jhoak

That was cool! I would imagine that it takes a bit of effort to haul a shark of that size up that far.

I have always admired the ability of a raptor to take prey from the ground, water and air. Many years ago when I was working for my Dad building houses we had a build on a local lake. I never was able to spot the nest but near by was a pair of bald eagles. I routinely watched them drag really big fish out of the lake. When the water got cold and the fish went deeper the eagles changed over to taking other birds. I saw many a dove become dinner in a puff of feathers mid flight. Not too long ago I was sitting on my back porch enjoying a cool fall evening, a nice toddy and a smoke. Out of the corner of my eye I spotted a squirrel crossing my back yard. Not an uncommon occurrence at all. About the time I turned my head to look at him he stood up. In that moment a very large owl swooped through and the next thing I knew the squirrel was just gone. One of the many times of my life when I've wished I had a video camera running. Predators and prey. That's the way it works. Always has and always will.

Yesterday morning at 06:16 my phone rings. As a rule if my phone rings between 23:00 and 07:00 something really bad has happened. That morning I was awake but still in bed watching the local news. It was my Mom. She's in tears and hard to understand. My first thought was that something bad had happened to Dad. It was bad but in a different way. Dad was fine. Sometime during the night the plastic tube feeding their refrigerator's ice-maker had split. They had about an inch of water in most of the house. I jumped out of bed, dressed, and loaded up both of my shop-vacs. I didn't shave, shower or even brush my teeth (I'm sure my parent's appreciated that). I made the normally 20 to 25 minute trip in 17 minutes. When I got there they had water running out of every exterior door and in to the garage. D@MN! Dear Lord... What a mess... Dad was frantically vacuuming up water wherever he could. He was clearly really rattled. They have a houseful of antiques collected over a lifetime. I guess I supplied a little "sanity" to the situation by telling him to shut off the shop-vac and gather up what was needed to get all of the furniture up out of the water. Good idea he says. Dad told me that he had lost count of how many times he had emptied his 10 gallon shop-vac. I filled and emptied my 12 gallon at least 3 times and there was still a LOT of standing water. It was time for some help. It was still only 07:30 and while we're trying to avert additional furniture damage I say "you need to be on the phone with your insurance agent at exactly 08:00". He begins to argue that he doesn't want to make a claim for fear of losing coverage. "I think we can fix this ourselves" he says. Understand that my parents are deeply religious. Out of respect for them and their religious beliefs I simply do not use any language in their presence that they would disapprove of. Dad's "I think we can fix this" comment was all it took for me to go off on him. My response was "This kind of $H!T is the reason we pay outrageous insurance rates. If you won't call them I D@MN well will". Actually it was a bit worse than that but you get the idea. I can only attribute my "first ever" use of profanity in front of my Dad to his decision to make the call. He had the home phone number of his agent and made the call. Within a few minutes he had a callback from the local Service-Master office AND the claims adjuster from his insurance company. A little after 09:00 The Service-Master rep was at their house assessing the damage. A few minutes later a big truck full of equipment and a technician backed in to their driveway. After a bit of paper signing the tech went to work. He set up 2 VERY large dehumidifiers and a "ride-on" water extractor for the carpeted floors. Trashed is about 600 square feet of gorgeous oak hardwood flooring, the carpet in at least 2 and maybe 3 bedrooms and the bases of their kitchen cabinets. Questionable is a dozen or so pieces of antique furniture. I think Mom is most upset about the couple of dozen Christmas presents that were sitting around one of their trees that received a thorough soaking. These are/were the presents purchased for their 7 grandchildren and 1 great-grandchild. Since there was nothing more that I could do other than be in the way I headed back home at about 11:00. I talked to Dad early last night and Service-Master had left them with 3 dehumidifiers and 12 fans running. His comment was that his house currently sounded like a jet engine and would for the next 2 days. I offered my guest room but they wanted to stay at home with their little dog. The moral of the story... If your ice-maker is being fed by a plastic tube change it out from time to time. They WILL fail eventually. In my house I replaced all of the plastic feed tubes with copper tubing many years ago after a similar (but not so catastrophic) failure that had water pouring down through my kitchen ceiling.

Access to firearms is NOT the problem here. Mental health or more accurately the lack thereof is the real issue here. Had the deeply troubled young man who murdered 27 people been denied firearms he would have chosen another method to wreak havoc. The first that come to mind would be ramming a carload of AMFO through the front doors of the school. Depending on where he struck the resulting explosion would have killed many more and done irreparable damage to the building. A simple machete which is widely available could be used to kill many in a matter of minutes. Like I said earlier. It's not the weapon of choice, it's about the mindset of the person wielding said weapon. There are many many ways to kill lots of people be they adults or children. This one chose firearms. The next one may choose explosives or perhaps toxic gasses. One of the down sides of the internet and freely available information is that the "recipe" for many deadly devices and chemicals is easy enough to find. Do a search on AMFO or Sarin gas and you'll quickly see what I'm saying. If there was any "failing" to blame for this very tragic event it's the medical system's inability to identify potentially violent people. Perhaps the parent's should shoulder some the blame as well. Did they recognize a problem with their child? Did they seek help for him? I'm guessing yes for the former and no for the latter. We live in a society where "mental health issues" are negatively stigmatized. Nobody wants to talk about it much less admit to such issues. I lived for 17 years with a manic depressive alcoholic. She was never a danger to others but constantly a danger to herself. To this day she struggles with her demons with little or no support from the medical community. In the 80's and 90's most of this countries mental institutions were closed down for various reasons. Today about the only way to get decent mental health care is to commit a crime and be incarcerated in the prison system. To me this is just sad. I know a few who should be institutionalized (at least for the short term) to protect the public at large from their potential outbursts. Don't get me wrong here. I'm not pointing a finger or laying blame on anyone. I'm just saying that perhaps if there was a better mental health identification and support system in place the young man who pulled a trigger more than 100 times Friday morning might have found the help he needed rather than executing 27 innocent lives.

I would have to agree with that. On all points. The killing of anyone simply would never occur to me. Much less the mass execution of children. Quite simply unbelievable to me. What get’s in the heads of people that drives them to these kinds of acts. If you’re hell bent on killing someone point the gun barrel at your temple and pull the trigger. BOOM! There... You were successful at killing someone. My heart goes out to the families of the victims. I simply can't imagine what they're feeling right now.

I have a good friend who has a Music Hall MMF-7 with a Ortofon 2M Blue and a MMF-9 with a 2M Black. He uses the MMF-9 to play his new albums and the 7 to play anything he buys used. Honestly I couldn't hear enough difference between them to justify the additional cost. During an afternoon listening session a few months ago he reluctantly admitted that he probably ought to sell the MMF-9/2M Black rig as it just wasn't THAT much better. Now he's talking about selling both of them and spring for a $6K VPI deck and $3K cartridge. All I can do is just shake my head. I wish I had that kind of coin to piss away for what amounts to an incremental (at best) improvement.

I've used this recipe many times. It does have a little "kick" to it but it's not what I'd call "hot" at all. There's a LOT of other ingredients in the mix. Not to mention a lot of dairy which takes the edge off of any hot sauce. Of course I suppose that depends a LOT on what hot sauce you're using. I use the Tabasco "Chipolte" sauce and have been consistantly complimented. If you're using one of the Habanero based sauces it could get real hot real quick. I tried it once with Frank's Red Hot sauce and it was WAY too hot. Not inedible but we all went through a LOT of paper napkins wiping the sweat off of our faces. Stick with a "low fire" hot sauce and it'll be fine.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/fried-shrimp-recipe/index.html This is a good one.

I've used this recipe many many time with both tilapia and flounder and it's always been wonderful. 36 ounces tilapia fillets 1 1/4 cups alfredo sauce (home made or store bought. Extra can be used to mix with pasta if desired) 8 ounces angel hair pasta, cooked 1 lemon, sliced into 6 wedges 3/4 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs, for tilapia crusting mixture 3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, for tilapia crusting mixture 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, for tilapia crusting mixture 4 cups zucchini, cut into 1/4 inch slices and halved 4 cups yellow squash, cut into 1/4 inch slices and halved 2 cups red bell peppers, cut into strips 2 cups red onions, cut into strips 1 tablespoon italian seasoning, for vege mixture 1 tablespoon kosher salt, for vege mixture 1 tablespoon chopped garlic, for vege mixture 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, for vege mixture Directions: 1 To make Tilapia Crusting Mixture: 2 Using a spoon, thoroughly mix all ingredients specified for crusting in a large bowl. 3 Cover and refrigerate until ready to use. 4 Italian Vegetables: 5 In a large bowl, combine all vegetables and other ingredients specified for vege mixture and mix thoroughly. 6 Place onto a baking sheet, forming a single layer. Set aside until ready for baking with tilapia. 7 Assembling Parmesan Crusted Tilapia: 8 Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. 9 Place Tilapia fillets in a non-stick, shallow, baking pan. 10 Pour 3 tablespoons of Alfredo sauce onto each tilapia fillet. Use bottom of spoon to evenly coat top of fish. 11 Sprinkle 1/3 cup of prepared tilapia crusting mixture onto each piece and firmly pat breading evenly over Alfredo sauce. Place pan of tilapia on top rack and at the same time, place baking sheet with vegetables on the center rack, in the oven. After approximately 15 minutes, or when the internal temperature of fish reaches 150 degrees F, remove fish from oven and transfer onto a large platter. 12 The vegetables should bake for an additional five minutes, or until tender, and remove from oven. 13 Toss the vegetables with angel hair pasta (and extra Alfredo sauce if you like)and place around fish. 14 Garnish with lemon wedges and serve immediately. For "full disclosure" this recipe was stolen by way of the WWW from Olive Garden.

Well certainly not "fine food" by any stretch but a couple of big nasty chili dogs sure hit the spot this evening. Two grilled hot dogs (well charred) and a healthy portion of my last batch of Texas Red topped with shredded sharp cheddar and chopped onion. Sided by a dozen or so Tater-Tots and a small bowl of 3 bean salad. Washed it all down with a nicely chilled glass or two of Sierra Nevada Torpedo IPA. Dessert was a small glass of one of my greatest weaknesses... Egg Nog. I'll sleep well tonight with a very full tummy and a couple of beers in me. Sorry... No pictures. My camera is currently loaned out and the cell phone pics just purely sucked.

I wish I could remember my first 10. Not a clue all these years later.[] I do know that I had all of the albums posted by the OP. What order they arrived in I just don't remember.[:$]

Good luck to you sir. Tint laws are not about officer safety or the driver's vision. They're all about enhanced revenue. Just one more thing that they can write tickets and collect finds for. There's an outside chance that you'll get a sympathic judge but my money is on you loosing the battle and you coughing up the fine plus court costs. If I were in that place I'd strip the tint, pay the fine, and move on

Today is the 71st anniversary of the event that drew the US in to WWII. If you know a veteran of that horrific war please take the time today to thank them for their service.

Very sad. The loss of another one of the "greats". RIP Mr. Brubeck. Considering the millions of us that you brought a smile to it's well deserved.

Congrats!!! Grandbabies are pretty special.

It occurred to me recently that I hadn't spun a record in more than a year. I consider that a sign that this is stuff that I just don't need any more. I'd like to someone who will appreciate and use it. I purchased the table from fixmydual.com August of 2011 for $370 without a cartridge. The turntable was completely rebuilt by Bill at fixmydual.com and installed in a new solid walnut plinth with a new dark smoked acrylic dust cover. It is very close to perfect in every way. There are no operational issues whatsoever. The installed cartridge is a Realistic (Radio Shack) R25XT with a new stylus installed. Also included is a record cleaning brush with 2 spare pads and a couple if stylus cleaning brushes. Sorry but I do not have the "stacker" spindle (stacking records is bad bad bad) or the 45 adapter. Asking price is $200 for the turntable This is a "local pickup" only sale as I do not have the materials or skills to properly pack it for shipment. On top of that the albums weigh in at nearly 70 lbs making them cost prohibitive to ship. Thanks for looking

Agreed. The "off axis" picture on a RPTV was a world better than LCDs or Plasmas of the time. That was my greatest disappointment with my Westinghouse LCD. I really didn't mind my then girlfiend almost sitting in my lap but 18 or 19 year old Son not so much.

I never owned a Mitsu RPTV but know several people who do/did. The only RPTV I ever owned was a Hitachi. I don't recall the size but I want to say 42" or so. I sold it to my Sister when I got my first LCD It was hard to beat the "bang for buck" of a RPTV. Even up until recent years you could get a much larger RPTV than LCD or Plasma for the same money. If you were in to really big on a really tight budget RPTV was the way to go. Alas like all "outdated" technologies it was time for RPTV production to come to an end. I'm VERY surprised that Mitsubishi hung on to the line as long as they did.

http://www.engadget.com/2012/12/02/mitsubishi-rptv-rip/

I'll be following this thread closely My Dad at age 76 is in DIRE need of hearing aids but has been reluctant to admit it. This past Thursday during the trip to North Florida to pick up a pair of Heresys he finally said "I know I need hearing aids". That was a big BIG step for him. Right now the sibilings and I are researching the best options for him. Hopefully he'll follow through and get tested and fitted. I know my Mom would sure appreciate not have the TV running at 100% volume all day long.

This is probably bad advice. I know nothing of VA tint laws but here in Florida the officer can issue either a "fix it" ticket or a citation with a $116 fine. The fix it ticket requires the recipient to report to the nearest station of the ticketing agency be it local, county, or state for inspection within 30 days. If the offending problem is solved the matter is dropped and the ticket expunged from the drivers record. If you don't report within 30 days the ticket automatically changes to a citation and you have to cough up the fine. If you get caught a second time for the same violation the fine is much MUCH higher but I don't recall how much. $500 sticks in my mind but I'm not real sure about that. An interesting twist Florida has taken is to also fine the installer. Tint installers here are required to place an ID sticker somewhere along with the tint. The last I read the fines to the installer start at $1000 and can go up from there depending on how many "illegal" installations they've done And for even more fun here the officer can write a citation for EVERY single window in the car that doesn't meet the requirements. I drive a little 2-door hatchback. If I got popped on a tint violation (won't happen, I'm legal) I could be looking at $696 fine. My Parent's Honda Civic would be on the hook for as much as $928. My advice... Remove the tint by whatever means necessary. Unless of course you have the spare coin to pay out big fines to your local PD. Oh... One more thing... If your back glass has a wire defroster be very VERY careful removing the tint. It takes next to nothing to trash the defroster. Yea... Ask me how I know that.