Christmas 2012

So the Christmas holiday has past.  It went really well.  We had Christmas dinner at our house.  It took a few days of prep and went to fast but it was well worth the trouble.  Bought my wife a bike and had to put it together which was an experience.  Being as its too cold to try it a ride in the driveway confirmed it works. We'll have to see if she likes it.  

Ok the ravens finished 10-6 just as I predicted in the preseason. The starters didn't play the whole game.  Tyrod Taylor played really well for Joe Flacco.  They somehow won the AFC North and will play at home next week.  I hope they win.  

Here's some of the local holiday tradition here in Baltimore, 34th street in Hamden.  It was packed and traffic was backed up all around the decorated block.  I'll post more pictures later.
Oh and I lost the fantasy football championship game to the only team that beat me in the regular season.  I had lost confidence in my Team because so many of my players were canidates to be sat in The last few games of the season (due to them being on good teams).  The second to last game the guy i played scored the most points he hadmall season.  It was a good thing i scored the most i did all season too.  That luck couldnt last.  That's why I'm glad I arranged to split the winnings with the winner prior to the last game.  

Newtown conn. shooting

The reaction to the elementary school shooting has been typical.  Over blown media reaction and knee jerk reactions per the usual.  I do feel like this one was different and needs to lead to some action to stop these horrible incedents.  I was struggling to put together my feelings on this issue.  My natural reaction is to condem the calls for stricter guns laws and bans, but I almost feel like we should try something else.  I am a proponent of responsible gun ownership and hate calls for more regulations. I think the mental health aspect needs exploring.  These killers (recent) had contact with mental health professionals at some level.  Should the doctors stepped in and had them committed, could they even do that?  That got me thinking about in patient treatment availibility. I don't know for sure what are the options, but I have the distinct feeling that asylums aren't really an option for some reason.  Then in research of this issue I came across this article which touches on the issue and more to the point a real look at what could be done with violent or potentially violent people.  It's worth reading.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/16/i-am-adam-lanzas-mother-mental-illness-conversation_n_2311009.html

From the article:

With state-run treatment centers and hospitals shuttered, prison is now the last resort for the mentally ill—Rikers Island, the LA County Jail and Cook County Jail in Illinois housed the nation's largest treatment centers in 2011.

No one wants to send a 13-year-old genius who loves Harry Potter and his snuggle animal collection to jail. But our society, with its stigma on mental illness and its broken healthcare system, does not provide us with other options. Then another tortured soul shoots up a fast food restaurant. A mall. A kindergarten classroom. And we wring our hands and say, "Something must be done."...Me: From that I say we need to get put public safety over stigmas and health care cost analysis. Open up the asylums which are dedicated to treating these people not as a side opportunity for the jails to deal with. That's not the place to put them and with jails you have the precondition of a crime to get them in. A diagnosis and a threat should be more than enough to get a commitment.

Funny

An unamed acquaintance once did something similar with a jammed paintball gun.

December 15 or 16

So the ravens lost to Denver just as I predicted, but it was pretty bad and may have lost the team's desire.  The offense didn't have the positive reaction to the offensive coordinator change.  In fact they looked anemic as has been the usual.  If they somehow pull it together this week against the giants I will be impressed and more hopeful for the playoffs.  I say they lose again but they should be embarrassed from this week's loss and come with a better performance.

My Christmas party was Friday night.  It was really a dinner not like the parties of old.  It was ok and we went out to a spot aft ward which was cool.  Good drinks and music made for a nice time.  I don't want to get too nostalgic so I won't but I'm not sure if it was the fact the party wasn't what it once was or is it the fact the company is so different.  Either way it was disappointing.

I made stuffed shells on a whim.

Their my favorite and I never have them.  A couple of notes from the recipe.  Need more sauce like 36-40 ounces not the 24 they call for.  Use some type of tool to fill the shells would be very helpful.  I'm think like one of those frosting bag things.  It took about 1.5 hours which wasn't bad to prepare.  Also go on the long side for the baking time.

Sent from my iPad

December 8th

This week we went to a tree farm and got a tree.  It was the first time we've done that.  My thinking is the tree will last longer because it wasn't cut weeks ago like it could have been buying it from a vendor.  Learned a little something.  If you see a great tree near the entrance to the rows of trees and the ones behind have already been cut the tree isn't as great as you may have thought. The tree was a bit bent at the base but it was too tall anyway so i cut a good foot off the bottom which seemed to take out the bend.  Well that wasn't the case because as I put the tree in the stand it wouldn't level out.  It got it to stand up but the is a perceptible lean to the tree that just won't go away.  Other than that the tree is beautiful  (in its own off-balance way). Here's a shot of the tree farm; it's very picturesque:   

The Ravens lost to the Redskins. No surprise there.  the redskins have been hot and Ravens have been cold.  A dynamic offense against a suspect defense and the only way the Ravens could keep up was with a offensive performance that hasn't been there.  I will say nthe offense did a bit better than they had been with a 28 point performance, but they go silent for quarters at a time.  I mean its one thing to not score, but to not score and give up the time of possession battle is a shame.  It seemed to me we used to move the ball, keeping the defense off the field.  the issue then was not scoring TDs but settling for field goals.  Again that would be OK because we kept the ball. This week Ray Rice got the ball early and did well when he had it, but again Bernard Pierce was in for entire series (not that he didn't run well).  I can figure it out.  I concede the defense is down this year and with the loss of Webb and Lewis and Suggs out for this game we can't count on them to perform.  That's why the offense has to.  But next week is a new era because Cam Cameron is out as offense coordinator.  I didn't see that coming as I was resigned to the fact the offense would be lackluster.  I assumed my complaints fell on deaf ears.In a million years I thought the Raven's would stick stubbornly to "the system" like they always have (Brian Billick and Boller, hey that's funny: BBB).  Something needed to change was it Cam's offensive calls or John Harbaugh not dictating that something had to change? Here's the dilemma was Cam the problem, is it Joe's capability or is it the offensive personnel?  I guess we will see in these last 3 games.  We will still go 2 and 1 and end up 10-6 just like I predicted before week 1.  I just hope losing 2 more games doesn't break the will of the team.

December 3rd

OK Last week the Raven's snuck out of San Diego with a win.  The offense decided to play in the last quarter and overtime. Not a pretty win but the defense played well once again.  Now this week we played the Steelers at home.  Going into the game I thought we would win easily.  We didn't.  The offense once again played an inconsistent game.  As usual the 3rd down play calling was baffling. I said it last week it makes no sense to call a 40 yard play only needing 10 or 15.  Also its been going on since the beginning of the season, please tell me why Ray Rice is sitting out not just key downs but entire series? He is the best offensive player, why is he not out there every series during the majority of snaps?  I have so many questions with what the Ravens are doing.  I cannot stand when people say I shouldn't complain we're 9-3 or what their doing is working (because we're 9 and 3).  To me that seems to be what the coaching staff is saying, because I haven't seen any changes or to be clear I haven't seen any improvement in their play.  If you watch the games and what is happening on the field you cannot tell me there aren't problems that need to be addressed.  Just cause you won doesn't say you can't be improving.  Going into the last 4 games of the season i don't see us being better than 11-5 (2 and 2).  Since the beginning of the season I predicted we would be 10 and 6 and actually that is what I think we will be (1 and 3 down the stretch).  Why do i think we could go 1-3? Because they aren't making changes that need to be made that will improve their performance enough to beat the remaining teams.       

We went to the Borgata which is the first time I've been to Atlantic City in a few years. We also visited the new Revel which is really nice (have to stay there next). Wife at the Revel:


I won $8 after more than 3 hours at the tables.  Hey it's better than losing.  The Borgata is still as nice as it was when I went there when it was new.  We need to get back there sooner than later.  Their gym there was the real deal not a regular hotel gym joke. Here's a picture of the power rack and the dumbbell you can see is 100#:
  

This weekend I also made my chili for the first time since last winter.  I was good, not a spicy as usual but still had a good flavor.  I will post the recipe here soon.  



  

November 24

So last week the Ravens snuck into Pittsburgh and snuck out with a win.  The offense was terrible.  If it wasn't for Jacoby Jones we would have lost.  Joe flacco struggled in the face of the good Pittsburgh defensive pressure.  It was like he regressed to a few years ago where he panics in the pocket.  Now the real issue is the play calling once again.  I am sure i have commented on this before but why would we run pass plays for 8 yards on a third down and we need 10?  This is an old question that i will never understand.  If you say the receivers or tightends aren't open deeper, why wouldn't the sort route at least get to the sticks as there isn't much point in a completion 2-3 yards short.  The good news is the defense is actually improving. They're showing  quarterback pressure and the secondary made some big plays.  This weekend we have to go to San Diego and face the no quite together chargers.  I think we can win if the offense decides to play.  

This was thanksgiving week and I enjoyed celebrating with the family.  I also smoked a turkey which took longer than expected but turned out very good.  I also played paintball.  It was cold and actually there was a few flurries.  The cold didn't bother me too much and I actually wasn't too sore after running around out there.  It's probably going to be a few months before we play again but it was fun. Last weekend I put the boat away.  A Sad day of the year:


Did a ghost tour in Ellicot City after a good dinner at my sisters house (the sign is perfect for a horror movie):



Here's the thanksgiving night fire:

@ the ravens game

Finally 2012 was the year I got back to a Raven's game.  It had been about 3 years or more since I had been to a game.  Now I love the Ravens but the hassle and cost of going to a game was a problem. I enjoy the games at home but I had the itch to go every year.  I splurged by getting club level tickets.  Our company Christmas party was at M&T on the club level and at that point I decided when I go I was going club level.  It was nice.  About the game well we stopped by my cousins' tailgate and had a good time.  But now to the game.  I have to say I knew we would probably win, but I didn't expect what happened.  See the picture below where I tried to take a picture of the final score.  For the ravens to score 55 points in one game was a record and not something I had ever thought possible.  The struggles of the offense this year were well noted but the orgasm of scoring that occurred Sunday was ridiculous.  I enjoyed every minute of it in fact we scored so much it got tiring having to get up and cheer so often.  I remember the highlight of the ravens game was the defense would make a big 3rd down stop and that's what you got to cheer for, not Sunday.  No Sunday I felt like I was watching the Rams back during the greatest show on turf days.  Now I will say the defense gave up twenty, but I think they played well and going forward Suggs is getting back up to speed and the other linebackers and the secondary are stepping up.  On another note I took the boat boat out for the last fishing trip of the year as I had already pretty much winterized it the weekend before. It's time to put it up but it's sad as another season gone too quickly.  

Last SOBO game of the season

So the last game was yesterday.  We had an OK season for never playing together before.  As long as it was fun which all but one game was ( we lost that one 64-0).  Anyway I had fun, great exercise and I actually contributed.  The last game I had an interception and 2 touchdowns and better than that I felt great throughout the entire game.  Now I have to figure out what motivation and I going to have for training in the winter (basketball or lifting).  The team was talking about the spring season which I am leaning toward playing.

Movie coming out

RZA has written and directed a movie (martial arts of course) and improbably Russel Crowe is in it.

The Man with Iron Fists



http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1258972/

Hurricane and halloween

So fall brings another hurricane. Should I pull the boat or keep it in? That's always the question.  These storms are bitter sweet in my mind in that I got my current boat in 2003 right before Isabella which was supposedly a 100 year storm.  The boat survived that, so everything since has been shrugged off.  It's still a concern but we'll see.  Here's what I did, just doubled up the bow and stern lines, added 2 more spring lines one additional to keep it off the pier and one to keep it from pushing out into the creek.  The picture below is the second thing I did which was adding chafe protection (split vinyl tubing zipped tied in place). Last picture is the pumpkin I carved.  I hadn't done it since I was a kid but it was fun and came out much better than I thought it would.  

October snake (I thought it was too cold?)

There was a nice size snake next to the pond behind my house.  You can't tell in this picture but this guy was 2" in diameter (I didn't get too close).  

Mid October thoughts

Bad news for the Ravens after their win against Dallas. Ray Lewis tears his tricep.  I saw a play where he was out there but didnt use his one arm = bad sign.  His injury last season or the season before that was similar. Then Ladarius Webb tears his acl.  That will have a impact.  Webb held together the defense from last year and was doing ok this season.  His absence in the secondary is going to hurt.  Now the ravens built a nice 5 and 1 record so they may limp into the playoffs once again but it's going to go to the last week of the season.  Just heard this might mean Suggs might be coming back way too soon. 

Staycation ended up not doing much, but I did get my cars annual service done and I am having a electrician come out and replace a wire that has damaged insulation.  Both of these things would have been difficult to get done if I had worked this week.  I did go fishing and had lots of action for about 2 hours then it went dead.  Oh well it was better than being at work.




Some fog hugging the eastern shore

A video that I just love

Ok I saw this on Tosh.O.  I think this is a great illustration of nature.  Nature or the balance of the earth whatever the concept is, this video illustrates it graphically.  Here's my color commentary.   oh look it's a cute squirrel. Looks like its in a cage in a zoo. Is he supposed to be in that cage? If not what is in the cage? Oh he's going to ahead and climb on out Ummmm not so fast little squirrel Looks like there is a large cat in there too He must be lonely because he just hugged the squirrrel in his mouth No, the cat is crushing the squirrel between his jaws

The funny part is the father's crying and it looks the the son is laughing. While I laughed at the whole situation I don't The kid should have been laughing nor the father crying. The kid should cry at seeing a viscous death. The father should understand this is a teaching moment about the circle of life and the nature of a animals. Not blubbering like he saw some great injustice done to the squirrel. I think the idea that everything is nice a clean and tidy in nature and in the world is wrong. Animals kill to survive and things die to feed us everyday. I think this video is a great reminder of the order of things. Actually I LOL'ed

Early October 2012

Just a couple of items for the end of September and early October.  Here's an early morning sunrise shot.

Went to an Octoberfest in Frederick and saw these llamas one of my wife's favorite animals (lol):

Here's a pic from SOBO football not my team but my brother-in-laws. My team is 1-3 but improving.  

Week 4 ravens

Watching the game tonight had me thinking about the future of the ravens.  Defense isn't as good as it has been.  The offense is potentially good, but can't count on joe flacco.  Has to be run first.  Yes the long pass is exciting but the risk is sometimes not worth the reward.  Joe flacco isn't elite never will be, but he doesn't need to be.  I think we'll sneak into the playoffs once again but not going to the AFC championship this year, sorry. BTW I'm going to a game this year!

Also my fantasy is doing pretty well this year. First pick 3-0 we'll see if they can keep it up.

Grill smoker troubleshooting or adding to the internet knowledge that I take from so much

Short story:

smoker or grill not staying lit? Will light then die after a second or so?  Go get a new inline regulator, usually with the hose is attached.

Regulator home depot

Long story:

So the internets failed me today.  The last time I used my smoker the gas ran out as it was finishing up. So i shut down the burner and I disconnected the tank. I have since replaced the tank. Today I start the process hooking up another and starting the smoker.  It lit using a lighter as I never count on the ignighter.  So it wouldn't stay lit.  It would ignighter and then Peter out.  It looked like the gas was filling up the line and then once turned on the gas would burn that amount and no more.  I then tried to reconnect playing with the amount the tank was open etc.  I then consulted the Internet which usually answers all questions.  I got a couple of answers that made sense.  The regulator was keeping the gas from flowing because after the tank ran out last time its safety kicked in.  So to fix it you needed to clear the line by turning on the burner without the tank attached.  Once clear turn the tank back on slowly.  That didn't make sense when you think about it.   How would the regulator know if the burner went out?  I'm sure the safety feature only works for a gross leak like a ruptured line. Well the steps didn't work at all so then I took the burner apart and the gas control.  I found no blockages and everything seemed ok unless there was a failure inside the flow control.  Some posts indicated the manufacturer brinkmann sent out a part and everything was fixed.  I was in the middle of cooking and couldn't wait, I had started the meat on the grill indirect ie old school smoker. I read about people getting a regulator but I wasn't sure if it was the flow control, inline reg, or was the safety in the tank it's self.  I ruled out the tank option because both the tanks I had worked on the grill.  The flow control valve seemed fine until the gas shut off so it seemed to be ok.  So that left the inline reg.  I guess failing closed is what you want but what would cause that to fail and not be able to be reset?  I tried the various procedures for and hour plus.  Ok so I did a quick search and Brinkmann brand replacement parts were carried at home depot.  Not parts specific for the smoker but at least I could get an replacement regulator.  Got it installed it and it works fine.  It's a little shorter than the original one, but it works.  Only issue storing it as you can see the line doesn't reach the handle where the old line hung when not in use.  This seemed suspect to me anyway as it pointed the connector up as it could fill up with water and get into the reg.  maybe the shorter one i will leave connected but the tank off obviously keeping the connector protected?  

Now how can we insure that this piece of knowledge is found by millions?  Good tags? Reference the link in a few discussions?  I don't now but I hope one day this helps some guy that just wanted to smoke some meat without any trouble....

Beginning of September

Didn't fish the first week of the month, but planning on it a lot this month.  I had my first football game on Saturday; SOBO again the first time in a few years.  I've been training, more than my usual workout and for the most part I held up well. No major soreness or pulled muscles, which is different than the usual. Now I will say I need more conditioning, because I was winded.  I'm going to start a sprinting interval training program to improve my endurance.
Also this week my mom was honored at her school for 25 years in the classroom.  It didn't seem that long ago we went to her ten year reception.  One of her former students (from last year) read a prayer for her.  Later she told me when he started as a student in her class he couldn't read, but after working for the year with her and her staff he could read. I'm very proud of her and her dedication to her career.

August 31st

Got out early Friday morning, check that not really.  I realized I forgot my sunglasses as I started up the boat, so back to the house.  To my surprise my wife wanted to go out.  I said sure and 1 hour later of who knows what she was ready to go.  It's always nice to have another person on the boat but I was all ready for a day by myself.  The couple things I appreciated about her company was A. She could get the net B. take pictures C. Keep me company when the fishing was slow.  Well 2 out of 3 ain't bad.  See she did A and B but C not so much due to the fact she was asleep 90% of the trip.  The fresh air and motion of the boat has a hypnotic effect on her that instantly relaxes her. I'm glad we don't have a cruiser our she would be out 100% of the time.  The walkaround doesn't accommodate much relaxing space so I have to interrupt her when I drive the boat.  So the fishing started out real promising with a series of great drifts. This decent sized rock in the picture was the represented the potential of the day.  Well that lasted about a half hour.  The next couple of hours Resulted in maybe 6 more fish (5 small rock and 1 blue). The only notable thing was I got the last rock after stopping between places where some random birds were hanging out.  It still was a good day out on the water with my wife. 

Got out early well tried to until I relieved 

Mid late august post

This summers been going by too fast. Been sort of quiet, been working out some (not enough) went to play paintball for the first time since the 100 degree day.  I took a couple of guys from work out fishing on our Friday off.  We dinked around most of the day.  Finally ended up at MOW shoal.  Around 12:30 Got this for my trouble:

First keeper of the year.  I was glad I had people on board to grab the net for me.  This was great but he best part was I think the guys had fun too.  

Week of August 5th

So I went fishing twice this week.  I took of Tuesday 7th and I got out on the 12th.  On Tuesday I went to the old stand by Man of War Shoal (AKA the perch spot) .  It lived up to its name and I caught a could dozen perch.  I then went back to Hodges (where I had been pretty successful the last couple of weeks) and got into a few small rock and more perch.  On Sunday i went straight for Hodge's but after a drift I decided to head over to the Eastern Shore (about 2 miles east), where I saw a bunch of boats.  I Stayed there for a few drifts and caught a couple of rock and perch.  I went back to Hodges to try out my drift sock I had bought. I had been thinking that the boat drifts pretty fast over the various points i fish and it would be nice to slow it down a bit.  I wnt to Bass Pro Shops in Arundle Mills and got a 54" model.  At BPS my truck was hit, but that is another story.  Anyway the drift sock was rigged up to a rear cleat and I tried a few drifts.  In my unscientific tests it seem to slow down the drift about 10%. Its that good?  I don't know how much more time I actually get to fish because the anchor has to be retrieved between drifts and I was wondering does it scare the fish? I caught a few and decided to try man of war.  Down there I caught the usual perch and got a few of almost decent size but no monsters.  I then headed down the 7" knoll.  There were a bunch of boats fishing when I got there but they soon cleared out. I ended up catching 4 species there, rock and perch (of course) and then a croaker and spot too.  At this point I had been fishing for 5 hours, so I decided to head back in. 

So I come out of BPS and I see a 14" blue line on my quarter panel.  I parked at the end of the parking lot that was a bit busy but it was the end and not really crowded.  I get home and pull out the polish compound and the el cheapo right angle polisher from Harbor Freight.  After an hour of polishing I get it almost 100% out.  It was pretty lucky that it didn't go through the paint, so I got of easy.  Monday morning I see there is a screw sticking out of my brand new tire (on the same vehicle).  I took it to be plugged and as luck would have it it didn't go through the tread.   

Nice sunrise on Middle River August 12

 

Early morning sun over the Eastern Shore

Saw a flotilla of these interesting boats coming into the Patapsco.  They look like some sort of early 20th century cargo ships. 

 

Drift Sock