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Showing posts from 2008

KC BBQ Tour Stop: Snead's

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In consultation with fellow barbecue enthusiast and aficionado Martin, it was settled that our destination for this particular Kansas City trip would actually be in Belton, MO, just south of the metroplex, to a family-owned establishment since the early 60's, Snead's BBQ . We wanted to try a place that neither of us have been, knowing that our favorites will still always be there for us. Snead's uses nothing but hickory for their fire & smoke, and what immediately got our attention was the fact that they use absolutely no seasoning or rub or any kind on their meat. It's completely naked when served, with two kinds of homemade recipe sauces on the side to try. The brisket was excellent, as was the pork shoulder (shaved, not pulled, an interesting touch). The ribs were gigantic and meaty, but were lacking in flavor due in part to no seasoning, but still tasty & smoky. Deciding that a 3-meat platter would not suffice, Martin & I decided to also split a "sm

Philly Cheesesteak Pizza

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Whiz, All the Way.... Grinders, Kansas City , 12.13.08

Life Without a Plug-In

While the blog has been neglected lately, time spent either used wisely or thoroughly wasted sitting in front of a computer has not gone unchecked in the past few weeks. First off, I went and did something I swore to myself that I'd never do. I got entangled in the sticky web that is Facebook, and the harder I've tried to wriggle out of its clutches, the tighter its grip has become. So now, like millions of others, I'm a pseudo-Facebook degenerate. I mean, hell yes I need to know when Karen is done delivering cookies, or that Lyndsi doesn't do mornings, or that Steve thinks it's too cold outside. I need to know these things. Now. Refreshing every 5 minutes as to not miss something. Hey, it's been great to reconnect with so many people. But still.....as many have acknowledged with me, it really is the equivalent to online crack addiction. It's made me finally get to the point of contemplating if we (or maybe just I) could go a weekend day, maybe a full weeken

Unchained

Van Halen, Unchained, Largo, MD 1983. Any seasoned fan knows which era of VH was best.

Cubic Feet

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--10th & M St., Lincoln, 11.25.08

Wedding Day: Scattered, Smothered & Covered

Pour yourself a cup of coffee, light up a smoke, grab a box of Kleenex, and let the waterworks flow......

Bad Apple

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Coming Soon to a Coastline Near You

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You would think that a weather geek such as myself would've seen this coming. Nope. It was my brother who had the keen senses to pick up on this one, and he eagerly passed it on to me. I'm not sure what to make of this revelation, frankly. Should I be excited? Terrified? I don't know. All is know is that Hurricanes "Bill" and "Ida" are coming in 2009. Let me repeat that. Hurricanes "Bill" and "Ida" are coming in 2009. Folks, this is not a drill. Buy your plywood. Fill your bath tubs. Make sure the generator runs. Get ready. I can likely predict how this will go. Since they pick names in the order of the alphabet, "Bill" will be an early season tropical storm, likely in the far southern Gulf Coast. Characteristically, he will be a relatively normal, tired early season storm, maybe not even reaching hurricane strength. He'll be early to form, and early to fizzle out (as depicted here). Hurricane 'Ida", on the oth

10 Years Ago.....

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I sat in Zachary's Sports Bar in West Des Moines, which was the official watch site for both the KSU Cat-Backers, and the Nebraska Alumni Association. The 9-0 K-State Wildcats finally had the team, the talent, and thepotential to get a win against Nebraska, a team for 30 straight years which had embarassed them on an annual basis, home or away. Nebraska was down 34-30 with about 2:30 left to play in the game. In their own territory, NU faced 4th & 8. The redshirt freshman Eric Crouch dropped back to pass, and his facemask was introduced to the ring finger of KSU middle linebacker Travis Ochs. Feeling aa bit of a buzz, and fueled on by the energy of the game itself, I, along with every other person in the place jumped out of their seats, both horrified from the fact that Crouch had just had his head on backwards, and enraged that for as obvious to everyone either at the game or watching around the country, there was no flag to be found on the cold turf in Manhattan. K-State t

Nut Cup Nomenclature

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I voted for Bruce Dickinson.

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Yes, the Bruce Dickinson. I'm not entirely sure which the Bruce Dickinson, though.... Either the Bruce Dickinson who puts his pants on just like the rest of us-- one leg at a time. Except, once his pants are on, he makes gold records. Or the Bruce Dickinson with the shredding pipes of one of the 80's greatest metal bands. Regardless, he got my vote for Member of Educational Service Unit, Sub-District 6 last night, and it's a better Educational Service Unit Sub-District 6, either way. I think.

History

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No matter what your politics, I hope that we all can acknowledge today that what took place last night was one of the most significant moments in U.S. History. Remarkable.

3 Hawkeye Season Ticket Holders....

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Clearly battling inner demons, tailgating in Lincoln with Yours Truly.

Haven't You Heard?

The New-Look Malvernia.com

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Well, it looks like the updates are complete on the malvernia.com website. It's got a great new look and feel to it. It also appears that some conspicuous blog post links are appearing on the side of the front page, which bear a striking resemblance to blog post titles found on the site you're enjoying right now. Well, this should be interesting. I'll remind the folks coming over to this site that while I can't promise All-Malvern content, your experience will be richly rewarded with thought-provoking content that you can use and re-use in your daily interactions with family, friends, co-workers, and the like. Yes, feel free to enlighten someone that, indeed, Steve Buschemi's teeth actually DO have independent contracts. (factcheck.com that one!). As I stated before , think of this as the online, tech-savvy version of "Grannies Have More Fun" (Bridge Club updates and sweet roll recipes forthcoming). Okay, well then at the very least, don't take thigs

Random Thoughts

A new feature I thought I'd add. If I'm quick enough to jott down these little nuggets as they pass through and out of the gray matter, I'll post them weekly. Some might be a bit off-color. Some might be gold. You be the judge. Add to the list, if you'd like. -- Steve Buschemi's teeth each operate under their own independent contract. -- Democrats and Republicans need to settle on one lone definition of the term "Elitist". -- Eavesrop on an old ladies' conversation long enough, and you'll hear about rhubarb. -- I'm 32 years old, and I still get goosebumps when I see Hulk Hogan step into the squared circle. -- There's teamwork, and then there's Steve Buschemi's teeth.

McCain's Got Chops

In Warren We Trust

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This isn't rocket science, but it seems as if it has to come from this guy before the vast majority of investors really get it. Such a bad ass. "L et me be clear on one point: I can’t predict the short-term movements of the stock market. I haven’t the faintest idea as to whether stocks will be higher or lower a month — or a year — from now. What is likely, however, is that the market will move higher, perhaps substantially so, well before either sentiment or the economy turns up. So if you wait for the robins, spring will be over." --Warren Buffett

My Home Office: Behind the Drums

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To back away from the recent serious tone of some of the posts, I thought I'd take the easy road with some YouTube clips. Recently I've been reaquainting myself with my drums, and in the process, no doubt, reaffirmed my elderly neighbors' disdain for them. Screw 'em. I bought the set the Spring after we moved into our house. It was torture for almost 8 years being without a true set of drums for my own, bouncing from apartment to apartment. Like most cool hobbies or toys in life, we can get bored with them. That's been the case for the past year with the drums. but I'm back at it. No goals or anything, just the therapeutic feeling of tuning everything else out and playing as sharp and as clean as I can. For those hours, only the music matters. Something that made me rekindle this passion was an evening spent perusing old classic clips of a drummer for whom there is no equal. I had heard of Buddy Rich from a few adults when I was young. But I was a metalhead, s

Pass the Better

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I read a ton of stuff online to serve two needs that I have. One, the need for focus and motivation in the form of inspiration, innovation, creativity, and overall general interest. And two, the need for filling the void left by me not actually taking said advice to heart, but simply reading about it in hopes that some sort of Benny Hinn-type of pseudo-healing takes place, and I'm instantly the focused, productivity/work-life, legendary husband, scratch golf-playing, shredding rock drum God, all-around Damn Good Guy I long to be. I get a few things done, yes. I could be better. What also needs to be considered is the fact that it's not enough that you simply get things done. Efficient widget-cranking can be done by anyone, and it feels good for a time. But there has to be more substance to it. To all of it. That's why this essay by online blog legend Merlin Mann is resonating so strongly after reading it for the first time over 3 weeks ago. It's probably a good reason

Mrs. Hammer

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Newman

Home

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I talk a lot about what I consider to be home. I suppose that definition is different for everyone. I remember going to college and making friends, most of which never really bothered to go back to their hometowns to visit friends & family very often. They got out, and for the most part, they stayed out. Home may bring up scars, pain, memories to be forgotten. They seek to find their own place. Many have, and many are making memories in that place they now call home. It's not the same for everyone. I consider myself fortunate, to be sure. I get ribbed at work for how often I go back home. It's not even 2 hours away, and recently I needed to be there often to help with my parents' move. But it doesn't take much for me to find an excuse to come home, even when nothing is going on. I've thought a lot about why it still means so much to me. Part of it comes from my family, and the deep sense of community and love there was in how the town treated my Uncle Burt all

Long Live The Rue!

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I was finally able to catch Ardency Rue back in Malvern over Homecoming weekend. Darren Schnoor & Adam Giaffoglione played a long set down at Bowley's Bistro after the game on Friday night. They've been playing together for over 5 years, and their experience is really showing. Now if I could only get them to play me some Tenacious D.... They've got some of their stuff up on their page , so check em out. Adam likes Corona. Darren pees a lot. Just some observations. Random Trivia: Darren & Dixon, back in the day, formed a band the likes of which have never been seen....what did they call themselves, and what was the first song they played together? It was a good crowd, but for once in my lifetime, there were actually 3 options for revelers to choose from for their Friday night downtown carousing. Charlie & Cindy have their place going well, and with a town the size of Malvern, that's no small feat. Bradley's opened up recently, and has been doing a very

College Football & the Brunswick Stew Experiment

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There's usually 1 or 2 college football Saturday's where I'll decide to veg out all day and watch non-stop college football. Easily one of my most enjoyable days to spend a fall weekend. Yesterday was a classic day where the coffee is poured about 8 AM (not too early for a bloody or a beer, but coffee seemed more justifiable that early in my house), the t.v. is turned on to some pre-game stuff (in this case it was finishing watching the unreal ending of the Kansas-South Florida game from Friday night), and I settle in for the all-day marathon. Games watched/suffered through included: Iowa-Iowa St. (absolutely brutal to watch. Why Tim accepted a bet with Thad getting only 7 points instead of 14, I have no idea. It's your own fault, dude.) Missouri-Nevada (Mizzou is like watching a video game with the opponent skill level set to "novice") Cal-Maryland Oregon-Purdue Meeechigan-Notre Dame Georgia-South Carolina Georgia Tech-Virginia Tech New Mexico St.-Nebraska Oh

Hurricane Ike

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Right off the top: I'm setting the Over/Under on national media outlets using the phrase "Houston, we have a problem." for their Hurricane Ike coverage at 73. Anyone want that action? There's a bunch of chasers who are readying themselves today for landfall just south of the Galveston area. While it doesn't look like this one will be a huge wind maker (oh, it will be windy, I'm sure), the bigger concern is the storm surge that will be pushing right into the bay at Galveston. It's going to be a wet one down there. I'd go ahead and fill up that tank of gas today before the price jumps $.50 overnight. Latest satellite image is showing that it's picking up some steam, trying to form a real eyewall. THe core of it has been floundering in its trek across the Gulf of Mexico, but the overal size of the storm is freakishly large. I'll get some cool GRLevel3 Radar images up when it gets in closer. I'll make weather geeks out of you knobs yet! Here&#

Meaningless Birthdays(?)

Since I know many of you fine readers don't have this all-important date on your recurring calendars, let this be your one reminder. Yep, today is my special day. And like most of them at this stage in life, it's really all about looking back saying, "Jesus....it seems like I just had my Hot Wheel's-themed 7th birthday party....what the #%&@!!??" Memories was the theme of my present from Mom & Dad, as she made a scrapbook of my less-than-stellar high school sports career. It was the best gift I could've gotten. Lisa and I made good on our promise, and we got each other a Wii for our collective birthdays. Yeah, we needed an excuse to pull the trigger. Finally in the cool club. What is extra special about my birthday is that I get to share it with my dad. When I turned 4, he turned 40. So to a 4 year-old, my math equation deduced that when I turned 5, he would turn 50, 6 and 60, and so forth... Needless to say, Dad's old today. Love ya, Pop. Well, th

Getting Clear & Current

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It happens to us all at some point. Somewhere along the line, one little meaningless task got put off. And then another. And another. Pretty soon your mind is begging you to stop whatever you're doing (or not doing), because it's too busy trying to figure out all of the things that you're not doing, unable to settle on just one little task. So we freeze up, forced to do the hard mental reboot, which could come in many forms, like for instance a trip to the gym to blow off steam, some time with the kids in the backyeard to decompress, or a fistful of Advil, ideally washed down with a pint of Early Times. That moment no doubt has happened in our work or home lives hundreds of times, I'm sure. If it hasn't, then you're either one of the most successful people in the world, or you really have nothing to do. We all handle work overload in different ways. Some good, others not so good. I can tell you from personal experience that a chronic procrastinator tends to fall

Heavy Metal Office Drumming

Okay, after this post, I swear I'll try harder. Posting random YouTube clips is lazy, I know. I just haven't run across a genre of funny metal music spoofs like this before, and it's quite amusing to me. I've grown up as a fan of metal, but at some point it just becomes ridiculous. Probably why I find this so funny (as does this guy , obviously). My kind of humor. For you Malvern/Emmetsburg folks, tell me who this guy looks like. I don't want to be the one to name him by name (HINT: His name starts with a Mike). Am I wrong?? A couple more to tide you over through the weekend, then I promise some substance. Who knew Bert & Ernie were into Grindcore? I'll never look at kids television again. And I'm okay with that. This is so stupid. lol Okay, I'm done with this. I promise.

Kelly Clarkson Goes Death Metal

I really couldn't wait any longer to post this. I was inspired after watching the documentary Metal: A Headbanger's Journey this past weekend, so I decided to go YouTubing for a while afterwards to see if I could find any hidden gems. Then I stumbled on this, and I simply was not prepared for what I saw & heard. I'm sure a couple of you will appreciate. WARNING: This. Is. Awesome.

Welcome to Fall in Lincoln

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It's officially Silly Season in Lincoln, as the college football season is finally here. This is our 7th fall of being fully intrenched in what has to be easily one of, if not THE most obsessed fanbases in the game. Their recent struggles have been pretty well-documented: the debacle of the last 4 years, the hiring, the firing, the end of the bowl streak, worst defense ever, the Return of the Messiah, back to tradition, restoring the order, yadda, yadda, yadda..... But this off-season really has been unlike anything Nebraskans have ever experienced. Bo Pelini, the man that can seemingly walk on the waters of Lake McConaughey, was brought back as head coach. He's short-tempered, bullheaded, and has the entire state hanging (and agreeing) with his every single word. As soon as a new coach arrives in Lincoln (which has happened 5 times in the last 50 years) he is instantly the most recognizable man in the state. Every old lady and every old crusty farmer at every kitchen table, ev

Things to Teach Your Dog # 228

Early on when our dog Alex was still young, she had an obsession with ice cubes. So, I figured the only proper thing to do was to train her in proper ice cube acquisition techniques & manners. See how she did.

The Black Crowes: Council Bluffs 8.15.08

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So it took be the better of 15 years to come around to the fact that, besides their early mainstream Top 40 hits, I really, REALLY like the Black Crowes . It was our first time seeing them live at Stir Concert Cove in Council-Tuckey, IA on Friday night, but it certainly won't be the last. Their sound is this perfect mixture of southern rock, memphis blues, and a rock solid 'Stones-like groove. There were some tasty jams from start to finish on a perfect night on the river. Plenty of songs from their new album Warpaint, which is very good. And, it got Hacksaw's Seal of Approval, so you know it was a good show. The crowd at the Cove is interesting, as at least 2/3 of the crowd brings lawn & camping chairs to sit in. To each his own, I guess. You can get away with that for some shows they get there, but whatever. We found our way up front to a relatively small crowd of fans up on the rail. Hell.....5th row for the Crowes? I'll take it. Some seasoned (okay, stoned) fans

Only the Royals...

Question: What's worse than hearing famous/annoying White Sox announcer "Hawk" Harrelson's famous home run call, " You can putitontheboaaaard...YES! " ??? Answer: Hearing it 4 at-bats in a row. Against your favorite team who you think is finally turning some sort of futility corner. That's right, folks. Back...to back....to back.....to back home runs. Roll the ugliness.

Honey, where's the car seat??

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A classic image that I took in front of my hometown bar one Sunday morning. What I would've paid to be in on that discovery & subsequent conversation. Awesome. Feel free to suggest a caption for this photo in the Comments section.

Presentation Zen

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Out of the small readership that's either been tipped off to this page, or forced to consume it at gunpoint by me, I'm not sure who this subject will appeal to. Consider it an attempt at a useful post. I suppose it depends on your job role. What has become one of my favorite job roles over the past 5+ years has been teaching, or specifically presentations for groups of people. My ambition to become a Secondary Ed. teacher was pretty quickly dashed during my sophomore year of college, when a particularly unsavory education professor in so many words told me I wasn't educator material. Fair enough. When I took my current job, the teaching aspect wasn't in the job description, but it's been as important than any role I've had. Presenting to a crowd is easily most people's worst nightmare, but it has become one of the most rewarding aspects of my job. It can also be the most challenging aspect, simply because of the subject matter. You see, what I do isn't g

My Attempts at Photography

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I thought I'd try my hand at creating a slideshow of some of my favorite pictures that I've shot in recent years. ((Photo Geeks: the majority of these were taken with a Canon Powershot G6. That's the best I can do until Santa brings me something better, but I'm not worried about it)) While I've got a LOT of work to do to get better at all of the steps, in getting a good shot, there's been some hidden gems that at least I like to think are "okay" shots. It's a bunch of different stuff, with some random pictures of things & friends thrown in. UPDATE: I think this slideshow will have to do in this location for now. Blogger is being difficult with putting it over on the right side, and I'm not a programmer. I've updated the slideshow with the pictures I think I wanted in it for a first time out. I'll update the show from time to time, and maybe move it up to the front page when it slips. I'm sure I should've watermarked these,