April 26, 2012

Light up the BBQ!

Originating on the islands of the West Indies, as a means of preserving food, it became a popular method of cooking the tougher cheaper cuts of meat. Today it is a back yard tradition, hobby, and competitive sport.

Barbequeing is defined as: cooking with an indirect heat source between 150 and 300 degrees.  An indirect heat source simply means that  no flames come in direct contact with the meat. With the low temperatures cooking takes longer, but the flavor and tenderness that it produces is well worth the wait.

The methods of barbecuing can be an elaborate, and very expensive process or it can be simple with a far smaller investment.  Having grown up in Aruba I have many fond memories of the church wide barbecue in our back yard featuring charcoal grills made from 50 gal drums cut in half  with grates on top filled with chicken and pork.
As a beginner all you need is a charcoal fired grill and a day to relax. Start your charcoal, let them burn down until they are white, evenly distribute them across the bottom of the grill, and place the meat on the grill. Next,  place the lid on the top and let it cook, the lid will reduce the flare ups from the fat dripping  onto the coals. The lid also holds the heat in creating an oven like environment. Much of the flavor in the food will come from the fuel source, so what ever you do never start the coals with starter fluid unless of course you enjoy that flavor. This method is low heat with no direct flames. If you are planing to cook large cuts of meat you will need to add new coals to the grill from time to time as the coals will burn out.
The charcoal briquettes are made from mixture of charred wood and coal. You can also buy wood only charcoal. yet another option is to make your own charcoal. For this using the right kind of wood is critical, use hard woods like hickory, oak, maple, or cherry. Do Not Use Pine!. In this process you will need to have a fire pit were you are burning large pieces of wood as the wood burns down and red hot coals appear at the bottom of the fire you simply scoop them out  with a shovel (only stated unless it was not obvious) and place them in the bottom of the grill. This will take a lot more of your time, but it will all pay off with the completion of a great meal.
Let us know what your think, What is your favorite way to BBQ?

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April 18, 2012

The Amazing Vehicle Concepts! Part 1

vehicles are not necessarily automobiles, but any thing that can transport us where we want to go. It can be for a practical reason or for sheer enjoyment. below I have listed some vehicles that are in concept stage or in production. Links are provided in each paragraph, which can be identified by bold letters.

1. Have you ever turned on the water hose and the end of the hose started to flop around uncontrollably. Well, some one has taken that principle of force and harnessed it into the JetLev. You strap yourself into a harness that has control handles and one jet nozzles on each side of you, all of this is attached to a long hose which in turn is attached to a jetski-like device. The jetski-like device is an engine with a suction pump that pulls water from the lake or river or ocean and forces it through the hose exiting out the jet nozzles. Instantly you are forced up into the air and are levitating as high as 30 feet off the ground.

2. Remember watching James Bond and being jealous of all the cool cars that he got to drive. Well, if a company by the name of Rinspeed has anything to say about it they will have available a car called the sQuba, which debuted at the Geneva Motor Show in March of 2008.

 

3. Have  you ever been watching ‘Star Wars’ and became jealous of the the person riding one of the Imperial Speeders. Well, sometime in the future, and hopefully sooner rather than later, you may be able to ride the ‘Hoverbike’. The ‘Hoverbike’ is being developed for possible use on ranches in Australia. The ‘Hoverbike’ website has pictures and a video of a scale model flight test.

4. If a four-wheeler is a lot of fun off-road, and a jet-ski is a blast on the water, then why not make a vehicle that can do both. That is exactly what the people Aqaquad have done. Their Quadski concept could make a real splash in the four-wheeler field.

5. Finally, in this post on Amazing Vehicle Concepts, I will leave you with this. the Seabreacher by Innespace Productions.   Their amazing design and concept will get your heart pounding with  all of the potential.

Let us know what you think of these concepts and realities. I will be writing Part 2 soon, so if you have a concept that you would like to see included, leave a comment and link.

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April 7, 2012

A Review of the Linux based Ubuntu

Back in December 0f 2011 I decided to install Ubuntu 10.0 as a partition on my laptop. For some time I had been considering using a Linux based OS to switch to. So, for the last 3 months I have been using the Ubuntu 10.0 OS.

What I like about the Ubuntu 10.0 is the ease of installation(as a partition), the speed of files and app’s when they open, the windows interface is very pleasing and easy to use. It did take a little getting used to the nuances of Ubuntu, but everything is pretty intuitive if you have used a computer before. When I connected my 3-in-1 Hp printer, I was able to print and scan with the included software. Hp does offer Linux based drivers for some of their printers. Short cuts and key stroke combinations are standard, which is very helpful. The Foxfire web browser used in Ubuntu is very fast for surfing the web.

There are a few things that I don’t like about the Ubuntu 10.0 OS, maybe this will be the case with all Linux based OS’s. First, I don’t like the battery management app that is in the Ubuntu One market place. I have a base model Toshiba Satellite and the Window’s Vista Basic does a good job with battery management. When I am using the Ubuntu OS the battery lasts maybe an hour, but with the Window’s OS it will last around 2.5-3 hours.

Second, Videos were very hard to play, some would but others simply would not play. On more than one occasion I was asked if I wanted to update the flash player, etc., if I did update it still would not help play the video.

Third, the WIFI signal on the Ubuntu OS isn’t very strong. For instance on the Ubuntu 10.0 I would try to pick up a WIFI signal and it would register 1 bar and would say that the signal is to weak to connect to. But, on the Window’s OS it would register 2 or more bars and connect just fine. I did not move or change any settings, the difference was the OS.

Those are my main three complaints about the Ubuntu 10.0, there are a couple of lesser concerns like a better photo management app’s, and getting my Ubuntu 10.0 to back up on a Western Digital 1 Terabyte external hard drive. WD doesn’t support any Linux based OS’s to interface with their external hard drives.

When I installed the Linux based Ubuntu 10.0 three months ago, I was really excited and hopeful about its operation. I would love to see more development on Ubuntu and other Linux based OS’s. I am sure that work-a-rounds are available for many of the obstacles that exist, but since I am not a Linux pro those options are not available to me.

Here is my list of things that I would like to see fixed or improved with Linux based OS’s:
1. Better compatibility with existing hardware.
2. Plug in replacements for Flash player, Adobe reader, etc..
3. A way to make programs work, that were designed to work for Windows, or Mac OS.
4. More main stream use of Linux based products, even being offered on products for sale.

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March 26, 2012

When is a Cuban not a Cuban?

 

When is a Cuban, not a Cuban? When it is a sandwich whose origin is Ybor City, FL. The Tampa city council is proposing a resolution that wound standardize a Tampa Cuban sandwich.  Check out the Tampa Bay Times article. At the end of the article is the wording of the resolution, but it makes a nice recipe also.

A Cuban Sandwich has Mojo pork, Genoa Salami, Ham, pickles, and mustard. There are also a variety of variations that include mayo, lettuce, hot and cold, etc..

On a recent trip to Tampa I visited Ruben’s Cuban Cafe on Busch Blvd.,  across from  Busch Gardens. I ordered a medium (10″) Cuban sandwich. It took about 15 minutes for me to get my sandwich, but worth the wait. It had the usual items, along with shredded lettuce. It had been pressed and was neither cold or hot, just a fresh made sandwich. Although Ruben’s Cuban Cafe is stuck in a strip mall, they do have a dinning room and they also offer carry out. Ruben’s is well worth the visit, and the prices are great my medium Cuban cost $8.00.

 

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February 22, 2012

St. Louis Travel Guide

Family travel is a great time to reconnect with you family. When considering your next Family vacation or a couple of days to get away, consider St. Louis, MO.

St. Louis is considered the “Gateway to the West”, nearby Liberty was the launching spot for many wagon trains. Today, St. Louis is a thriving metropolis with many things to offer for a family or even a couple just wanting to get away for a few days.

The best time to travel to this city would be, by my estimation, in the spring or fall. Summer would be to hot to enjoy things, and winter would be to cold to enjoy things.

Traveling to St. Louis can be relatively easy. Flying is probably your best be, when booking flights consider weekday flights, which are generally cheaper than weekend flights. If you live within 4 to six hours you could drive.

Whether you fly or drive consider carefully where you will stay. Hotels can be found in the city and in surrounding suburbs and cities. You should try to find a hotel that is located near a METRA service line. The METRA is a electric rail and bus service. Rates are reasonable with discounts for children and Adults 65 and over. Children 3 and under travel free. A two-hour pass, one-day pass or a weekly pass can be purchased at a reasonable rates and would allow unlimited travel depending on the pass you purchase.

There are several benefits to a Metra pass; one no money spent on gas; two no money spent on parking; three, no agravation of driving in the big city; four, it will be a great way to actually see the city(primaryily important for the one who normally drives.) and you will probably see things, or from a perspective that you might not by driving. Many of the locations that you might want to visit can be accessed with the METRA system, with some walking.

In planning a trip, most people try to do to much in one day. So with that in mind plan on only one place or at the most two places to see.  Some thing to see would be the famous arch, which is right on the banks of the Mississippi River. The St. Louis Cardinals might have a game that you can see. The old Union Station is another local attraction. The world famous St. Louis Zoo is a great place to visit, it has a miniature train that you can ride around the zoo. Certain attractions in the zoo will cost you extra, but to get in the zoo is free and you will be able to see many of the animals. Special shows will cost extra. We went one day in the Spring and It took over a hour and a half to get to the parking lot that cost $11. Metra would have been quicker.

The St. Louis Science Center is an Amazing place for children and Adults. The Science Center is free admission, but some exhibits and the Omnimax shows cost extra. Depending on the size of your family a membership might be the way to go, there are a number of reciprocating Science centers that you would be able to get into for free.

With a little planning you could spend a fun filled couple of days to a week, with exciting activities and leisure time for the whole family.

Just make sure to bring a backpack to carry everything you might need while on daily excursions.

Word Count: 594

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February 7, 2012

Useful Car Gadgets

From time to time I browse different stores to see what items jump out at me screaming, “Buy me!”.  Three stores that I regularly visit are “The Dollar Store”, “Big Lot’s”, and “Dollar General”

So, the other day I cruise in to “The Dollar Store”, and I find something called JupiterJack. JupiterJack is a device that plugs into your phone( it will also work on a tablet.) and turn the device on. The device is a FM transmitter with two preset broadcast channels, tune in you car radio to one of the stations and you have a hands free speaker phone over you cars stereo system. I have also tried it with a tablet, its like having your very own radio station. Also, with the paperwork that comes with the device you can send away for free batteries for the device. Overall a great deal.

So, how much did I get this device for, $1. That’s right, $1, but if you find it at Walmart, it will cost you $19.95.

 

 

 

The second item that I found was a phone/GPS dash mount. It only cost $3 at “Big Lots”, but it works great. I use it to hold my Evo Shift when I am using it as a GPS. The dash mount swivels and tilts, works great when I need hands free operation in conjunction with the JupiterJack.  I have even taken video while driving down the road.

Then I went to “Dollar General” and saw a visor CD holder that hold 13 CD’s, only $3. A great deal for such a useful item. Often times it take some time to find these things, but I think it is worth it.

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January 10, 2012

The Jungle

I reciently read a novel by Clive Cussler called “The Jungle”.

The story started out great, a well developed plot was laid with plenty of background information to draw you into te story. From the beginning there was action and motion set in currently occupied countries.

Where the breakdownbegan was near the end,
The last three chapters summed up the story rather abruptly.

The story is one of a non-sequel series about Juan Cabrillo who owns a para-military recovery and consultingcompany, that is headquartered on a decrepit old ship, with a few suprises. Money doesn’t seem to be an obstical in the operation of the company, but still seems plausible.

It is a great read with an abrupt an inplausble ending, don’t be to disappointed.

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December 22, 2011

Chicago Travel Guide

The Windy City is a great to place to visit. I have visited this city on a number of occasions and have driven through there more than I care to remember.

Chicago, Illinois is full of people and things for those people to do. The electric rail and subway system is well laid out and gives access to nearly the whole city, especially the things that you will want to see. Once again the best way to travel there is air and then go to your hotel via the Transit system.

Chicago boasts a China town, Little Italy, and Greek quarter, along with the Chicago Bulls, Chicago White Sox, Chicago Cubs, and The Chicago Bears, and a soccer team the Fire, and the Blackhawks for hockey.

Wether you are in Chicago for a day or upto a week there is plenty to see and do. Chicago has a number of science and history museums, Shedds Aquarium, The Chicago Art Institute, and The Chicago Childrens Museum on Navy Pier. Armed with a map of the city and a bus and train map and schedule you should be able to get around relatively inexpensively.

Chicago is famous for Chicago style pizza and Chicago Dogs. Recently my family and I were in Chicago and we visited “Edwardo’s Natural Pizza”, the deep dish pizza was an all-meat pizza, and it was delicious. Although, expensive at around 25 bucks for one pizza it feed my family of seven, with one piece left over and everyone satisfied.

About nine years ago I went to a Cubs game at Wrigley field, it was a great time and the weather was great that day. We had traveled on the electric rail system from downtown to the north side of town where the stadium is. Before we went in for the game we had lunch in front of the stadium at a small joint that made Chicago dogs. A Chicago dog is hot dog in a bun with pickle spears, onions, tomatoes, maybe a hot peppers, and your choice of mayonaise, Ketchup or mustard. I really don’t think they need ketchup or mustard, when it comes with all the extras. Two Chicago dogs and an iced cold Pepsi really hit the spot.

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October 20, 2011

Goin’ to the Fishin’ Hole!


When I think of fishing the theme song for the “Andy Griffith Show” comes to mind. I can see Opie and Andy walking along the dirt road with rod slung over their shoulders and worm pail in hand.

Fishing has come a long way since Opie was a child. I have never been adept at fishing, having only gone out on occasion with no real luck to speak of. Recently, I had the opportunity to fish a small private lake in Northeast Ohio, through this experience I learned that fishing depends on three things: Bait, Time & Tenacity.

Once you get ‘hooked’ on fishing like I did you can then delve into the issues of rods, reels, and line, but for the purpose of this article we will stick with the three aforementioned factors.

I was using an “Arkie Curl Tail Grub” kit that you can pick up at Walmart for around $10 it has 182 or so pieces. Included in this kit are assorted colors of curl tail grubs, lead jig heads in a couple of weights, and a spinner harness. I assembled a spinner and set out to try to fish, only a couple of casts and someone needed help so I stopped and then my pole was commandered by someone else. I determined to start out early the next morning.

I got to the lake a few minutes before 7:30 am and prepared to make my first cast. My first few cast and retrieves were pretty standard and then about 20 feet of the corner of the dock I got a hit. There wasn’t much of a fight, since I had 30 pound test line and a stout pole, I reeled the largest smallmouth bass I have ever caught, it was about 12 inches or so and 1 to 2 pounds. For me that was a big fish and I was excited, so I continued for the next fifty minutes or so to catch another one to no avail. Later in the day around noon to 3 o’clock I fished and caught two more smallmouth bass, but they were smaller than the first one.

In the evening I began to do some reading about Solunar tables and my fishing time coincided with the best time to fish that day, so I decided to go out a little later the next day according to the table. I caught three fish in about an hour during the optimal time to fish according to the Solunar table. What is a Solunar table? The following links will fill you in. Solunar Table Info.

During my total of about 5 and ½ hours of fishing, I caught 6 fish, which for me is a big deal since I am not an avid fisherman. After reflecting on the time fishing I determined that bait, time, and tenacity were the three factors responsible for my success.

I used the “Arkie” spinner baits, once before I used an in-line spinner with a rooster tail, I hooked a bass but my knot let loose. The “Arkie” baits seem simple and easy to use and you can exchange grubs in different colors as the day progresses. Fishing on the right days and during the right times help to gain success, you can also plan your fishing trips better. Finally, I was moving and casting where I thought the bass would be, in the shade, next to the dock, on the edge of cattails and weed beds.

If your not an avid fisherman, use the factors that I suggest, you just might develop into an avid fishman. 

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October 16, 2011

Islands are Forever!

William Shakespear said “No man is an Island.” , and it is because of that observation that I believe we as humans are fascinated with Islands.

Islands represent ,ultimately, freedom, but there are many facets to this. First, islands represent isolation, which can mean different things to different people. In the strictest sense an isolation from people, technology, the busyness of our lives. Second, islands give us a sense of freedom from rules, or maybe it is a sense of autonomy or soverignty that we normal do not find in our day to day lives. Thirdly, Islands are a retreat from the normal mundane lives that we lead. This can be a pursuit of pleasure, laying around on the beach, relaxing, enjoying the good life. Fourthly, Islands mean adventure.

I began to think about Islands and what they mean, and why they are so romanticised in our culture. Islands appear in a plethora of sources, like literature( Treasure Island, The Swiss Family Robinson, Robinson Crusoe, Twenty-One Balloons, the Island of Dr. Moro, The Red Sails of Capri, Tom Sawyer & Huckleberry Finn. Etc. ), in film,(the Island of Dr. Moro, Nims Island, Castaway, Jurassic Park, Treasure Hunters, Knight&Day, Couples Retreat, Twins. ],T.V. Shows, (Lost, Pleasure Island, Gilligan’s Island, Survivor).

Islands intrigue us, fascinate us, lure us, to something very different from where we are. Most of our concepts of islands are usually tropical, but Islands are found everywhere. Islands in the Great Lakes, Islands in the Temperate and Arctic Zones, . Most peoples consider Island life to be perfect and idyllic, but the reality is that island life can be very difficult. For instance although fruit does grow plentifully on the tree you still have to pick it to eat it, or go fishing for supper, or find fresh water. The real enticement I think is that everyone can be there own boss.

One man made a barge into a Gilligan’s Island themed Island. One carpenter from Ireland or Scotland went to Mexico and collected plastic bottles from the beaches and put them into discarded fishing nets to create a platform for his floating Island(click here to see his site). Islands have been Made in Dubai to , Islands have been used as art pieces, and they have even been destroyed, Krakatoa in the late 1800′s. Michael Branson, the founder of Virgin Airlines, Virgin Records, etc. Owns his own island in the British Virgin Island, called Necker island. For a larger Tab you can rent the island on a weekly basis. Even the guy who invented the Segway owns his own Island.

video of Dubai islands.

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