Help by the Beatles!

When I was growing up, songs like this did not really inspire me. I was oh so cool, don't ya see. Now, just a heartbeat away in time, there's much more meaning to be found in the lyrics....

Come experience the dream!

A great climate, lots of hills and water - what's not to like?

Craig Leonard & Turn the Page!

An alumni of mine from Prospect High, though we ran in different circles - A most excellent musician Craig Leonard. - Also an endearing song from back in the time! Now, as I reflect back to those times, there existed a special group of very talented people back in that 500 plus group from 1968, I remember people like Bruce Boxleitner who went on to stardom. And then there was the Cellar in Arlington Heights, back in the day with groups like The Shadows of Knight! Good times all! And yes Craig, I do like your music! Please rock on! We are 'still crazy after all these years', for those of us still standing, at least? Personally, I'm still 'strutting and fretting' on a stage with little to very few audiences....  That be me, though. And, circa 2017, I'm still listening and still turning those pages, Craig!

Bobby Vee and Come Back!

Another blast from the distant past!

The Doors and Blondie remix!

Goldfrapp - You're my #1!

Random Thoughts for October 2014!

Will there be another 'Winter Vortex' this winter?

Short answer – No! Back to back arctic air spill overs are relatively rare events. Having said that, look for some interesting winter weather later this year!

Is the media over-hyping the Ebola outbreak?

What do you think? Honestly, I think the average American has a higher probability of getting hit by an asteroid than of getting Ebola. (But, do watch out for the flu this season and go get your shots).

What's going to happen when......

The Fed stops printing money as early as this winter?

Cap and Trade becomes the law of the land?

Full immigration is enacted without first sealing the borders?

Health insurance costs skyrocket in 2015 under Obamacare?

Russia invades the Baltic?

You'll notice I didn't respond to any of these very credible future events. Please do your own research, form an opinion and then make sure to vote in the midterms and the 2016 elections.

West Texas Crude

Country music only here! This original track is just crying out for a really amateurish sort of UTuber video. Ya think? Sadly, that never happened..

So sue me!

Nyt Ma Meen - Kristiina Brask

A very early effort of mine (circa '08 or thereabouts) to translate a popular Finnish song called Nyt Ma Meen - or 'I'm Going Now'! Help owed to Valura and Visa! You Tube banned this effort worldwide. I can live with that, just as I live well in 2017 without them.  Melko varmasti tämä on myös kielletty - Hei, Suomen ystävät - apua! Rabbit holes, they do run deep...

Not another pot roast!

The problem: I wanted to cook a rump roast in my slow cooker, yet most recipes refer to cuts of meat in the 3 to four pound range. My little roast came in at only just over 2 ½ pounds and which cost me eight bucks and change.

In general, cooking a roast is pretty much a no brainer. You sear it over medium high heat in a frying pan to brown it and then you dump it into a Dutch oven along with some carrots and potatoes with just a little bit of water and wine and then throw it into an over set to 350 for about two hours. No big deal….

After doing some searching I came across this recipe and instructions:

Ingredients:

• 2-3 lb beef roast of your choice
• olive oil
• 2 carrots, cut into pieces
• 2 Russet potatoes, cubed
• 1/2 onion, quartered
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 sprigs of Rosemary
• 1 can beef stock
• 2 cans hot water
  

Directions:

• Brown roast in a pan with a little bit of oil over medium-high heat.
• Layer half of the carrots, garlic and all of the onion on the bottom of crock pot
• Top with browned roast
• Arrange the rest of the carrots, garlic and potatoes on top of roast
• Mix beef base in the hot water, pour over roast and veggies
• Cover crock pot tightly, set on high
• Cook for six to eight hours, meat will be very tender, falling apart and veggies cooked through
  

After 2 hours of cooking on high, I decided to check the contents of the slow cooker to see how things were going….. (I figured if either the meat or the veggies were not done, I’d dump them into a Le Creuset and finish them off on the stove top). Instead, I reduced the heat to the low setting and went 2 more hours at which time everything looked good to go. Note that some cookers work much faster than others. It pays to check the contents from time to time.

The end result was pure ambrosia! The roast came apart using just my fork!  And, with a little bit of Horseradish I was in pot roast heaven!

We have so gotta stay in this place!

 Fresh edit and yet what was not learned well for us (double entrendre), actions in the past, become the meal we now eat this day...

[ISIS نحن قادمون، ونحن جعل أبواب الجحيم معنا]!

River Run gate access closed...for one day!

On Tuesday, Oct 29, 2014 – I received a call from a neighbor, Ken Reynolds, informing me that some men and women were attempting to lock the gate that spanned the Baker street access to the popular River Run Park located just east of Forsyth Missouri. I finished the call and then went to investigate.

Upon arrival at the location, I found two men and a women park volunteers who informed me that they had received orders to close the access way (Gate #2) from Valley View Village ( a small community of about 400 homes where I reside) by the Corp of Engineers until the following April! They had been issued only one lock for that purpose with no instructions to close and lock the other access gate (#1) at the main entrance to the park. although it can be assumed they planned to also close that gate after the last of the campers were flushed out).

I was very troubled by this course of action as this form of unwarranted 'lock down' had not occurred in the many years I've lived in the area. In addition, a county owned and maintained road known as 'Baker Street' provided easy access for many residents who what to access Highway 76. In the past, the Park would be closed and the end of the season in October, but the access-ways would be left open all year, (excepting whenever the park flooded or was closed due to a government shut down).

My immediate thought was to try and contact the Army Corp of Engineers who ran River run to inquire as to what was going on. They never returned my call. I then called the Taney County Road and Bridge Department and was told that they 'knew nothing about the closure'. Finally, I contacted Janne Clarke – a writer and reporter for a local paper called the The Taney Times, and she promised to make some calls. By later that afternoon, she must have made the right sort of calls, because she informed me that the gate would be re-opened.

Branson Daily Independent

The next morning, I got a call that the gate had indeed, been re-opened and decided to drive through the park to check for myself. As I was driving through, I spied a Ranger vehicle parked in from of the Park Attendants office and stopped to talk to him. He was just locking up, but took the time to inform me that while, yes, the park was closed for the season; the gates would be left open, the fees for the use of the boat ramp would be suspended and that dry camping would be allowed even though the water, electric and trash pickup would be shut down until the following April. That sounded good to my ears. In this encounter, the Army stood with me!

"Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty." Thomas Jefferson