Giuliani

I think Giuliani may have just earned my vote.

Personally, I think I prefer John McCain, but with all the flak Republicans have gotten for the last several years, I don't know whether or not he could beat any of the Democrats except for Hillary. Giuliani has appeal to either side, and I think he could beat any of the Democratic contenders.

By the way, you can't seriously think that Hillary is electable. She sticks her foot in her mouth more than George W. Bush, she waffles on the issues more than John Kerry, and she would motivate every Republican in the country to vote just so she wouldn't get into office, regardless of who they were inadvertently voting into office.

New Pictures Available Online!

These pictures are now available for purchase on Artist Rising:

Great Sale

I just found out that someone ordered 171 copies of "Dome at the Sunken Gardens", and that makes me feel special. I kind of wonder why they ordered so many. I would guess it's for resale, but who knows?

Full Metal Chili

I promised it before, so here it is: the recipe for Full Metal Chili.
Here are the ingredients you'll need:

- 1 pound hamburger (or up to 1 and a half pounds)
- 1 can (46 oz) tomato juice
- 1 can (16 oz) kidney beans
- 1 can (16 oz) pinto beans
- 1 medium onion
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon (3 teaspoons) chili powder (without this, it's not chili)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2-3 teaspoons any combination of Tabasco or Louisiana hot sauce

Optional:
- chopped scallions

Brown the hamburger and drain the fat. Chop the onion, not too fine, but not too chunky. In a crock pot or kettle (crock pot recommended) mix all the ingredients together. I like to use three teaspoons of hot sauce, but that's too spicy for most people, so one teaspoon each of Tabasco and Louisiana hot sauce (cayenne pepper sauce) is probably best.

If cooking in a crock pot, which is recommended, run it on hot for an hour, stirring every ten minutes or so. At this point it's ready, but ideally, you should run it on low for at least an additional three hours, stirring whenever you feel like it.

If cooking in a kettle, bring it to a boil, stirring regularly, and then put it on low for another three hours or so.

That's all there is to it! It's a pretty spicy recipe, and very soupy. If you like it thick, this is not the recipe for you. If you don't like it spicy, then this is not the recipe for you. But if you like good, soupy, spicy chili, this is a great recipe. It's good if served by itself, or with crackers, cheese, or cinnamon rolls.

By the way, I have a pretty nifty desktop background for your computer in time for Halloween, available in 1024x768 or 1280x1024.

Our House

We're building a house down in Hickman, Nebraska, and every time we go to look at it we're just amazed at the progress. I thought I'd share it with all of you.

September 11:


September 17:


September 21:


September 30:

Tuck You in, Warm within, Keep You Free from Sin, Til . . . Santa He Comes?

I have to thank Khorbin for alerting me to . . . And Christmas for All! The Holiday Tribute to Metallica. It's just Christmas-sounding instrumental versions of ten Metallica classics. At first, I thought it was a travesty, a sinful desecration of some of the greatest compositions of all time.

Then, I started thinking, hey, if you have to listen to Christmas crap anyway during the traditional festivities and other such fun stuff, then why not make it some good Christmas stuff?

And then I heard it.

Don't waste your time with it. Whether you think it's a good idea or not, the result is terrible. The use of Christmas-themed instruments doesn't automatically change it to a Christmassy mood. But it did fundamentally alter the way it sounded. So what you're left with isn't Metallica, and it isn't Christmas either. It sounds more like ringtones or elevator music. It's just a waste of money. Stay away from it.

More Pictures of Link

8 Random Facts About Myself

Normally I don't do these kinds of things, but since it was SusieQ who tagged me, I think I'll do it--but I won't tag anyone else.

1. We have to post these rules before we give you the facts. 2. Players start with eight random facts/habits about themselves. 3. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules. 4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names. 5. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

Of course, as I said, I won't be tagging anyone else. I'm going to use SusieQ's 8 facts as my inspiration.

1. When I was very young, I was given a stuffed rabbit, which I named Harvey. I took him everywhere I went. One time, I left him in a local retail store, and we didn't discover this until after they were closed. I didn't sleep that night, and, needless to say, neither did my mother. We were there when they opened the next day to retrieve him.
Later, he was getting quite threadbare, so he was taken away from me so he could be saved in the cedar chest. I was told that he went to help the Easter Bunny do all his work, since this was around that time of year. A few months ago, I got him back, along with a very similar rabbit for my son.

2. In the 2000 photo of all the freshmen at Concordia University in Seward, which last I knew was hanging in the Student Life Office, you can spot me because I had sprayed my hair purple that day.

3. I was the 1996 Pierce County Spelling Bee champion. I was told that on the written portion I only missed one word, "excise," out of what I believe were 100 words. Everyone gasped when I correctly spelled the word "acquiescence" during the oral portion when it was down to me and the runner-up. We actually made it to the last word in their pre-selected list, and I won with that word: "cardiac." Kind of an anti-climactic word, yes. This was when I was in eighth grade. I made it to the top 10 the previous year, but was eliminated because I forgot the first "h" in "rhythm."

4. I had a band in high school, for which I played bass. We all were pretty terrible, as we were all just then learning our respective instruments. We played "Twist of Cain" by Danzig at our high school's talent show. Minutes before we were to go on stage, my friend who was supposed to do the vocals completely forgot the rhythm (won't forget how to spell that one) to the lyrics, so I took over, and played bass as well. It was simply awful, but not as bad as our original, meandering, aimless song, which was really a very simple riff overlaid with weird, simplistic guitar solos which were supposed to be interesting because of the cool effects pedal my friend had.

5. This past weekend I made, with the help of my wonderful mother-in-law, some peach rhubarb jam. It was made with 5 cups of rhubarb, a cup of water, a can of peach pie filling, 4 cups of sugar, and two packets of Jell-O. It ended up far too runny, so next time I'll drop the cup of water from the recipe.

6. I hate tomatoes with a burning, fiery passion. Yet, I enjoy marinara sauce, pizza sauce, and salsa. Tomato juice disgusts me, but my own recipe for Full Metal Chili (which I will someday share, when it gets colder outside) requires tomato juice as the base.

7. I have never experienced the negative effects of too much alcohol (i.e. passing out, vomiting, blacking out) because I have always drank responsibly (and I rarely ever touched it before I turned 21). I have experienced slurred speech and impaired motor skills, on occasion, but I use that as my signal to switch to drinking water or coffee. I have a high metabolism, so I experience the effects quickly, but they leave me quickly as well.

8. Right now, Laura and I are taking shifts at night for taking care of Link. I stay up with him until at least 3:00 a.m. (although I usually take a nap) and then she takes over. I then sleep until about 10:00 a.m.

Well, I hope you've enjoyed learning a little about me. I should post more often, shouldn't I? It was kind of enjoyable.

I've Never Tried This Before

But here goes . . . video on my blog.



Lily and Russell eating cupcakes. Enjoy!

Swimming!