, for my parties, I like to make a little chip dip. Now, I'm allegic to onions, I hate quacamole, sour cream leaves me cold, and I'd rather just eat chili paste than Salsa; so I don't exactly have a lot of options.

And then of course theres that little fact that I'm a meat eater. If there isn't meat in it, and it isn't dessert; it's jsut not really food.

So anyway, I came up with a basic dip recipe a while ago; and I jsut make it up, with different variations for diferent audiences.

Ingredients:

1 lb of Extra Lean ground beef (hamburger, chuck, or sirloin... or chorizo, or loose sausage)
2 120z cans of refried beans (or 24oz of home made)
1/2 lb of mixed shredded cheeses (I personally like cheddar and jack)
1/4lb of velveeta, processed cheese, or cream cheese (optional, for a smoother texture and to reduce separation)
1/2 cup vinegar based hot sauce (Franks red hot, Texas Pete, or Tabasco for example)
2 tblsp habanero based hot sauce, or chili paste (optional)
1 large purple or yellow onion, chopped (optional)
1/2 cup chopped jalapeno peppers (optional)
1 tblsp fresh chopped cilantro (optional)
1 tblsp fresh ground coriander (optional)
1 tblsp fresh ground black pepper
2 tsp ground turmeric
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground mustard
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp kosher salt


Preparation:

Brown your meat in a large saucepan, adding the dry seasonings as you brown. Do not drain the meat (this is why you're using extra lean). if you are including onions and peppers, sweat them in with the meat when it is mostly browned.

Add in the hot sauces and let simmer for 4 or five minutes.

Turn down your heat to medium-low, then add in your coriander and stir to combine. Then add the refried beans; and mix throughly.

A note on coriander and cilantro: Some people taste cilantro, and it's seed coriander, as slightly reminiscent of soap, or deodorant. This is why it's optional.

Simmer for five minutes to combine flavors, but do not heat enough to cause the fats to separate; then slowly fold and throughly mix in the cheese.

As soon as the cheese is fully incorporated take off the heat (or turn the heat to the lowest possible setting if you dont have a warmer). High heat here will cause the fats to separate and the dip will be greasy and stringy. While still hot, adjust your seasoning to taste (more hot sacue, pepper etc...).

This dip is best served kept warm (I have a little mini crock pot that's perfect for the job). It's chunky, but smoothe and not heavy. You can use it as well on ruffles as you do on nachos. It also makes a great base or topping for rice, or burritos etc...

Variants include mexican style loose chorizo sausage, shredded or chunked chicken, shredded or chunked beef, and carnitas (shredded seasoned pork); of which the shredded beef is my favorite (it jsut takes a lot longer to cook than ground beef does).

As another serving suggestion, spread a thin layer of the paste over a thick layer of nachos, then sprinkle with some plain seasoned ground or shredded meat, cover with cheese, and bake in a 425 degree oven until the cheese starts to brown on the high spots.

Makes about 6 cups of dip; about enough for 8 people


And be sure to check out:


Recipes for REAL Men, Volume 15 - DTG (Damn That's Good) dip
Recipes for REAL Women, Volume 15 - More Chocolate Than Cookie
Recipes for REAL Women, Volume 14 - Millions of Peaches
Recipes for REAL Women, Volume 13 - Mels 10,000 Calorie Butter Cookies
Recipes for REAL Men, Volume 12 - Lard Ass Wings
Recipes for REAL Men, Volume 11 - Bacon Double Macaroni and Cheese
Recipes for REAL Men, Volume 10 - It's the meat stupid
Recipes for REAL Men, Volume 9 - Labor Day Potatos
Recipes for REAL men, Volume 8 - It's a pork fat thing
Recipes for REAL men, Volume 7 - It may not be Kosher...
Recipes for REAL men, Volume 6 - Andouille Guiness Chili
Recipes for REAL men, Volume 5 - Eazza the Ultimate Pizza
Recipes for REAL men, Volume 4 - Two Pound Meat Sauce
Recipes for REAL men, Volume 3 - Highbrow Hash
Recipes for REAL men, Volume 2 - MuscleCarbonara
Recipes for REAL men, Volume 1 - More Beef than Stew

Days of Wine and... Err... Beer and Bratwurst

So we had our labor day barbeque and poker game today. We ended up with six people over, plus Mel, myself, and the kids of course, for a total of ten.

Great menu; we did burgers, glazed chicken breast, marinated pork loin, and bratwurst (and hot dogs for the kids); plus roasted corn on the cob, roasted jalapenos, fixings for the sandwhiches, and a meat/cheese/bean dip that I make... plus of course all the various beverages people can drink.

Much like the July 4th celebration we started at around noon, and I just now packed everyone off home safe. Of course on the 4th it was 3am before we ended it, but that was a bit much for Mel, so we had an early night.

One fun thing, our friends Bill and Angel brought over their wolf Loki (she's a pure grey wolf, domestic bred and then abandoned as a pup); and she and Mac got along great.

The food went over very well, and then we got down to the poker. First tournament we had six people, $5 buy-in, and I ended up taking second (with Angel taking first. She had trip kings to my two pair), then we ended up in a cash game for the second half of the night. I went up $5 then down $5, and I ended my night.

Overall, a really great day. Good friends, good food, good fun.

I wish they even made a dent in me

Recipes for Real Women, Volume 15 - More Chocolate than Cookie

Mel:

Two weeks ago I made the precursor to this recipe and the cookies were gone within a week. This is the new, improved recipe, which tastes even better. These cookies have a ton of chocolate and nuts and go fast.

A note from Chris: These are without doubt the best chocolate chip cookies I've ever had; and to my mind the best cookies Mel has ever made. The irony though? Mel doesnt like chocolate chip cookies. Oh and the same basic recipe could easily be adapted to white chocloate chip and macadamia nut, dark cocolate and walnut, maple candy and walnut (replace some of the brown sugar with maple syrup), or peanut butter chip and cashew (yes, trust me they're good) cookies.

As an additional serving suggestion, trust me on this one, make a couple of big ones, and use them as the basis for an ice cream sunday, with butter pecan ice cream, caramel, and choclate sauce.

Ingredients:

2 cups butter (1 lb), softened
2 cups brown sugar, lightly packed
2 eggs
2 tbsp natural vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans (optionally substitue other nuts to your taste)
3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (optionally substitute milk chocolate chips, or chunks)

Preparation:

Cream the butter and brown sugar together until well combined and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and beat until well combined. Mix the flour, baking soda, and salt together and beat into the butter mixture. Stir in the pecans and chocolate chips (yes they will all fit in the dough). The dough will be very wet, sticky, and chunky.

Use a tablespoon measure to scoop out the dough. Use about one rounded tablespoon of dough for each cookie, and set 2 inches apart on a greased or parchment-lined cookie sheet.

Flatten the cookies slightly before putting in the oven. Because of their high butter content they will spread nicely when flattened, but with all those chocolate chips and nuts, if you don't flatten them they will be very thick, and lumpy cookies. Oh, they'll taste good, but their texture will be a bit odd.

Bake the cookies in the center of the oven at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Check them after about 8 minutes; the center will be set when done. DO NOT OVERBAKE. These cookies have lots of butter and brown sugar, and will burn very easily. The edges should be a slightly darker brown than the center, but the entire cookie will be very brown due to the ingredients.

Using a thin spatula, immediately transfer the cookies to a cooling rack or table top lined covered with parchment paper or foil. Let cool to slightly warm before eating; the cookies will fall apart when too hot.

This recipe makes around 5 dozen cookies, and believe me, you'll need that many once people taste them.

And be sure to check out:

Recipes for REAL Women, Volume 15 - More Chocolate Than Cookie
Recipes for REAL Women, Volume 14 - Millions of Peaches
Recipes for REAL Women, Volume 13 - Mels 10,000 Calorie Butter Cookies
Recipes for REAL Men, Volume 12 - Lard Ass Wings
Recipes for REAL Men, Volume 11 - Bacon Double Macaroni and Cheese
Recipes for REAL Men, Volume 10 - It's the meat stupid
Recipes for REAL Men, Volume 9 - Labor Day Potatos
Recipes for REAL men, Volume 8 - It's a pork fat thing
Recipes for REAL men, Volume 7 - It may not be Kosher...
Recipes for REAL men, Volume 6 - Andouille Guiness Chili
Recipes for REAL men, Volume 5 - Eazza the Ultimate Pizza
Recipes for REAL men, Volume 4 - Two Pound Meat Sauce
Recipes for REAL men, Volume 3 - Highbrow Hash
Recipes for REAL men, Volume 2 - MuscleCarbonara
Recipes for REAL men, Volume 1 - More Beef than Stew

The Power of Kitty Compels You!

Power for Nothing and Your Chicks for Free

A lot of folks have asked me what I thought about Steorn, the Irish company which has announced they have created a system that generates more power than is used to run the generator.

This of course violates the laws of physics pretty significantly; as well as just the realities of egineering; and people don't understand how what they say is possible.

Well, I understand both the physics, and the engineering; and I even know some of the people involved with the company; however, I still don't know how it is even possible to have more than 100% efficiency; or even more than about 85% efficiency in the real world.

Hell, even if it's only 85% efficient, that would be a HUGE advance in generating technology. Current power generation is anywhere from less than 10% efficient, to somewhere north of 40% (there are experimental technologies that are higher of course, but they haven't been pracitcally applied); with the majority of the rest of the energy dissappearing as waste heat.

The fact remains though, the law of conservation of energy is very clear, and thus far always true (the definition of a law); in a closed system you cannot get out more than you can put in. The only way this could work is if the system is not in fact closed; that they are simply not counting the input from outside the system.

My thought on the details of the matter is that if they really want to say they are more than 100% efficient, it's because they plan to use "free" energy; like the motion of water through pipes, people over sidewalks, cars over roads etc...

Of course that energy isn't really free, because it will now take just slightly more energy for each of these activities to occur; enough to cover the energy generated, plus efficiency losses; for a net loss of energy equal to the efficiency losses.

Of course in a hgihly efficient system, distributed to many points of generation (say every car in the country, or every cow an a field, or every person walking on the sidewalk); then it is possible to have a practical application with very little percieved impact. This ould be percieved as free energy, and could in fact be NEARLY free energy, but no matter how little the impact, there will always be some.

It is entirely possible that the guys at Steorn have come up with a practical way of generating power at very low cost; that doesn't require much in the way of fixed infrastructure, or input energy. If they set up their multipole magnetic generators on every city street, and every cell phone had the companion component that generated current as it passed through the field for example. Or if they managed to shrink
the whole thing down to cell phone sie, and it was charged simply by the motion in your pocket (much like an automatic watch movement), I can see it working.

Let's see what the details of their "miracle technology" are before we dismiss it entirely. I am willing to be convinced, but the burden of proof is very high. You don't just repeal the laws of physics on a couple of businesmens say-so.

Thus far, conservation of energy has always applied. The results have proven true in all cases in the known universe; in all postulates, the theory was proved by the outcome. Under no circumstance has the conservation of energy ever been disproven, nor is there any theoretical way that it COULD be disproven within a closed system,
therefore it is a law.

Is our understanding of physics, cosmology, and cosmogeny poor and incomplete? In many ways yes; but in this fundamental case no, it is not. There is no way to achieve more than 100% energy efficiency; nor in the "real world" is it possible to even achieve 100% efficiency.

Now, prove me wrong; you'll own the world.

Costco is already selling decorations...

Dianne Feinstein Memorial Assault Shotgun

I've been wanting one of these for a while, and now it is mine:


That is a Knoxx sidewinder converted Mossberg 500a; with a silly cruiser grip and barrel heat sheild.

The sidewinder is an interesting thing. It's a magazine feed conversion kit available for the Mossberg 500 and 590; along with a system of six round box, or 10 round drum magazines. This allows for rapid reload, and rapid changes of ammunition type, which I appreciate; as well as greater magazine capacity in the shortest possible barrel length (no long mag tube extensions).

I should say it WAS available; last month Knoxx took it off the market, because they couldnt manufacture it economically for the quality they wanted; and belive me that quality is very high. Although the finish on the kit leaves much to be desired, it is INCREDIBLY tough. There are videos on the Knoxx site of the sidewinder mags being run over by pickup trucks, and thrown 30 feet onto the ground with no more damage than scratches.

Now, if it's discontinued how did I get one?

Well, I was checking out one of my local pawn shops, and I saw this puppy sitting up there. I asked to see it, and it was clearly almost unfired. It looks like someone bought it, put it together, put a couple rounds through it with the cruiser grip on, realized they couldnt handle it, and then pawned it.

Duh!

I have arms like a frikken Gorilla, and I won't use a cruiser grip by choice. They're for movies poseurs. The one situation I can see using them in, is if you need a 12ga but dont have enough space to allow for a stock (in a boat maybe); but even then there are folding or collapsible stocks that shoud do better than this.

Anyway, the point is, it was pretty much brand new. The guy wanted a fairly steep price for it at $375; but a new 500a is $249 (sometimes on sale for lower), and the now discontinued sidewinder kit is $249 (including one drum magazine), so I figured I was getting a reasonable price. I mentioned that $375 was a BIT high for a used shotgun even with the sidewinder, and he said "No Tax", which saves me about $30, and I made the deal.

I sold JohnOC my FN Police (Same as the Winchester 1300 defender but with rifle sights) for a song because he's my friend and I owe him money ;-), which covered more than half the cost of the new shottie, so overall I'm most best pleased.

First things first, I've got to replace that cruiser grip with something useful. I'm already a big fan of Knoxx, and I want an LOP adjustable stock so my wife can shoot this thing effectively; voila, the Knoxx SpecOps stock, which even has a very effective recoil reducing feature.


I'll be picking one up next pay check. Also, although Knoxx has discontinued the kits, there are still magazines available; from Knoxx, and some of their resellers, so I'm going to pick up another drum, and 4 or 5 stick mags. They aint cheap ($100 for the drums, $50 for the sticks), but what's the point of having a rapid reload capability without the mags to reload with?

I figure 5 six rounders and two drums makes a nice round number of 50. That's a respectible amount of ammo, and it nicely uses up one ofthe sizes of bulk box available. I can't see ever needing that many 12ga rounds at once, but if the zombie hordes ever attack, you know who to call.

I'm wondering if it's possible to adapt a surefire forend to the gun, but with the location of the mag well, I don't think it could be done without major surgery, if at all... although the version they make for the 14" barrel military shorty may work... I need to find the dimensions somewhere. I could always clamp a light on to it , but theres really mot many good spots for that either, because of the abbreviated mag tube setup.

Oh and that heat shield is coming off. In fact I'm probably just going to grab a ghost ring barrel for the thing.

Now, onto the operation of the gun.

The kit itself is as I said quite sturdy, and it feeds and cycles completely reliably. Loading the 10rd drum mags is a lot easier than I expected, and throwing the mag around the room I never managed to dislodge a round unintentionally. Also the magazines are surprisingly light given their size, even loaded.

On handy feature, the drum is reversible for left or right handed users, with a two way follower and a rim loading gate, and latch, on both sides of the mag.

So how does it shoot?

Well, I haven't been able to take it to the range yet, but unfortunately I DO know how it shoots.





Yes friends, I had an unintentional discharge into my own ceiling with my new shotgun. Now generally I make a clear distinction between a negligent discharge and an accidental discharge, but this one is a bit of both.

I was function testing the weapon. I had loaded the magazine in, cycled a few rounds, then I cleared the magazine and cleared the chamber. I verified the chmaber was clear, the magazine was out, there was nothing in the mag tube, and there was no shell on the lifter. I then racked the slide and pulled the trigger safely.

Here's where the negligence part comes in. I am familiar with the manual of arms for the Mossberg 500 series; but not for the Knoxx conversion, and there is a peculiarity of the conversion that I was not aware of.

When you remove the magazine from a sidewinder, there is still a loose round in the magwell, but you can't see it unless you turn the weapon all the way over; because it is sitting in between the lifter and the mag well, inside the end of the reciever bridge and mag tube join. The position of the lifter is such that it blocks your view, and you can't see it by looking into the mag well from behind, even though you can see the pump follower (part of the conversion adds basically a push feeder into the mag tube which pushes the shells onto the lifter from the magazine as the slide is operated).

So, when I racked the slide the first time, there was no shell on the lifter, and there was no shell in the mag tube forward of the mag well, so I figured all was well. Then it locked up and dry fired just fine, so I was even more sure that all was well. Unfortunately, the second time I racked the slide, the shell that was retained in that one spot in between the mag well and the lifter, loaded into the chamber; and when I pulled the trigger ...

Well, I know my new shotgun works, and I know that Hornady TAP doesnt have excessive recoil when fired with a cruiser grip. Oh and I also know my dog, and my three year old (who were both across the room) aren't scared by gun fire.

So on this one, there is definitely what I would consider a design defect, but had I known the manual of arms for this weapon it would not have happened, therefore it is still a negligent discharge, but there was at least a mitigating factor. I wasn't a COMPLETE idiot, jsut a 90% idiot.

Of course the fact that I was handling a loaded weapon without knowing it's complete manual of arms... No, I was a complete idiot.

The only reason more damage, even potentially lethal damage, wasn't done here is because I followed three of the four rules. The reason there was any damage at all, was because I didn't properly follow the first one.

1. All Guns are ALWAYS loaded
2. Never point a gun at anything you are not willing to destroy
3. Never put your finger on the trigger until you are ready to shoot
4. Always be sure of your target, and what is beyond it.

Now, rule 1 is absolutely ciritcal; and unless you have completely verified that a gun is unloaded, do not do a function check, do not pull the trigger. The problem was, I did not know how to properly verify this weapon was unloaded, and I ended up shooting something I didn't intend to.

In more than 20 years of shooting, I've had three negligent discharges. All three occurred when I was complacent, BECAUSE of how much experience I have, and BECAUSE I "KNEW" what I was doing. Well you can see here, I didn't know what I was doing with this particular gun.

The only reason a tragedy didn't occur here, is because I followed rule 2. I pointed the gun up and into the corner of the room as a safe direction, and no-one was hurt.

Oh, and why is it the Dianne Feinsten Memorial Assault Shotgun?

My friends know, and that's enough. I think Steve would have gotten a kick out of this, even though it is black and plasticy.