Flying Wonder Woman's Jet

Wonder Woman's airplane, the Invisible Plane, is probably the coolest form of transportation of all time. Since its first appearance in Sensation Comics #1 (Jan. 1942), it has made several laps through my local airport MOSTLY to make sure that our airline's on-time performance and delay severity statistics remain HIGH. Here it is docking at Gate #24 at Will Rogers World Airport.

Ah, Wonder Woman. Ain't she sweet?


Thank you, Wonder Woman. On time, all the time.

Finally got home ... to a giant snowstorm. The memory card on my phone's camera gave up the ghost, taking several really cool images of the snow and ice with it. Replaced the card and took a few pix to test it out. Here's one of them. I've seen snow and ice make many strange formations, but this one is one of coolest. So much moisture in the air!

What's the coolest thing you've seen built by Nature using water and cold?

Just Say NO!

Kia! So many features ...

• Sleek styling.


• Snow storm WHITE screams "Find me" in a crowded parking lot.


• Low CO2 footprint - a benefit of having hamster wheels for an engine.


• An "in the cab" turbo button: ON for air conditioning, OFF for the power to merge onto freeway.


• A spacious trunk - it can hold TWO bags of peanut M&Ms at the SAME TIME!

Oh yeah ... NO!

DublinFor Dinner

Went to Dublin for dinner tonight. No, not the real Dublin, but a jumpin little place with the same name, The Dublin Pub.


They claim to pour the perfect pint. The criteria for the perfect pint are posted all around the place ....


So it only seems natural to have some cheese fries and apply the test ...


I ordered the Beef Stew. The service was great and my order came quickly.


The dish was something to see. It was packed with beef and vegatables and slathered in a Guinness gravy. It wasn't a traditional beef stew where the pieces are swimming in a brown or red sauce, hoping to be noticed, and tasted individually. This one had big chunks of everything, big redskin potatoes, and TASTE! It worked. Maybe it worked too well coz I was stuffed before I ever came close to the bottom of the bowl.

Here's another dish that looked interesting - the Bully Beef Shot. It's cut of roast beef heaped on a dollop of mashed potatoes. Yes, it's got gravy and lots of it.


Highly recommend a visit. Set enough time aside to eat, drink and catch a game of rugby or something interesting. The atmosphere is a little louder than it needs to be, but not obnoxiously so. Great service and great times.

The Dublin Pub
300 Wayne Avenue
Dayton, OH 45410-1116
(937) 224-7822

Smokey Bones

Am visiting Dayton, Ohio, this week. When dinner time rolled around, we went on a great hunt for something to eat. This sign looked interesting so we stopped in Smokey Bones BBQ & Grill for dinner.


Gotta a seatnear the televisions to watch a basketball game on the television. Go figure the odds of finding a Big 12 school on the television!


Several cold options on draft. Decided to give the Burning River Pale Ale from Great Lakes Brewery at try. A home run! It was really tasty.


Smokey bones is a Bar-Be-Que place so I decided to try the ribs. There are lots of choices of flavors on the menu. They also provide some of their most popular sauces for you to try. I decided on the ribs, narrowed down the choice to a tangy sauce rather than a rub coating. A few minutes later, magic happened ...


At first I thought it was a big red fish taking a little nap on my plate. So, I surprised it with my fork. Yep, it was pretty good.

I'm from a place with pretty good BBQ, so this wasn't the same as visiting Memphis, Dallas or Kansas City for BBQ. No place on Earth burns a pig like these high holy places of BBQ. THAT being said, the food was pretty good. The sides were hit and miss though. The broccoli was brilliantly spiced and wonderful. The cole slaw was unbearable, just plain awful. The baked beans were sauce-coated victims of the kitchen. I sampled their chicken later and found it to be a little dry and snarky. Overall, not too bad. Would visit again and try other things on the menu.

Smokey Bones BBQ & Grill
(937) 415-0185
6744 Miller Ln,
Dayton, OH 45414

Motionless & Broken

Have you ever been stuck, absolutely motionless, on the tarmac inside an airplane because bad weather somewhere far, far away is causing delays? Had a few hours of it myself just now ...


When I finally arrived at my destination, my suitcase came off the carousel like a war casualty. It had been fatally wounded by the baggage handlers. You know it cost $25 for my suitcase to accompany me on this trip. Now I feel like an accomplice in its murder.


* Image was Photoshop-ped to protect the innocent, exaggerate the damages, and to make me feel better.

Courage In The Kitchen?

Nope, I'm not THAT brave ... Are you?

Something About Horses

There's something about horses that has always fascinated me. While I was working on a fence for a friend, I had to cross the road and say "Hi!" to these ponies. This old mare came over and demanded some affection ... and eventually some of the apple I had for lunch.


It's great to see horses, sleek, well-fed and happy in pastures large enough for them to roam and enjoy life. Something tells me that these horses like the dinner table a little more than galloping through their meadow.


How about you? Like Horses?

Day Off Dessert - Creme Brulee

Had to make some comfort food on my day off. Yes, a dessert this time. Creme Brulee. It's a rich vanilla custard with a caramelized sugar crust, and it is 100% yummy. Here's how I made it.

First, gotta have all the cream a single cow can make in a week. Can you guess what my favorite local dairy store is? They just didn't have enough on the shelf today. A REAL vanilla bean is must. I got this one a few days ago and kept it out in the kitchen all week coz it smelled sooooo good!


Next, you need some superfine sugar. I like to use pure cane sugar. You also need all the eggs a hen can lay in a week.


I like to add a couple of tablespoons of orange liqueur just because it tastes so good. Grand Marnier it is then! Yes, Cointreau works too, but some days you just gotta splurge.


Cut and scrape the vanilla bean. Add its goodness to the cream and bring it all gently up to a boil. Let it cool for a little bit. Whisk the eggs and sugar together without foaming it up. Now add the cooled, strained vanilla cream to the eggs and sugar mix. You want the cream cool now so you make a custard instead of an omelette. Add all that happiness to ramekins relaxing in a hot bat.


Bake for awhile, just until a knife comes back clean when it pierces your still trembly, jiggly custard delight. Let the ramekins cool.

Now to top all of this with a crunchy sense of joy. You'll need some brown sugar for that. Amen.


Sprinkle your brown sugar over the vanilla custard. Then melt the sugar to a carmel colored liquid with heat. Some people use a torch, I prefer the toasting it with the broiler in my oven. Watch it closely so that it melts rather than burns. It's pretty much perfect when it bubbles, is evenly melted, and your oven starts to smell like cotton candy.

Here's mine ...


There are six of them altogether. Would anyone care for a dessert? My treat!

My Very Own Bridge To Nowhere

Need I say more? Call me at work tomorrow and be damned. I'm taking the day off.

Eating Healthy?

Thought I should have a healthy lunch before heading off to a pair of the Evil Corporation's famous Hell meetings. At first I thought maybe a salad would be nice, but then a taco demon perched himself on my shoulder. What was for lunch? Taco ... salad ... with an enchilada kicker ...


Somehow it just didn't finish as healthy of a choice as I had anticipated, but some days are just that GOOD!

Guess Who Came To Town?

Have you ever encountered someone famous on the road? Maybe not them so much as their guitar? I did.

Turns out that Brad Paisley came to Oklahoma City last Friday. He's a country music performer. The show was a big success. Makes me wonder who I'll meet next.

Have you ever bumped into a celebrity?

Dim Sum anyone?

Time for a treat! Dim sum anyone? First are the jalapeno peppers stuffed with shrimp and a side of garlic chicken feet.


Now for some crispy pork.


Then some shrimp shu mai.


How about a crab ball or some clams? They're very tasty.


Dip the tripe in chili paste and soy sauce. It's not too bad either.


Hope you had fun having lunch with me. Would you like to do it agian sometime?

Thank You Bindiya

I am so blessed to have friends as dear as Bindiya. She surprised me with a very generous and sweet gift.


She made my Christmas a tasty one!


Thank you very much Bindi. You're the greatest!

Happy New Year!!!

Magickal Graphics

Happy New Year! Wish you all the very best for the new year.

Did you make any resolutions? If you haven't chosen one yet, please consider this:

Pray for the strength to give some things--even a few at a time--to someone who has need of them.

— from Coping With Loss: Praying Your Way to Acceptance

Best wishes,

Skeeter

7 Bold and Lucky Predictions

What do you think the new decade will bring? Sure, flying cars and peace on earth are probably long shots, but what might we really see? Given the rate at which human knowledge is doubling, what is possible?

Here are my bold predictions ... at least some of them. Hopefully without too much sarcasm ...

#1. A "cure" for glaucoma. I think that the work on the human genome and the discovery of defective genes that lead to some types of glaucoma, a drug therapy will be made available that will effectively cure this disease. I'm looking forward to it!

#2. From a planetary perspective, we will have a near miss by an asteroid or comet. Statistics being what they are and all, maybe the government will get serious about funding some basic research and early warning mechanism. We've learned about the importance of early warning systems for tsunamis in the oceans, right? While they're at it, I'm holding out hope that the government will take steps to fund more basic scientific research and also defend our wildlife, soil, air and water.

#3. Someone will actually get serious about the size and rate of growth of our federal debt. Seriously, if the United States were a person, what would your reaction be? Yep, pay the man $5 and let him squeegee the windshield.


#4. Rush Limbaugh will make his last radio broadcast and retire. Nope, it won't happen because the gulf between conservative and liberal mindsets has closed. It will happen because common decency and respect for others will finally become important enough social forces to get people to just turn the channels on radios to something less hateful. By the same token, Janeane Garofalo will stop (politically anyway) foaming at the mouth, hire a new agent and once again earn an honest living as an actress.

#5. I will complete my collection of Le Creuset cookware, master the souffle, and successfully (FINALLY) poach an egg in red wine.


#6. On December 21st, 2012, I will watch the sun set over the ancient city of Teotihuacan, Mexico, and won't be disappointed at all that the world didn't end. Sure, it would be very cool indeed to witness an alien first contact or something extraordinary like that but what are the odds? Well, I'll have a bag of popcorn and be ready for the light show just in case :-)


#7. Finally some football talk. Our beloved Oklahoma Sooners will win another National Championship. I want to hold out hope that one day our much beloved Denver Broncos won't stink anymore and will be good enough to win playoff games, but ... You know, that brings us back to the probabilities of having flying cars, a cure for the common cold, and world peace.

Just Plain GOOD!

Yes, I've talked about OKC's best taco stand, Los Tacos, before. They're still the greatest! Today, my son and I had lunch at Los Tacos. Their combination burrito and chicken tacos RULE. What's better? Their taco sauce of course. Yummy for my tummy ... and then a nice long nap. Life is just that good.

A Prologue & A Blue Moon

The moon is trying very hard now to do something very rare - be full twice in the same month. This second full moon will happen on December 31st so we will have a Blue Moon on New Year's Eve! Sky watchers calculate that the next time this will happen is way off in 2028. What will the world, your world anyway, be like on New Year's Eve 2028?

I finished moving yesterday. While unpacking a box of books, I found an old bookmark given to me by someone very dear. It is a curved pointer made of brass with a red tassel and inscribed with one of George Sand's most memorable quotes: "There is only one happiness in life, to love and be loved." Naturally, it was hiding inside a Jayne Ann Krentz novel. One of the reasons I like reading her novels is that she writes the best, most interesting prologues of just about anyone in the business. If you get the chance to read one of her novels, go ahead and give it a try. Read the prologue. You'll be glad you did.

Speaking of prologues, I have had the hardest time writing one for this novel I've been working on since September. I completed the first draft of this beast in three weeks writing out 387 pages in longhand in two different composition books. The second draft just about killed me. In order to be true to the story, I had to do some re-plotting. Wouldn't you know that one of secondary characters had stolen the story about the time I started the second of the 99 cent composition books. That character is a dying matriarch. She sustains and unifies her family, and tries to prepare them for the difficult times that will come once she's gone.

The larger story is a Southern Gothic flavored romance. Now that the third draft is finished, Flannery O'Connor's mischievous flock (faith, grace and redemption) perch on the branches of my story and sing till the sun goes down. Not too loudly, of course, just enough to get someone to go out and refill the metaphorical suet cake feeder out back.

This story needs one more pass through the draft to be right with the world. What it needs most of all is a prologue that hits the mark. Have you ever had something you've worked on that just doesn't feel right to you and you just have to keep working at getting it right?

That is this story. Another quote from George Sand seems to say something scary about "authorship"; that is, "The trade of authorship is a violent, and indestructible obsession." Does anyone else get this feeling about their creative work?

In The Books & Casting Bread

Tis the season for looking back over the last year and taking stock, trying to make sense of everything that's happened, and trying to fit it all together into a whole. For me, this has been a very eventful year. An eventful year almost in the books now.

Hopefully next year won't be so exciting. If you've followed this blog, you're up to date on most everything - until the last week! Whadda week ...

As much as it sounds like a lyric from Billy Joel's "Piano Man", my
dance instructor, Jacqui, joined the Navy and probably will be in it for life.


This year there were several new and innovative Christmas light displays. This one was around the Chesapeake corporate campus. Of course my camera couldn't do justice to it. It was really great ...


Then came the snow and more snow and then ... even more snow. Driving through the blizzard to get home was an experience. It took 3 hours and 2 minutes to make the 22 miles drive ...


The next day, there was loads of snow around the house ...




I've found some comfort in an old bit of genuine wisdom. "Cast your bread upon the waters and you shall find it" (Ecclesiastes 11-1).

This is going to be my approach toward this next year. I'm not sure what the new year will bring, but I know one thing for certain. I can think of ten things right off the top that are gone and don't look to be ever coming back.


Don't ask. Casting bread upon the water sounds whole lot more postiive than living a lyric from that old Jimmy Buffet song "Margaritaville". So THAT'S what I gonna do!