I just Blogged on myself: 2011

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Swamp People

Has anyone caught an episode or two of this History channel show?

It is so funny I just crack up watching it. Don't think I am making fun of these people because I'm not, I think they are adorable. I know a manly man such as my self should not use the word adorable but I have to with these people. They have the thick thick accents and wear the same clothes everyday and its fun to see them get excited about finding a gator on their lines. Ooooohhhhh that's a bigon there, shoot it shoot it!

My favorite part of these people is how much of their lives are centered on family. As soon as they shoot a big turkey for thanksgiving dinner they say "ohhhh mamas gonna be happy about that!"

There are two brothers with long beards and toothy grins that are sooo funny. "I got the guns lets go. Why you puttin on shoes?!" "Cuz its gettin cold, I gotta keep my feet warm somehae." They head off into the swamp looking for squirls and end up shootin a couple rabbits then come across a neighbor floating down the river and trade a rabbit for a couple of snappin turtles. Then who comes to dinner? the neighbor who traded for the rabbit. He got a rabbit then come over for turtle soup and a couple of bites of the other rabbit.

They get so excited about smokers and guns but for the most part they don't have much in the way of worldly possessions and don't seem to care much about them. They love to cook for big groups and invite everybody over. And they go on an on about how good the food is. And it must be because most of the good ol boys got a nice gut out front.

Life seems so simple for these people, go out and shoot something and bring it back for dinner and invite everybody over. I think they got it right in the swamp! Whats more enjoyable than food and family?

Most of the gater huntin crews are made up of father and son teams. When you're able to spend that much time with your son you have a pretty good chance he'll turn out decent.

Here's what they learn in the swamp, family first, your family depends on you for survival, all you need to provide is a boat, a gun, bait, line and hook, and someone to help drag the gater in, preferably family.

There is drama as well, but usually they blow off steam pretty quick and get back to business. They show real humility but at the same time pride in who they are. They give thanks to God for what they have and consider it a blessing to never need to leave the swamp to provide for their families.

You know your a man in the swamp when someone says "he shoots like John Wane" and you can stand in a boat and drag a 750 pound gater in nearly by yourself without tipping over. I know I can't do either of those things, so maybe I'm not as much of a manly man as I thought I was. I better go build something to make myself feel better.

Friday, November 18, 2011

Milagros

Heidi took me to a newish Mexican place in Orem off of 8th north. Not sure how to pronounce the name but I must admit I have had fun in trying. Especially with my fake Hispanic accent.

I had a really fun time, my wife was as cute as can be in her little grey coat. She never took it off because I think they were running the ac in there even though it was like 30 degrees out and blowing like crazy, even I was cold but I can't eat with a jacket on.

The waitress a bubble of fun and loved Heidi's hair. It did look very nice by the way, which it pretty much always does. I can't remember our waitress' name but she wasn't gonna give an inch on my off the menu dish ideas I was trying to order. Good for her standing her ground but dang it I want a fish chimi!

I ordered the seafood quasidilla or how ever its spelled. I forgot to read the ingredients cuz I hate shrimp. It was actually really good even with the shrimp in it. I will try something else next time though. I like the seasoning and flavors the food had. I just wish they had Horchada. I know right how can it be Mexican without Horchada. The waitress said it was a low seller so they took it off the menu. Dang!

I think one of my favorite parts of the evening was a young man named Jackson Danger. I think he was about 13 to 14 and had a little hat and a guitar that he totted from table to table playing songs for the guests. He was a riot to watch and listen to. He had no qualms about going right up to adults eating dinner and telling them he was gonna play them a song. He knew his stuff too and was great on the guitar I couldn't believe how talented he was.

All in all it was a very fine date and lots of fun so if you are looking for a Mexican food experience try out Milagros, not perfect but for sure worth a try.B e sure to go on Friday nights to check out Jackson Dangerous. Take a few dollar bills too cuz he works on tips.

Sunday, October 2, 2011

People who video tape stuff

In life there are glorious and wonderful events going on all around us, graduations, fireworks, air shows, first steps and so on. Sometimes we feel so inspired by these events we want to cherish them forever. The obvious solution is to video tape it. But here is the result of video taping in my opinion.
You get out your little video taping machine and depending on how much you spent on the machine the smaller it is. Then instead of watching such a momentous occasion in real life splendor you are now watching through a tiny two inch by three inch screen to make sure you got it all. As you walk away from the awe-inspiring event listening to everyone talk about how great it was you beam with pride that you were smart enough to catch it on video. Then you tuck that little gem of a video safely away in a special pouch in your video taping machine carrying case that quadruples the size of you expensively compacted for convenience video taping machine. Now that precious memory is safe forever.
Some time down the road you may find yourself at another of life's grand events that requires video taping and be short on tape, you will frantically rummage through your giant bag for a blank tape to record the amazing things that are going on around you, sifting through cords and adapters, chargers and cases. You will come across your stash of tapes tucked safely away for future viewing and now you have a decision to make- which one of these is less valuable than the current wonderful event. By now your wife will have said two or three times "you're missing it". Quiet woman I'm looking in this bag! Finally after you have weighed each of these precious memories and decided which was of least value- you will pop it in and rewind it in time to catch the last few minutes of the momentous event you are currently there to see. Now you have successfully captured the last few minutes of your child's performance in a play and the tail end of a laser light and water show. Grand and wonderful moments in life caught on a video tape that will never leave the safe confines of a giant padded bag.

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Are Tattoos really so unique?

We just returned from a trip to Disneyland, it was a ton of fun. We did nearly everything the park had to offer.

While we were there I couldn't help but notice how many people have tattoos. It seems nearly everyone had at least one and most had many. They were plastered all over the body of the owner. Tattoos used to be a statement, a permanent mark of something you felt strongly about, now there are so many it's like a constant blast of rebellious advertising. Everybody all at once yelling- I'M A REBEL! I checked the stats to see how many Americans have tattoos, I was surprised to find only 24%, I would have guessed much higher by what I saw. For age 18 to 29 its 36% and growing quickly. The old tattoo artist saying of "the body is a blank canvas" isn't true anymore somebody doodled all over it.

Does your tattoo say who you are? I'm a complex person (or at least I like to think I am) I like lots of things. I don't think there is a tattoo that would really explain me very well. I like cars and jets and UFOs and motorcycles. I also like robots and TV, monster trucks, and helicopters. I like to hike and bike and swim. I'm a pro at slip and slide, I like surfing and snowboarding and wake boarding. I like sharks and tigers and snakes, birds of paradise. I like puppies and kitties. I like music too headbanging hard crap to classical and religious. What tattoo shows all that?? A spider web on my elbow? I can't even see that! The best place for me to see what I am showing off is on my arm or hand and whats right side up for me is upside down for everyone else. I have been inspired by lots of different sayings, I don't think I could pick one or even a dozen and if it was on me it would have to be miss spelled to really be me.

Most of the guys in my favorite bands sport tattoos and even full arm sleeves, and they look cool. I have even worn the fake arm sleeves for Halloween but my wife chucked them when she saw a sexy lady on them. I think the best tattoos are the tribal style that reflect who your people are, but I'm not from any tribe with cool looking designs. I'm just a white guy with danish roots. Do I get a tat of a good danish on my arm, I have never seen food tattooed on anyone. I think it would be lame, and make me hungry all the time.

I saw an old guy with his shirt off and a big ol' red devil covering most of his back. I wonder if he remembers he has that. I wonder if he is still such good buddies with the devil or if now that he has grand kids or is approaching the end of his life if he has a religious side. And why does the thing look like a magic marker drawing that has been threw the washing machine about 100 times too many. I really had to give it a good look to figure out what it was.

And then there is quality to consider one guy I saw on TV really loves his dogs so he had them plastered on his back. Two of them look kind of cartoonish and faded, now he has a new dog and a new artist who made it look like a photograph of his dog on his back, really nice work, but it really makes the other two look stupid.

To those who have them I mean no disrespect or to make fun I just don't understand. I have seen some that are cool but none that I would want to see everyday. Or make my loved ones see everyday. I have even considered getting one but the concept that has always stopped me is that- at some point I will grow up and then what? Will I really still love what I have done to myself?

people making comments please be aware I have friends and family who have strong feelings on both sides of this issue and I am not trying to turn my blog into a debate. its my blog where I express my feelings but I ask you to be considerate of my associations when commenting. people who read this know me but they may not know you.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Mikes Smoothies

Mike gave me a recipe for smoothie's that's pretty good so I thought I would throw it up here, no pun intended.

it comes out to 3/4 to a 1 cup of crushed ice

4 apricots -remove the pits

3 to 4 table spoons of sugar depending on how sweet you like it

1/2 to 3/4 cup of milk, you can use water if you want

blend it

here are the modifications I have tried.

replace the sugar with agave, you can use less as well but its up to you

half a peach, half a banana, 2 apricots

1 banana and 2 tablespoons of hot cocoa mix

For guys who don't think of the mushy stuff here it is broken down for you in terms you can understand.

Sunday we had a lesson on having a happy marriage, he gave an analogy that I didn't like but the idea sparked my own thoughts and I figured this is a good place to put them down. It applies best to men or more specifically men who love cars. It's not perfect but it gives a perspective so here it is.

Imagine your relationship as an exotic super car, it could be a Ferrari or Lamborghini, Porsche or anything you are interested in . First off they don't give these things away- you have to earn it, because it has value. So put the effort in, with a car you have to build wealth to purchase it with a marriage you have to build yourself into to something others would value. It's value for value remember you want a super car not a beat up rusty vw beetle. If you are already married did you put yourself in debt, do you owe someone something for what you got of high value?

Once you have obtained your dream car you obviously treat it differently than you would anything everyday, you drive it different you park it different. You don't take it places it shouldn't be, (bad neighborhoods, walmart parking lot) you protect it. If you hear strange sounds you have it checked out- waiting could cost you time and money.

A major fight could cause big problems in a marriage and even end it if its a problem that has been ignored for some time. If the transmission goes out you get it replaced because your super car still has value- so does your marriage, get it fixed. It may need a dent repair or a paint job, it may even need a major overhaul of most of the main components but ask yourself this, who was driving when all this damage was done? In reality the condition of the car is your responsibility. You may decide to not have the transmission fixed, its your choice but now all you can do is keep it in the garage and wash it, let your friends see it when they come over but you will never have real enjoyment until it's back on the road. You may not be able to fix everything that is wrong but there are people who can so get it to a shop if it needs it, it might be a little embarrassing to let people see you have a problem you can't fix but if they are close to you they have already heard the sounds of a problem as you have driven by.

Yelling at your car will get you no where, just make you look like an out of control idiot, same with marriage. To get where you want to go you have to take the appropriate steps, unlock the door, get in, put the keys in the ignition and start it. Put it in gear give it some gas and steer it where it needs to go. A marriage requires the same actions unlocking is trust, starting it is letting her know you care, getting in is getting involved, putting it in gear is making effort, giving it gas and steering is leading by example.

Regular maintenance would be weekly date night, and once a year maybe change the tires, take it some place where it will be treated right and spend some money.

The comparisons can go on and on but the bottom line is it requires attention and effort if you want to keep it as something you enjoy.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Why won't my fish die!

One day we were locking up a vacant home, the girl who grew up in the house married the boy next door and they just happened to be living in his parents basement at the time, she came over to make sure she didn't have any stuff left there. I noticed the fish on the counter, it was I believe October and the power had been off for a while. It seemed to be floating on one side then would flinch and roll over and float on the other side. I asked the girl if she was going to take it home with her. She was quite surprised it was still alive since the family had moved out in November. That's right the fish had been on the counter through the winter and almost a year. Somehow it had survived. I fed it and it seemed like it had forgotten what food was, it just floated next to it, then something in it sparked and it started eating again, after about a half hour it was swimming around like a normal little fish. Well I couldn't just leave it there so when the girl said she wasn't going to take it I asked if I could take it home, Max's fish had just died like the month before.

Well here we are now like two years later and it's still alive! I thought gold fish only lived a year but something must have happened in that toxic waste pit of a tank and mutated this little guy because he seems to be immortal. Maybe he is the Wolverine of gold fish. I need to change his name, Mr. Fishy doesn't really fit a mutant fish how about Logan Scott Monroe

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Cali Trip

Just got back from California, got a tan and a few bruises trying to surf. Heidi got some sort of insect bite on her foot and it doesn't seem to want to go away. We got a lot of beach time and family time. Lots of fun for sure. Only caught one wave surfing but got a ton boogie boarding and you never need much of a wave to skim board. Heidi read some books and tried the boogie boarding, she is pretty good at catching the waves. Kristi and Jer put us up for a couple days and the food was great throughout the entire trip, I haven't gotten on the scales to see the damage yet but once you look past the sunburn on my belly you will see I don't look too fat so hopefully I can just keep heading for my goal weight without out too much set back. Heidi wants to go again so we can hit Disneyland but that will have to be after school starts up again. Can't stand it when its busy.

Monday, July 25, 2011

More Summer Fun

Heading for the beach tomorrow for a week of sun, surf, family and food. Should be some seriously good times. So glad I have an awesome wife who plans and preps this kind of thing to minimize the stress factor and maximize the fun. good job Heidi!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THANKS FOR ALL YOU DO FOR ME AND MAX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Summer Fun

So far this summer has been packed with fun. We have hiked a little, done dinner a few times up the canyon over a fire, had marshmallows and smores, hot dogs and good good times around the camp fire. The little fire pit in the back yard has been used as well a few times. We have had more pop corn than you can shake a stick at.

Max and I have had sword fights, staff fights, invisible power fights, blanket fights, tag on the tramp, worked on plumbing, mowers, bikes and rc cars and all together toooooo much time on the video games. The other day we went skim boarding in a flooded field, at first it was cold and painful but once the feet were numb it was good times, every once in a while we had to warm our feet up so we could feel the board or else you just fall off. There was a perfect balance of numbed and feeling to be able to do it. If that makes any sense.

We have also done seven peaks and trafalga a couple times. We have gone bowling, and done some arcade, watched people surf in a pool and fly in a cage.

I have gone mountain biking and done one of the most difficult and technical trails I have ever been on and remembered how much I love it. Losing weight has really increased the enjoy-ability of biking I must say. Can't wait to go again.

The annual Home Stead trip was a couple weeks ago and filled with good food, family and fun. We played volley ball, bad mitten, frisbee and swam till we were sick.

I scored high points with my very thoughtful birthday gift for my lovely bride, a pretty blue beach cruiser, she loves it. We have gotten full use out of the scooter we bought. I have found entertaining ways to carry junk on it so I don't have to take the car.

The other day I got to replace my ball joints in the truck (HARD), it was fun to work on a real vehicle again, best truck ever, I love driving it, it is so choice, if you have the means I highly recommend picking one up. I'll get some photos up later of our summer fun so far.

Friday, May 6, 2011

Nissan juke makes me want to puke

I saw the ugliest cross over suv thing ever today. its the Nissan juke and I think it may actually be a Nissan joke, the guys were sitting in a meeting and said how ugly can we make a car and hype it up and get Americans to buy it? they all had a good laugh and drew some pictures of the juke which is probably a cross over name from puke and joke. I know nothing about this dog, but unless it can do 0-60 in under 4 seconds or it can fly there is no reason to learn anything about it in my opinion. but I am an uneducated moron so don't go by me. But if you were wondering it even comes in puke color!

Sunday, April 24, 2011

In my opinion the Prius sucks.

The next blog is all just my opinion, I hope to not offend anyone or hurt feelings but lets be honest this blog is funner with my strong opinions being shared openly and honestly.

I hate the Prius, I can't wait for this dumb little car to die, why? I'm a car guy at heart and the american love affair with cars is still alive in me. I love that they are making new cool cars, we went nearly thirty years without much quite honestly but what I don't love is the Prius. Its ugly and dumb in my opinion. If you own one well you may have not really known what you were getting so lets start with what your reasoning was.

"I wanted to save money on gas." well how long do you have to own that little thing before it pays for itself? lets be honest the upfront cost will probably never be realized in actual gas savings. calculate the cost over the price of another decent millage car then take the difference in millage and figure out your monthly savings then factor the number of years it will take driving it to pay the difference. don't cheat though you must figure in the cost of electricity and battery replacement. its all about total cost getting down the road. 23 grand for a Prius and 50 mpg (yeah right) verses something else that gets mid 30s to low 40s mpg for as little as 12 to 16 grand. in reality you may not need to replace the battery but after 150k it could be a real threat, so it could be another 4k to the price of getting down the road.

"I wanted to help clean up the environment." Ask yourself this- how much energy and pollutants were put out to dig up the metals that make your batteries? where did they have to ship them before they got to you? where do they go when they're dead? Truth is by the time you plug in that little bugger for your first clean drive you already polluted the environment more than if you had just bought a feakin SUV and drove it around the world a couple times. Not to mention where is your electricity coming from? burning coal is the probable answer or was it a dam (how good are those for the environment?) or maybe Nuclear (not such a good idea either).

"I wanted to use less gas." What kind of millage does it get when under a load, if the little electric motor never kicks in your actually getting about 17 miles to the gallon. I drive a full size truck and thats what I get. yup, push it to its limit around 75 mph and you will never see any savings at all.

In reality people often make decisions without knowing the real facts, if you want to save our environment- think and research first before you throw your cash away on an ugly polluting little devil like the Prius. electric is not the answer make the switch to CNG its clean and abundant. I recommend buying a used already converted vehicle. its reduce, reuse and recycle all in one. at our current price of 1.27 a gallon I save 2.32 per gallon against the 3.59 for regular gas, that adds up fast! and I only paid 5500 for my truck. I save money, help the environment and drive an F250 4x4. sure its ugly but hey I can tow your Prius out of a snow bank for ya.

p.s. we're both getting down the road for about 7 cents a mile. thats a Prius at its full rated 50 mpg highway.

just my two cents on it.

(edit)

so I did some math. if you bought a Prius for $23000 instead of a decent mileage car for $16000 getting mid 30s mpg- at current gas prices it would take 18.9 years to break even, at this point you will be over 226800 miles and most likely need battery replacement for another $4000 so now you would need to drive it another 10.8 yrs to break even at which point yo will be at 356400 miles and need another battery replacement at which point you will have owned the car for almost 30 years just trying to break even not even saving any money yet.

the new hundai's are getting in the 40 plus mpg and an Elantra starts just under $18000 and the Accent $14500 and last time I checked the warranty is much better.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

gas prices are insane

I'm feelin the pain folks, I can not believe gas prices are what they are! and its going to get worse! I just filled up my full size F250 work truck and the price on the pump was $1.27 a gallon. can you believe it? last fall it was under a dollar, of course it's down from a $1.52 after the first jump but still... I say we picket until it comes back under a buck.

But I can't complain too much because our unlucky friends who drive cars that run on gasoline are paying $3.59 a gallon, yikes! glad I got a CNG vehicle. Its like having a work truck that gets 50 miles to the gallon well just over 48 and a half I guess.

Saturday, April 16, 2011

solution to the energy crisis

I have several ideas that could solve some of our problems with energy. the main concern for most of us is cost the second would be environmental impact. after all we are all capitalists then tree huggers. first off the main problem with our cars we have to get around and we like to be independent about it, most of us would not set foot on a bus unless we had no choice or it was a benefit to our pocket book and it would have to be a big benefit. good for you if you do tho. I, like Pikkins or what ever his name is, would have to say the best and quickest and most cost effective would be to switch to natural gas, its clean, cheap and abundant, our skies would clear up pretty quick and we have our own, no need to go across the ocean for it. Ultimatly our goal for transportation should be in the direction of hydrogen. but thats a ways off so for now lets go natural.

I would also support geo thermal energy for heating and cooling our homes, it makes perfect sense to me, the earth stays a constant temperature just under the surface and all we need to do is use that energy, its free! we would have some cost for electrical to run it and up front costs are high. lets stream line the system and all get on board the cost will go down and the system pays for itself in 8 years. its more comfortable too.

we need to stop making electricity with coal burning plants and I think more dams are not that good of an idea, given recent events in Japan and all the crap being buried in my back yard (the west desert) I vote against nuclear power as well. we really need to get on the solar thing, make it more efficient and cost effective and lets run with it. we need to further explore wind and waves. any movement we can turn into electricity lets do it. digging up coal and hauling it then burning it just makes more of a mess, which is why I do not support electric cars. just because the junk isn't coming out your tail pipe doesn't mean there wasn't junk put in the air to get you down the road. and think about where those batteries come from and how they are made and where they go when their dead. its not as clean as you think.

just a couple of my cents on the subject.