Why my new hobby is looking at myself in the mirror naked

 Review of "20 Second Fitness" 

Update: February 7th. Just finished my 3rd tour of the 4 week program and I am starting to do all the harder exercises . I hate, burpees with push-ups! 

Update: December 21st. Somehow it took me 6.5 weeks to complete a 4 week program. I think that has a lot to do with Thanksgiving. The biggest disappointment for me has been the weight gain. I look a lot better and I have great muscle definition but the fat seems to be accumulating on my now bigger tummy muscles which only makes it look that much bigger. I think my appetite has been increasing for fatty and high calorie foods. The holidays are never a good time for me to lose weight. I just have to get back on my calorie count program.

On a very positive note, I ran a 5K on Thanksgiving and it was no problem at all. I had a lot of energy all the way to the end and wasn't even breathing hard. I stopped running in early September when I started the 20 second fitness plan, so I thought that was awesome. On the other hand, I tried to run this Sunday and my left knee was killing me. I couldn't even run a mile.

Summary - Thumbs up! Great work-out, inexpensive program, short workouts make procrastination harder.

     I am now finished with the 2 warm-up weeks and the 4 regular work-out weeks. I can see amazing changes in my muscle definition, especially my abs. Then, there are tiny changes that can't be documented like losing weight around my ankles. I don't mind seeing myself in the bathroom mirror anymore.
    
      About two years ago I decided to get control over my weight and health. I lost a bunch of weight over 1 year by severely restricting calories, but I still wasn't in shape, so I started running using the Couch to 5K program in April 2011. That helped, I felt better and had more energy, but I stalled out at 125 lbs and 3 miles of running distance. It didn't seem to matter how little I ate or how much I ran, I wasn't making progress.

     In September, 2011, I was at a Women's Expo in Orem, Utah and met Spencer. He was selling his 20-second Fitness Program. I was very skeptical at first but after 3 days of talking to him and the other people at the booth who had tried the program, I decided to give it a try. He convinced me because of the real life, before and after pictures of him, his wife, and other people who had gone through the program. They didn't seem like fitness freaks and, in fact, Spencer described one of them as lazy.  He also said you only had to work out for 12 minutes per day - MAX, 6 days per week. That sounded great because I was really getting tired of 40 minute runs that didn't seem to be getting me anywhere.

     I have not lost weight. I actually gained weight while losing 2.5 inches around my waist. I am hoping the weight gain was muscle mass which will shortly start turning into real fat loss.

     I will keep going because I love the way I look and want to stay fit for my kids.There really is no excuse when the workouts are so short.

	September 12th 2011	November 7th, 2011	December 21st, 2011	February 7th, 2012
Weight	125 lbs	127 lbs	130 lbs	128 lbs
Bicep	11 in	11.5 in	11 in	11 in
Hips	36 in.	38 in.	38 in.	38.5 in.
Chest	34 in.	34.5 in.	35.5 in.	35.5 in.
Thighs	18 in.	19.5 in.	20 in.	20 in.
Waist	34.5 in.	32 in.	32 in.	32 in.
Calf	13 in.	13.5 in.	13 in.	13.5 in.

See the program at http://www.facebook.com/20second and http://20secondfitness.com/ . It only cost $100 which included the stretch cords, mat, videos, and jump rope.

Spicy Meatballs

I just made the best meatballs evah. They were spicy at the finish but not too spicy, browned on the outside but soft in the middle. Nom, nom.

Ingredients
1.4 lbs ground pork
1.4 lbs ground turkey
1.4 lbs ground beef

3 eggs
1.5 cups of Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1/4 cup of Shredded Parmesan Cheese
2/3 package of bacon ( 1 lb package)

Spices (dried)
4 1/2 teas basil
4 1/2 teas parsley
3 teas garlic powder
3 teas kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
Mix, by hand, all ingredients together in a bowl. They don't have to be completely mixed together, just roughly mixed. (You don't want it to look like batter. It should look like Chex Mix).

Turn pan on medium/low
Cook meatballs until slightly browned (about 5 minutes) turn occasionally to brown all sides - DO NOT COOK ALL THE WAY THROUGH
Transfer to baking sheet
Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

Gravy

Basic Gravy

1/4 cup of turkey pieces
1/2 cup of white onion slices
1/2 cup of celery, cut up
include the young leaves of the entire stalk of celery

Saute the above until they are browned - takes about 20 minutes. There should be burnt spots.
After the vegetables are very brown and cooked, add 1 and 1/2 cup of vermouth to deglaze the pan.

Cook the vegetables and vermouth for 10 minutes.
Drain the vegetables and meat from the juices into a sauce pan
Add the meat back to the sauce pan.
Add 2 cans of chicken stock.
Add liquid smoke, about 1 - 2 teaspoons
Add salt and freshly ground pepper
Cook down by about half
Remove meat pieces

Mix the following together in a separate mixing bowl until the flour is well dissolved.
1/3 cup of flour
2/3 cup of chicken stock

Use a wire wisk to briskly wisk flour mixture into the sauce. Adjust seasoning.

Keep warm until dinner is ready.

Mushroom Yam Stew

My son's (10 yrs old) comments. "Wow, I like this stew. It's really good. I want more. I would much rather have this than a sandwich."  This is a rich, fall soup that is unusual and very tasty.

Mushroom-Yam Stew

Ingredients:
1 lb. button mushrooms, sliced
2 yams, sliced into quarters and then into thin slices
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 can chicken broth
5 tomatoes, quartered and sliced
2 cans of green bean juice - do not add the beans
1 tsp of basil herb blend. The kind in the tube that has already been ground up.
16 oz. - Polska Kielbasa - sliced (you could try bacon or some other rich meat)
Butter - 3 teaspoons for saute, 2 tablespoons for the pot
Salt and pepper to taste.

Directions
Put 3 teaspoons of butter in a large soup pot and saute the mushrooms until browned. Add garlic to the pot and let cook until savory. Add yams, sliced tomatoes, chicken broth, green bean juice, basil and sausage slices. Add butter to the pot to flavor if you want more richness. Let simmer until yams are soft and flavors blend. Salt and pepper to taste.

High School Reunion Blues

The beautiful girl in the first row, center of this photo was killed in her early 20's when a drunk in a speedboat nearly cut her in half. Their boats collided and, as the drunk's boat climbed on top of the one she was riding in, the propellors cut through her vital organs. She died instantly. She was a dancer at the Columbus ballet.

Old Avi Photo. Yup that is me with my blonde hair

Barack Obama's Pimp hand

      Barack Obama and the Democrats have started a new meme in the deficit reduction war and it is called "shared sacrifice". The idea is that we owe the government part of the money we earn as rent, or my version, "protection money" for living in American.  I am grateful for living in America, but not to the government. I am grateful to the people who created this country out of nothing. We created this country, we paid for this country, we made it what it is: Free, strong, and wealthy. Now, the Democrats want us to forget that. They want us to believe we owe them for the privileged of living here.

       Barack Obama and the Democrats believe that we all woke up one day in this magical wonderland and it was created by the government; that they, THEY, the government, did this; that we are mere tenants on this land and should be grateful to them.

     Who builds and pays for the roads? We do. Who created and pays for the court system? We do. Who dies in domestic and foreign lands for the protection of this nation? We do. Who pays for the Democrats and Republicans to manage our country? We do.

      We owe the government nothing.

       Like a Pimp who demands a certain amount of money by Friday, or else, it is Barack and the Democrats who want us to believe we are not the owners of our bodies, our labor, and our futures.       
         

      Thank goodness Barack's pimp hand is weak.  He does not have what it takes to bring in the mad money. He told all his ho's to come up with the money by Friday and we didn't do it, but what did he do? Well, nothing. The ho's are going to get restless if he keeps this up. Apparently there is a new sheriff in town called the "Tea Party" who has decided to let the ho's do what they want with the money they earn.

   
1.) Pimp Hand: The ability to be a pimp who has control over his ho's and brings in mad money as a result.

Text of Jim Matheson two e-mail blast letters.

First e-mail sent:

July 28, 2011                 
 
 
Website- Contact Jim- News Room- 2nd District- Online Office
Dear Jeanne,

Leaders in both political parties agree: defaulting on our nation's bills will have dire consequences. From successful programs such as Social Security and Medicare, to defense, veterans'benefits and transportation, every American will be affected. I am working hard to ensure that default does not occur and that serious budget reforms are adopted for the future.
However, if default does happen, another paycheck for Members of Congress should not be allowed. Members of Congress should not be getting paid while veterans, seniors and those with disabilities are not receiving their benefits.
That is why I support H.R. 2653-- the "Stop Pay for Members Act". This straightforward bill says that if the U.S. Treasury is unable to meet America's obligations in a timely way, Members of Congress should be paid last.
According to a bipartisan, independent analysis, if the U.S. should default, the Treasury Department would have to choose which of the approximately 80 million payments need to be paid with the limited cash available. The "Stop Pay Act"would place Members of the House and the Senate last on the list.
As I did when the threat of a government shutdown loomed, and government services and delivery of benefits were threatened, I want to make sure that we get our priorities right during the financial disruption.
Please let me know how you feel, by responding to the brief survey. As always, I want to hear from you.
Sincerely,
U.S. Representative
2nd District of Utah

My response:

You are an evil man to continue to say seniors wont get their checks when they will. Lier. How about congress doesn.t get their checks until we balance the budget?
Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4GLTE smartphone.

Second E-mail:

July 28, 2011

Dear Ms. Whitmore,



Thank you for sharing your concerns regarding the debt limit. I appreciate your interest in the issues facing our country and state, and I am glad for the opportunity to respond to your inquiry. By contacting me on issues important to you, I am better able to represent Utah in Congress.



The federal government's borrowing power – or debt limit – is capped by law and can only be raised by Congress. If the budget is not balanced, the debt limit must be raised in order to pay for previously approved expenditures. Currently, the government has exceeded this limit, and the Treasury has informed Congress that the debt limit must be raised by August 2, or the United States will not be able to pay its bills. These obligations include Social Security, Medicare, veterans' benefits, and debt payments. Economists and financial experts have warned that if the U.S. defaults on these payments, its credit could be downgraded and the strength of our nation in the global economy severely affected.



For any legislation to become law, it must be agreed to by the House, Senate, and signed by the President. For this reason, many proposals have been discussed this summer to negotiate a suitable compromise to raising the debt limit. I believe that any solution must be bipartisan and address the issue long-term. It should include structural reforms that fundamentally change the way we borrow and spend while helping us maintain a responsible, fiscally sound budget that prevents greater debt. It should be fair and equitable, requiring each of us to share in the sacrifice to reduce our federal deficit.



It is my hope that a workable, long-term plan can be developed that will protect the credibility of the federal government, maintain operation of essential programs, and set the stage for a future of financial solvency and discipline.




Again, thank you for sharing your concerns with me. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact my office.

My second response:

More lies. The government can choose what bills to pay with incoming money. There is enough money coming in to pay these SS, medicare, the debt interest and some other obligations. The treasury just released its prioritized list of payments.. You are evil to scare seniors when the treasury department will surely pay these bills after making debt payments.

Shameless

Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4GLTE smartphone.

Class size and student performance

Class size reduction and charter schools

Many educators and parents support lower class sizes.  Aristotle Academy has reviewed the class size literature and has developed a best case scenario for fiscal responsibility, student achievement and teacher morale.

 1.  Class size reduction has been shown to increase student achievement when the class size is between 15 - 18 students.  Fiscally it is not possible to reduce class sizes for the entire day to this level.  Aristotle Academy will use small class sizes of 15 students per class for reading and math break out groups.  

 2. Small changes in class size from 30 - 25 or even from 25 - 20 appear to not increase student achievement.  The reduction in class sizes from 30 to a number of less than 18 for the entire day would significantly endanger the school’s ability to operate within a balanced budget. 

 3.  Class size reduction has been shown to be most effective in reading and math areas in the lower grades.  The reading and math breakout classes of 15 students will be used for 1st - 5th grades.

 4. Reduction in student/teacher ratio alone does not change achievement, only the number of children in a classroom with an educator appears to increase student achievement.  Math and reading break out groups will be held in separate rooms to decrease distraction and allow the reading and math aide to focus on individual students. 

References for Class size reduction research.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091014122045.htm - Note that the benefit is only for class sizes of 13 - 17.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080228112004.htm  - Small class sizes don't close the achievement gap, those that were going to do well do even better, those that were struggling do better but don't close the gap.

http://www.education.com/reference/article/Ref_Key_lessons_Class/ - Class size only works at the 15 - 18 level at the lower grades, reduced class sizes in upper grades has not been shown to increase achievement.

http://cepm.uoregon.edu/publications/policy_reports/class_size/student_achievement.html  Reducing class size from 25 - 20 is ineffective, I would guess that reducing class sizes from 30- 25 is equally ineffective. 

Teachers still remain the most important factor in student achievement (McRobbie et al, 1998).

“When certain services and technologies are available to achieve the small-class effect.
When well-trained teachers employ effective instructional techniques, students achieve more. No organizational reform, smaller class size included, will substitute for high-quality teaching, as many studies have documented (McRobbie and others 1998). If professional development that guides teachers in small-class instruction is used in conjunction with effective teaching practices, a strong curriculum, and smaller classes, researchers will be more able to examine the true effects of class-size reduction (Beall 1998; U.S. Department of Education 1998). “

http://www2.ed.gov/pubs/ReducingClass/index.html  Summary of above, only micro-class sizes matter, teacher quality matters the most. 


http://www.edweek.org/rc/issues/class-size/ Class size reduction efforts that come at the expense of quality teachers and reasonably safe and practical facilities may be a detriment rather than a help.

http://www.heros-inc.org/classsizeresearch.htm  - A great summary of class size research, again supporting the 15:1 ratio.

Findings from the current major well-designed class size studies seem to have influenced policy makers toward the institution of reduced class size. Ernest L. Boyer, president of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, has laid out a four-point plan to ensure that all children are educated to their full potential, which includes reducing classes to "no more than 15 students per teacher" for the early elementary grades. In addition, the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) Delegate Assembly has revised their class size policy statement from 20 to 1 down to recommending a student-teacher ratio of 15 to 1.

Junior and High School Suggested Reading List

A Suggested Reading list for Junior and High School Students

Level 1 can start at  7th Grade depending on your student

Level 1

Literature:

Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Twain)

The Bronze Bow (Speare)

Diary of Anne Frank (Frank)

The Witch of Blackbird Pond (Speare)

Call of the Wild (London)

Dandelion Wine (Bradbury)

Anne of Green Gables (Montgomery)

A Wizard of Earthsea (LeGuin)

Code Talker (Bruchac)

The Pearl (Steinbeck)

Captains Courageous (Kipling)

Biography:

In Defiance of Hitler (McClafferty)

John Wesley Powell: Explorer of the Grand Canyon (Bruns)

The Story of My Life (Keller)

Level 2

Literature:

To Kill a Mockingbird (Lee)

The Chosen (Potok)

Watership Down (Adams)

And Then There Were None (Christie) or

Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Doyle)

The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)

Hobbit/LOTR (Tolkein)

A Single Shard (Park)

Shane (Shaeffer)

Little Women (Alcott)

Biography:

A Dangerous Engine: Benjamin Franklin (Dash)

The Good Fight: How WWII Was Won (Ambrose)

Level 3

Science:

Bellwether (Willis)

Water, A Natural History (Outwater)

The Control of Nature (McPhee)

A Short History of Nearly Everything (Bryson)

Mathematics:

Flatland (Abbott)

The Phantom Tollbooth (Juster)

History:

Profiles in Courage (Kennedy)

The Mother Tongue (Bryson)

Literature:

Fahrenheit 451 (Bradbury)

Animal Farm (Orwell)

A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Smith)

Philosophy:

Sophie’s World (Gaarder)

The Screwtape Letters (Lewis)

Drama:

Cyrano de Bergerac (Rostand)

The Foreigner (Miller)

Level 4

Mathematics:

The Man Who Counted (Tahan)

Mr. Tompkins in Wonderland (Gamow)

The Tipping Point or The Outliers (Gladwell)

Science:

Surely You’re Joking Mr. Feynman (Feynman)

The Double Helix (Watson)

Last Child in the Woods (Louv)

History:

Galileo’s Daughter or Longitude (Sobel)

Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage (Lansing)

The Code Book (Singh)

Literature:

The Count of Monte Cristo (Dumas)

Peace Like a River (Enger)

Night (Weisel)

Gulliver’s Travels (Swift)

Don Quixote (Cervantes)

David Copperfield (Dickens)

Philosophy:

Man’s Search for Meaning (Frankl)

Room of One’s Own (Woolf)

Anthem (Rand)

Drama:

A Man for All Seasons (Bolt)

The Importance of Being Earnest (Wilde)

Level 5

Mathematics:

Freakonomics (Levitt)

The Golden Ratio (Livio)

History:

Common Sense (Paine)

Undaunted Courage or D-Day (Ambrose)

Brave Companions (McCullough)

1776 (McCullough)

Literature:

Killer Angels (Shaara)

The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)

The Grapes of Wrath (Steinbeck)

Uncle Tom’s Cabin (Stowe)

Lonesome Dove (McMurtry)

The Last of the Mohicans (Cooper)

The Jungle (Sinclair)

Science:

A Brief History of Time (Hawkins)

Napoleon’s Buttons (LeCouter)

Philosophy: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (Pirsig)

Walden (Thoreau)

Drama:

The Odd Couple (Simon)

Inherit the Wind (Lee)

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (Stoppard)

Level 6

Science:

Silent Spring (Carson)

Structure of Scientific Revolutions (Kuhn)

Mathematics:

Goedel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid (Hofstadter)

Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea (Seife)

History:

Salt: A World History (Kurlansky)

Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation (Roberts)

Beyond the Hundredth Meridian (Stegner)

I Never Had It Made: Autobiography of Jackie Robinson

Wild Swans (Chang)

What If? (Cowley)

Literature:

Cry, the Beloved Country (Paton)

The Color of Water (McBride)

Jeeves and Wooster (Wodehouse)

Brave New World (Huxley)

Moby Dick (Melville)

One Hundred Years of Solitude (Márquez)

Wuthering Heights (Bronte)

Philosophy:

Vindication of the Rights of Women (Wollstonecraft)

The Social Contract (Rousseau)

On Liberty (Mill)

Gilead (Robinson)

Drama:

King Lear (Shakespeare)

Twelfth Night (Shakespeare)

Driving Miss Daisy (Uhry)

A Doll’s House (Ibsen)

Aesthetically Pleasing Vaginas

      I learned two things today that I didn't want to know: 1) There is a socially acceptable "look" for a women's genitals and 2) some women care about this enough to have surgery.

     I was innocently watching a Hulu documentary called "America the Beautiful" when they cut to a women in a plastic surgeons office with a Penthouse magazine (a magazine where they apparently show women's genitals! I know, right!) and showed it to the doctor. She wanted her vagina to look like the one in the magazine.  (45:27) Wow! Next scene, a women saying that the full frontals are often airbrushed, meaning some guy is making the genitals conform to a standard societal model of what women's genitals should look like.  Yup, designer vagina!
   
     This also makes me aware of something else I didn't want to know; there are women who are checking out their genitals enough to know what they look like compared with a Penthouse magazine model.
    
     Is there any part of a women's body that has not been assigned a societal model of beauty - any part? Is there a standard of beauty for the back of the knee or the curve between women's fingers?
   
     I really want to believe women are doing this to themselves and that no man ever cared if one labia was a different size or shape from the other one. Did any guy ever have an opportunity to check out a women's genitals then say, "Meh, no thanks, I really expected that to look better"?

Links - http://www.hulu.com/watch/198883/america-the-beautiful.
PS. - Check out the swell guys at (42:51) such caring young men. (sarc)  I wonder if super cool, shallow guy knows he is going bald.

Why Mitt Romney's Focus on Jobs Won't Work

Mitt Romney introduced his campaign today with the focus on Jobs, Jobs, Jobs. Not Steve Jobs, just regular jobs, as in employment.  This is a mistake.  Yes, it is the economy stupid, usually, but it won't work this election cycle.

First the people who are out of work are not Mitt's constituents. Joblessness is high among minorities, much higher than whites. Minorities are not going to abandon the first black, Democratic, President especially when that candidate is offering them candy. (Candy means more spending, more benefits.) The economy will start to recover by mid next year and whites will be back to work. Joblessness in minority communities tends to lag behind whites. (OK, I looked and couldn't find the research. Props to someone who sends me a link.) By the time we get to the election the independent vote will be happily back to work and not at all motivated to go out to vote for something they already have.

Second, Obama believes he has the solution to jobs: Investment (also called spending and more debt.) This is extremely easy for people to understand. Obama only has to say that he will "invest" money which will pay for jobs, jobs, jobs. Mitt will be caught explaining supply side economics to the American people who can barely balance their check book. This sets up a He said/She said argument which Mitt will lose. Obama's base doesn't want the Evil Rich to get money before they do. Mitt will be painted as someone trying to help his country club friends in the business community and not helping the poor.

Third, the Tea Party wants more Freedom and Democracy.  That needs to be the message. This is the only thing that will motivate the independent vote in late 2012.  They want less spending to get more freedom, less central planning (O-care) to get more freedom, less debt to get more freedom.

Mitt, bless his heart, is pounding the nail with the hammer he knows, but that won't win an election this time around.

Yes, Bill Maher the T Word is Mysogynistic

     Bill Maher used t**t (a vulgar word for the vagina) to describe Sarah Palin. NOW (National Organization for Women) decried it, he didn't apologize for it, most center and left wing news organizations and pundits stayed away from the issue.
     The defense of Bill Maher is that he is a comedian and he could have used *sshole or any other word to describe a stupid person and his use of the word was not a attack based on her gender.
      Yes, I think that is the point, exactly. He could have used any word, but he chose that one. Reducing a wife, mother, former-governor and christian conservative to the female body part. T**t eliminates her intellect and any other qualities that she has as an individual and reduces her to a friction tube.
      I wonder how much time he spent deciding on that word. I would guess, none at all. This is how he thinks about conservative women, and perhaps all women. It is reflective of his deep contempt of conservative women to call them the most vulgar term you can call a women.
 

P.S.- Protip: Never, ever, ever call a women that word.
 

Triangle Shirt Factory Fire - How to talk to a Liberal

    The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire in 1911 is used by Liberals/Progressives to defend government regulation of working conditions. Just ask them this: "If the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory were to open today, with the same working conditions and pay, how much government regulation would be needed to protect the workers?"
     The answer is, "None." There would be no government regulation needed because there would be no workers. Everyone in America has a better option than this, including begging on the street.
      Are there some people in the U.S. who are working in horrible working conditions? Of course there are but we have all the law and government regulations to prevent it now and yet these conditions still exist.  The reason there are people who are working in horrible conditions is that they have no other options, including begging, because they are here illegally. (I think humanitarian reasons are the most important reasons to enforce our immigration laws.)
     What can we do? Continue to raise living standards here and around the world so that everyone has a better option. Working conditions will fix themselves as workers vote with their feet.

Tortellini Spinach Soup

An excellent soup that is super easy.

Ingredients:

Frozen spinach packet - 10 oz.
Frozen cheese tortellini package - 10 oz.
minced garlic -  1/2 teaspoon  (about 1 clove)
Chicken Broth - 60 oz.
Canned Stewed Tomatoes (they must be stewed!) - 30 oz.

Instructions:
Brown the garlic in a sauce pan sprayed with cooking spray.
Add the broth
Add the cheese tortellini and let cook, covered for 5 minutes
Add the spinach and stewed tomatoes

Cook for an additional 5 minutes.

Enjoy.

Don't let the terrorists win, brine your chicken

This recipe was taken from a Sunday Supplement article on Jamie Oliver.  You can see the whole recipe here-> http://bit.ly/e3h2zd.

But if you do nothing else, you must use this recipe for brining chicken. I can do anything with my chicken breasts that would normally dry them out and they stay moist and tender.

1 QT water
2 Tablespoons Kosher salt (Yes, Kosher. Don't use regular salt)
1/3 cup honey
3 cloves crushed garlic
2 sprigs fresh sages, leaves only (I used 2 teaspoons of rubbed sage in a spice bottle)
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar (No, not white vinegar.  You have to use the brown type)
Juice and zest of one lemon.  (I cut the lemon in half and then squeeze the juice in and then just throw the whole lemon in the container.

I put all of this is a 2 Quart Tupperware container and then stir and add the chicken. Brine for 1-2 days then cook.

Sweet and Sour Cole Slaw (with Ramen noodles)

Ingrediants
1  - 16 oz bag of cole slaw veg mix
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 Tblspoons of white vinegar
3 Tblspoons of Sugar
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup of chopped walnuts
1/4 cup onion (chopped)
1 Teaspoon vegetable bullion or the spice packet from ramen noodle package
4 - 6 slices of bacon chopped.
1 package of ramen noodle (chicken flavor)

Crunch up the ramen noodles.
Mix together the oil, vinegar, sugar and ramen noodle spice mix or bullion.
Put crunched up noodles in the bottom of a glass mixing container
Pour in the oil/vinegar mix.
Add all ingredients on top(cole slaw, walnuts, onion, and bacon)
Let sit until the noodles are soft -> several hours
Mix and let sit again until flavors mix, salt and pepper to taste, serve.

Dave sent me a message

I'm so lucky to have David Mark want to be my friend! (I am being sarcastic.)

David sent you a message.

David MarkFebruary 18, 2011 at 11:07am Subject: Hi Whitmore Hi, How you doing today? hope you having a great day.anyway just wanted to let you know that i came across your profile and was stunned,deemed it fit that we get to know ourselves decided to write you something cool so we both can get to chat and know more about us,my heart skipped a bit for a slight second when i saw your profile and said to myself that knowing you would be great,you know you never can tell what the future holds in store for you unless you give it a try. This is my yahoo im (davidmark12355@yahoo.com) pls be as nice and kind as you seem to add me on there and also send me yours so we can talk more there and know more about us. Hope to hear from you soon,God bless Dave cares

Fire them today

     When teachers call in sick to go to a protest, or for any reason other than actually being sick,  they should be fired.  The teacher is defrauding and stealing from the taxpayers, and cheating their students. 

      When a teacher calls in "sick" the school district has to hire a substitute teacher and pay the teacher salary plus benefits.  This is fraud and theft.  It is fraud and theft of the taxpayers who are hiring them to teach, not to go to protests, but mostly they are defrauding and stealing from their students who rely on those teachers to be in the classroom everyday. 

     Research has show that the most important factor in student learning is the quality of the teacher in the classroom   A substitute is not an adequate replacement for a teacher. Any parent knows that when they ask their children what they did at school that day, sometimes the answer is "We had a sub."  That means; we didn't learn anything.  A sub can follow the lesson plan, but most kids know they are not held accountable for that day's learning. 
     
    How about a lesson in responsibility from the school district and the Union and calling all of these teachers up on disciplinary charges for theft.  These children will never get these days of learning back and that is the real shame in all of this.
  

Reference:  http://www.businessinsider.com/wisconsin-teacher-strike-2011-2

 

Chris Christie can't win

Chris Christie can't win the Presidential Election in 2012 because he can't win the Nomination.

• He is a short term governor of a small state
• He got only 6% in the CPAC straw poll.  Sure, you can say that doesn't mean anything because Ron Paul won the poll and we know Ron Paul can't win the nomination either, but Chris Christie didn't get higher than 6% in a poll of very conservative, active, involved, knowledgeable voters.
• Chris Christie porn is great for us conservatives who understand that we need to cut government unions and benefits but not for the average voter
• Americans love teachers and especially their teachers.  Put together a B-roll of him insulting a sweet gray haired teacher and the electorate will turn on him.
• He has done a lot of legislation but the results of his legislation are not clear yet. He has to be able to say, "Hey, we did this AND IT WORKED OR DIDN'T HURT US."  Right now he can't say that.
• He is from the East.  That didn't work all that well for Rudy Giuliani did it.
• He has an east coast attitude.  It's not bad, but sometimes that brash confidence does not play will with heartland voters.
• I couldn't find any polling on national name recognition for Chris Christie.  He has to win the primary and caucuses in states where people have never heard of him.

So, stop listening to the voices in your head and Ann Coulter (same thing).

Redeye fan fiction - Andy, Bill and Greg save CPAC - Chapter 1

How Redeye Saved CPAC

Chapter 1: Where Bill Uncovers a Plot and Meets the Girl of His Dreams 

     Bill tested the tiny balcony with his foot before slowing shifting more of his weight to the floor and climbing all the way out of the window. So, it's come to this, he thought, catching a smoke on a decorative balcony he wasn't really sure would hold his weight.  Bill turned his back to the wind.  His lighter sparked and ignited his cigarette, which he inhaled deeply. He had just leaned back against the window, leading to his cramped  hotel room, and closed his eyes when he heard two voices from the balcony below. The thought of other guests getting a smoke and violating the hotel wide smoking ban made him smile.

     "We are planning the shut down at 9:00 am Saturday just as Breitbart starts speaking," said a high clear voice from below.

     "Why not sooner?  That leaves all night tonight and all day Friday before we make our move."said a second voice, muffled by a mouth full of food.

     "Because, a lot of people don't show up until today and they could repair the problems before Saturday morning, and I want to get that bastard Breitbart.  If we do this right, the whole day will be shot.  Lights, heat, sound, fire extinguisher system.  They will have to empty the entire hotel."

     John's voice rose a little higher "If I shut down his speech this time, then no one would hire him again."  John wiped the sweat off of his upper lip.  He was sweating under his light jacket despite the cold weather and his closeness to Max on the tiny balcony.

     "Um, yeah, well, maybe, but no one is going to know it was you or why you did it, right? That's what you said."  Max pulled out a partially eaten beef jerky from his pants pocket and tore a piece off with a sideways gnawing motion. 

     "Don't worry, you won't be involved. How many of those are you going to eat?" John had gotten Max to come with him by promising to pay all the expenses and to buy him all the gas station treats he wanted.

     "I love beef jerky.  I'll eat as many as you buy me." Max stowed the partially eaten beef jerky back in his pants pocket as he turned to open the window. "Can we go back inside now?  I really don't think our room is bugged."


    "Yeah, but let's not say anything in the room just in case, " said John, climbing into the window after Max.

      Bill had gradually stopped smiling as he heard bits of the conversation below.  It was windy with blowing snow so he didn't hear all of it, but didn't want to lean over the wrought iron balcony railing to hear more.  Hearing the window opening below, he decided to take a peak and leaned over the side just in time to see bright blue slacks and black shoes with white socks pulled into the room while the window closed.

     Bill jumped as a loud rapping sound came from behind him on the window.  He turned as Andy opened it.
  
      "Found a place to smoke. Excellent.  Will it hold both of us?" said Andy as he squeezed into the space beside Bill, not waiting for an answer.

     "Give me a cigarette," Andy said, motioning to Bill's pack.

     "No. Get your own cigarettes. You hate it when people mooch cigarettes from you."

     "I know.  That's why I like Baptists and Mormons.  Although, the Baptists mooch cigarettes from me when they are by themselves, which is why I like Mormons more."

     Bill looked at Andy and really wanted to say, no.

    "Bill, give me a god damned cigarette, you know how cranky I get."  

     Bill knew.

     "Fine. Here." Bill waited for Andy to light up then said, "There were a couple of guys on the balcony just below us talking.  It sounded like they were going to do something to the convention center right before Breitbart goes on stage Saturday morning."

     "Like what?  Like a prank?"

     "No, not like a prank.  They called it 'a shut down'.  They sounded angry and disturbed, not prankish."

     "Whatever.  There are some jerks from Code Pink here and some other crazies.  They always want to disrupt.  Security can handle it." Andy returned to concentrating on smoking.

      Bill would have liked to talk about anything just to keep his mind off the wind and the cold, but Andy was, as usual, deep in thought about something.  It was a gamble to start any conversation with Andy.  He could start talking about sports, something Bill understood and was interested in, or the cultural and political significance of super hero characters in the 20th century; not something Bill was interested in. Bill didn't want to listen to whatever esoterica Andy might come up with.

     "Done?" said Bill as Andy finished his cigarette and put it out on the banister

     "Yeah, let's go. I'm going to the bar. One of the waitresses looked totally hot." said Andy throwing his butt on the floor of the balcony and working his 5' 11" frame through the small window. 

     "Why did you do that?" said Bill, picking up the butt. "Go get me the trash can, will you? I hate cleaning up after you. And, did you ever think about asking a woman out for an actual date?"

     "God, that is so much trouble later."

     "Wait a minute.  How did you get in here anyway?" said Bill closing the window.

     "I knocked.  Your door wasn't latched.  It just came open when I knocked."

     "Something else to talk to the front desk about."

     Bill checked the latch as he left the room and tested the door before he joined Andy at the elevator.  
     The elevator stopped at the floor just below and two men got on.  Bill recognized the pants color immediately as the same color from the balcony below his.  Andy was not paying attention to the men but was busy examining his bald spot in the mirrored ceiling tiles.  He gave a grunt and looked at Bill, grimacing and pointing to his head.  One of the men heard the grunt and looked around.  The man was munching on a beef jerky and had several more flopping from the top shirt pocket.  Bill's eyes were drawn to the shirt pocket logo which had the word "security" stitched on it.  The two men got off on the second floor, mezzanine level.

     Bill turned to Andy and said, "That was the color of pants that the people wore on the balcony below me when they were talking about the 'shut down'."  Bill made air quotes.  "They work for security!"

    Andy was still looking at the top of his head in the mirror tile ceiling of the elevator.  "Bill, it could have been any pants."

     "No way it could have been that color blue.  That is a unique color blue. No one wears that color blue." Andy gave Bill a disbelieving look.  "Ok, ok, maybe I have worn that color blue, but not on a pant." said Bill. "Would you call that a royal blue?"

     "No, it was more of a dress blue." said Andy.

     "Dress blue, what is dress blue?  No one knows what dress blue would be like." said Bill.

     "They would if they were a real American." said Andy.  "But if you insist, you can call it a dark periwinkle."

     "Dark periwinkle? Really?" said Bill, shaking his head.

     The elevator doors opened at the first floor.  Andy headed for the bar next to the Atrium foyer while Bill went toward the front desk.

     Bill was confused about what to do next; tell the front desk what exactly?  That he heard some people say some stuff on a balcony who may or may not work for security.  This was not going to be fun, it will take up a lot of drinking time and would probably make him look stupid.  Bill was already bored by the time he reached the counter.  He became much less bored when the counter attendant lifted her head from the computer screen.

     "Hi, my name is Bill."  He smiled his suave smile.  "How are you doing?" Bill leaned over the counter a little.  "Your name is?"

     "Elana."  she said.

      Bill saw her mouth moving but didn't really hear what she said.  She had olive colored skin, light eyes and dark brown hair falling in waves to her shoulders.  Her mouth was moving again and Bill tried to concentrate.  "What can I help you with, sir?" she said. 

      "Yes, I have a couple of things.  My friend told me the latch on my room wasn't closed when he knocked on the door."  As soon as he said it, he realized how lame that sounded.  "I mean, uh, that's no big deal but it would be nice if someone looked at it anyway."  Elana's shoulders sagged a little as she moved officiously to the computer screen.  "But that is not really what I wanted to talk to someone about.  In fact, just forget about that.  I wanted to talk to someone about a conversation I heard on the balcony." 

     Elana looked at Bill, somewhat blankly.  She was waiting for the obligatory, "when are you off work," comment, but she was not going to get involved with someone she met at work. Again.  "Ok, what balcony.? What happened?"

     Bill leaned closer to Elana over the marble topped counter and lowered his voice so he wouldn't be overheard by the other people in the lobby. "Well, I was on my balcony, room 568,  and I overheard some people below me.  It sounded as if they were planning some prank or something before the Breitbart speech on Saturday morning.  They seemed like they were serious about it.  I caught site of a bright blue pant leg when I looked down and I think it was the same color as your security uniforms here at the hotel."
 
     "So you're saying that you think some security guards were on the balcony below you and they were planning some kind of prank before a speech? For who?"

      "Breitbart.  He is one of the first speakers on Saturday morning for the CPAC conference, in the main ballroom. It seemed more serious than a prank."  Bill looked at her and realized there was no way Elana was going to go out with him and he really wanted to join Andy in the bar. 

     "So who were these guys and how do you know they were security?"  said Elana.  Elana began fake typing into the computer.  She looked down occasionally to make it look good. 

     Bill told her about the men on the elevator and their uniforms.  "I think you could call the color dark periwinkle, it was distinctive." Bill said smiling.

     "Mmmm. I have no idea what dark periwinkle would look like, but just stay here for a second, I have to check on something."  Elana went to a more private phone at the back of the counter area and made a phone call.  She considered faking the phone call too but decided that since he had come up with the color "dark periwinkle" she would give him the benefit of the doubt.

    As Elana, walked away to make the phone call, Bill tired to find a neutral spot to look. He looked at her back then deciding that would be creepy, looked down, then at the ceiling.  He was saved from embarrassment by a fan asking him for a picture.  He quickly got the picture taken and turned around just in time for Elana to see the fan walk away: he felt his stock rising.

      "Well," Elana said, returning to the front desk and watching the fan walk away giggling at her cell phone picture, "I talked to the security manager on shift and he said there shouldn't have been security guards on that floor.  Usually they don't go up to the rooms at this time of day unless they are called.  They should definitely not have been on a balcony. Where did you say these guys went?" 

     "Oh, thank God." Bill said relieved. "They got off on the second floor."  He couldn't wait to be rid of this problem and get back to  what he had come here for: meet his friends, have some drinks, talk to some new people. "If you need me, I will be in the bar and you know my room number. Um, that is I will be at the bar for a while, not all the time...just having a drink or two..."  

     "Yes, I have your room number, Mr. Schultz. And, I notice that you don't actually have a room with a balcony," said Elana. Bill looked down at the counter and started to form a word when Elana cut him off.  "Never mind, I will contact you if we need more information.  You will be able to identify them?"

     "Yes, and I will be able to identify the smell too.  I hate the smell of beef jerky."  Bill could feel his stomach contracting slightly as he thought of the smell.

     Bill turned to go and then turned back to the desk, "One more thing...would you be willing to go..."

     "No." Elana, said without looking up.

     "OK."  Said Bill, and headed toward the bar.

      Bill was dodging CPAC convention goers as he walked from the hotel desk to the bar.  He took several more pictures with fans as he went and occasionally turned to see if Elana was watching. She wasn't. It took him about 15 minutes to get from the lobby desk to the main atrium when he heard his name being called from the top of the escalator.  He looked up to see his boss, Greg Gutfeld.  But what caught Bill's eye was not Greg, but Max, the Beef Jerky man, strolling from right to left on the mezzanine.  He was talking on a walky-talky and then looked down over the railing  to another man on the ground floor.  The man on the ground floor was not dressed in a uniform, as Bill expected, but in a normal suit. The men nodded to each other as they signed off the walkies and then went in opposite directions.