Musings of a Grower

Nostalgia

2010-10-19T18:48:00.000-07:00

So I was discussing video games with people, and we started talking about what the first game we ever remember playing was. For me it came down to McMurphy's Mansion (a zork style text game for ms dos), or Burger Time for the 2600. I decided the first one I ever played was Burger Time, which I played a few times at my cousin's house. Although McMurphy's was the first one that my family owned. I remember we had a 286 IBM clone with a green and black monitor.

What about everyone else? What was the first computer game you ever remember playing?

Fried Turkey

2010-10-17T20:51:00.000-07:00

Fall is here. The leaves are coming down. I've shut all my storm windows. And I've been thinking I want to fry a turkey for Thanksgiving. I've never done it; actually I've never even tried fried turkey. But it sounds like a genius idea. I just need to get my hands on one of those big propane burners, and a huge pot. I know they sell the stuff as a "turkey fryer" but I'm pretty sure I can go to an army surplus store and get the same thing for a lot cheaper. Has anyone ever tried this? How did it go? What kind of oil should i use? What about crisco? I love frying stuff in crisco.

Update: DBZ

2010-10-16T18:18:00.000-07:00

Well my quest to watch Dragonball Z start-to-finish is coming along. I am about one third of the way through. Now I realize this word is thrown around on the internets, and has lost a lot of it's true meaning...but this series is EPIC. I mean that in the strictest sense of the word. It will probably take me weeks to watch the whole thing. I've finally just finished the battle with Frieza. It kept going (I shit you not) for 28 episodes. At 20 minutes a piece, that's 9 hours and 20 minutes. It's a little mind-boggling how long this series really is. But I'm sticking to my guns, and watching it through. Only about 61 more hours to go!

Fringe

2010-10-15T19:43:00.000-07:00

Anyone else watching Fringe? I got into it over the summer, and now I'm keeping up with the new season. It started out a lot like The X Files, which was my favorite show back in the day. It was basically FBI agents investigating paranormal type stuff. Then they started getting into alternate reality stuff, and a war between realities. It's pretty good I'd say. Check it out, if you aren't doing anything else on thursday night. Or, better yet, the day after it airs on TV you can watch it on their website.

fffffffffuuuuuuu

2010-10-14T19:41:00.000-07:00

I'm just now getting over a ripping headache. Four advils are finally kicking in. I get these once in a while, they're cluster headaches. They seem to stay away for long stretches and then come in a wave for a few weeks or so. It's been a really long time since the last wave. This new one started some weeks ago now. They're bad man, tell you what. It always starts above my right eye. Then my right eye and nose start to run. Then I start to feel nauseated, sometimes hurl. Sometimes headache pills won't touch em, or sometimes I can't even keep em down long enough. Can't do anything until it goes away. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. Anyone out there know of any tricks to stopping a wave of cluster headaches? They say that eating magic mushrooms will stop a wave dead, but that's a little outside of my means.

Soulshine

2010-10-13T19:37:00.000-07:00

For those who don't know, this is Gov't Mule. That's Warren Haynes on guitar and singing. He also plays guitar for the Allman Brothers Band. Soulshine is one of my favorite songs by either of those bands. Able to turn a shitty mood around in no time at all. This is one of the best recordings of Soulshine on the entire interwebs. Listen to him make that Les Paul sing.

Dragonball Z

2010-10-13T08:14:00.000-07:00

I decided I'm going to watch Dragonball Z again, from start to finish. Back in the day, I never really watched it in order or anything. I just caught it when I could. I never realized how long the series is. It's like 178 episodes, and 60gb. My last laptop wouldn't even have been able to hold it all! As I've been watching them I remembered my one big complaint about the show as a kid. Nothing is ever resolved! You get one big battle, and it goes on for like 5 episodes! Anyway, I'm enjoying watching this show again. Especially the fact that I can do it at my own speed.

Campout!

2010-10-10T16:04:00.000-07:00

I just returned from camping out for a couple nights. It was a great time, very glad I went. It was probably the last opportunity I'll have before the really cold weather sets in. The weather was beautiful. It got down below 40 during the wee hours of the morning, but that was fine. I was nice and snug in my sleeping bag. For dinner I made a tried-and-true foil packet meal. Very simple, but absolutely delicious. I highly recommend trying it out next time you are out camping. Make them up ahead of time and just throw them in the cooler. Here's the recipe...

ground beef
1 large potato
frozen peas & carrots mix

You lay out heavy duty aluminum foil, and put the beef down first. Then the potato, chopped up into 1/2 inch cubes. Then the veggies. Add seasonings to taste. Salt, pepper, garlic, onion powder are all great for this. I used adobo. Then you wrap the foil around the whole thing, sealing up the edges well. Then add another layer of foil for good measure. I don't recommend any non stick spray. It tends to conduct the heat too well, and burn the heck out of your food. Then you get a nice bed of hot coals in your fire, and let it burn way down until it's mostly coals. Then just throw your packet right on the coals. You'll want to flip it a couple of times, and let it cook for about 45 minutes or so. Maybe more or less depending on how much and how thick you've made it. It's always better to let it go longer than you think. It's pretty hard to over cook. Simple, but amazingly good.

Here We Go

2010-10-07T09:46:00.000-07:00

So I've decided to make a blog. The idea here will be to post on random topics. This will be a place for me to comment on whatever has grabbed my interest at the time, and hopefully will be worth reading for somebody. I am a southern New England native and resident. I'm an avid gardener, angler, outdoor enthusiast, and an amateur musician. If you're reading this, thanks for stopping by!