Well, I've been out of town since last Friday. Raj and I went to catch the Packers on Sunday. It was very rainy when we first showed up, so we didn't get to grill, but the rain let up in time for the game so it wasn't as miserable as I would have liked.
It probably was for the best since the Packers did manage to win the game. We're still one game behind the Vikings, but they still have to play St. Louis this week, Seattle next week and Kansas City the last week of the season. I think they have a pretty good chance of dropping at least two out of those three games. Green Bay's toughest opponent left is Denver the last week, but before then it's Detroit, Chicago, San Diego and Oakland. I think we have a pretty good chance of still taking the division.
I had Monday and Tuesday to myself while the folks were at work. I thought about going to see Bubba Ho-Tep, but it only shows at 10:00PM at one theater in the area, so no dice. Fortunately, it is finally coming to Kansas City.
I'm pretty sure I'll be heading out to see Tortoise this Friday since I'm in town and they're playing a benefit gig. That should be fun, but I'll probably have to head into town today to grab some tickets.
Oh, I suppose I ought to get to the best joke of the weekend so far. At the game on Sunday, neither Raj nor I could keep from laughing every time Najeh Davenport's name was mentioned. At one point I ran off to have a smoke, but was watching the game on the TV, and Najeh carried the ball a couple of times. When I got back, Raj told me that Najeh had "some good runs" while I was gone.
Ha ha. Good Runs.
OK, away from a computer for the next several days. I've finally fixed my spam filter and the text message deal over there on the right. Send me a text message while I'm up there, I can actually get them now.
Happy Thanksgiving everybody...
Well, not quite, but pretty darn close...
Sunday: Rain likely. Chance for precipitation is 70%. Cloudy, with a high around 42. Breezy, with a east northeast wind between 21 and 24 mph.
Good weather for watching a game, but doesn't bode well for Favre and his busted thumb. That Eagles game in the rain was ugly.
Well, not quite, but pretty darn close...
Sunday: Rain likely. Chance for precipitation is 70%. Cloudy, with a high around 42. Breezy, with a east northeast wind between 21 and 24 mph.
Good weather for watching a game, but doesn't bode well for Favre and his busted thumb. That Eagles game in the rain was ugly.
The bar had a chili cook-off on Sunday, pitting my chili against my girlfriend's and five others. Hers didn't come out how she wanted, nor did mine, and neither of us placed in the top three. (The first place chili really was excellent. I need to practice so I can kick her ass next year.)
Later in the evening, I found the tally sheet for the ballots and checked to see if I at least beat the girlfriend. I was somewhat surprised to see that not only did I come in last place, I did so with authority. The way the ballots worked was each of the judges ranked the chilis from 1st to 7th place, then the scores were added up and the low score won. The way the ballot tallies came out, I was two points short of the theoretical hightest score. At the very most, only two of the judges didn't rank me in dead last.
Now my chili didn't come out exactly how I wanted it, but I didn't think it was that bad... I had tried to make it spicy, and it did come out pretty hot. I figured maybe we just had some wimpy judges.
Well, I went in yesterday to play darts and one of the judges was there talking to the owner of the bar. She came out of the back and told me that she really shouldn't tell anything about the judging process, but the story was just too funny to share.
Apparently, at last year's chili cook-off Walt Bodine was one of the judges. After the results were announced, he was talking to the second place winner, and she asked him how he liked the squirrel chili. This got many of the judges upset. (You'll notice Walt wasn't there this year...)
Well, my chili used chunks of pork and stew beef. It cooked long enough that the stew beef pretty much fell apart, but the pork was in fairly large chunks and held together well. Unfortunately, the judges couldn't identify the meat, and I think the consensus was that it was in fact Possum. Hence all the dead last votes.
So I now present to you...
Ryan Olson's Dead Last Chili
2 lb. Stew Beef
2 lb. Pork Cutlets (or Possum)
1 White Onion
6 Serrano Peppers (since Price Chopper is out of Habanero Peppers)
4 Tomatillos
6 cloves Garlic
2 tbsp. Chopped Cilantro
1 28 oz. can Crushed Tomatoes
1/2 can Tomato paste (the mini-can)
1 can Black Beans
1 can Kidney Beans
1 can Pinto Beans
2 tbsp. Chili Powder
2 tsp. Cayenne Pepper
1 tsp. Oregano
1 tsp. Hot Curry Powder
1 tsp. Paprika
2 glugs Tequila
1 can Beef Broth
Hot Sauce (Cajun Style Habanero sauce and Sriracha, apply liberally)
Cut pork and beef into about 1/2 - 1 inch cubes. Chop the onion, peppers, tomatillos and cilantro.
Add a bit of oil to a pot and let it heat a bit. Add the meat and brown. You'll probably have to do it in batches. Drain fat from meat in a collander. Add the onions and garlic to the pot and allow to cook for just a bit. Add meat and stir. Add the tomatoes and tomato sauce. Get a little upset that "crushed tomatoes" have no chunks in them. Remind yourself to get a can of Whole Tomatoes next time.
Add everything else. Realize that it looks far too thin, so allow to simmer uncovered too long. When it looks like it's the right consistency, cover and pour off to a crock pot. Allow to heat in crock pot overnight on low. Wake up in the morning and find chili that is far too thick.
Well, next time it'll be straight to the crock pot after everything's thoroughly mixed. I think the overnight cooking would be enough to thicken it up without letting all the water boil off at the start. Or at least get it in the crock pot when you still think it's too thin.
Or just cook a recipe that hasn't already been proven a last place winner.
NewsRadio Season 1 & 2 DVD coming 2/3/2004.
I will personally buy eight copies just to make sure that they release the rest...
Damn these bastard UN diplomats and their immunity. It's just not fair, I tells you.
You know, I do like Metafilter, but mainly for the quirky links about things like big vending machines and flash games. Their political stuff is usually a bit over the top, but I really can't let this one slide without complaining just a bit.
The post concerns Bush's trip to London. The poster apparently is a bit upset about the bill for security on the trip, but there's something about the way he complains that just doesn't seem right to me...
Everyone knows there's a possibility of violence against the president, especially in light of recent events. A measure of security is thus justified. However, are economic concerns being considered? Now, I have the utmost respect for the president's life - as much as I do for just about anybody. I hate the callousness of associating any sort of price on human life. But when security measures require 5,000 police officers and £4,000,000 (that's merely the cost footed by UK taxpayers, mind you), have we not yet reached the point where that money would have been better spent? -especially when the U. S. executive branch has a very robust official policy of succession in place. It's not like the government will suddenly evaporate if the president were to be killed.
The commenters seem even more callous than that. Some pointed out that there are very few guns in Great Britain, and one commenter appeared to have a suggestion for the brits. The majority sentiment seems to be "We probably shouldn't kill Bush because then Cheney would be president. Probably."
Ugh. I just need to remember not to click into the political threads over there...
Doesn't look like I'll be getting the second season of Twin Peaks on DVD any time soon...
On the other hand, a Kids In The Hall set is on its way...
Why I like Reason's Hit & Run #243:
If you'd told me two years and three months ago that I would ever be devoting any time to thinking about the constitution of Afghanistan, I would definitely have killed myself. However, now that we're here:
Oh, and the story is pretty good too...
Well my days just got about 30% less fun. Juan Gato/marc/The Shallow End/The Genius I Was has quit blogging.
Well I'm depressed.
Will you come back if I buy you a copy of Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret?
Well, now that NBA Basketball is back in season it's getting less and less enjoyable to listen to Jim Rome at lunch over here. Luckily we have the spectacle of Rush Limbaugh's return to his radio show this coming monday following his stint in rehab.
I suppose I can tune in for one day and see what he has to say about the facilities.
What is Gimpysoft? Googlism seems to know...
It was very sad when Oolong died. Well, Oolong's owner has a new rabbit, Yuebing. Yuebing is pretty cute.
These rabbits are just freaky, though.
Or, I will soon. This article on new products tailored for the new, more ample American girth contains this lovely paragraph:
Bill Fabrey and Nancy Summer founded Amplestuff, of Bearsville, N.Y., when Summer, who weighs 450 pounds, told Fabrey that she couldn't find a sponge to reach certain parts of her body. Fabrey, an engineer, came up with Sponge on a Stick. The company has built an entire line of products with heavier people in mind, including seat belt extenders, higher-limit scales and extra-large towels.
Sorry, I wash myself with a sponge on a stick.
Somebody remind me to go to the gym this evening.
Again, not a whole lot going on over here. I've been working at the bar a bit more lately. I get to work the Chiefs game this Sunday, so that should be fun and some decent money. My girlfriend still hasn't dumped me for some reason, but at least one of us has been sick for the last week or so. I think tonight is a staying in night.
To give you an idea of why I haven't been posting much, I'll give you a rundown of the things that are most on my mind these days:
1. I had been putting off getting the tree in my front yard trimmed for a while now. My neighbors paid to have a trimmer out to trim the trees on the street a couple of months before I bought my house. The person who owned Fort Awesome before I bought it didn't want to go in on the trimming, so the tree in my front yard is ugly and ungainly. I was worried about how much that was going to cost after hearing horror stories about single tree trimming fees running up to $650. I heard that there might be another ice storm this weekend, so the branches on the oak tree hanging over mine and my neighbor's house were making me a bit nervous. (I leave correction of the grammar in that sentence as an exercise for the reader.) So I had someone by for a quote and they only want $150. They're on their way out to trim the tree and leave me firewood.
2. The Packers are looking better, but certainly not out of the woods yet. Sunday night's game against the Vikings got the team back on the right track, and salvaged some outside hope of still winning the NFC North. Green Bay's defense played better than I've seen them play in years, and the offense was clicking as well. Javon Walker is finally starting to play up to his potential, and Ahman Green is just a monster. (When he hangs on to the ball.) I'm very much looking forward to this Monday's Eagles game at Lambeau. The game is winnable, and winning it will do a lot to get this team back in contention.
3. I've been rather busy at work. Even though (or maybe because) all our jobs are about to go overseas, my group is just loaded full of work. They're keeping me very busy, which I choose to interpret as a good sign. Maybe I'm being a bit naive, but there really isn't anything I can do about it either way.
4. Even with the potential loss of my income, the thing I'm most worried about is a cartoon stuffed otter.
If I manage to get my room cleaned I should find my camera, and then I should have some nice pictures to post up here. Other than that, I'll see some of you in a couple weeks when I head up to Wisconsin for Lambeau Pilgrimage 2003 - Green Bay Packers v. San Francisco 49ers. Have a good weekend, everybody.
Earlier this year, Pat shot Roast Beef. (It was while Roast Beef was dead that he met his girlfriend in Heaven.)
Well since he shot Roast Beef, Pat had to go to jail, where he met Nice Pete.
They got some lockpicks which helped them escape which they thought were from Ray, but they were actually from Vlad.
Then Nice Pete disappeared for a while. He stopped back by recently. I don't know about you, but I think he's a bit creepy.
You're making me nervous, Chris Onstad...
Busy.
Philadelphia, we'll see you next Monday...
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