Ok, I know this is my second one today, but I ran across this article when going through a couple other blogs and this made me mad as all get out. So, I had to share...
http://hatemonitor.csusb.edu/Research_articles/patriot.html
This guy's article... argh, I can't even discuss it, but go read it... if you are in the mood to get frustrated with people and pissed as all get out!
The link to the blog below is where I found it. He cooled off enough to be able to at least talk about it intelligently... I'm too frustrated to do that right now.
http://mayberry-keepitsimplestupid.blogspot.com/
Monday, December 29, 2008
For when the Revolution comes...
Ok, I just saw the wife use my line as a comment to someone else's blog. Be warned, I use this line quite a bit. To be fair though, I am not completely serious about it. Kinda, sorta, maybe, but not.
Ok, let me state this right here, right now. I am NOT, in any way, shape, or form, advocating rebellion against the American government or any affiliated government. I am an American and still proud, yes, mighty proud to say it! I do believe that this is still the best country in the world, bar none.
That is not to say that America is perfect. There is wayyyyy too much government involvement in the daily lives of Americans and in the daily business of corporations. There are crooked politicians and power-drunk bureaucrats. There are spoiled lazy people that sit at home and live off of the tax dollars of others. Still others living on credit with no way, means, or intention of paying it back.
Now, that being said... There are hardworking men and women in this country that are the lifeblood of this nation. There are soldiers... VOLUNTEER soldiers, ready, willing, and able to put their body on the line every day so that we as Americans have the Freedoms that we do. There are good, solid, honest people willing to stop and help a stranger change a tire, people willing to help a neighbor jumpstart the car, bring covered dishes to the house when someone passes, etc. I could go on for hours about what I believe are the majority of people in this country, but I need to get back to my main point.
The Revolution.
There is no Revolution that I know about. However, I believe, like many of us, that the need is upon us to be prepared for whatever may come. Saving food, learning survival skills, craft skills, learning to be self-sufficient, to feed ourselves, etc. These are vitally important things, now more than ever. This is my stated reason for stocking up food, and firewood, and lamp oil, etc. Its not the real reason, well, not completely. Its a reason that based in humor, but a scary edge of humor.
With a government caused economic problem, with government meddling in the once-and-hopefully-future Free Market exacerbating the problems, who knows what is in store for us all... but I, for one, will not let my family suffer. I will do whatever it takes to get my family through this, safe, secure, and stronger.
We will survive.
America is still based on the best foundation in the world, and we will rise again. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but I believe, I HAVE to believe, that the good, honest, hard-working Americans will triumph and raise this country up again.
May God Bless America
and
May God Bless You.
Ok, let me state this right here, right now. I am NOT, in any way, shape, or form, advocating rebellion against the American government or any affiliated government. I am an American and still proud, yes, mighty proud to say it! I do believe that this is still the best country in the world, bar none.
That is not to say that America is perfect. There is wayyyyy too much government involvement in the daily lives of Americans and in the daily business of corporations. There are crooked politicians and power-drunk bureaucrats. There are spoiled lazy people that sit at home and live off of the tax dollars of others. Still others living on credit with no way, means, or intention of paying it back.
Now, that being said... There are hardworking men and women in this country that are the lifeblood of this nation. There are soldiers... VOLUNTEER soldiers, ready, willing, and able to put their body on the line every day so that we as Americans have the Freedoms that we do. There are good, solid, honest people willing to stop and help a stranger change a tire, people willing to help a neighbor jumpstart the car, bring covered dishes to the house when someone passes, etc. I could go on for hours about what I believe are the majority of people in this country, but I need to get back to my main point.
The Revolution.
There is no Revolution that I know about. However, I believe, like many of us, that the need is upon us to be prepared for whatever may come. Saving food, learning survival skills, craft skills, learning to be self-sufficient, to feed ourselves, etc. These are vitally important things, now more than ever. This is my stated reason for stocking up food, and firewood, and lamp oil, etc. Its not the real reason, well, not completely. Its a reason that based in humor, but a scary edge of humor.
With a government caused economic problem, with government meddling in the once-and-hopefully-future Free Market exacerbating the problems, who knows what is in store for us all... but I, for one, will not let my family suffer. I will do whatever it takes to get my family through this, safe, secure, and stronger.
We will survive.
America is still based on the best foundation in the world, and we will rise again. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but I believe, I HAVE to believe, that the good, honest, hard-working Americans will triumph and raise this country up again.
May God Bless America
and
May God Bless You.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
A Lucky Find and its product (aka Saurkraut)
A while back, I was in the basement at my parent's house and I saw this big white thing hidden in the back corner of the fruit cellar. I dig it out and its this huge ceramic crock! Not only that but in the bottom is a wooden weight/lid! So of course, first thing I started thinking about? Saurkraut! Yum yum yum. I even found this old wooden handbuilt mandolin that my grandfather made for slicing the cabbage. Of course, I had to talk my mom out of it, and back to Ohio it came!
So I cleaned it out and waited for cabbage to go on sale. Meanwhile I read up on making saurkraut. Unfortunately, Pap had written his recipe on a piece of paper and attached it to the bag the mandolin was in. Either water or mice got to it, so I only have about 1/2 of the recipe. The damage was right down the middle of the paper! Of course. So I did some research and the next time it was cheap, I picked up 6 heads of cabbage. Some shredding and cutting and salt later, I have it packed in the crock. 6 heads, maybe 2 inches deep... that's all. Only another 30 inches to fill next time.
As you can see, once I put the cabbage in, its gets covered with a wooden lid that just about fits all the way around. Have to let the excess gases escape somehow...
After the wooden weight goes on, I weighted it down even more with a full jug of white vinegar. Hey it was handy and able to be sanatized quickly!
As it is in the cooler basement, I've given it a few weeks and I think its about ready! One of the great things about saurkraut is that you can eat it fresh, right out of the crock, you can raw pack it for canning, or you could hot pack it. Nyom nyom nyom. YUMMY!
This is a picture of the saurkraut once the wooden weight comes off. Everyone online says that the blue color around the edge is just a scum that is formed that won't hurt you but that you can try to skim off. I just took a few scoops out of the center, re-leveled it and put the weight back on.
So the saurkraut was good, but I think it may need another week or two. Also, I found that it is possible to put too much salt on the cabbage when you are making it. Trust the recipes online when they say 3-4 Tbsp per 6 heads of cabbage! Still, very good for a first try! Will be doing this again!
I guess you can figure out what will be getting a lot of room in the garden next year! :-)
Monday, December 22, 2008
Tech for the Homestead?
Ok, I guess I should live up to my screen name a bit, huh?
Technology. My field of profession. I went with it because I'm good at it and, heck, it was easier to go with this than to try to figure out what I really wanted to do with my life. I remember one time I told my dad that I wanted to be a knucklebuster (auto mechanic), and his response? “Ok, I'll support you but realize that you will spend a lot of time at the bottom of the ladder buying your tools and sweating in the summer and freezing in the winter” Or words to that effect. I thought a lot about becoming a chef... but I hated working nights when everyone else I knew was working one daylight shift or another.
Now, when I say technology, I mean to say that I am a computer programmer. I have worked in most fields of the I.T. trade from pulling wires for networks, to setting up and managing said networks, to designing and maintaining websites, to writing custom programs. I can administer a system and a network, or I can find most anything on the 'net. Sound interesting? Trust me, its not. Well, I guess I can't say that... I'm sure someone out there is working on an interesting project. I, however, am not currently working on any project at the office that is interesting. Notice that I said that I don't have any interesting projects at work. I have a few projects at home in the works, that once they are done or are a little further along, I'll be sharing.
What brought this rambling on, you may ask? (or so you may not...) I was going through one of the newer issues of Mother Earth News that we have lying around the house, and looking at the ads (oh my, aren't there so many to look at!). There are a bunch of ads for solar panels and windmills, etc. Ok, great, I can completely support wanting to use renewable energy for some things around the house, but isn't self-sufficiency part of what we want? How self-sufficient is it to have your energy coming from a kit or from a device that you don't understand? Especially for those living completely off-grid, if something happens to your solar panels, are you going to be able to fix it or make the system work? Obviously we don't have the technology to make solar panels at home to replace broken panels. I understand that, but what if something else breaks, something isn't charging or no power is coming through. Can you fix it?
Now, I understand that many/most of the people interested in homesteading and self-sufficiency are handy and can rig something. I'm not even saying not to use these systems. I am saying think about it and what would you do if something happens? This is a yardstick that I also apply to cars. Hybrid or electric cars? Is enough information known to be able to fix these cars at home? But that's a topic for another day.
Technology. My field of profession. I went with it because I'm good at it and, heck, it was easier to go with this than to try to figure out what I really wanted to do with my life. I remember one time I told my dad that I wanted to be a knucklebuster (auto mechanic), and his response? “Ok, I'll support you but realize that you will spend a lot of time at the bottom of the ladder buying your tools and sweating in the summer and freezing in the winter” Or words to that effect. I thought a lot about becoming a chef... but I hated working nights when everyone else I knew was working one daylight shift or another.
Now, when I say technology, I mean to say that I am a computer programmer. I have worked in most fields of the I.T. trade from pulling wires for networks, to setting up and managing said networks, to designing and maintaining websites, to writing custom programs. I can administer a system and a network, or I can find most anything on the 'net. Sound interesting? Trust me, its not. Well, I guess I can't say that... I'm sure someone out there is working on an interesting project. I, however, am not currently working on any project at the office that is interesting. Notice that I said that I don't have any interesting projects at work. I have a few projects at home in the works, that once they are done or are a little further along, I'll be sharing.
What brought this rambling on, you may ask? (or so you may not...) I was going through one of the newer issues of Mother Earth News that we have lying around the house, and looking at the ads (oh my, aren't there so many to look at!). There are a bunch of ads for solar panels and windmills, etc. Ok, great, I can completely support wanting to use renewable energy for some things around the house, but isn't self-sufficiency part of what we want? How self-sufficient is it to have your energy coming from a kit or from a device that you don't understand? Especially for those living completely off-grid, if something happens to your solar panels, are you going to be able to fix it or make the system work? Obviously we don't have the technology to make solar panels at home to replace broken panels. I understand that, but what if something else breaks, something isn't charging or no power is coming through. Can you fix it?
Now, I understand that many/most of the people interested in homesteading and self-sufficiency are handy and can rig something. I'm not even saying not to use these systems. I am saying think about it and what would you do if something happens? This is a yardstick that I also apply to cars. Hybrid or electric cars? Is enough information known to be able to fix these cars at home? But that's a topic for another day.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Puppy Naming
A'yup... the pup has been Named! Thank you to anyone who stopped over to the DivaHick's site to vote in our little poll. I got the name that I wanted! Dante... (well, she vetoed Virgil right out of the gate!) So now we have Faust and Dante.
Since I kinda named the new one, and I know I named the old one... I wonder what their names say about me? Faust... a midieval alchemist and scientist searching for the truth of the world beyond the physical who deals with a devil (Mephistopheles, not Ol' Scratch). Dante... the wandering human who is led through and shown the three worlds beyond.
Hmmm... very interesting... but shtupid!
Since I kinda named the new one, and I know I named the old one... I wonder what their names say about me? Faust... a midieval alchemist and scientist searching for the truth of the world beyond the physical who deals with a devil (Mephistopheles, not Ol' Scratch). Dante... the wandering human who is led through and shown the three worlds beyond.
Hmmm... very interesting... but shtupid!
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