26-Aug-03

Well, I finished my jury duty.  We found him not guilty.  We all agreed we thought he was guilty, but there wasn't enough evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt.  The judge agreed with us.  The  case was about a guy who was charged with attempting to steal an ATM from a convenience mart by backing a stolen Suburban through the front window and yanking the ATM out with a chain.  We got to hear forensic evidence; fingerprints and DNA.

With my jury duty came a big headache.  My work insisted I take vacation for the time I was off.  As a salaried employee, that is illegal, plain and simple.  Don't believe me?  Go to www.dol.gov and read CFR 514.  Complete bullshit.

I was elected by our home owners association as a board member.  It wasn't too hard seeing how there were seven people running and seven spots.  Our HOA website is www.edelweiss.org.  Now if only my slob neighbors will put away their trash cans, properly repair their mailboxes, and cut their lawns, we would be in great shape.

I have found a new use for my old police scanner.  I use it to watch the trunking activity by taking the unfiltered audio output (a discriminator tap), feeding it through a 'data slicer' and into the serial port of an old laptop.  I then run a program called "trunker", and all the radios that are keying up can be seen on the screen.  Yes, it is legal.  The program can be found at www.trunkedradio.net.  I then use my other faster scanner to actually listen to the calls.

I have been asked to be a part of a Halloween party called the "West of Dread".  I have to make a decoration for the party.  I think I am going to make a creature out of old BBQ parts.

14-Aug-03

I am on Jury duty right now on a very neat case.  [In a Forrest Gump voice] "That's all I can say about that".

I have been very busy lately with work and home.  I am a project manager now, along with being an engineer, so that is keeping me busy.  I am also going to teach a blueprint reading class this coming September for a month.

I went fishing last weekend to High Island, Texas and caught a 30" redfish.  It was a good trip.  I met a few characters there as well, including the guy that runs www.robstruelies.com. 

14-July-03

This entry will be copied from a post I was going to make about our trip to New Orleans, and the wonderful food we ate:

This trip to New Orleans was going to be a little different, since we were meeting our friends, Carrie and Jay, who had never been to New Orleans. The schedule was open, so the restaurant picking was left up to me! I had wanted to try Drago's and Galatories for a long time, and this trip made it happen. After fighting heavy I-10 traffic from Texas, we arrived in New Orleans around 8:30 PM. 

We drove right to Drago's, since I have wanted to try the chargrilled oysters. We were able park in the front, and were seated right away. Our server, Totty, was quite friendly. After I got an Abita Amber and my wife got a Kenwood Zinfandel, I ordered a dozen of the oysters I had heard so much about. And boy, they weren't kidding. These things are amazing. My wife, who is on Weight Watchers, and very dedicated, was going to try one. She ended up eating five! And the bread they give you to sop it all up with sure is a nice touch.

For dinner, I got the special, a fried soft shell crab with a shrimp cream sauce and crabmeat dressing. Talk about heaven. I thought I heard another server call it a shrimp and crawfish sauce, but I didn't see any crawfish. My wife got a jumbo lobster. She had never had a whole lobster, so our server was more than helpful in showing her how to eat it. She even had the kitchen re-split the claws since they weren't fully cut open. I was amused at how much it looked like dismembering a crawfish. :) The lobster was delicious, with both of us liking the claw meat better. I always find lobster tail meat a little chewy. Both were served with side salads. The bleu cheese dressing was loaded with chunks of good bleu cheese! Zachlyn got the house vinaigrette, which she really liked.

For desert, my wife got a triple chocolate mousse that she said was terrific. Three layers of mousse - light, white and dark chocolate, with whipped cream on top and white and milk chocolate drizzle. I got another six chargrilled oysters. Since I did that, Totty said "the desert of champions!" and brought us a hand painted oyster shell! I had read a few reviews that said the service might be bad, but this lady was wonderful. After we left, my wife was upset that the 23% tip wasn't enough.

For breakfast we ate at our hotel, the Radisson on Canal. Nothing great to report. I was able to get andouille sausage with my eggs, which I thought was a nice touch. Service was slow, if non-existent. We had to get our own water and coffee. And our room reeked of mold and showed signs of water damage on the 18th floor. Plus the hallways smelled of urine. Oh well, the last time we stayed at the Inn on Bourbon, the carpet smelled of vomit. The Radisson is being renovated, though.

For lunch, we split an order of beignets from Cafe Du Monde. Good, like always.

For a mid-day drink, we sat at the Gazebo, just up river from the French market. I think we were subject to creative billing. I paid $7.15 for a Budweiser and Abita draft. I guess I was paying tax on top of the rounded-off drink prices. Usually the drink prices include tax. There was a jazz band playing that sounded good. 

We then headed over to Molly's on the Market for some of their wonderful bloody Mary's. After two of them, we almost gave up on going to dinner at Galatories and headed to Coop's next door. We did get an order of tortilla chips and guacamole with pico-de-gallo from the Mexican restaurant in the back of Molly's. The guac was very fresh. I didn't try the pico, but everyone else said it was good. Plus the chips were made on the spot. After the snack, I was able to rally the other three, and decided to go to Galatories anyway. I had bought and brought a sport coat just for that dinner. Plus Carrie wanted to get dressed up. We caught the free hotel shuttle and got ready.

While waiting for our friends to get ready, my wife and I went to the hotel bar, LaSalle's, for a drink. They didn't have the liquor to make a sazerac, so I had an Abita Amber draft, and my wife got a Gray Goose cosmopolitan, which she considered to be the best one she had ever had. Perhaps because the last two she had them made with Ketel One. For our second round, I got a Bombay Sapphire martini that was a little short on the gin.


We went around 6 PM, without reservations, expecting to sit on the first floor (and the possible wait). We were seated immediately. Our server, Tom, happed to be from St. Louis, MO, where I am originally from, as were our friends. He was quite animated and helpful with the menu. I ordered a Sazerac, and my wife and her friend ordered a bottle of Pinot Noir.  Her husband ordered a Merlot.  My sazerac was served on the rocks, which I didn't like. I like them neat.

For an appetizer, Jay and I got a dozen of Oysters Rockefeller, and the women got a sampler platter of some sort. The oysters were OK, but I think I just don't care for this dish. For entrees, I got sautéed soft shelled crab with crawfish étouffée. My wife and Jay got the filet topped with crabmeat, and Carrie got the fish of the day.  My dish was perfect, and I am still longing for more this Monday morning. I tried my wife's filet, and it was perfect.

Midway though dinner, we ordered a bottle of the wine Jay was drinking. For desert, the ladies split a desert. I got flaming orange brulot, which was pretty good. After tip, our bill was a little over $300, the largest dinner bill I had ever seen for 4 people. But with two appetizers, two bottles of wine and a desert, I can see why. Before that, our $170 bill at Terra in Napa, California was the biggest (for two).

The breakfast next morning was light for me, only having toast. My wife got buttermilk pancakes, which she said were good.

On our way out of town, we went to the Verde Marte where I got one of my favorite sandwiches, "All that Jazz". Ham and Turkey, shrimp and mushrooms with American cheese, all grilled on a toasted bun with "wow" sauce. Yummy. Unfortunately, my wife turkey sandwich wasn't near a good. They left of the pickles and used mustard in lieu of mayo. Next time she said she in sticking with a Central Grocery Mufaletta/

All in all, the trip was a huge success. I only wish I was a little more sober for my dinner at Galatoires.

3-June-03

Two weekends ago we went to Las Vegas with Tad and Lynn.  No, didn't win anything.  Didn't loose too much, perhaps $50.  We visited all the strip hotels, including (but not limited to), The Luxor, MGM Grand, Belligiao, Excalibur, Harrah's, Mirage, Treasure Island, Venitian and Stratosphere.  We went up the Stratosphere, where we rode the Big Shot and the roller coaster.  The Big Shot was awesome!  You feel like you are going to get shot off the top of the 1000 foot tower and fall to your death!  Quite a thrill.  The roller coaster was cool, but nowhere near as scary.  The pirate battle at Treasure Island was cool, albeit predictable.  The fountains at the Belligiao were cool.  The volcano at the Mirage was OK.

The food was good.  We ate at the buffet at Harrah's, where I pigged out on crab legs.  The next day we ate the our hotel, the Rio.  We paid the breakfast buffet price, but got there just as lunch was starting!  We saved 4$!  I ate Chinese food, BBQ, and sushi.  They had stations for Italian food, American food, a burger station complete with onion rings, a pizza station, and a Mongolian BBQ station.  We also ate at a Japanese resturaunt in the Venitian, where Zac had a good mushroom lo-mein, and I had an eel bowl that was awesome.  Tad got a tuna bowl, and Lynn got chicken terraki.  At our hotel, there was a 24 hour resturaunt, and on the back of the menu was their chinese selections, available all night!  So while everyone else was getting eggs at 2 AM, I got Kung Pao chicken!  Talk about cool!

There was an abundace of Hipanic and Asian gamblers at our hotel.  I can see why casinos say they try to cater to Asians, since they were everywhere, and betting big money.  

On Sunday morning, I woke up at 6 AM.  Since I wasn't going back to sleep, I decided to see who would still be up gambling.  To my surprise, the casino was packed!  It was humorous to see the drunk gamblers, squinting down the craps table, unable to see the dice.  There was a co-ed begging a guy to "Please come back to my hotel room at the cheesy Riviera!".  I had to laugh.

On the way home, I bought a book called "How to win at gambling".  Due to the truthfulness of this book, it basically says if you gamble, you will loose money in most cases.  The only games it recommends is blackjack, craps, and baccarat.  Blackjack is the only game that you, the gambler, can have and edge over the house.  And that only occurs if you: 1) Count cards, 2) Follow strict betting guidelines, and 3)get the deck in your favor.  All other game will always have a house edge.  It's just that craps and baccarat have the smallest house edge, down to 0.8% for craps, and 1.37% for baccarat.  All other games give the house too much of an advantage to be able to win in the long run.  Roulette, Caribbean Stub poker, and slot machines are the worst.

So instead of figuring out how to win at gambling, I decied to look up the stock prices of Harrah's, Bally's and Mandalay properties, since they all operate casinos there, as well as International Gaming Techonologies (IGT), the makers of slot machines.  All seem to be doing VERY well!  Perhaps I should gamble in the stock market instead! :)

Last weekend we went to Lake Sommerville for a picinic and a swim in the lake.  It was a fun time.

Sunday night I made crawfish and tasso pasta that was great.  I was looking for a recipe that used both, since I had both and didn't want to go shopping @ 8 PM.  Tasso is a spicy smoke ham from the cajuns.  I will in fact be eating some leftovers as soon as I end this entry.

12-May-03

Zzzzz.  Uncle Fester kinda tired.  Zac and I went to the Old Town Spring Crawfish festival this Saturday.  We listened to Texas Squeeze and Step Reideau Zydeco bands.  We danced so much that I was sore all day Sunday!  Zac ate seafood gumbo, and I had fried alligator and frog legs.  BTW, they taste like chicken.  We had a good time.

Last weekend I went fishing again, and caught a slot red and a sand trout.  Brian and Wayne did very well, catching flounder, reds, and speckeled trout.  I lost $140 in fishing gear on the way down to the coast.  That pissed me off.  Wading belt, shoes, all my hard plastic lures, rechargable spotlight, sleeping bag and lantern reflector.

29-April-03

I have been really busy lately with work, so again, a big lapse in posting.  This past weekend I went fishing with Brian and Wayne on the coast, just north of Sargent, TX.  We caught fish this time!  I caught three speckled trout, two of which were keepers, a slot red (a redfish between 2 and 28 inches long).  Brian caught three sharks, one of which he kept.  Wayne caught and kept both a red and a trout.  It was nice to finally break the fishing drought.

Something strange happened to me while out there.  I was punctured in the foot by the venomous dorsal find of a hardhead catfish.  Quite painful.  It happened Friday night, and almost ruined the trip.  See, we were catching these damn things left and right, since they are plentiful and love to steal bait.  I knew that they could hurt me, so when I got this one on shore, I got the hook out of his mouth and the proceeded to kick him into the water.  Big mistake.  That fin (more like a spike)  went right through my wading boot and into the side of my big toe.   Ouch!  My toe swelled up and I winced in severe pain for the rest of the evening and throughout the night.  Luckily it didn't get worse, and I was able to stay for the weekend.  Chalk that one up as a lesson learned the hard way.

Speaking of fishing, I got a new reel.  A Pflueger Trion.  Six ball bearings and a wiffle spool.  Casts like a dream.  Just need a new rod to  go with it.

Zachlyn's weight loss is going well, I am happy to report.  She also got her hair cut VERY short, and VERY cute.

Not much else is new.  We are going to Las Vegas next month.  That should be a good time.  Especially now that I just found out our room is $90 cheaper!

Our cats are like pain in the ass kids.  Ill-disciplined.  Since they are fat, they are on a diet.  Since they are on a diet, they stay up all night being noisy and eating the house plants.  Eating plants makes them vomit.  Their high energy makes them fun pets, but also a pain sometimes.

24-Mar-03

We're back from vacation!  Wow, what a good time.  Drank lots of vino, and bought even more.  Three cases to be exact.  Plus 6 wine glasses that were included in some of the tasting, and two bottles of olive oil.  

The olive oil was locally grown in Napa, and pressed two months ago, so it was FRESH!  I have never tasted olive oil that good before.

I guess I should start from the beginning of the trip, since I have so much I want to write about.

Our flight from Austin to Oakland was smooth and uneventful.  When we got to Oakland, we had reserved a car with Enterprise Leasing, who my bother works for.  They were swamped and out of our car, so they gave us a 2002 Sebring Convertible for $33/day plus damage waiver, minus a 33% employee discount.  That was great!  With a car in hand (a convertible none-the-less - in California!), we headed to Napa.  We spent the first night in Napa (the city), at a bed and breakfast named McClelland-Priest.  The accommodations were OK, but the free winery tastings that were included made up for it.  See, the plumbing was weird and pissy.  The tub/shower was plumbed backwards, so when we got up to shower, we couldn't get any hot water, and Celeste, the owner, didn't tell us that the water was backwards.   Then the tub wouldn't drain, so showering took place in a bath.  And then there was no hot water at the sink to shave by.  Oh well, the home was built in 1879, so the plumbing was definitely an after thought.

The first evening we dined at Tra Vigne, where I had roasted rabbit and Zac had grilled lamb.  I have to confess Zac's was much tastier than mine.  I felt the rabbit was like eating chicken.  For an appetizer we had a ham calzone which was good.

The next morning we headed out to start our wine tasting journey in the Napa Valley.  It started with a wonderful two course breakfast at McClelland, with and apple tort of sorts, and then and egg omelet covered in what I called a California salsa.  Like regular salsa, but it had corn, not hot, and more Italian herbs.  It tasted excellent and provided an start to what would be a long, fun filled wine tasting day.

We stopped at mostly small wineries in the morning;  Monticello, Silverado and Coentino.   We then stopped off at a place called the Oakville grocery for lunch, where I had a roast beef with bleu cheese sandwich on a baguette.  Zac had a smoked ham with cheese (can't remember the cheese) sandwich.  We were both happy with our food.  We also picked up some bread, more bleu cheese, and salami for a mid afternoon snack.  After more wine tasting at Rutherford Hill, V. Sattui, Loui M. Martini, and Prager port works.  We bought wine at all the wineries that day except for Rutherford Hill.  After that, it was over to the Muir Manor bed and breakfast.  To get there meant we had to cross over the hills that separate the valleys by way of the Oakville grade/Trinity road.  16% grades and blind corners.  Talk about hilly! 

On Wednesday evening we dined at The Girl and the Fig, a country French restaurant in Sonoma.  I had whole fried trout stuffed with vegetables and mashed potatoes.  Zachlyn had sea bass in a citrus sauce.  Both were very good, despite my boring description of them.  We were both very tired that day from drinking all that wine.

The accommodations at Muir Manor we excellent.  Exactly what I envisioned a bed and breakfast to be.  We were upgraded to the 'red' room since the 'yellow' room we had reserved was having plumbing problems.  Not exactly what we wanted to hear after the McCelland problems.  Thursday morning we had buttermilk pancakes with walnuts and a baked apple with a garnish of edible flowers.  That day in Sonoma we visited St. Francis and Ledson wineries.  We then went to Healdsburg were we had lunch at place called Raven-ous, a 7 table hole next to a theater.  I had a zinfandel marinated chicken stuffed crepe, and Zac had a portebella mushroom sandwich.  We really enjoyed our lunches, but I thought Zac's stunk, and tasted even worse.  Too many olives.  After finding a Safeway grocery store which had a Wells Fargo ATM, we were back out wine tasting.  We first went to Teldeschi, and then drove through Russian River valley (beautiful) when we stopped at Rabbit Ridge winery.  The have a Montepiano wine that we liked when we had it in Houston.  Turns out they had it on special for $30 a case!  We had to have it.  

That evening we ate at Terra, in St. Helena.  Some of the best food I have ever had.  I had grilled squab, and Zac had roasted quail.  My dish was served with the liver and giblets of the bird.   I didn't much care for the giblets, but the foie gras was excellent!  For and appetizer, I had sweetbreads in a tomato and onion turrine.  For those of you who don't know, sweetbreads are the thalamus of a cow.  Made correctly, they are most excellent.  Buttery and moist.  Drool.  Zac's appetizer was a hamaci carpachio, raw fish slices in a soy/citrus sauce with greens on top.  It was excellent, too.  We split a $47 bottle of wine, and enjoyed our most expensive meal ever!

Friday we headed to San Francisco.  Before we crossed the Golden Gate bridge, we headed up to the lookout point to look out over the bay and the bridge.  Beautiful sights.  That evening we ate at Yabbies Costal Kitchen, a seafood restaurant.  Hells ya!  We had two tuna pokes, and Jim and I split a shuckers dozen, 2 each of the six different oysters they carried, plus one.  We loved the kumamoto oysters from Washington.  For dinner, Zac and I split sesame encrusted tuna.  For desert, Jim and I had a dozen more kumamoto oysters (@ $1.90 a pop!).

We visited Gihradelli chocolate and Alcatraz.  I strongly suggest you buy your tickets in advance, online, and get the audio tour.  It's cool.

All in all we have a great time.  

13-Mar-03

I have discovered a new singer named Sean Paul, a reggae rapper.  He sings songs called "Get Busy" (my favorite), "Deport them" and "Gimmie the light".  I heard him while at a dance club last weekend.  Jiggy songs to dance to!

Haven't done much exciting in the past week.  We are getting ready for our vacation to Napa/Sonoma valley next week.  That should be an excellent time.  We have dinner reservations at Tra Vigne, Terra, and The Girl and the Fig.  They all look yummy!  We tried to get into the French Laundry, but of course, they were booked.  See, this place allows reservations exactly 3 months ahead, and you have to call all day (exactly 3 months before the day you want to eat there) long to hopefully get through and get a reservation.  The food is supposedly to die for, hence it's HUGE popularity.  Oh well, I am not too upset about it.

I was introduced to some pickled jalapeno peppers that are the BOMB.  The brand is "San Marco" whole jalapeno peppers.  Yummy!!!  I also have favorite new salsa, Arriba Fire Roasted Red Pepper salsa.  Drool.  Tonight we are having chicken enchilada with the left over drunken chicken and some new very low fat tortillas Zac found at HEB.  Low fat and high fiber makes for very low Weight Watcher's points.  So low point enchiladas!

Speaking of low point foods, my sister Caroline gave us a recipe for crock pot chili, made with vegatable juice, beans, tomotaos, cumin and chili power.  Yummy.  I have nicknamed it "Double Blasphemy Chili", since not only does it have beans, it has no meat.  In Texas, the inclusion of the former, and the exclusion of the latter are both considered blasphemy.

The weather here has finally improved.  Today has been beautiful.  So nice that I went and visited the new Chemical Engineering building being built on campus (a project my company is wiring).

3-Mar-03

Hmmm.  Quite the poor web logger I have become.  I did manage to keep a small log of what has happened since my last posting.  I found out I passed the Professional Engineering exam and became a licensed Professional Engineer in Texas.  With that, I (finally) got a raise!  I shot a wild hog from 80 yards from a standing position.  With that and the deer, I made my own pan sausage.  I installed a RAID card in my computer for mirroring one hard drive to another in real time.  But before I got it to work, I thought I lost ALL my data because I reinstalled W2K.  We got a deep fryer and a food processor (a Cuisinart 11 cup!) for Christmas from my dad, and money from my in-laws.  I installed new shocks (Bielstiens) and springs (Performance Products) in my 4Runner.  We went and saw Grease on stage.  Visited Washington-on-the-Brazos state park for the 167th birthday of Sam Houston and the signing of the Texas Declaration of Independence (Both happened on March 2nd).  Went to the Houston World Champion BBQ cook-off last weekend and saw some neat pits/smokers and corporate tents. Oh, and I got kerriharria from eating Orange Roughy fish.  It was the shits (literally).

Happy Lundi Gras!  I wish I was not writing this right now, but instead just waking up in New Orleans with a mild hangover (asking for no hangover is not possible for me, I ALWAYS get one).  Oh well.  The weather hasn't been that great there, and the parade routes were changed due to construction, so Endimeion rolled uptown, not midtown, which made for poor parade watching, or so I've read.  Bigger crowds that 2001 or 2002, but not as big as 2000.  The Travel Channel is having a Mardi Gras special tomorrow night, but hopefully I will be out having a few drinks to celebrate.   As for Lent approaching, I have no idea what I might give up.  Perhaps cursing.

You might notice fewer links in my web log.  Something else that has happened is I was busted for surfing the internet too much at work.  Fucking corporate spies!  Websense sucks.  Complete censorship program.  So unless I know the website off the top of my head, I won't link them.

I found out an old high school friend finally got engaged.  Good for her.  I hope she is happy.

I have been buried with work lately, and in fact need to stop now and get back to work.  Sorry for not updating sooner.

Remember, you can e-mail me at f a r w i g (at) juno.com.  Please use a subject, because this account is riddled with Spam, and I will (unknowingly) delete it if you have an unrecognizable e-mail address.

9-Dec-02

I shot a deer!  Granted, it wasn't a huge one, being only 6 points, but it was my first.  Weird, too, since I had a terrible feeling of guilt after shooting it.  That has since subsided and the thrill of processing my own meat excites me.

The hunting trip was quite a memorable one.  We hunted on the Lindsey Ranch in Terrell county, TX.  We stayed on the ranch in an old house called "The Shack".  It did have a shower.  We ate well, having beef and chicken fajitas, grilled chicken, sausage, and redfish with an eoutofee gravy.

21-Nov-02

I need to stop reading stuff that gets me so worked up.  I just read an article about the FBI arresting people who uncapped their cable modems.  The FBI!?!?!?!?  What the fuck? For something that can barely be called cyber crime? BTW, I don't uncap my modem.  Glad we got Fuher Ashcroft in office.  We might get to keep our guns, but by God, don't uncap your cable modem.  And if you think "Ashcroft didn't have anything to do with this", think again.  cybercrime.gov. 

While rifling through a Dallas hotel bill, I was amazed at the added taxes:

Room charge:                       $169.00
State tax(6%)                      $10.14
County tax (2%)                   $3.38
City tax (7%)                       $11.83
Sports Authority tax (2%)    $3.38

For a grand total of:            $197.73!!

I guess it's a little hypocritical to be complaining about taxes and republicans in the same entry.

Since I don't seem to let Zac know all the things I want (materialistically), here is another one.  The Valentine 1 radar locator.  Absolutely the best radar detector on the market.  Far outperforms my old Escort 4500 Super wideband detector.

Made some killer pasta sauce last night using my garden tomatoes that Zac has managed to ripen by placing them in a box, covered with towel and kept above 50 degrees.

We are going to Ninfa's tonight for Mary Ellen's 26th birthday party.  Should be a good time.

20-Nov-02

Guns.  I like them.  I want a few.  Got any you want to give me?  Legit ones, of course.  Oh, I also want binoculars. 

We went the the Aggie/Mizzou football game last weekend where I got to see Mizzou win in double overtime.  Yeah!  We also took this little cutout figure named Stanley as part of a preschoolers project on geography.

Had a bumper crop of peppers from our garden, so I made some killer chili the other night.  Yummy.  I also made red and green salsas.  I am starving, yo!

Every here of h4xoR sp34k?  iT's 1337.  Translation:  Every hear of hacker speak?  It's elite.

I have been swamped at work for the last two weeks, and it is finally dying off.  Steady as she goes, at least for today...

I am addicted to Slashdot.  Excellent website for nerds and geeks (like me!).  Turns out our internet connection is censored with Websense.  Lovely.  I hate corporate spies as much as I hate Illinois Nazis.

28-Oct-02

Whew, I took the PE exam last Friday.  I think I did good.  I won't know if I passed for another 3 months or so.

It seems that I use the word loose when I should be using the word lose.  I found four instances of it in this web log alone.  Did you know another name for web logging is "blog"?

We went to the Aggie football game this weekend, only to watch them lose (damn, I almost made the loose/lose mistake again) to Nebraska.

I have an itch to get a new computer.  I want a motherboard that will support 1 GB ram, onboard RAID, and possibly serial ATA.  I want a combo DVD-R/RW--DVD+R/RW (like this Sony), 4 hard drives so I can run RAID 10 (sometimes called RAID 0+1), a 5.1 sound card (like this SoundBlaster Audigy2), an ATI All-in-Wonder 9700 video card, and an Antec case and power supply.  Plus all the other goodies like 10/100 NIC, USB 2.0, Firewire, and perhaps a combination Compact Flash/Secure Media/Memory Stick reader.

It has rained here for 10 days. Ugg.

03-Oct-02

Holy crap it's been so long since I updated that Windows removed Frontpage from my most popular applications!

Been an exciting month.  We went to Fort Worth to see Zac's parents where we visited the Fort Worth Zoo.  Very nice.  Be sure to look for $2 off coupons in local brochures.  I got to see a Komodo Dragon up close!

We also spent a weekend in Houston, where we attended a baseball game.  The Cardinals were playing the Astros.  The Cards won!  We also dined at Mia Bella Trattoria - holy crap was that good.  Zac had a filet topped with gorgonzola cheese, served over mashed potatoes.  Very similar to the Filletio de Mango listed on their page, but I don't think that is what she had.  I had veal sautéed in something; it seems I can't remember what it was except excellent.  We shared a bottle of Chianti and for an appetizer we had grilled squid with arugula, topped with balsamic vinegar.  Go there if you are ever in downtown Houston.  Just watch out for the construction.  

From there we went to the 12 spot, a bar downtown, where I had  Citadel and  Bombay Sapphire martinis, and Zac had two cosmopolitans.  When the Cotton Exchange bar finally opened (at 8 PM), we went there, where I had a Sazarac, French 75 and a Mint Julep.  Zac had another cosmopolitan, and then a southern tea which she loved.  After that it was beddy-by time since we were so drunk.

We planted two trees in our yard, a southern magnolia in the front and a live oak in the back.  The live oak was HARD since I had to dig a hole 5' round by 18" deep into cement hard gray clay.  I managed to get a red neck and even sunburned my scalp!  That was a first.  I must have thinning hair!!!! :(

Tips for the day:

Wear a hat while planting a big tree

Use WD-40 to assist in getting two 5 gallon buckets apart.

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I went fishing last weekend with Brian and his neighbor Mike.  We had a good time, fished till 4 AM, and caught a buzz.  I did gig a flounder with my new flounder light!  The lamp died shortly after that, and the water was somewhat dirty, so we had to stop.  We ate the flounder the next day by preparing him whole (minus the head and guts), cutting a slit along it's back, and stuffing it with this recipe (scroll down), minus the oysters and shrimp (didn't have any).  Talk about good!!

We are going to the Texas Renaissance Festival again this weekend.  That should be a good time.

I have started to LOVE bleu cheese now.  I can't seem to get enough of it!  Yummy!

Work has been overwhelming this past week.  Too bad we don't have compensatory time, otherwise I would be gone today and have a 4 day weekend.

28-Aug-02

Sittin' in La-La, waiting for my Ya-Ya....Uh huh! (Lee Dorsey - Ya Ya)....

Never ever ever ever ever ever ever shop at a Wings store.  They suck!  What is a Wings store?  A clothing tourtist trap of the lowest caliber.  No return policy on anything.  And that is not mentioned anywhere in the store.  Fuck them.  There is one in Galveston, TX.  Avoid at all cost.

Every year since I have moved to Texas I have gotten a cold in August!  What is up with that?

My studying for the Professional Engineering exam is going well.  The exam is being offered by the National Society of Professional Engineers.  I remember more than I thougt!

26-Aug-02

I read an article today that I just HAD to share.  The Princeton review rated students at the University Of Missouri - Rolla the unhappiest in the nation! Hell, I could of told them that 12 years ago.  BTW, Rolla is my Alma Matter.  No women and poor community relations.  I always complained that those back woods hoosiers (not Indiana hooisers, but what St. Louisians call rednecks) could of cared less that school was there.

05-Aug-02

A couple of rants today.  Not that I am in a bad mood, in fact, I am having a very good day given it's a Monday!

Lately McDonalds had been airing a commercial where a young man comes home still dressed in what looks like his fast food smock (blue and white stripes) with his first paycheck.  One of his siblings suggests that he take everyone out to dinner.  With that the father looks over his newspaper he was reading and suggests that they eat at McDonalds because they are "affordable" since the boy's paycheck is so small.  Now McDonalds is a fast food employer.  McDonalds own commercial clearly shows that they themselves are a low wage employer who's employee can only afford fast food!  Grrr.

I rant about that because I just finished reading "Fast Food Nation" by Eric Schlosser.  Great book!

Secondly, Free the Grapes is pushing to allow direct shipping of alcohol to consumers.  Texas currently does not allow direct shipping.  The opponents are crying that it will allow minors to purchase alcohol.  Bullshit.  What they really are worried about is the FOUR companies that control 85% of all liquor in Texas will lose some of their oligopy.  Tough shit.  I want Zac to be able to order her Hogue Late Harvest Riesling by the case directly from the winery.  Racket I tell ya!

31-July-02

Well, I'm 30 years old.  Zac organized a birthday party for me last weekend that was an excellent time.  I don't remember some of it, but I did get paddled with my fraternity pledge paddle.  We dined on hot wings from Wing's 'n' More, and a quarter barrel of Bud Light (until it ran out!).  A good time was had by all.  The best part was my friend Tad and his new bride Lynn surprised me by coming down (at 12:30 AM!).

We made veal scaloppini last night - Yeah baby!

My hand-me-down gas trimmer is running better now that ever.  No more leaking gas from the tank, starts on first pull and goes to full speed without bogging down.  Now if I could only get the self propelled feature working again on my lawnmower.  It has a worn (flat spot) drive gear.

19-July-02

Not a whole lot to report.  Zac made it back into town without a hitch.  Just found out our friend Christy was dismissed from her research group.  That sucks. :( 

I rode my bike around Lick Creek park this past Wednesday.  It was a difficult ride in that there were a lot of flooded trails where I had to ford water.  I thought it was fun until I got my feet wet!

I finally got my makeshift air compressor going again.  I was having a problem with belt slippage since the motor it mounted on a resilient base (read-rubber) that does not allow very tight belt tension.  I solved the problem by wrapping a long stainless steel hose clamp around the base and motor, thus pulling the belt much tighter.  No more slipping!!!  Plus the new belt it 3/8" wide, which is the correct size, not the 5/16" like I had.  This new belt came from O'Rielly auto parts with a lifetime warranty!

I ate at the Longhorn Tavern and Steakhouse the other night.  I was craving their chicken fried steak.  Best I have ever had!  Beats the Cotton Patch hands down (chain place, go figure).  Oh, and a review of the Cotton Patch said they had the best catfish.  Wrong again, my man. (but since you know everything, I'll make someone else the deal....lyrics from Digital Underground - Packet Man)

I am on a Queensryche kick right now.  It makes me want MB Quart speakers for my truck.  Why does a certain band make me want speakers?  A college friend, John Landgraf, was a Queesryche fan, as well as a car audio buff.  When he bought a pair of MB Quart separates and installed them into his Ford Probe, they sounded excellent!  Ever since then I have been wanting a pair.  The RSD 210 separates or RKC 210 coaxials will do fine. :)  Or a pair of JL Audio Evolution coaxials, XR400-CX.  Or better, a 5-1/4" set, and mount them in custom door pods.  Drool.....

12-July-02

Well, it's been a while.  Right now I am a bachelor while Zac is in Kansas City visiting her folks for a week.

I have been playing with my Handspring Visor Edge, and love it.  The address, calendar, to-do and memo features are a life saver.  Well, not a life saver, but a great thing to have when I need it.  I just bought a second USB syncing/charging cable off eBay.  This one converts to a wall or automotive charger as well.  Cool.

Last weekend we rode our bikes through Somerville state park, giving us a workout.  We then swam in the lake to cool off.  Topped it off with a visit to the County Inn, AKA, the Somerville steakhouse. I dined on a 1-3/4lb T-bone, and Zac got a 8 oz. fillet.  They were both  delicious.

We just celebrated our 3 year wedding anniversary on Wednesday by dining at Cafe Eccell.  I had shrimp rigitoni with sambal oil, and Zac had blacked Tuna, medium rare, served with a corn cream sauce and garlic potatoes.  For an appetizer, we split a salad of iceberg lettuce with a homemade buttermilk dressing and fresh bleu cheese (from some place near Dallas that sells to the White House?).  For dessert we shared a strawberry tart with chocolate mousse.   To drink I had a glass of Clos Du Bois Melot (so good we bought a bottle then next day for $15), and Zac had a pinot grigio (can't remember the vintner).  For an after dinner drink, I had a chocolate martini.  I know, it isn't a real martini, but it had chocolate syrup, Grand Mariner, and Skyy Vodka, and chocolate pieces.  Yummy!

The 4th of July was laid back.  We had Brian and Michelle, Jeff and Christy over for an early dinner of grilled hamburgers and bratwurst.  Brian added some Cajun Power garlic sauce to the ground meat, and boy did it make a wonderful difference.  The downfall was the meat was quite soft and I struggled to keep them together on the grill.  We then sat on the side of the road and watched the fireworks display from George Bush library.  We both agreed the sucked.  Someone was shooting off fireworks behind us, which I could see in my outside mirror, that were better than the ones in front of use.  Seriously.  My dad told me the Fair of St. Louis' display was awesome.

26-June-02

Hello everyone!  Just returned from St. Louis for a wedding.  We all had a blast.  Here is a picture of me, Tad (the groom), Lynn (the bride), and Laura (the maid of honor; twin sister).  While up there, we got to see my sisters new apartment, meet her new boyfriend, eat Imo's pizza, eat on the 'Hill', eat Ted Drews, eat toasted ravioli, drink Schlafly beer,  and basically have a really nice time.

BTW, the Lasagna at Mama Campisi's is the BOMB DIGGITY (very good)! I didn't have it, but Zac did.  I had Fettuccini Tutti Mare, which was pretty good, also!

For a best man gift, Tad and Lynn gave me a money clip with my nickname "Wig" on it.  He did this because when he asked me what I wanted, I told him "nothing with my name on it".  He also got me a Handspring Visor Edge PDA.  Now I want the Magellan GPS springboard module, and perhaps a Minijam MP3 player with the included 2MB backup module and vibrating alarm.  In a Cartman voice - sweeeeet.

A new Google trick to try.  Type in opening quotes, your first name, then the word 'is', and see what happens (like this - "Mike is ).  I did, and here is what I am, according to Google:

Mike is Hungry
Mike is Cool
Mike is Supporting
Mike is also available to instruct dance lessons at dance competitions, whether they be for group workshops or for scheduled private lessons.
Mike is ranked 9th on the PGA Tour in Greens in Regulation at 68.8%.
Mike is dedicated and serious about his work.
MIKE IS NAKED IN FRONT OF CUCKOO BOY'S COMPUTER
Mike is selling his business and retiring. [I wish!!!]
Mike is now able to offer a limited number of bass master classes!
Mike is blinded and not by science!
Mike is 36 and a maintenance worker in a local factory.

The "Mike is hungry" seemed to come up a lot, probably because it's true.    Mmmmm purple...  Seems the hungry Mike is a brontosaurus dinosaur.

18-June-02

Well, she did it!  Zac passed her defense!  She is now Dr. Zachlyn Farwig, or Dr. Zac for short.  Except she will only use that title in a professional setting.  Congratulations honey!

Fished last weekend.  I caught a shark that was too small to keep.  You can see the fishing photos here.

This weekend I head to St. Louis for Tad and Lynn's wedding I am the best man in.  Tad has been a friend of mine since high school, where we met at the Ruma's Deli on Tesson Ferry road, across the street from Ronnie's plaza.  We are having the rehearsal dinner at Mama Campisi's on the Hill, and the reception is at Sunset Country Club.  Swanky place.

Some low level news that made me feel good.  Micor$oft is being held liable for faulty software.  It's about time. :)

I finally cleaned out my garage so we can pull the cars back in! Yeah for me (and the cars)!

We went to Chicago two weekends ago for Kerry Knott's wedding.  It was a blast.  We went to Pizzeria Due (the sister restaurant to the original Pizzeria Uno), up the Sears tower, and rode the subway.  Kerry's bride has 8 sisters and one brother, and they were all in the wedding.  They welcomed Kerry's friends (including me) with open arms.

29-May-02

Something stinks in suburbia.  My thoughts page magically disappeared. 

I installed headers on my 4Runner this Memorial holiday.  What a pain in the butt!  The crossover pipes didn't fit just right, so I took it to a muffler shop to have them install it.  I am glad I did, since they welded everything and bent/cut pieces I couldn't of.   As for the benefits, the truck seems to drive like a normal vehicle now, and not always lugging and huffing & puffing up small hills.  

22-May-02

I have a environmental message today.  I have heard about it before, thanks to my friend Brian.  Chilean sea bass is headed for commercial extinction! (username: annoying password: annoying).  So please don't order it!  I don't. Nor do I buy it in the store.  Salmon for me, since it is a little better managed.  It's not without it's pitfalls, since farm raised salmon can dilute the wild salmon's strong genes, but at least it's sustainable, like crawfish and freshwater trout.  This article here put me a little more at ease - US Department of Commerce.  Who or what to believe.  All I know is that my fishing last weekend sucked, so anyone catching my fish should go to hell.  "You  go to hell and you die!" - Mr. Garrison from Southpark.

I guess this message comes on the heels of my next subject.  I rode my bike to work today!  I have done it in the past, but only after lunch.  Now I have to ride home to eat, or eat out with someone who is willing to drive.  I like the second idea!  Kind of hypocritical, since I drive an inefficient SUV!  Or maybe they cancel each other out!  Yeah, that's the ticket...

21-May-02

New phase I would like to share with you when referring  to a watered down drink - "The drinks were like making love in a canoe" - i.e. f*cking close to water! :)

With Memorial Day fast approaching and no plans, I am starting to get ancy (seems ancy isn't a word - oh well- substitute fidgety).  Don't think anything will materialize, though.  I would like to drive somewhere and eat something good.  Perusing the Texas Chowhound board has made me exceptionally hungry.  And visiting the Midwest board has made me homesick.  So much so that I downloaded the Budweiser commercial song "This Bud's for you (and you, and you and you)".  MMM A cold Bud at Carson's in Soulard sounds good right now.  And some food from the Pasta House.  Found a neat St. Louis food site - BiteSTL.  Now I am missing my cool apartment in St. Louis, where I was close to everything.  Ho-hum.

Went fishing this past weekend in Matagorda, TX.   Well, if you could call it fishing.  There were no fish to be had.  So I called it a camping trip with a little fishing thrown in.  Very secluded part of the beach, since we drove so far north from the access point (10 miles).  Very few people venture up that far since you need a 4 wheel drive vehicle to get there, and there isn't much to look at (other than the gulf).  Plenty of drift wood for a fire (which was needed!), but also plenty of garbage from the Colorado river, and cow sh!t everywhere.

I got new tires on my 4Runner.  BF Goodrich All Terrains.  They are very aggressive (OK, more than I am used to!) and look cool.

17-May-02

Beer or Michelob?  Michelob please, and lots of it.  Ugggg..... "I'm hungover.  At least you could of said you were from the Yankees" - Major League.

Ever lay in bed when you were young, half awake, knowing your mom was going to come in and wake you to go to school, wishing that she would 'just forget' and you could sleep late and miss school?  Or she would come in and tell you that school was cancelled.  That NEVER happened to me.  Was it too much to ask?  They never/ever cancelled school, while my friend was off as much as banks were (he went to a private parochial school).  And now I work for a company that never gives time off either.  Sh!t.  Our corporate office closed when they had a lighting ballast fail.  They spill gasoline and smell up the whole office here, and do we get off?  F^ck no.

Funny top ten list

Quote of the day - "The trick is - Kick someone's ass the first day, or become someone's bitch" - Office Space.  You can hear it here, along with others!

Visit Fark sometime.  It's funny.  I especially like the Photoshop entries.

16-May-02

Here is what I look like as a LEGO person (I love LEGO's).  You, too, can LEGOsize yourself.

Cute, huh?

Went to New Orleans this past weekend.  Had a good time, but damn, I felt old.  We ate at Port of Call, Uglisch's, and Jaeger's again.  Yummy.  I think I consumed 3000 calories in one day.  I have managed to work most of it off through heavy bike riding every night.

8-May-02

After all these years, Oscar the Grouch is still a bad-ass.  How do I know?  I watched Sesame Street today at lunch, and he was on.  Crabby and rude as ever.  I like him more now that I did then...

I hate to admit it, but I kind of like Kid Rock.  I like that song "You never met a motherf^cker quite like me".

My air compressor is working!  I aired up the tires on the wifes car last night!  I have a few air leaks, but that can be fixed with a few turns of a wrench.

Quote of the day = "Worst Episode Ever" .

3-May-02

They say that if it rains on your wedding day, you have good luck.  A guy I work with is getting married tomorrow, and it might rain.  I wonder if he will have good luck.  It rained a little on my wedding day.  I can't say I've had a lot of bad luck, so it must be somewhat true!  Ha ha ha.

Another guy I work with was asking about my projects at home and why I haven't updated my log as much.  Lazy I guess.  But boy do I have the projects.  I was given a Ryobi gas line trimmer by a guy I work with.   Only catch is it was in pieces in a 5 gallon bucket.  The coil spring/rope start was unwound and caused him to give up working on it, so he gave it to me.  After a few moments of insight and a lot of curse words and sore fingers, I got the spring rewound and installed.  Then it wouldn't start.  I found out the fuel hoses were dry rotted and cracked.  So I installed some new hose, using twist ties for hose clamps (the inside diameter of the new house was a little too big).  Finally, it started!  While trimming, the coil spring/rope start thing got cockeyed and jammed up against the flywheel, stalling the engine and making me think I seized it.  After careful disassembly, I added some keeper washers to hold the rope starter in place, and reassembled.  Presto!  I trimmed the whole yard.  I think it is running a little rich, though, since it used a whole tank of gas.  All my lawn tools are hand-me-downs.  Both my lawn mower and gas trimmer were given to me because they didn't work.  And now they both run like champs!  Zoom zoom!

My air compressor project is near fruition.  I was able to get it to hold air (I just wanted to see if the compressor would work to 125 PSI).  I now have all the parts I need (pressure switch, check valve, regulator/filter and quick disconnects) to assemble it.  I just have to apply pipe dope and tighten everything up, and I should be on my way.  Now I just need air tools.  What to get first?  I am thinking an impact gun and a blow gun attachment.  I already have an air chuck.  Oh, and a 50' hose.

Handy web site: Merriam-Websters.  Online dictionary with pronunciation.  Cool.  I have even installed their script prompt in my explorer toolbar.

29-April-02

I have concluded that my Spanish is terrible.  I just tried to wish "good luck" in Spanish to a Mexiacn woman that works with Zac by saying "Buena Suerte".  I was correct in the words, but she didn't understand what I was saying.  Turns out my Spanish accent ain't all it's cracked up to be!

Texas summer is here, and it sucks.  Hot, hot, hot.  We got bicycles this weekend though, so that should be fun.  I bought a Raleigh M80 and Zac got an M50.  I upgraded to SPD compatible pedals and Zac got a more comfy seat.  My ass is hurting right now from riding it yesterday.  We both got Bell Paradox Pro helmets to protect our noggins. I also got Shimano SH-M070 shoes to mate with my pedals.  Sad when you pay more for the shoes than you do the pedals.

Watched Bridget Jones Diary this weekend.  It was OK.  

23-April-02

Wal-Mart is going to sell used cars on their parking lots.  Not directly, but a Houston car dealership is going to lease the parking lot to sell used cars.  I couldn't help but wonder - Will they roll back the odometers just like they roll back prices?

Went to a bachelor party this past weekend.  Had a good time, but damn it, I thought being married was expensive.  Pick up a few rounds of beer at $6.75 a beer, $8 cover, donate money to rent a "private room" for the party, dances for the bachelor....it adds up real quick! .  We went to Treasures in Houston.  Fancy smanchy club.  I like the cheaper East St. Louis Clubs.  Cheaper beer and cover.  Granted, they aren't so high fluting. 

Heading to New Orleans in a few weekends for another bachelor/bachelorette party.  I don't think it can really be called that.  More like a pre-wedding party.

Can you tell I like graemlins?  I think they are a blast.  

18-April-02

Had our first crawfish boil the other weekend.  That was a good time.  I would post the pictures, but they are on my home computer (not here).  Boiled 37 pounds with corn, potatoes, sausage, and mushrooms.  Yummy!

Pamela Anderson and Kid Rock?  The ULTIMATE white trash couple!

Watched the movie Bandits last night.  Funny ending!

I have been itching to get to the coast and go fishing, and try out my new flounder gigging light.

3-April-02

Watched Moulin Rouge last night and actually liked it!!!  Nicole Kidman was HOT.  If she is 1/10 as sexy in real life, then Tom Cruise IS gay.  I liked all the songs they sang, since I recognized most of them.

My hair-brained air compressor idea is making headway.  I managed to get a free 1HP motor, and weld up a base for the setup.  I got a belt and a sheave (pulley).  It pumps air!  Now I need a pressure switch, regulator, and a coalescing filter to remove the oil that the compressor spits out (typical).  Total cost so far = $44.

Discovered a new artist - Dave Pearce.  He is a techno dance DJ.

I made BBQ chicken last weekend.  Yummy!  We haven't had that in a while.  I cooked it for 2 hours over a colder fire.  The meat fell off the bones!!!

I also bought a battery for my underwater gigging light project for $20.  I hope it works!

Zac has been busy writing her dissertation lately.  It is cool to she her work while she lays on the bed or sits in the family room with no cords (laptop)!  Oh, that reminds me - we got a second second battery for free!  See, the original second battery (called a Future bay II battery by Compaq) was back ordered.  In the box the computer came in was a letter saying that the battery would be mailed out in two weeks.  Well, two months went by and still no battery.  So I called Compaq.  They told me the batteries were being sent to Best Buy.  So I went to Best Buy, and they didn't have it, telling me that the battery would be sent directly to me.  So I called Compaq back, and they sent me a battery.  Cool, everything is settled.  A couple of weeks later I get a message on our answering machine from Best Buy, saying they have our battery!  So we go up to Best Buy, and tell them to get our battery.  They disappear for about 10 minutes, and finally return with a small cardboard box with a FedEx shipping label.  Sure enough, it's our battery that has been sitting in their warehouse for over three months!!!  The shipping date was December 13th, via standard overnight.  I sometimes wonder about Best Buy....  With the second battery the run time is over 6 hours!

13-March-02

I used an oxyacetylene torch this past weekend.  That was scary because upon reading on how to use acetylene in a torch, I also learned how dangerous it can be.  It violently decomposes upon mild shock at pressures above 15 PSIG!  To store it, it is dissolved into acetone, and then pumped into a tank filled with a porous material to avoid high pressure pockets.  Acetylene was used (and in some places, still is) in lighthouses!  It burns with a very white flame (when not pre-mixed with oxygen), and could be left unattended for a year (great for lighted buoys).  Reason it is still used is it burns hotter than any other gaseous fuel available (5700 degrees F)

I managed to overuse my bandwidth restrictions set by Geocities yesterday!  I was checking out my own site to make sure everything works, and presto - shutdown for an hour!  So if you get the same message, please check back later.  I really want my own domain, but the one I wanted, www.farwig.com, is taken now by some Germans! Grrr.

I am listening to "I am a man of constant sorrow" by The Soggy Bottom Boys.  I like it.  Then again, I like bluegrass music like this.  I also like Allison Krause.

I watched an interview with the "sexiest geek" this morning on CNN.  Hmmm, strange.

New fashion trend I can't stand = Flip Flops.  They are the most idiotic thing you can wear!  No support, no foot protection, and people can hardly walk in them!  While at a TAMU football game last season, I watched a guy shuffle his feet in the bathroom because his flip-flops would of fallen off.  He moved about 6" each step.  Stupid I tell ya!  And they look sooooo trashy.  I've seen guys wearing them with dress pants.  Barf!

6-March-02

Not much to say today.  We had a nice time at Texas Roadhouse.  I held back on the free peanuts and bread this time.  Doing that allowed me to actually enjoy my entree'.  Usually I am so stuffed by the time the food arrived that I don't enjoy eating it.  BTW, I got the sirloin and ribs combo, and Zac got the 8oz filet.  Her filet kicked ass, and it was more medium rare than medium.

I posted our New Orleans pictures here.  Please check them out.  They came out well, except for one. :)

I learned a new few new Spanish words last night.  Chella - short for Cerveza (beer).  And an after diner drink is something like "digestivo" - it means digesting, typically an anise flavored liquor to aid in digestion.  I can't say for sure that word is correct, though.

I got Zac a Precious Moment's Penguin "We have come from afar".  I must admit, they are cute.

I have had some hair brained ideas lately.  I want to build an air compressor using and old York A/C compressor, a cheap motor and air tanks off eBay, and presto!  A cheap air compressor.

I also purchased headers for my 4Runner, but I haven't installed them yet.  I want to get everything I need before I dive into this project, since it's all or nothing.  I have to finish the job 100%, or I can't drive the truck anymore.

March-02

Just noticed that all my entries for this year had a "01" for the year.  I feel stupid.

Attended the Luck B Bison Chili cook-off this past weekend.  We had a blast.  Froze to death, but had fun doing it.  We didn't win anything, either.  This guy won 2nd place for best showmanship.  Here are all the pictures of Jeff and I, plus  a write-up.  If you want to read up on chili cook-off's, go here. 

Seems our laptop running Window XP and Internet Explorer 6.0 doesn't display this web page's title.  It is from the movie Friday, at the very beginning.

Strange thing happened.  After getting an e-mail from Tena, I got an e-mail from Tammy Boehm, another friend I haven't heard from in a long time.  And then, I get another e-mail from a guy I was in band with, unrelated to the other two.  Three high school friends write me in two days after no contact with time for 12 years.  Wow.

Today is Zachlyn's birthday.  A big 26.  She wants to go to Texas Roadhouse tonight for dinner.  I would tell you what I got her, but she reads this page to find out what I am thinking, since I always forget to tell her...  My only criteria was "Nothing practical"  That rules out a welder or a new surf rod with the name Homer on it... (remember the Simpson's episode when Homer gets Marge a bowling ball with HIS name on it?)

27-Feb-02

I just e-mail from a high school friend, and my only serious high school girlfriend.  Wow, what a surprise.  She got my e-mail from www.classmates.com (Mehlville High School, St. Louis, MO, class of 1990) and wrote.  She said she also saw my web page.  I wonder if she made it here.  If so, Hi TENA!  I hope I hear back on how she is doing.  I feel bad because I don't think we ever officially "broke up".  I just went to college and we never communicated after that.

I just ate Double Dave's pizza, and feel like a pig.  They have a great Philly cheese steak there.  New possible late night snack instead of the always crowed Taco Cabana.

Can anyone guess what movie the title of this web page is from?  E-mail me with the answer farwig@[nospam]juno.com.  Remove the [nospam], of course.  Just do that to avoid any more junk mail in my Juno account.  I must get 15 junk mail messages a day.  Bullsh!t like "legal weed", "herbal Viagra", "Enlarge you  penis", and the ever classic get rich quick schemes.  It gets annoying, and difficult to sort out the good messages.

I was invited to be in a chili cook-off this weekend with a friend of a friend, Jeff.  It is at the Brazos Center, this Saturday.  I don't know any other details, except that they provide bison meat for us to use.

26-Feb-02

Holy lazy!!!!  Sorry for the long time since an update.

This past weekend we had "Greek food" night.  We made gyros, with the tzatziki sauce (cucumber sauce), served hummus and toasted pitas for an appetizer, and  Greek salad with traditional Greek dressing and Feta cheese.  Yummy! 

Friday night we went with Brian and Michelle to the Tap.  They were having a crawfish boil, $3 a pound.  They were quite good!  We polished off a few chuggers while there.

Saturday my friend Wes came into town.  We drank a lot of beer, and worked on a '66 Dodge Charger (not actual photo, but similar color).  It was a nice car.  The owner swapped in a 440, bored .60 over.

The weekend before that we went to Houston for a retirement party at the Briar Club.  Swanky and expensive.  The chapter advisor for my fraternity was retiring, and I really respected him.  We stayed at the Mariott by the Galleria mall for only $50 a night! (Thanks to priceline.com)  We also visited the Central Market (an HEB store that has EVERYTHING but paper towels).  I got Sake, Mirin, fish sauce, palm sugar, Abita Root Beer, rice noodles, andouille sausage (although it tasted more like Italian sausage to me), and boudin.  Yummy!

For Mardi Gras we headed to Galveston, TX.  It turned out to be a much better time than I expected!!!  Traffic on HW 290 into Houston was a parking lot, seeming because Houston drivers can't handle a lane closure very well.  We got to BB. King late, but I did get to see him.  We then watched the parade, and had a good time.  There were two women, a mother daughter team I suspect, flashing everyone in the parade.   It was quite funny.  They would flash the police and parade officials, and the police would laugh and throw them beads!  It got to be more exciting to watch the people's reactions than to look at the gal's boobs.  They would even flash the marching bands!  One trumpet player turned around and knocked his friend's trombone down, and yelled at him to look over.  When he did, he stopped, and the members marching behind him ran into the back of him!  A few musicians back, the tuba player snapped a photo and kept on marching.  It was quite humorous!  One young guy, dressed in a tuxedo, riding on a float, got off the float with his drink, and gave the gals some beads.  While trying to get back on the float, he slipped and fell into the street and broke his bottle of hooch.  All for some boobies!

Every notice how Meg Ryan looks a lot like Ginger Lynn?  Had that thought the other day.

I want a welder, but they are too damn $$$.  A Lincoln Electric 135Plus or a Millermatic 135.

The TKEs on the TAMU campus got suspended.  It's a shame to see that other chapters are acting so poorly.

7-Feb-02

A few worthless tips and thoughts from me:

I love our Tilia Foodsaver.  Just don't pull the bag sideways while it is locked down.  It will wrinkle the Teflon seal strip and cause it to not seal properly.  And avoid the wife when she the Foodsaver isn't cooperating.

Men's Health tested a few other infomercial food gadgets and gave their impressions of them.  The Turbo Cooker  works, but not as advertised. The George Forman grill works (we have one of those, too, but we never use it.  Too hard to clean; Men's health thought the same thing), along with the Ronco Rotisserie.

Did you know that when using the best search engine in the world, Google, you can misspell a search word and it will make a suggestion to what it really should be?  Also, to search for an exact phrase you can put a " in front of the phrase, but you don't have to use closing quotes?

I have more hats than I will ever wear.  And they aren't neat hats, their weird hats with company logo's on them.  And they aren't cool companies. Except for my purple Budweiser hat, which I might wear this weekend because it's purple ( =power, Mardi Gras color), and Budweiser is sponsoring the celebration)

I have names for my cats like "skitty kitty", "shitty kitty and his poopy paws", "Budweiser Bones", "Fiesta Bones", "Little Bitch", and "Fat Girl".  No, I am not mean to them.  Except when they jump on the counter.  Then all hell break loose.

I love Cajun, Zydeco and Irish music. 

I am a Leo and left handed (or correct handed as some would say).

I still have my Hewlett Packard 32S calculator from college, and I use it everyday.  It rocks.  It has RPN (reverse polish notation), so un-savy users can't use it.  I used to also own a 42S, but I lost it.  It would handle imaginary numbers like no other.  Great for electrical power calculations.  Funny, the web pages I linked to are to the "HP Museum" site!

Emeril is not from New Orleans.  He is from Fall River, Massachusetts.  While looking for his real hometown, I found a really good article about him, and why he now calls New Orleans "Home".  I like to watch Emeril, and I envy him.

In college we used to add drinking to about any game.  Some of our favorites were Beer-gammon (I still play it), Mille Borne (1000 Milestones, a French card game where you lay down mile cards to reach 1000 miles without getting a flat, running out of gas, or speeding), Star Trek, Hockey (St. Louis, Blues), Hearts (the game), Mexican, and 3 man.

Even though I was a "local" in St. Louis, I still have been up the Arch and toured the Budweiser brewery (many times, I might add).

5-Feb-02

Carnival season is upon us!  This weekend we plan on going to Galveston, TX for their Mardi Gras.  B.B. King is playing, and he is who I want to see.

Not much new to report.   I had the 4Runner aligned, and the right front tire can't be brought into specification.  The camber can't be fully adjusted back into spec.  Instead, it is right on the edge of being within spec.  Grrr...

Nothing in particular has me fired up right now, so nothing to b!tch about.  I got a good laugh at George W Bush getting nominated for a Nobel Peace prize.  Sorry, but I don't think he is that great.  I also think the whole Enron debacle is a bunch of crap.  They should hang those executive crooks after they auction off all their million dollar properties and give the money to all those employees who lost large amounts of money in Enron stock because they couldn't sell it.

I made turkey and sausage gumbo this weekend.  It was good, but I didn't much care for the turkey in the gumbo.  I think chicken is better.

For my height and weight, I am allowed 25 Weight Watcher points.  My goal weight is 155-162 lbs!  If I weighed that little, you could see through me!

28-Jan-02

Just when I thought I had an original idea, I come to find out it's patented already.  Entertaining the cats by having them chase a laser pointer is not an original idea.  Humph.

I made Pad Thai this weekend.  It was good.  The flavor was great, but the texture was terrible.  I way overcooked the rice noodles.

We had wild hog leg yesterday, and it was good.  Had difficulty getting the meat up to temperature, but I think that was caused by not having the meat high enough in the smoker.

Zac should be happy, Nicholas Cage will rein as Baccahus XXXIV.  I got to yell Sanda Bullock's name once while she was being honored by the Krewe of Orpheus.  She looked at me!  I felt so special...

Who in the hell is Baccahus or Orpheus?  They are Krewes.  And they know how to party and put on a good time.  Carnival time is upon us, but I can't find anyone as excited as me. :(

I have added some Mardi Gras clip art to my home page.

22-Jan-02

A couple of weekends ago I got to go duck hunting.  What fun!  I shot 4 of the 8 duck limit (4 hunters in our party).  One of us also shot a green wing duck.  We hunted in the Navasota river bottom on Dr. Dave Brannon's land.   It was a CCA purchase.  That reminds me, I still owe Brian money...  Here are pictures of our hunt.  Dave and his buddy Ken cut the breast meat out of the birds, and gave it to us.  Brian made his by marinating them in teriyaki (by Lawry's), wrapped in bacon, and skewered with onions, mushrooms and bell peppers.  Damn good!!!

I made ours by marinating them in Goyo Mojo marinade and grilling them.  They were good too!  I think we are going to use that Goya on chicken, too.

I bought an infa-red heater off eBay.  It is an All Pro 11,000 BTU model.  It does a great job of heating the garage while working in it.  So good that for a while, the garage was warmer than the house!

I am experimenting with Red Hat Linux on an old computer.  So far, nothing to exciting to report.

Carnival time is upon us, and I am mad that I can't go this year.  Mardi Gras!!!!!!

6-Jan-02

ARRRGGGGGGGG!!!!!  My hard drive crashed on my old desktop with the NEW Western Digital Caviar 60 Gig HD.  I had to reformat the drive and reinstall Windows 98.  I lost EVERYTHING except for my MP3s. Oh well, nothing lost was critical.  I did lose a few digital camera pictures.

I had Domino's Pizza today.  Actually, I had 10 hot wings, and two pieces of pizza.  And two pieces of Cheesy bread.  They have pretty good wings there.  Plenty of hot.  Speaking of hot, we ate at a Wingstop the other day.  They have a sauce called Atomic.  I was going to get 10 wings with that sauce, but the very friendly guy behind the counter (I suspect he was the owner) suggested I try the sauce first.  He gave me a taste, and WOW, was I glad I took his advice.  I got two wings with the Atomic sauce.  And they hurt me.  I was in pain.  Those bastards were HOT!  We also got the Original Hot, and 10 teriyaki.  The Original were good, but the teriyaki were so-so.  After reading their website, it sounds like a true commercialized restaurant.  It wasn't formed from a single store that someone owned.  It started as merely a corporate idea.

I am listening to R.E.M. new song, Disappear.  I like it.

I have to go to pull-e-enz tomorrow, so I think I will retire.

I worked in the garage yesterday, and I had it warmer than the inside of my house!  Between the 1000 watts of quartz lighting, and a 1500W heater, it was pretty warm.  I installed a FM modulator so I could listen to MP3's in the car.  It sounds OK, but there is a hint of static.  I can live with it, though.

5-Jan-02

Since it's almost 1 AM, I can call it Saturday. 

I just got done watching American Pie 2.  What a funny movie.

[Stipler] "I'm just playing by the rules, baby".

[Hot Christy] "I make the rules".

[Stipler] "That's a pretty good fucking rule!"  He then gets urinated on...

Speaking of movies, I saw Kate and Leopold and A Beautiful Mind.  Kate and Leopold was good.  Cute, and definitely a chick flick, with a hint of geekness.  A Beautiful Mind, on the other hand, was AWESOME!  See it if you can.

I keep thinking about it Kirchoff's Voltage and Current Law's, super-position, and source transformations.  Everything I learned in my first year of electrical engineering.  Agggg!  And to think American Pie 2 made me wish I was back in college!

I bought an infrared radiant heater for my garage for only $41 plus shipping, new.  They normally sell for $150!  It is an All Pro SPC 12, with 11,000 BTU/hr output.  No more cold garage, and we can take it camping for those cold mornings.

Zac is consolidating all our recipes onto 3x5 cards.  That sure is nice.  Only catch is some of the crazy stuff I make is concocted from 4 or 5 different recipes.  Next time I make something kooky, I need to keep track of what I use and write it down.

It's beddie-by time for this home boy, as I jam to Pink-Get this party started.

4-Jan-02

I have coined a new phase.  A "food orgasm".  I had one while in New Orleans, and I neglected to mention it in my previous posting.  

What is it you ask?  Read on, and I will TRY to explain.   It must be experienced to fully understand.

I mentioned a long time ago that I was craving an "All That Jazz" sandwich from the Verdi Marte (French Quarter, New Orleans).  While in New Orleans a few weeks ago, I managed to get down to the Verdi Marte (it's at the 1200 block of Royal, approx 6 blocks from the "happening" part of Bourbon street).  It was late, and I was drunk.  I managed to talk my friend Amy into walking with me.  While standing in line with the locals--I knew they were all locals since they all seemed more sober than me,  and looked annoyed by me--I asked one of them if they still have the "All that Jazz" sandwich.  I just got two dumb looks.  Turns out the one guy I asked was getting one too, only because I heard him order "jazz".  I guess saying the "All That" part made me stand out like a sore thumb.  Oh well, back to the story.  I get the sandwich, and we begin to eat it on the way back to Bourbon street.  It starts to hit me.  I wonderful feeling of fulfillment and pleasure.  It truly felt like an orgasm of sorts.  I finished my half, and Amy didn't want the rest of hers, so she gave it to me.  I went up to the hotel room, in the dark, with nothing but my sandwich and a glass of water.  I had another one.  Even bigger than before.  Every bite just as good as the last! Ham, shrimp, beef and that "Wow" sauce- Yum!  No, I didn't need to change my pants (pervert).  Wow.  Very few foods do that for me. 

I think it was possible because I wasn't worried about the fat or cholesterol.  Just pure bliss.  Go get yourself one.  If you do, invite me along so I can get one, too.

I installed speakers in my garage.  Now I can listen to MP3's while I work on the cars!  Yeah!  And all for cheap.  The speakers are little KLH bookshelf speakers with 5-1/4" woofer and a 1" poly tweeter.  Best Buy lists them for $70.00, I got them for $20 the day after Thanksgiving.

29-Dec-01

Whew!  Been busy these last few weeks.  I am writing this on the new laptop from the comfort of my computer chair, with my feet propped up.  Ahh, the life.

Just got back from Houston.  We visited Katy Mills outlet mall, where I made out like a bandit.  I bought a new Polo Oxford white shirt for $30, a new electronic instant read meat thermometer for $14, a new Chicago cutlery Chef's knife for $8, some parts at Radio Shack (the College Station shacks didn't have them!), and a new Penn Levelwind 320 GT2 bait casting reel for my new 10' Bass Pro Shop Gold Cup surf rod.

I have to do an recount of our New Orleans trip.  What a blast!!!  A lot of it will be about food, so here it goes:

We arrived Thursday night at about 11:30 PM.  The hotel (the Inn on Bourbon) was in the heart of Bourbon street, which made for easy trips around the quarter.  We went out and got a Hand Grenade from the Tropical Isle.  It was good.  I even kept the glass, and got our picture taken with the Hand Grenade Man!  In return, I had to hook the door open for him. 

Friday my friend Chim-chim (his real name is Jim, but everyone calls him Chim) and I rode the St. Charles street car to Uglesich's for lunch.  It is all good there.  I had the Paul's Fantasy, and Jim got the crab and potato cakes with garlic eggplant.  We tried each others, and were both happy.  My dish was  pan fried trout covered in new potatoes and Cajun shrimp.  Jim got the fried oysters with bleu cheese sauce and I got the fried green tomatoes with a remoulade for appetizers.  They were good, too.  The fried oysters were so good, we got a second order for desert.  The bill came close to $50 for the two of us.  Most expensive lunch I ever had, and worth every penny.  I still crave the fried oysters.  We met up with Zac and a few others about three at the Crescent City brewhouse, where Jim and I split a half dozen oysters.  I don't do raw oysters well with a sour tummy (hangover), but I ate them.

Friday night we went to Coop's on Decatur.  I got the special jambalaya, and it was great.  Very spicy, and I loved it.  Zac tried a piece of andoulluie sausage, and it liked to ruin her meal (she doesn't have the heat tolerance I do).  Jim got the blackened redfish, and Zac got  Chicken Tchoupitoulas.  Washed it all down with a few Abita Ambers (in fact, a LOT of Ambers were drank that weekend!)

Saturday, Jim and I went to Acme Oyster house, were we both had the bowl of seafood gumbo and a half of roast beef po-boy.  They were good.  We then split another half dozen oysters, since we were sitting at the oyster bar.  We got to shoot the breeze with the shucker, and he teased us about the Rams and how they were going to lose to the Saints that coming Monday (Rams won, BTW).

Saturday night we met up with our friend Mike Vincent and a gal he works with, Julie.  He took us to Jaeger's Seafood and Beer Garden.  It was damn good fried seafood.  I got a half order (a whole order of anything there is plenty for TWO) of fried oysters and a half order of shrimp broquettes. They were both good.  Mike and Jim got their fried crawfish tails, and they were good, too, even though they were out of season.  Julie got cheese fries(?), and something else.  We drank a lot of Abita's.

Sunday we hit Central Grocery for a Muffellatta as we drove home.  I was quite sour(=massive hangover) that day, so I didn't quite enjoy the sandwich like I should of.  It did taste good, and I was able to get it with the olive oil, no olives.  Cool.

New Orleans is a forgiving city, but I still can't believed what happened to us.  We were thrown out of bar because Jim and Julie were getting too frisky!  Asked to leave!  I've been thrown out of bars for fighting and puking, but never for lewd behavior of our party, especially in New Orleans!  Oh well, Chim got some that night.  Twice in fact.

We had Hurricanes at Pat O'brien's, and I got my picture taken in front of the flaming fountain.  We went on a tour of St. Louis Cemetary #1 and got to see Marie Laveau's krypt (a voodoo woman).  I got to meet up with my dad and brother Saturday night and drank Jagermeister and Maker's Mark whiskey at  Monaghan's Erin Rose.  That was a rough night.  I had two Sazeracs that weekend.  One in the Sazerac bar at the Fairmont Hotel, and another at our Hotel (the Inn on Bourbon).  I do know that one I had at our hotel was mad with Old Overholt rye whiskey and Pernod.  The Sazerac bar used Herbisant, but I don't know what whiskey they used.  It tasted just like my second one.  They were both very good.  I also bought some Peychaud's bitters so I can make my own!

12-Dec-01

Well, FrontPage crashed on me, and I have to rewrite today's entry. Grrrr...

I almost won our work's Christmas party's jackpot of $500.  Here are some pictures:

1) Me, on the far left, and the other four contestants.

2) Me again, with the other two remaining constants.  Steve, the guy next to me, is trying to box with me.

3) Not me, since I was the next to lose.  Notice my name has been scratched off the easel.

That money would of paid for my New Orleans trip. :(

I added two jokes to my quotes page.  Both engineer jokes, of course.

10-Dec-01

UMR.  Gotta hate it.  Well, that is what the Princeton Review says.  The #2 campus with the most unhappy students.  I can vouch for that one!  I always complained about the lack of nightlife one that campus.  The Grotto, that was it.  Take Dudley's Draw, remove the TV's, pine boards and deer heads, put it in a basement, remove the smoke eaters and violia! The Grotto.  Oh, and take out the kitchen and replace it with a toaster oven and a crock pot.

The [perpetual] stop lights in College Station continue to piss me off...

New Orleans is coming up!!!  Can I get a "Hell yeah!".  T!tties and beer.

After reinstalling Windows 98, I managed to share my hard drives and printer.  So now I'm a networking fool.  I burned two CD last night without a hitch.  Only catch is XP hangs sometimes on stand-by or hibernation.  Grrrr.

Our work Christmas party is tonight at the Texas Hall of Fame in Bryan, TX.  Should be a good time, and prizes to boot.

7-Dec-01

Had lunch today at the Rockfish Seafood Grill.  Yeah, I know, it's a chain.  But I heard two good reviews about it in less than 4 hours.  And both of them were unsolicited.  So I figured I should try it.  I got the Alberto's seafood enchiladas, and Zac got the Blackened Mahi-Mahi in a Basil butter sauce, on a bed of mashed potatoes, and a side of mixed vegetables.  We also split a bowl of Clam Chowder (New England style, not Manhattan - yuck).  The food was terrific.  Granted it was lots of butter and cream, but ohhhh so yummy.  So go eat there.  Just go early to avoid the long waits.

I have determined that this town suffers from an affliction.  I call it a "Trailer fetish".  It seems every "macho man" with his 1 ton Diesel Ford or Dodge pick-up truck has to pull around a trailer.  Nothing ON the trailer, just pull it around.  Occasionally you will see a lawn mower on one, but that's it.  Strange addiction.

I hate the stop lights in this town.  They have been programmed by an idiot.  They are green for non-existent traffic, and red for traffic.  Pisses me off.

The laptop is in, and it is cool.  I managed to get the network at home hooked up to it, and Zac got the connection at school to work.  Now I can't get my old HP junker to network with anything else but TCP/IP, bound to the network card.  I can't use Windows File Sharing, or new protocols, or new Clients, or new Services.  Time for a reload of Windows 98.  I keep getting a Rundll32 error in Netdi.dll.  I have reloaded both netdi and netos DLL's, but still the same error.

I just bought a FM modulator to hook my portable MP3 player to my car stereo.  10 Gigs of car music.  That is approximately 150 hours of music.  Or 37.5 fill ups while driving @70 MPH.  7.5 round trips to New Orleans.  Wow.  I only paid $15.50 plus $5 shipping.  That is a fair price.  Most losers are selling them for $40 dollars, and that is just too much for that piece of equipment.

This weekend is going to be spent writing my SER - Supplemental Engineering Record for my Professional Engineering application.  I am already nervous about the test, and it isn't until April 19th.

I made fried chicken in the electric skillet last night.  It was awesome!  I added Tony Chachere's seasoning to the flour, because as Emeril says "I don't know where you get your flour, but where I get mine, it don't come seasoned".  When dumping out the oil, there was a brown sticky substance on the bottom of the skillet.  It then dawned on me, I had made a roux!  I almost saved it, but there were burnt pieces of chicken in the mix, and it didn't taste just right.  

4-Dec-01

IT scooter (Segway Human Transporter) - I have to have one.  These things are way cool.  

Do not, under any circumstances, rent or watch "The Tailor of Panama".  Worst movie ever.  It wasn't even cheesy, it just flat out sucked.  Boring.   Perhaps it was the British humor.  I hate British humor.  About as much as I hate Illinois Nazis.  

Our Compaq laptop should be in today.  It is a screamer (If she's a moaner, she'll be a screamer, if she is a screamer, you'll get arrested - Quote from a condom vending machine, selling French ticklers).  1.03 Ghz Intel Pentium III, 512 Meg Ram, 30 GB HD, 15.1 SXGA screen, DVD ROM, CD-RW, Floppy, Extra Battery, USB, Firewire, PCMCIA slot, 16 meg Radeon Video, 10/100 NIC.  I just hope it doesn't die on us.

The killer in in trouble with the law again.  By killer I mean O.J. Simpson.  This time he is being searched for counterfeit DSS cards and Ecstasy drugs.  Stupid fool.  Stupid jury.

Jamming to Perfect Circle's new album, Mer De Mons.  I like it.  A lot like Tool.  I like them, too.

30-Nov-01

Have you ever put on an article of clothing, like a jacket, and find something you thought you lost?  I do that all the time.  I found my pocket knife, engraved Cross pen, and a zip disk that way.

I managed to get Juno working.  They still use a seperate program instead of web only access.  Stupid.  Get with the 20th century.

Kicking it to Kid Rock right now.  Yeah, I know.  But I like how he sings about drinking and getting funky. "I'm a pimp, you can check my stats..."

Watched the "Original Kings of Comedy" last night.  It was OK.

I got a new MP3 player, the Classic CHD 1000.  It rocks!  10 Gigs of storage, lithium battery, line/phones out, line it, USB.  Only thing it doesn't have is the abality to upload from the player back to the computer (like a USB hard drive).  Now that would be super handy!  I also got a Western Digital Caviar HD, 60 Gig, 5400 RPM for $50, a LInksys router (befsr41) for $70, 320 CD-R's, a Linksys 10/100 NIC for free.  Oh, and a Kodak Digital Camera, the DC3200, for $80.  Expect more pictures on this site! 

LIke a good Harry Homeowner, I got my Christmas lights up Thanksgiving day. Yeah, me!

Zac got most of the Christmas cards done, that is cool.  All I have to do is get address for a few people.

20-Nov-01

I broke one of my Cardinal rules.  I am accepting it is the holiday season BEFORE Thanksgiving by listening to Christmas music.  I just got done listening to Kenny G's Auld Lang Syne, Millennium Mix.  What a tear jerker.  Serves me right for listening to Christmas music before Thanksgiving. 

The BBQ last weekend was a huge success.  We made grilled jumbo shrimp as an appetizer, smoked pork loin in a sesame/brown sugar marinade, beer can chicken, Elgin Hot sausage, smoked, and some burgers.  I made some baked beans, Zac made cole slaw, Michelle made a cheese casserole that was good, and everyone else brought over chips or desert.  Lots of washers games were played, and 3 cases of beer were consumed, along with spiced rum and vanilla vodka (good in Coke).

"Here comes Santa Claus, Here comes Santa Clause..." Elvis is singing right now.  I like his version.

I made chili with tomatoes and chilies from my garden last night.  I will see tonight how it tastes.  Lots of cumin in my chili.  Yummy. 

I am  about ready to give up on Juno e-mail.  I haven't been able to check it for the last 2 months.  Yes, that's months.  Ready for Hotmail.  I have been a Juno member since '92, but this is getting annoying.

I hope everyone has a nice Thanksgiving.  I am deep frying a turkey.

13-Nov-01

My d!ck is so big it has casters...My d!ck is so big it votes.  My d!ck is so big it has it's own d!ck, and even my d!ck's  d!ck is bigger than your d!ck.  My dick is so big that when my balls are in pacific standard time, it's mountain standard time at the head.  My d!ck is so big it has a retractable dome.  My d!ck is so big it has it's own gravity.

Can you tell I was listening to Drew Carey's 101 big dick jokes?

I went to Lowe's and Sam's at lunch today.  I think it was "giving sh!t away free day" today.  Those places were more crowded than during the weekend.  What a pain!  Rant rant rant...

We finished our patio this past weekend.  That was hard work!  2.5 tons of crushed limestone, 600 bricks, and .5 tons of sand to make 100 sq. feet of patio.  It looks good!  So good, in fact, we are having a BBQ on it this Saturday!  We were going to have a fajita party, but it isn't going to pan out.

The plans are in motion for a trip to New Orleans.  We got two rooms at the Inn on Bourbon, 541 Rue Bourbon for only $99 a night!  What a steal.  Now I only need to get off work for a day.   Man, I am starting to feel a little sick already, but it won't peak until 14-Dec.  Ha ha!  Verti Marte, Uglesich's, Coop's here I come!  Hand Grenades from Tropical Isle, Hurricane's from Pat O'Brien's, huge ass beers from anyone (seems there is a place that copyrighted the phrase).  As Homer would say while falling asleep while the Michael Jackson impersonator sings to him..."Mmmm Boobies."  A phrase one should be able to endure while partying - BUP=Beer, urine, and puke.  The smell of Bourbon street.  A human sewer during Mardi Gras.  But oh so damn much fun!  And I can't get enough of the architecture.  And the gas lights.  But you probably knew about the gas lights from my homepage :).  I'm rambling.

6-Nov-01

My dad and sister visited us the past weekend.  That was a nice time.  We went to Seabrook and drank at a dive called Maybelle's and ate a a place called Outrigger's, where I had a good shrimp po-boy.  We drove around Kemah's boardwalk, but decided to eat elsewhere since it's nothing more that a whole bunch of Landry's developments.  Blah on that.  We then headed to Galveston to see the beach, where we stumbled on the "no-name" beach, or Dune Beach, between East beach and Stewart beach. It is were the homosexuals hang out and sunbathe, some naked.  Very weird, but absolutely funny.  We were accosted by one of them, yelling about how it's illegal to drive on the beach there.  Turns out the asshole was right, but not before we told him we didn't appreciate his language (yeah, us telling someone their language is bad).  After that, we hung out on East beach and drank a few.  We then headed over to the Strand in downtown Galveston, where we had ice cream at La Kings.  Yummy.  I also had a cherry phosphate.  

Thursday night after we picked them up from Hobby airport, we ate at the original Ninfa's, on Navigation Street.  Excellent food and service.  My kind of place.  Friday we ate at Jason's Deli and made Fajitas.  Sunday I smoked some sausage, grilled some chicken marinated in Lawry's tequila lime, and some shrimp that we bought while in Seabrook.  $7 a pound for jumbo shrimp!

I added a new quote to my quotes page.

1-Nov-01

Only had 4 groups of trick-or-treaters come by last night.  Lame.  We now have more candy than I could eat in a year.  I wish more kids would of come by.  Maybe the street I live on doesn't have many kids.  Just rich college students or broke engineers.  No, I'm not broke.  Just bugs me that these KIDS are driving better and newer cars than I have yet to be able to afford!!!  As a wise man once said about that -- "The parents have too much money and not enough sense"  So true.

I, for some crazy reason, want to drink old school American beer, like Falstaff, Strohs, STAG (not the European brand, but the stuff they made in Bellville, IL), Shlitz, Pabst, and Old Style.  Did you know that Lone Star is made by Pabst? This guy has a hella cool web site on American beers other than Budweiser and Miller.  Maybe my local K-Rodger will have some.  The only beer besides Bud Light in my refrigerator (or should I say "Ice Box" - now that is old school!) is Miller High Life, the "Champagne of Beers".  I like to drink Abita Amber from Abita Springs Brewery, LA.

I drank some Chivas scotch last weekend, and it was good.  12 year old stuff, and it comes in a tin.