1 July 2016

Happy 149th Birthday Canada!

We celebrated Canada Day with some cheap hot dogs and cheeseburgers, which I made into lettuce wraps.  It was decent and I even indulged in a Canada beer, the first beer I have consumed in almost two years.  After I left, I went to pick up my repaired Stihl MS 180, just in case I wanted to turn some fallen trees into firewood this weekend.  On the way, I visited a local gun shop to add to my ammunition stores and see about a holster for a revolver.  After I found a block of 500 rounds, the clerk asked me if I was paying cash or charge.  He beckoned me close and whispered conspiratorially, "Cash is cheaper."  I thought he was going to tell me who shot Kennedy, not the fact that give a discount to folks who ignore the benefit of the float.

On the drive home, I was feeling sleepy from the beer and now I'm fantasizing about brewing specialty cups of coffee.  So, I turn to my trusty pal for anything otaku and found this.  I currently have a 12 cup (which always bothers me, because these machines call 5 ounces a cup, when my cup size is 12 or 18 ounces) Mr. Coffee with a thermal carafe.  I use whole beans and an electric burr grinder.  I used to have a French Press but after a few years use it broke in the dishwasher.  I've heard great things about the Aeropress and even thought about a stovetop version, but according to this site, drip machines aren't even a viable option if I want to be considered a coffee snob.  When the power went out in February, I did put my grounds in steeping bags and pour boiling water over the bags into the carafe, but that method is not recommended nor mentioned on the site linked previously.  Well, now I'm sucked into the noob site so now I have ideas for the morning.  

30 June 2016

My deadlift is making progress towards my personal best of 430lbs that I achieved September of 2013.  This evening I did three sets of 205, then attempted 255 and the five repetitions were easy.  Talked to a guy at the gym who was filming himself about how he competed in powerlifting competitions in the area.  There is one coming up in four months in November.  So if I'm serious about this, that means I need a singlet and some serious training, like this gentlemen:

That's 700lbs he's squatting if you weren't aware.  He advised me to checkout this site for meets in the area.  I read this post years ago, but the notion of intermittent fasting and focusing on barbell lifts makes a lot of sense to me.

29 June 2016

Saturday morning I put this recipe to good use and made some low carb buns.  They came out gummy, salty and perfect for going with a salad while watching Amazon Prime.

Another great recipe was this cheeseburger casserole.  I added several non-low carb items to use them up, but I figured regular (albeit organic) ketchup, relish, whole milk and whole milk yogurt aren't the worst things to add.

 

Final product was a big cheesy, greasy and delicious mess.  Tastes great cold, too.  

28 June 2016

If you've ever wanted a chance to cut yourself in small, painful, burning ways, shaving with a safety razor is a way to do just that, and psychologically connect with your forefathers.  I had been thinking about an alternative (or supplement) to the Mach 3 for a while, after reading about how using a safety razor would save me money, save me time and increase my testosterone.  I found a razor with five blades and a soap kit for around twenty bucks at the grocery store on Saturday.  Sunday night I had a decent redneck beard going, so was able to put the tool to the test.

...okay when I searched "you might be a redneck three day beard" I found this hilarious gentlemen:

He gives a just-under-two-minute refutation of the case against gender neutral bathrooms, nothing to do with safety razors (not that he uses one...).  He makes some interesting points and his accent is pretty funny.  Honestly, I never see anyone's parts in a public bathroom but my own, so it's hard not to agree with him.

...here's the razor and kit I bought:

 
So if you have an inkling, go get yourself a Van Der Hagen Traditional Safety Razor set, with an authentic boar bristle brush, soap bar and bowl.  Be warned of the following:

1. Keep the razors out of reach of your kids.
2. Keep the soap out of reach of your kids.
3. Keep the bowl and brush out of reach of your kids.
4. Your shave time will increase about twenty times.  When I shave my upper lip, I had to just use the tip and shaved about two hairs per stroke.

Anyway, I hear the blades last forever so no need to join a shave club.

27 June 2016

It's amazing what you can do when you break down the cardboard boxes lurking in your garage closet and collecting mold spores from your air conditioner's condenser.  I was able to save much needed floor and wall space by fitting all the boxes (yes, we do love us some Amazon Prime), two folding tables, all the wrapping bubbles and canvas tote bags in the closet.

...beginning to clean up...

...a better mess...

...the final product, with genuine black moldy mess under the white PVC pipe.  Now I just need to clean up my hobby shop area with some shelves and maybe a pegboard.

If you ride that wagon in the snow and say "Citizen Kane" three times, it's just like this guy. 

26 June 2016

Due to an impending travel deadline, I finally completed the car tool kit for my wife's van.  If you are thinking, "Oh, he's not home, I'll go rob him!"  here's my address:

Tim Taylor
c/o Tool Time
P.O. Box 32733
Detroit, MI 48252

Anyway, I got the oil changed on the van and they mustachioed expert who changed my oil showed me how worn my front tires were and explained how they needed to be replaced.  After much calling around to Firestone and elsewhere, I settled on Walmart's $63.00 tires with no road hazard, which, according to my kids papa is, "...another they're trying to suck money out of you..." which is what I feared.  While waiting around at Walmart, I amassed $87 worth of items that I hope to never use in the event of an emergency.  Lifehacker and Allstate helped me with some ideas before I purchased these items at Wally World.

Items before going in the bag for the van:

In case of car problem:

1. Reflectors
2. Jumper cables
3. Roadside flares
4. Rubber cement
5. Cheap toolkit
6. Gloves
7. Multiple Flashlights with extra batteries
8. Paracord (50 feet)
9. Zip ties, large and small
10. Rags
11. Cheap Multitool

In case of human problem:

1. First aid kit, with extra Neosporin
2. Emergency blanket
3. Notebook with pen
4. Rags, to mask the blood
5. Trash bags/ziploc bags for any pieces that need to be kept on ice

And it fit in the bag and the car!

 

Today I finished the kit for my car and added some small hand tools.

Car problems

1. Duct tape
2. Masking tape
3. Cleaning wipes
4. Bungee cords
5. Multiple screwdrivers
6. Knife, el-cheapo
7. Needle nose pliers
8. Diagonal cutters
9. Multiple flashlights
10. Rubber cement
11. Roadside flares

Human problem

1. First aid kit, extra antibiotic
2. Sunglasses
3. Emergency blanket
4. Baby wipes
5. Rags
6. Compass
7. Umbrella
8. Allergy medication
9. R2-D2 tin

It's kinda hard to see, but I added a small P-38 (nah, this one) on a clip on the bag, not in case of Messerschmitt attack, but in case of canned food.  Now I just need that case of corned beef hash I've been meaning to get...

22 June 2016

Father's Day was spent in the ER due to an infected spouse from streptococcus pneumoniae.

Next project: