Ron G.

In the tornadoes last week, several Arkansas towns took severe damage and a few were oblitereated altogether. Only one made the national news, as far as I know...and that was Atkins...cuz that's where the Atkins pickles came from.

Okay...try this. I invented it myself and it pleases the kid as well as me. 1 cup soy flour 1/2 cup vanilla flavored whey protein (powder) 3 tsp baking powder 3 tbsp Splenda...you can also sweeten it with an herb called "Stevia". I grow my own and don't really know if it can be bought anywhere. 1/2 tsp salt 2 egg whites about a half cup lowfat milk (I often use buttermilk with 1 tspn baking soda as it's tastier, richer and the buttermilk is very lowfat) Mix all the dry stuff in a bowl then add the egg whites and then enough milk to make what you'd consider pancake batter should be like after mixing it up. Cook them on a non stick pan with spray stuff. I don't use toppings besides butter, so you're on your own with that. Andrew uses jelly and I sometimes mix cinnamon with stevia or boil some water with maple flavoring and stevia for a real thin "syrup". You can add 4 tbsp olive oil to the mix to make them richer, but that's an acquired taste, I think....just tastes buttery to me, but Andrew doesn't seem to care much for it. Try it and I'll try yours. I doubt I'll use the oatmeal much since I'm more into low carb, but I'll try it.

Happy Birthday!! Andrew and I hope your day is wonderful, as you deserve it!!

Boston police today reported finding a body in the Charles River. The victim apparently drowned due to excessive alcohol consumption. He was described as wearing black fishnet stockings, a red garter belt, a pink wig, a strap-on dildo, a New England Patriot's jersey, and had a cucumber stuffed up his foot. The police graciously removed the Patriot's jersey to spare the family unnecessary embarrassment.

MY NEIGHBOR WILL SOON HAVE BIRD DOG PUPS FOR SALE OR MAYBE TO GIVE AWAY TO A LOVING FAMILY. ANYONE WHO IS INTERESTED PLEASE CONTACT ME, THE LITTER WILL PROBABLY BE ABOUT 7 - 10 PUPS WHICH I WILL SELL AT A VERY REASONABLE PRICE. BELOW IS A PICTURE OF THE MOM AND DAD SO YOU WILL HAVE AN IDEA OF WHAT THE PUPS WILL LOOK LIKE. PLEASE LET ME KNOW SOON, AS THEY MAY GO FAST - THANKS

It was this day in 1959 that Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, "The Big Bopper" and 21-year-old pilot, Roger Peterson were killed in Iowa.

Last I heard, the Mets traded Warren Spahn to the Giants. Did he play today?

Okay, I can kinda deal with canned cheeseburgers... (klikken ze pictures) but powdered wine? What will those krafty krauts think up next? And you all thought the haggis was scarey.

Yes, the Citroens have always been pretty odd looking. the DS Pallas was VERY peculiar, although very recognizable. Citroen DS Note the inner headlight swivels to match the direction of the front tire. It's unusual appearance was a result of a design that gave it a very low center of gravity and an aerodynamic design enabling it to get between 40 and 50 mpg and nearly impossible to roll. It's low center of gravity and it's unique "hydropneumatic" suspension allowed the driver to continue driving safely on three wheels in the event of a blowout and when you did change the tire, you could lift the wheel with the flat tire independently, from inside the car with a lever, eliminating the need for a jack. Part of the sales pitch of the car was jumping a curb at about 10 or 15 MPH with a cup of coffee balanced on your knee. It had many other safety features making it, probably, the safest car ever made as well as almost indestructible. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, as they say, and for me, function trumps appearance. So I guess it's just MY dream car.

If you're gonna blow all that money, then you may as well get something good. Although the Citroen DS Palas was probably the ULTIMATE automobile ever made, this one isn't too far behind. Citroen SM with Maserati engine Although "Citroen" is the French word for "lemon" (I think), it's not your typical WOWmobile. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1973-Citroe...tem280196403159

Mark S. I've wondered if I may have ever run into you when I was in CA. I lived in Davis, then moved to Woodland where Andrew was born. I went to fellowship in Sacramento a couple of times, but that didn't work out cuz the TC was a jerk, so I went to Suisun and later Napa. There was a big limb event in 1993, I think it was, in Oakland where Paul G., another jerk, refused to Christen Andrew. I guess I met everyone in northern CA at that meeting, and then again a year or so later in Hayward, where LCM came to bless us all with his presence. My work took me from as far south as Tehachapi to as far north as Chico...west to Tahoe and east to SF, Pacifica and Los Gatos on a regular basis. When were you active?

I guess I'd better post this so everybody'll get off the haggis thing. This is a wonderful cold weather treat, is quite filling (as are most European foods), is easy to prepare and very good if you're trying to whittle some of that holday bulge off...You know...the Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners, all the sweets and, of course, all that Robbie Burns day haggis. I had a friend in California that I worked with for about a year in 1991, named Ekaterina or Katya or Kate. She was from a place called Kharkov in the Ukraine, but came to the U.S. to get her degree at the University of California at Davis. We mostly worked together because we were the only ones there that smoked, so we chose to travel together a lot. She's quite a cook and here is her Borscht recipe. It was an event photography business and we played around with the cameras a lot. I found this very old photo of Kate. Katya 2 lbs stew meat 4 cups shredded beets 4 cups shredded cabbage 1 large onion all chopped up 1 stalk of celery all chopped up 1 carrot all chopped up 1 can beef broth 1 can tomato paste 1/4 cup white vinegar 1 tablespoon dill weed 1 tablespoon dill seed 1 clove garlic 4 tablespoons sugar (or Splenda) a little rosemary a couple bay leaves 1 teaspoon black pepper 1 teaspoon white pepper Enough salt to make it taste good Cook the meat up like you would chili or something and then put all rest of the stuff and some water in the pot and cook it for about an hour or so. Be sure to open the cans first. If you cook it too much, you'll lose the pretty red color. I don't know why but you will. Put a blob of plain yogurt or sour cream in a bowl and then pour your borscht over it to serve it. A slice of Russian black bread goes real good with it. Okay, I know a lot of people don't care much for beets and boiled cabbage makes a lot of people fart, but try it anyway, you'll be surprised how good it is.

Indiana Boys Left With Bleeding Tongues After Licking Flagpole Saturday, January 26, 2008 CHESTERTON, Ind. — Two fourth-grade boys mimicking a scene from the movie "A Christmas Story" wound up with their tongues stuck to a frozen flagpole. Gavin Dempsey and James Alexander were serving on flag duty at Jackson Elementary School Friday morning, with the job of raising and lowering the school's flags. They decided to see if their tongues really would stick to the cold metal. "I decided to try it because I thought all of the TV shows were lies, but turns out I was wrong," Gavin said. Karen Alexander, James' mother , said her son told her he got the idea from the movie, which is based on stories about a boy growing up in the northwest Indiana community of Hammond in the 1940s. "I can't believe he did it, but they learned their lesson," she said. James said he plans to eat a lot of ice cream to help nurse his wound. "When you're young, you're just messing around," he said. Billie Dempsey, Gavin's mom, said a nurse called them to tell them the boys' tongues were bleeding. "The nurse asked them, 'OK, who double-dog dared who?"' Billie Dempsey said, a reference to a phrase that a character in the movie used to dare another child to stick his tongue to the pole.

The only thing I've ever used my hot wire for is pigs. I used a very low setting...maybe 9VDC (?), just enough to startle the pig when it's nose touched the wire. The pigs only had to touch it once or twice and they'd avoid the fence from then on. It was so effective that the the pigs and I both forgot it and the battery died, subsequently corroded, and yet the pigs and I continued to avoid the fence. I was considering using it for a goat pen, but I've pretty much decided on not fooling with goats any more. I never even considered it for a dog pen until this thread.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I have an electrified pen but I need to get a new charger. I also feed him 3, sometimes 4 times a day but just mentioned the 6:30 because that's his first feeding of the morning.when I saw his treat...and I feed him what I get at the feed store. It's not "Ol' Roy", it's called "Proud Paws 28/12" for puppies and it comes from the Tindle Feed store where I get my chops and other feeds. I'll never discourage him from killing little animals as that's his job...to keep unwanted racoons, rabbits etc out of the garden. If he eats his catch, that's his business as long as he leaves the chickens alone. I think vickles has it because he still acts like a little tiny puppy, even though he's huge. He's the biggest dog I ever had and still growing. He has a wolfs face and is probably the prettiest dog I ever had with his long smokey brown hair. The problem with his garbage and all that is like vickles said...the world is his chewy toy. He chews up everything. Fortunately, he hasn't carried the car off and chewed it up is because he isn't big enough...yet....although he did manage to take the seat off my riding mower and chew it up. I took him by the neck and rolled him over as per vickles suggestion and that seemed to make a big impression on him. He acted a little more subsevient each time. We're still thinking about dying him red and renaming him Clifford. He's a wonderfully friendly and lovable dog and beautiful, so he's a keeper...if I can just get him trained.

Last July, while Andrew was away at summer camp, I got a puppy to surprise him when he returned. Andrew really took to the puppy and loved it, naming it Akela, the leader of the pack from Kipling and a Cub Scout thing. The puppy was so very cute playing with Andrew last summer. When running and playing in the yard, he kind of resembled a football strapped to a roller skate. When I got him in July, he'd just opened his eyes, if that gives anyone any idea of his actual age. His daddy is a Malamute and his mama a timber wolf, and now he's about the size of a small horse. He still does that puppy thing where he jumps around when he sees us and is friendly and lovable to a fault. He has this really bad habit of going around and collecting trash and other assorted items and strewing them around the yard. We've cleaned the yard up several times only to have him trash it again within an hour. He loves to lay in the middle of his trophys and treasures. The worst habit he has is that he likes to kill passing animals such a racoons, opossums, squirrels etc. and brings their carcasses into his trophy yard. He has quite a collection of bones, skulls, feet etc., many with fur still attached. I even bury this stuff, but he soon digs it up, leaving us not only with a rotting carcass in the doorway, but a gaping hole in the yard. I normally feed him at about 6:30 every morning and he's always waiting and quite eager for breakfast. This morning he wasn't at the door. I went outside and found him gnawing on a spinal column that was about two feet long. the ribs had been chewed off, but the meat was still fresh. Since we've been hearing a lot of coyotes, lately, I sort of think he found a freshly killed deer carcass and made off with the spine and rib cage, but I don't know. He may have killed the deer himself or maybe he killed something else. I'm going to ask around if any neighbors are missing. My question is how does one train a dog not to do this? Is a malamute/wolf mix even trainable? He definitely has a wild side to him. He dearly loves his "chewies" but I really want my yard back. Any suggestions?

I doubt that being a woman will have any significant bearing on Hillary Clinton. People either like it a lot or they dislike it intensely with few in between, it seems. Women governors have been around for a very long time. the first woman governor of Texas, Miriam A. "MA" Ferguson was elected to that office in 1925, and again in 193something...maybe 32. She wasn't the nations first woman governor, however, as Wyoming elected one a year or so earlier, as I recall. Interestingly, MA Ferguson was elected governor, after her husband was impeached and removed from the governors office, with the slogan "Two governors for the price of one". Sounds eerily familiar...doesn't it? In 1996, I voted for a pair that inlcuded Jo Jorgensen as candidate for Vice President, and then, of course, there was Geraldine Ferraro in '84. I don't seem to recall that being a major issue, then. I don't think it'll make any significant difference since woman governors and other office holders have been around since the early part of the 20th century. As for blacks, that might play a little differently, but I sorta doubt that, too. As mstar pointed out, that's not without precedent, either.

I remember riding my bicycle about a mile or so to Katy Lake with my .22 rifle across the handlebars where I'd meet up with some buddies and we'd shoot cans, rats and other assorted targets. The lake was drained and Seminary South Shopping Center built there in 1962 or so. I have no idea what it's called today. I often wore a white tshirt to jr. high and high school with a pack of Luckies tucked neatly into the rolled up sleeve...when the weather permitted...and of course, the ever present Zippo lighter. It seems we all had nicknames like "Outlaw", "Froggie", "Holder", "Tuna"....mine was "Bushy" because of my disdain for barber shops...or "Red"....just depending. Or we all addressed each other by our last names. We all loved motocycles. I had an Indian, but after a couple of bad cases of "pavement rash" and that incident involving the sparkplug coming loose and falling in my boot, I haven't been on one since 1964. I missed voting in my first general election for POTUS in 1968 by three weeks...my b'day is in late November. Check this link out...it's worth your time... http://moreoldfortyfives.com/TakeMeBackToTheSixties.htm Wonderful music and cool memories.

It's soon Bobbie Burns day again!! Although hunting haggis is a time honored tradition, this year is unusually cold...do you have any idea what it's like to wear a kilt in the cold air while hunting haggis? So, with that in mind, I decided to cut and paste this traditional recipe for everyone, beginning with the traditional haggis hunting song. The haggis season has begunAll over Scotland every gun Is taken down with loving care Though some prefer the haggis snare For haggis are a wily lot That's why they are so seldom shot "We're the haggis, aye, hooray; We'll live until next Hogmanay" Its flying upside down and low The guns all fire, but they're too slow And though it's rather old and fat It's awfully hard to hit like that And as it flies off in the mist Great hairy clansmen shake their fists And scream their curses to the crags And stamp on empty haggis bags And so the haggis gets away To live until next Hogmanay "We're the haggis, aye, hooray; We'll live until next Hogmanay" Ingredients... Set of sheep's heart, lungs and liver (cleaned by a butcher) One sheep's stomach 3 cups finely chopped suet One cup medium ground oatmeal Two medium onions, finely chopped One cup beef stock One teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon pepper One teaspoon nutmeg ½ teaspoon mace Trim off any excess fat and sinew from the sheep's intestine and, if present, discard the windpipe. Place in a large pan, cover with water and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for an hour or possibly longer to ensure that they are all tender. Drain and cool. Some chefs toast the oatmeal in an oven until it is thoroughly dried out (but not browned or burnt!) Finely chop the meat and combine in a large bowl with the suet, oatmeal, finely chopped onions, beef stock, salt, pepper, nutmeg and mace. Make sure the ingredients are mixed well. Stuff the meat and spices mixture into the sheep's stomach which should be over half full. Then press out the air and tie the open ends tightly with string. Make sure that you leave room for the mixture to expand or else it may burst while cooking. If it looks as though it may do that, prick with a sharp needle to reduce the pressure. Place in a pot and cover with water. Bring to the boil and immediately reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for three hours. Avoid boiling vigorously to avoid bursting the skin. Serve hot with "champit tatties and badang neeps" (mashed/creamed potato and turnip/swede). For added flavour, you can add some nutmeg to the potatoes and allspice to the turnip/swede. Some people like to pour a whisky over their haggis. You're welcome! Happy Bobbie Burns Day!!!

Haggis, traditionally eaten on Burns night, is banned in the US The Scottish Government is considering asking the United States to rethink its ban on haggis imports. Imports of Scotland's iconic dish were banned by the US in 1989 in the wake of the BSE scare because it contains offal ingredients such as sheep lungs. Only an offal-free version of haggis is available in the US. The move would be backed by renowned haggis maker Macsween, which believes the American market could be a very lucrative one. A Scottish Government spokeswoman said it "will consider engaging the US government on its haggis export ban, if there is popular support for such a move from within our world famous haggis producers". Jo Macsween, a co-director of family company Macsween, said she hoped to see the ban overturned. "The market is massive because there are so many expat Scots there and once Americans try a good quality haggis, they can't get enough of it," she added. The dish, traditionally served with tatties and neeps on Burns' night, usually contains a sheeps lungs, liver and heart minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices and salt mixed with stock. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/7198751.stm (But we can buy SPAM??? Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?) Address to a Haggisby Robert Burns National Bard of Scotland Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face, Great chieftain o' the pudding-race! Aboon them a' yet tak your place, Painch, tripe, or thairm: Weel are ye wordy o'a grace As lang's my arm. The groaning trencher there ye fill, Your hurdies like a distant hill, Your pin was help to mend a mill In time o'need, While thro' your pores the dews distil Like amber bead. His knife see rustic Labour dight, An' cut you up wi' ready sleight, Trenching your gushing entrails bright, Like ony ditch; And then, O what a glorious sight, Warm-reekin', rich! Then, horn for horn, they stretch an' strive: Deil tak the hindmost! on they drive, Till a' their weel-swall'd kytes belyve Are bent like drums; Then auld Guidman, maist like to rive, Bethankit! hums. Is there that owre his French ragout Or olio that wad staw a sow, Or fricassee wad make her spew Wi' perfect sconner, Looks down wi' sneering, scornfu' view On sic a dinner? Poor devil! see him owre his trash, As feckles as wither'd rash, His spindle shank, a guid whip-lash; His nieve a nit; Thro' blody flood or field to dash, O how unfit! But mark the Rustic, haggis-fed, The trembling earth resounds his tread. Clap in his walie nieve a blade, He'll mak it whissle; An' legs an' arms, an' hands will sned, Like taps o' trissle. Ye Pow'rs, wha mak mankind your care, And dish them out their bill o' fare, Auld Scotland wants nae skinking ware That jaups in luggies; But, if ye wish her gratefu' prayer Gie her a haggis!

With dialup, the youtube thing doesn't really work for me, so I've never used it. If you can find "Lorena" and/or "Just Before the Battle, Mother" by the 97th Regimental String Band, do so. I knew these guys 15 or so years ago and they do the definitive versions of these tunes (IMNSHO) as Rick Moock (big guy with the banjo), used to research the material and endeavor to use instrumentation, changes and harmonies that were completely authentic to the time.

I just looked outside and it's 9 degrees, so I figured I'd better hurry up and post this recipe for Buffalo Hump chili. It's a necessity on a night like tonight and will usually prevent hypothermia....or at least make you glad you have it. It's 2:30 AM and I'm posting this at this unseemly hour as an emergency measure so no one will have to call 911 or anything. First, you get a buffalo and cut off it's hump. Then skin it and chop it up into little pieces like stew meat. If you prefer ground meat, and you have a meat grinder like I do, then use the round thing with the biggest holes you can find. If not, then go to your butcher and get them to grind your buffalo hump into "chili grind". Any reputable butcher will know what chili grind is and many not so reputable butchers will probably know, too. Whatever you do, don't use hamburger. That just makes a disgusting mess... like mush. Okay, here goes... 2 lbs. ground or chunked buffalo hump. You may also use venison, elk, beef, moose, or goat (cabrito) if you like. I don't really care. 4 tablespoons of Williams Chili seasoning, or if you're cool like me, 4 tablespoons of ground up poblano pepper, which I grow myself unless the goat eats it, then I have to use the Williams, in which case the goat ends up in the chili, too...then it's not actually buffalo hump chili. 1 tablespoon ground cumin if you use the Williams, two if you use your own poblano pepper. 1 medium onion all chopped up. 1 can of Rotel tomatoes. 1 tablespoon minced garlic. 1 stalk of celery all chopped up like you did the onion. 1/2 square of Bakers unsweetened chocolate. 1 cayenne (red) pepper...two or three or maybe even more if it's REAL cold outside. 1/4 cup masa harina (corn flour)...regular wheat flour will work, too, but I prefer the masa. Salt to your particular specifications. Put the meat and chopped up onion in a pot and sear it, getting it all a uniform shade of grey. Pour off most of the grease, but leave a little and then put in the Rotel tomatoes and then put all the the spices in except the garlic and then put the chocolate in it then let it kinda simmer until the chocolate melts. Stir it all up and then add all the other stuff and three or four cans of water and then cover it up and let it sit there and simmer on low heat for two or three hours. Now would be a good time to taste it to check the salt. Be sure and check the water level now and then. After it's set there and simmered for two or three hours, take your masa and mix it with some cold water until it's about as thick as real heavy cream. Make sure there aren't any lumps, or as few as possible. Mix it into the pot of chili while stirring and then taste for salt again and add the garlic. Let it simmer for about another half hour to an hour, stirring it so it doesn't stick to the bottom, until it's about the consistency of what you think chili ought to be. Now I know some folks put beans in their chili, but as far as I'm concerned, you're on your own with that...it's okay, I guess, you're eating it, I'm not. All I can say is if you MUST desecrate your chili with beans, use pinto beans instead of those red kidney beans. All this is based on cooking on a indoor cookstove. Your times might vary some if you're doing it over a campfire or Coleman Camp stove or on the exhaust manifold of your truck. It works equally well with most pots and pans and even snooty pots (like SOME people I've heard about), but I prefer a cast iron dutch oven. You can serve it however you want to, but I prefer it with some grated cheese and raw onion sprinkled on top and tostadas or maybe saltine crackers on the side.

"Nothing is easier than self-deceit. For what each man wishes, that he also believes to be true." -- Diane Arbus "Myths and creeds are heroic struggles to comprehend the truth in the world." -- Ansel Adams "Be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence." -- Minor White "Every portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist, not of the sitter." -- Oscar Wilde "I believe in equality for everyone, except reporters and photographers." -- Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi "Always carry a large flagon of whiskey in case of a snakebite, furthermore, always carry a small snake." --W.C. Fields