Hummingbirds, Martian Slime

They have nothing in common. Hummingbirds and Martian Slime. But, on a road trip from Jacksonville (NC) to Burgaw (NC), I had a chance to see both.

Let me explain.

The road trip was actually a doc-trip. Time for my annual checkup. Doctor Sam is hq'd in Wilmington, but has an office in Burgaw. Closer for me. And, way less traffic.

The route is mostly rural. Along NC Highway 53, two lane, 'bout 30 miles of it. Motoring along, I noticed a big, black blob at the top of a dead tree. Turns out it was a turkey buzzard with its wings spread. A bit unusual, I thought. As I often do, I stopped as soon as I could, turned around, got back to the area, and pulled over. The shoulder was narrow as all get-out, but there's not a lot of traffic here.

The buzzard was still there. But, he was just sitting at the top of the dead tree. Waiting.

Buzzards aren't the most popular, or photogenic, birds out there. But, they serve a useful purpose. Scavengers, and associated with death. I can't fugure out why we like 'em any less than we like seagulls. Both are scavengers. I guess it's because the gulls are less ugly.

The tree was on a creek. Standing on the bridge that crossed the creek, it becamse apparent that the area had been visited by Martians.

Another Area 51. Maybe we can name it Area 53, for the highway. The creek was a mass of green sludge. Martian slime. Likely, Martian waste.

Must be. It's green, like Martians.

Except for the Martian who starred in the TV series My Favorite Martian. He looked human. Except for the antennae growing out of his head.

But, TV shows aren't realistic. We all know that Martians are green. And, they must produce some sort of waste. The proof is in the pictures.

Doc Sam said I was OK. Did a couple things he said would make me less ugly. No need to explain. Just note that I won't be as offensive-looking as the buzzard.

On the way back to Jacksonville, I found that I was hungry. And, as luck would have it, there was this cool place to eat. On a creek. No Martians. I could tell 'cause the creek water wasn't green.

Holland Shelter Fish Camp and Restaurant. Sign said it has been in business since 1981. That's about right. I've eaten there many times over the years. Good seafood.

I took my camera, walked down the bank to the creek, and checked it out for possible pictures. Nothing spectacular. At least nothing that caught my eye.

A water snake made its way across the creek. About 50 yards out. Too far for a good shot. Even with a 300 mm lens. It was tranquil, though. Peaceful. And, no Martians.

Went inside. I found a seat in a corner. One with a pretty good view of the creek.

A hummingbird feeder was just outside the window. Looking around, I saw several more feeders hanging just outside the restaurant.

And, when I stopped moving around, the birds came. One or two at a time. Darting in, darting out. Hovering in mid-air. I've seen hummingbirds before, of course. But, I've never stopped to appreciate their unique skills.

The critters, according to one site on the internet, are 3-5 inches long. Named because of the sound their wings make.

Those wings? Faster, almost, than the speed of light. They can flap those appendages at speeds up to 90-times-per-second! And, they can fly at about 35 MPH. Fast enough to get a ticket in a school zone.

They can hover.

They can fly backwards. The only birds, as I understand it, that can do that.

Kinda like those Martian Flying Saucers from down the road a few miles.

Left-over Pot-Less Roast. It's Soup Time at the Browns.

Remember that chuck roast from last week? The one with almost no potatoes, hence pot-less roast. Of course, it wasn't cooked in a pot, either. It was prepared, with loving care, in a stainless steel frying pan. A deep one.

Try as we could, the two of us could not eat all that roast and veggies.

Oh, yeah. I roasted a buncha onions, squash, zuchinni, red and green bell peppers, and...anyway, a lot of stuff. We ate it for two meals, and still had quite a bit left over.

Well, being a soup-lover, I decided to slice up the remaining beef, and dump the whole mess into a big pot.

To the left-overs, I added:

• a bag of frozen tomatoes, about a half gallon, from an earlier garden
• a bag of frozen corn, straight from the frozen foods section of the supermarket
• a can of green beans 'cause I had them in the pantry
• three beef ribs that were in the freezer
• a half pound or so of ground beef from the freezer, left over from some other adventure
• another onion chopped up in big chunks
• enough water to cover the whole mess

...and, I let it simmer, uncovered, until it looked about right. A taste for seasoning  showed I needed some pepper. And, a dash or two, maybe 8-10, of fila. It's used a lot in gumbo dishes.

It simmered for maybe an hour. Shut it down, covered it with a lid, and let it cool. During the cool-down process, all the ingredients share their individual flavors, blending into the perfect mixture of vegetable-beef-soup.  Brown style. Ok, so it's pretty much a common recipe.  

You can add any veggies you want. Within reason, of course. Don't like tomatoes? Don't add them. I'm not sure what's wrong with you if you don 't like tomatoes. They're good for your heart. As is the garlic I cooked with the roast.

After the Big Chill, and about a half hour from sitting down at the table, I kicked the heat on, again. This time, I let it boil, checking to make sure there was no chance of sticking to the bottom. That would have been a sure fire way of messing up a good pot o' soup. Once it was hot, I checked to make sure the rib meat was coming off the bone. That's when you know that everything's gonna be all-right.

Dish it up. Slice up some wheat bread. You can use it for dunkin', or you can spread some butter on it. It's not fancy eating, but it's hearty, healthy and tasty. Best way to recycle left-over everything but the kitchen sink, too.

Street Musicians like you've never heard before

Most of us have paused as street musicians performed, for little or, too often, no tips. There are some great artists out there, perhaps misguided at one time or another, but nonetheless, very good. Yes, there are some rotten ones, too. But, that's pretty much the case in all sorts of venues, from Broadway to television to the Big Screen.

You've likely heard some great orchestras, and big bands, too. The perfect blend of instruments and vocals, with the performance we hear achieved after painstakingly difficult rehearsals.

Then, along comes a group of sound engineers with a concept. How 'bout we go to the corners of the earth and record, individually, different un-famous musicians performing the same song? Wonder what we could do with that, they asked themselves.

Wish I could hear the final version, on a reel-to-reel recorder, in stereo, with a Fisher tube-type amplifier, and two sets of Jensen speakers that reach from floor to ceiling.

I have to settle for this. But, the work that went into it is just amazing!

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=2539741

Hey, Mr. Congressman. Your mailbox is full. Hellloooo, Rep Jones. Are you awake?

So, last week, I get an e-mail from my congressman. Not just me, of course, it was one of those mass e-mailings proclaiming how hard my congressman was working for me. For us.

On Thu, Jul 21, 2011 at 4:12 PM, Rep. Walter Jones <jonesnewsletter@mail.house.gov> wrote:

Dear Friend,
In the wake of the ongoing debate on the Federal Debt Ceiling many people have been contacting my offices asking for a good source of unbiased, current information on the subject. Frankly, our country is faced with making a selection between a number of unpleasant options, so having information upon which to judge those options is more important than ever.
How much of our current budget is being funded by taxes, and how much by new borrowing? What happens if we do not raise the debt ceiling? What happens if the debt ceiling is raised without dealing with the underlying causes of the rising debt? What happens if we default on our debt?
The House Republican leadership recently invited Jerome Powell - former Undersecretary of Treasury in the George H.W. Bush Administration - to present members of Congress with a nonpartisan debt limit analysis, and to present a fact-based look at what consequences our country will be facing without a resolution to the current budget crisis.
I am linking to the report here, so that the people of Eastern North Carolina can fully understand the magnitude of the current situation. I urge you to read the report and share this information with your friends and loved ones.
Sincerely,
J
Walter B. Jones
Member of Congress (NC-03)

Well. I thought I'd reply. With a few comments of my own.

All of this is well and good. Well, not really....
But.
Or, should it be "butt".
We see and hear little about what our representatives, those we so blindly elect and re-elect, are doing to reduce our overall debt.
A token amount here. A token amount there. And, the debt keeps getting bigger. And, bigger.
As the song goes, another day older and deeper in debt. That's us. All of us.
Many, if not most, of us could appreciate the work that you and you cohorts are doing.
If...
we could see something done about the millions upon milions of our tax dollars subsidising illegal aliens. What part of illegal is causing you guys in Washington problems?
we could see positive steps toward protecting our borders from foreign invaders (aka, illegals).
we could understand why there's a single budget item for foreign aid. I can appreciate why it's necessary to keep in the good graces of some deserving countries, those who actually support the United States. But, for the life of me, I don't see why we should send my tax dollars to Venezuela or Pakistan. Help this country kid out a bit. Isn't Pakistan the place that was protecting...whether that government, or ours, for that matter, admits it or not...that ruthless public enemy number one, Usama Bin Killed? If they harbor one piece of crap, they're likely harboring others. And, they're using MY money to do it.
Congressman, with all due respect, or at least as much as I can stomach, I do not see that we're getting our money's worth. More than 225 years ago, our forefathers decided the same thing. Their battle cry was Taxation Without Representation. I can't see a difference. The voices in this country are not being heard, but we're certainly being taxed. Nearly to death. And, actually, beyond death.

Some serious positive steps, even though they might not mean a heckuva lot in the Big Picture, would certainly help restore some confidence in our leaders.

I heard, again, the other day that old joke:
What's the difference between the citizens of the United States and the Boy Scouts of America?  The Boy Scouts have adult leaders.

Sad, but too true.

Raeford Brown
A 3rd District Constituent who is just about fed up.
To here.

What do I get in return? One of those notices that:

Delivery has failed to these recipients or distribution lists:
Rep. Walter Jones
The recipient's mailbox is full and can't accept messages now. Microsoft Exchange will not try to redeliver this message for you. Please try resending this message later, or contact the recipient directly.

I did try resending the message. The next day. Got the same response. Not just me, as I learned. At least one other subject sent a note and got the same response. I can deduce that either the good congressman from the Third District doesn't read his e-mails, doesn't clear his e-mail box, or doesn't give a rip about his constituents. Maybe he just doesn't care for me.

Of course, there could be some sort of electronic problem in Washington, but seeing as how Al Gore invented the internet, I'm sure that is not the case.

Pot-less Chuck Roast, Roasted Vegetables

No doubt, if you're not a vegetarian, you've had that scrump-dee-lee-ishus pot roast for Sunday lunch. You know, the chuck roast that was slow cooked for about an hour before adding onions, carrots, taters, and celery.

Always a good, reliable and relatively inexpensive way to feed a few folks. The leftover remains also make a fine base for soup in a day or two.

There are a lot of recipes out there for this Pot Roast. All are about the same. I just can't figure out whether the pot in pot roast is because it is cooked in a pot (which mine ain't), or whether it's 'cause the concoction contains a buncha potatoes.

Either way, this one is POT-less. There are no taters (well, mostly), and it's cooked in a deep stainless frying pan. With a lid.

First step is to dust a nice chuck roast with flour. Take a note of the garlic cloves.

I add a little olive oil to my pan, get 'er good and hot, pour in a touch of wine (adds some neat steam and it makes it look like you know what you're doing), then sear the roast on ALL sides. Top, bottom, and the edges. Keeps the juices in, I'm told.

Back to my cutting board. Afte searing, I carve little slits on one side of the roast. Deep enough to stuff all those cloves of garlic I mentioned earlier. A half dozen, maybe 10. Whatever you like. I like garlic. My heart (and yours) likes garlic.

This little jar contains our special, super-secret blend of herbs and spices. Double-R, we call it. For Robie and Raeford. 11 ingredients. Makes a great rub. You can come up with something you like, pick up some Old Bay or another rub you've used before, or bribe me for our recipe. It's great, by the way, on steaks, ribs, fish...good stuff on the grill! I rub the rub into the roast. Depending on your selection, you may need to add pepper and salt. Our rub is all-inclusive.

Did I mention onions? Goes without saying. For a medium size roast, I cut up two, and cover the roast with them. Add a bit of beef stock. If you don't make your own, you have a couple choices. Add water and beef cubes, or go to the beef stock box or can. Add enough to cover the meat about half-way. Once it starts to boil, cover the pan and reduce the heat to let it simmer.

Lucky me. My wife has a rosemary TREE! Yep, it's about 5-feet tall, and I can get fresh rosemary any-time I want. A nice sprig, sdded to the roast, is purrfect.

In 'bout an hour, add a half dozen carrots (sorry Diane...that's my neice. She hates carrots). They can be whole, or...as I do...cut them about an inch-and-a-half long. To this, add 6-8 stalks of celery, cut into 4-inch lengths.

Note: there are NO taters here. Potatoes only add a lot of stuff that is not good for you. Except for the skins. Stay tuned.

Cover and let it continue to simmer.

I've already talked about carrots, onions  and celery. You'll note here a couple peppers, read and green, some banana peppers, squash, zucchini, and...yes...two baking potatoes.

Here's the skinny. I chop the green and red peppers, and another onion, into large chunks. About an inch, or so. I dice the banana peppers. I slice the zucchini and yellow squash into half inch pieces. AND, I peel the potatoes! Shades of Beetle Bailey. Ok, so ask your dad or grandfather (if they did KP duty) about peeling potatoes. Difference here is that I keep the peelings and throw the potato meat into the trash.

I use a round cookie pan. I'm sure that any shaped pan will do as well. Spray the bottom with olive oil. I say SPRAY. If you don't have one of those little sprittzer things, it might be a good idea to get one.They're pretty handy. Place those cut, chunk'd, sliced, diced veggies, including the potato skins, on the pan. Arrange, for looks, if you like. Spray them, season them with your favorites...salt, pepper, whatever your liking.

350-degrees. 40 minutes before you intend to eat. In the oven. You can "spritz" them in about a half hour, if it makes you feel better.

Takes about two hours, total, to cook this meal. Meat's done. Onions, carrots and celery in the pan. Great gravy for those of you (like me) who like that kinda stuff. Tender, juicy. Yumm. Cut thin strips. It tastes better. The veggies are tender, yet still have a little crisp to them. As long as you don't cook them too long. Makes for a great meal. Hope you enjoy.

Rhythm and Patriotism, race, politics, and presidents.

Seems that us white guys don't have rhythm. That's what some say.
We can't jump, either, according to some folks.

Ahhh...come on. There's no race card here. Leave it alone. Those who know me best know that I have not one prejudicial bone in my body. Except when it comes to stupidity. And, bad people. And, idiots.  

How-so-ever (I'm gonna jump into a different rabbit hole here...ask Robie, she'll explain that one)....I don't appreciate those who want to play that excuse for a real card when it's convenient. For them or To them.

AND....I have little to less than no patience for you racists among-us. You know who you are.

For you law guys out there, I am NOT talking about profiling, for goodness sakes. Yeah, I know. That's one of those less than PC terms that gets some folks in an uproar. Get over it. Profiling exists. YOU, regardless of race or color or religious or sexual preference do it EVERY day.

'Zample. You find a white guy with a black face at an NAACP (another name that needs to be changed, to keep up with the times...but, leave our National Anthem ALONE) meeting, you might want to take a serious look at him. Same goes for a black guy at a KKK rally, hiding under a white sheet. The cop in me wants to take a second look, 'cause you can bet that someone's up to no good.

So, what's this crap that white guys have no rhythm? 'Specially southern white guys. Once you get the stick out (use your imaginations), we have as much of that stuff as anyone else.

Republican, Independent (that's me, should you care to check with the Board of Elections), Democrat or whatever, U.S. Americans (as opposed to Mexicans or Canadians or Brazilians, or Argentinians (just different parts of America) like to see their leaders acting as humans. Bill Clinton done good with his sax on TV. He showed a human side.  (Not so good with his public sex though). 

At a Marine Corps Birthday Celebration, former President George W. Bush showed that he, too, has a human side, some patriotic rhythm. 

I kinda like that. Especially in a World Leader.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1d4opG2s0o

Let the comments begin.

My Boat is SINKING!!!! MayDay.

Ok, that was the telephone call I got, while working at a marina, Saturday afternoon. The boater, as it turned out, was one of our customers, and had left the marina a few hours earlier for a fishing trip downriver. He had two buddies with him.

I found out where he was, and told him he needed to contact the Coast Guard on his marine VHF radio. First problem: he had one, but had never installed it.

I then told him to contact the Coast Guard on his cell. He didn't have the number. To save what I thought would be critical minutes, I told him to dial 9-1-1, tell them his boat was sinking, and to transfer him to the Coast Guard. That's when the problem started. The dispatcher began asking the usual questions, a lot of them.

Meanwhile, another person in the marina called the cell number for a North Carolina Wildlife officer, a young man we know, one we knew was working in the area on Saturday. With blue light flashing, he headed towards the sinking boat.

Meanwhile, the boater later told me, he was finally transferred to the Coast Guard, and gave them information about his plight while sitting on top of the hull of his now-capsized boat.

An amazing thing, he said, was that he was waving a bright orange life jacket while on top of his stricken craft, and no other boaters responded. They either didn't see him, or they didn't recognize the urgency of the situation. I can't imagine ANY boater not going to the aid of a sinking vessel. So, I'll assume they didn't see him.

By the time he noticed water was coming into his boat, there was not a lot that could have been done to change the outcome. It happened too fast. Wildlife, Marine Patrol and Coast Guard units arrived, and took the occupants off the boat. It was taken to a nearby harbor. They were taken safely to shore.

There are some lessons to be learned here. First one is that cell phones are cute little gimmicks that all of us have. But, if you're counting on them as a first line of defense in ANY emergency, you should think again. How many times, on non-important calls, has it just stopped working? Imagine that being the time when you most need it. Add to this emergency equation the factor of water. Salt water, in this case. Even worse. Cell phones don't work when the humidity gets high!!!! Much less when they get splashed or dunked in water.

On top of that, the simple fact that you have to dial a number, even 9-1-1, under stressful situations, is downright scary. And, getting a dispatcher, with little, if any, training in handling boating emergencies, results in playing 20 questions.

Ok, so let's talk about marine VHF radios. They're pretty cheap. $150 can get one that works very well. Of course, you gotta add an antenna. Depending on your needs, such as how far from the nearest Coast Guard station you plan on boating, will dictate the type of antenna you'll need. They can run from $50-200.

The advantages are huge. As important as having life jackets that are readily available. You push the button on even the most basic radio, call "Mayday" three times, identify your boat, give your location, and give your situation. Coast Guard stations everywhere listen to the emergency channel. So do most marinas, commercial towing companies, and other boaters. You are broadcasting your plight to a LOT of people who are in a postion to help you. Quickly. Without wasting precious minutes. Without asking 20 questions.

I strongly recommend that all coastal counties consider offering additional training for their 9-1-1 dispatchers. I even bet Coast Guard units would gladly offer some procedures to follow, just in case the dispatchers should take a phone call from a boater who hasn't installed a VHF radio. I am not suggesting that the dispatchers haven't been given basic instructions, but until they find themselves sitting on top of the hull of a sinking boat, they are not going to understand the urgency of the situation. Under those conditions, the best thing to do is pass that call to those who are trained in handling boating emergencies.

Urine In, or You're OUT. The urine test, as it should be administered.

A buncha e-mails are making the rounds about free money.
Those who work for a living are getting a wee bit tired of picking up the tabs of those who don't.
Those e-mails, many of them, look a lot alike.
One that crossed my puter screen a day or two back was written in common sense talk. And, I like that. I also like the graphics that go with it. After all, a picture says a lot.

Like most folks in this country, I have a job. I

work, they pay me.

I pay my taxes & the government distributes my taxes...

...as it sees fit. 

In order to get that paycheck, in many cases, employees are required to pass a random urine

test (with which I have no problem).

What I do have a problem with is the distribution of my taxes to people who don't have to pass a urine test. 
So, here is my question: Shouldn't one have to pass a urine test to get a welfare check because most workers have to pass one to earn it for them? 
Please understand, I have no problem with helping people get back on their feet.

I do, on the other hand, have a problem with helping someone sitting on their BUTT----doing drugs while I work.

Can you imagine how much money each state would save if people had to pass a urine test to get a public assistance check? 
I guess we could call the program "URINE OR YOU'RE OUT"! 

Regardless of party affiliation, this only makes good sense. And, going one step farther, since regular governemnt employees, as well as employees in many sections of the private sector, must past random drug tests, why don't we require the same for our Congressmen and Senators? If they can't pass it on the second day of any session, then they should not be allowed to participate in that session. And, at the end of the session, another test should be given, and if any legislator fails, then ALL of his/her votes must be negated, as though they were absent, and a new tally of "ayes" and "nays"should be tallied.

It also goes without saying that any legislator who fails either test should be docked his/her salary, along with any expenses they've run up, and the results should be sent to their hometown news organizations.

At the least, it would make for some much better and interesting reading than we're getting today. Anyone else tired of that trial down in Orlando? What a waste of money, time and effort.

Fireworks on the River

Well. Not exactly. We were on the river, New River, near Jacksonville (NC), with a great view of the annual Independence Day fireworks celebration aboard Camp Lejeune.

My bride, Robie, and I took several guests on Pirate Attack downriver on a beautiful evening. And, we weren't alone. As has become a tradition, a lot of other boat owners did the same thing. Any excuse, I guess, to take the cruiser, large or small, out for a spin.

Lady Magnolia

Whatever size boat, it was fun to be had by one and all. Chris didn't think twice about taking the plunge. No worry about gators in the creek.



After all, if Bill and Hot Dog (Hot Dog's the one with the big ears) can do it, there's no problem. Right?

Robie was chillin', waiting for the main event.

Almost time.

Sunset is almost upon us.

Clouds, mixed with some smoke, create an interesting sunset.

We're waiting. Patiently.

                                                                         FINALLY!

                                      Well worth the wait. I hope your 4th was as good as ours.