If you need any help, give me a call

Man, sometimes I think our justice system needs to be re-named.

Its my site and I'll post what I want

Time Wasters, Enjoy!

Winter Recipe

Yes, I agree this is the tail end of winter, but this recipe sounded so good I couldn't pass up the opportunity to share. I am prepping my grocery list right now and cant wait to have the house smell so wonderful.
Hat tip to Tango Juliet.


"This is about the best cold weather drink ever invented IMHO.

And to think, I put the spotlight on it at the tale end of a fairly moderate winter!

What timing!

The basic recipe:

Into your favorite crock pot, dump 4 parts apple cider to 1 part cranberry juice.

Add two sticks of cinnamon.

Poke 6 whole cloves into a nice sweet orange. Toss it into the mix.

Let it brew for 6 to 8 hours.

This mix is guaranteed to flood your house with the best aromas since fresh baked bread.

Cautions and suggestions: Be sure you get good sweet oranges. Some navel oranges have very bitter rinds. Bad juju! I recommend buying two. Eat one for testing purposes.

Naturally the cider/apple juice to cranberry juice ratio can be varied.

Use caution with the cloves. They are potent little critters. Six is the most I'll use these days. The use of more than six ventures into +P territory very quickly.

This brew is very receptive to alcohol. I prefer cinnamon schnapps but I have seen others use rum with success as well"

OK, lets get this straight

Not that I am a true Republican, so I guess I can't rant too hard at the dumb decisions that party makes, but can you please make sure that Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee are given the wrong date and address for the Republican Convention in 2012? If either of these two RINO's gets nominated you might as well just not even bother. Bobby Jindal, however, would give Barack a real run for his money.

Like New Again

So, my CRKT Carson Design M16-10KZ (which is a really long name for a knife btw CRKT, more on that later) came apart, mostly, in my pocket today at work. Nothing was damaged, just the main screw had worked itself loose and the blade had popped free from its pivot point. So, I took this as a sign that it would be a good time to take the knife completely apart* and clean it.

Now, its always important to maintain your gear and while I do sharpen the high carbon blade from time to time, I do admit that my everyday carry knife (EDC) does get a little less loving than some of my other backpacking, outdoors, fishing, camping, etc equipment. I just don't normally think about it, honestly. It goes in my pocket every morning with my wallet and cell phone and gets dumped in my wallet box every evening when I come home from work. I use it almost daily at work, giving it un-dignified work such as opening packages and mail.

Well, I was once again amazed at the quality of craftsmanship that convinced me to buy the knife originally. After cleaning all the parts and re-assembling it (I did have a little trouble getting the brass and the teflon bearings back in place) the knife works as good as new and I have a big smile on my face. 

I've had it over 3 years and have been very pleased with the blade and the feel of the handle; many folders feel loose or slippery in your hands and can lead to you cutting yourself, this model just "fits". This good grip allows me to be confident when I am using it for something other than packing tape and I have yet to nick myself with it. As far as EDC's go, this one gets 4.5 stars (I would give it a full five if it had an easier name).

As for the name (CRKT Carson Design M16-10KZ), CRKT has a number of (Kit) Carson Design blades and they have a number of variations named M16-##XX, so many so that I have long since forgotten what my designation actually means, although I assume it refers to the tanto style blade. A simpler name might have been the CRKT M16 Tanto. For a company that does a really good job with their own acronym (CRKT stands for Columbia River Knife and Tool and I pronounce it "cricket") you think they would find a way to make saying the names of their knives a little less hard. Spyderco's habit of giving their knives one word names comes to mind. Its kind of like Ford vs Lexus. While a Mustang may be lacking in certain specs when compared to the IS F11, I would much rather tell people I owned a Mustang versus admitting to owning the Lexus alphanumeric mouthful. Just MHO.

*I didn't take the zytel scales off the steel frame as I saw nothing to be gained doing that, it would likely just loosen the factory screws forever and I also didn't take apart the nifty CRKT Auto-LAWKS safety as I figured that was just asking for re-assembly hell.

For anyone shopping for an EDC, I would highly recommend you at least glance at the knife in question, its about $25 on Amazon and no I don't get any money from Amazon for sending you there, I turned off all the commerce settings on my blog months ago.

Dimensions
Open Overall Length	7.125 inches
Closed Length	4 inches
Weight	2.3 ounces

Blade
Length	3 inches
Thickness	0.08 inches
Material	8Cr15MoV
Blade-HRC	58-59
Finish	EDP
Grind	Hollow
Style	Tanto
Edge	Triple-Point Serrations

Handle
Material	Zytel
Liners	2CR13

Lock
Type	Locking Liner
Safety System	AutoLAWKS

Carry
Carry System	1 Position Clip

Here is Kit Carson's M16^® Every Day Carry (EDC) with our Zytel^® InterFrame build. Our knife users told us, "We want an affordable work knife that we can give hard use without feeling guilty, and one that won't break us up if we leave it on a job site or drop it in the river."

We heard you. So we set about to make the Zytel EDC the best value in the work and sport knife world.

That starts with textured Zytel^® scales and a dual 2CR13 stainless steel liner InterFrame. Assembled with Zytel back spacers and Torx^® fasteners, the result is amazingly rigid. Zytel is a fiberglass-filled nylon that offers excellent toughness and resistance to solvents. Teflon^® bearings at the blade pivot and an adjustable pivot screw allow for perfect blade action.

The blade is 8CR15MoV high-carbon stainless steel which gives an ideal combination of toughness and edge-holding ability in a work knife, and also allows easy field-sharpening.

The M16^®-10KZ features a dual hollow grind Tanto-style blade with Combined Razor-Sharp and Triple-Point^™ Serrated edges similar to our "Big Dog" M16 models. The result is maximum blade strength and ability to saw through cord, webbing, nets or vegetation quickly. It has a black EDP blade, black frame and hardware for a non-flective tactical look.

Of course, it features the Carson Flipper, which speeds opening of the blade and acts as a blade guard when the blade is open.

The real breakthrough was our ability to engineer our patented* AutoLAWKS^™ knife safety into all models, which automatically actuates when the blades are open, making these folders into virtual fixed blades when locked.

Add to these features the standard removable Teflon^®-plated stainless steel clothing/gear clip plus the CRKT limited lifetime warranty, and you have one of the truly great knife values of our time.

US Debt: What is the solution?

 After reading this Wiki article about the US debt, I have to say I am well and truly frightened for my children. While I don't think the world will come to an end, I do think tough times are ahead, if they aren't already starting. I also notice that we owe over 7 Trillion dollars to the Federal Reserve. Why don't we revoke its charter, assume its assets and functions into the Federal Government and cut our national debt in half?

Why does no one in DC want to really deal with this? They can barely bring themselves to fight over 100 Billion in cuts right now. Really? $100,000,000,000.00 seems like a lot, and its 25% of discretionary spending, but since our projected  deficit for the new budget is 1.1 Trillion, 100 Billion in cuts means our debt will still grow by ONE TRILLION DOLLARS during the next budget year alone.

We have to get this under control, I just don't know what the answer is going to be.

All is well

Bubba is feeling better, my first cousin Johnny, that I grew up next door to, and his wife welcomed a lovely little boy last night and my daughter is now over the flu. I am heading home from work and think I might stop off and get pizza for dinner. All is well. Now if the cold weather would abate long enough for me to get the 3 inches of ice off my driveway.

Be good.

Bubba is in trouble

Jimmy Buffett (Bubba) has taken a bad fall down under and is currently in the hospital under observation, my prayers and best wishes go out to my favorite musician, the man who is able to get me through these harsh Ohio winters. Get well quickly and I hope to see you again on tour soon.
More details here

My mom is turning 70

So my mom turns 70 this week, I have no idea how to celebrate that but I know its an important milestone to the whole family. Definitely going to have to do more than a hallmark card this year.  :)

We really need to have our own "tunisian" revolt against the Federal Reserve

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/guest-post-10-things-would-be-different-if-federal-reserve-had-never-been-created

Without the Federal Reserve, our country would be in a lot better shape.

Book idea

A first aid/gardening/cooking/parenting/emergency preparedness/fishing/backpacking/joke book. Basically everything you would ever need to deal with untoward situations at home or in the woods with step by step directions, advice, lists of things to have on hand, etc. etc.


Know a good soup recipe that cooks well over an open fire? Know the best way to deal with splinters in the finger of your 5 year old? Not sure which corner of the house to go to in case of a tornado? Need a good joke to tell folks after a scary situation? Know how to remove a kids loose tooth? Have a good recipe for rabbit? Want to know what to do after falling in icy water? Interested in solar energy but don't know where to start? Interested in the best snow shovel? best bicycle? Well, my book will be a compendium of useful knowledge in an easy to read format.
I'm thinking about putting this together, maybe even throwing in a few short stories so people would have something to read during power outages with no TV, and some game ideas for how to entertain your kids during those big summer thunderstorms.

Worlds largest army recently disbanded

Don't let the title confuse you, basically it could also read "Millions of deer hunters have all taken their high powered guns home". Really good post below.

http://federalistpaupers.com/index.php/2010/12/02/why-the-terrorists-can-never-win/

internal security – the age-old cry of the oppressor

The one use of “necessary” and “security” in the same sentence by government that I am not afraid of is this one:
“A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed”


hat tip to Blue Collar Muse

My mouth cant begin to stop watering

Hat tip to Uncle for the Meat Creche Scene.
http://www.saysuncle.com/2010/12/01/so-awesome/

Also, Brigid has a new bacon choc chip cookie recipe.
http://mausersandmuffins.blogspot.com/2010/11/bacon-launch-sequence.html

My winter diet* is going to be tough this year. sigh

*I attempt every winter, with varying levels of success, to maintain my weight between Dec 1 and April 1. Its very easy for me to pack on lbs with comfort food once the snow falls.  Seeing as how I have gained 20 lbs over the last two years snacking with my two year old Boy, my winter diet becomes ever more important. My daughter wants me to lose the 20 lbs before her birthday (April 2011), but losing weight during the winter does not come natural for this mammal. We'll see.

Bernanke Action Figure

You too can throw money away like its nothing!

One other economy related post

Oh BTW, if you haven't seen this, you should watch it. Its 7 minutes or so, but it explains the Feds money policies very clearly for anyone who is confused. Basically it boils down to Goldman Sachs is putting us all in the poor house and loving every minute of their control.

That whooshing sound....

Ross Perot had his "sucking sound" to describe job lass with NAFTA, I hear a "whooshing sound" as every price around me seems to be shooting up, especially food. Hope you've put away some tangibles like canned fruits and veggies for this winter, I have a feeling the prices will get worse before they get better and you cant go too long on vitamin supplements alone.
Giant Eagle has 20 cans of veggies for ten dollars, I'm stocking up myself before I cant afford to eat peas with my dinner and put pineapple on my pizza. Hate to be all doom and gloom, but just read one too many articles about the coming inflation tidal wave.
Well, hold on for the ride and stay warm this winter,

Posts have been lagging

OK, you got me, I got a new job and I've been focusing my energies on that. I think the InterWebz will be fine without me.  :)

Thought for the week

You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life.
--Sir Winston Churchill

Phase out the dollar bill

Call your congressman and say you want the dollar bill phased out!
In this time of economic trouble, we need to look to the government to spend money where it is needed and chop it off where it isn't. We don't NEED one dollar bills, we just like them and we are creatures of habit. We could save 7 Billion dollars over the first ten years if we phased out dollar bills and then save even more the next ten years since the coins lasts for decades and the minting of dollar coins would slow to a crawl, kind of a maintenance level, eventually. We could likely save close to $12 billion dollars the second decade alone. I know people get jaded when they hear the debt is in trillions and here I am talking about Billions, but you start cutting 12 Billion Dollars here and there, and pretty soon you get a government in DC that can figure its way out of this morass.
Check out this BBC story for more info

Call your congressman and say you want the dollar bill phased out! The 1$ Coin Act of 1997 was a good start, but now we need DC to go all the way and phase it out. I know from travel in Canada, Mexico and the EU, they dont even print a $5 bill either.  If we assume similar rates of return VS the $1 phaseout, we could save ~$36 Billion dollars over the first 20 years by switching the $1 and $5 bills to coinage.

Personally I use my debit card for everything and don't carry cash money, but when I do, I carry the $1 coin, I put my money where my mouth is...literally.