TRN I've been looking at a Blackstone flat top Grille and also the Camp Chef...with the flat top. I like the flexibility...all meals from eggs (breakfast) to steaks (dinner....well...or breakfast! Ha)  what do you have for a flat top?

  So true!

I'm with you guys on the beef, but my wife generally wont eat beef. She would eat fish with every meal if she could. So we have our difficulties with meals some times. She is way into organic and junk free food. She has gotten me reading the ingredients of packaging more and more. Her simple rule is if there are more than 5 ingredients its probably garbage, or usually if the ingredients have more than 3 syllables. I will say its darn hard to find food that isn't loaded with preservatives.

She's Italian so lots of our meals have pasta but she will make it with a ton of different ingredients to suit whatever she wants so its not always red sauce, often its a white sauce with seafood - clams or some times its shrimp (only wild caught, she won't buy the blackwater raised farm shrimp from the far east), or it might be something else depending on what's on sale. Or maybe a combination of things- clams, shrimp, mussels, etc. all together. But again, she only buys wild caught be it shrimp, salmon or other fish. 

When she makes meatballs its with 93% lean hamburger and she adds egg, bread crumbs (usually she just buys Italian bread that she knows is not full of crap and runs it through the blender to make bread crumbs), parmesan cheese and some seasonings.

She makes great red sauce but she has come to like mine too which is similar but slightly different than hers- I can share that recipe with you as its the only one I truly know....she cooks much more by feel adding a little of this and a little of that to get it to taste good. I'm a color by number kind of guy so need a recipe.

Red Sauce- start with three or four cloves of garlic, mince fine. Cover bottom of the pan in extra virgin olive oil (EVO) (we buy California after the wife read how the Mafia in Italy has bastardized the Italian Olive Oil industry and a lot of it is fake). Cook the garlic until just translucent (careful it burns quick depending on your stove), add 2 cans of crushed tomatoes (her "go to" brand is Pastene Kitchen Ready but any of the crushed tomatoes work fine). I then add a tsp or so of Italian Seasoning, salt, pepper, a bit of crushed red pepper, a tsp of sugar. We also have a jar of red wine in the fridge (when wine oxidizes or a bottle isn't quite finished it goes in there), so add some red wine also. (NOTE: anything with alcohol that's added to sauce be it red or white wine or whatever will cook down eliminating the alcohol. It just adds a richness to the flavor is all if you are concerned about the alcohol).  Bring it to a slight boil (not a hard boil) then turn it down and let it simmer. Just be careful if it boils too much it will burn on the bottom of the pan. If it does, don't scrape the bottom when you serve it. Better to just ladle it out and leave the burned part on the bottom of the pan and clean it later.

If you want you can add any meat to this be it the meatballs, or a lot of times if we have had pork chops the day before I will throw one or two in the sauce and let it simmer for a while. Or you can just pour the sauce as it over the pasta.

Linguini and Clam Sauce: We usually use Snows Chopped Clams. For a pound of pasta we will use three cans. Open the cans but don't drain them, leave the lids on to start.

Start with garlic and EVO like the red sauce, when the garlic is cooked, pour the liquid from the three cans of clams into the pan. Some times I will add some white wine (leftover usually like the red wine) and cook that down. Bring this to a slight boil. When you are ready to serve it add the clams to the mix but be ready to serve it within a couple of minutes. If the clams stay in the liquid too long they get tough and rubbery.

I have a recipe for a no-knead ciabatta bread that is really great too. It takes a day to be ready but is easy as heck and you know its really fresh and again, no preservatives. Plus there is nothing better than fresh baked bread. I will post that in a bit.

I definitely try to avoid doing business with crazy liberal companies. I think we would all be better off putting our money where our mouth is. I knew about Progressive and am with Geico as well.

I wonder if a sticky of "companies to avoid" (or "companies to support") would make sense? As much as I try to i know i probably miss stuff some times. I would love a place to double check before buying something.

As long as the nuclear winter only extends about 25 miles inland from Boston I am GTG! 

I do think I will be asking liberals when I see them why we don't just do that though. Love to hear their responses. Its so great when they dig their own holes. (which they invariably do!).

Mark I would not assume this part of your post:

I see that this post was viewed by 200+ people. That is 200 people that we will probably never get a chance to have as a customer. This post may stay on here for the next 20 years and every time that someone reads that headline, they are going to form an opinion without reading the whole story.

the reason I say that is that in today's economy we all have been party to lousy service. Some of which is someone having a bad day, some of it is due to someone being in the wrong job for them, and some of it due to lousy leadership. But the key for me as a customer of any business is does the business care about my business? Your handling of the problem, having the salesman listen to the call and recognize that while he may have a dry voice, that may come off as being a jerk or uninterested, proves that the issue was more likely one of miscommunication than lack of care. For me, I know I am more interested in how companies handle things when they go wrong, rather than just going perfect from start to finish. Because lets face it, things do go wrong. People are human, and humans make mistakes. It is what it is. And what matters to me is once the "mistake" happens, can the business fix it to my satisfaction? And with guidance like you have shown, that tells me you can "fix things". So I would not write off the company at all. Just the opposite. I respect that you stood up and took the heat, and found a solution. All too often people just say "f it" and walk away. So good for you. 

Just my $0.02.   

I really like Dinesh D'Souza for a lot of reasons....first he's an academic, so his research is really thorough. Nothing like facts to blow holes in liberal talking points. Second, he's an immigrant, so for the libs who like to portray lovers of America as being old white guys from Europe or rednecks its hard for them to put him in this category (not that it stops them from trying! ). Plus he is just so calm when he speaks. I love Anne Coulter and Michelle Malkin for their rhetoric some times but Dinesh is just so calm and collected.

(As an aside I LOVED how he dealt with the question of giving land back to Indians. And it can be used so many ways today- at a student lecture a native American woman said the US needed to give back the land to the Indians that they took. He asked her what tribe she was part of (and I forget specifically and will bastardize his response so I am sorry). She said Cherokee (or something)....so he asked her "you think the US Government should give back the land to the Cherokee that they took". She of course said "yes". So he said "well are you going to give it back to the Iroquois that your tribe took it from? And will the Iroquois give it back to the Mohawks who they took it from? And will the Mohawks give it back to....." you can see where he went with this. Of course she had no answer. It has similar "uses" today- just the other day we saw LA rename Christopher Columbus day as "Indigenous People" day. Everything referenced the "native" Latinos there. Oh....so they are ignoring the Gabrielinos who met the Spanish explorers to the area. Or the Chumash, or Tataviam people. Its all such hypocrisy! )

I also finished One Second After a few weeks ago and grim is right. I found it amazingly thorough- there was the stuff I have spent a lot of time thinking/planning about- food preps, no power, etc. But the societal aspects (large numbers of folks coming off psych meds etc.) that really opened my eyes to more things (yeah, I need a LOT more ammo! yeesh! ). 

The casita is looking good.

So one of the reasons I have this place is for events just like Harvey. Living in the middle of 4M people presents a challenge to evacuate in the event of an emergency.  In this case, knowing when to leave is the real key.  You must have an early warning system and multiple routes. See my concentric circle philosophy.  Keeping both trucks full is also a key. On the Bus I run 75 gallons and when the needle comes up off full, indicating that I've used 40 gallons, I fill.  That means I never have less than 35 gallons. On the dually I always have the 60 gallon tank full and fill the main tank when it gets 1/2 full.  That means I never have less than 75 gallons. I also keep at least a months worth of food at the hide in the freezer and pantry, not to mention a years worth of long term food. So the plan worked well.  If I had to say there was a lesson to be learned it would be to have a bigger generator and more gas stored.  I really need a mil surplus trailer mounted diesel gen set so I can power the entire house,  either the Houston or the hide house.

Some good stuff here....

I think the big key is getting out of Dodge early- from what I have read traffic tie-ups, accidents etc. is what killed a bunch of people when they evacuated late during Hurricane Rita evacuations.

I like the fuel aspect- always having enough available. Do you store any you could easily load in the truck should you need it?

Curious about the whole house generator....I like the idea of having one mounted in a trailer. Have you given a thought to fuel? Would you have fuel at both locations or carry that too? Also curious about whether diesel or LP would be a better choice. I like the storage aspect of LP for something like that (not likely to be used that often), but maybe the ability to use it in a vehicle also lends itself to diesel. But with the added "work" of rotating it.

I am really glad it all worked out for you and your family. When you see what others who did not have a plan have gone through/are going through you should be proud that for your family it was sort of a "vacation". Good for you TRN!

So simple, its brilliant!

Don I was thinking about your hide site as a possible place something like this could be put in and used pretty effectively. And you make your own sawdust and wood chips so you have the feedstock already.

Wilbur was it TruGreen?  I had to fire them too


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+1 Yep it was. A buddy of mine fired them last year. My FIL is firing them this year too. Incompetent is rampant there it seems.

Sepsis can be bad....hope they caught it in time and can head it off.

Not sure the best location for this thread but this story was pretty interesting about the simplicity of an alternative heat source for hot water, in this case for a shower. But I also think this could easily be adopted for hot water for a cabin, a shop or any off grid method. I think with more piping it could be used as a type of radiant heat source for a building although that woukd abviously require more piping and is a different system. Plus you would need to "shut it off" during the summer.

This is really simple- hook a water source through a hose to plastic piping that gets run in a serpentine fashion through a compost "pile". In this case it's about 8' x 5'. The guy in the article starts it with a pickup truck load of wood chips and another of sawdust. Obviously any yard scraps would work- grass clippings, hay, food waste etc.

Surprisingly this guy uses it to heat water for a hostel for 10 ppl a day so if this is for an off-grid cabin or BO location that would give you plenty of water for a variety of sources beyond just showers. It gets hot enough for him (120 to 150 degrees) that he needs to mix cold water with it.

Like a lot of these things you may not do exactly what this guy did but it might stimulate you to come up with a version that works for you. Oh....and always....YMMV ha!

Here's the link to the article that stimulated this:

http://bangordailynews.com/2017/08/30/homestead/how-to-build-an-alternative-compost-heated-shower/

Got to jack a corner of my deck today. This part is the 21 year old orifinal deck and a footing had settled. Talked to a contractor who wanted to dig it all out, pour a huge new footing, etc etc. I decided to jack it and put a 3" block in instead. Cost: a few hours of work. Yes I may have to redo it at some point, but after 20+ years I can live with that. If I need more at some point so be it. But it's good for now.

How to know when you are the only redneck in your family. I'm out cleaning shop drinking a beer and the wife brings this out.


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If'n you was a real redneck she'd of brought Styrofoam cups. 

That's an awesome wife!!

And glad you're away from any chaos.

Prayers for anyone in TX affected by Hurricane Harvey. I hope you are all okay.

I use my Hi-Lift for more odds and ends than true jacking then I ever thought I would. They make some cool attachments for it to use in all types of situations. Also saw a company that makes a "foot" with two guide wires to the top to eliminate/minimize the sway( and hopefully) risk of the jack exploding out from underneath your vehicle. I'll try to find a link - seemed like a pretty good idea for soft ground (and especially with a lifted vehicle). I just made a "foot base" out of an old piece of 1" hardwood I had. Rather than buying the one they sell.

Good luck on the new place Dave...soinds great!

Today's AF Times cover....

http://airforcetimes.va.newsmemory.com/

"Outsourced Air Force" Kind of interesting given Don's comments and rumors of Trump's address tonight.

Don my understanding is contractors only have A-4's for jets is that accurate?

Good looking pup Dave. Brindle might fit with his color. Other names that might fit....hmmm.....Zeus, Atlas, Goliath, Drool (hope you're ready for that "aspect" of mastiff's! ha!). Get a saddle for him or a harness to pull the boys in a wagon/sled and everyone will have fun!

 

Report from behind enemy lines. I've noticed a lot of tats and skinny people and lots of urban dog walkers.

Went to buy groceries. About 20% more expensive than Texas for same items at same chain. The plastic bags out here are REALLY nice. Got me to wondering since I wouldn't think of CA using a lot of plastic bags. Then I noticed they charged me 10 cents for every plastic bag.  I guess it's ok to kill the environment if you have enough money. Kinda like DiCaprio and Gore.

Off to find a stack of styrofoam cups. Gonna take some serious recon.

And I guess that's why there are so many skinny people. Too expensive for them to eat.

No explanation for the tats yet....

Italy charges for plastic bags too....but yeah they are the nice ones. Heavy and will stretch. Like a small Glad trash bag almost. I got a cart full of groceries in 4 bags. Not doing that with the WalMart ones.

I wonder if sleeve tats are covered as a lifestyle choice and paid for by the public.... 

Long day of travel but back in the good ol' USofA. Great time with the family and saw a ton of Italy. Pretty cool walking streets from 1000 years ago, or church's from 500 AD, and villages from 400-500 BC! Pretty wild. Got some pics I'll post up when I get them all loaded up online. Took about 200 a day. Some I'm sure will be boring, but some came out pretty good I think. Still getting the hang of the new camera but overall a win.

Don I think it's like what some said earlier....in moderation it's all good. You might find you eat more veggie meals now and enjoy them knowing you can still have a brontosaurus burger later if ya want one. I know for me when it's "all or nothing" I often fight it tooth and nail.

Either way, nothing wrong with trying it, nor saying that you enjoy some animal protein either. It's all good.

But I do get what Dave's saying....course when you use bacon, hamburger and sausage to wrap some veggies it's is kind of a "red flag in front of the bull" moment. Haha 

Put this on the smoker today at two,


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You're just to see a pic of Don licking his screen arentcha? 

My wife says the light tuna in olive oil has the lowest amount of mercury so that's what we buy. I dunno but I have found I now like it better than the white. Ymmv of course...

My wife's grandmother, a little Italian woman who came to the US when she was 15, had three blue stars in her window during WWII....she prayed to God to bring her boys home. She said she would walk to church every day barefoot (2 miles, much of it gravel) to pray for them while they were away if HE would bring them home. She did and HE did, all three came home safely. People like this a-hole disgrace the people who sacrificed for their children and spit on those who lost family members.

We may have to petition to change the name of this site......

Androgynous consumers of vehicles, mall navigation and tofu


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BAHAHAHA!!!!

Gotta add mulch killerz....