Today’s Earworm
Posted by daddybear71 on July 19, 2014
https://daddybearsden.com/2014/07/19/todays-earworm-536/
Thoughts on the Day
- I came to a decision this morning. You see, we have been having fresh milk and cream delivered to the house. It’s part of Irish Woman’s “eat local, eat organic, eat healthier” effort, and since I like the convenience, it’s been worth the extra expense. Plus, how many kids nowadays can say they have a milkman? Anyway, this morning, not for the first time, Boo turned his nose up at a glass of milk because it’s not fresh from the cow, still smelling of clover. Mind you, it wasn’t sour or chunky or anything, it was just coming to the end of its lifespan. Irish Woman tasted it, got an Oscar for her performance in “Oh my god, you fed the baby sour milk!”, and opened a new half-gallon of milk.
- Now, I know sour milk. I have the child protective services file in Minot, North Dakota to prove that I know what spoiled food looks, smells, and tastes like. This milk was not sour.
- That is when I decided that I am going to invest in a yak, and make milking her one of the children’s daily chores.
- Soon, you will hear me yelling “Get out there and pull on that yak!”.
- In related news, a trip up to the local nursery to buy farm-fresh eggs yesterday resulted in the discovery that Crash will follow his humans up the street if given the opportunity. This was discovered as Girlie Bear and Boo were about to go into what counts as a business area in our little neighborhood. This prompted a trip back home with the feline cuddled in Girlie Bear’s arms like the little foundling that he is.
- Crash was not available for comment, as he had again escaped outside and was probably plotting mischief of some sort.
- Irish Woman and I went out on a date last night. For once, we spent an evening having dinner and talking, and conversation did not revolve around guns, the children, or work. I know, the world must be coming to an end.
- That moment after you move your car at the gas station, but before your lovely wife comes out of the stop-n-rob with the sodas, is delicious.
- Note to self – shut off the HVAC fan before replacing the filter next to it.
- Note to self – a HVAC filter, wrapped around the axle of the HVAC fan, makes one hell of a racket.
- That moment after you have removed the HVAC filter from the HVAC fan, then have your wife turn the HVAC fan back on, but the HVAC fan does not restart, is less than delicious.
- Luckily, it was just the breaker.
- Look, lumber yard, I just want to build a 6 foot by 4 foot by 6 foot tree house for my son, not build a luxury wilderness condo out of rare Brazilian black cherry.
- Ye gods and little fishes, have you all see the cost of pressure treated wood lately?
Posted by daddybear71 on July 19, 2014
https://daddybearsden.com/2014/07/19/thoughts-on-the-day-245/
Book Review – Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving
Reader Dennis the Librarian Shusher asked for the recipe for Irish Woman’s Apple-Cinnamon-Bourbon preserves, but since it’s a variation on a recipe from a book, I thought I’d just tell you about the book.
Irish Woman and I use the “Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving“, edited by Judi Kingry and Lauren Devine, for a lot of our home canning recipes. The book has everything from basic techniques for water-bath and pressure canning, to charts for how much product you will get out of a given amount of fresh produce, to recipes for sweet, savory, and spicy foods that can be canned. Irish Woman took their “Apple Pie in a Jar” recipe, removed the raisins, and added a bit of bourbon into the recipe*. It’s an excellent reference if you’re an old pro, or a great way to get information on getting started. It has several recipes for pasta sauces and salsa that I have used, as well as a ton of jam and jelly recipes that make your mouth water. The section on pickles came in very handy last summer when I over-planted cucumbers.
The layout of the book is logical and easy to use, and the index is outstanding for when you need to search for a topic or recipe. Directions are laid out in an easy-to-understand way, and they are given in a way that ‘s useful to both the neophyte and the old hand.
If you’re gardening, hitting the farmers’ market, or just noticing good sales at the grocery store, and want to try your hand at canning, give this book a shot.
*OK, more than a bit. She put about half a cup of cooking bourbon into the mix while it was cooking, then put a dash of it in each jar before adding the jam for canning.
Posted by daddybear71 on July 19, 2014
https://daddybearsden.com/2014/07/19/book-review-ball-complete-book-of-home-preserving/
Today’s Earworm
Posted by daddybear71 on July 18, 2014
https://daddybearsden.com/2014/07/18/todays-earworm-535/
Movie Quotes – Day 199
Now, notice how in the count room nobody ever seems to see anything. Somehow, somebody’s always lookin’ the other way. Now, look at these guys. They look busy, right? They’re countin’ money. Who wants to bother them? I mean, God forbid they should make a mistake and forget to steal. — Casino
Ever notice how quiet a lot of politicians are for the first year or so after an election? Things go back to “go along to get along”, nobody makes waves, and we get hosed. Then, just as the election cycle revs back up, a few soapboxes are set up, a line forms behind them, and members of both parties take turns standing on them and spraying the crowd with their own special blend of 64 insults and refutations. Either way, not much that needs doing gets done, but a lot of smoke and noise is created, and it’s used as cover to do things that would never happen if they got doused with a little sunshine.
What I want is a politician who hits the ground running the day after they’re elected, never stops but for water and a protein bar, and isn’t afraid to spit in the eye of anyone who gets in their way. It helps if I agree with them, but I can respect someone who is actually trying to work in the interests and wishes of the people who voted them in even if we don’t agree.
That goes double if you’ve served more than a couple of terms in your current job, and more than a couple decades overall. I’m not advocating for formal term limits, but there should be a social taboo against being in office for your entire career.
Posted by daddybear71 on July 18, 2014
https://daddybearsden.com/2014/07/18/movie-quotes-day-199/
Thoughts on the Day
- If you’re trying to sell me something, and claim that you don’t have do things the way your competitors do, that doesn’t mean you’ve just changed the name of things.
- Irish Woman refuses to accept my assertion that I do not need people skills, for I do not need people.
- Is it bad that I feel uncomfortable around nice, happy people, but feel right at home in a room full of sarcastic, cynical people?
Posted by daddybear71 on July 17, 2014
https://daddybearsden.com/2014/07/17/thoughts-on-the-day-244/
Today’s Earworm
Posted by daddybear71 on July 17, 2014
https://daddybearsden.com/2014/07/17/todays-earworm-534/
Movie Quotes – Day 198
Schmidt, the Hangman: [During Duffy’s speech to the crowd] You haff last request?
Cigar smoking prisoner: [Spitting out cigar] Yeah, tell him to shut up and let’s get this over with.
There comes a time that all the planning, motivating, informing, empowering, and whatever-ing that is going to happen, has happened. I call this time “GET ON WITH IT!”. It’s a serene state where those who have been slowly suffering under a burden of unnecessary talking finally get to cry havoc and let slip the dogs of productivity. It’s usually when everyone notices that deadlines are fast approaching, most of the budget has been spent on non-productive drivel, and the 20% that does 80% of the work earns their pay.
Posted by daddybear71 on July 17, 2014
https://daddybearsden.com/2014/07/17/movie-quotes-day-198/
Not Our Circus
Numerous reports are coming in about a Malaysian passenger jet that has gone down east of Donetsk, Ukraine. This is the region of Ukraine that has seen low-level conflict between Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russian separatists. Several military aircraft have been downed by the separatists, and the Ukrainian government claims that the separatists shot down this airliner as well.
What we know is that the plane was about to cross into Russian airspace when it went down, and was traveling close to 33,000 feet up. A Surface to Air Missile (SAM) that can hit a target at that altitude is a serious piece of hardware, and requires trained crew and support personnel. This isn’t a shoulder-fired piece of lawn tubing with a heat-seeking rocket in the back end, rather it’s, at least, a large tracked vehicle with a radar dish and launcher. This means that, if the plane was indeed shot down, someone is supplying the separatists with up-to-date hardware and expertise.
But what does a shoot-down of an airliner owned by a third country mean to us? It’s a tragedy, accident or incident, and I hope you join me in keeping the families of the casualties in our thoughts and prayers. But is it something that is the business of the United States? Let’s say the worst case scenario is true, and the Russians provided the equipment that did this, or worse, manned the hardware themselves. Does it impact our policy and our interests?
I say that it doesn’t. Yes, if the plane was shot down, then it’s a despicable act and possibly a war crime. But it’s none of our business. We’re lucky if we can get our populace and government ‘leadership’ to concentrate on their juice boxes so as to not poke holes in their soft palate. Diverting their attention away from the economy, our own security, and whatever else they ought to be doing isn’t going to help anyone.
This isn’t our circus, and those certainly aren’t our monkeys. Let Malaysia, Ukraine, and Russia hash this out. We have other things that need our time and attention.
Update – In From the Cold has an excellent post up with more details.
Posted by daddybear71 on July 17, 2014
https://daddybearsden.com/2014/07/17/not-our-circus/
Musings
- One bushel of pie apples makes a lot of stuff.
- So far, I’ve gotten one load into our food dehydrator, and Irish Woman has made two double batches of apple-cinnamon-bourbon preserves.
- For those of you counting at home, it takes 21 average-sized apples to fill our food dryer.
- We still have a lot left. Probably dry a lot of them, and possibly can some pie filling.
- We have had our semi-yearly discussion about why we are not able to distill the fruit into liquor.
- 4 hours of sleep in 48 hours is not as easy when you’re 43 as it was when you’re 23.
- I think that if I had consumed just a little more coffee this morning, I would have started hallucinating.
- Dropping an aluminum canning kettle onto a box full of new jam, making a heck of a noise and breaking the seal on a couple of jars, will cause you to swear quite artistically.
- It’s kind of nice to not have to run the air conditioner and sleep with the windows open in July.
- On the other hand, my tomatoes need hot, humid weather, so I’m hoping this is a short cold spell.
Posted by daddybear71 on July 16, 2014
https://daddybearsden.com/2014/07/16/musings-62/
DaddyBear
DaddyBear’s Den 