But I really liked this dog as he barked his head off at me on my lunch. He was just protecting his turf, which appeared to be a junk-filled back yard:
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Thanksgiving
My big plans for thanksgiving are to fly out to see the 'rents in Oklahoma, so the blog will be quiet for a few days starting tomorrow. Hope you all have a great holiday, and stuff yourselves silly with food. I know I will. :)
Project Shaggy Christmas Week 6
I'm now just over halfway through the Shaggy Christmas project and it is starting to really feel like a beard:
The stats -
Itchiness: 2 whiskers. A little itchier now than last week, but still bearable. Noticed mostly when trying to get to sleep.
Food Trappings: 6 whiskers. This is actually turning out to be a nice feature. I notice that a lot of food and drink that would otherwise stain my shirts is getting caught, or at least slowed down, but he beardage. Talk about useful!
Awesomeness: 6 whiskers. Holy crap I'm actually growing a beard! Soon it will even be needing a bit of a trim on the neck. With the flannel shirt I feel near-lumberjack awesomeness.
Pic of the day
Another angle of this Chevy pickup:
An odd 3 exposure handheld HDR. I liked the sunflare coming off of the hood and decided to keep the guy that walked through the shot.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
A sunday drive
Gas prices are down temporarily, so on Sunday we decided to pile into the MR2 and hit the road.
We meandered south along Highway 89 through Yarnell and Peeples Valley, stopping at the scenic overlook along the way (as usual). The distance was clouded with dust or smoke, not sure which:
As we were taking photos, a gentleman drives up and we chat for a bit about Arizona, gas prices, and the beautiful weather. We tell him of our plan to go through Parker, and he recommends a place to eat along the way.
We take our time as we head southwards along Highway 71, then onto Highway 60, and eventually to I10. We get almost to the California border, but decide to turn north onto AZ Highway 1, through the indian reservation. Along this highway we see field after field of hay:
Not to mention one field that was full of sheep!:
We stop to eat lunch at the recommended 'Blue Water Casino'. The food is crap, but the casino sits right on the Colorado River, and so we enjoy the scenery more than the food.
And for anybody who is under the impression that it is winter.... go to Parker, AZ. It was 92 degrees there on Sunday, November 23rd... in the summer it will get up into the 120's.
After Parker, we drove up highway 95 towards Lake Havasu, and along the way stopped at the Parker Dam, where the hydroelectric station was churning along to power the pumping station for the Colorado River Aqueduct. The parker dam has the distinction of being the deepest (though not the tallest) dam in the world... everybody say OOOoooo:
From there we arrived in Lake Havasu. We stopped long enough to have an ice cream and drive over the London Bridge, but by this time we were both tired and lacked the motivation to get out and take pictures. We decided to head home.
We drove north through the mountainous landscape as the sun dipped towards the horizon:
A random shot out the window of the car (the joy of long arms) as the sun makes its final decent, the highway blurring by underneath us:
11 hours after we set out we returned home to 40 degree weather and some hungry dogs.
Pic of the day
What a c*ck.... errrr... I mean rooster. I almost felt sorry for the poor person sweating in this suit, but they looked like their were having a good time waving to traffic, trying to get customers into the new Roosters Cafe:
Monday, November 24, 2008
Light test, 1, 2, 1, 2
I got a treat last week when I got to town a few minutes too early. I got to see the christmas decorations all lit up! I'm guessing it was just a test to make sure they all worked, since the official lighting isn't for a few more weeks.
And of course my camera battery died... and I found out my spare battery is bad...
So yeah, I only got two pics, and then I ordered another battery:
Friday, November 21, 2008
Why America is fat
Because we hold up the turducken as a crowning thanksgiving achievement (right alongside the deep-fried turkey).
BUT we can't leave it at that, oh no. So we take this ridiculous monstrosity and add BACON to it. Creating the turbaconducken:
I shit you not.
(via)
Pic of the day
A Schwin bicycle with a single-cylinder engine and small gas tank setup on it:
Seems like they are taking the 'green' right out of bicycle riding, especially with gas can and motor oil thrown on the ground....
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Pic of the day
Another angle of the rodeo cowboy statue downtown. A 3 exposure handheld HDR right as the sunrise purple was changing to blue, and the only HDR that was usable thanks to slow shutter speeds and cold, shaky hands. :)
More mural goodness
I stopped by the library again this week to check out the mural that they are working on. I first mentioned the mural here, and GrannyJ did a great post on it as well just a few weeks ago.
So on to the pictures!
Some obvious changes occurred in the design of this section, as the original called for the gentleman to have not only glasses, but some ladies binding books over his shoulder. The women were sacrificed for some great detail in the printing press machine.
The dragon has been filled in since my first meandering, and positively glows with all the brilliant colors. Also notice the dragons feet tiles leading up to the wall. :)
Of course there are some details that are very specific to our idea of Prescott. We have the pioneers traveling Arizona landscapes in their wagons:
As well as a collection of newspapers:
Some with a surprising amount of detail in the text like this one showing news of the fire from the 40's (click for BIG picture):
And of course the theme of books and imagination runs throughout the project:
There are still some rough patches that need shading, but overall the mural is looking GREAT! Theoretically they will be done painting by the end of the month.
For more information see the Prescott Murals site.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Monday, November 17, 2008
Shaggy Christmas - Week 4.5
So yeah.... I've been a bad updater on the Shaggy Christmas front. I did manage to grab a few pics over the weekend though.
The beard is coming along nicely.
The itchiness is down to 1 whisker. Not sure why, but the itchiness has started to fade. Not that I'm sorry about this fact.
Food Catching: 4 whiskers. I made the mistake of eating ribs the other night. I looked like a blood smeared cannibal thanks to the sauce to beardage factor.
Noticibility: 5 whiskers. It's finally noticeable as more than just a lazy shaver. It helps that the blond hair is slowly being usurped by its darker cousin.
Awesomeness: 4 whiskers. It's getting more awesome, but it isn't lumberjack-worthy yet.
Bucky Paper!
Apparently buckypaper could be all sorts of awesome for building everything from televisions to space shuttles.
It has a potential of being 500 times stronger than steel, at only 1/10th of the weight. It is built off a platform of aligned carbon nanotubes.
Friday, November 14, 2008
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
What NOT to photocopy
For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction:
That's going to sting in the morning.
(via)
It's that time of the year
When everything gets puked on by christmas. Our little town is no different. I'm not a big fan of the christmas glitter, but I do like the increase in good will during the season. Only wish it would hang around a little longer.
Today I saw crews downtown decorating the courthouse with it's annual yuletide garb.
Angels overlooking the North entrance to the courthouse:
A christmas tree that has taken over residence of the now-empty fountain:
A big wreath is strung across the West entrance of the courthouse:
Not to mention the candles and tinsel trees adorning the walls of the courthouse:
While downtown I also saw some flowers that were left on the veteran's statue downtown. A lovely gesture, as well as a nice contrast of color:
Pic of the day
An old granite outcropping that sits behind the elementary school I attended. We used to call it 'Middle Finger Mountain', regardless of the fact that it resembled a middle finger not at all. Kids will be kids. :)
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Monday, November 10, 2008
Pic of the day
A panorama of Copper Basin, as seen from the Sierra Prietta mountains during a hike on Sunday:
Sunday, November 9, 2008
An offal evening
DaNece has left town for a week to tour Vegas with her mom, leaving me all alone for the next seven days.
This means that I have free reign to cook whatever my twisted little heart desires.
Which is dangerous.
When you add to this fact that the nearby grocery chain has begun carrying the wonder that is offal, you have a decidedly dangerous combination. Yes, the world of beef heart, tongue, liver, and tripe are all available to me now in a convenient shopping location.
I'm a happy boy. :)
So, this evening I made beef heart, something I've never had before. The best part? The price! 1.7 pounds of meat for $3!!! How could I not try it?:
I decided to go with a simple method: flour it with some spices and fry:
Alongside the heart I wanted something sweet. An acorn squash fit the bill perfectly after adding some butter and brown sugar:
I added some mashed potatoes and gravy and ended up with this:
The heart was fantastic. Cooked to ~medium and tasty as all get out. A nice beefy taste a nice texture even! Enough for me, the room mate, 2 dogs, and there is still some left. for $3!!!!!
Eat your heart out! :)
Friday, November 7, 2008
Final notes on Excel SUMPRODUCT
For myself in the future (and for the people like me who are trying to understand this function and can't find much info out there)
Pic of the day
A bricked up alleyway window, a colorful door.
This is where the cooks at Murphy's sit and have a cig when they aren't making our food:
3 Exposure handheld HDR
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)