March 1, 2010
My Gas Bill Makes Me Hot
You Should Stay Warm by Bundling Up |
 You are a rational and logical person. You are good at solving problems. So if you're cold, it makes sense to just put another layer on. You are very practical that way. You are rarely unprepared in life. You would never forget your gloves and hat on a cold day. You're ready for anything that comes your way. By being responsible, you find it easy to relax and enjoy life. |
Bierocks
| Bierocks (German Meat Turnovers) Pastry baked with a savory beef, onion, and cabbage filling. This is a recipe from my friend's aunt. She served it during Octoberfest. Prep Time: 15 Min Cook Time: 45 Min Ready In: 1 Hr Servings: 12 |  |
Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon pepper
1 small head cabbage, chopped
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons caraway seeds
1/2 cup melted butter
Directions:
Saute beef, onion and garlic, salt and lemon pepper in a large skillet over medium high heat, until beef is browned. Add cabbage, Worcestershire sauce and caraway seeds. Cook until cabbage is limp; drain liquid from mixture.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
On a lightly floured board, roll each loaf of dough into a 12 inch circle. Cut each circle into 6 wedges. Spoon cabbage/beef filling onto center of each dough piece, dividing equally. Pull three points of each wedge up to the center and pinch to seal. Place bierocks on a lightly greased cookie sheet. If desired, brush dough with melted butter or egg wash (1 egg white with 2 tablespoons water).
Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve hot, or wrap and freeze for heating later.
Nutritional Information
Amount Per Serving Calories: 368 | Total Fat: 16.6g | Cholesterol: 45mg
Source: AllRecipes
Every time I hear or read of bierocks, I think of Darrouzett, a small town at the very top of the Texas Panhandle. We used to play them in both basketball and football and the concession stand always sold bierocks. At the time, I hated cabbage, but it was delicious in the homemade bierocks.
Note: The first link was to the printable page; here's the page w/ reader comments:
Bierocks
Free Kashi Sample
Choose your great tasting sample
We’ll help you stay on track with your 2010 resolution to eat healthier.
After all, it’s easy to eat right when it actually tastes great.
Free Sample
11 Little-Known Grammatical Errors
That Will Shock and Horrify You
You know who everyone loves? The guy who constantly corrects everyone's grammar.
I hope that this list helps you become That Guy and, in the process, make tons and tons of new friends.
11 Little-Known Grammatical Errors That Will Shock and Horrify You
I recently read that the way to really increase comments to a post is to misspell a word in the title.
February 28, 2010
quixotic
quixotic \kwik-SOT-ik\ , adjective;
1. Caught up in the romance of noble deeds and the pursuit of unreachable goals; foolishly impractical especially in the pursuit of ideals.
2. Capricious; impulsive; unpredictable.
This word really describes me, especially the "capricious; impulsive; unpredictable" definition.
It's also probably because I've made a habit of tilting at windmills.
KitKats of the World
KitKats(tm) are among my favorite candy bars...at least, they USED to be. Even though I'm not supposed to have them, I still eat one now 'n then. (They're also Richard Simmon's favorite candy bar, at least that's what I heard him declare in a TV interview a few years ago)
Check out these KitKats of the World
(just a small screenshot of many more)
KitKats of the World
County Health Rankings
See where your county ranks in the Texas section of the U.S. County Health Rankings.
Gray County doesn't fare too well, coming in at 192 out of 221.
I noticed something odd about the Texas map:
(click for larger view; go to the site to click on your particular county)
Down at the very corner of the of the "panhandle" part (but NOT part of the Panhandle) are two counties, Loving and Ward. I thought it funny that they are abbreviated "Lov" and "War".
I've always heard "All's fair in love and war.". I guess that's why they're also next to Winkler County..."WIN" (and if you decided to get married, you'd need a "REV")
And I'm Short & Stout
You Are Energetic |
 You love to stay busy and engaged. Nothing makes you feel worse than feeling bored, so you do your best to keep moving. You are very interested in the world and in others. You are a social butterfly and a total people person. You're the type of person who puts a pot of tea on whenever you need a pick me up. Tea keeps you going. Your signature tea: black tea, especially earl grey and English breakfast |
Tea For Two - Doris Day
Make Mine a Double
I so seldom drink I can almost claim to be a teetotaler, but I believe I'd take up drinkin' if I was married to one of these ol' gals.
February 27, 2010
A Cute 911 Call
Yes, "cute" would describe it. This young lady showed more poise than I'd expect from someone her age. Heck, she showed more poise than most adults I know if faced with the same situation.
From the YT page:
Hancock County - It took a five-year-old girl to save her father's life. She talked to 911 dispatchers when she thought her father was having a heart attack.
Audio only
February 26, 2010
Bolero - Undercover Orchestra
From the YT page:
Something Epic in the Everyday, we take a stand against Musak. Trying to make classical music more accessible to people. This work was made possible by the financial support of Newcastle City Council, Nexus and Eldon square shopping centre.
Flower Garden
Left-click within the page, then move your cursor to instantly grow flowers.
No green thumb required, thank goodness.
Flower Garden
mulct
mulct \MULKT\ , noun;
1. A fine or penalty.
transitive verb:
1. To punish for an offense or misdemeanor by imposing a fine or demanding a forfeiture.
2. To obtain by fraud or deception.
3. To defraud; to swindle.
Congratulations! If you've come to this blog to be educated or amused...
YOU'VE BEEN MULCT!!!
February 25, 2010
A Mike a Day
Keeps the bad odors away
You Should Smell Like an Apple |
 You are a fresh and natural. You are keep it light and easy. You don't like to complicate your life with drama, and you avoid anything that is too intense. You are happiest when you are able to spend time outside. The environment is likely one of your passions. You are subtle and nuanced. People need to pay attention if they truly want to understand you. |
I DO smell like an apple most of the time.
A rotten one.
Punny Funnies
From the 
archives:
1. A vulture boards an airplane, carrying two dead raccoons. The stewardess looks at him and says, "I'm sorry, sir, only one carrion allowed per passenger."
2. Two fish swim into a concrete wall. The one turns to the other and says "Dam!"
3. Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were chilly, so they lit a fire in the craft. Unsurprisingly it sank, proving once again that you can't have your kayak and heat it too.
4. Two hydrogen atoms meet. One says "I've lost my electron." The other says "Are you sure?" The first replies "Yes, I'm positive."
5. Did you hear about the Buddhist who refused Novocain during a root canal? His goal: transcend dental medication.
6. A group of chess enthusiasts checked into a hotel and were standing in the lobby discussing their recent tournament victories. After about an hour, the manager came out of the office and asked them to disperse.
"But why?", they asked, as they moved off.
"Because," he said," I can't stand chess-nuts boasting in an open foyer."
7. A woman has twins and gives them up for adoption.
One of them goes to a family in Egypt and is named "Ahmal." The other goes to a family in Spain; they name him "Juan. " Years later, Juan sends a picture of himself to his birth mother. Upon receiving the picture, she tells her husband that she wishes she also had a picture of Ahmal. Her husband responds, "They're twins! If you've seen Juan, you've seen Ahmal."
8. A group of friars were behind on their belfry payments, so they opened up a small florist shop to raise funds. Since everyone liked to buy flowers from the men of God, a rival florist across town thought the competition was unfair. He asked the good fathers to close down, but they would not. He went back and begged the friars to close. They ignored him. So, the rival florist hired Hugh MacTaggart, the roughest and most vicious thug in town to "persuade" them to close.
Hugh beat up the friars and trashed their store, saying he'd be back if they didn't close up shop.
Terrified, they did so, thereby proving that only Hugh can prevent florist friars.
9. Mahatma Gandhi, as you know, walked barefoot most of the time, which produced an impressive set of calluses on his feet. He also ate very little, which made him rather frail and, with his odd diet, he suffered from bad breath. This made him (Oh, man, this is so bad, it's good) a super calloused fragile mystic hexed by halitosis.
10. And finally, there was the person who sent ten different puns to friends, with the hope that at least one of the puns would make them laugh. No pun in ten did.
PHUN
Not so much a game, but instead a time-waster.
Run your cursor over the multi-colored balls and split them into more, all the way down to the pixel level. When you're done, an image will be revealed.
To be honest, I've not had much free time lately and haven't finished this to conclusion, so I don't know what sort of image is behind the balls.
(If it's a nude woman, someone tell me and I'll find the time to finish take it down.)
PHUN
February 24, 2010
letters to dead people
letters to dead people is a simple but brilliant idea: write a letter to the deceased and let them know how you feel. Most of the letters are written by the site's owner, but she also takes reader submissions. Some are silly, some are poignant and others are laugh-out-loud funny.
For example, one of the latest letters is to Princess Diana:
Dear Princess Diana,
Even in death we did not leave you alone.
Another recent entry:
Dear Marquis De Sade,
You won't find love in the crack of a whip, but I guess you were never looking for love in the first place.
One of my personal favorites:
Dear Isaac Newton,
Heavy, man, heavy.
My very favorite, however, is my own selected for publication.
Texas Unclaimed Property
From the site:
One in four Texans has unclaimed property from forgotten bank accounts, uncashed checks, security deposits and utility refunds. It’s your money, and we want you to get it back.
Texas is currently holding more than $2 billion in cash and other valuables waiting for the rightful owners to claim. It’s never too late to make a claim, and we are committed to ensuring hardworking Texans don’t lose a penny. Find out what you may have been missing by searching our unclaimed property database
Texas Unclaimed Property
Quote on Quotes
| I love quotations because it is a joy to find thoughts one might have, beautifully expressed with much authority by someone recognized wiser than oneself. - Marlene Dietrich |  |
Can You Eat It?
Take the Can You Eat It quiz on the TLC site.
I scored 70%, but object to the wording of some of the questions. One possible answer is "maybe", and that's where I went wrong - according to them. It wasn't part of the quiz, but as an example of one of the ambiguous questions would be "Can you eat a rattlesnake?" The answer would be "Yes", but one wouldn't want to eat the fangs or the rattles, would they?
Can You Eat It?
arcanum
arcanum \ar-KAY-nuhm\ , noun; plural arcana \-nuh\
1. A secret; a mystery.
2. Specialized or mysterious knowledge, language, or information that is not accessible to the average person (generally used in the plural).
I don't understand why this word isn't a synonym for women.
It is in MY case, anyway.
February 23, 2010
Snow Ice Cream
From Paula Deen at Food Network
Snow Ice Cream
Ingredients
* 8 cups snow, or shaved ice
* 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
Place snow or shaved ice into a large bowl. Pour condensed milk over and add vanilla. Mix to combine. Serve immediately in bowls.
Other than the old joke about not eating yellow snow, this recipe is a joke. If you're in the pristine mountains of Montana, maybe, but I would never make snow ice cream if I was in...say, New Jersey. I wouldn't make it here, either.
I was tempted to make some with our last snowfall, even scooping some up in a large pitcher. Discovering I had no vanilla, I decided it wouldn't be as good as what we used to make as kids (and nuclear testing was still going on, which might explain some of my physical and mental deformities). I forgot to empty the pitcher and the next day the snow had melted, leaving a few pints of cloudy, dirty water.
Besides all that, I'm loathe to trust any recipe from a woman who has wigs made of butter.
In the Shallow End of the Pool
You Are Skinny Dipping |
 You are a fairly conservative, down to earth person. You aren't known for making trouble. That being said, you can be a little mischievous at times. You have a bit of a wild streak! You have probably been accused of being a flirt or a tease - and you're guilty as charged. You are naturally quite playful and coy. You're mostly sugar, but you're also a little spice. |
Wonder if anyone has ever done both at the same time?
When I went to college back in the early 70's, streaking became the rage. For several weeks, students gathered outside at night to view those among us who dared to bare it all. There were several incidents I remember very well; one was a guy who stood naked atop his dorm building and exhorted the waiting crowd to "Gather 'round my children!" We all rushed over to cheer him, but as we got closer we found he was indeed topless, but was wearing flesh-colored pants. Instead of cheers, he received boos and a few rocks thrown his way. (mine came close)
Another was a young lady riding a horse, ala Lady Godiva. She too was wearing some flesh-colored tights and had her hair strategically taped around her breasts. She didn't get any rocks thrown at her, but her horse panicked at the crowd around her and nearly bucked her off. The horse's gyrations caused the tape to loosen, which was most likely the reason she didn't suffer the same fate as the guy atop the dorm.
Not all the streakers came out at night; there was a guy who decided to streak through the cafeteria at noon. He went running through the crowd, but when he jumped over a railing, he fell and broke his ankle. I'm not sure which hurt him worse, the accident or the loss of his pride.
A few years later I went skinny dipping in a stock pond with my best friend. That was also the day I found out for certain that he was gay. It was also the day I found out for certain that I wasn't.
February 22, 2010
Endeavour Comes Home
From: NASA
With landing gear down, space shuttle Endeavour approaches the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida after 14 days in space, completing the 5.7-million-mile STS-130 mission. Endeavour landed at 10:20 p.m. EST on Sunday, Feb. 21, after delivering the new Tranquility node and its seven-window cupola to the International Space Station. Returning to Earth aboard Endeavour are Commander George Zamka; Pilot Terry Virts; and Mission Specialists Robert Behnken, Nicholas Patrick, Kathryn Hire and Stephen Robinson.
Credit: NASA
February 21, 2010
Do You Feel Like We Do - Peter Frampton
This song brings back memories of living in my home town when the song was first out and playing all the time on the radio. I was living in a garage apartment and since the TV went off at midnight, there was nothing else to do but listen to the radio. This was one of the better songs that remind me of that time. (another is Manfred Mann's "Blinded by the Light", but I prefer to associate ANY other song but that one with that fun time in my life)
February 20, 2010
The Blizzard of '71
Today in Texas History: Massive blizzard hits panhandle
On this date in 1971, a massive blizzard that left 6 to 26 inches of snow hit the Texas Panhandle. The blizzard lasted until February 22.
Three people were killed in the storm, which also caused the disappearance of 15,000 cattle in Amarillo. Property losses and damages totaled $3.1 million.
The blizzard had winds of up to 60 miles per hour and left snow drifts as tall as 12 feet. The paralyzing storm was the worst of its kind since a blizzard that lasted from March 22-25, 1957.
The same storm hit western Oklahoma hard. The blizzard produced the state's record snowfall total of 36 inches in the small town of Buffalo.
I remember this weather event very well. I was a sophomore in h.s. and had that summer bought 18 sows and two boars (pigs), plus had mine and my sister's show pigs to look after. When the storm blew in I was running low on feed and the highways were snowed under so I couldn't get to town to purchase more. The pens were just behind our house and the drifts got so deep, I eventually couldn't even make it out to check on the hogs.
The storm finally blew itself out, and I made my way out to the pens to see if any of the animals had survived. Among my herd was one mean Duroc sow that I had had to separate from the rest by putting her in our fenced garden spot. Before the storm hit, I had made her a shelter from some hay bales, but the snow had collapsed the make-shift shelter and the pig was nowhere to be seen. I figured she had died in the snow and I'd find her when the snow melted.
I was climbing over the garden fence to get to the pens and stepped on a mound of snow when the "mound" squealed and moved under my feet. It was the mean sow and she didn't like being disturbed from her warm snow cave!
Taking heart, I checked on the other animals, but couldn't see or hear them from where they were under the snow that had drifted to a depth of at least ten feet over their pens. I struggled back through the snow and got a shovel and my sister came with me to help dig them out. As I said, the snow was very deep and I dug down as far as I could, then held my sister by her ankles as she dug the rest of the way down to the shelter.
I knew exactly when my sister broke through the last foot of snow because a miasma of horrid, foul corruption - several day's worth of pig manure - came wafting up through the hole we had dug. Screaming at me to pull her out, my sister got the brunt of the smell.
Long story short, all the pigs had survived, but my sister's show animal had frostbitten ears and most of both ears on the pig had to be cut off. It made the hog look funny, but my sister's pig still managed to win grand champion at the county livestock show a month later.
There was still the matter of food for the animals: my dad suggested I take buckets and go over to a seed wheat grainery a quarter mile away and "borrow" some of the farmer's seed. I trudged through waist-deep snow, making several trips until I simply couldn't make another trip. We soaked the wheat in a 55 gallon drum in our heated garage and after a day, it was soft enough for the pigs to eat. They loved it.
After the highways were cleared and I could get to town to get food for the animals, I didn't have to feed them the grain. There was a few gallons of wheat left in the barrel and it had soured into a stinking mess and my pop insisted I get it out of the garage. Instead of simply discarding it, Dad told me I should feed it to the pigs.
Again, not to ramble on with this boring story, the hogs got drunk off the fermented grain and I watched and laughed as they squealed and spun around in circles. The next day they all looked miserable and I suppose they had hangovers!
February 19, 2010
The Great Pampa Roundup
It's that time of year again!
Check to see if you have a local warrant for your arrest!
I think some of the clowns in local govt. should be in jail.
Thank Goodness!
I'm not "Forward Useless Crap".
Then again, some of my email friends might disagree.
You Are Send |
 You are confident, assertive, and a real go-getter. You like to take action. You know that things won't get done unless you do them, and you're always willing to take the first step. You're the type of person who applies for jobs you may not get and initiates friendships with strangers. You believe that life can be full of wasted opportunities if you're not careful. You rather do too much than do too little. |
gastronome
gastronome \GAS-truh-nohm\ , noun;
1. A connoisseur of good food and drink.
I always wanted to be a gastronome, but I don't think being an expert in corn dogs and diet root beer qualifies me.
February 18, 2010
duplicity
duplicity \doo-PLIS-i-tee, dyoo-\, noun;
1. Deliberate deceptiveness in behavior or speech; also, an instance of deliberate deceptiveness; double-dealing.
2. The quality or state of being twofold or double.
Almost all politicians are certainly the first definition; they're also the second...one person while campaigning and another after they win the election.
Not My Type
Find out what font type you are at Pentagram.com
It told me I was "Plastica", a font of which I am unfamiliar.
Pretty cool lookin', though.
What type are you?
February 17, 2010
Skinner Wins Reprieve
Texas inmate set to die next week wins reprieve
HOUSTON — A condemned inmate set to die next week for a triple slaying 16 years ago in the Texas Panhandle has had his execution date put off for a month.
Henry Watkins Skinner, 47, faced lethal injection Feb. 24 for the 1993 New Year's Eve killings of Twila Jean Busby, 40, and her two grown sons at their trailer home in Pampa.
State District Judge Steven Emmert on Tuesday reset Skinner's date to March 24 to resolve what lawyers said was a timing problem with the original death warrant.
The judge said the paperwork was not completed properly within 10 days of when he signed the warrant last November and Skinner's attorneys had filed a motion to have the warrant dissolved.
"I figured the safest bet was to back up and start over," Emmert said Wednesday.
Read the rest
Previous post on this: Dead Man Balking
More news articles:
Texas execution nears as condemned man seeks DNA test
TribBlog: Skinner Execution Postponed
Delay for Skinner execution, but that's all?
Meant to add this link to my previous article:
Official Hank Skinner site
Castaway's Great Ending
Following a Google UK link from a hit on this blog's "Cast Away" posts, I discovered this blog post: Grace and Truth to You: Castaway's Great Ending and Lessons Learned When Facing A New Crossroads in Life
It's a great post with photos taken from a trip to the crossroads and ranch house, but like so many other forum threads and blog posts on the 'net, the comments veer off into politics.
It even brings into play Godwin's law; what I'd like to know...and even though the post was on a minister's blog, and said nothing about politics, I have to ask...is what the hell does Hitler have to do with this fantastic movie? I know it's not part of the post and is instead in the comments section, but still....
Granted, I didn't read all the replies after the political angle was brought up, but my eyeballs sometimes glaze over when I see this sort of discussion.
