The Game

So I know this is a little late but I had promised a good friend I would.

It was the day after Thanksgiving and all through my house I was thoroughly exited. I donned as much maroon and white as I could get on. And yes it was obnoxious. The reason you ask? Well if you know me at all you know why. It was Miss St. vs Ole Miss. THE GAME of the year. Records don't matter at this game. It's anybody's game. Or so I thought. I was unable to watch the game for two reasons. 1) I was at work and the game was going on during lunch time. 2) the game is not as popular here in the TarHeel state. (And the ACC for some reason doesn't particularly like the SEC - go figure). So my good buddy Sam, and an Ole Miss Grad/Fan [I do forgive him for this lapse in judgement often], had agreed to text me results as they happened.

We had talked earlier in the week about the game. I had expressed my concerns based on our season to this point and Sam expressed his based on the fact that this is a rivalry game and anything could happen. I assured him that he would be pleased with the outcome.

Well about 20 min or so after game time I hadn't heard from Sam. This gave me some pleasure as I thought he's to embarassed to text me. WRONG. I should have been to embarrased to ask. As of the end of the 1st quarter it was clear this was to be a lopsided game. And it was. I was humbled to say the least. My boys in Maroon didn't even make it respectable.

But as anygood fan always says about now. So how's your Baskeetball team shaping up?? Yeah we'll get a new football coach and see what lies in store for next year.

Beautiful Rocky Top

Two weekends ago I made a trip to Knoxville, TN to watch what I'd hoped to be a good football game, MSU vs UT. As it turned out it wasn't. UT made a mockery out of all that we did on the field that day. It had been about 8 or so years since I had been to watch MSU play. I was excited for the fact that both teams were struggling and had an unattractive record. This is what gave me what turned out to be false hope for an evenly matched good game. I won't rehash the game since by now it's old news.

On the brighter side the guys I went to the game with and I were able to play golf at one of Knoxville's finer courses. It offered great golf with tremendous mountain views. I will say that up until this point I'd only driven through Knoxville on I-40 in route to other places. From 40, Knoxville is an obnoxiously orange place that I'd never wanted to spend any time. After my most recent, trip my mind has changed. Once you get off of 40 and around the outskirts of the city it's not so bad. (Downtown is disgustingly orange though). And the people are very nice. Except for the handicap of wearing orange a lot, they were great people.

MMMMMM ........... Pork

If you are a follower of the Wife's blog you'll recall that 2 weeks ago we went to a wine tasting at my restaurant. While we were there we tasted a wine called The Oratoire St Martin Cairanne ’06 Rhone. While tasting this wine I had an instantaneous light go off in my head as to what special I would run to match the flavors in this wine. Pork. I had done a dish a few years back that just came rushing to the forefront of my mind.

Braised Pork Shank
Three Cheese Mac n' Cheese, Collard Greens
Jalapeño Coca-Cola Reduction

This dish is so upscale Southern it's ridiculous. My boss at first said it wouldn't sell that much, but I ran out of it sometime late Saturday and didn't have any for Sunday. And let me just tell you it's soooo good!! You need some type of bread to clean the plate.

Beer Dinner

First off, If anyone still reads here, sorry that I haven't posted in forever.

Now onward. Last weekend the Wife and I hosted a Beer Dinner. This is exactly like our wine dinners however each course is paired with a crafted beer. This idea was spurned on by the Wife and I discovering a little hole in the wall called Sam's Blue Light. From the outside it looks just like any other almost ghetto quick stops. On the inside though is the largest beer selection I've ever seen. And it has a very knowledgeable staff to match. The dinner was a new venture for me so I had to enlist help. I have a good friend, Katy, who is very knowledgeable in the field of beverages and she helped me out.

With it being Fall I wanted to feature Fall tastes. So pumpkin was definitely a flavor I wanted. I also wanted to use butternut squash, sweet potatoes and duck. With my general interests found, it was now time to write the menu.


First Course:

Pumpkin Gnocchi
with Frisee Lettuce, Spicy Pecans, Gorganzola, Brown Butter Sauce

Beer: Dogfish Head - Punkin Ale

Second Course:

Duck Con Fit
House made Ravioli stuffed with Butternut Squash and Goat Cheese
Sage Cream Sauce

Beer: Unibroue - La Fin du Monde

Third Course:

Pan Seared Duck Breast
Beer Braised Red Cabbage, Sweet Potato Risotto, Cherry Duck Sauce

Beer: Dr Fritz Briem - 1809

Dessert:

Pumpkin Bread Bread Pudding

Beer: Omegang - Three Philosophers

As always the dessert course is made by the Wife. The diner was amazing and the beer matched very well with each course. I'd have to say my favorite was the 2nd course. All of the flavors were extremely well balanced. And the beer chosen to go along with it was perfect. And then the dessert course was amazing. The bread pudding was cooked to perfection and such the perfect combination of flavors to end the night on a great note.

The start of 4

This last weekend the wife and I headed off to Hilton Head, SC to celebrate our 3rd anniversary. We had purchased earlier in the year a little vacation package. It was one of those things where you go down and listen to a little shpeal about timeshares. The hotel we stayed in was slightly less than appealing. But we were in Hilton Head and there's really no reason to stay in your room. One of the "fringe" benefits was a "free round of golf", which we found wasn't really free. When we got to the golf course, they informed us that we were only getting a discount which made the round close to $100. The Wife and I decided that we weren't ready to pay for that. But the Course Mgr took pitty on us and offered us a two for one deal, which we gladly accepted.

Even though the Wife only plays two or three times a year, she's very good. After a few holes she was hitting the ball very well and making great club selection. I played ok for not ever having seen the course. But I did hit my first eagle ever. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. As for our food, Fri night we ate at a great little spot mostly only locals know. The dinner was great and the wine was spectacular. As for Sat night we ate at a little seafood place on the bay and everything was great. I got to eat Snails both nights and, well, I love snails.

On Sat night the Wife and I took a nice stroll on the beach with a bottle of wine. It was nice to get away and just sit and talk. I fell in love all over again. And I look fwd to the rest of our lives.

I'm so proud

As of today I have officially brought my best friend down to my level. You might have seen some of his comments here. He posts as "The Big A". That's right folks he now has a blog all his own. Finally I can choose when I want to hear him whine ;-) His Blog is linkable from mine. It's called "I'm surrounded by idiots". I think we can all relate. So enjoy !!

Finally we agree

So we all know that the Fed is going to give Wall Street a huge bail out, somewhere in the range of $700B. I think that's correct. But anyways, in talking to those older and wiser this should be a good thing. It very well could help us avoid another Great Depression, which I'm sure we're all for. But here's where the title comes into play. The Dems are pushing hard for regulating CEO pay while the GOP is saying just push the legislation through.

The bailout is positioned to be a great economic stress relief. The Fed will take on almost every feeble and unsafe bet that Wall Street has. What that will do is guarantee that the market has a safe place to fall when and if it does and that all the money in it is backed and "guaranteed", so to speak. This is a great plan as it will boost consumer confidence and hopefully induce money to be spent/invested. Here's where it gets ugly.

The GOP wants congress to push this legislation through and just give the money out while assuming all that risk. The Dems want to give the money but want to have some control over how much these CEO's are making and walking with. These large CEO salaries and benefits packages are the main reason, I feel, that Wall Street is in this mess. Most of these CEO's have worked under a decade for these companies and have retired (OR BEEN FIRED) with benefits packages that would carry a small country. What the Dems want is assurance that if the Fed comes to the rescue that we won't keep seeing this pattern. And I fully agree. Also the Dems want the companies to set up a form of return payment to pay off these loans. While these companies are operating off of tax payer money, they shouldn't be allowed to give the exorbitant salaries and severance packages. Once these companies are stable enough to repay the loans and stand on their own then they can go back to their own practices of large salaries and such. But they should be forewarned that if they return to their frivolous ways, after we've bailed them out, and they should find themselves again in such dire straights that there will be no next time bail out.

My last question is: If these companies (and I think most are) are publicly traded then why aren't the stock holders going to the meetings and putting the kibosh on these frivolous salaries???

The end of an era

Well it's official. As of waking up this morning, I have left the so called youth behind to start life as (dare I say it) a real adult. That's correct. Today I turn thirty. I know all our lives we think of this day as looming. But just like every other birthday I still feel like me. There's no enlightenment ( other than now DR visits could actually be meaningful and useful preventative measures, scary). Of course I still have a gorgeous twenty something year old wife. That will help me stay young, even if it's only at heart. The worst part I think about this age thing is I used to almost demand to not work on my birthday. And that is no longer the case as I have to go in today. But the Wife and I celebrated last night, so I'm kinda ok with it.

Instead of going out we stayed in and cooked. I went out to a local wine store (which is new and a buddy owns) called Hope Valley Bottle Shop. If you get a chance stop in. I there picked up a nice Italian White and a Spanish Red because at this point I didn't know what I was cooking for dinner. After I got home, the Wife and I went grocery shopping. When we got home I started on dinner and the Wife started making me a pecan pie for dessert as a special birthday present. (Those of you who know me know this is the only pie I like or for that matter I LOVE them). For dinner we had Basil and Cinnamon marinated Chicken Breast over Brussel Sprouts, Parsnips, and Pecans with a Garlic and Thyme Reduction Sauce and a Petite Herb Salad. We drank the Italian white with the meal. It was delicious.

I do have to brag on the gifts the Wife gave me other than baking the pie. One was a few gift certificates to have a massage whenever I pleased. Another was a T-shirt with a saying from the TV show Arrested Development ( which if you've seen it you know how good it is) and the last and most fun is a Visa gift card which I can use to play golf. And it is specifically for that she said. I love my Wife and the thought she put into these gifts. I think I'm at the best point in my life and happy that she is the one making the rest of the journey with me. I love you Babe.

Smart people

I just found this hilarious. You'll have to click on it to read it better.






see more pwn and owned pictures


see more pwn and owned pictures


see more pwn and owned pictures

Humor we can all love

I don't know what to call it

In a recent poll this question was asked:

"Do you think the Supreme Court should use the Constitution as the basis for their judgments"?

Here's how America responded.

60% of Americans agree that the Highest court in the land SHOULD use the Constitution as the basis for their judgments

To break that number down even further.

Of people who are John McCain supporters 82% agree with the above statement.

Of people who are Barak Obama supporters 29% agree.


From this exercise what can we infer about Obama's supporters????

To good to last

Now it's been great lately. We've seen gas prices fall and we've even had hopes that it would last for a while (maybe a year or so). I mean we've all known it was inevitable that they would go back up. But here's the great news (read massive sarcasm here). OPEC is about to change all that. They have decided that it is unacceptable for the price per barrel of crude to go back to original levels.

When crude originally hit $100/barrel everyone was shocked. And it kept going up, all the way to over $145/barrel. Now it has come back down to near $100 an OPEC is unhappy. They are getting together to decide to shut down some of their production to inflate prices back toward $140. Originally the problems causing the massive inflation were two fold: 1) speculation by investors and others that the supply was running tight and that OPEC should increase production, 2)the power of the dollar was down. Well to fix the first problem OPEC spent time to convince these experts that they didn't need to increase production to help meet world need and that the supply was fine. And now the power of the dollar is rising.

So OPEC has decided that all that money that was originally flooding into their economies was great. And they can't fathom having that endless supply stop. Especially seeing that Americans are now demanding that their government enforce and create other forms of energy. So in order to combat the slight down turn in excessive profits they have started to knock around the idea of shutting down some production to falsely inflate crude prices. That's right folks OPEC nations will STOP producing as much crude in order to make the price per barrel return to those translating into $4/gal levels or higher who knows.

I have no idea what can be done if they do decide to stop production, I'm just mad about it. Any one have any suggestions?? How about our candidates? Do you think they know???

MOVE!!!!

It's probably one of my biggest pet peeves. When you are driving on the highway, in the fast lane, and you inevitably come upon someone who feels that how fast they are going is the fastest anyone should go on the highway. (even if they are doing 5 under the speed limit). Everyone of us learned before receiving the PRIVILEGE, not right, of driving that slower traffic yields right of way to faster traffic by moving to the right. Why is it that people don't remember this except when you are in their way?!?!? It's times like these I wish you could nudge someone and it wouldn't go against your insurance or get you in trouble with the cops.

Now sometimes I understand that sometimes the driver in front of you doesn't see you right away. So I gently ride close enough to let them know that I'm ready and willing to go faster as soon as they get out of the way. It irks me to no end when they then look in their rear view only to make gestures that I should stop riding so close. To which, I make gestures of get out of my way and I will ;-) But I have no patience for those who won't preemptively move at night. There is no reason that they can't see me coming. My headlights have been in you rear view for sometime and only getting closer. So OBVIOUSLY I'm going faster than you and you should just MOVE! My wife says I should use this to learn patience. But I say they should obey the law.

To those of you who do understand the laws and yield the right of way to others who are going faster than you, Thank You. Because I see it this way. I like to go about 5 - 10 over on the interstate, as do most. And if there is someone out there willing to go faster and find all the cops for me so I don't have to deal with them, Thank You. Why can't the rest of the world see it MY WAY.

The Wedding

Well they did it! August 30th my sister married Derek Shipley. The location was Andalusia, Al. The Wife and I arrived on Thursday to get into town early and see if there was anything we could do to help. But we found that my sister and her future husband weren't getting to town until late Thurs so we couldn't do anything until Friday.

On Friday my dad drove us over to the wedding site. It was gorgeous! Originally my sister was going to have the wedding at the Kiwanis building in Andalusia, but for some reason it fell through. My guess is God had something better. Anyways, my dad was in Wal-Mart shopping and asked if anyone knew of a place. Lo and behold someone did. As it turned out the place they suggested happened to be owned by an old high school buddy of my dad's brother. It looked to be a fairly new place (maybe 3-5 yrs old). And most of it was built with lumber from the owner's land. The owner gave us a great deal on the place too. (Either that or I'm just used to big city pricing).

When we were first driving to the location I was worried a little bit just because of how far I felt we were away from town. The driveway snuck up on us. We turned off the road onto what looked to be the power company's gravel road. After about 300 yards we pulled into a clearing right next to a small lake. From there I could see this beautiful place. To get to the building you have to walk across a wooden bridge. But it was amazing. You could see fish swimming in the water. On either side of the lake were beautiful wild flowers.

As you walk up the steps into this log cabinesque building you feel as though you are in your own world and the stresses of life melt away. The cabin also doubles as a Bed and Breakfast. As you walk into the main room you sink deeper into the feelings of being in a simpler time. The decor is made of antique tools hanging on the walls and a large fire place on the main wall. Across from the fire place was a large open set of stairs leading up to some guest rooms. The main room was used for dinner service both for the rehearsal dinner and for the reception, seating up to 80 people. I wondered around the cabin and looked in each of the 6 or 7 rooms for rent. Each room had it's own bathroom and rustic decor. In each of these bathrooms the sink, toilet and sometimes the bathtub were each refurbished antiques. In one room, if you stood at the right angle, you could see etched into a pane of glass the date 1898!

The wedding was set to happen at 6:55 pm. Just late enough for there still to be light but not be Southern Alabama scorching hot. We had the rehearsal at that time on Friday. My sister being who she is had no real plans for the wedding. ("You guys come in here and stand maybe over there; we'll come in like this, maybe, and well there's no real need to rehearse the whole thing"). After rehearsal the keepers of the inn fed us a turkey and dressing dinner with all the fixins.

Saturday finally came. We showed up about 2 hours early to get some pictures made before the wedding. Man was that HOT! I spent a lot of time coordinating things. Not really a job I'd signed on for, but it seemed no one else was taking charge, not even the bride. Hannah was the antithesis of Bridezilla. After pictures Hannah went upstairs and changed out of her wedding dress to come down and hang out with people. This I've never seen out of a bride before. Not long after people started showing up. And because of the heat most congregated inside the cabin. So it took me a while to get them hearded outside to where the wedding would actually take place. Derek and some of his buddies were the music for the event. They started to play while we moved people around, and tried to heard Hannah back upstairs to get dressed. She's never been one for doing things traditionally.

We finally got everyone in place and could start the wedding. We escorted the mothers and grandmothers to their chairs. Now it was Hannah's turn to walk with my dad down to see Derek. She came down the stairs of the cabin to the little yard where we all waited. She was GORGEOUS! As she walked down Derek played guitar and sang to her. The song he sang was from The Wedding Singer. It's called Grow Old With You and it's the song Adam Sandler sang to Drew Barrymore in the movie. It was moving. The ceremony was brief but poignant.

After the ceremony everyone went up into the cabin for the reception. For diner this night we were served BBQ. This was to my delight because I'm not the biggest fan of BBQ here in eastern NC. The reception was very informal just like everything else. There was some dancing outside on the porch but mostly people sitting around in rocking chairs enjoying the great company and catching up with old family and meeting the new. At one point in the night there was some excitement. To light the way around the pond and back to the cars there were no electrical lights. The owners had tiki torches. When the owner went out to light them, due to dry weather, somehow a flame jumped and started a small brush fire. By the time I got over to it there were a few guys already helping to bail water out of the lake and put out the fire.

As the night wore on the party slowly dissipated. Funny enough the bride and groom were the last to leave. It had been a beautiful wedding. I couldn't have asked for a better time in a better setting.

Some of the flowers growing wild around the lake

This is the view from the parking lot when you pull up.

This is a view from the side of the lake

Looking up at the cabin

Looking out over the lake back at the parking area.
Just below is where the ceremony took place.

Inside the main room of the cabin

Derek (with his back turned) warming up with the band on the porch.

Hannah and Derek dipping their feet in the pond

The bride hugging her mother

And they're off .........

The Wife and I are leaving tomorrow morning to head down to "L.A." as my dad calls it (or lower Alabama). My sister will be getting married there on Saturday. It seems an odd location since she and my parents have been living in Orlando Fl for the past 7+ years, we are originally from Memphis and the groom still lives there. But my sister is being very giving in the fact that my Grandmother (who is 90!) cannot sustain the drive to either place, so Hannah has brought the wedding to her. Hannah will be the last grandchild to tie the knot. Ad she really wanted her grandmother to be there for it.

Grandmomma (as we call her) lives in Gannt, Al on a small river called the Conecuh. The house she lives in was originally a trailer that she and my grandfather scrimped and saved to buy. They moved out to the river when my dad was about 8 or 10. (1957) My dad, his brother, and my Grandfather all worked to build the house that now stands there. It's a beautiful little brick ranch with hardwood floors. The view from the back porch is awesome in the mornings. The sun comes up and glistens on the still waters of the river; the few sounds that can be heard are birds chirping, a rooster crow, a fish jumping to catch it's breakfast. At night it is utterly peaceful. It is one of the places where no matter where you go outside you can always look up and see stars. And cell phones don't pick up there. It's that nice.

I am looking forward to the small vacation. The drive not so much (10 hrs) but being there is definitely worth it. So I will be incommunicado for a few days but will be back on Monday. Keep Hannah and Derek in your prayers. They will need it.

The day we've all been waiting for

That's right this Thursday. It's been months and it's finally here. It's almost as big as Christmas. It's the first college football game. And Saturday is even bigger. Soooo many games and so little time. Everyone is talking about his/her team. How good they were and what this season will bring. What are the expectations? For some it's only about winning the rivalry, for other's it's about not losing - ever.

What is great about college football is the unknown. Could we have another year where App State pulls a large upset. Their first game is at the swamp. They have decided to take on LSU. I have news for App. You're in the SEC now! Things are done differently. Football is a religion. It's sacred. And don't expect to catch breaks like you did against Michigan. Expect to be punished for thinking you could handle the SEC. SEC football is hard nosed physical punishment with some finesse of passing, mixed in. You want to win in the SEC you have to be tough. I mean REAL tough. You have to have depth at every position because we're here to make it painful. There are no easy wins in the SEC.

And while I'm talking about the SEC please don't bother trying to tell me that we are an overrated conference and the Big 10 or some other western conference is just as good or better. Look at the pre-season rankings. Five or six team are ranked ( depending on which list you look at). And another 3 got votes. So 9 of 12 teams are being looked at to be in the top 25. What other conference can boast that 3/4 of their teams are good enough to even be considered for the top 25???? And here's the kicker. At the end of the season we will still have those numbers. I'd rather suck in the SEC than reign elsewhere! That being said ......

As most know I'm a huge Mississippi State fan. And last football season we finally made our impression. But this year has a chance to be even bigger. We have a great squad and returning a great number of people. Our coach has expressed his belief that this year we could be posed to do more than just impress but make our mark. But I won't brag , I'll just let my guys talk on Saturdays.

Make up your mind

So I was reading the paper the other day and came across an article that got me all up in arms, or "on my pole" as the Wife would say. The title was something to the effect of "Spankings in schools disproportionately against minorities". Of course anyone who knows me knows exactly where I'm headed. First they scream that there isn't enough being done in our schools to help parents rear their children (because obviously it isn't being done at home). And our government schools are the next best place for children to receive instructions[all sarcasm meant here]. Anyways I digress. So along comes this research group and decides to find out how this punishing is going. Lo and Behold they find that children of Latino and Black decent are being punished more than white kids. (Imagine their look of shock and awe).

At this point I want to reach through the paper to those doing the study and ask how many times they ram their heads into brick walls before realizing the wall won't move. Are they really shocked that this demographic that also fills more slots in our prisons and has more teenage out-of-wedlock childbirth is the demographic that gets more paddlings in schools? Really? So now are we going to have to introduce the Equal Oportunity Paddlings Act (EOPA). For every minority you paddle you must make sure there is one white being paddled. Because as my father said, "You may not have done something this time, but I'm sure there's something I don't know about."

Maybe at some point they will actually start looking towards the home and putting the blame where it actually belongs, on the parents who aren't teaching their children right from wrong.

Tolerance

Why is it so hard for Christians to be tolerant? Is that not what Jesus commanded us to do? Love one another. Just look at our past. The Crusades, England, Ireland. Jesus spoke a doctrine of love and compassion for those who didn't believe as we do. You win people by showing that you genuinely Care for them as people, not by forcing your beliefs on them.

I think this part of Christ's message was well understood by our forefathers. They did not set up a country that was designed to be a Christian state. They laid the ground work based on Christian values, yes. But in the establishment clause they specifically stated there was to be no forced religion on the people. The people are FREE to choose what and if they want to believe.

What has gotten so many Christians up in arms is the fact that many secularist see displays of God and Bible verses on buildings and money and that up sets them. The exact same way it upsets Christians that those people want it removed. The hardest part about living in a free society is where do we draw the line of inflicting beliefs. Should the minority always win or the majority. Someone's feelings have to be hurt. But who decides?

This is where tolerance comes in. And by tolerance, I mean LOVE. Why can't we as Christians be the bigger person? Why are we so quick to judge, when Christ has said "he who is without sin may cast the first stone". I know for sure that I can't even look at the stone much lest pick it up to think about throwing it. If Christians want this nation to return to a more God centered one we need to start at home. Literally!!

Once we can open our eyes to see just how oppressive we are, only then can we change. If we greeted those we disagree with with open arms and minds instead of harsh words we can start the change we want. Having the willingness to sit down and have an open discussion with someone who is the exact opposite of you is a great start. Find out where they are coming from and why they hold their beliefs so dear. What you find may shock you.

All of this was sparked by an e-mail I received that spoke of the Christian values of our forefathers and places in our nation's capital that verses are displayed. At the end of this message was a call to fwd it on to those who I thought would appreciate it and agreed with it's message. And I did until the end. The last sentence said We need to return to a God fearing nation and those who don't agree should "sit down and shut up". And that I don't agree with and from the way I've learned Jesus' heart neither does he.

Rock Band

Last Friday the Wife and I hung out with some friends of ours at their house. They have a Playstation and the game Rock Band. Now I'm not much of a "gamer". But this was a great time. It has the ability for up to 3 players to play at a time. One on drums, one on guitar and the third to sing. It has a view for each of the instruments to tell you when to play and what "notes". As with all games it has different levels. I'm definitely a beginner. I did ok at the guitar and singing, BUT I'm definitely NOT coordinated enough to be a drummer. That's some hard stuff. We will be getting a "band " together for practice often. I will leave updates as to when the first album is due out. I will try not to forget those of you who have been there for me when I was just a struggling cook.

Peace out

Random political findings

Taken from articles on hotair.com

1) Rather than exercise her power responsibly by calling lawmakers back to the Capitol to address Americans’ concerns about gas prices and energy independence, [Nancy] Pelosi has dismissed oil and gas drilling as a “hoax”—even as she reportedly encourages vulnerable Democrats to embrace drilling to bolster their electoral prospects. In 2006, she blamed a Republican congress for high gas prices. In power for 19 months, Madame Speaker now blames the Republican minority for gas prices that have nearly doubled.


2) “In my opinion, the choice could not be more clear: between one candidate, John McCain, who’s had experience, been tested in war and tried in peace, another candidate who has not,’’ Mr. Lieberman said. “Between one candidate, John McCain, who has always put the country first, worked across party lines to get things done, and one candidate who has not. Between one candidate who’s a talker, and the other candidate who’s the leader America needs as our next candidate.’’ Quote from Joe Liberman the Democratic nomination in 2000 for VP


3) On the Dems convention:

“You are required to volunteer.” That would normally be a splendid example of an oxymoron, but it also describes the process for those who want to see Barack Obama speak at Invesco Field as he accepts his nomination. Instead of simply throwing open the doors to the public free of charge, as the Obama campaign publicly proposed, tickets get distributed on a pay-in-kind basis:

“I got a call that if I want the tickets I have to volunteer two shifts of three hours apiece — for one ticket. If I want two tickets, then it’s four shifts of two hours apiece,” said Berenice Christensen.

Even without the campaign-finance issues, this looks very much like a bait-and-switch by Obama. The entire point of the Invesco address was to welcome everyone for free, perhaps because they wanted to ensure that the place was filled to capacity. Now, with everyone excited about attending this free event, Obama suddenly tells them that they can’t get a seat unless they work for him first.

Like most of Obama’s plans, nothing is free. We’ll pay one way or the other for every supposed giveaway in his policies. And in the end, he wants everyone working for him, while tossing hosannas at his feet and giving him the best optics he can possibly get.

One last thing: Obama didn’t require Germans in Berlin to work for him in order to cheer him at the Tiergarten. Why does Obama treat Germans better than Americans?

Welcome

Madeline Leigh Mullinnix
August 11, 2008
8:31 am
5lb 15 oz.
19"


This is Madeline with her proud Aunt
(aka the Wife)

New Addition

Today I will become an uncle. In an hour the Wife and I are driving up to High Point, NC to see her sister and brother-in-law. They will be having their first child, Madeline Leigh. Melissa is already at the hospital and being prepped for surgery. They are doing a C-section. The Wife is sooooo happy, so much so that she couldn't sleep last night. Which in turn hindered some of my sleep, but not much. ( I can sleep through almost anything).
So if you get a chance or a moment, lift up a prayer for Melissa and Bryce. Their world is about to change forever.

Thought for the day

Calling an illegal alien an 'undocumented immigrant'
Is like calling a drug dealer an 'unlicensed pharmacist'

New Car

So last weekend I bought a new car. It's a 2001 Volvo CrossCountry Wagon. It had 80K and was very nice. I needed something that got better gas mileage than my truck. This gets 21 city and 28+ hwy. It has a 5 cyl engine and runs oh so smooth. I will miss sitting high up in a truck but all the bells and whistles that come with this car are quickly making me forget. The one thing I was surprised by is the gas tank. I thought I was downsizing. But the tank holds about 3-4 gallons less than my V8 truck. So I guess I will have to fill up less often. I guess now all I need are a few kids to fill it up.
I think I'm getting older.

Welcome to Wal-Mart

Yesterday Wal-Mart shoppers we're treated to new greeters. It's actually people you and I have been asking for for a long time. Known as "Imegra" to my latin friends, but you and I know them as INS. That's right! Imigration officers were at the local Wal-Mart (kinda like hunting a baited field) asking to see proof of residency and green cards. Without it, "Get on the bus" was heard. I found this out from one of my legal workers at the restaurant. "All the Mexicans are scared", she told me. As they should be.

But I'm not so sure they just shipping them off back to Mexico is the best solution. It costs a lot of money these days to travel anywhere. And I'm sure we the tax payer are funding their free ride home. I asked my worker won't they just come right back. "Noooo", she says, "you have to wait 10 years before you can come back, or the next time you get caught you go to jail". But to rebut that I know personally a few guys who have been sent back more than once and are back. Why don't we just start signing them up to pay taxes. Then start with an automatic penalty to be assessed. This penalty should be high enough to help deter people from coming. We don't want them to be like, "well if we do get caught it's only X number of dollars". And I also believe that the dollar amount should increase as age increases thusly stating that the older you are the more cognizant you are of your choice to break our laws. And children are NOT exempt. This will also deter families from coming. Most of these people already have good steady jobs and are only here to make a better life for themselves and their families. I don't fully believe we should take that dream away. Our forefathers had the same dream and we're here. The only people who have total right to be here are Native Indians and their descendants (Your's truly). But we do need to punish the act of breaking the laws.

Also I'm tired of everything being translated into Spanish. If you are part of a company that does that with your products you have lost the right to bitch about illegals being here b/c you are just catering to their lack of respect to learn the language and giving them more reason to stay.

Thanks Ted

I just wanted to send my personal thanks to Senator Ted Stevens. For those who don't know, Ole Ted is an 84 yr old life long Senator from Alaska. He's a Republican. And now he has recently been indicted for concealing gifts and services of up to $250,ooo. Of course, he denies these allegations. But he is the prime example of the reason people are blindly following a promise of change. This indictment has actually been in the pipeline for years. And there is no doubt in my mind that the timing isn't just happenstance. It's a heafty blow to the republicans. Another reason to swoon voters to the other side. Granted I'm not saying what he did was right nor am I defending Ted. But thanks for helping your party to keep it's pristine image, Atta Boy!!

Our government is in DIRE need of change. I am a fervent believer in term limits. And I think that if we held people to shorter terms they would have less time to build these "you scratch my back; I'll scratch yours" relationships. Term limits would also halt a lot of lobbyists. "How?", you ask. Because they would have to start from scratch with people every few years. These lobbyist would have to build new TRUST with the incoming. And it would be a lot easier to track these "gifts" they give. It's really hard to go to a job that only pays so much, do it for a short term and come out a wealthy man/woman. I feel that this small step would help immeasurably in cleaning up Washington.

Also I have found a new blog site. www.hotair.com
Check it out. You can link it from my links in the right hand column.

The Dinner Party

Last Saturday the Wife and I had a few guests over to enjoy a night a good food, nice wine and great company. It was amazing! We had such a good time. Starting early Sat morn we woke and started preparing the food for the evening. I had to get somethings done early so they could marinate and so some flavors would develop according to plan. While I was busy doing this the Wife started getting the house presentable for guests. It was still in kind of a disarray b/c of me working on the front bathroom. We took a break mid morning to go to our favorite wine store, Wine Authorities, and taste a few wines and ask some last minute pairing questions.

The party was set to start around 6. The guests started arriving and we mingled a little while I proudly showed off our new bathroom. Once everyone was here we opened the first of many wine bottles. Our first was Cremant de Bourgogne, A sparkling wine done in the style of Champagne. What Cremant is is the next step below actual champagne. This was our "gathering wine", a wine to drink whilst we mingle and I got the first food of the night ready.

I herded everyone towards the table as I prepared the amuse bouche, a french term for little mouth or small bite. The purpose of this "little bite" is to whet the appetite and get one in the mood to eat. For this, I had made a watermelon gazpacho. I put this in champagne glasses for aesthetic purposes. It was delicious and a nice compliment to the Cremant.

The first course was little tomato salad in a filo dough nest with aruglua tossed in citrus and aged balsamic vinegar. The tomatoes were sungolds and cherries that I had grown in the garden. With this course we paired Browns of Padthaway - Verdelho - 2004. It was slightly minerally and matched well to the acids in the tomato and citrus on the arugula.

For our second course, Cast Iron seared Scallop, Spaghetti Squash Pancake, Shaved Zucchini and Tarragon Yogurt. This was paired with Alma Negra - Sparkling Rose Malbec - 2006. This dish was amazing! The pancakes were the tricky part. I roasted off the squash and scraped the insides out (which looks like spaghetti, hence the name). After which, I lightly caramelized some onions and mixed that, along with one egg some bread crumbs, herbs and salt and pepper, together with the squash. In a saute pan I lightly melted butter and formed little "pancakes" and browned each side. They were soooooo delicious!

The entree for the evening was Costa Rican Coffee rubbed Pork Tenderloin, Wild Rice, Charred Vidalia Onion, with a Hard Cider reduction Sauce. This was paired with Bilton Wines - Matt Black - 2005. The Matt Black is a blend wine made up of 35% Merlot, 27% Shiraz, 23% Cab Sauv, and 15% Petit Verdot. It is a well rounded big red wine, not to bold and easy drinking. It matched well to the pork. I cooked the pork to medium rare to the surprise of some of the guests who had never eaten pork under well done. I love it that way, and now so do they.

The final course of the evening was dessert prepared by the Wife. She made Chocolate Souffle. This was paired with Iron Gate Winery - Once in a Carolina Blue Moon - 2007. It is a wine of limited production made from a blend of Traminette (45%), Reisling(29%), Sauv Blanc(17%) and Seyval Blanc(9%). The reason for it being so limited is in the spring of 2007 North Carolina experienced an out of the ordinary cold spring that almost killed some vineyards. The winemakers were forced to decide, either lose all the grapes and lose money that year or make a small batch that could almost be considered ice wine. They chose the latter. And for all the sweetness it offered it matched divinely with the souffle served with vanilla ice cream. The Souffle was the perfect ending to a great night of food. I don't think I've ever eaten one so fluffy and moist.

My thanks to those who came and let me use them as my testing grounds. Also for helping with clean-up and the dishes. You didn't have to do that. We look forward to our next dinner party, at which the Wife has decided will be a beer tasting. I'm real excited about the possibilities there.

If you would like to see pictures of the food and evening please click the link in the side column to On My Pole. This is the Wife's blog and she's the photographer.

My requested response

It seems as though I have sparked a debate, which is what I hope to do on some of these posts.As I've said before I'm still undecided, so no matter what is said here doesn't mean I'm giving my final backing of one candidate. I'm just putting facts out there, and asking for opposing opinions.

I agree with Jeni that you shouldn't judge a man by his name alone. But I do believe you should judge him by his history. And frankly Obama's history so far hasn't matched his promises for his future. Some of his history being relationships and voting record. In this the early stages of his campaign, how many relationships has he already had to denounce? And I know some will say those are in his past, but how far back do we stop looking. And a few of these aren't really in the past. Also, his voting record in the senate. I didn't realize that voting "present" counted as being against the war from the beginning. As any politician will tell you, if you stay home on election day, you have just cast a "yes" vote for the opposition. Does anyone here realize that Obama voted "present" over 100 times in his short tenure in the senate? He's been campaigning for almost two years now so that doesn't leave much time for him to have actually voted "present" now does it?

Also, would someone please persuade me as to why we should vote for a man (and his hateful wife) who at every chance have removed the American Flag from sight. Obama refuses to wear the lapel pin that every other member of gov't wears, and he has removed the flag from his personal campaign aircraft and replaced it with his "O". And how do you expect to lead and gain the respect of, men and women who swear to fight and die for you if you wont salute the flag that they swear to protect, Especially as the President. And I've heard that he says it's b/c some people/nations find our flag offensive. That's like saying I want to be the pastor of the church but I'm not going to teach/use the Bible b/c some people don't believe in it. All that being said, I do believe that if you don't agree with something you should change it. So I can understand wanting to make some changes.

I do wish that we could leave religion out of politics. But you can't! I firmly believe that what a man says he believes has true bearing on how he makes decisions. It can be seen in his character. It is obvious when a politician who has a surface level understanding of Christianity tries to act like he's been a devout Bible reader all his life. You can't fake it. By that same token if you have been a devout Christian and church goer your whole life, it can be seen in daily operations of your life and decisions you make. Our country is facing a crossroads in our moral standing. And we need to know what each man trying to run this country believes, how he believes, and how he carries out those beliefs.

And again, the decisions people make. This brings us back to history. What kind of decisions have John McCain and Barack Obama made? For that matter throw in Bob Barr. How many of these decisions have been good for our country? How many bad? Can someone please show me where Obama has made a good decision FOR our country. And I'd like an example of legislation he was the author of, not co-sponsor, sponsor, tag-along, please put my name on that good idea. I've heard he did a few good things while on the Illinois state senate. But nothing since becoming a national Senator.

I will rest here as not to become to long winded. I hope that this will help in the discussion. Because all I want out of this election is for everyone who casts a vote to have both sides of the story and make sure that we are putting the BEST man in the job, be he Liberal, Conservative, or Libertarian.

Ummmmm..........

So it's been a while since the last blog. It kinda feels like forever ago. This is how busy my week has seemed. I'm just a milisecond away from finishing the bathroom. The tile has been laid and is gorgeous.
The final problem has been replacing the toilet in the place it last occupied. In trying to level the floor to put the tile in, I found that my foundation wasn't all that level to begin with. So the toilet rocked a little. To fix that, I had to go get shims to place under it. Once that problem was taken care of the next problem showed up.The floor is now higher, which meant that the connecting hose from the wall to the toilet is now NOT long enough. I found this out by trying to connect it anyway, turning on the water to the hose and finding an ever so slight leak, (YEA!). So now back to the hardware store for a longer hose. "That should do it", I tell the wife. WRONG (as if you couldn't see it coming).Now from all the jostling about of this 13+ year old toilet, all of the seals are deciding that they are old and worn and will leak. So again, off to the hardware store we go; all this little extra spending to the wifes extreme delight :-( All the while I'm reassuring her that the toilet is old and things like this come up. The good news is all of these things I'm learning will make the next bathroom easier, and some of the things I've already bought have enough to do both bathrooms. So we'll see tomorrow how things turn out. We need to have the bathroom ready to go b/c we are having guests on Saturday, which brings me to the other thing that has made the week run by.

This Saturday the wife and I are hosting a dinner party for some friends. A little thing we like to do ever so often. I create a menu, The Wife comes up with dessert, we pair wines with each course, and for fun Wife creates a beautiful printed menu for each of the guests to have. It's great fun. ( we want to do a beer dinner next) Anyways, this year my garden has been doing great so I'm doing things that will allow me to use fresh garden ingredients. After the weekend I will post the menu. I don't want any of the guests ( if any of them reads this) to know ahead of time what's in store. That's part of the fun for me. They come and put full trust in my hands. Each time I do one of these I try something I've never done before, as does the Wife with the desserts. So we'll see how they like it.

Just because I can't not say something political. Al Sharpton has been found guilty of all kinds of tax evasion and fraud. This makes me giggle inside. Also, the Federal Minimum Wage has been raised to $6 something an hour. More of a rant on this later.

Taboo

No, I'm not talking about the board game. Why is it that we shy so quickly away from talking about the things that we should be talking about as a nation. Of course, I'm talking about politics. Why can't we talk about it. Why has it become such a foux pas (I'm not French so that's probably misspelled).

We sit content to let MSNBC, CNN, FOXNews, and others do the talking for us. We take small soundbites and use them as our total opinion. This I must say is something I'm very guilty of. But we only let a little bit seep at a time as to not offend anyone. Just about the only time you hear political disscussion going on is from people on the same side of the argument. What good is that doing?? We need open and honest discussion. Especially from people of oposite veiw points. How else can one form an educated opinion with out all sides?? Sure the large news networks cover a vast majority of the issues, but they don't and can't cover it from where you and I live. Or, how we feel it will affect us. Those networks aren't going to cover the mayoral election for every town in America.

We as a country need to stop being scared of this topic. And embrace each other especially for the differences we share. We need to stop looking through the glasses of Republican/Democrat, and look at it as our America. We need to discuss who is running and on what platforms. Why those platforms are right or wrong for our city, state, and nation. And if they are wrong what can be done to fix it. Maybe it's just been looked at too long from the same angle. We need to get away from the mentality of you are on the other side of the isle, therefore anything you think, say, or do cannot be of/add any value to my life and opinion. Moreover, we need to see that each side wants to see our nation come to be the best it can be. We need open discussion to get there. And we can't wait for Washington to do it.

In this an election year we need open discussion more than ever. Especially this election. There are so many subjects that need to be touched by everday America. As an undecided voter I yearn for these discussions. I'm looking to be swayed. But everytime I approach the subject I am cast out (by people's eyes) and scorned. "No political talk we don't want to ruin the evening". Ruin the evening?!?!? How can my thirst for knowledge and my opinion on what is great for this country, which includes you and yours, ruin an evening. (As an aside, I do know that I'm very opinionated about certain things but I've never ruined someone's evening).

The Start of the Discussion

The other night the wife and I took Pax for a walk. On this walk we got started talking about the possible next president. (We are not both of the same political affiliation). As I was making statements about things on which I'd heard, she accused me of making blanket accusations of candidates, which is true. But I feel more knowledgeable because I do listen to talk radio and read more about politics than she. But since she was right I have started to do research in order to have more information in my arguments. All this to say that over the next few days/weeks I will be discussing the issues as brought forth by the 3 major candidates. Yes I said 3. Our political system is failing miserably by only having been a two party system for so long. It has been like watching two sloths fight it out, slow and predictable. Now the Libertarians are making a name for themselves, more so than the Green Party ever did. With each post in this series I will discuss my feelings about each issue and then provide a link to each candidates page on the topic of the day to where you can get your own info and make your own decision. (Please do not only read the views of your party as this makes you a near sighted moron).

For today's topic: EDUCATION

It seems to be the consensus that our educational system is extremely broken. All the candidates agree<> that something needs to be done to bring America to the front of education in the world. Currently we are far behind the rest of the world. Examples: we rank #26 in student problem solving, #12 in reading ability, #24 in math and #19 in science. None of these are good numbers considering they only poll the top 40 developed/developing countries in the world.

Now each candidate has his own ideas how to change this. Bob Barr and John McCain are on a similar path by exerting we need to let parents choose which school their child may attend instead of the old mantra of " you live here so you child goes here". This doesn't allow for children who are out performing or under performing to have the opportunities to get the proper help or motivation. What both of these candidates are suggesting is letting the parents decide what school (or home school) is best for their child's need. Bob Barr takes it even further to say those who choose to take their child to a different school/home school can take their tax credits with them to that school or keep those credits at home. Thusly schools that perform better will receive better funding.And schools that do not perform well could end up closing. This would help in making our schools better, causing them to function in a competitive free market. We need our teachers/principles/school boards to work harder on educating, not just passing our children. John McCain has something similar but not to this extent. Bob Barr also believes in disbanding the Dept. of Education and bringing control of schools to at largest state level, but best case a city level.

Now Obama has gone into the most detail in plan on his web site. Breaking education into all levels, and dealing with each one individually. For the up to 5 yr olds, he wants to start educating them to get ready for school. This is a good idea. I think in some areas parents don't do much to prepare their children for school and they start out at a disadvantage. However Obama does say he will bring affordable high-quality child care for all working families, a lofty goal and probably and empty promise. Next he offers funneling more money into schools and No Child Left Behind. He says that we shouldn't just be preparing students all year to answer a standard test and not educate them. I fully agree with this. But we should get rid of the standard test; other wise it's just blowing smoke. The test should be how many of a teacher's students passed on to the next two grades. This way we institute a checks system. In most high schools you wont need two grades worth b/c you typically have a different teacher for each subject,therefore no one teacher has all the grades for a certain student. If that teacher passes X% of student in so many years a raise will be considered. Otherwise why should we pay a teacher more who isn't doing his/her job.
Next Obama wants to recruit more Math and Science professionals to teach. This is a great idea, but how do you get them to opt for a teacher starting salary over what they would receive in the competitive market. He also has good ideas on how to prepare and keep teachers. Lastly he tackles college. He offers tax credits and ease of applying for grants and loans to entice more kids to attend. I do believe we need more highly educated peolpe in America if we are to compete on a global level.

One of the problems with schools today is the government is so scared that we aren't having as many children move upwards and graduate that hey have dumbed our schools down. The answer is not bringing the bar down it is moving the bar up. This is why our schools are producing the numbers you saw in the opening paragraph. We need parents who are involved in their child's life to make them work to achieve these levels, not parents who complain that little Jenny's homework was to hard.

As promised here are the links. You decide for yourself who's right

http://www.barackobama.com/issues/education/

http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/Issues/19ce50b5-daa8-4795-b92d-92bd0d985bca.htm

http://www.bobbarr2008.com/issues/education-home-schooling/

live free for life, and you don't have to contribute a dime

As you all know my generation and all those following have just gone ahead and given up on the idea of any money coming to us from Social Security. Now I know that social security was set up as a way to help people after working age. Back then most companies rewarded loyalty of long term service by giving those employees a retirement package which supplied them with money until they died. When companies started realizing the dollar was more important than the people, they started letting people go at later ages so they wouldn't have to retire them. (shady and underhanded I know, but we love our big corporations. At least the gov't does b/c that's who pays them off, and that's another blog) Anyways, back to social security. The baby-boomers are now hitting retirement age. And well that's where most of the money you and I are putting in will be going, that is until last week. Last week our lovely Democrat controlled Congress decided to funnel more money out of Social Security. Do you wanna know where it's going? Of course you do. Are you ready for this...........IT'S GOING TO ILLEGAL ALIENS! That's right! All those poor, old, illegal aliens who crossed the border illegally and are to old to work and have NEVER put one cent into the Social Security fund are now eligible to receive money from there. Can anyone please explain to me why our Congress, who supposedly represents our feelings, thoughts, and beliefs would pass such a bill. I don't know one person who is ok with it. NOT ONE. How can these whiny Democrats reject the idea of a personal savings plan and then turn around and hand what little precious money we do have to people who don't deserve it?? HUH?? And that's right I said don't deserve it. I don't believe in coddling people. You want what I have? Do the same work I did to get it.

Did I oversleep the revolution?? Are we now the United States Of MEXICO??????

Durham BULL

There's nothing quite like a baseball game in the summer. And nothing more refreshing than drinking a beer while you sweat your little buns off watching the game. We sat in Right field, or shall I say the sun's favorite place to shine. It was hot and the slight breeze only teased of cool. It was shaping up to be an easy win for the Bulls. Then we hit the 8th. The visiting team was about to watch it's hopes of comback slide away. UNTIL what should have been the last pitch of the 8th for the Red Wings, and the Ump went blind. A ball thrown obviously over the plate, it could even be seen from where I was sitting. But he called it a ball. Bases loaded now. And of course the next batter wailed one out of the park and now we're tied! One more batter and now the Bulls are behind. WHAT??!! And so with determination that one call can't ruin the game the Bulls step up and tie the game to force extra innings (4 more to be exact). Skipping ahead we're now in the bottom of the 13th and both teams have added a few more runs but the Red Wings are up by 1. Now we have one out, a man on second, and the batter has a full count. And wouldn't you know it, guess who strikes again. Not the batter, the numbskull of an ump calls it one though. This time the ball is obviously high. But again blindness strikes. As the batter turns to trot towards 1st base the ump calls "Strike Three, you're out". WHAT?? Our batter striken by disbelief turns and expresses his opinion of the pitch, wich rewards him an ejection from the game. The third base coach in an effort to intervene and calm things (and get in his opinion of the pitch) also gets ejected! Could someone remind the ump that there should be something of benefit of the doubt going to home team. Or did he forget who pays? It should go without saying that we lost . The worst part, in my opinion, is that we were sitting so far away that I could not properly express my feelings to the ump of his outstanding performance.

The First One

So this is my first blog ever. I'll keep it short. Today is Saturday and it's been a nice one. Mel and I almost finished tiling our guest bathroom. This is a project that we've been wanting to do for about a year now. And, well, one bathroom down and one to go.... When it's all done I'll post pictures. For our evening plans Mel's work has rented a pavilion at the Durham Bulls Park. I do enjoy a minor league baseball game. I've been to at least 5 already this season. But anyways I said I'd keep it short. Until later.