Yum, Yum, Yum!

It's always rewarding when a dinner idea works well. Tonight, dinner is Baked Beef Brisket, with a side-dish of Asparagus with Parmesan Cheese. Here's how I did the side-dish...

Asparagus with Parmesan and Mozeralla Cheese

Ingredients

• 2 15-oz. cans extra long tender asparagus spears (drained)
• 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 3/4 cup shredded Mozeralla cheese
• butter
• Itailan seasoning (to taste).

Preparation

• Spread 1 can of drained asparagus spears in an 8-inch square backing dish.
• Dollop with butter.
• Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top.
• Spread the second can of drained spears on top, making a second layer.
• Dollop with butter.
• Sprinkle the Mozerella cheese on top, covering the entire top of the dish.
• Sprinkle Italian seasoning on top.

Broil for 7-10 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly.

To recap, here's what I cooked...

(Baked Brisket)


(Broiled Asparagus with Cheese)

Now that's some good eatin'!

Odd pizza varieties

Reading a blog posting from Felyne about pizza got me thinking about the odd varieties of pizza anyone can find at their local pizza parlour. I sumbit a few varieties...

Meat Smothers Pizza
Made with three times the helpings of sausage, pepperoni, and ground beef found in “normal” pizzas. Cheese extra. Includes an informative brochure on what to do in the event of a heart attack.

Dolphin-Free Seafood Pizza
Made with either canned tuna or canned salmon. Pizza still comes with a warning label about the health effects of mercury on pregnant women.

PETA Pizza
All ingredients are guaranteed to be animal-free, and have never been used for cosmetic testing. Varieties come in bland, very bland, and lipstick.

Enviro-Buddy Pizza
No meat, no veggies, no crust, and no sauce. Not only low-carb and low-calorie, but CFCs are not used to create it. How environmentally friendly can you get!

Earth Liberation Front Pizza
This variety of the PETA Pizza includes your choice of a coupon, either boasting half-off an arson attack against anyone trying to build a home, with a pre-scribed note, saying, “Construction Kills Trees!,” or half-off a vandalism or fire-bombing at a prominent research lab (usually at a university with a liberal student body), with a pre-scribed note, saying, “scientific research causes global warming!”

Tutti Fruity Patooti Pizza
Chock-full of fibrous fruit. Sweet-tasting, and very filling. May cause abdominal distension and/or excessive flatulence.

Love-filled/hate-filled Vegetarian Pizza
Peppers, onions, tomatoes, and olives, plus a complimentary “God hates meat eaters” protest sign.

The Bush-Basher Pizza
Your choice of any ingredients, piled as short or as high as you want. The pizza comes with a complimentary protest sign saying the government forced you to eat the pizza, and that any health problems that you may experience as a result of eating the pizza are entirely the fault of the Bush Administration. The back of the sign reads, “If Kerry won the election, federal programs would be in place to help me with my pizza choices”.

Dish up the pizza pie and enjoy! Mmmm... That's-a good eatin'!

Another RadioGuy Recipe: Curried Lamb

For years, I've loved Indian food, particularly curry. The difficult thing for me is that quick curry recipes are hard to find on the Internet. Lamb is an Indian dietary mainstay, as is curry, so I've combined these into a (somewhat) quick meal that I call...


Radioguy's Curried Lamb with Basmati Rice


For the Curried Lamb

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 ½ tablespoon curry powder
• 2 tbls. vinegar
  
• 1 clove garlic
• ½ large onion
• 1 pound lean lamb, cut in 1/2-inch cubes
• Salt and pepper
• 1 can diced tomatoes
  

Directions

• Melt the butter in a heavy skillet over medium heat.
• Add the vinegar, curry powder, and stir for a minute or so.
• Add the garlic, onion, and lamb.
• Saute, stirring frequently, for 7 minutes or so; or until the lamb is done through.
• Salt and pepper to taste.

For the Basmati Rice

• 1 cup Basmati Rice
• 2 ½ cups chicken broth
• ½ large onion, finely chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, finely chopped

Directions

• Cook rice in a rice steamer (steaming directions will vary), but substitute broth for water, and add onion and pepper while cooking.

Authentic Indian cooking is rare in my corner of the globe (we have one Indian restaurant in these parts, and while the food is excellent, the prices are not). If anyone has any Indian recipies to share, please share them!

CBS Radio News slips in an editorial comment (again!)

This morning, during a regular, top-of-the-hour, newscast, CBS Radio did a piece on the Jack Abramoff scandal. For those who are unfamiliar with the brouhaha, here's a link to an article about the situation. For those that don't want to or can't read the article, "former Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff has plead guilty to fraud, public corruption and tax evasion in connection with dealings related to his American Indian clients, of whom he and former associate Michael Scanlon are accused of defrauding millions in fees. Scanlon was charged in November by the Justice Department with conspiracy to corrupt a U.S. lawmaker and is now cooperating with federal investigators. Abramoff, in exchange for his plea, could face up to ten years in prison while also setting the stage for investigators to use him as a witness against his former colleagues and political allies".

This morning's news piece by CBS Radio News was an update on the Abramhoff investigation, which would be accepted by me as part of the news de jour, but for the label CBS put on Abramoff, a "Republican lobbyist".

Jack Abramhoff lobbied for American Indian clients, who - by and large - have supported Democrats and/or Democrat-supported measures. Abramoff lobbied for Republicans, as well. His shenanigans were brought to light via questionable contributions involving a Republican lawmaker. Republicans jumped the Abmraoff ship in droves, giving back the money raised by him. Many Democrats who benefited by Abramoff contributions, however, chose not to give back the money he raised for them. My local senator, Patty Murray (D - Washington), went so far as to say that giving the money back would be "unfair" to native Americans. Given the left-bias the national media has all-but-admitted to in the past few years, if a justification like Sen. Murray's had been given by a Republican lawmaker, the national media would have had a field-day with it.

Now, if Abramoff had lobbied to Republican lawmakers or Democrat lawmakers exclusively, I wouldn't be posting this. He allegedly did something wrong, and lawmakers got cought with their hands in the cookie jar. I'm not even beefed with the lame excuses made by lawmakers who won't give back the money Abramoff garnered for them.

My frustration is with CBS Radio News, who has yet to tell the public in their newscasts that Democrats are just as guilty of accepting Abramoff's money as Republicans, there are more Democrats than Republicans who have decided to keep the money, and that Abramoff is labelled by CBS Radio News as a "Republican lobbyist", thereby inferring that Republicans are exclusively obtaining questionable contributions.

If Abramoff is found guilty of illegal lobbying, then both parties are guilty of obtaining questionable contributions, and what CBS Radio News is (once again) showing their left-leaning bias, without an admission that they favor the minority party in the Senate. To this discerning news junky, it sends a message that CBS is trying to slip in an editorial (opinion, anti-Administration, anti-Bush, anti-Republican) element into what should be a "just read the facts" news report.

The story aired by CBS Radio News lasted less than 1 minute. "Radioguy? Why are you so uptight about it?", you might ask... It's because CBS Radio News, and other news media outlets, have slipped-in such comments during their newscasts, seemingly banking on either voter apathy, a collective short-term memory malfunction by their listeners, or the idea that whatever they say will be considered gospel truth by the public.

Seattle Kennel Club Show

Wifey and the WonderPups (Ranma and Baron) competed over the weekend in the annual Seattle Kennel Club Dog Show, held this year at Qwest Field (home of the Seattle Seahawks). The Seattle Kennel Club is the largest AKC (American Kennel Club) group in the state of Washington, and their show is the largest show in the state. As the pictures will show, it was a great weekend for Wifey and the dogs.

Here are the results of the two-day event, as conveyed to me by Wifey:

Ranma - Saturday - new title Excellent Standard - AX & 1st place
- 2nd qualifying run towards her Masters Jumpers title - MXJ & 2 points.
- Sunday - nothing

Baron - Saturday - Double Q #8 & 11 MACH points.
- Sunday - 1 jumpers Q - zero points

The dogs are my radio station’s mascots, and the staff was bursting with pride for what was accomplished over the weekend. I’m very proud of them, too!

WA State Budget moves in the legislature

Democrats (the majority party) in the Washington State Senate and House of Representatives recently unveiled their sullplemental budget proposals, and - on Monday - they announced a "compromise" on the budget they plan to send to the governor for her approval. The Associated Press has the following to say about it:

State lawmakers have released some details of the one-point-three (b) billion dollar supplemental budget they expect to approve before Thursday's end-of-session deadline.

It includes a teacher salary increase of one-half percent and additional spending to help students with math, science and the WASL assessment test.

The budget also would boost pay for community college instructors and allow universities to increase enrollments.

The spending plan expands the state's basic health insurance program by 65-hundred clients to a total of nearly 107-thousand. Extra money is added to prepare for a flu outbreak. The proposal also adds money for mental health and nursing homes.

The spending is on top of the 26 (b) billion dollar two-year budget approved last year.

The supplemental would provide 50 (m) million dollars in business tax cuts and put 935 (m) million into savings for next year's budget, earmarked for education, health care and pensions.

I've aired my concerns about the House and Senate budget proposals here, and the fiscal attitude of lawmakers in Olympia here. Each of the Democrat budget proposals, despite a modicum of "savings", equated to the largest spending increase in state history. Interviews conducted by me with members of the minority party infer that the "compromise" budget is, in fact, an overlapping/combination of the two budget proposals, with a higher spending level than either of the two proposals, individually. Governor Gregoire, a Democrat, has already voiced dissapointment with the amount of spending suggested by the "compromise" budget.

I'm not going to complain, I'm not going to rail against high state spending. I've already done so. I've got some strong opinions about the budget proposals, but I'm not going to go over them again here. Read my previous posts, if you're interested. regardless of how you feel about state spending, I encourage anyone interested in learning more about how the state may be spending your money, contact your local lawmaker.

How Far Can One Modify An Electric Bass?

Try this one - one I did many years back...

This is an Ibanez copy of a Fender Jazz Bass that I heavily modified - I re-sculpted and refinished the body neck of the instrument (handmade, burgundy oil finish on the body), replaced the cheapo Ibanez bridge with a heavy Badass brand bridge, and completely overhauled the electronics.

The original instrument had two pickups, two tone knobs and a volume knob. I wanted to see how far I could go with it, so I replaced the bass pickups with panning ones, added two hum bucking guitar pickups (typically used in jazz guitars), and swapped the electronics so each pair of pickups had it's own set of volume and tone knobs.

I also added phase shifting switches for each pair of pickups, and configured the entire electronics package to run in either mono or stereo. That modification meant that, in the studio or with two amplifiers, two strings would play on the left, while the others would play on the right... all with the flick of a switch. Very cool with the slapping/popping style I used.

I ended up adjusting the bridge for use with piccolo strings (one octave higher than on a standard bass). The tone of that instrument is so close to that of a semi-hollow body jazz guitar it's scary. And, just for fun, I crafted the instrument's pick guard out of an old road sign that blew down outside of the shop after a storm...

Radioguy Did Country Music

A few years ago... well, a lot of years ago, yours-truly was in a country band called Echo Canyon. We obtained a modicum of popularity in the northwest, and opened for a handful of major country artists during our short-lived stint. Here's a picture of the band that I recently unearthed...

The photo is about 10-12 years old. Last I had heard, the lead singer was working in one of the leading puppet troupes in the country, the guitar player had taken over his father's automotive repair/repainting business in Montana, the keyboard player was playing in a punk band in Seattle, and the drummer was working at a music store in central Washington. Me? Well, I'm just Radioguy... Funny how a band can spiral away in so many different directions...

Am I bitchy? Sure seems like it...

Looking back at many of my posts over the past couple of months, I've been a real complainer, and for that, I apologize. The last thing a blog viewer would want to see is a lot of complaining (unless you're really into that sort of thing). Not to make an excuse, but there have been a lot of issues and circumstances of late that have really gotten my goat, and I expressed my frustration in the most accessible manner at hand - the blog. I made a New Year's resolution to post more positive stuff, and (so far) I haven't held to that resolution. I promise to do better in the future.

Busy week...

A very busy week is underway for me. Our crack sales staff is cranking out more spec ads than I can keep up with. Plus, it seems that everyone on the staff has some computer problem they want me to fix. Combine that with my already heavy daily work load and you get an idea of how swamped I've been. So, tonight, I'm making a quick and easy meal - string pie.

Cheesy Italian baked noodle goodness! Yum!

For Relaxing Times...

For relaxing times...

Make it Santori time.

Great Weekend

Another great weekend has come and gone. On Sunday, Wifey and I took our wonderpups to the annual Chuckanut Dog Training Association agility show in Lynden, near the Canadian border.

Ranma (our 9-year-old cattledog) performed outstandingly well - a 1st place ribbon in the excellent standard competition - she was the fastest 20-inch-jumping dog to run cleanly, and only one dog (in another height class) was faster.

Baron did very well, too - he got one Qualifying Score ribbon, and obtained 6 points toward his MACH (a champion-like ranking that literally takes years to accomplish - a seemingly ungodly number of points and qualifying runs are needed). Baron is well on his way to obtaining his MACH.

I'm really proud of our wonderpups, and for the great work Wifey has done with them!

Do EVERYTHING with Gusto!

Make a statement - do everything with gusto!

For example, as the picture in this post will illustrate, I use a special tool to open my mail with gusto.

Washington State Legislature Curtails Critical Comments

This week, the clerk of the Washington State House of Representatives, on the advice of legal counsel, has begun censoring press releases. There's an article about it in the Olympian, and the House Republican Media Services Office. For those that do not want to spend time reading these stories, the gist of the brouhaha is that the clerk of the House has ruled that certain phrases are not allowed in press releases and related material issued by representatives (or their caucus press offices). The flap came about after a Republican representative issued a news release calling the Democrats' description of their budget proposal a "shell game".

Due to Democratic complaints, Republicans say, they've been told not to use several phrases in press releases this year. Among them: newspaper, and a press release on the subject via the

"lack of honesty with taxpayers";

"tax-and-spend liberals";

•"lack of truth in the majority's message";

•"It's not truthful to say this money is being put into reserve";

•And "disingenuous."

The House of Representatives' chief clerk, Rich Nafziger, has asserted that his decision to reign-in commentary statements in press releases and other state-funded communicae dates back to the mid-1990s, when Republicans and clerk Tim Martin controlled the House.

"“You cannot say Republicans are disingenuous or that Democrats are tax-and-spend liberals because we have rules governing the use of taxpayer resources that say you can'’t use those resources to sling mud, Nafziger said. "“We can'’t censor people. There'’s still free speech."”

The Republicans'’ humorous approach to the dispute barely masks their deep anger about the budget this year. Republicans have been especially edgy about that topic all year, accusing Democrats of wild spending sprees and fiscal irresponsibility at a time when the state surplus has grown to almost $1.6 billion. So while Democrats have claimed they are setting aside close to $1 billion for the next budget cycle in 2007, Republicans have pointed to an ending balance predicted for the state'’s general fund of $238 million; the GOP claims that is the real reserve amount and that $850 million put into other accounts is not really a reserve because it'’s meant to be spent eventually.

More recently, Republicans were resorting to humor to get out their message, including a news release with the domed Capitol exploding from the expansive spending by Democrats. Another warned of a spending tsunami.

Something to note at this point: comments and above-mentioned "forbidden phrases" have been used in press releases and other communicae by both sides of the aisle since the mid-1990s. The issue came to a head this year, when Republicans (the minority party in both bodies of the legislature) criticized the budget proposals by Democrats (the majority party).

Good grief! I don't care which party a lawmaker subscribes to, he or she has the right to give his or her opinion in press releases, as long as there is proper attribution. Attribution is the mainstay for my job in radio news. To say, for example, that the budget proposal by Democrats in the Washington State House of Representatives is "disingenuous" or has a "lack of honesty with taxpayers" is wrong. But for a Republican representative to say that he or she feels or believes the House Democrats budget proposal is "disingenuous" or has a "lack of honesty with taxpayers" relays proper attribution - it's the opinion of the elected official, not necessarily facceptablehat's aseparates. This seperates news pieces from opinion pieces.

Lawmakers are elected by the majority of the voters in their district, and as such, will appeal primarily with the voters that put them in office. For example, an elected Democrat from the heart of the Seattle area will be critical of Republican bills that take voting power away from his consituents, so he or she issues a press release that is critical of such a bill. Criticism of each party's policies is appropriate. Opinions are appropriate, as long as it's properly attributed. That's free speech, I think.

I step down from the soapbox for tonight.

Thanks for reading...

Don't forget to comment on this and any other post on this blog.

My entry into the pretty cat thingie

This is Smaug. He is about seven. He is mainly decorative and about as bright as Neo. He likes to lick plastic wrap. He doesn't like cheese.

This is Darth

He would feel left out if not included. He is twelve years old and shy. He likes cheese.

WA House proposes state budget

Over the past few days, Democrats (the majority party) in the Washington State Senate and House of Representatives have proposed their supplemental budget proposals. Each proposal is disappointing to me...

The House Democrat budget proposal (keep in mind this is a supplemental budget year*) hikes state spending by over 17% over the previous biennium. The Senate proposal spends even more. The increased spending is not "emergency" spending, as is called for in a supplemental budget - we're talking about new programs and new regulations. Each proposal would equate to the largest supplemental budget increase in state history.

* A supplemental budget is intended to "tweak" the state's existing budget, to deal with emergency spending for construction, roads and education.

After overtaxing the people of the state, the legislature finds itself in control of over $1.4 billion in "unexpected" revenue. To her credit, governor Christine Gregoire - a Democrat - has cautioned her colleagues on the left side of the aisle (on more than one occasion) from using the budget "surplus" as an excuse to increase state spending, as the state has been in the red for years, and many of the bills the state needs to pay haven't been paid yet. Read: the state is in debt, and needs to pay its bills before it can make money (in order to pay for new programs).
Democrats in both bodies of the legislature are touting their budget proposals as "investing in the future, while saving money". What sticks in my craw is that the state is over $1 billion debt right now, the "surplus" money is a one-time affair, and instead of paying the bills, the budget proposals increase state spending, which means the state will be in hock even farther, come the next budget cycle!

Imagine your family is in debt to credit card companies, or to the bank, or whatever. You owe someone money, and before you budgeted for this year, you had no idea how to pay those bills. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, you win $10,000 via a lottery scratch ticket. You've got some extra money, so you want to get out of debt by paying the bills, right? The money could pay off the credit card debt, etc., and leave you in a better financial sate than before.

Now let's assume that your spouse has the majority say in how your family spends and saves. Your spouse tells you that "we've got an extra $10,000, so let's buy a new digital flat screen tv to replace our old tv, finance a new car through a 24-month lease, and put the remaining $250 into the checking account."

Now you have $250 in your checking account, and you have a new tv you couldn't afford in the first place, and you have to make payments on a new car that you don't make enough money to pay for. The $250 won't even pay your rent, and you are deeper in debt the next time the bills get mailed to you.

It feels great to have a new tv and a new car (who wouldn't love that), but it came at the expense of being further in debt. Why? Because your spouse couldn't budget your finances correctly.

And that's what's happening in the state legislature right now.

The way the Democratic-controlled legislature circumvents this family expenses analogy is that, unlike a family in debt, the state doesn't get referred to a collection agency, doesn't have their bank account activity frozen until the bills are paid, and doesn't have a credit rating altered by spending beyond means. Please take note.

Cute Kitten-off

Felyne has challenged me to a cute kitten off. Here's her first salvo of kitteny cuteness, via her cat, Oliver...

Pictures of my dogs in agility action

Had to post these, as I am very proud of these two wonderpups...

One more of Beelzebub, the Wonder Cat

Here's a shot of our cat from a year or so ago. Still cuter than any other cat I know of...

Great Wintertime Picture

As we are not getting any snow at this time year, I wanted to post a picture of me from 2004 at the Great Hope Landslide (just outside of Hope, British Columbia).

Beelzebub, the Wonder Cat

A picture of the senior animal in our family, Beelzebub. Cuter than any other cat I can think of...

Not bad for a cat that's older than most...

The Week Keeps Getting Better and Better...

What a great week this has been!

• I've made contact with a "long-lost" family in New Zealand, and the lines of communication have been growing by leaps and bounds every day.
• I was able to fix a horrific networking problem at the radio station by unplugging one piece of equipment, letting it cool for 30 seconds, and plugging it back in (it would have been very costly to have someone diagnose the problem, and do the same procedure). What was really rewarding about that is that I'm not a networking guy.
  
• Today, an old college friend/former bandmate/former radio co-worker/old drinking buddy, whom I haven't seen in a couple of years, stopped by the radio station while getting gasoline next door.
• I found out that a voice work gig I've been working on for a ball bearing company in Russia will pay me $50 more than I was told I would get.

The only stumbling block this week has been my inability to convince Wifey that lager is a food group. You know... meat, poultry, dairy, fruits and vegetables, and beer. She didn't buy it...

Speaking of Wifey, she is giving be a hard time for not posting some family pics on the blog, so as soon as I can get some transferred to this new computer, I'll make sure to post a few here and there.

A Family Found

Thanks to Droyne's web searches for our "brother", Simon, who had passed away a couple of years ago, I have been contacted by our friend's family in New Zealand. Words cannot adequately describe how elated I feel - it is like finding long lost relatives. Over the past 48 hours, I've received e-mails from Simon's widow and his sister, and they are both anxious to get our families catching up.

Simon's sister has a blog. Check it out: www.felyne.com.

I'm looking forward to communicating further with Simon's family. It's like Christmas all over again!

Thanks again to Droyne - without your efforts, this reconnection wouldn't have happened.

I think the picture says it all for me...

Unusual Foodstuffs

Going through the pantry today brought to mind how wonderful unusual foodstuffs can be not only delicious, but healthy and fun. I've got a couple fo unusual foodstuffs at home, and I fondly remember a couple more that I've had difficulty obtaining...

Goat Cheese - not the bland, goat cheese from Greece, France, and Italy, but Scandinavian goat cheese. It's called Gjetost (pronounced "YAY-toast"), and any family that eats the food of their Swedish or Norweigan anscestors has danced a slow dance with this delicacy. The variety of goat cheese that is popular with the majority of American consumers is white in color, crumbly in texture, and has a flavor akin to a bitter cottage cheese. That variety of goat cheese is particularly popular on pizzas and other dishes served at Greek restaurants and foo-foo establishments. The white goat cheese is to Gjetost in the same way light beer is to a shot of everclear with a lime Kool-Aid chaser. In short - for the uninitiated - it's not what you'd expect. It's a dark brown color, tastes much heavier than the white variety, and is fairly oily. It doesn't make for a decent cooking cheese, but it is great on rykrisp, on dry toast, or by itself.

Marmite - most folks outside of the United Kingdom have never heard of Marmite, or its Kraft Foods-made counterpart, Vegemite. Marmite is a concentrated yeast extract commonly used as a flavoring for meat sauces. Many folks in the UK (particularly those in Australia and New Zealand) have come to appreciate Marmite as a sandwich spread (with lots and lots of butter). Marmite has a peanut butter-like consistency, and is the color of heavy-grade motor oil. It tastes and smells like heavilly-buttered toast that has been left out in the sun for about a month. Why one would want to make a sandwich with something that tastes like that, adding lots of butter, sounds weird, but (trust me) it works.

Eel Patte' - Again, a product that has not found widespread acceptance outside of the UK, particularly Austrailia and New Zealand. Eel Patte' is awesome! It's akin to devilled ham, and tastes like it, too. Great for sandwiches, or as a dip for crackers.

Goat - I tried goat for the first time while working in the Caribbean, and I'd jump at the chance to cook with it. Goat meat is hard to come by in the United States (most states do not count goat as a commercial meat commodity). While working for a cruise ship line about 15 years ago, I was treated to goat during a celebration of Jamaican Independence Day - the meal consisted of curried goat, smuggled onto the ship, with red beans and rice. Wow! What a great meal! Goat cuts have lots of bones (so there's not as much meat per pound of cut as, say, a t-bone steak), but it's got a rich taste, and is a great compliment to the red beans and rice I enjoyed.

Ostrich - In the mid-late 1990's, the Ag industry in Washington State had a concerted effort to introduce ostrich meat as a marketable commodity. The effort pretty much failed, but it did give many consumers, like myself, an opportunity to try it out, and I was very pleased. Ostrich tastes like beef, looks like beef, and cooks like beef. It makes great hamburgers. Unfortunately, the scarce availability of ostrich meat makes for high prices for it (the Red Robin restaurant in Ellensburg, for example, offered an ostrich burger for a short time - the only real difference between that burger and their standard cheeseburger was the price - $8+ for the ostrich burger). If you can get it cheaply, do so, and use it often. It's like beef, but healthier. The same goes for buffalo.

There be pirates... arrr!

Once again, my new computer has allowed me to play a game I hadn't been able to do so previously. Most of the games I've enjoyed have been fisrt-person shooters (the Half-Life series, and Unreal Tournament), RPG's (Neverwinter Nights and Diablo II), or puzzle-solving games (the Myst series). Now, I've become hooked on something new for me... a pirate game! This one's called Sid Meier's Pirates!

This game is part strategy, part role playing, and part historical simulation. You play a young man in the mid-1600s whose family has been kidnapped. You travel to the Carribean in search for your lost family members and search for them while plying the most profitable trade of the era - piracy. Ports of call and the nations in power include the Dutch, the English, the French, and the Spanish. The ships of the era are accurately represented, the other pirates in the Spanish Main are historically correct, and the way ships move is accurately dependant upon wind and sea conditions.

Pirates! is so addictive, I spend more than 12 hours over the weekend playing a couple of the pirates I've created - Dirty Pierre and (my best one, so far) Stinky LeFeet. Each country will award you promotions in rank, based on what you do to benefit each country. I've been creating different characters to try out different strategies, and (so far) Stinky LeFeet has been promoted to marquis by the English, Admiral by the French, colonel by the Spanish (although there's now a 7,000 gold price on my head), and there's a 1,000 gold price on my head by the Dutch.

During the course of the game, you have the option of defeating other pirates (you start the game as the 10th most notorius pirate in the Spanish Main). Stinky LeFeet has defeated two of them (one of which was the notorius Blackbeard), and is now the 3rd most notorius pirate on the sea.

So, beware the dread pirate Stinky LeFeet... and get yourself a copy of Sid Meier's Pirates! as soon as you can. It's a lot of fun!

Western Washington's Big Winter Wind Storm

Over the weekend, Western Washington (where I live) experienced the biggest wind storm in seven years (according to the National Weather Service). Gusts of up to 78 miles per hour in some places inland, trees falling onto power lines, waves blowing over the top of houses in some places... you get the idea. It was no hurricane, but for part of a state that is not accustomed to the kind of storm we had, things were pretty bad. The wind blew in Friday night, and continued into saturday afternoon. As a result of the high winds, roughly 200,000 homes and businesses Washington lost electricity. As I write this, more than 40,000 homes and businesses are still in the dark, mostly in the central Puget Sound region.

At my home, the power went out early Saturday morning, came back on at about 7:30am, then went out again at 8:15am. Wifey and I, who are accustomed to high winds, storm-related power outages and such, dealt with the situation: we broke out the oil lamps and flashlights, and instead of cooking a hot breakfast, we made sandwiches. For lunch, clever Wifey made hamburgers and noodles on the Hibachi in the carport. About every two hours or so, we called the power company's automated hotline for updates on the power outage.

We went to my radio station early in the afternoon to help out any way we could, but the power companies were so swamped, they weren't relaying information to media outlets, so we didn't stay long. While we were there, though, we were inundated with calls from people who were frantic about why their neighbors had power and they didn't, when they can make a hot meal, and the real mental giants wanted to know why the power was out. I can only assume that those callers didn't make the effort to call their power company to find out what's up with the power outage, or figured we would have more information than the power company did.

Despite power being restored to much of the county, our lights were still dark when we got home. The wind had died down, the National Weather Service was saying "the worst is over", but we still had no electricity. So, again, we dealt with it: we put on sweaters, had "carport" tacos for dinner (again, with the Hibachi),
and wrapped up with blankets, listening to my station playing old-time radio shows. It actually made for a pretty romantic night. The power came back on at about 11:15pm.

Rhetorically, I ask, "what's the big deal is with temporary power outages like the one we had this past weekend"? Why all the mass panic from the folks in Western Washington? The power goes out, you grab sweaters and flashlights, and expect to either BBQ your food or eat sandwiches. No TV? No problem. You listen to the radio or read a book (I got through half a 500+page book on Saturday, and I enjoyed it). If you're cold, grab a blanket, for goodness sake. "Radioguy," you may ask, "what about folks living in nursing homes?" Dear blog reader, those folks are not the ones who are complaining about the power outage, nor are those running the nursing homes. Power outages are a common-enough occurance locally where senior communities have generators, and hence, hot meals, etc. From my experience, the most vocal complainants have been those who know a power outage can happen, but don't prepare for one, then complain because their house is dark and it's getting cold.

I'm not talking about families that had a tree fall through their home. I'm not talking about families who now have to deal with water in their livingroom as a result of coastal flooding. I'm talking about folks who felt that merely because their power was out, they were experiencing some sort of local disaster.

We knew beforehand that the storm that blasted through here wasn't going to last for days (like a hurricane does). We knew beforehand that if the power went out, it would be a temporary outage. And common sense dictates that bitching that the power company (which had brought workers in from other states to work around the clock to get electricity back on, and due to still being overwhelmed, was unable to give "instant" updates as to when the power would come back on) would not get the power back on any sooner. So why is it that people don't prepare for a forecasted inconvenience, and then comaplain about it? If it snows in Snoqualmie Pass, and you plan to use that roadway for travel, do you try to cross the pass, get stuck in the snow, then complain that the weather wasn't nicer? No! You prepare for adverse driving conditions before your journey. Common sense, eh?

Common sense worked well for us this past weekend, and I hope it worked for anyone else reading this blog who was hit by this weekend's storm.

What's with all the bills?

The 2006 legislative session in Washington State is approaching a crucial cut-off date - bills introduced this session must make it out of committee by February 7th in order to make it to the House or Senate floor. Bills that don't make it out of committee are considered "dead" - they may be re-introduced next session, though.

About legislative sessions

Legislative sessions alternate between long (budget sessions) and short (supplemental budget) sessions. This year is a supplemental session. That is, the job of the legislature is primarily to "tweak" the already established state budget, working within the established fiscal commitment the state set last year. Historically, more bills are introduced during the regular budget sessions (the regular sessions are 100 days long, the supplemental sessions are 60 days long, BTW).

I've been covering the legislature for 8 years now, and this year's supplemental session is just plain goofy.

Last session, the Democratically-controlled legislature increased state spending by over $400 million. Shortly before the 2006 session began, the state announced a $1.45+ billion budget surplus (read - the state overtaxed the citizenry and wasn't going to give the money back).

Governor Christine Gregoire - who won a very close election against fiscally conservative Republican Dino Rossi two years ago - cautioned her Democratic colleagues against going overboard with spending and new programs (a criticism that WA Democrats have gained, but do not publicly admit to). In short, she said, "keep the spending in check, folks." With state spending at an all-time high, Gov. Gregoire's call to her fellow Democrats to reign-in their budgetary tendencies was both politically prudent and admirable.

The 2006 session - spending for the sake of spending

During the 2006 session - a short session meant merely to tweak the established budget - Democrats in the legislature have not apparently heeded the governor's warning... The number of bills the D's have proposed to fund new programs or increase fees and taxes is staggering (the list is way too long to include in one blog posting, I'll give you an opportunity to see them for yourself here and here). But it doesn't stop there.

Before the 2006 session got underway, Republicans in the legislature unveiled an 11-point platform of issues they want to accomplish. However, champions at the budget surplus bit in the same way the Democrats have, Republicans have introduced just as many bills as their more fiscally liberal counterparts (check out their efforts here and here).

It appears that each party has taken the strategy of "find the best ways to spend the surplus money before the other party does".

Radioguy's take on the session so far

Members of each party have introduced some fine pieces of legislation - increased penalties for sex offenders, benefits for spouses of law enforcement/fire fighters killed in the line of duty, cracking-down on "diploma mills", funding of local public works projects, penalizing the movement of oversized loads on state roadways during peak traffic hours, etc., etc. All are good bills, and are authored by lawmakers, from each party, who truly want to help the people of the state as best as they can.

Over the past few years, the state has faced ever-increasing expenses, and deferred paying the bills by shifting the fiscal responsibility for basic services on counties and by increasing taxes. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have told me over the years that the state is in bad shape, budget-wise. The state wants champagne, but thanks to all the programs it has, it can afford only lite beer.

If the state is not going to give back the money it overtaxed the people of the state (and the state never would), it shouldn't be spent on new anything... period. It should be put into the state's general fund to pay for programs already in place. Pay the bills, ya know. The legislature, sadly, is not looking at how to take care of existing responsibilities - it's all about new things for the future, which the state will have to pay for, again, in new taxes and increased fees.

Thanks, guys, you were really responsible this year.

May I suggest a new email program?

I have been using a new email program at work called Thunderbird, made by the same folks that make the awesome Firefox browser. It has many advantages over Outlook. It has an adaptive spam filter that really does a good job. It has security features that protect from some of the things that plague Outlook users. It is available free for Windows, Mac and Linux. Installation is Windows is a breeze, and it can import your settings from Outlook. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Washington Legislature Passes Gay Rights Bill

The Washington state legislature today quickly passed a gay rights bill. The vote was primarily along party lines (Democrats have the majority in both bodies of the legislature, and Democratic Governor Christine Gregoire vowed last week that if the bill passed, she would sign it).

An amendment to the bill required that House agreement says the legislation does not endorse homosexuality. The bill bans discrimination against gays and lesbians in housing, jobs and insurance. Still pending in the state Supreme Court is a decision on whether gay marriage is constitutional.

What the gay rights vote means

• Gays and lesbians are added to state anti-discrimination laws, covering housing, employment and insurance. State anti-discimination laws currently cover, primarily, ethnic groups. The state Human Rights Commission will enforce.
• Foes may launch initiative to overturn new law. It would take 225-thousand voter signatures to reach November ballot.
• The bill does not address gay marriage. State Supreme Court to rule soon on state ban on same-sex marriage.

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No opinion, just facts

• Senator Brad Benson (R - Spokane) spoke in opposition to the bill. His comments on the Senate floor were later quoted in a press release this afternoon.
• Democrats who spoke in favor of the bill often referred to the bill as a way to give gays and lesbians the same protected status as ethnic minorities, equating homosexuals with ethnic minorities in terms of "targets of discrimination".
• Despite a handful of lawmakers voting with the "other party", Democrats and Republicans voted along party lines. With Democrats supporting the bill, and being the majority party in both bodies of the legislature, the bill was expected to pass handily, and did.
• Shortly after passage of the bill in the Senate, one Republican Senator (Luke Esser - 48th District) made a motion to move to the 9th order of business, for the purpose of relieveing the Senate Judiciary Committee of SJR 8210, a proposed consititional amendment that would preserve the state's Defense of Marraige Act (which defines marraige, as a legal matter, as between a man and a woman). The vote on the resolution was defeated along the same (mostly party-line) vote that approved the gay rights bill.
• A couple of years ago, voters in Washington were presented with an initiative (I-677), authored by Democrats, that was - in essence - the same as the bill that was passed today. That initiative was voted down by a 60% vote. Currently, Democrats hold a 55% majority in the House and a 53% majority in the Senate - less than the 60+% of the voting public that voted down I-677. By simple-majority, that same 53-55% majority in the legislature voted in favor of what over 60% of the voters in the state said "no" to just a couple of years ago. Using percentages, the Legisalture did not accurately represent the will of the voting public.
  

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If you have an opinion on this subject, please comment.

Too cute: hand puppets

Whilst revisting some of the old web links I've had, I came across a site in Europe that features, of all things, movie files from a hand puppet troupe. VERY child-friendly, but appealing to this adult for its simple creativity, I recommend it to anyone. Give it a look-see. The link is here.

Great Recipe: String Pie

This one's a great alternative to a plain spaghetti dinner - String Pie! I stumbled upon this recipe whilst perusing some cookbooks family members have given me over the years. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have!

Ingredients

• 8 ounces spaghetti noodles, cooked
• 1 pound grounf beef
• 1/4 cup green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
  
• 1 jar (about 14 ounces) spaghetti sauce
• 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 teaspoons butter, melted
• 1 cup cottage cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Preparation/cooking

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Cook beef, onion and green pepper in a large skillet over medium-high heat until beef is browned. Stir in spaghetti sauce.
• Combine spaghetti, parmesan cheese, eggs and butter in a large bowl. Mix well. Place in the bottom of a 13x9-inch baking dish.
• Spread cottage cheese over top.
• Pour beef/sauce mixture over cottage cheese.
• Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over top.
• Bake 20 minutes or until hot and cheese is melted.

Serves 6 to 8.

Congrats Seattle Seahawks - NFC Champions

For the first time in the team's history, the Seattle Seahawks are Superbowl bound. After the NFC Championship game, Wifey and I called from dear friends of ours in Yakima who are among the most devout Seahawks fans we know. They said we should put our coats on, because hell had just frove over... heheh...

AFC/NFC Championship Games

Unless you have been living in a cave for the past couple of weeks, the AFC and NFC Championship games are this Sunday. I've got a unit on each game with the esteemed sports director at my radio station. I've picked Denver and Seattle to win. We'll see what happens...

Local School Levy

Once again, it's election time - this time, Radioguy gets to vote on a local school levy. I'll say, upfront, that I'll be voting against it, and I've got a lot of reasons why...

In Washington State, more state taxpayer money is spent on education than anything else (I think about 52 cents for every state tax dollar). Historically - that is, over the past 20 years or so - the mindset in Olympia has been "if you throw more and more money to education, education problems will get fixed"... Those problems have included teacher pay, smaller class sizes, higher test scores, and greater education system accountability.

The state's blanket, fix-all solution has not worked the way it was intended - test scores are at an all time low, classes have not become smaller (thanks to an influx of folks moving to the state from other states, coupled by new laws providing education benefits to children of illegal immigrants), and accountability has not improved. The teacher pay situation, which has been a hot-button issue in Washington State for many years,has not improved in a manner that keeps up with increased state education regulations/requirements and the afore-mentioned programs to provide state-run education to the masses. The Washington State legislature has, time and again, passed laws to increase accountability for school districts and teachers, but the increased responsibility for districts and teachers has come with a financial burden that affects districts and teachers at a local level. Nice intentions by the legislature, but poor results. The bottom line is that, no matter how much the legislature throws money at education, as long as they keep putting new programs in place, the money doesn't get used in the way they say it should be used.

To use an example a little more close to home... Assume, for the moment, that you run a clothing store. The clothes you sell are very popular among folks across the state. However, your employees are strapped to provide the level of service and amout of product that would make your store profitable. The state steps in, mandating that you provide a higher level of service and provide a greater variety of products than you have available, saying that the people of the state have a right to said increased levels. Meanwhile, you have no financial means to comply with the state's edicts. The state taxes the people to enact new programs to make sure you give the increased services/products, but you don't see those tax dollars going directly to help your store. Meanwhile, your employees are getting restless. You have two choices: raise the price of your goods or complain to the state to ease their edicts to continue doing business.

That's what's going on in Washington State...

Back to my vote on the local school levy - I'm choosing to vote "no" on the levy because of a couple of reasons... First, I'm not a homeowner -I want to own a home in the city I call home, but the tax base is already so high, the best I can do is rent. Second, I'm not a parent - I'm sure that if I were, I'd be tickled at the prospect of someone else shouldering the tax burden for educating my kid right along with me. Third, the school districts in this state are weak... weak!!! It's already been proven that greater financial investment in education comes with eaqually increased administration - money changes hands, but nothing gets done to improve the education system. The state's school districts seem to merely cowtow to state goverment and the Washington Education Association (the state's teachers union), instead of standing up and saying "let's address our current probles without adding new ones". When my school district gets itself a backbone, I'll vote yes for their levy, but not before.

Voice Work... I hope...

Thanks to repeated encouragement from my friend Ron, I have auditioned for my (hopefully) first gig doing professional voice work - reading audio vignettes for Business Week magazine. I should know if I got the gig or not sometime next week...

WSRP takes Gov. Gregoire to task over her State of the State Address

The Washington State Republican party is taking Governor Christine Gregoire to task over her state of the State Address last week. The link to the WSRP article is here.

Fun with Herbal Remedies

I am coming down with a headcold. When this happens, I usually have trouble sleeping for the first few days. I decided yesterday to try and do something about it. One of my brother-in-laws is a big fan of Valerian root, an herbal sedative, so I thought I would research it. I am very skeptical of “herbal” remedies in general, but there have been some respectable western trials with plenty of data listing possible drawbacks, so I read them and concluded that at worst it was unlikely to do me serious harm. Comes with the standard sedative warnings: No other sedatives, no drinking or driving, don't give to children or take while pregnant. Check. So at 9:30 last night I took a 450mg capsule, which is a bit less than the trial dosage of 600mg. By 12:30 I felt as if I had had two bedtime cups of coffee. I think I fell asleep at 3. There is a minority of people who react as if they have taken a stimulant, and sadly I am one of these. O well. Sleepytime tea for me.

Do beware of “herbal” remedies in general. There are many that have no western data, just relying on anecdotal eastern data. The husband of the gal that cuts my hair is selling a coffee with Ganoderma Lucidum extract in it. Eastern medicine loves this mushroom derivative, but western medicine hasn't really tested it yet so I'm going to pass.

When Apps become annoying...

Several applications came bundled with my new computer, and as I am finding out, the most annoying of those is the software package by MacAfee...

This package is from the good folks that have brought us MacAfee Anti-Virus, one of the most trusted anti-virus software apps on record.

A long-time Norton anti-virus user, I opted to use the free 15-week anti-virus coverage offered by MacAfee, with the intention of switching to Norton as soon as possible. Meanwhile, the good folks at MacAfee and their bundled apps are giving me intrusive, pop-up alerts that would make a spyware programmer envious. About every ten minutes or so, regardless of what I'm doing, or if I'm running a program that is supposed to ignore "system alerts" (i.e., a pop-up message), here comes MacAfee... A couple of examples:

After a full weekend of transferring Neverwinter Nights files from my old system to the new one, I settle down for a night of NWN fun. Ten minutes into my first dungeon foray, my screen gets all funny and the game crashes...
(ding dong!)
"An update to your MacAfee Anti Virus software MAY be available, do you want to check for updates now?" Hell no, thank you very little, I was in the middle of something.


After copying too many megabytes of data from my old computer to the new one, I started to go through the process of weeding out the wheat from the chaff. About every few minutes or so, I'd get another friendly message from MacAfee...

(ding dong!)
"A ciritcal update to MacAfee's Spam Killer (Pop-Up Killer or Anti-Virus) software MAY be available. Do you want to check for updates now?" Again, hell no. I'd check for updates when I want to, but MacAfee doesn't give me the option to do so. Meanwhile, I get pop-up messages at the worst possible times asking me if I want to do something that may not be necessary to the safety of my computer..!

Droyne had good advice when he said MadAfee should be uninstalled ASAP when getting a new Dell computer... Keeping it is a pain in the tuckus...

Eggs and Green Ham

BBC Article
Should've done this to the chickens to get it right.

Interesting interview with Russell Tice

The NSA whistleblower. Draw your own conclusions...
ABC News Article

SystemWorks rootkit warning

For all of you Norton SystemWorks folks, there is an exploitable security flaw in the software. At this point Norton has released an update that fixes it, but make sure you get it as soon as possible.
Article
Safe computing!

Need an Office style program?

May I suggest OpenOffice? Instead of dusting off your old copy of MS Office '97 (something that I have done), you can get a full suite including a very solid and full featured wordprocessor that can read and write Office format docs and create PDF files, a spreadsheet that rivals Excel, and other neat tools. All for free. Give it a try. Do let me know what you think if you do. Available for Windows, Mac and Linux.

New Blog Poll

I've posted a new poll for the blog (sorry it took so long for me get off my rear-end to get a new poll posted). The new poll asks if you pay too much at the gas pump. The 2005 Washington State Legislature passed gas taxes that bring the state tax you pay at the pump to an all-time high, so I was wondering if those that read this blog think they are paying too much or not. Of course, there are many from outside of Washington State who read the blog, and I want to hear from you, too!

Spock's brain in a new body

Well, it took the entire weekend, but I've been able to copy 90% of the files I needed from the old computer to the new monster. Sill have a couple of Adobe apps left to install, but so far, so good.

I'm still fat-fingering the tiny keys on the keyboard that came with this computer, and the two-button mouse will soon play havac with my bad wrists, so I hope to purchase new ergonomic items when I can afford to do so. I'd grab the old keyboard and mouse from the old system, but I don't have the proper driver software for them anymore, and they clash badly with the sleek, gray and black motif of this monster.

I'm most impressed with how much nicer it is to surf the web or play the one or two games I have - it's amazing how a beefed-up graphics card and a 20-inch hi-def, wide-screen, flat-screen monitor can improve things here and there.

Dude! I Bought a Dell!

This post is the first created from my new computer. I'm still working around the super-tiny keyboard that was shipped with it, though. I also have had tremendous difficulty getting the computer to recognize software that I was able to install on the old system. I'll update you as often as I can....

Lawmakers do not understand tech issues

Cut n' paste:
http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?ID=261925&Category=15&fromSearch=yes

The H.S. senior encouraged other classmates to refresh the school's computer to slow it down. He is being charged with a *felony*. Argh. Am I the only one that thinks that this is an extreme punishment? I'm not defending the guy, but in an age where Sony can install a rootkit on your computer without your permission (you click "no"), just by you placing a Sony CD into your computer to play it, allowing hackers to gain control over your computer - earns Sony a slap on the wrist.

Lawmakers do the "Media Tour"

In Washington State, the 2006 legislative session begins on January 9th.

I'm a media person with a fetish for what local lawmakers do while in session - I'll take feeds from the media services offices from each of the caucuses, but I know that those feeds are from a political party perspective. So, for the past 8+years, I've been interviewing local lawmakers "one-on-one" to see what they're up to while they're in Olympia, representing the little guy. Those interviews are valuable local news material, plus (on occasion) these lawmakers go against their party's platform, which makes it all the more interesting.

Anyway, the 2006 session is set to start next Monday, and two local lawmakers (Republican Representatives from Island County) visited the radio station today for a pre-session pow-wow with your friendly, neighborhood Radioguy. The interview lasted just over 20 minutes, and provided a good deal of useful information on the platform for Republicans in the House and Senate this session. Here's some of what I gleaned from the interview:

For the first time in many a year, Republicans in the House and Senate have released a unified platform, focusing on hot-button issues, like passage of tougher sex-offender laws, and paying state debts with the $1.45 billion tax "surplus" (as opposed to using the money for new state spending programs). The two lawmakers I interviewed today agreed that state spending is out of control, bills should be paid (rather than spend money on new programs that will cost the state more in the future), and much needs to be done to bring state government into financial responsibility.

The items included in the Republican Party platform, however, stand little chance of seeing daylight during the 2006 session. I say this because the Republican Party, good intentions and all, are the minority party in both the House and Senate. During the 2005 legislative session, the Democratic majority passed a bill that effectively killed a voter-approved initiative that limited state spending. In light of heavy state debt, coupled by ever increasing unfunded mandates passed along to counties and cities, Republicans during the 2005 session called for spending and taxation restraint. The 601-killing bill, which (BTW) was heralded as a "victory for the state" by majority Democrats and Democratic Governor Christine Gregoire, included an emergency clause that cancelled a portion of the initiative that required a 2/3rds vote of the legislature to approve any new statewide tax increases. After that bill was passed, the legislature (that is, the Democrats in the legislature) re-enacted an estate tax previously ruled unconstitutional, enacted yet another gas tax at a time of record high gas prices, and introduced a long list of new state programs, which are resulting in increased state spending.

Now, although it may seem so, I'm not railing against the Democrats in teh legislature. Many of the programs the Democrats have proposed have merit. Where those lawmakers and I differ is fiscal responsibility, especially in light of the $1.45 billion the state now has in its coffers. The "extra" money the state now finds itself in posession of is a direct result of over-taxing the general population (thanks to policies, regulations, etc., established in the past couple of years). Instead of "paying the bills", Democrats in the legislature are once again talking about new spending that money on new programs.

Sorry if I was long-winded in my post...

The New Computer is Almost Here!

My new Dell computer, which was ordered last week and was shipped on Monday, is almost within my grasp. Apparently, UPS stopped by my home to deliver the computer, but they did it at a time that most people (including myself) are at work. Go figure. A phone call later by Wifey, and the computer will be delivered to me at my office Thursday WHILE I'm there. It'll probably show up while I'm interviewing a couple of state representatives who will arrive in the early afternoon.

I hate to be unprepared, but I've been putting-off backing-up data from the now "old" computer for a number of reasons, primarily a lack of available CD-RWs or DVD-RWs to stuff data onto. After I learned that the computer was almost within my grasp, my back-up efforts kicked into high-gear - I've been scrounging my piles of data discs for CD-RWs and DVD-RWs and I've put together a checklist of programs to install on the new computer.

Anal-retentive-me, I've color-coded the program install list in order of necessity, so as to get the most essential items installed to work with the web, and to continue chatting online with Wifey. When I told Wifey about my list, she just shook her head in a manner reminiscent of a cruise line executive who learns that the emergency evacuation of one of the line's ships was delayed by a concerted effort to safely transport passengers from the ship, based upon hair color.

We'll see how this turns out...

Another Recipe: Baked Beef Brisket & Vegetables

A two-part recipe for your enjoyment, involving two of my favorite foodstuffs - brisket and veggies.

Part One - The Brisket
(store-bought brisket, water, lemon juice and brown sugar)

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Place brisket (fat side up) on a rack in a deep baking dish/pan.
• Pour 1 inch of water in bottom of the baking dish/pan.
• Cover with lid or foil and bake for 50 minutes per pound of brisket.
• Once done baking, uncover the brisket and turn it over.
• Squirt enough lemon juice on the brisket to get a light coating of the juice on the top of the meat.
• Loosely pack brown sugar on the top and sides of the brisket.
• Broil the brisket, uncovered, for 3-4 minutes. Remove from oven when done, and slice thinly.

Part Two - the Veggies
(mixed veggies, Italian dressing, butter, and seasonings)

• While the brisket is broiling, heat a pot of water to boiling and cook 1 bag of mixed veggies (stew veggies work very well). Boil the veggies until sufficiently cooked (follow instructions on bag).
  
• Drain water once the veggies are sufficiently cooked (remove from heat, of course).
  
• Place the veggies back in the pot (or transfer to a large bowl).
• Add about 1/4 cup of Italian salad dressing, 2 tbls. melted butter, a dash of dried basil, and a dash of garlic powder.
• Toss the mixture and serve with the brisket.

Aside from the cooking time for the brisket, this recipe is pretty quick, and it's really easy if you're in a pinch for dinner and have the ingredients handy.

Enjoy!

Anime Review: Cromartie High School

In our small burg, we have a Blockbuster Video store. That store has a somewhat limited Anime selection. As an avid anime fan who doesn not have access to the Anime Channel via my satellite TV service, I've made my way through everything the local video store had to offer. One of the most recent discoveries in their anime aisle was Sakigake!! Cromartie High School. This 24-episode series (each episode is about 10 minutes long), is funny beyond funny.

You’d probably have to look a long time before finding someone who speaks really highly of their high school. But there are crummy high schools, and then there’s Cromartie High. It’s a real slap in the face to the well-behaved, straight-A student Takashi Kamiyama when he finds himself, through a cruel twist of fate, enrolled at Cromartie. At the next desk over is a surly brute who eats the contents of Takashi’s pencil case. Partly to freak Takashi out, of course—but mostly because pencils are his favourite snack! But that menace is among the more normal of Takashi’s classmates, if the word "normal" even applies at Cromartie. Sneering thugs with mohawks are everywhere, but they’re nothing compared to the likes of Mechazawa, an overgrown coffee tin of a robot who’s as rude and obnoxious and any flesh and blood student. Then there’s Gorilla—they don’t call him that because he’s big, dumb and smells bad, though he is and does. No, he actually is a gorilla. That’s Cromartie High School for you—like a zoo crossed with a nuthouse, minus the cleanliness and sanity!


Each episode of Cromartie High School is chock-full of imagry so absurd as to make you laugh out loud and to quickly scan the TV screen each time the scene changes to see what new strange elements have been added. The storyline is straightforward at first - as is described above. The overwhelming theme of the series revolves around the heirarchy of the tough kids at the school. One tough, Takeshi Hokudo, a rich kid with aspirations of world domination, transfers to Cromartie to control the toughs there, thinking his father is chairman of the school's board of directors. He finds out too late that Cromartie is a public school, there is no board of directors, and he isn't even wearing the proper school uniform... You get the idea.

Field trips gone awry, continuous talk of fights with other high schools (that never come to fruition), alien abductions, general slackery, plus a character who bears a too-close resemblance to Freddie Mercury from the rock band Queen and an all-too infectious theme song - Cromartie High School is not for most folks, but it's found a deep spot in my funny bone.