(Author's Note: I realize that I have been derelict in my duty to provide you with insight into my fabulously exciting and meaningful existince - many thanks to those who reminded me that I do not exist in a bubble - that indeed, as John Donne wrote, "No man is an island"... --jnk)
Wow - I can't believe that I let the dust grow this thick! Holee Cats! Where's my duster? Hmm....
Where to begin? A lot has happened since I last posted; I'll try to remember it all...
Kay's Birthday Bash
A house-full of people turned out to wish Kay a happy 30/10 birthday, and it was a rockin' party indeed! Plenty of food, drinks and a karaoke machine! We sang and partied all night, and exercised our remaining brain cells with Kay's Birthday Quiz, a multiple choice quiz designed to find out just how well we knew our Guest of Honor... I didn't get the highest score, but at least I didn't get the lowest score, either! I just about ruined my voice singing, but it was fun as hell - especially doing stuff like Metallica and Megadeth :) The secret is out, though - the guys in the band know I can sing now... Good times!!!
TODDFEST 2007
This mega-party has fast become one of the places to be seen in Austin - Michelle always puts a great show together, and this year was no exception! We invaded Sixth Street this year, Uncle Flirty's being kind enough to host the festivities - thanks, guys! Musical entertainment was provided by partners-in-rock The Whoremoans, with Todd playing harp on "When the Levee Breaks"; The Humiliators, in our 1-year anniversary show; and the annual headliners, Austin's Loudest Party Band, Steamroller... between the bands, Miss Maulie "unveiled" two new numbers, especially for Toddfest ;) First was a tantalizing feather dance, and the finale was a sexy take on the "Snow White" tale... definitely not the "Disney" version :) Head over to our pix to see what you missed, or to refresh your memory (if you partied too much)!
Jury Call
On Wednesday, 1 August 2007 I was summoned to Round Rock Municipal Court at 1pm for jury call, to be part of the pool of potential jurors for a case to be heard that day. Being the civic-minded guy I am (and never passing up a chance to ditch work ;) ), I showed up at the courthouse at 12.45p and signed in... and by 2.30p I was back on the streets... apparently, the gentleman defending himself felt that I would be biased since my father and brother are both in law enforcement :) He needn't have worried, but it's hard to convince someone of that, if they've got a preconception in place. Oh well - at least I got an afternoon off...
In Other News...
I've been getting about 20 miles/week riding in, mostly asphalt/urban trails... then it finally quit raining long enough for Walnut Creek to dry out, so Chris and I headed out for some actual trail riding... nice! Here are some pix... Chris has been getting a lot of flats lately, so he's really learned how to change a tube quickly :)
We've also been brewing more beer - Chris has two batches going, and I have about half of my batch left... time to start thinking about the next creation :)
I finally got a new digital camera, so there'll be a lot more pix associated with the blog entries - you can see them all here on my Picasa page.
I'll be headed up to Oklahoma to see my family at the end of the month, since our gig at the Dirty Dog got canceled... it'll be nice to see them - I haven't been up there since Christmas, and a *lot* has changed in my life since then! Plus, I'm hoping to get some more flight time in the C17 simulator :)
Band News
The Humiliators have two shows left this month, one tonight at The Troubador Saloon with Red Line Riot and the other on Saturday at Trophy's Bar & Grill - Grub Dog, the same cat that brought you the Freebird FU presents Purple Pain - a tribute (?) to Prince :) it's gonna be fun as hell, if the Freebird FU is any indicator!
After these two gigs, we are going to take some time off to write new material - we have three in the works, and would like to come up with some more. Keep your eyes on the site tho - you never know when we might land a gig :)
Well, that's all for now - I'll try to keep the gaps shorter... I know I've left some stuff out, but that just gives me material for later :)
Thursday, August 09, 2007
Friday, July 20, 2007
One Small Step for a man...
Apollo 11 Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin
Became the First Men to Land on the Moon
July 20, 1969
Here's hoping we make it back soon!
Thursday, July 12, 2007
If it ain't the hogs, it's the windmill...
Ever had one those days where everything you touch seems to explode spectacularly, every plan you make is doomed from the start, and getting out of bed this morning, in retrospect, was a really bad idea? I wonder who I pissed off...
Monday, July 09, 2007
beer = happy
This weekend we popped the tops on the first bottles of my Northern Brown Ale - and it's pretty damn good, if I do say so myself! Not bad, for my first batch :) It was really tasty after a six-mile ride around the neighborhood, including a trip up the Hill of Doom (well, it seemed that way to me)... last week I logged over 30 miles - not a huge total, compared to some, but for me it's huge - considering that a few months ago, I wasn't riding at all!
Thursday, July 05, 2007
Fourth of July BBQ
The big bash over at Dave's place was a huge success! There were lots of folks, plenty of food and beer, and enough fireworks to demolish a small building. Thanks to Dave and Teresa for hosting the shindig, cooking the massive amounts of food and providing the launching pad for all the fireworks!
The weather held off so we had plenty of back-yard time, and with all the rain there was no worry about burning the countryside down. We had lots of fun and excitement, and the high point came when one of the mortar shells failed to launch and blew up in the tube! It was very loud, and very impressive - fortunately no one was hurt! Other than that, the display was really nice - thanks to Todd and the rest of the fireworks crew!
Don't forget that The Humiliators will be at The Troubadour Saloon on Wednesday, 11 July at 10:30p - come support your local rock stars!
The weather held off so we had plenty of back-yard time, and with all the rain there was no worry about burning the countryside down. We had lots of fun and excitement, and the high point came when one of the mortar shells failed to launch and blew up in the tube! It was very loud, and very impressive - fortunately no one was hurt! Other than that, the display was really nice - thanks to Todd and the rest of the fireworks crew!
Don't forget that The Humiliators will be at The Troubadour Saloon on Wednesday, 11 July at 10:30p - come support your local rock stars!
Monday, July 02, 2007
Into each life some rain must fall.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow had it right... and brother, has it been falling - both literally and figuratively :)
Chris and I rode ten miles on Sunday - and it rained for most of it. This photo was taken at the North San Gabriel River in Georgetown - the trail we were riding crossed the river, but we weren't about to try; there was a tree that had been washed downriver and was submerged by the current, so we knew we weren't about to try that crossing. Farther downstream, we came across a pickup truck and a trailer that had been swept into a pedestrian bridge, and there was extensive damage to the banks from the flooding. People just don't give enough respect to the power of moving water - all you have to do is look at the Hill Country and the Grand Canyon to see examples of what moving water is capable of doing... the problem is that those are processes that occur on geologic time scales, so no one really pays any attention to them. We had a great time, however; we were practicing one of our favorite sports, Urban Commando Mountain Biking. Basically, it just means that you go pretty much where you want, taking shortcuts that would be impossible for any other modes of transportation (besides walking)... it's pretty cool to see a bunch of traffic stopped in the road, and realize that you can just cut through a parking lot, hop a curb, head down a ditch and then you are back on the street again :) Bikes rock!
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Field Day 2007 (or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Morse Code)
This year for Field Day, we hit the road - literally! We drove the BRDM* out to Marble Falls, and drove around the Lake Buchannan area, operating 1C (single-operator, mobile) as usual. We got to see a lot of the Hill Country, and we made 255 contacts for over a thousand points - more than double our effort last year! Even though the bands were supposed to be dead (since this is the bottom of the 11-year sunspot cycle) we found plenty of people to talk to... we had a mix of voice and CW (Morse Code) contacts, and a lot of fun! We got to witness the awesome sport of WalMart Parking Lot Truck Racing - apparently it gets very boring in Marble Falls at 10pm... breakfast at The Blue Bonnet Cafe was just as good as advertised... by the time Chris dropped me off at my house around 9am, I'd been up for 25 hours (!) and the Sandman was beating me senseless. Chris's new radio really made the difference - we heard more signals than ever, and if you can't hear them, you can't work them!
Sunday after I got home, I promptly crashed for 8 hours... then got up and stayed up until almost 3am :) I had taken Monday off to allow my sleep schedule some time to re-synchronize; a good thing, too - it took that long! Kudos go to Bob and Jessica Logan, operating NZ5A in the 2B-2Op (battery) category, with almost 400 contacts, over half on CW! We did not get to work them this year, but we did work the same contact right after they did :) Great job, guys!
* BRDM: Big Red Dodge Machine - you thought we had Soviet-era infantry vehicles in our garages? Hmmm... not a bad idea :)
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
It's raining and I have coffee... why am I at work, exactly?
Good question... I'm digging through the hundreds of emails I got while on vacation, trying to catch up on all the projects... when really, I'd much rather be leaping from tree to tree as they float down the mighty rivers of British Columbia! The Fir! The Larch! The Redwood! The mighty Scots Pine! Wait - that's not right...
Oh well... I'm working on the big weekend blog, so it should be up soon - lots of stuff happened over the weekend, and I'm trying to remember it all :) Check back later today!
Oh well... I'm working on the big weekend blog, so it should be up soon - lots of stuff happened over the weekend, and I'm trying to remember it all :) Check back later today!
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
The envelope, please...
Here are the answers to last post's quiz:
1. "One day, lad, all this will be yours." "What, the curtains?"
Who Said It: The King of Swamp Castle (Michael Palin)
To Whom: Prince Herbert (Terry Jones)
The Movie: Monty Python and the Holy Grail
The Year: 1975
Okay, so I took a little liberties with this one, but close enough. Collin gets points for immediately sending the King's response, "No, not the curtains..."
2. "We're off on the road to Judea..."
Who Said It: Comicus (Mel Brooks), Swiftus (Ron Carey), Josephus (Gregory Hines), Miriam (Mary-Margaret Humes)
To Whom: Musical Number, near the end of the Roman Empire section
The Movie: Mel Brooks' The History of the World, Part I
The Year: 1981
A great spoof on the old Bob Hope - Bing Crosby "Road" movies; it was a rare road trip in college that didn't start out with this ditty. Points go to Todd for sending in the correct answer.
3. "Sir, does this mean that Ann-Margaret's not coming?"
Who Said It: Private Joker (Matthew Modine)
To Whom: Lieutenant Lockhart (John Terry)
The Movie: Full Metal Jacket
The Year: 1987
I cannot believe that this didn't trigger Collin's FMJ archives... I guess he's saving it for the Red Eyed Fly... no points for anyone....
4. "No, Mr. Bond - I expect you to die!"
Who Said It: Auric Goldfinger (Gert Fröbe)
To Whom: James Bond (Sean Connery)
The Movie: Goldfinger
The Year: 1964
Shirley Bassey's full-throttle theme song, girls in gold paint, a solid gold Rolls Royce, Oddjob and his killer bowler, and Pussy Galore... how can you go wrong? Plus, Connery's Bond set the gold standard... pun intended :) Points given to Todd for identifying the movie, but deducted for even mentioning Roger Moore in the same breath.
5. "Put... the candle.... back."
Who Said It: Dr. Frederick Frankenstein (Gene Wilder)
To Whom: Inga (Terri Garr)
The Movie: Young Frankenstein
The Year: 1974
The revolving bookcase scene... One of Mel Brooks' best movies, right alongside "Blazing Saddles" and "History of the World"... no points for anyone on this one...
6. "Contemplate this on the tree of woe."
Who Said It: Thulsa Doom (James Earl Jones)
To Whom: Conan (Arnold Schwarzenegger)
The Movie: Conan the Barbarian
The Year: 1982
Part of what is arguably the best line of dialog in the entire movie, delivered by the incomparable James Earl Jones, whose Thulsa Doom exuded calm, quiet evil. Points to Kay for posting the correct answer in the comments...
7. "It's such an interesting concept, mixing mime and food."
Who Said It: Marty DiBergi (Rob Reiner)
To Whom: Morty the Mime (Billy Crystal)
The Movie: This Is Spinal Tap
The Year: 1984
This was such a wacky quote, from such a wacky movie, I thought "why not?" No points for anyone here...
That's all for this time... keep an eye out for my Top 20 Favorite Movie Quotes - coming to a blog near you! Thanks for playing, and see Johnny as you leave for your lovely parting gifts!
1. "One day, lad, all this will be yours." "What, the curtains?"
Who Said It: The King of Swamp Castle (Michael Palin)
To Whom: Prince Herbert (Terry Jones)
The Movie: Monty Python and the Holy Grail
The Year: 1975
Okay, so I took a little liberties with this one, but close enough. Collin gets points for immediately sending the King's response, "No, not the curtains..."
2. "We're off on the road to Judea..."
Who Said It: Comicus (Mel Brooks), Swiftus (Ron Carey), Josephus (Gregory Hines), Miriam (Mary-Margaret Humes)
To Whom: Musical Number, near the end of the Roman Empire section
The Movie: Mel Brooks' The History of the World, Part I
The Year: 1981
A great spoof on the old Bob Hope - Bing Crosby "Road" movies; it was a rare road trip in college that didn't start out with this ditty. Points go to Todd for sending in the correct answer.
3. "Sir, does this mean that Ann-Margaret's not coming?"
Who Said It: Private Joker (Matthew Modine)
To Whom: Lieutenant Lockhart (John Terry)
The Movie: Full Metal Jacket
The Year: 1987
I cannot believe that this didn't trigger Collin's FMJ archives... I guess he's saving it for the Red Eyed Fly... no points for anyone....
4. "No, Mr. Bond - I expect you to die!"
Who Said It: Auric Goldfinger (Gert Fröbe)
To Whom: James Bond (Sean Connery)
The Movie: Goldfinger
The Year: 1964
Shirley Bassey's full-throttle theme song, girls in gold paint, a solid gold Rolls Royce, Oddjob and his killer bowler, and Pussy Galore... how can you go wrong? Plus, Connery's Bond set the gold standard... pun intended :) Points given to Todd for identifying the movie, but deducted for even mentioning Roger Moore in the same breath.
5. "Put... the candle.... back."
Who Said It: Dr. Frederick Frankenstein (Gene Wilder)
To Whom: Inga (Terri Garr)
The Movie: Young Frankenstein
The Year: 1974
The revolving bookcase scene... One of Mel Brooks' best movies, right alongside "Blazing Saddles" and "History of the World"... no points for anyone on this one...
6. "Contemplate this on the tree of woe."
Who Said It: Thulsa Doom (James Earl Jones)
To Whom: Conan (Arnold Schwarzenegger)
The Movie: Conan the Barbarian
The Year: 1982
Part of what is arguably the best line of dialog in the entire movie, delivered by the incomparable James Earl Jones, whose Thulsa Doom exuded calm, quiet evil. Points to Kay for posting the correct answer in the comments...
7. "It's such an interesting concept, mixing mime and food."
Who Said It: Marty DiBergi (Rob Reiner)
To Whom: Morty the Mime (Billy Crystal)
The Movie: This Is Spinal Tap
The Year: 1984
This was such a wacky quote, from such a wacky movie, I thought "why not?" No points for anyone here...
That's all for this time... keep an eye out for my Top 20 Favorite Movie Quotes - coming to a blog near you! Thanks for playing, and see Johnny as you leave for your lovely parting gifts!
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
One day, lad, this will all be yours... (what, the curtains?)
Ah, summertime! Warm, breezy days; little fluffy clouds floating across an azure sky; having an ice cold beer at the ballpark, listening to the crack of the bat and watching the ballet that is baseball... except, this is Texas - only one of those actually described this weekend's activities :) Let's start with the weather - fairly average temperatures for this time of year, but the humidity was through the roof, and the torrential rains reminded me of Miami - oh, did I forget to mention that I went to Houston this weekend? Ah, yes... that explains it!
Chris found out some time back that I had never been to a Major League Baseball game before - plenty of Minor League, but never the "bigs" - and decided to correct this glaring omission in my sports resume. We chose the Astros - Mariners series that played this weekend in Houston, since Houston is close and Chris is a die-hard Seattle Mariners fan... plus, Collin's sister Jessica lives in Houston, and she and a friend were coming to the game with us. Tickets were purchased and on Saturday we loaded into the mighty Dodge and hit the road... of course, it couldn't be that simple :)
We're off on the road to Judea....
The trip went rather well for the most part - most of the rain was waiting for us in Houston, so we just had the occasional sprinkle to deal with, and the number of Amateurs out driving was fairly normal. Once we hit Houston, however, everything got stupid. For one thing, you'd think that as much as it had been raining that people would have gotten used to it; nope. We spend a long time on I-10 creeping along, which gave the Amateurs time to get bored and start their favorite games: - Random Speed / Lane Changes. Oy. We almost made the move to the access road, but they weren't going any faster than we were. Just before we hit Loop 610, we found the cause of the traffic tie-up that had mired us for miles - there was a low spot in the road, and a 3 inch deep puddle had managed to terrify everyone with its awesome depths... that's the only explanation I could find, for once the brave souls had crossed the murky depths, each driver would pour on the speed in their desire to escape Charybdis. Within seconds, we were cruising at highway speeds again... go figure. We soon reached our destination (Jessica's apartment complex), and here's where the real fun started :)
Sir, does this mean Ann-Margaret's not coming?
As we pulled up to the gate, the security guard came out to meet us. Not a problem... until Chris cheerfully informs him, "Hi, I'm a burglar and my buddy here is an encyclopedia salesman!" Great fun, and I certainly appreciated the humor - our uniformed friend, not so much. Rather nonplussed, he simply chose to ignore the statement, and asked who we were there to visit. I'm sure he's heard it all before, and we're probably lucky he didn't consider us terrorists and call the cops :) Once the information exchange was completed, the gate swung open and in we went.
The sign on the gate said that we were supposed to park on the top level of the parking garage, but one look at the garage and one look at the Dodge was all you needed to see that that wasn't going to happen anytime soon - remember, the Dodge is mighty! Jessica gave us all the clearance we needed to flaunt the rules and park anywhere we wanted; of course the parking spaces were tiny, but that's just something you get used to when driving a Behemoth. Once parked, we grabbed our bags and went upstairs to the apartment.
No, Mr. Bond - I expect you to die!
Jessica has a number of pet rabbits, all doing pretty much what bunnies do: converting food into heat and bunny poo. They took a huge liking to Chris, and pretty much ignored me :) After we had killed a bit of time and had a chance to unwind a bit, Jessica's friend Bridget came by, so we all piled into Jessica's car and off to the ballpark we went.
We got to the park with minimal fuss, and found a pretty good parking spot, only a few blocks away. Once parked, we headed over to a sports bar directly across from the stadium - where we found out their power was out... bummer! Fortunately, the establishment next door had paid their electric bill (heh) and we were able to quench our thirst with some barleypop before walking over to the stadium.
Put. The Candle. Back.
I was duly impressed with Minute Maid Park, and we had great seats on the fourth level, on the first base side, even with first base; the view of the action was fantastic! Chris had gotten us seats in the first row of our section, so we had plenty of legroom and an unobstructed view. We were early enough to catch batting practice, so we found our seats and chilled out for a while; then we wandered about the stadium for a bit, grabbed some hotdogs & beer and headed back for the seats.
We got back in plenty of time for the National Anthem, which was preceded by a group of Marine recruits being sworn in - it gave me goosebumps as the oath was read, recalling my own induction into the Army in 1985. After the anthem, it was time to "play ball!"
The Astros had beaten the Mariners on Friday night, and it was no different on Saturday night - Houston hammered the Seattle pitching staff, and though they scored runs and Ichiro gave a brilliant display of base-stealing, it was not enough. It was never really close enough for the game to be very exciting, but it was still a great night at the ballpark, especially since it was my first.
Afterwards, we headed out for some dinner, drinks and conversation until the wee hours, then headed back to the apartment & crashed on the couch until 1oam. Jessica took us to Le Peep for breakfast - good chow and our waiter, Mike, was the best :) but the torrential rains continued all morning, so I wasn't really sure why I'd bothered to pack anything but swim trunks :) After breakfast (lunch?) we loaded the Dodge up and headed back to Austin, this time via US290 - but unfortunately, the Amateurs found us and made things pretty crappy until we got out of Houston.
Contemplate this on the tree of woe.
Once we got back to Austin, Chris dropped me off at my house and I spent some time unpacking and unwinding, checking email, that sort of thing - then I went over at 7p to do the next phase of brewing my batch of brown ale... we transferred it from primary to secondary fermentation, where it will stay for another week; at which point it will be time to bottle. It looks like it's going to be a good batch, if the intermediate taste test is any indication :)
Once that was done, it was time for a beer or two then off to the rack for some needed shuteye... except that I couldn't get to sleep after sleeping till 10a - my sleep schedule was all whacked out. So I stayed up till 0245 doing email and watching old movies... I still made it to work by 0915 :)
This weekend is the ARRL Field Day activity for Amateur Radio operators across the country - this will be the fourth year that Chris and I have teamed up in the Mobile category, and Jessica and her dad will be running their low-power station as usual... it's always fun, and maybe this year we will be able to put them in the log!
It's such an interesting concept, mixing mime and food.
Don't forget - Godzilla's Favorite Rock Band, The Humiliators, will be playing Saturday, 30 June 2007 at The Red Eyed Fly! We will be reuniting with the Killer Crocs of Uganda for the first time in months - don't miss this show! The fun starts at 10pm, but you will miss out on a lot of fun if you wait until then to show up... you have been warned!
Bonus Section (50 points)
For each of the movie quotes given, provide the following:
1. Who said it
2. To whom it was said
3. In what movie
4. The year of the movie's release
Chris found out some time back that I had never been to a Major League Baseball game before - plenty of Minor League, but never the "bigs" - and decided to correct this glaring omission in my sports resume. We chose the Astros - Mariners series that played this weekend in Houston, since Houston is close and Chris is a die-hard Seattle Mariners fan... plus, Collin's sister Jessica lives in Houston, and she and a friend were coming to the game with us. Tickets were purchased and on Saturday we loaded into the mighty Dodge and hit the road... of course, it couldn't be that simple :)
We're off on the road to Judea....
The trip went rather well for the most part - most of the rain was waiting for us in Houston, so we just had the occasional sprinkle to deal with, and the number of Amateurs out driving was fairly normal. Once we hit Houston, however, everything got stupid. For one thing, you'd think that as much as it had been raining that people would have gotten used to it; nope. We spend a long time on I-10 creeping along, which gave the Amateurs time to get bored and start their favorite games: - Random Speed / Lane Changes. Oy. We almost made the move to the access road, but they weren't going any faster than we were. Just before we hit Loop 610, we found the cause of the traffic tie-up that had mired us for miles - there was a low spot in the road, and a 3 inch deep puddle had managed to terrify everyone with its awesome depths... that's the only explanation I could find, for once the brave souls had crossed the murky depths, each driver would pour on the speed in their desire to escape Charybdis. Within seconds, we were cruising at highway speeds again... go figure. We soon reached our destination (Jessica's apartment complex), and here's where the real fun started :)
Sir, does this mean Ann-Margaret's not coming?
As we pulled up to the gate, the security guard came out to meet us. Not a problem... until Chris cheerfully informs him, "Hi, I'm a burglar and my buddy here is an encyclopedia salesman!" Great fun, and I certainly appreciated the humor - our uniformed friend, not so much. Rather nonplussed, he simply chose to ignore the statement, and asked who we were there to visit. I'm sure he's heard it all before, and we're probably lucky he didn't consider us terrorists and call the cops :) Once the information exchange was completed, the gate swung open and in we went.
The sign on the gate said that we were supposed to park on the top level of the parking garage, but one look at the garage and one look at the Dodge was all you needed to see that that wasn't going to happen anytime soon - remember, the Dodge is mighty! Jessica gave us all the clearance we needed to flaunt the rules and park anywhere we wanted; of course the parking spaces were tiny, but that's just something you get used to when driving a Behemoth. Once parked, we grabbed our bags and went upstairs to the apartment.
No, Mr. Bond - I expect you to die!
Jessica has a number of pet rabbits, all doing pretty much what bunnies do: converting food into heat and bunny poo. They took a huge liking to Chris, and pretty much ignored me :) After we had killed a bit of time and had a chance to unwind a bit, Jessica's friend Bridget came by, so we all piled into Jessica's car and off to the ballpark we went.
We got to the park with minimal fuss, and found a pretty good parking spot, only a few blocks away. Once parked, we headed over to a sports bar directly across from the stadium - where we found out their power was out... bummer! Fortunately, the establishment next door had paid their electric bill (heh) and we were able to quench our thirst with some barleypop before walking over to the stadium.
Put. The Candle. Back.
I was duly impressed with Minute Maid Park, and we had great seats on the fourth level, on the first base side, even with first base; the view of the action was fantastic! Chris had gotten us seats in the first row of our section, so we had plenty of legroom and an unobstructed view. We were early enough to catch batting practice, so we found our seats and chilled out for a while; then we wandered about the stadium for a bit, grabbed some hotdogs & beer and headed back for the seats.
We got back in plenty of time for the National Anthem, which was preceded by a group of Marine recruits being sworn in - it gave me goosebumps as the oath was read, recalling my own induction into the Army in 1985. After the anthem, it was time to "play ball!"
The Astros had beaten the Mariners on Friday night, and it was no different on Saturday night - Houston hammered the Seattle pitching staff, and though they scored runs and Ichiro gave a brilliant display of base-stealing, it was not enough. It was never really close enough for the game to be very exciting, but it was still a great night at the ballpark, especially since it was my first.
Afterwards, we headed out for some dinner, drinks and conversation until the wee hours, then headed back to the apartment & crashed on the couch until 1oam. Jessica took us to Le Peep for breakfast - good chow and our waiter, Mike, was the best :) but the torrential rains continued all morning, so I wasn't really sure why I'd bothered to pack anything but swim trunks :) After breakfast (lunch?) we loaded the Dodge up and headed back to Austin, this time via US290 - but unfortunately, the Amateurs found us and made things pretty crappy until we got out of Houston.
Contemplate this on the tree of woe.
Once we got back to Austin, Chris dropped me off at my house and I spent some time unpacking and unwinding, checking email, that sort of thing - then I went over at 7p to do the next phase of brewing my batch of brown ale... we transferred it from primary to secondary fermentation, where it will stay for another week; at which point it will be time to bottle. It looks like it's going to be a good batch, if the intermediate taste test is any indication :)
Once that was done, it was time for a beer or two then off to the rack for some needed shuteye... except that I couldn't get to sleep after sleeping till 10a - my sleep schedule was all whacked out. So I stayed up till 0245 doing email and watching old movies... I still made it to work by 0915 :)
This weekend is the ARRL Field Day activity for Amateur Radio operators across the country - this will be the fourth year that Chris and I have teamed up in the Mobile category, and Jessica and her dad will be running their low-power station as usual... it's always fun, and maybe this year we will be able to put them in the log!
It's such an interesting concept, mixing mime and food.
Don't forget - Godzilla's Favorite Rock Band, The Humiliators, will be playing Saturday, 30 June 2007 at The Red Eyed Fly! We will be reuniting with the Killer Crocs of Uganda for the first time in months - don't miss this show! The fun starts at 10pm, but you will miss out on a lot of fun if you wait until then to show up... you have been warned!
Bonus Section (50 points)
For each of the movie quotes given, provide the following:
1. Who said it
2. To whom it was said
3. In what movie
4. The year of the movie's release
Monday, June 18, 2007
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Todd 2 - Jeff 0... WTF??
Last night, The Humiliators played at Room 710... before the show, Todd and I played a game of Galaga (only the most awesome video game ever); Todd kicked my ass.
This wouldn't be so bad, except I have Galaga at home and he doesn't... hmm. So when, after the show was over and the gear was loaded in the truck, Todd suggested we go for another game, I thought "cool, I'll smoke his ass this time!" and so we headed for the machine.
After the dude occupying the machine was finished, we dropped quarters and started the game... and, in a blinding display of double pwnage, he kicked my ass. Again. My only (feeble) excuse is that I'd had a few beers and 2 rounds of Jack OTR*... damn. Guess it's time to go into training mode - after work I'm gonna pick up a bottle of Jack and fire up the Galaga machine; I'm not stopping till I can hit 200k, or I can't stand up, whichever comes first... victory will be mine!
The Whoremoans Tonight @ The Troubador Saloon - 11pm
Don't forget to go to The Troubador Saloon (Sixth Street between The Dirty Dog and Coyote Ugly) and catch The Whoremoans' brand of ass-kicking ROCK! We will be out showing our support, so come join us! You can sleep at your desk tomorrow!
*OTR = on the rocks (duh)
This wouldn't be so bad, except I have Galaga at home and he doesn't... hmm. So when, after the show was over and the gear was loaded in the truck, Todd suggested we go for another game, I thought "cool, I'll smoke his ass this time!" and so we headed for the machine.
After the dude occupying the machine was finished, we dropped quarters and started the game... and, in a blinding display of double pwnage, he kicked my ass. Again. My only (feeble) excuse is that I'd had a few beers and 2 rounds of Jack OTR*... damn. Guess it's time to go into training mode - after work I'm gonna pick up a bottle of Jack and fire up the Galaga machine; I'm not stopping till I can hit 200k, or I can't stand up, whichever comes first... victory will be mine!
The Whoremoans Tonight @ The Troubador Saloon - 11pm
Don't forget to go to The Troubador Saloon (Sixth Street between The Dirty Dog and Coyote Ugly) and catch The Whoremoans' brand of ass-kicking ROCK! We will be out showing our support, so come join us! You can sleep at your desk tomorrow!
*OTR = on the rocks (duh)
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Of Bikes, Beer and Rock
I think it's safe to say that I am hooked on bicycling - in the seven weeks since I started riding regularly, I have come to look forward to every ride, whether it is around the neighborhood or out on the trails... it doesn't seem like there was ever a time when I didn't ride, and it is difficult to imagine not riding. This week's mileage was 18 miles over three days; Chris rode to my house and we did an urban run through downtown Round Rock on Friday; on Saturday, I rode to his place to start the next batch of beer brewing, then on Sunday we went to a Beginner Ride at Walnut Creek Park with the Austin Ridge Riders Mountain Bike Club that logged about 4 miles. I have pretty much decided that if the destination is close enough and I don't need to haul anything that won't fit in a pack, I am going to ride my bike - not only because of the health/financial/environmental benefits, but it's pretty damn fun!
Saturday Nights are for Rock
The Humiliators played at The Troubador Saloon on Saturday night - our brothers-in-rock, SuperCrash played an hour before us next door at The Dirty Dog, so we got to see the first part of their show before we had to go onstage... those guys were on fire! Jamie and Jim were all over the place, and Steve was thunderous on drums - you really need to go see these guys if you haven't yet! We had a great crowd for our show - thanks to all our loyal fans, plus the guys from SuperCrash and The Whoremoans for coming out and supporting us! We couldn't do it without you!
Sunday Mornings come far too early
So, after I made it back from the gig (around 0130) I was totally beat... I left it all onstage, and it was freakin' hot up there! I crashed until 0700... when the alarm rudely reminded me that I had to be ready for Chris to pick me up at 0830 for the ride at Walnut Creek... I was ready, if a bit grumpy, when I saw the Jeep turn onto my street. Once I'd had a chance to wake up a bit, I was okay, but I'm not 20 anymore, so it's harder for me to burn the candle at both ends - not that I'm going to stop trying, mind you - they can make me have birthdays, but they'll never make me grow up! The ride was really fun and I learned some things about riding trails (which is the whole point), and by the time we got back to the parking lot, I was ready for some chow! This week we headed to Moe's Southwest Grill for burritos, then after a couple of stops it was back to the house... where, after unloading gear and grabbing a shower, it was time to crash out on the sofa for a while!
Coming Attractions
The Humiliators will be at Room 710 on Wednesday, 13 Jun 07 at 9.30p - come out and get rid of the humpday blues! I'll be in Houston this weekend to catch the Mariners @ Astros; it will be the first time I have been to an MLB game... it should be fun!
Saturday Nights are for Rock
The Humiliators played at The Troubador Saloon on Saturday night - our brothers-in-rock, SuperCrash played an hour before us next door at The Dirty Dog, so we got to see the first part of their show before we had to go onstage... those guys were on fire! Jamie and Jim were all over the place, and Steve was thunderous on drums - you really need to go see these guys if you haven't yet! We had a great crowd for our show - thanks to all our loyal fans, plus the guys from SuperCrash and The Whoremoans for coming out and supporting us! We couldn't do it without you!
Sunday Mornings come far too early
So, after I made it back from the gig (around 0130) I was totally beat... I left it all onstage, and it was freakin' hot up there! I crashed until 0700... when the alarm rudely reminded me that I had to be ready for Chris to pick me up at 0830 for the ride at Walnut Creek... I was ready, if a bit grumpy, when I saw the Jeep turn onto my street. Once I'd had a chance to wake up a bit, I was okay, but I'm not 20 anymore, so it's harder for me to burn the candle at both ends - not that I'm going to stop trying, mind you - they can make me have birthdays, but they'll never make me grow up! The ride was really fun and I learned some things about riding trails (which is the whole point), and by the time we got back to the parking lot, I was ready for some chow! This week we headed to Moe's Southwest Grill for burritos, then after a couple of stops it was back to the house... where, after unloading gear and grabbing a shower, it was time to crash out on the sofa for a while!
Coming Attractions
The Humiliators will be at Room 710 on Wednesday, 13 Jun 07 at 9.30p - come out and get rid of the humpday blues! I'll be in Houston this weekend to catch the Mariners @ Astros; it will be the first time I have been to an MLB game... it should be fun!
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
The Genesis of Clan Caribou
Someone recently asked me, "Dude, what's up with this 'Elder Caribou' stuff?"... I directed him to this blog for an answer, whereupon I was informed that he had already searched the blog and all he found was this post, promising an answer that was never provided. Hmm... let me see... guess he's right. Crud. Well, I suppose there's nothing for it but to relate the Tale of the Caribou...
A long time ago, when I was growing up in the rural wilderness of southwest Oklahoma, my brothers and I would go hiking and camping in the nearby Wichita Mountains whenever the opportunity presented itself (and the farm chores were done). Our parents let us go into the mountains pretty much on our own once we had reached a certain level of maturity and woodcraft, as long as we left a plan of where we were headed and how long we expected to be gone; this is one of my fondest memories of my childhood. To be able to walk half a mile to the base of the mountains and lose yourself in the wilderness for anywhere from an afternoon to a week, depending on the time of year and the farm schedule, was such an awesome thing! We learned many things on those excursions that are not taught in a classroom, and it shaped much of my character.
We would set up camp, then go exploring the nooks and crannies of the mountains for hours, then come back to the camp and start a fire for chow and sit around listening to the wind in the trees, the coyotes in the pastures, and stare at the sky filled with more stars than you can imagine... we would also talk about many things - one of our recurring discussions was how the land must have been before the plow, railroads, and other aspects of "civilization" tamed it; when the Commanche, Kiowa, Apache, and other Native American people roamed the land freely, living off of and with the land, relying on it to provide everything they needed to live.
Mind you, we weren't considering burning our tents and food and chasing a deer or hog down for our dinner (not that we were averse to cooking our own game), but this was more of a thought-experiment than anything else; something to while away the time. We'd look at some piece of gear (say, a tent) and say, "You know, the Native Americans wouldn't have needed this - they'd have just killed a deer or buffalo, or a caribou (if they were far enough north) and made a tent from the hide, used the bones for tools and decorations, the antlers for tools, etc. etc." After a while, it became a running gag among the siblings - say you were broken down on the side of the road with a burst waterhose; "Ya know, I bet we could fix this with the esophagus of a Caribou..." Anything and everything could be repaired, built, or improved with the many different parts of the mighty Caribou...
Fast forward a few years to 1992; my brother Jacob had moved to Miami, FL after the devastation of Hurricane Andrew to do construction work and be near his wife's family. We had just started to explore the beginnings of the Internet; I had been a BBS addict for years, and my favorite board had just installed a FidoNet - Internet email gateway. Jacob was a member of AOL (back when they sent out 3.5" floppies, not CDs), and they were allowing access to Internet email... I remember sending emails and then calling him to see how fast they took to get from Oklahoma City to Miami - less than 30 seconds from sent to received - and we were hooked. During this time, I began to refer to Jacob and his family as the Southeastern Branch of the Caribou Clan, and he and the rest of the siblings named me The Elder Caribou (being the oldest of five). When I started working at my first IT job with a small ISP, I was looking for a nickname that would be distinctive and unique - and Elder Caribou fit the bill nicely. In 15 years of net use, I have not found anyone else using that handle... which is pretty unbelievable :)
And now you have heard the Tale of the Caribou - if you are still awake, that is. :D
A long time ago, when I was growing up in the rural wilderness of southwest Oklahoma, my brothers and I would go hiking and camping in the nearby Wichita Mountains whenever the opportunity presented itself (and the farm chores were done). Our parents let us go into the mountains pretty much on our own once we had reached a certain level of maturity and woodcraft, as long as we left a plan of where we were headed and how long we expected to be gone; this is one of my fondest memories of my childhood. To be able to walk half a mile to the base of the mountains and lose yourself in the wilderness for anywhere from an afternoon to a week, depending on the time of year and the farm schedule, was such an awesome thing! We learned many things on those excursions that are not taught in a classroom, and it shaped much of my character.
We would set up camp, then go exploring the nooks and crannies of the mountains for hours, then come back to the camp and start a fire for chow and sit around listening to the wind in the trees, the coyotes in the pastures, and stare at the sky filled with more stars than you can imagine... we would also talk about many things - one of our recurring discussions was how the land must have been before the plow, railroads, and other aspects of "civilization" tamed it; when the Commanche, Kiowa, Apache, and other Native American people roamed the land freely, living off of and with the land, relying on it to provide everything they needed to live.
Mind you, we weren't considering burning our tents and food and chasing a deer or hog down for our dinner (not that we were averse to cooking our own game), but this was more of a thought-experiment than anything else; something to while away the time. We'd look at some piece of gear (say, a tent) and say, "You know, the Native Americans wouldn't have needed this - they'd have just killed a deer or buffalo, or a caribou (if they were far enough north) and made a tent from the hide, used the bones for tools and decorations, the antlers for tools, etc. etc." After a while, it became a running gag among the siblings - say you were broken down on the side of the road with a burst waterhose; "Ya know, I bet we could fix this with the esophagus of a Caribou..." Anything and everything could be repaired, built, or improved with the many different parts of the mighty Caribou...
Fast forward a few years to 1992; my brother Jacob had moved to Miami, FL after the devastation of Hurricane Andrew to do construction work and be near his wife's family. We had just started to explore the beginnings of the Internet; I had been a BBS addict for years, and my favorite board had just installed a FidoNet - Internet email gateway. Jacob was a member of AOL (back when they sent out 3.5" floppies, not CDs), and they were allowing access to Internet email... I remember sending emails and then calling him to see how fast they took to get from Oklahoma City to Miami - less than 30 seconds from sent to received - and we were hooked. During this time, I began to refer to Jacob and his family as the Southeastern Branch of the Caribou Clan, and he and the rest of the siblings named me The Elder Caribou (being the oldest of five). When I started working at my first IT job with a small ISP, I was looking for a nickname that would be distinctive and unique - and Elder Caribou fit the bill nicely. In 15 years of net use, I have not found anyone else using that handle... which is pretty unbelievable :)
And now you have heard the Tale of the Caribou - if you are still awake, that is. :D
Monday, June 04, 2007
The Elder Caribou's Pizza Recipe
Back in the wild country where the Caribou roam, the closest Pizza Hut was about 30 minutes away... not much chance of getting a delivery, and take-out was a bit impractical... so Mom used to make pizza for those times when we weren't able to drive to town just for dinner. She started with those Chef-Boyardee Pizza-In-A-Box kits, but then started making them from scratch when the family got too big for one box. I learned the recipe, and in the last 25 years or so have tweaked the recipe and cooking times until I have come up with a pretty good pizza - at least, that's my opinion, and I haven't killed anyone yet :)
Anyone who has watched me cook will know that for me, cooking is a messy, imprecise art that is best approached an open mind and willingness to let things go where they will, within certain general limits... so the following is as close as I can come to putting in writing a process that, for me, involves a good bit of "winging it"... feel free to modify / correct / steal anything you see here - and I'm always open for suggestions :)
This usually makes a large pizza, with a thicker or thinner crust depending on how much flour you use for the dough.
Approximate start-to-finish time - 1 hour
Preheat your oven to 425 deg. F
Dough:
~ 2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup warm water
1 pkg dry yeast (or your favorite equivalent)
Sugar
1 T oil
Combine the flour, salt and baking soda in a large (preferably glass) bowl; in a glass bowl or measuring cup, draw one cup of fairly warm water (but not hot enough to kill the yeastie-beasties); add the yeast and sugar - I use about one tablespoon to give the yeast something to chow on. Let the yeast sit for a bit, until a head forms. Stir the yeast mixture into the flour mixture and add the oil as you mix the whole thing. Here's where karma steps in: you are aiming for a slightly sticky dough, just a bit wetter than bread dough... but not *too* wet. ( This is the part that is so hard to describe in print, but when you see it, you will understand... Feel free to substitute your own tastes / knowledge in this department.) Add flour or water to reach the desired consistency, and then cover the bowl with a cloth and put in a warm place to let it rise (but not too hot - I cooked my dough in the bowl once...)
While the dough is rising you can start the sauce - again, if your Granny gave you the Ultimate Secret Pizza Sauce recipe from The Old Country, substitute at will - this is *your* pizza, not mine :)
Sauce:
1 can tomato sauce (8oz)
Garlic
Onion
Oregano
Fennel
Other spices to taste
Personally, I just dump the whole list into a bowl and stir... why complicate things?
Also at this time, if I am adding meat that needs to be cooked such as ground beef, Italian Sausage or such, this is when I cook it - but you can do that before you prepare the dough if you like... and don't forget to check the dough occasionally.
Toppings (as desired):
*2-3 cups mozzarella/provolone/whatever cheese you like
*Pepperoni
Italian Sausage
Canadian Bacon
Ground Beef
Black Olives
Green Olives
Mushrooms
Bell Peppers
Onions
Tomatoes
Chicken
Whatever your heart (and stomach) may desire...
* With apologies to those who are vegetarian, lactose intolerant or do not consume pork, I personally feel that it is impossible to have a pizza without cheese and pepperoni - kinda like having a pizza without crust, in my book... again, my opinion, and we all know about opinions :) I won't complain if you put anchovies on your pizza, but I probably won't have a slice.
Putting it all together
Once the dough has risen almost double, you need to have a place to roll it out... I use a flour cloth (or bread cloth) that Mom gave me; you can use a high-threadcount clean pillowcase if you want... or just put some flour down on a clean counter - it's your kitchen :) Once you have a suitable workspace with plenty of flour, dump the dough out of the bowl onto the cloth (put some hot water in the bowl so it will be easier to clean later). Start kneading the dough, working some of the flour on the cloth into the dough - this is why you wanted the dough to be slightly wet - until it is a nice consistency... somewhat stiff, but not too much so... this is another point that it took a while to learn the proper point for the crust I was trying to make - just play with it till you get it right :)
If you are coordinated, you can spin and toss the dough to get the round, flat dough that goes on the pan... I tried once and that was enough - I roll it out by hand, using a rolling pin. A good indicator that your dough is at a good consistency is if, as you roll, it *almost* wants to stick to a floured rolling pin; if it sticks, it is too wet.
Once the dough is of the proper size to put on the pan - hmm, didn't talk about the pan yet, did I? I use a stainless steel pizza pan with airholes - it makes a nice brown crust on the bottom. You'll want to lightly coat it with your favorite non-stick agent, and sometimes I even give a *very* light dusting of cornmeal mixed with oregano, fennel seed and garlic...
Now that your pan is ready, place the dough on the pan, and make sure that it's evenly distributed on the pan. Gently crimp around the edges of the pan to make the edge of the crust. Now, take a fork and tap the tines all over the dough, putting lots of small holes in the crust - the pizza places have a roller that does this. It will help the crust to not balloon on you :)
If you have too much dough, you can either redistribute it or cut off the excess, roll it flat, place on a cookie sheet and cover with a light brushing of butter, then sprinkle with cinnamon/sugar - mmm-mmm!
At this point, let the crust sit in the pan for a few min - this allows the dough to proof a bit, which helps the consistency. I usually just clean the workspaces and put things where they belong, and when I am done, that's usually enough time :)
When you are ready, pour the sauce on the crust and spread evenly; pour the cheese on the crust, then the toppings - pop into the oven and wait till it looks like pizza :) Honestly, cooking times vary depending on ovens, time of year, how many toppings you have added, phase of the moon, etc... you will know when your pizza is ready, trust me. Bubbling cheese / toppings and a nice golden brown color on the crust are some clues.
Once it's looking all done and delicious, pull it out of the oven, turn the oven off, and let cool. I don't think I have to tell you what to do next, do I? Didn't think so... :)
In homebrew circles, there is a saying: "Relax, don't worry, have a homebrew!" It basically means don't worry, you are not going to screw this up if you just relax and have a good time with it. It is a good thing to apply to all forms of cooking - unless you totally incinerate your pizza, it will probably be one of the best pizzas you have *ever* tasted, because you created it! There's not a lot that can go wrong... so relax, don't worry, have a pizza (and a homebrew, if you have one)!
Bon Appetit!
Anyone who has watched me cook will know that for me, cooking is a messy, imprecise art that is best approached an open mind and willingness to let things go where they will, within certain general limits... so the following is as close as I can come to putting in writing a process that, for me, involves a good bit of "winging it"... feel free to modify / correct / steal anything you see here - and I'm always open for suggestions :)
This usually makes a large pizza, with a thicker or thinner crust depending on how much flour you use for the dough.
Approximate start-to-finish time - 1 hour
Preheat your oven to 425 deg. F
Dough:
~ 2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup warm water
1 pkg dry yeast (or your favorite equivalent)
Sugar
1 T oil
Combine the flour, salt and baking soda in a large (preferably glass) bowl; in a glass bowl or measuring cup, draw one cup of fairly warm water (but not hot enough to kill the yeastie-beasties); add the yeast and sugar - I use about one tablespoon to give the yeast something to chow on. Let the yeast sit for a bit, until a head forms. Stir the yeast mixture into the flour mixture and add the oil as you mix the whole thing. Here's where karma steps in: you are aiming for a slightly sticky dough, just a bit wetter than bread dough... but not *too* wet. ( This is the part that is so hard to describe in print, but when you see it, you will understand... Feel free to substitute your own tastes / knowledge in this department.) Add flour or water to reach the desired consistency, and then cover the bowl with a cloth and put in a warm place to let it rise (but not too hot - I cooked my dough in the bowl once...)
While the dough is rising you can start the sauce - again, if your Granny gave you the Ultimate Secret Pizza Sauce recipe from The Old Country, substitute at will - this is *your* pizza, not mine :)
Sauce:
1 can tomato sauce (8oz)
Garlic
Onion
Oregano
Fennel
Other spices to taste
Personally, I just dump the whole list into a bowl and stir... why complicate things?
Also at this time, if I am adding meat that needs to be cooked such as ground beef, Italian Sausage or such, this is when I cook it - but you can do that before you prepare the dough if you like... and don't forget to check the dough occasionally.
Toppings (as desired):
*2-3 cups mozzarella/provolone/whatever cheese you like
*Pepperoni
Italian Sausage
Canadian Bacon
Ground Beef
Black Olives
Green Olives
Mushrooms
Bell Peppers
Onions
Tomatoes
Chicken
Whatever your heart (and stomach) may desire...
* With apologies to those who are vegetarian, lactose intolerant or do not consume pork, I personally feel that it is impossible to have a pizza without cheese and pepperoni - kinda like having a pizza without crust, in my book... again, my opinion, and we all know about opinions :) I won't complain if you put anchovies on your pizza, but I probably won't have a slice.
Putting it all together
Once the dough has risen almost double, you need to have a place to roll it out... I use a flour cloth (or bread cloth) that Mom gave me; you can use a high-threadcount clean pillowcase if you want... or just put some flour down on a clean counter - it's your kitchen :) Once you have a suitable workspace with plenty of flour, dump the dough out of the bowl onto the cloth (put some hot water in the bowl so it will be easier to clean later). Start kneading the dough, working some of the flour on the cloth into the dough - this is why you wanted the dough to be slightly wet - until it is a nice consistency... somewhat stiff, but not too much so... this is another point that it took a while to learn the proper point for the crust I was trying to make - just play with it till you get it right :)
If you are coordinated, you can spin and toss the dough to get the round, flat dough that goes on the pan... I tried once and that was enough - I roll it out by hand, using a rolling pin. A good indicator that your dough is at a good consistency is if, as you roll, it *almost* wants to stick to a floured rolling pin; if it sticks, it is too wet.
Once the dough is of the proper size to put on the pan - hmm, didn't talk about the pan yet, did I? I use a stainless steel pizza pan with airholes - it makes a nice brown crust on the bottom. You'll want to lightly coat it with your favorite non-stick agent, and sometimes I even give a *very* light dusting of cornmeal mixed with oregano, fennel seed and garlic...
Now that your pan is ready, place the dough on the pan, and make sure that it's evenly distributed on the pan. Gently crimp around the edges of the pan to make the edge of the crust. Now, take a fork and tap the tines all over the dough, putting lots of small holes in the crust - the pizza places have a roller that does this. It will help the crust to not balloon on you :)
If you have too much dough, you can either redistribute it or cut off the excess, roll it flat, place on a cookie sheet and cover with a light brushing of butter, then sprinkle with cinnamon/sugar - mmm-mmm!
At this point, let the crust sit in the pan for a few min - this allows the dough to proof a bit, which helps the consistency. I usually just clean the workspaces and put things where they belong, and when I am done, that's usually enough time :)
When you are ready, pour the sauce on the crust and spread evenly; pour the cheese on the crust, then the toppings - pop into the oven and wait till it looks like pizza :) Honestly, cooking times vary depending on ovens, time of year, how many toppings you have added, phase of the moon, etc... you will know when your pizza is ready, trust me. Bubbling cheese / toppings and a nice golden brown color on the crust are some clues.
Once it's looking all done and delicious, pull it out of the oven, turn the oven off, and let cool. I don't think I have to tell you what to do next, do I? Didn't think so... :)
In homebrew circles, there is a saying: "Relax, don't worry, have a homebrew!" It basically means don't worry, you are not going to screw this up if you just relax and have a good time with it. It is a good thing to apply to all forms of cooking - unless you totally incinerate your pizza, it will probably be one of the best pizzas you have *ever* tasted, because you created it! There's not a lot that can go wrong... so relax, don't worry, have a pizza (and a homebrew, if you have one)!
Bon Appetit!
Saturday, June 02, 2007
We now resume our regularly scheduled blog...
I finally have some time to post updates... a lot has happened in the last ten days! Let's start with:
The Humiliators Inaugural Road Show and Booze Cruise
Last Friday (the 25th of May) The Humiliators had our first road gig; we went to San Antonio to play at Jiggers, where they serve a heaping plate of punk and beer comes in "half-pitchers" for your drinking convenience. Everyone met at Todd's house and we loaded in the 15-passenger rental van for the trip down - except for Collin & Tierney, who drove down in the PT Cruiser. Our photographer (and budding movie mogul) Mark and Jaime from SuperCrash came out to support the band - those guys rock! Once the rear seat was removed, all our gear fit in the back of the van, leaving room for eleven:
- Driver:"Captain Dave" - Dave graciously volunteered for the Designated Driver position so that we could all focus on getting sloshed - thanks, Dave!
- Copilot: Todd - Todd busted his ass getting this gig and the rental van squared away, making sure that Godzilla 2.0 was ready, plus making sure that the cooler was full of beer for the trip - dude, you rock!
- First class: Michelle / Linde / Jeff
- Business class: John / Jenene / Teresa
- Coach: Jaime / Kay / Mark
A cooler was installed between the front seats and filled with brews, and once we were all aboard we hit the road. We had a good trip down, and a pretty good dent was put in the beer supply :) We arrived at the bar around 9p and were met by Collin, Tierney and Chris. Then, we found out that instead of going onstage at 11p as we had originally heard and planned for, we were scheduled for 1am! So, with a few hours to kill, we loaded up and went to Cha Cha's for some chow; good stuff, Maynerd!
After chow we went back to the bar and checked out the 2 bands preceding us - and discovered that Ben from The Whoremoans and his brother were there to support the band - awesome! Street Light Suzie was first, followed by... hmm, *knew I shoulda done this before I slept... Anyway, the cool thing was that the drummer did 2 sets in a row; if that doesn't seem too bad, you haven't seen this guy play! Think "hyperactve 9-year old hopped up on too many Pixie Stix" and you'll have a vague idea of this guy's energy level... I probably would have had a stroke or something :)
We had a pretty good set, and no beer bottles (or worse) were thrown, so we considered the trip a success - plus we got paid, which helped with the van rental. For a viewpoint from the fan's perspective, check out Michelle's blog and Kay's blog. By the time we got our pay and hit the road, it was 2.30a and we were all kinda dragging... but that didn't keep folks from hitting the brew on the way back :) By the time I made it back to the house it was 5a and I quickly stowed gear and racked out, because at 9p that night (Saturday) we had to be back on South Congress for:
Freebird FU! at Trophy's
When an event is organized by a guy called Grub Dog, you know it's gonna be interesting! The premise for the show: how many times have you been at a show, and some genius thinks it's cool to yell "FREEBIRD!!!", knowing full well that that particular song has been run smooth into the dirt... but some folks apparantly just can't get enough Skynrd. Anyone who's been playing music for very long, especially in the South, has had this happen; so, for all the Freebird fanatics, The Freebird FU! was put together. The rules were simple - each band had a 30 minute set, everyone used the same backline (amps, drums, etc) and only 5 minutes between bands. Each band could play anything they wanted, but one of the songs *had* to be Freebird, in its entirety; however, you could add your own creative touches if you wanted. There were six bands that night, so you had SIX chances to hear Freebird... enough to satisfy even the most die-hard fan (we hoped).
The Humiliators kicked off the evening's festivities, fueled by our passion for Rock, and the community bottle of Jack Daniels that Grub Dog brought... our version of Freebird was probably the most standard, musically, but the lyrics... Todd and Collin collaborated to produce entirely new lyrics, and the new work was titled "FreeTurd"... just use your imagination (heh). It was a hit with the crowd, and we left the stage for the next band. There were as many different takes on Freebird as there were bands, and as the Jack Daniels flowed, the more things got lively... until, at last, it was time to close the bar and send everyone home... not much more to report, mostly due to too much Jack Daniels; if you need to know more, you can try cornering a band member and asking, but I won't promise anyone remembers anything :)
The Trail Gods are Unhappy
Sunday came way too early... but I did not want to miss a week of biking, so Chris and I headed out to Georgetown Lake to ride a trail that Chris had the info on... except, when we got there, the trail was super muddy... so we decided to save the trail and not ride there. The short distance we'd gone totally caked our bikes in thick clay mud - I'm not sure why the trail was even open, it was that bad. We stopped by a car wash to remove the mud, and then went to ride the concrete trails along the river in Georgetown... then Chris's shifter lever broke, and we decided then and there that there would be no riding that day; instead we picked up some beer and spent the rest of the evening drinking and chilling. Some days you just can't win.
Trophy's, Part II
Thursday found The Humiliators back at Trophys, ready to rock the house... where we discovered that we were the *only* band scheduled that night... so we played a 90 minute set of almost every song we have ever done - "Sabado" even made an appearance, by request from Michelle and Kay; the only songs we left out were some covers that we dropped out of the set a while back. It was a great time; we could take our time, play around with the set list a bit, and knock back lots and lots of Lone Star... Crazy Al even made it to the show! It was an awesome night - the only regret was that I had to go to work on Friday morning (ugh). Somehow I managed to drag myself to work though, and that Friday was, I believe, the *longest* Friday ever... but well worth it, for sure :)
Weekend Update
This weekend was busy - I picked up a couch / loveseat for the house early Saturday morning; then I did the yardwork that had been postponed by rain for almost two weeks. Then, Chris and I went to pick up supplies for our next homebrew; I am going to brew a Northern Brown Ale, and Chris has a recipe for Alaskan Amber. There were some folks handing out free homebrew outside the store, in honor of Austin Homebrew Supply's 16th anniversary, and there was a band cranking out the rock; after a couple of brews, we headed off in search of some chow. On the way, we drove by Music City Cycles and decided to stop in, since we had never been there before. The owner, David "Tequila Dave" Hartley, is a really cool guy and you can see the passion he has for bicycles - we spent almost an hour there, and if you have any biking needs in North Austin, definitely give David a visit - support your local bike shops!
Once we left, we grabbed some chow and headed home to brew... unfortunately, we were both tired - Chris from traveling all day, and I was still recuperating from Friday - so we decided to brew next weekend instead, and rest up for the Sunday edition of our weekly bike ride.
Any Given Sunday
This morning, Chris came by shortly after 9am and we set out for Downtown Austin; our goal was to ride the Town Lake trailsystem, and this weekend Todd would be joining us. Once we got to our parking spot and located Todd, we hit the trail. I was testing out a new bike - readers of previous entries will understand when I say that my old bike and I had what could be considered an "adversarial" relationship. Chris had gotten a new bike, a Kona Blast, and was letting me evaluate his K2 Zed 2.0 to see if it fit; we had consulted with David the day before, and he felt like the bike should fit, based on my measurements and the size of the bike. Once I got used to the front shocks and the click shift triggers, I noticed that I was riding faster and harder than I was ever able to on my old "Titanium Boron Steel" bike - I was climbing hills that I had had to walk before, I was able to maintain a faster pace, and the only reason I needed to stop occasionally was that the seat was gradually turning my butt into the most unhappy part of my anatomy... I think that seat was designed by Torquemada himself! We rode approximately 15 miles according to Todd - he runs that route, so he should know. :) It was a great ride, and we got back to the Jeep in plenty of time to hit Dairy Queen on the way back... then Chris dropped me at my place, I cleaned up and hit the road for band rehearsal - our next gig is Saturday, 9 Jun at 11p at The Troubador Saloon on Sixth Street - Saturday night on Sixth Street, what a deal! We are working on nailing some new tunes down, so if you wanna see what we've been working on, come out to Troubador's!
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That's all the updates I have for now; more will be posted as it occurs - and I'll be updating this entry as details become more clear :)
The Humiliators Inaugural Road Show and Booze Cruise
Last Friday (the 25th of May) The Humiliators had our first road gig; we went to San Antonio to play at Jiggers, where they serve a heaping plate of punk and beer comes in "half-pitchers" for your drinking convenience. Everyone met at Todd's house and we loaded in the 15-passenger rental van for the trip down - except for Collin & Tierney, who drove down in the PT Cruiser. Our photographer (and budding movie mogul) Mark and Jaime from SuperCrash came out to support the band - those guys rock! Once the rear seat was removed, all our gear fit in the back of the van, leaving room for eleven:
- Driver:"Captain Dave" - Dave graciously volunteered for the Designated Driver position so that we could all focus on getting sloshed - thanks, Dave!
- Copilot: Todd - Todd busted his ass getting this gig and the rental van squared away, making sure that Godzilla 2.0 was ready, plus making sure that the cooler was full of beer for the trip - dude, you rock!
- First class: Michelle / Linde / Jeff
- Business class: John / Jenene / Teresa
- Coach: Jaime / Kay / Mark
A cooler was installed between the front seats and filled with brews, and once we were all aboard we hit the road. We had a good trip down, and a pretty good dent was put in the beer supply :) We arrived at the bar around 9p and were met by Collin, Tierney and Chris. Then, we found out that instead of going onstage at 11p as we had originally heard and planned for, we were scheduled for 1am! So, with a few hours to kill, we loaded up and went to Cha Cha's for some chow; good stuff, Maynerd!
After chow we went back to the bar and checked out the 2 bands preceding us - and discovered that Ben from The Whoremoans and his brother were there to support the band - awesome! Street Light Suzie was first, followed by... hmm, *knew I shoulda done this before I slept... Anyway, the cool thing was that the drummer did 2 sets in a row; if that doesn't seem too bad, you haven't seen this guy play! Think "hyperactve 9-year old hopped up on too many Pixie Stix" and you'll have a vague idea of this guy's energy level... I probably would have had a stroke or something :)
We had a pretty good set, and no beer bottles (or worse) were thrown, so we considered the trip a success - plus we got paid, which helped with the van rental. For a viewpoint from the fan's perspective, check out Michelle's blog and Kay's blog. By the time we got our pay and hit the road, it was 2.30a and we were all kinda dragging... but that didn't keep folks from hitting the brew on the way back :) By the time I made it back to the house it was 5a and I quickly stowed gear and racked out, because at 9p that night (Saturday) we had to be back on South Congress for:
Freebird FU! at Trophy's
When an event is organized by a guy called Grub Dog, you know it's gonna be interesting! The premise for the show: how many times have you been at a show, and some genius thinks it's cool to yell "FREEBIRD!!!", knowing full well that that particular song has been run smooth into the dirt... but some folks apparantly just can't get enough Skynrd. Anyone who's been playing music for very long, especially in the South, has had this happen; so, for all the Freebird fanatics, The Freebird FU! was put together. The rules were simple - each band had a 30 minute set, everyone used the same backline (amps, drums, etc) and only 5 minutes between bands. Each band could play anything they wanted, but one of the songs *had* to be Freebird, in its entirety; however, you could add your own creative touches if you wanted. There were six bands that night, so you had SIX chances to hear Freebird... enough to satisfy even the most die-hard fan (we hoped).
The Humiliators kicked off the evening's festivities, fueled by our passion for Rock, and the community bottle of Jack Daniels that Grub Dog brought... our version of Freebird was probably the most standard, musically, but the lyrics... Todd and Collin collaborated to produce entirely new lyrics, and the new work was titled "FreeTurd"... just use your imagination (heh). It was a hit with the crowd, and we left the stage for the next band. There were as many different takes on Freebird as there were bands, and as the Jack Daniels flowed, the more things got lively... until, at last, it was time to close the bar and send everyone home... not much more to report, mostly due to too much Jack Daniels; if you need to know more, you can try cornering a band member and asking, but I won't promise anyone remembers anything :)
The Trail Gods are Unhappy
Sunday came way too early... but I did not want to miss a week of biking, so Chris and I headed out to Georgetown Lake to ride a trail that Chris had the info on... except, when we got there, the trail was super muddy... so we decided to save the trail and not ride there. The short distance we'd gone totally caked our bikes in thick clay mud - I'm not sure why the trail was even open, it was that bad. We stopped by a car wash to remove the mud, and then went to ride the concrete trails along the river in Georgetown... then Chris's shifter lever broke, and we decided then and there that there would be no riding that day; instead we picked up some beer and spent the rest of the evening drinking and chilling. Some days you just can't win.
Trophy's, Part II
Thursday found The Humiliators back at Trophys, ready to rock the house... where we discovered that we were the *only* band scheduled that night... so we played a 90 minute set of almost every song we have ever done - "Sabado" even made an appearance, by request from Michelle and Kay; the only songs we left out were some covers that we dropped out of the set a while back. It was a great time; we could take our time, play around with the set list a bit, and knock back lots and lots of Lone Star... Crazy Al even made it to the show! It was an awesome night - the only regret was that I had to go to work on Friday morning (ugh). Somehow I managed to drag myself to work though, and that Friday was, I believe, the *longest* Friday ever... but well worth it, for sure :)
Weekend Update
This weekend was busy - I picked up a couch / loveseat for the house early Saturday morning; then I did the yardwork that had been postponed by rain for almost two weeks. Then, Chris and I went to pick up supplies for our next homebrew; I am going to brew a Northern Brown Ale, and Chris has a recipe for Alaskan Amber. There were some folks handing out free homebrew outside the store, in honor of Austin Homebrew Supply's 16th anniversary, and there was a band cranking out the rock; after a couple of brews, we headed off in search of some chow. On the way, we drove by Music City Cycles and decided to stop in, since we had never been there before. The owner, David "Tequila Dave" Hartley, is a really cool guy and you can see the passion he has for bicycles - we spent almost an hour there, and if you have any biking needs in North Austin, definitely give David a visit - support your local bike shops!
Once we left, we grabbed some chow and headed home to brew... unfortunately, we were both tired - Chris from traveling all day, and I was still recuperating from Friday - so we decided to brew next weekend instead, and rest up for the Sunday edition of our weekly bike ride.
Any Given Sunday
This morning, Chris came by shortly after 9am and we set out for Downtown Austin; our goal was to ride the Town Lake trailsystem, and this weekend Todd would be joining us. Once we got to our parking spot and located Todd, we hit the trail. I was testing out a new bike - readers of previous entries will understand when I say that my old bike and I had what could be considered an "adversarial" relationship. Chris had gotten a new bike, a Kona Blast, and was letting me evaluate his K2 Zed 2.0 to see if it fit; we had consulted with David the day before, and he felt like the bike should fit, based on my measurements and the size of the bike. Once I got used to the front shocks and the click shift triggers, I noticed that I was riding faster and harder than I was ever able to on my old "Titanium Boron Steel" bike - I was climbing hills that I had had to walk before, I was able to maintain a faster pace, and the only reason I needed to stop occasionally was that the seat was gradually turning my butt into the most unhappy part of my anatomy... I think that seat was designed by Torquemada himself! We rode approximately 15 miles according to Todd - he runs that route, so he should know. :) It was a great ride, and we got back to the Jeep in plenty of time to hit Dairy Queen on the way back... then Chris dropped me at my place, I cleaned up and hit the road for band rehearsal - our next gig is Saturday, 9 Jun at 11p at The Troubador Saloon on Sixth Street - Saturday night on Sixth Street, what a deal! We are working on nailing some new tunes down, so if you wanna see what we've been working on, come out to Troubador's!
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
That's all the updates I have for now; more will be posted as it occurs - and I'll be updating this entry as details become more clear :)
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Don't get your knickers in a twist...
Due to the amazing amount of stuff that happened over the Memorial Day weekend, and the need to recuperate from said stuff, this week's blog will be a bit behind schedule... not that I ever had a schedule... anyway, you'll see it when I post it... watch this space for more news as it happens!
Thursday, May 24, 2007
I don't wanna work.....
Today is Friday (for me) before a 4-day weekend - I have zero motivation to do anything useful today... wait; how is that different from yesterday, or the day before??? Hmmm...
Oh, look, Arthur, it's a completely rehabilitated villain. She's comfortable with herself. Comfort, commitment, marriage, what do these things have in common? The letter 'C' except for marriage, and if people get all British whenever they get knocked on the head, what do British people get? I know... comatose. Another 'C'. --- The Tick
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