tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72430998447700611252024-03-13T06:53:19.919-04:00Buzz Kill's BuzzkillThe "Life" of a Kid Chauffeuring, Schedule Maintaining,
Mr. Fix-it Chef Wannabe - If You See Me, Please Shoot Me!Buzz Killhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01443964019621130222noreply@blogger.comBlogger257125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243099844770061125.post-27018004080920779912013-04-23T14:01:00.000-04:002013-04-23T14:01:53.957-04:00Folk Art or Insanity - Patrol FlagsThe troop has been trying to re-align the patrols for a couple of months now. But it's been tough because balance in the patrols seems to be a moving target. The leadership's philosphy is to try and group the scouts by age rather than rank. Although most scouts within an age group are more or less the same rank. This allows the scouts to kind of mature and advance at the same rate. And like ages are buddies outside of scouts. <br />
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The problem is that we have one patrol whose members consistantly show up for meetings and camping trips, and three patrols that don't. Add into the mix that April/May is cross-over season (when Webelos age out of cub scouts and cross-over into boy scouts) and the leaders keep erasing and writing names on the troop roster. <br />
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So, we formed up patrols and let the boys come up with their own flags and cheers. Below is what we got. I think some of these boys will be doing time either in prison or a mental institution. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJRmyuBJTft8G_OvdFfgXE4oSLjQKumoshfD9ki4kjRtHdCrSyGUEjGHzIIbD0zKTPAKF8VBTEHkXbgGW27X3rPcomWe8gDUx-eYdlF2KBetj66NLU8-DHNBYHQWCLQgJr-qVg3licZYg/s1600/IMG_4151_Redacted.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" gsa="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJRmyuBJTft8G_OvdFfgXE4oSLjQKumoshfD9ki4kjRtHdCrSyGUEjGHzIIbD0zKTPAKF8VBTEHkXbgGW27X3rPcomWe8gDUx-eYdlF2KBetj66NLU8-DHNBYHQWCLQgJr-qVg3licZYg/s400/IMG_4151_Redacted.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Pudge did the majority of this flag. The patrol is mostly 14- 15 year olds.</td></tr>
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The Honeybadgers originally wanted to be called "The Border Patrol". This was the <a href="http://www.patchtown.com/images/products/detail/269%20Border%20Patrol.jpg" target="_blank">shoulder patch</a>. I liked it but it was nixed by the scoutmaster as possibly having racial overtones. Another troop did there own version of the <a href="http://latinorebels.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/292922_377062392324317_186457858051439_1161983_149987124_n.jpg" target="_blank">border patrol</a> that got them into some trouble. So I agreed with the scoutmaster on this even though we're in friggin' New Jersey, 400 miles from the nearest border - which is Canada. Besides, BSA is already in enough trouble these days concerning political correctness.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5j7LvFZzrv1Jyl9j7-olPxk6VDqr3UFMqVbyfq8I_-N-vqBxNBpQkqrbT3UXuCDZBEN6Wodw_tRz755yEZsZgGySKrq4-sXlx0Cbw9EJFNNMSBC9e_xVaFlim0ME7WFzhBfaT5eYwcgc/s1600/IMG_4152.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" gsa="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5j7LvFZzrv1Jyl9j7-olPxk6VDqr3UFMqVbyfq8I_-N-vqBxNBpQkqrbT3UXuCDZBEN6Wodw_tRz755yEZsZgGySKrq4-sXlx0Cbw9EJFNNMSBC9e_xVaFlim0ME7WFzhBfaT5eYwcgc/s400/IMG_4152.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the Flaming Dragons patrol. Mostly 13 year olds.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs7fjYiGWF0m6kzMDWwd0ef1e4hVezix3BL92JbfaU3bcYQr7CE9n8IfQcXJQ7R4Np9_DCkRBRlH5rhErddfkhyphenhyphenrvklzA4lS4Hevx4_ivtgfyn0yHAfgNC5xLAza0DTqovV06lC96H77k/s1600/IMG_4153.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" gsa="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs7fjYiGWF0m6kzMDWwd0ef1e4hVezix3BL92JbfaU3bcYQr7CE9n8IfQcXJQ7R4Np9_DCkRBRlH5rhErddfkhyphenhyphenrvklzA4lS4Hevx4_ivtgfyn0yHAfgNC5xLAza0DTqovV06lC96H77k/s400/IMG_4153.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the Raging Ravens. They started the patrol as 11 year olds, but are now mostly 12 - 13 year olds.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiif2XpuY06EEyGGxF0B7kqIENaMkfIuwAvi5vk8hTFt_sP3ywJ6fxa4p76ISvguuPCCLtfovjxnezMOWNHfikXBxBAVwxhrCWC_w9AxqN7fpRjQ3eHUCUTIyNPzVEnWrG7CROcWC0rlR4/s1600/IMG_4154.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" gsa="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiif2XpuY06EEyGGxF0B7kqIENaMkfIuwAvi5vk8hTFt_sP3ywJ6fxa4p76ISvguuPCCLtfovjxnezMOWNHfikXBxBAVwxhrCWC_w9AxqN7fpRjQ3eHUCUTIyNPzVEnWrG7CROcWC0rlR4/s400/IMG_4154.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the newest patrol, the Wolverines. They are 11 - 12 year olds. The new cross-over Webelos will enter this patrol.</td></tr>
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But, as it turns out, we won't have any cross-overs this year. The crop from the two Packs we support had a total of 5 cross-overs. And they all went to another troop. Part of me feels slighted - the other part feels...relief. Now we have to get ready for our next camping trip - Gettysburg.Buzz Killhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01443964019621130222noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243099844770061125.post-46677867858226159942013-03-13T00:00:00.000-04:002013-03-13T00:00:09.566-04:00Weeknight Dinner - Pepper Steak<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://ladivacucina.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">La Diva Cucina</a> (former contestant on <a href="http://ladivacucina.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-scoop-on-taste-and-la-diva.html" target="_blank">The Taste</a> - Bwahahaha...sorry, I couldn't help myself) did a blog a couple of weeks ago on a </span><a href="http://ladivacucina.blogspot.com/2013/02/meat-and-taters-classic-comfort-food.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Meat and Potatoes Challenge</span></a> <span style="font-size: large;">that she undertook. I mentioned to her that I was going to make my own meat and potatoes dish (actually meat and rice) and that maybe I'd post on it. So here it is.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The Mrs. insists on doing most of the food shopping because she doesn't trust me to buy healthy food. I like desserts and snacks - sue me. Last weekend she came home with a London Broil (on sale). Probably the most difficult (for me) cut of meat to work with because it always comes out tough. I do have a soy-based marinade that works pretty good, but I have to know a day in advance that I'm going to make it and I'm getting a little bored with it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Those of you who know how I cook know that I usually don't know what I'm making until I get home from work - and then I have like 45 minutes to throw it together. So knowing I had the London Broil in the fridge, I did some recipe searching in advance of "steak night". One other thing that is new to the nightmare that is my life - I need to get everything approved by The Mrs. ahead of time because of her fickle and bland taste in food. The last time I strayed off this path, I made a dish with a cream based sauce that she refused to eat ("don't you know cream and cheese upsets my stomach?" ... "no? I didn't?") and she didn't talk to me for several days. Lesson learned.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I did some research and found <a href="http://allrecipes.com/recipe/marias-pepper-steak/detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Title&e11=pepper%20steak&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1&e13=A%3aSearch%20Results-List%28control%29&e7=Home%20Page" target="_blank">Maria's Pepper Steak</a> recipe on <a href="http://allrecipe.com/">AllRecipe.com</a>. It sounded good, had good reviews and there were no ingredients on The Mrs.' no-fly list. All I needed was her approval, which I received. *ding ding ding ding ding - winner!*</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">This recipe is pretty straight forward. I noted several reviewers said that it could be salty or thin, so I kept that in mind as I prepped and cooked. Also, I added a tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce. After I had it all in the pan, the smell was very vinegary. I tasted it and it did taste salty, so I added a couple of tablespoons of sugar. And the sauce wasn't reducing and thickening as much as I wanted, so I added a tablespoon of cornstarch (mixed in a little water) and that thickened it up nicely. What do you think?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>After Action Report</strong>: When The Mrs. came home from work, she immediately commented on the vinegar smell. I started to get nervous. But it was too late to do anything else but serve it (over rice). This tasted great! The steak could have been a little more tender (I may cook it a little longer next time) but the flavor was outstanding. It had a slight sweetness, tangy from the Worcestershire sauce and not too vinegary or salty at all. The Pudge had seconds. And The Mrs. really seemed to like it. Unbelievable! This is a keeper.</span></div>
Buzz Killhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01443964019621130222noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243099844770061125.post-32210679381771326442013-02-13T00:00:00.000-05:002013-02-13T00:00:02.835-05:00There's Gold in Them There Hills - the Klondike Derby<span style="font-size: large;"> Every other year, the troop participates in a council wide event called the Klondike Derby. Most councils in the cold regions of the US (and Canada) hold some version of this race. It's held at the same scout reservation as the <a href="http://buzzkills-buzzkill.blogspot.com/2012/05/hey-ya-blouse-wearing-poodle-walkers.html" target="_blank">Highland Games</a>. And as in years past, we only go for the Saturday events, rather than camping the entire weekend (26 January). A lot of troops do camp, but I'll bet they were sorry they did this year. More on that later. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The Klondike Derby is an homage to the dog sledders of the Iditarod and the Klondike Gold Rush. Each patrol (and we had 2 this year) has a dog sled with tow rope for the "dogs" to pull the sled. The troop is given a list of gear needed for each sled as well as a general idea of the events that the scouts will be participating in. There were seven events this year, and each patrol would participate in three of them - but wouldn't know which ones until the day of the event. The patrols compete in groups of three (two patrols from other troops) and are awarded "gold nuggets" by each event organizer at their discretion. They take into account teamwork, sportsmanship and skill in awarding the nuggets. The nuggets are weighed at the end of the event to determine the winners. First, second and third in each group, so everyone is a winner. And to really torment the scouts, the nuggets are gold wrapped candy. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We spent the last few meetings honing scout skills such as knot tying, fire building and first aid. The sleds were built years ago and are in very good shape. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Because we weren't camping, we had to travel down to the camp on Friday night for a pre-event meeting. And of course, there was a small snow storm. We ended up getting a couple of inches that night with the temperature in the teens. Me, the scoutmaster, Simple J and the Pudge drove down (on some icy roads) to attend the meeting. Fortunately, it's only about a ten mile ride. And it was cold. I felt sorry for those poor bastards at the meeting that were camping. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We gathered the boys at our church bright and early at 7:00AM on Saturday morning. It was a balmy 15 degrees. Opening ceremonies started at 8:00AM at the camp. There were probably two dozen or so sleds entered in the event.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFfPX_6Rr3FeQY3UdIajTTx3cgWEztqQnh_UIa_u86HCZ57tlQXh9QrxxvDEiYjEa9yekD4JWVziFlv8jDU85z9qdc7h9gfKL8eeA01EN-2VlhdZ6M7n2_XJvdlsNttdFyFhmLyHAwH9k/s1600/IMG_4128.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFfPX_6Rr3FeQY3UdIajTTx3cgWEztqQnh_UIa_u86HCZ57tlQXh9QrxxvDEiYjEa9yekD4JWVziFlv8jDU85z9qdc7h9gfKL8eeA01EN-2VlhdZ6M7n2_XJvdlsNttdFyFhmLyHAwH9k/s400/IMG_4128.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">As soon as we arrived at camp, the boys got the sleds out of the van and started puling it over to the parade field. This was sled #2 with a lot of our younger scouts.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was sled #1 with the Pudge (he's the one with the white ski tag on his chest) and the more senior scouts (including Simple J on the far right).</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I followed the Pudge's patrol around for the day. Their first event was the frozen lake crossing. They had to use materials they packed (rope, staves, etc.) to build a rig that would allow them to take their sled across the "frozen lake" (tarp) with out the sled touching the lake. The scouts were allow to walk on the lake but it wouldn't support the sled and the scouts at the same time. They ended up rigging a line between two trees.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The first station was the frozen lake crossing exercise.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Their second event was archery. Although they all love archery, what made this tough was they had to take their gloves off to shoot. They did really well in this event.</span><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The second station was the archery range. That's the Pudge shooting. He put his first arrow over the dirt backstop. </td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The third and final event was the shepherd's sling (think David and Goliath). They had 30 minutes to sling as many small super balls as they could at a stack of cups. They received points for each cup they knocked down. Pretty simple, right? Two other patrols were in the gaming area the same time as our patrol, and between them they knocked down 4 cups. But our patrol had a secret weapon - Simple J. He is a tall, awkward boy that can barely walk, but he knocked down over 20 cups. It was a good day for him.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The third station was the shepherd's sling. The camp has a wooden "Fort Apache" type fort and this event was inside the fort. I'm on the upper level looking down into the fort. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisFT4gf0V3BQ-O0_B84B6vHYIvtEbSULC7i2RsMZ_lXIFTYR19aVw9Z-c-sUwN_ZA0C8xtaef33_Rws_aBVvVkK2bPHjn_wPRdC4fJrl8wofKAqpoCIX3yIq6fS3HHskp4IShPf-CdeGQ/s1600/Fort+Pine+Hill.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" oea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisFT4gf0V3BQ-O0_B84B6vHYIvtEbSULC7i2RsMZ_lXIFTYR19aVw9Z-c-sUwN_ZA0C8xtaef33_Rws_aBVvVkK2bPHjn_wPRdC4fJrl8wofKAqpoCIX3yIq6fS3HHskp4IShPf-CdeGQ/s400/Fort+Pine+Hill.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here's the fort from the outside (courtesy of the Southern New Jersey Council site).</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Lunch Time! Every scout (and leader) that participates in the Klondike is required to bring a can of soup (tomato or broth based) with them. All of the cans are dumped into two large pots for the "Commissioner's Soup". Scouts bring up their cups/bowls/thermal mugs and get their choice of soup - as much as they want. It's surprisingly good - when you've been standing out in 20 degree weather for 5 hours. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The boys taking a well deserved rest at lunch time.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">One of the small ponds on the reservation. I thought it unusual that so many ducks were in the water.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oh My God! Someone save those poor ducks! Relax, they're just decoys.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See, the ducks are fine.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">After lunch, the boys practiced their wood cutting skills by sawing logs with two-man saws and log splitting with hatchets and axes. The wood was used for the evening bond fire, which we did not attend.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Then came the final activity of the day - the Iditarod Race. This is a sled race from the lower parking lot up to the parade field. It's about a 1/2 mile with about a 40 foot elevation change. The boys raced in groups of 3. Sled #1 (the Pudge's) race looked like a scene from <a href="http://timelines.latimes.com/media/event_images/48/gzcq5jke.jpg" target="_blank">Ben Hur</a> or <a href="http://www.strangevehicles.com/images/content/107548.jpg" target="_blank">Gladiator</a>. Their sled runner got caught with another sled, and that sled flipped over, dumping all of it's gear. One of the other sled's boys got hooked on the side rail of sled #1 and he was dragged several feet. Fortunately, no one got hurt and sled#1 won the heat. Sled #2 came in second in their heat. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The boys resting up for the dreaded Iditarod Race.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaNlo3lNAoTOS3Sv12lkRUv2L6gwpBAeU4ewnYtJFZT3sOn7dn8wzWDw7cb-7bK-7kQByB2r0MRkzAqZFP5HFTea-DaUMcl19rNFwo5i5JmTrb_3YWD-l0iK3iJby3KBi4n4LH61zZHQk/s1600/IMG_4165.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaNlo3lNAoTOS3Sv12lkRUv2L6gwpBAeU4ewnYtJFZT3sOn7dn8wzWDw7cb-7bK-7kQByB2r0MRkzAqZFP5HFTea-DaUMcl19rNFwo5i5JmTrb_3YWD-l0iK3iJby3KBi4n4LH61zZHQk/s400/IMG_4165.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The boys of sled #1 (on the right) sprinting from the start of the Iditarod race. I'm actually backpeddling as I'm taking this picture because they came at me so fast.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">All said and done, after the nuggets were weighed, both Sled #1 and Sled #2 came away with 2nd place finishes. A fine effort on a really cold day. The boys took consolation in the fact that they were going home and the 1st place teams were camping out that night. The temperature topped out at 27 degrees!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The Pudge and I couldn't stay for the awards ceremony because The Mrs bought tickets to see <a href="http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/heart/2013/circus-maximus-theater-atlantic-city-nj-53db83f5.html" target="_blank">Heart down in Atlantic City</a> that night. I got home, showered (and thawed - my feet were frozen) and off we went to AC (no ticket for the Pudge). And I'm glad we saw the concert. We had good seats and Ann Wilson sounded great. They encored with Led Zeppelin's Black Dog and that was a great song to end on. I slept pretty good by the time we got home - at midnight. A long day in the Yukon!</span>Buzz Killhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01443964019621130222noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243099844770061125.post-32354493833910274732013-02-06T00:00:00.000-05:002013-02-06T00:00:03.505-05:00Uncle Henry...Delivers<span style="font-size: large;">You may recall a while back that I told you about my life growing up and living next to </span><a href="http://buzzkills-buzzkill.blogspot.com/2011/08/artist-i-remember.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Uncle Henry and Aunt Pat</span></a><span style="font-size: large;">. After he and Aunt Pat passed away, their property was sold to a developer who tore down the studio and gardens and subdivided the property into 5 parcels that have houses on them today. Just prior to the sale, my sister L (who was closest of all of us to Uncle Henry) scavenged some of the artwork that Uncle Henry liked to make and display on the outbuildings on the property. She has some of these still, but a bunch of items ended up in my mother's garage. Well, when my mother passed five years ago, I cleaned out the garage and took some of these items to my house, where they have been languishing for years. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">So in early December, I stumbled (literally) over a sign that was from Uncle Henry's property. He had a long, winding front walk that led up to the front door of the house, which they never used (or answered), so delivery people often got confused. So Uncle Henry made a sign out of scrap wood that he hand carved, painted and attached to a post at the front door to send them to the back of the house. This sign is at least 40 - 50 years old (probably older) and I can still see it (in my mind) along the walk. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">So I thought this would be a cool Christmas gift to give to L. I knew she would immediately recognise it although she probably thought it was lost forever. Having been outside in the weather for decades, it was in rough shape. So I cleaned and lightly sanded it first. Then I put some metal straps on the back to hold it together and keep it from splitting any more. Then I got some black, oil based stain and painted the bulk of the sign. I had taken it up to the local Ace Hardware and they made the recommendation on the paint. I next got some white and red acrylic paint from the local AC Moore and painted the lettering and arrow. This took several coats and some tweaking with the black stain to get the lettering and arrow edges as clean as I could. It probably took me longer to paint this then it did for Uncle Henry to carve it. Finally, I added a hanger wire on the back so that L could hang it on the wall in her house. This wouldn't last outside again.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq8WI31ce-b5WM2OYdRi4_eqUBhL2Hvy51OnGomTqDGlFnxqS5XUyrCyN_1U78VayuMHgZVsUkw6XAhy-BKBcrjL9FETtRMZB9AZAon0zvvEPhwxhjY_HaNI9buwYcY-oCdyUg3BipfTk/s1600/IMG_4169.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq8WI31ce-b5WM2OYdRi4_eqUBhL2Hvy51OnGomTqDGlFnxqS5XUyrCyN_1U78VayuMHgZVsUkw6XAhy-BKBcrjL9FETtRMZB9AZAon0zvvEPhwxhjY_HaNI9buwYcY-oCdyUg3BipfTk/s400/IMG_4169.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The rear of the sign. The wooden brackets are original. The metal brackets and hanger wire were added by me. Note the wood burned deer in the background. The Pudge has taken to wood burning since his last Boy Scout Summer Camp. The sketch and wood burning were done by hand.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6JrcZoOSEK97BJA4loE0XhsJCKxwnEuPDNG5mZbH26jZ35xEBmyQYCiO52VUbOLwWinV8g9duxOajNSr7HeYA4QmF9Vy0yQdTqeVVkwDbG8NPm38bmTJSPy6vByduptQrivzO4fsFy9U/s1600/IMG_4170.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6JrcZoOSEK97BJA4loE0XhsJCKxwnEuPDNG5mZbH26jZ35xEBmyQYCiO52VUbOLwWinV8g9duxOajNSr7HeYA4QmF9Vy0yQdTqeVVkwDbG8NPm38bmTJSPy6vByduptQrivzO4fsFy9U/s400/IMG_4170.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here's the finished sign. I hung it on my wall just for picture taking.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A close -up of the carving work. It's kind of hard to see in the picture.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNL3EHfCdv3C4FWmXA-GVyiH9aqwoEUyK9ip20ESfzOjROZFRmLCPiQCzPjFGuPho2wIV5gbPPN2dYRbLlnn5fwE6Dz6jQ3vLoYSv0mxYsEipndyRRz9I9ar73j8Us1r3dlTgj-PRzv4I/s1600/IMG_4172.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNL3EHfCdv3C4FWmXA-GVyiH9aqwoEUyK9ip20ESfzOjROZFRmLCPiQCzPjFGuPho2wIV5gbPPN2dYRbLlnn5fwE6Dz6jQ3vLoYSv0mxYsEipndyRRz9I9ar73j8Us1r3dlTgj-PRzv4I/s400/IMG_4172.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another close-up.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhJhtuw__NZ3sNzqRRRvto1YIJxoeJi4pPcuSgOcJLh80XbyxR7hFminttx2BSO25sTnCsw_IJxXzZBVn8FLKnTKjn5swSAcG__oqPPJJBzpwJSBMBrMz3MLXX0zzu0DCzh6XqVagocxc/s1600/IMG_4173.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhJhtuw__NZ3sNzqRRRvto1YIJxoeJi4pPcuSgOcJLh80XbyxR7hFminttx2BSO25sTnCsw_IJxXzZBVn8FLKnTKjn5swSAcG__oqPPJJBzpwJSBMBrMz3MLXX0zzu0DCzh6XqVagocxc/s400/IMG_4173.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And even closer still.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I gave this to L last week and she was very touched by it. It will have a new home on a wall in her den.</span>Buzz Killhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01443964019621130222noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243099844770061125.post-53169174050644594042013-01-28T09:43:00.000-05:002013-01-28T09:43:35.146-05:00The Jersey Kill's Florida Christmas VacationYeah, I know I haven't posted in a while... and not from a lack of priceless material, because there's always plenty of that to go around. I've just been busy and in a pre/post-election sour mood. <br />
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So The Mrs. got this idea in her head (I'm sure it was the voices) that the Kill family needed to travel (by air) on the worst travel week of the year to sunny Florida for a Christmas vacation. She booked the flights, rented a house and made arrangements to meet up with her childhood friend T and T's family, who flew in from Germany. All right - fine, I'll go to Florida for Christmas. The first time in my life that I wasn't home for Christmas. The Boy and his main squeeze "L" were home from school, so both of them, along with The Mrs., me and the Pudge took this trip. <br />
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To start the trip off, on the day before the flight I got a 24-hour stomach virus (that apparently is all the rage now). It hit me on Friday while I was in the office. I ended up puking in a trash can. Fortunately, I was fine by the time I got on the plane the next afternoon. We flew Southwest through Nashville, and even though we were 45 minutes late taking off, the pilot made up most of the time, we made our connection and arrived in Tampa on time. We had 6 bags checked and all arrived safely (and free on SouthWest - I like this airline). Oh, this is priceless too. The Mrs. packed a carry-on bag for me to...carry on...that was full of Christmas gifts that The Mrs. insisted on taking down so "the kids will have something to open on Christmas day". Unbeknown to me, two of the gifts were nerf guns. So as I'm waiting for my bag to come out of the scanner, I hear the TSA agent call out "Gun check!", my friggin' jaw dropped. I thought I was going to jail, or at the very least, that a body cavity search would be involved. The TSA agent was very nice about it, unwrapped the two boxes, saw that they were hermetically sealed toys - and sent us on our way.<br />
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We rented an SUV and drove down to Anna Maria Island - a small barrier island southwest of St. Petersburg. By the time we got the keys for the house from the realtor's drop box and found the right house (got it on the 2nd try - I hope we didn't scare the people down the street too badly), we were unloaded and in bed by midnight.<br />
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The house was nice. Three bedrooms, 3 baths, kitchen and a heated pool. It was on one of the main drags into the island, so there was a lot of traffic noise, but I tried to keep myself drunk enough that it didn't bother me. We were only one block from a nice beach that had an outdoor cafe and bar. But the weather, well that wasn't the Christmas-in-Florida weather we had in mind. It only rained once, but it was pretty cold. The 2 warmest days got into the low 70s, but with high winds. I stood on the beach a couple of times with my feet in the 60 degree water, but that was it. I never got the bathing suit out of the suitcase. The kids swam in the pool twice, but the air was just too cold.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoZGiMRKtG39g0ZfxwwOnkbTbHbbKpcDczUld-F2bPiTr4_DzcZHU4Ry8ONvWAlQi5fhf1DCDKRPGtqBum-ZKXxKwLWL-IdLXOXAjj0NTOTEHLKogybl_VOBuU6ZHQWocZvHnKrjoPeBU/s1600/Segs+by+the+Sea+december+2012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" oea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoZGiMRKtG39g0ZfxwwOnkbTbHbbKpcDczUld-F2bPiTr4_DzcZHU4Ry8ONvWAlQi5fhf1DCDKRPGtqBum-ZKXxKwLWL-IdLXOXAjj0NTOTEHLKogybl_VOBuU6ZHQWocZvHnKrjoPeBU/s400/Segs+by+the+Sea+december+2012.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Mrs., the Pudge, L, the Boy and me doing a Segway pitstop.</td></tr>
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We did a bunch of touristy things, the most interesting being a one hour Segway trip. I've never ridden one of these things before, but after 10 minutes of instruction and practice, it was a lot of fun. This was the highlight of the trip.<br />
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The other damper on the trip was - stomach virus. The one I had went through the entire family. The Boy had it for 2 days and I never saw someone puke and crap (a couple of times simultaneously) as much as he did. But the Pudge got it in the most spectacular way imaginable. Christmas day, we went to the <a href="http://www.columbiarestaurant.com/sarasota.asp">Columbia Restaurant in Sarasota</a>. We had advanced reservations and it's a good thing we did. It's a Cuban restaurant that's been there for 100 years and was frequented by Marylin Monroe and Joe DiMaggio back in the day when they were a couple. The place easily holds 300 people - and it was packed. There were 8 of us and it was a very nice dinner. I finished paying the bill and we were about to leave when the Pudge came back from the bathroom, sat down on the bench seat between our table and the next table and proceeded to projectile vomit all over the floor. I heard several ooohs and eeews as The Mrs. grabbed him and took the Pudge and everyone else, but me, out of the restaurant. I apologized profusely to the waiter and people at the adjacent tables, reassuring them it was a stomach virus and not he food. I then made a hasty retreat, going past the maître d' station where the crowd had parted because of a second deposit that the Pudge left there on the floor (it was covered in linen napkins). He threw up one more time after we got home - all over his bedroom floor. The Boy woke up The Mrs. and me and then went back to retrive his sneekers, which a little splatter on them. Didn't offer to help with the cleaning at all - typical.<br />
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The Mrs. and L got the virus too, but not near as bad as the boys. The rest of the trip was uneventful...until we flew home...because it was USAir. The direct flight left on time and arrived early and I thought, "this is great, I always have bad experiences with USAir". Then we got down to baggage claim. Everyone on the plane was waiting at the assigned carousel, only to be told by a porter that our luggage was 3 carousels down. It's freaky how many times this has happened to me with USAir at Philadelphia. No exaggeration - 75% of the time the bags will be on a carousel that is different from the one listed on the monitor. And it will take a minimum of a half hour for the bags to get there - WORST BAGGAGE HANDLING PERIOD. And this time around, 5 out of 6 bags were damaged. That's over 80% of our bags damaged including L's brand new $400 designer one that she used for the first time (2 of 4 wheels were ripped off). And they charged us $160 to boot. So now we're fighting with USAir to repair or replace them, which included the Boy making a trip to the airport the next day to drop the empty bags there.<br />
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An interesting side note while we were in the baggage claim office. A man came walking in carrying a rifle case - and he was pissed. Gun cases are supposed to be hand carried and delivered to the owner in baggage claim. He found his circling on one of the carousels where anyone could have grabbed it and walked out the door (there was no mistaking what it was). And no one in the office, including a Philadelphia police officer, seemed to care. "We'll make a note of it" was the answer he got. I wonder how many times this has happened? The Mrs. was so horrified that she called the airport the next day to report the incident. Only to be told it was a USAir problem and she would have to call them. She gave up after hearing that.<br />
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So there you have it, the misadventures of the Kill family on their own version of Christmas Vacation. It's even money we'll do it again next year.<br />
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<strong>Addendum</strong>: I've been sitting on this story for a couple of weeks in the hope of getting some pictures, but The Mrs. has them on her camera and she hasn't downloaded them to the computer. So I'm letting this story go with just the one picture. Sue me!Buzz Killhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01443964019621130222noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243099844770061125.post-89961275208379709652012-11-07T12:21:00.002-05:002012-11-07T12:21:41.658-05:00Halloween - November 5th?Well, enough about politics and the total destruction of the American way of life. Let's talk about Halloween.<br />
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With New Jersey still feeling the sting from Hurricane Sandy, Governor Chris Christie moved (by official, executive, double-secret decree) Halloween to Monday, November 5th. This worked out great for The Pudge and his buddies who work <a href="http://buzzkills-buzzkill.blogspot.com/2012/01/halloween-terror.html">the annual haunted house</a>. They did their last haunted house on Saturday (November 3rd) and that freed them up to go trick-or-treating. Even though it was pretty cold, they had a great time. And I didn't have to go with them - which was a big plus.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcoI5TFL5VQMAAA44MOnUNueF6mot9fcxe26jgODG383mjGAqKg6aODkJ7ecyhK2MwzALDKLqliQyJlOJLKEnrNGPQEiAZLvZmNlqHIgwmUIkcbUp4UPfVqB10AoTcwlyHR2Gnho3YGuc/s1600/IMG_4101.JPG.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcoI5TFL5VQMAAA44MOnUNueF6mot9fcxe26jgODG383mjGAqKg6aODkJ7ecyhK2MwzALDKLqliQyJlOJLKEnrNGPQEiAZLvZmNlqHIgwmUIkcbUp4UPfVqB10AoTcwlyHR2Gnho3YGuc/s400/IMG_4101.JPG.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some of the boys you know from past blogs. Simple J is the Detective, The Pudge is the Standing Ghost (you'll have to take my word on that) and Birch is on the far right (I'm not sure what he was supposed to be).</td></tr>
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Supposedly, someone took a video of a stroll through this year's haunted house. If I can find it, I'll post it. It was really impressive this year. They had a midget - for real. </div>
Buzz Killhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01443964019621130222noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243099844770061125.post-77716359300180395222012-11-05T09:48:00.001-05:002012-11-05T09:48:31.560-05:00Haiku Monday - Cover<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">M</span>_APs, GPS…d’oh!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">A</span> look up will save life or</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">D</span>own river you go.</span><br />
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As a kid, I never read The New Yorker, but I read an awful lot of MAD. What better way to marry the two together and show my disdain for all things cellular?</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUTnpifq0MqJ55pFTB6_52ElF1WVP2tYbSuh6pGrEAvd08XiopPmxNm-RqfnW5HcDVB393wdBVIL74HJABpDgI1G9Pg1NqwvtNPP1AurAisqZ5deRY_hmA-CNS3_yRFx5V2AUQA0RrstI/s1600/New+Yorker+March+1976.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUTnpifq0MqJ55pFTB6_52ElF1WVP2tYbSuh6pGrEAvd08XiopPmxNm-RqfnW5HcDVB393wdBVIL74HJABpDgI1G9Pg1NqwvtNPP1AurAisqZ5deRY_hmA-CNS3_yRFx5V2AUQA0RrstI/s400/New+Yorker+March+1976.bmp" width="292" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The original New Yorker Cover circa. March 29, 1976</td></tr>
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Comparison between the original and the Mad cover.</div>
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Buzz Killhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01443964019621130222noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243099844770061125.post-25988846481513097652012-10-31T10:00:00.001-04:002012-10-31T10:00:31.617-04:00Something Wicked This Way Comes<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Borrowed from 1983's Something Wicked This Way Comes. I love this movie.</td></tr>
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<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">By the pricking of my thumbs, </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">Something wicked this way comes.</span> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">It's Halloween and I haven't posted in a few months, so what the hell. What can I say - I've been busy. But, as many of you know, I've been lurking about on various blogs. </span><span style="font-size: large;"></span> <span style="font-size: large;">Anyway, this was the first thing I thought of for a Halloween posting in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. The worst thing is that Springsteen did a song called 4th of July, Asbury Park, but it is colloquially known as Sandy - and being that this is the Land-o-Springsteen, that's all I hear on the local radio.</span> <br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"></span> <em>Sandy, the fireworks are hailin' over Little Eden tonight</em> <em>Forcin' a light into all those stony faces left stranded on this warm July</em><br />
<em>Down in the town, the Circuit's full of switchblade lovers, so fast, so shiny, so sharp</em><br />
<em>As the wizards play down on Pinball Way on the boardwalk way past dark</em><br />
<em>And the boys from the casino dance with their shirts open like Latin lovers on the shore</em><br />
<em>Chasin' all them silly New York virgins by the score</em><br />
<em><br /></em><em>And Sandy, the aurora is rising behind us</em><br />
<em>This pier lights our carnival life forever</em><br />
<em>Oh, love me tonight, for I may never see you again</em><br />
<em>Hey, Sandy girl</em><br />
<em>My, my, baby</em><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">It does conjure a nice visual. Although Bruce was singing about Asbury Park in the northern shore area, this could apply to all of the boardwalks along the New Jersey coast. And they are all a long way away from ever being like that again. The Atlantic City and Ocean City boardwalks got smoked. Hundreds of yards of boardwalk just ripped to shreds with massive flooding and erosion on Long Beach Island. The Mrs., The Pudge and I were fortunate enough to visit the Ocean City boardwalk in early October (for the annual Fall Block Party). A nice memory, but I'm not really looking forward to seeing it again after what I saw on the news. It'll take years to rebuild.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">And old Buzz and stately Buzzkill Manor (with the newly completed north wing) fared very well. No trees came crashing down to kill us in our sleep. No large branches speared through the roof to impale us. No hoards of storm-ravaged psychopaths came busting down the doors to steal our food. No shivering in our cold, dark hovel for weeks...waiting for the National Guard to rescue us. Hell, we lost power for less than a minute. In other words, all of the things The Mrs. tortured The Pudge and me about - didn't happen.<br /></span><span style="font-size: large;"></span> <span style="font-size: large;">The worst thing was that she insisted we all sleep in the basement on Monday night where I woke up with a major league back ache from the friggin' couch. She's calmed down now - sort of. We only got about 3" of rain officially, but it sure seemed like more. The Pudge won't be going back to school until Thursday because parts of our town are still without power and there are a lot of trees down across roadways and traffic lights still out (as of Wednesday morning).</span> <br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"></span> <span style="font-size: large;">Halloween has been officially moved to Friday. This works out well for The Pudge because he will be able to go Trick-or-Treating with his buddies and still participate in the local haunted house, which was moved to Saturday. They had the haunted house this past Friday and Saturday when the weather was near perfect and the turnout was huge. For reasons I don't want to go in to, the haunted house was moved to our local swim club this year. And I have to tell you, this was the best one ever. I'll post some pictures if I can get them from The Pudge.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Friday is also The Smashing Pumpkin's concert in Camden. The Mrs., The Pudge and I will brave the elements (it's an outdoor venue) to go see one of The Pudge's favorite bands. I just hope The Mrs. doesn't bitch about the cold (temps will be in the 40s) the whole time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Happy Halloween to all!!!</span>Buzz Killhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01443964019621130222noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243099844770061125.post-76707521664633941472012-06-01T00:00:00.000-04:002012-06-01T00:00:07.682-04:00The Floor<span style="font-size: large;">Here's an interesting (well, maybe not) side story to the house addition saga. Part of the renovation involves replacing a good portion of the first floor with hardwood flooring. The Mrs.' vision has the same hardwood going from the front door foyer, through the kitchen, den, hallway and new addition. You add that up and it comes to just over 1,100 square feet. The wood she selected back in January (something called Rosewood) was still unavailable at the beginning of May, so she had to make another selection (something called Koa or Tiger Wood). I just know somewhere in a South American rain forest, a crew chief went running into the woods yelling "Don't cut down that forest, move across the road and cut down THAT forest!".</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">So here was the problem (as I perceived it) with this flooring - the cost. The flooring with the underlayment cost about $6.50 a square foot (do the math - this is why my stomach hurts all the time). The 7% NJ sales tax and delivery charge (if we bought it in New Jersey) would be about $800. But wait, we live next to tax-free Delaware. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">It is common practice for people in Jersey (especially South Jersey) to make a run across the boarder to buy big ticket items like TVs and appliances. So when I went to Budget rental to get a truck and told them where I was going, there were no questions asked. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We went on a Sunday because the rates are 1/2 that of Saturday rentals (there's a cost savings tip for you do-it-yourself-movers out there). I had to rent a 24 foot truck because even though the packets of wood are only 7 feet long and would easily fit into a 12 foot truck, they weigh over 3,700 pounds. Even with the larger truck, 80 miles worth of diesel fuel (I had to return the truck full) and tolls, it only cost me a little under $200. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp-56AnLVAKAWGe3Oe2yeY2wkw2X1NVKOBDBarZqc8kRParaQ3qMFDaefrDh4koW51ZN88Rlzrow_MHBXGjlpIr_cA5dyyKlm3NoXX8If11VchRM8GkXTJMrxDTIdPbMYPdgKgOycERN8/s1600/May+2012+073.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp-56AnLVAKAWGe3Oe2yeY2wkw2X1NVKOBDBarZqc8kRParaQ3qMFDaefrDh4koW51ZN88Rlzrow_MHBXGjlpIr_cA5dyyKlm3NoXX8If11VchRM8GkXTJMrxDTIdPbMYPdgKgOycERN8/s400/May+2012+073.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Pudge in front of the first truck we rented. After doing all of the paperwork, we went to start it and the battery was dead. We ended up with the truck on the right.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEMKFHtjs8oGQzOCtEmYdcQbIrO8tNmFQcMgnEx-Z1uXQ8YjmdeVJ2IMDUVdNKlz-JtVnKl-LKBkg_AmhmHVDP1EWfHsPy5jtF65sdR_KAc09zbTN4oRcYrxffX0N1Rbm75LWXfl4kYv8/s1600/May+2012+076.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEMKFHtjs8oGQzOCtEmYdcQbIrO8tNmFQcMgnEx-Z1uXQ8YjmdeVJ2IMDUVdNKlz-JtVnKl-LKBkg_AmhmHVDP1EWfHsPy5jtF65sdR_KAc09zbTN4oRcYrxffX0N1Rbm75LWXfl4kYv8/s400/May+2012+076.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I've driven a pickup truck all my life, but never a truck this big. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgclwY_isD-aUar7icOehSWM4kb2aVSMVmExmwhD1UxJxG47zA8gskO_kalsnzd2gszQt0_bLKXXP0P3-rvcE60CZiNEc1rXikA1LxWFx_oF75VGmVVIj2LAGthGQME67wMo6BAMpRlPdo/s1600/May+2012+077.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgclwY_isD-aUar7icOehSWM4kb2aVSMVmExmwhD1UxJxG47zA8gskO_kalsnzd2gszQt0_bLKXXP0P3-rvcE60CZiNEc1rXikA1LxWFx_oF75VGmVVIj2LAGthGQME67wMo6BAMpRlPdo/s400/May+2012+077.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Pudge ready to put the hammer down.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbNxXvR0r_9pYd7ZqXuDlDUib8-9iPlA26PlSufLII68oNk2yA-oi4QubQG1vcTDuS-8s1mCAPQCoFzA6t8tO-auH8C_qEvjw7mhl10aR0YwKHp8Hh-wmI0kqvCCBqvzc2dP4eRLzXIp4/s1600/May+2012+078.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbNxXvR0r_9pYd7ZqXuDlDUib8-9iPlA26PlSufLII68oNk2yA-oi4QubQG1vcTDuS-8s1mCAPQCoFzA6t8tO-auH8C_qEvjw7mhl10aR0YwKHp8Hh-wmI0kqvCCBqvzc2dP4eRLzXIp4/s400/May+2012+078.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fortunately, when we were at the floor place in Delaware, they were able to forklift the pallet of floor (48 boxes) into the truck using 2 forklifts and 1 guy. It was interesting to watch how he did that. Years of experience I'm guessing. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiswwPt5eMbR-ubJtYlgmnGgF4OxM8yF0aJz9meUo_zUXX1CI0XYXrWis7qhfWWQH2TSWwwUFz5PhzuBzAUmKekKhYpf81NwRlnpp4HANcCvaTR8Ktc9n2QJhF0uHOfDn2mVUvlwaQFtsg/s1600/May+2012+079.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiswwPt5eMbR-ubJtYlgmnGgF4OxM8yF0aJz9meUo_zUXX1CI0XYXrWis7qhfWWQH2TSWwwUFz5PhzuBzAUmKekKhYpf81NwRlnpp4HANcCvaTR8Ktc9n2QJhF0uHOfDn2mVUvlwaQFtsg/s400/May+2012+079.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Pudge before he and I carried all 48 boxes into the house. 20 went right into the garage, but the other 28 had to go into the addition from the back door. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvJjWtr-lQgYC2NeZXe43erUP4P5QAPzeVD-jQeKIKQGDTizD-POagARmbm93BTdkrcdk6CAswNbJipkGzNQwHEN22sLJp2RtBlR90JsvvbYRCozmc_l5YuTXEdjY0f-qzAfB_YH6zPVM/s1600/May+2012+080.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvJjWtr-lQgYC2NeZXe43erUP4P5QAPzeVD-jQeKIKQGDTizD-POagARmbm93BTdkrcdk6CAswNbJipkGzNQwHEN22sLJp2RtBlR90JsvvbYRCozmc_l5YuTXEdjY0f-qzAfB_YH6zPVM/s400/May+2012+080.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We had to be careful where and how we stacked the boxes. A stack of 5 boxes weighs 400 pounds. We tried to keep the stacks near the foundations.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It took The Pudge and me about an hour and a half to unload. The Pudge had bruises up and down the inside of both arms by the time we were done. I was expecting a visit from DYFS when he went to school the next day. Oh yeah, he had to suit up and play soccer right after we were done. He played on defense because he was so tired he couldn't run and the coach needled me about it the whole game.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The floors are installed as of this writing and The Mrs. got to take back 6 leftover boxes of wood and 1 roll of under-layment when she went down to Delaware this week for work. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I think she's happy with the floor - but you just never know.</span>Buzz Killhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01443964019621130222noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243099844770061125.post-44983152781514285912012-05-25T00:00:00.000-04:002012-05-25T00:00:06.819-04:00The Big Hole in the Side of My HouseThese pictures were taken 2 weeks ago. They've knocked 2 large pass-thrus in the outside wall now that the addition is fully enclosed. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the larger of the two openings from the den.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZDunRdC8RKuf53Uwy-zF9NiOZbeoFB7qbmph77oJN3JhspcX9AKyqMrQjwC6Ep_Db2eMP0WOXN7MjwVpvhf49CW8zz_LjhGNucYGK2egCjHK3KbyqiaKibQCw6P6Id0AHAzVLo48kcy0/s1600/May+6+2012+006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZDunRdC8RKuf53Uwy-zF9NiOZbeoFB7qbmph77oJN3JhspcX9AKyqMrQjwC6Ep_Db2eMP0WOXN7MjwVpvhf49CW8zz_LjhGNucYGK2egCjHK3KbyqiaKibQCw6P6Id0AHAzVLo48kcy0/s400/May+6+2012+006.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here you can see both openings. Those laminated beams above the openings probably weigh over 500 pounds each. The contractor's crew muscled them into position. You can also see the duct work and piping that goes up to the bedroom.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHajC8P0nzoMAzmUwtzQpVNifupNyeGV_LC3XJnEpkMhd6Gg78siIXoThETVxBR66dI7vKBBvwwBG0E1nnKMv5M4oH7nssguWZH3tkORchvTRkovJTXj5SKm_W3VpiDjVJ7tgwZC4Zk4g/s1600/May+6+2012+005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHajC8P0nzoMAzmUwtzQpVNifupNyeGV_LC3XJnEpkMhd6Gg78siIXoThETVxBR66dI7vKBBvwwBG0E1nnKMv5M4oH7nssguWZH3tkORchvTRkovJTXj5SKm_W3VpiDjVJ7tgwZC4Zk4g/s400/May+6+2012+005.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The new addition has a shed roof with a slightly vaulted ceiling.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Outside with windows and doors in.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The addition from the Tree House Cam. You can see all of the roofing is in. 30 year architectural shingles - they look good.</td></tr>
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<br /></div>Buzz Killhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01443964019621130222noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243099844770061125.post-9514395496355034292012-05-18T00:00:00.000-04:002012-05-18T00:00:06.323-04:00Hey, Ya Blouse-Wearing Poodle-Walkers - It's the Highland Games - Ach!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The Highland Games - a whole weekend of Groundskeeper Willie imitations, Braveheart yells of "Freedom!", haggis jokes, some Scottish games of skill and - wait for it - catapults! About every 2 -3 years, our council holds a camporee at one of it's scout reservations to promote the age-old traditions of the Scottish clans - throwing stuff. This was a weekend camp from Friday night to Sunday morning, with the actual games held all day Saturday. </span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">The day started with a 6:00AM revelry. We needed to be up and the troop fed by 7:00AM. We had hot and cold cereal, fruit and granola bars. We had 3 patrols entered (the Flaming Eagles, the Phoenix and the Raging Ravens - the boys like fire and anger), each with 5 - 6 scouts. To even out the skill levels and prevent troops from stacking patrols, the events had 2 classification - heavy weight and light weight. Boys in high school or above the rank of First Class were considered heavy weight. We're a young troop and we only had one scout in the heavy weight class. There were about 18 troops, 35 patrols and over 200 scouts participating. One troop actually showed up in kilts, which was pretty cool.</span> <br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><em>Get your Haggis right here! Chopped heart and lungs boiled in a wee sheep's stomach! Tastes as good as it sounds! ~ Groundskeeper Willie </em></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All nice and quiet just before we got the boys up. It was a balmy 32 degrees!</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: #f9f9f9;"><em>"It won't last. Brothers and sisters are natural enemies. Like Englishmen and Scots! Or Welshmen and Scots! Or Japanese and Scots! Or Scots and other Scots! Damn Scots! They ruined Scotland!" </em>~<em> Groundskeeper Willie </em></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The games consist of 15 skill stations that each patrol must negotiate. </span><span style="font-size: large;">Most of the skills required throwing something - rocks, stones, cabers, spears, etc. The remaining stations were feats of strength like the tug-of-war or log drag. And each troop had to host a station and have it set up, ready to go at 7:30AM. Our station was the Hammer Throw. Our scoutmaster made light and heavy "hammers" out of free weights, 1" pipe and clamps. They worked great and I think we had one of the better stations at the event. </span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">We only had 3 adult leaders on this trip, so the scoutmaster and other leader set up and ran our station while I followed the three patrols and hustled them around to make sure they got to the correct station at the right time. A monumental task made more difficult by a bunch of un-prepared troops. When the games officially started at 8:30AM, about a 1/3 of the stations weren't ready or even identified. It was slow going at first.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here's our station - the Hammer Throw.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Pudge doing the log throw. He used a windmill technique that got him the 3rd best distance of the day.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">After all of the stations were completed and lunch was eaten (the council's Order of the Arrow group at the camp had a hoagie sale - yea, no cooking!), it was time for the much anticipated Catapult Siege. The troop actually prepared for this 3 Saturdays in advance of the games by constructing our catapult and trailering it to the camp (allowed by rule). Also, the catapult had to be constructed of timbers (no dimensional lumber) and lashed together with rope (no mechanical fasteners). </span><br />
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“"Bonjoooouuuuurrrrrrr yer cheese eatin' surrender monkeys"” ~ Groundskeeper Willie on the French (or other troops in the competition).</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The power for the catapult could come from the boys (boys pulling a rope), springs, bungees or counterweights. We chose to use counterweights and two garage door springs. The catapult had to throw a full, 2-liter soda bottle as far as possible.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglOhPtGdU2TidpeIG2Ri1UWc4I4sCH6WqWUNkk5Xx7rxzO5Jkua3mXpM7gs7lHPaL7hvSX9tRSB535SsjObPct1P2MFAuSr8a8zaBhuIboH9Fx-orSrNXVCApmbaIBE0f_7IP0YDWapn4/s1600/IMG_4063.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglOhPtGdU2TidpeIG2Ri1UWc4I4sCH6WqWUNkk5Xx7rxzO5Jkua3mXpM7gs7lHPaL7hvSX9tRSB535SsjObPct1P2MFAuSr8a8zaBhuIboH9Fx-orSrNXVCApmbaIBE0f_7IP0YDWapn4/s400/IMG_4063.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here we are on the "line" preparing our catapult to lay siege.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another view of the catapult with ammunition.</td></tr>
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<span class="quoteline" style="background-color: #f9f9f9; font-size: 1.1em; font-style: italic;">“Now we're wasting more energy than Ricky Martin's girlfriend.” <span style="font-size: small;">~</span> Groundskeeper Willie</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">There were nine catapults in all. I don't have pictures of them (for the public). It was an interesting group of engineering marvels. All different in varying degrees, most not really functional. After the order was given to commence firing, you could fire as many times as you wanted, tweak the catapult for maximum distance and you would be measured on your longest shot. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mid-shot.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The catapult that ended up winning didn't look like much, but it clearly out-distanced the 2nd place winners by a good 30 - 40 feet. And those 2nd place winners - would be our troop. We narrowly edged out the 3rd place winners (and a rival cross-town troop at that) with an unofficial distance of about 50 feet. Doesn't sound like much, but it was good enough that day. </span></div>
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<em>"Come on ya pansies, I've seen fiercer fights in parliament." ~ Groundskeeper Willie</em></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The camp provided a dinner of chicken, pulled pork, ham and ziti (guid Scottish fare), so no cooking again. Unfortunately, we couldn't have a camp fire because of drought and fire restrictions, so we had a camp-wide meeting under the large pavilion for the awards. Out of a possible 45 ribbons in the lightweight class (15 games, 1st, 2nd and 3rd places), our patrols took home 15 ribbons. Most by the Flaming Eagles (9, I think), the rest by the Phoenixes (Phoenii? - we always have this discussion) with the Raging Ravens getting skunked. But the one that really mattered to us, the catapult siege 2nd place ribbon, was truly a troop effort and currently hangs from the troop flag pole. Not bad for our first time in the Highlands. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The boys after a very long competition and guid dey (good day).</td></tr>
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<em>Groundskeeper Willie: I'll bring those kids back dead or alive!</em><br />
<em>Skinner: Not DEAD!</em><br />
<em>Groundskeeper Willie: Aw, you never let Willie be Willie!</em>Buzz Killhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01443964019621130222noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243099844770061125.post-51862578422527334212012-05-11T00:00:00.000-04:002012-05-11T00:00:03.045-04:00Boys Shouting* - Neckerchief Slide Conclusion<span style="font-size: large;">* - A nod to Gilda Radner's Roseanne Roseannadanna. Anyone remember that sketch? Well, I sure do.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7243099844770061125#editor/target=post;postID=5122026323987078111">Way back in January</a>, I told you all about my quest to get the troop to Class "A" status with their uniforms by ensuring that all of the boys had neckerchief slides. To that end I think I was successful, although, like most eveything I do, it turned into a much larger project than it should have been.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">In addition to the troop, we hosted not one, but two Webelos Dens that were ready to "cross-over" to the Boy Scouts and were checking out our troop (boys age out of Webelos at 11 years old and have the option of choosing a boy scout troop in which to transfer or leaving the scouting program). </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Most of the scouts (the best I could hope for) were well behaved, attentive and brought interesting and unusual items to be made into neckerchief slides. I had over 50 blank slides in black, green and brown (black being the favorite) that I had pre-made during the weeks leading to the neckerchief slide nights. I say "nights" because of scheduling problems (on the part of the Webelo leaders) we actually had 3 neckerchief slide nights. Here are some of the highlights.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGnHvGbIxnaLiSrAMS8brLCWwD40clJ-8NRBlbiRghqM-G_H8WdqT3IQRLHnTgfGjSHF3hN6xjeOg2ozU09t6yPqxPotfgEemqhric9M9J3L5Fp9XLjPfCMZCyt_Pe8l3HG212oDjH3BI/s1600/IMG_3882.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" mea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGnHvGbIxnaLiSrAMS8brLCWwD40clJ-8NRBlbiRghqM-G_H8WdqT3IQRLHnTgfGjSHF3hN6xjeOg2ozU09t6yPqxPotfgEemqhric9M9J3L5Fp9XLjPfCMZCyt_Pe8l3HG212oDjH3BI/s400/IMG_3882.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Turns out that Mr. Kill was the only one to get burned with the hot glue gun.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPFl0iRpRzMSyWADr9lFvVBEA6vcH2BHpEB1cv83GakjwAizN8d-5SK23hWyF8YGfX-RUPHIiFwu8L1EPZUxPRGg6KFWBaAl5C7nxhVaIKoa6d4seU9IU06ZQdPvhDgD1-WNGZP5rVHqg/s1600/IMG_3884.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" mea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPFl0iRpRzMSyWADr9lFvVBEA6vcH2BHpEB1cv83GakjwAizN8d-5SK23hWyF8YGfX-RUPHIiFwu8L1EPZUxPRGg6KFWBaAl5C7nxhVaIKoa6d4seU9IU06ZQdPvhDgD1-WNGZP5rVHqg/s400/IMG_3884.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A hamburger eraser with the scout's initials. You could see that if this was any where close to in focus. The Boy (now an Assistant Scout Master) was here this night taking the pictures, so I am blameless for these.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8wmz3NnQdNTPQFcuc3AtHMfAex13K3jgnXjR_xoIEsLZkM8nomfFgIyreUq_gTTJmyzOGBByyvYpsKf1Tk6Q7sB8zqQ_MjGh1RA0ysZLoFZx58X8J_1YsOGGDzxNYudrh8mHPl3lsDyI/s1600/IMG_3885.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" mea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8wmz3NnQdNTPQFcuc3AtHMfAex13K3jgnXjR_xoIEsLZkM8nomfFgIyreUq_gTTJmyzOGBByyvYpsKf1Tk6Q7sB8zqQ_MjGh1RA0ysZLoFZx58X8J_1YsOGGDzxNYudrh8mHPl3lsDyI/s320/IMG_3885.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was a popular slide.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSg2K1SxnvFVoWUW9FctOqg03x2nhoWVzkf43bZb0xu3Qh7CgD7_61X5Svf0qQnDT6OctYwnFRKVjvB95bFCDRE4e8ZHMAunHreiTHXN4NEuVJbDPGZc8aCiIWcR27TILaaulMUYz8sb0/s1600/IMG_3893.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" mea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSg2K1SxnvFVoWUW9FctOqg03x2nhoWVzkf43bZb0xu3Qh7CgD7_61X5Svf0qQnDT6OctYwnFRKVjvB95bFCDRE4e8ZHMAunHreiTHXN4NEuVJbDPGZc8aCiIWcR27TILaaulMUYz8sb0/s400/IMG_3893.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I don't know what to say about the one on the left with the teddy bear. The one on the right is some kind of video game symbol with guns, which was kind of cool. One Webelo brought his grandfather's lieutenant's bars. We didn't let him use those.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I wasn't sure about a British Flag on an American Scout uniform. The scout in question knew that Sir Baden Powell, founder of American Boy Scouts, was a lieutenant-general in the British Army. How do I argue with that?</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is The Pudge's slide. You may recognize the guitar pick from our <a href="http://buzzkills-buzzkill.blogspot.com/2010/07/buzz-and-monsters-vs-cheap-trick.html">concert a few years ago</a>. Several other scouts used guitar picks too.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixo1DfuspiziVMM_3e-ctULbir4YFqsgJmOsjYyqsA22P3d6TyHZpczBPg6bptUY2fNrzU9g4gWvXAoHEvJRYq68F9IXzAkkJSjN59rKxAdIdkTcFYee4kPHRFWpFicKmoePSM9kbTdgI/s1600/IMG_3898.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" mea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixo1DfuspiziVMM_3e-ctULbir4YFqsgJmOsjYyqsA22P3d6TyHZpczBPg6bptUY2fNrzU9g4gWvXAoHEvJRYq68F9IXzAkkJSjN59rKxAdIdkTcFYee4kPHRFWpFicKmoePSM9kbTdgI/s400/IMG_3898.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Last but not least, Mr. Kill's slide. Believe it or not, this is a stone from the Roman Colosseum that I "acquired" some 25 years ago on my one and only visit to Rome. The boys thought that was pretty cool.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Buzz Killhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01443964019621130222noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243099844770061125.post-34699313176644310142012-05-03T08:20:00.000-04:002012-05-03T08:20:00.809-04:00Uh Oh, I think She's Serious<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div>Buzz Killhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01443964019621130222noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243099844770061125.post-16847790441517806912012-04-07T00:00:00.000-04:002012-04-07T00:00:02.534-04:00Happy Easter?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJh8ORwsSMiJQimejHIQlsDz_E54aTpFMqXHmd5fRhPQixJPfj15Y2nHrgPRC3shIPoHQmOauJN_vANiNSgmRWxoQ7WmnL-qi4i2GGhIPiqewIWdcmBvAWjLiXp2eH971e0gwijYsiqIE/s1600/zombie-easter-bunny.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" nda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJh8ORwsSMiJQimejHIQlsDz_E54aTpFMqXHmd5fRhPQixJPfj15Y2nHrgPRC3shIPoHQmOauJN_vANiNSgmRWxoQ7WmnL-qi4i2GGhIPiqewIWdcmBvAWjLiXp2eH971e0gwijYsiqIE/s320/zombie-easter-bunny.jpg" width="242" /></a></div>
The Pudge has this whole theory that Jesus rising from the dead makes him - a zombie. *sigh*<br />
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Happy Easter to all my blogger friends. May you enjoy or keep reverent this holiest of days with your family and friends. <br />
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I guess it couldn't hurt to check the ammo locker.<br />Buzz Killhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01443964019621130222noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243099844770061125.post-7444146127614003552012-03-30T09:46:00.000-04:002012-03-30T09:46:50.159-04:00Problems with Blogger, Boy Scouts and Boxer's B-DayI tried to comment on Moi's and Boxer's blogs with no joy. Fortunately, I copied my comments before I lost them:<br />
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@ Boxer - The chandelier does need something, I just don't know what. Puppy dogs and boys are the same - they grow faster than their brains for sure. I don't think I'll be in the smackdown this weekend (in fact- I'm positive). Have a good weekend.<br />
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@ Moi - These songs always remind me of summer: Summertime Blues by Eddie Cochran, Under the Boardwalk by the Drifters, 409 by the Beach Boys, Summer Breeze by Seals and Croft and Born to be Wild by Steppenwolf.<br />
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No summertime for me this weekend. I'm going camping with the boys in the rain and 40 degree weather. But I hope to have some of these songs rattling around in my head.<br />
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Last weekend, the boys and I went all nuclear. We visited the local nuclear plant (yeah, just like Homer - I get it) and earned the Nuclear Engineering Merit Badge. The fact that it didn't make national headlines - is a good thing. They got to go in to an exact replica of a control room (think the movie China Syndrome), messed with Geiger counters and radiation suits, and got to stand next to this:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUpSPBxVtN_CupuwHCzCC7rG53KXLvpmXMitaSSc4Ku-B-RNE3XgvPBryL4hbsSHOnv3vT8qsmXBpnQQGozfBTJm-Ze-vnHVCn9gjEw4ei0-UolShSeF-QvrcvOWTQlDKGYik-kXSCoD0/s1600/BSA252+-+Cooling+Tower+24MAR2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" dea="true" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUpSPBxVtN_CupuwHCzCC7rG53KXLvpmXMitaSSc4Ku-B-RNE3XgvPBryL4hbsSHOnv3vT8qsmXBpnQQGozfBTJm-Ze-vnHVCn9gjEw4ei0-UolShSeF-QvrcvOWTQlDKGYik-kXSCoD0/s640/BSA252+-+Cooling+Tower+24MAR2012.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This thing is over 500 feet tall and evaporates 13,000 gallons of water per minute. </td></tr>
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Happy Birthday Boxer!!! I would get you this because it's just as stupid as the real thing - but a whole lot less work.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8xt5z6iTEuQD17GUbc2dMA0KwdB8MlUujmA88xK3N4XlIzsdYrImUnPrf4ZKHIOHgMk39nlzuF8nQZnaRaVh0eK5Y0VhfGeKzOiCK5Gr8-RLuz8VCfPmPy9tdqKJGvK5hgTgJ3mjvCoM/s1600/Knit+your+own+dog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dea="true" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8xt5z6iTEuQD17GUbc2dMA0KwdB8MlUujmA88xK3N4XlIzsdYrImUnPrf4ZKHIOHgMk39nlzuF8nQZnaRaVh0eK5Y0VhfGeKzOiCK5Gr8-RLuz8VCfPmPy9tdqKJGvK5hgTgJ3mjvCoM/s320/Knit+your+own+dog.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Buzz Killhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01443964019621130222noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243099844770061125.post-71210132476443284622012-03-16T20:27:00.003-04:002012-03-16T20:27:43.495-04:00Colcannon RevistedA couple of weeks ago, I made a <a href="http://allrecipes.com/recipe/dianes-colcannon/detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Title&e11=colcannon&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1&e7=Home%20Page">Colcannon recipe</a> for the <a href="http://buzzkills-buzzkill.blogspot.com/2012/02/culinary-smackdown-cabbage.html">Culinary Smackdown</a> competition. You'll recall that I used red cabbage and the dish turned an unappetizing blue/purple. Well, I remade it for this weeks St. Patrick's Day office potluck. I used a bag of shredded cole slaw cabbage that had some carrots in it it too. It looked much better and was a pretty big hit at lunch. Three people asked for the recipe. I only had enough left overs for my lunch today - and it still looked (and tasted) appetizing.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0w89DM4lBQ6koY5YEJmxMbZa9bSVLeNiCHbbAq32_8gTKFT1z6Rcb-o4Lzfy2fkijNqm3PHYIUqXG20qlHz-VFyQiSkgAY9MepaOOKlmfublb4yuhCb_ZlOt3-37n6qLerJaVbE5xkAA/s1600/IMG_3881%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0w89DM4lBQ6koY5YEJmxMbZa9bSVLeNiCHbbAq32_8gTKFT1z6Rcb-o4Lzfy2fkijNqm3PHYIUqXG20qlHz-VFyQiSkgAY9MepaOOKlmfublb4yuhCb_ZlOt3-37n6qLerJaVbE5xkAA/s400/IMG_3881%5B1%5D.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Colcannon with much better coloring.</td></tr>
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Buzz Killhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01443964019621130222noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243099844770061125.post-55119319289671349642012-03-12T00:00:00.000-04:002012-03-12T00:00:06.771-04:00Haiku Monday - Circle<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij0NHrcTHxuFx0_W-wWsyDqBLciwNolvO88zHJwVBZwoVY67uJp3KQqEvJ1CHfkQ0JNlusm1b-d3iECfR8YsBHuKO7x6MdK09lV1Np7D2PMEW86wnXqYvT9RtmWzE7eaEYIgGqWNULkKg/s1600/Hollywood+Squares.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij0NHrcTHxuFx0_W-wWsyDqBLciwNolvO88zHJwVBZwoVY67uJp3KQqEvJ1CHfkQ0JNlusm1b-d3iECfR8YsBHuKO7x6MdK09lV1Np7D2PMEW86wnXqYvT9RtmWzE7eaEYIgGqWNULkKg/s400/Hollywood+Squares.jpg" width="400" yda="true" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Hollywood Marshall. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Shooting from the hip gaiety. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Circle gets the square. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2oTzRc3j1SsRnOdNK-_3BA01oCednUK_piQ0wwEMgxWTEUdj_Fp5fiWkmAhFl7mscQfpwn6v4sPJ1i8h_cd2dZ2-aJkorZpq47320uv47kovNxA7have-zLYScvu8fTpl8mKLn53vNLA/s1600/paul_lynde.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="396" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2oTzRc3j1SsRnOdNK-_3BA01oCednUK_piQ0wwEMgxWTEUdj_Fp5fiWkmAhFl7mscQfpwn6v4sPJ1i8h_cd2dZ2-aJkorZpq47320uv47kovNxA7have-zLYScvu8fTpl8mKLn53vNLA/s400/paul_lynde.png" width="390" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOAL2xMnNqsWBl4UBo9_N4jI4EjUIkGTqcCIdZzvz2PH_6HgU7ZMy05SIu46dCempQQiSdBQDw3kJjCXWnM8CmV-n-I588wehxcq2NuIVA9bbcuwKDoVbtoSy4FlxyUVERW5uTDg8f6Zk/s1600/Monkee+squares.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOAL2xMnNqsWBl4UBo9_N4jI4EjUIkGTqcCIdZzvz2PH_6HgU7ZMy05SIu46dCempQQiSdBQDw3kJjCXWnM8CmV-n-I588wehxcq2NuIVA9bbcuwKDoVbtoSy4FlxyUVERW5uTDg8f6Zk/s400/Monkee+squares.jpg" width="400" yda="true" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Davy Jones Tribute - I never knew they were on the Squares.</td></tr>
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<br />Buzz Killhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01443964019621130222noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243099844770061125.post-87134877935342606412012-03-05T09:13:00.000-05:002012-03-05T09:16:48.053-05:00Haiku Monday - Silence<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy57re4SizFREIuSAqja9fiItUw7qqt3TJKs9vbb_dolDRMVKwrx2qgIg-UgqNYBqUB6E1uwxMXY1JcADdSD95r-hDzxQeIQi_4arfnT6xhkYyuy7Gt1gZTdwFh4vtvNqUv_EL-4f76p4/s1600/Periscope+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy57re4SizFREIuSAqja9fiItUw7qqt3TJKs9vbb_dolDRMVKwrx2qgIg-UgqNYBqUB6E1uwxMXY1JcADdSD95r-hDzxQeIQi_4arfnT6xhkYyuy7Gt1gZTdwFh4vtvNqUv_EL-4f76p4/s400/Periscope+view.jpg" uda="true" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Two classes of ships,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Submarines - and their targets.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Run silent, run deep.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGDKqJZzyE8b5T4KZqvdN_cE4l-tfZCdPUVxA2Hbaote0ydCKVgWRHDL1gtL3J8qhFbYRpM90WHlxHRxh_DoWQeBadVaoxImlii4GHVeEpVcfX0JazYgmGL8Hl7kzu4LY-LxPGSQvG2YI/s1600/Run-Silent-Run-Deep-1958-gable-lancaster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGDKqJZzyE8b5T4KZqvdN_cE4l-tfZCdPUVxA2Hbaote0ydCKVgWRHDL1gtL3J8qhFbYRpM90WHlxHRxh_DoWQeBadVaoxImlii4GHVeEpVcfX0JazYgmGL8Hl7kzu4LY-LxPGSQvG2YI/s400/Run-Silent-Run-Deep-1958-gable-lancaster.jpg" uda="true" width="400" /></a></div>
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Yeah, I decided to play this week because it was a great theme and this popped into my head pretty quickly. Last week's haiku winner, <a href="http://thefoaming.blogspot.com/2012/03/haiku-monday-theme-and-etc.html">Foam at The Foaming</a>, is hosting with theme of Silence this week. Stop on over to hear the roar.<br />
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<br />Buzz Killhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01443964019621130222noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243099844770061125.post-77021816566468556392012-02-29T10:32:00.000-05:002012-02-29T10:47:03.858-05:00There But For The Grace of God Go I...and Moi's Questions AnsweredIf you haven't seen this picture, it's friggin hysterical. But my second thought after LOLing was - that could have been The Boy (and for the record - it's not). <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTkGWswBUONPdt9NNgY6ylCUFM4kNR-GG6xNmimMxW3UonAmjVABsiCI35uFQUQSOD-W9GQaHJ0dd1h4e_DnXmxxg2wLHQdKJxIixBokuDEZcOiyOuG0Y6YXM_uafhsIYPq-gwan9K4Ck/s1600/Obama+Ron+Paul.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTkGWswBUONPdt9NNgY6ylCUFM4kNR-GG6xNmimMxW3UonAmjVABsiCI35uFQUQSOD-W9GQaHJ0dd1h4e_DnXmxxg2wLHQdKJxIixBokuDEZcOiyOuG0Y6YXM_uafhsIYPq-gwan9K4Ck/s400/Obama+Ron+Paul.jpg" uda="true" width="400" /></a></div>
As many of you know, The Boy is a freshman at a Virginia collage and very active in politics - Right Wing Politics. He's a student government senator (the Freshman Senator from New Jersey as he likes his family to address him), a school ambassador and he has a one-day-per-week internship with the local County Board of Administration (sans pay of course). So with all of the political contacts and inroads he's making, he actually had the opportunity (a select few student government members received tickets) to go to hear the president give a speech a few weeks ago. The Boy bailed at the last minute because of a test that he couldn't get out of. I don't think he tried all that hard to reschedule the test because he's no fan of the president. But how often does one get a chance to meet the president? Knowing The Boy, there'll be a lot of them.<br />
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Anyway, <a href="http://bitetheapple64.blogspot.com/2012/02/news-at-eleven.html">Moi</a> tagged me for one of these "intimate questions" MEMEs. Like I don't have enough to do? I am choosing Fight Club Rules where there are no rules - I'm just answering the F-ing questions.<br />
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<strong>1. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun or The Boys Are Back in Town?</strong><br />
<strong></strong><br />
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<span style="color: red;">I'll take Thin Lizzy over Cyndi Lauper any day of the week.</span><br />
<strong><br /> </strong><strong>2. Camping or the Ritz?</strong><br />
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<span style="color: red;">I'm a friggin' Boy Scout, so of course I'm going to take the Ritz. Camping is for - boy scouts.</span><br />
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<strong>3. What food are you craving RIGHT NOW . . . did you eat it?</strong><br />
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<span style="color: red;">Cookies and ...yes.</span><br />
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<strong>4. The most thrilling place you've ever visited. Why?</strong><br />
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<span style="color: red;">San Francisco, 17 October 1989 - 7.2 earthquake. </span><br />
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<strong>5. If you could slip into the skin of one public figure--celebrity, artist, politician--who would it be?</strong><br />
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<span style="color: red;">Tommy Lee from <span class="st">Mötley Crüe. Five words - Heather Locklear and Pam Anderson. And you know he worked a threesome at some point with those two.</span></span><br />
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<strong>7. Look up from your computer. What do you see?</strong><br />
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<span style="color: red;">I see dead people...working all around me.</span><br />
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<strong>8. Sum up your philosophy of life in one sentence. You can borrow it from someone else, if you'd like.</strong><br />
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<span style="color: red;">I don't have a philosophy, just a reality - and it's the banner on my blog.</span><strong> </strong><br />
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<br /><strong>9. The one thing you just don't understand about kids today.</strong><br />
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<span style="color: red;">Kid's fashion - How can boys walk around with their pants below their butts? How can girl's parents let them walk around with tight, yoga pants that say "Love Pink", "Sassy" and "Naughty"?</span><br />
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<strong>10. If you could steal one work of art from a museum or gallery, which would it be?</strong><br />
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<span style="color: red;"> <span style="font-family: inherit;">The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Paul_C%C3%A9zanne_222.jpg"><i>The Card Players</i> by Paul Cézanne</a> because it was worth more than $250 million in 2011.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ama_0-0"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_expensive_paintings#cite_note-ama-0"></a></sup></span></span><br />
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<strong>11. Regular toothbrush or electric?</strong><br />
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<span style="color: red;">Regular. Power tools in my mouth should only be used by a trained professional.</span><br />
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<br />Buzz Killhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01443964019621130222noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243099844770061125.post-66812622407003725642012-02-28T19:30:00.000-05:002012-02-28T19:45:06.529-05:00Culinary Smackdown - Cabbage<br />
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There's an<a href="http://www.chivalry.com/cantaria/lyrics/colcannon.html"> Irish Song</a> that goes like this:<br />
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<em>Did you ever eat Colcannon, made from lovely pickled cream? </em><br />
<em>With the greens and scallions mingled like a picture in a dream. </em><br />
<em>Did you ever make a hole on top to hold the melting flake </em><br />
<em>Of the creamy, flavoured butter that your mother used to make?" </em><br />
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The chorus: <br />
<em>Yes you did, so you did, so did he and so did I. </em><br />
<em>And the more I think about it sure the nearer I'm to cry. </em><br />
<em>Oh, wasn't it the happy days when troubles we had not, </em><br />
<em>And our mothers made Colcannon in the little skillet pot.</em><br />
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Yeah, I never heard of it either.<br />
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Anyway, <a href="http://grumpygranny.wordpress.com/">Grumpy Granny</a> is hostessing this month's Culinary Smackdown and she has named the theme - Cabbage! These smackdowns encourage experimentation and the trying new recipes. So I'm going for the latter because experimentation with cabbage just sounds wrong. When I think of cabbage, I think sauerkraut or cole slaw, both of which I have made numerous times. And of course, being close to St. Patty's Day, there is corned beef and cabbage. And that jogged my memory on a recipe I came across several years ago while looking for something to make on St. Patty's - Colcannon. Although it's a pretty simple recipe, I've never made it before, so it satisfies he challenge as far as I'm concerned. <br />
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I looked at several recipes on Allrecipe.com and found this <a href="http://allrecipes.com/recipe/dianes-colcannon/detail.aspx">Colcannon recipe</a>. The actual name of the recipe is called "Diane's Colcannon" which I thought was a play on <a href="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2488/3820180937_840f1c4a9e.jpg">Dyan Cannon</a> who I loved in <a href="http://filmlinc.com/page/-/uploads/films/lastofsheila_600.jpg/@mx_600">The Last of Sheila</a>. Anyone? Bueller? She was hot back in the 70s and at one time <a href="http://img2-2.timeinc.net/ew/img/daily/606/grant_l.jpg">was married to Cary Grant</a> - but I digress. Turns out the recipe was submitted by Diane F., go figure.<br />
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Anyway, here are the ingredients I used. I bought shredded cabbage (because I just happened to see it at the store) and I had leftover bacon from Sunday breakfast (did he say leftover bacon? - yeah, I know but I had cooked up 1/2 lb for 2 of us). <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2up9-Ered0UxBGE12oe0hz-RVZRkTHraqRbtNJ3MoKqwSCr8E2NK7HrczCe6oqIDxZcYH6f4XoHFq8FOYc7Q9n119PwJ75L1OI6mQywKFU1wi4pNz-qybZMb2VJInkxuAfMbREdNoCA8/s1600/IMG_3876%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" lda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2up9-Ered0UxBGE12oe0hz-RVZRkTHraqRbtNJ3MoKqwSCr8E2NK7HrczCe6oqIDxZcYH6f4XoHFq8FOYc7Q9n119PwJ75L1OI6mQywKFU1wi4pNz-qybZMb2VJInkxuAfMbREdNoCA8/s400/IMG_3876%5B1%5D.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Ingredients. I cut corners using shredded cabbage and leftover bacon.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzlwG_gSqzV5do5g2I-GBGfCxL6qoc0UOA4KHyH1m3SizE0-RqD2S2ybFSGx3aRBv65PPkwhyphenhyphenvtS7fgJuiTKnCZyPETqw_c5l-IG9SoUYCTBb1A_qPjFCR-wRp9aDtRHme2hxhHa5eINo/s1600/IMG_3877%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" lda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzlwG_gSqzV5do5g2I-GBGfCxL6qoc0UOA4KHyH1m3SizE0-RqD2S2ybFSGx3aRBv65PPkwhyphenhyphenvtS7fgJuiTKnCZyPETqw_c5l-IG9SoUYCTBb1A_qPjFCR-wRp9aDtRHme2hxhHa5eINo/s400/IMG_3877%5B1%5D.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The potatoes are boiling and the mis en place - are in place</td></tr>
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Because I didn't have any bacon grease, I used butter instead. After I cooked the cabbage and onion for about 10 minutes, I added in the bacon to heat it up and get some of that flavor into the cabbage. My mom use to keep a jar of bacon grease for this kind of cooking. She used it a lot in her tomato sauce. I need to start doing that.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitctBVbVyp-Y_zDsf7ofXqzyrik4F9PWlCyYe4R0cC7z4VkeqfGyszU0Tc_EZGg3f8AuRr6w3UhZ7em7vbryu8dZs_6LfMkUjIENGnDN_NK-edaQT07qY1lUNGaS1qdMKmar78X41dPxs/s1600/IMG_3878%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" lda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitctBVbVyp-Y_zDsf7ofXqzyrik4F9PWlCyYe4R0cC7z4VkeqfGyszU0Tc_EZGg3f8AuRr6w3UhZ7em7vbryu8dZs_6LfMkUjIENGnDN_NK-edaQT07qY1lUNGaS1qdMKmar78X41dPxs/s400/IMG_3878%5B1%5D.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cabbage and onion are cooking in butter and I diced the bacon.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWA1zXn3I8hDj22fJV_x7qZAtXhsjESSVsBKg2tPqBOxObGLdqGYIAzVEOZf7JM1DynEyPUEDYDO508wyM57xnUXGF7TsTeWXbIL5Alr41voe_iCEN0x7FEIg80C7ktmkzd_uhbxY4jsA/s1600/IMG_3879%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" lda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWA1zXn3I8hDj22fJV_x7qZAtXhsjESSVsBKg2tPqBOxObGLdqGYIAzVEOZf7JM1DynEyPUEDYDO508wyM57xnUXGF7TsTeWXbIL5Alr41voe_iCEN0x7FEIg80C7ktmkzd_uhbxY4jsA/s400/IMG_3879%5B1%5D.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Colcannon in the pot, 1 minute old.</td></tr>
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Here's dinner. Yeah, big deal, but it's all I had time to do. I actually had intended to do a ham steak, but we were out because someone left it off the shopping list.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFbdhN6-9zsTaBXXUSzeDQHL37NI_M_bOwH0J7sQmsZ9STWJcZm9J9PQVaxtDhzP0YivcurYjWfHuZZQJZ8Iuztc5-GBHxOPP3UI4OuKszgmvYN2A81XL9dSmvNNLclvOHz1KvroQm7PA/s1600/IMG_3880%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" lda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFbdhN6-9zsTaBXXUSzeDQHL37NI_M_bOwH0J7sQmsZ9STWJcZm9J9PQVaxtDhzP0YivcurYjWfHuZZQJZ8Iuztc5-GBHxOPP3UI4OuKszgmvYN2A81XL9dSmvNNLclvOHz1KvroQm7PA/s400/IMG_3880%5B1%5D.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Monday dinner.</td></tr>
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<strong>The Verdict:</strong> The Pudge and I thought this was really good. You definitely get the cabbage and bacon flavor. The onion not so much. And I don't know if green cabbage would have been better than red, but it would have fit the song better. And like most of my smackdown food, I always have leftovers for lunch. I will tell you that after a couple of days in the fridge, the Colcannon started to take on a bluish/purplish hue. Not the most appetising thing to look at, but it still tasted good.<br />
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The Mrs. (who claims to be Irish) said it was just OK. In fact, she never even heard of it before. She offered a criticism that the bacon needed to be chopped finer than it was. And I agree with her.<br />
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My office is going to have a potluck lunch for St. Patty's Day and I've already rogered up to make this. We'll see how that goes.Buzz Killhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01443964019621130222noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243099844770061125.post-44443924132476189532012-02-17T00:00:00.000-05:002012-02-17T00:00:01.843-05:00Home Maintenance Triple Whammy - EpilogueTo bring you all up to speed on how my <a href="http://buzzkills-buzzkill.blogspot.com/2012/02/home-maintenance-triple-whammy.html">contractor party</a> went, here's a recap.<br />
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8:00AM - Garage door contractor shows up (right on time). He spent about 20 minutes looking at the opener with me working the Up/Down button. Turns out the motor drive and drive gear are factory packed with grease, but this particular unit didn't get enough. I suspected this but didn't want to pull it apart and void a warranty. Plus, the installation is still within the installer's warranty - so this wasn't costing me anything but time - which I was already committing to other contractors. Anyway, he greased it all up and it works fine. Off he went by 8:30AM after I signed some stuff.<br />
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10:00AM - Both the refrigerator repairman and insulation contractor show up at the same time (what are the odds). So I talk to the refrigerator guy first and get him started on his troubleshooting. Then I talk and walk through the project with the insulation guys (2 guys). They say they're going to be done by 2:00PM because the foreman needs to pick up his kid from school - perfect, I may be able to make meeting with The Pudge's principal. <br />
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10:30AM - Refrigerator guy can't get the refrigerator to make the noise both The Mrs and I heard. I suspected it was a low freon problem, but refrigerator guy says freon is good. He was actually more interested in <a href="http://buzzkills-buzzkill.blogspot.com/2012/01/she-cut-down-my-tree.html">what happened to the tree on the deck</a>. Anyway, this was covered under our extended warranty (would have been $137 for the call) so this is one item where I'm glad we have the extended warranty. I like the refrigerator (Kenmore Elite) but it has had some minor problems where the warranty has already paid for itself. I have warranties on the dryer (LG) and the Microwave (Kenmore). Anything with electronics I think the warranty is worth having.<br />
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10:00 AM - 2:30PM - Insulation guys work with minimal noise and dirt. I inspect each section (as best I can because I can barely fit through the openings) and it looks like they did everything they were supposed to do. I was going to take some pictures of the finished work, but that was too difficult. I did take one though. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUFepjuFWDDSuBwllDYQaiDBbx6tCtaSX_sV9L94CQNIqVzZZYCzfCqbr9X2RLWMRCYGcfCRQ5RTslYO0MDN8Rwbwy9Qroa_v0l1vngXmQHmQ97CjS7ssEzkJYafBFLUwuElk0_unqx5M/s1600/IMG_3875%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUFepjuFWDDSuBwllDYQaiDBbx6tCtaSX_sV9L94CQNIqVzZZYCzfCqbr9X2RLWMRCYGcfCRQ5RTslYO0MDN8Rwbwy9Qroa_v0l1vngXmQHmQ97CjS7ssEzkJYafBFLUwuElk0_unqx5M/s400/IMG_3875%255B1%255D.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The insulation guys set up their Atic-Cat pump system and pumped all of the cellulose through a 4" hose. This wasn't near as loud as you'd think it would be.</td></tr>
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2:45PM - I signed and paid for the work, just in time for The Mrs. to pull up.<br />
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3:00PM The Mrs and I did our walk of shame over to The Pudge's school. It's not far. In fact, you can sort of see it in the picture behind the insulation guys trailer.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><u><strong>The Pudge's F</strong></u></span><br />
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This is a long, involved story and quite boring, so I'll give you the Reader's Digest version. There's an on-line software that the school district uses to allow parents to monitor their child's grades. Most teacher will update it daily or a couple times a week with homework, labs, test and quizzes. And it will give you an instantaneous grade snapshot. We've been using it for years and have never had a problem until this year's math class. The 1st marking period, we noticed the software indicated an A+ but for daily entries, it listed "X" or "1". He ended up with a "B" for the marking period. The 2nd marking period was more of the same, only this time he ended up with an "F". Every other class gives number grades and an equivalent letter grade. And for the 2nd marking period, The Pudge had A+, A+, A, A, A-, B+...and an F.<br />
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The teacher never gave us any indication that anything was wrong. On report card day, The Pudge had to wait 2 hours until we got home from work, and then proceeded to have a total melt-down including hyperventilating. The Mrs. and I were furious with the teacher and school. That weekend, we wrote a very detailed letter to the guidance counselor and principal (not the teacher). We got a fairly quick response back from the principal and set up the appointment to see him on Triple Whammy Friday. <br />
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The Thursday night before our meeting, while The Pudge and I were at scouts, The Mrs. gets a call from the teacher (this is around 7:00PM). The first thing the teacher starts talking about is having to work late. The Mrs. cut her off on that topic right away (The Mrs. routinely works until 9 and 10 at night) and told her to get to the point. The teacher wanted to let us know that she realizes there is a problem with the on-line software and communication and that she and the school are taking steps to correct it. Blah, blah, blah...we'll work to fix the problem.<br />
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We came to find out later she called at least 2 other parent that night. The Pudge told us that a lot of A/B students in his class also failed. We also found out that a bunch of students had problems with this same teacher last year. So much so that at least one transferred out of the class this year when she found out who the teacher was. Now we're really furious - and off we go to the principals office.<br />
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So, the teacher is in the meeting with us, the principal and guidance counselor. Everyone is all lovey-dovey and the teacher will now send letters home every two weeks with student progress (for everyone in the class). I really wanted to give the principal an earful about a problem teacher that is causing problems for me and my family, and the school knew about it for at least one previous year. This is one of the problems we have with the teacher's union and tenure (hopefully soon corrected by Governor Christie - love that guy). I'm still thinking about writing another letter to the principal stating this. Do I want to do the noble thing and try and prevent this from happening to next year's 7th and 8th graders? I'm thinking on it. <br />
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We get home and tell The Pudge everything and he feels a little better. He thinks he can stick it out for a couple of more months, then he goes to high school. The Mrs. and I decided to take him out to Don Pablo's for dinner. We get there and there's a 30 minute wait. We go into the crowded bar area and I go and get drinks. The Pudge likes margaritas so I asked the barkeep for a virgin and a regular for The Mrs. He brings them over and I ask which is the virgin? He says "oh, I thought you said frozen." The Pudge almost wound up face down in the gutter. Bwahahahaha - now that's good parenting. When I get back with the drinks, here The Mrs and The Pudge are talking to a family whose son is in The Pudge's math class. And they were in the same situation although they didn't get an audience with the Principal. Small world.<br />
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And that is how my weekend started.<br />
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The good news is that it got really cold Saturday (around 20 degrees) and The Mrs. said she felt warmer because of all of the new insulation. It was worth it just for that.Buzz Killhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01443964019621130222noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243099844770061125.post-53443081123861551222012-02-15T11:37:00.000-05:002012-02-15T11:37:15.776-05:00Whitney Houston - New Jersey's Favorite Daughter?It turns out, Whitney Houston was born and raised in Newark, NJ. I honestly didn't know that until I saw on the news (ad nauseam) that her body was being flown here for burial. Apparently, she still has family living here. But I never heard of her returning to New Jersey to give anything back to the state or community and no one I know would ever associate her with New Jersey. So I was surprised when Governor Chris Christie ordered all <a href="http://www.courierpostonline.com/article/20120215/NEWS02/202150335/N-J-flags-fly-half-staff-Whitney-Houston">flags to be flown at half-staff</a> on Saturday in her honor. I was always under the impression that was an honor reserved for government officials, military personnel and peace officers. You know, people that actually worked to better or defend the state. New Jersey natives like Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi do charitable work, bring business to the state, live in the state and are actually associated with the state. When their time comes, I can see them getting this honor.<br />
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<a href="http://uk.imdb.com/name/nm0001702/">Roy Scheider</a> died a few years ago and was a native of Orange, NJ (a stone's throw away from Newark) and was arguably more famous then Whitney Houston, but didn't receive this honor. He starred in some of the most famous movies of all time (Jaws, The French Connection, etc.) and to my knowledge, didn't do crack. Very few people knew he was from the state and was never associated with it.<br />
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So, does anyone think Whitney Houston deserves this honor?Buzz Killhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01443964019621130222noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243099844770061125.post-28448782126888239952012-02-14T09:42:00.003-05:002012-02-14T09:50:13.294-05:00Happy Valentine's Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">Happy Valentines Day to all of my blogger friends and especially The Mrs., without whom I would have nothing to blog about. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">And don't forget about the love of your life today. Because you know she won't let you forget about it the rest of the year. Bwahahahaha</span>Buzz Killhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01443964019621130222noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243099844770061125.post-8903416253461857432012-02-10T00:00:00.000-05:002012-02-10T00:00:02.790-05:00Home Maintenance Triple WhammyI've known for a long time (well, since I bought the house almost 20 years ago) that the insulation in the attic spaces was woefully inadequate. The house was built in 1972 and the two roofs only have about 3" - 4" of insulation between the joists that has compressed over the years (from dust and settling) to the point where we are losing a tremendous amount of energy. It's estimated (by some mythical government agency that I can't verify - but it sounds right) that 42% of a house's energy loss is through the roof. I've looked into doing it myself, but the roof pitch is extremely shallow I have about 3 feet of head room) and there are very small openings to get into the spaces. The old body just can't do it any more.<br />
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So I had an Owens-Corning distributor come in and he talked me into adding 17" of cellulose attic insulation (R-49 rating) and soffit vents. I want to see how they're going to get the vents in because there is very little room because of the shallow pitch. They estimate that doing this will lower my utility bill by 20% - 25%, with a payback of about 3 years - we'll see. I have so little insulation now that it has to save me money. How much is the question. This happened 2 weeks ago and is scheduled for this Friday.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguTtgLk5SODR0Ld1PM3n0CW-s7EbbsUJykgL7HRtjN6yAOp5dpIMnVY10J_1683_BWut5u9iNFjW0yBP18sCWAEbO-LqC5fDHkjuFePM_YrrCcztDPMfFiJQHX7-8Dari25SJuaF3KTv4/s1600/Attic+Insulation+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguTtgLk5SODR0Ld1PM3n0CW-s7EbbsUJykgL7HRtjN6yAOp5dpIMnVY10J_1683_BWut5u9iNFjW0yBP18sCWAEbO-LqC5fDHkjuFePM_YrrCcztDPMfFiJQHX7-8Dari25SJuaF3KTv4/s400/Attic+Insulation+1.jpg" width="351" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is basically what they will do in my attic (illustration). That roof pitch is pretty much what my roof pitch is. Getting in between each rafter with a soffit vent is why I'm not doing it.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoW-g5l5B7kJzRELbifOL33o5us3kNul8a1MPr5Fg91mktCwDLto5u8Vhk6fndor7HxBUrQAF7yIz63BhdZkrytpdZz6DkDkHJr72VvexaY_ZPkcC8fyYJGYrB__w2QSes8uKIwEBXqEI/s1600/Attic+Insulation+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="285" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoW-g5l5B7kJzRELbifOL33o5us3kNul8a1MPr5Fg91mktCwDLto5u8Vhk6fndor7HxBUrQAF7yIz63BhdZkrytpdZz6DkDkHJr72VvexaY_ZPkcC8fyYJGYrB__w2QSes8uKIwEBXqEI/s400/Attic+Insulation+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is another illustration of the soffit vents. Note that this guy has plenty of room because the roof pitch is twice what mine is.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho5TJYWCvqETf_o6XalRGsfhGpygeJQbQeamPkHFcBF4zyIlcFp7-DpEFrkAlWKL-94Ik3dfwYNsnOBaTgN2TeVsL9HSY0W3WJ-q4RmGrZbci5Jhpa7u2Vvwj7qhV497_W_poJRHhlXDQ/s1600/Attic+Insulation+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho5TJYWCvqETf_o6XalRGsfhGpygeJQbQeamPkHFcBF4zyIlcFp7-DpEFrkAlWKL-94Ik3dfwYNsnOBaTgN2TeVsL9HSY0W3WJ-q4RmGrZbci5Jhpa7u2Vvwj7qhV497_W_poJRHhlXDQ/s400/Attic+Insulation+3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is not my attic, but is what it should look like when it's done. They will put these gauges at different points in the space to make sure the insulation is spread evenly. </td></tr>
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Monday I started noticing our Kenmore Elite refrigerator was making gurgling noises after the compressor shut off. Sometimes that's an indication of low freon or the evaporator is freezing up. This is one of the few items in my house that has an extended warranty, so The Mrs. scheduled a maintenance guy to come this Friday.<br />
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We had our garage doors and one of the openers replaced about 2 months ago (again, I'm too old to do that hard labor crap). Last week the opener started making a grinding noise from the drive motor. I went through all of the troubleshooting checks in the manual and couldn't figure it out. So after multiple calls to Home Depot, I finally am getting the installation contractor to come out and take a look at it - this Friday. <br />
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Triple Whammy! Contractor party at my house!<br />
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And to top it all off, if I can get these guys out of the house by 3:15PM, I will be able to attend our first meeting ever with the principal of The Pudge's middle school (otherwise The Mrs. will have to go it alone). We got his report card last Friday and he failed math. We don't fault The Pudge at all on this - it's a teacher problem. We are now hearing from multiple parents that had problems with this teacher last year (thanks for the heads up). The Pudge has never gotten anything lower than a "B" on his report card - ever. I think that will be a post for another time.<br />
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And then there's the weekend...Buzz Killhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01443964019621130222noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243099844770061125.post-56192483997391222152012-02-02T08:00:00.000-05:002012-02-02T08:00:08.344-05:00Winter Camping with the BoysOhhh, son-of-a...another scouting story? Scouts has been taking a lot of my time lately, so it's only fitting that I torment all of you with my miserable life. And you know it won't end here. <br />
Our troop's winter camp was the 3rd weekend of January at one of our local state parks. We were really on the fence about going because the weather forecast was not good. But, because of schedules, postponing the trip most likely meant cancelling and we would have lost our deposit for the site. So off we went.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A view of the lake.</td></tr>
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The temperature never really got above freezing, we had about an inch of snow Friday night (fortunately it was after we got set up) and we had freezing rain most of the day Saturday. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A very large pavilion with the lake just beyond.</td></tr>
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Rather than tent-camping, we had "Lean-tos". These were wooden houses with 4 walls, floor, roof, door, windows and a wood-burning stove. The weekend before, The Pudge, The Scoutmaster, Simple J, Birch and I went to a church that needed some downed trees cut up and taken away. This was perfect for the firewood we would need for the stoves and I ended up taking down about half a chord of wood - and it helped the church out too. This was to be an advancement weekend. We would work on a bunch of the outdoor-type rank advancements that the boys needed. That didn't work out as good as we had hoped but we did get some done. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A typical Lean-to.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inside the Lean-to. These stoves could throw some heat, but they had to be fed wood on a regular basis. Getting someone to do it in the middle of the night was tough.</td></tr>
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One of the main things the boys do on these trips is cook. We had 15 boys (whittled down to 13 because of illness) and broke them into 3 patrols for the purpose of patrol cooking. The troop has organized patrols for meetings, but because you never know who will be going camping, we form temporary patrols on camping trips with temporary patrol leaders. We also selected "Grub Masters" for each patrol. Grub Master develops the menu (with input from the patrol), develops a shopping list, checks the troop gear locker for leftover non-perishables (like hot chocolate), does the food shopping and serves as the main cook during the trip. He also assigns duties to the rest of the patrol members during the meal, such as food prep, table setting and cleanup. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our kitchen area.</td></tr>
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Demonstration of the Grub Master duties during a camping trip is also a requirement for the rank of 1st Class. The Pudge and 2 other 2nd Class scouts took on the challenge. The adult leaders have the option of tagging along with a patrol for meals, individual cooking or adult leader patrol cooking. We all chose the latter with more on that in a minute.<br />
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The adult leaders have been noticing a trend in the patrol cooking of - not really cooking. Instant oatmeal, sandwiches and Dinty Moore stew keep showing up on menus with increased regularity. I have taken an initiative to come up with a collection of standard meal recipes that would have instructions, utensil requirements and fill-in-the-blank quantity calculators that would make it easier for patrols to cook with fresh ingredients. I will do this after the <a href="http://buzzkills-buzzkill.blogspot.com/2012/01/day-in-life-of-boy-scout-troop.html">Neckerchief Craft Night</a> is history. We also decided not to rock the boat on this trip because of the extreme weather element in this cooking challenge. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTbrYNFyewG05Btt9mn7Zp-osTQIlIFpDa9FockUKF_6BM_I39lnKVPNG-7wbsiCeB2lWu51a5UwbSnM3208549N4pgfwvekzYSLPsf16IHPijalyDN4MoiKpZF_t4tO7T-KX2mU8Bxso/s1600/IMG_3869.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" nfa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTbrYNFyewG05Btt9mn7Zp-osTQIlIFpDa9FockUKF_6BM_I39lnKVPNG-7wbsiCeB2lWu51a5UwbSnM3208549N4pgfwvekzYSLPsf16IHPijalyDN4MoiKpZF_t4tO7T-KX2mU8Bxso/s400/IMG_3869.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Pudge cooking up spaghetti and meatballs for his patrol's dinner.</td></tr>
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The adults decided that each of us would take a meal (there were 5 adults). I got dinner because I'm really the only one who cooks on his own. The others all apparently have talented wives to cook for them (I wonder what that's like?). So while the other guys made meals of a western omelet, homemade chili, campfire brandies (the adult "snack" portion of the trip) and raisin bread french toast with turkey bacon (this was good), I decided to get fancy. I made <a href="http://allrecipes.com/recipe/penne-with-shrimp/detail.aspx">Penne and Shrimp</a> with <a href="http://allrecipes.com/recipe/campfire-green-beans/detail.aspx">Camp Fire Green Beans</a> and <a href="http://allrecipes.com/recipe/bananas-foster-i/detail.aspx">Bananas Foster</a> for dessert (I love Allrecipes.com). The toughest part is that I only have 2 propane burners and limited cooking utensils. Trying to boil water in a 10 MPH wind with no lid is challenging (I used tin foil) too.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is how the men cooked.</td></tr>
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I made the beans at home and brought them in a ziplock. After I heated them on the burners, I had one of the men put the pot on a lean-to stove to keep it warm (a scout uses his resources). The beans turned out good and may be one of the packaged recipes I develop for the scouts. I will use fresh beans over canned next time. The rest of the meal was pretty straight forward and I got it all in the mess kit - hot.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Penne and Shrimp with Camp Fire Green Beans (Almondine).</td></tr>
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The dessert was a thing to behold. The boys gathered around to watch the flaming spectacle. Actually, a lot of the boys were watching me cook in between their cooking duties, and that was what I was hoping for. I wanted them to see that with the proper planning, cooking is not that difficult and there are many choices other than stew. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPVm3P6RF1XuYEjwkhyphenhyphenH3n80E9j3isJB30U7LX0kGgpeEfttuPckqkwm86m6mR-AfNjowmkWg3VZU3LeWJlBR7URZ08O-WpKgoaI1b3qBq4S6_D1j1X_Ylhl3_EBt6T0xRc-O6YH7Mc3Q/s1600/IMG_1405_preview.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" gda="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPVm3P6RF1XuYEjwkhyphenhyphenH3n80E9j3isJB30U7LX0kGgpeEfttuPckqkwm86m6mR-AfNjowmkWg3VZU3LeWJlBR7URZ08O-WpKgoaI1b3qBq4S6_D1j1X_Ylhl3_EBt6T0xRc-O6YH7Mc3Q/s400/IMG_1405_preview.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">It's hard to cook when you have to keep putting your gloves on. </span><br />
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I think because of the cold air, the flambe didn't flame that much. But man was this good. I almost made a 2nd batch for the boys but thought better of it because of the rum. I told The Pudge we would make this at home. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN7dATEHrPC92fZumfIimP5enEUb5mg1qIho_YBSLtJeAyVktkQsMBRYIXlLbXyNOOOruLG41-gj1yieSU4UF2dnXdAL4JoyzwNPV3SJWa3T_zUDapLh6PaH3rtO9wakhINZFvrMAQUek/s1600/IMG_3871.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" nfa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN7dATEHrPC92fZumfIimP5enEUb5mg1qIho_YBSLtJeAyVktkQsMBRYIXlLbXyNOOOruLG41-gj1yieSU4UF2dnXdAL4JoyzwNPV3SJWa3T_zUDapLh6PaH3rtO9wakhINZFvrMAQUek/s400/IMG_3871.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dessert - Bananas Foster. This is flambe-ing but it's hard to see in this picture.</td></tr>
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All-in-all a challenging trip for the boys. On Saturday, we gave the scouts the choice of staying in their lean-tos to play games that they brought with them or do advancements. The majority chose the games - and who could blame them? But the others that made some progress on advancements made the trip worth while. I led a handful of scouts on a short hike around the lake (after the rain finally stopped) and that was worth the trip for me. We broke camp late Sunday morning and everyone was glad to get home. The ski trip is next month...of course, I won't be going, but The Pudge will.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dam at the end of the lake.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZPB5lxwP2zpOba8KDkyL3qmZ1jXuBhtVEZJjU5NPuD05IUbW4P5XPDzi-_U93E4IFvpBIc_a0ruKZpLTSkGM_czo5wJb-0dRODasFKDtoQwJdvWYJGD9ndHzy-xyoko2DcII5Fr_Ez98/s1600/IMG_3863.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" gda="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZPB5lxwP2zpOba8KDkyL3qmZ1jXuBhtVEZJjU5NPuD05IUbW4P5XPDzi-_U93E4IFvpBIc_a0ruKZpLTSkGM_czo5wJb-0dRODasFKDtoQwJdvWYJGD9ndHzy-xyoko2DcII5Fr_Ez98/s400/IMG_3863.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some very dirty snowmen. I think it was some kind of Calvin and Hobbes tribute.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Buzz Killhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01443964019621130222noreply@blogger.com14