jhoak

Got it. Only part time to start but at the rate I charge for contract work it's still decent coin. Not even close to what I was making at my last full time gig though. No complaints here. After almost 18 months of NO income even a little bit looks good to me. I'll know Monday afternoon how many hours they have in their budget and when I start. She seemed pretty anxious to get me working. Thanks for all the good thoughts.

Probably better that you NOT torment the neighbor's cat. If you decide to do a "rain dance" I want a video. Better yet post the video here. I'm sure that there are others here that could use the laugh. Thanks for the good thoughts and prayers though. Greatly appreciated.

A few months ago I was contracted to do monthly maintenance on a small group of computers at a local office. Certainly not a "living" but a few extra bucks coming in. The family that owns this company has been in this area for 5 or 6 generations and are VERY well connected in these parts. The hope was that they would be happy with my services and refer me to others like them. Small companies that don't need and can't afford a full time IT guy but still have IT needs that need to be attended to. Well it happened. One of the owners gave my name to a local group of 5 private schools. I'm meeting with them tomorrow morning to evaluate their needs and hopefully work out a schedule. Cross your fingers, say a prayer, sacrifice a lamb, or whatever. I could really use a break.

Just curious Bob. Are we talking 1 gallon jugs, 5 gal buckets, 55 gal drums or tank cars?

+1 on Cholula. Excellent flavor with a bit (but not too much) of heat. I just emptied another bottle. Looks like it'll go on the list for the next grocery trip.

1 pound or so of 80/20 hamburger or lean ground chuck. In the meat combine a tablespoon of kosher salt, a teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper, A teaspoon of dried oregano, a teaspoon of dried basil, a quarter teaspoon of dried pepper flakes (optional) and a tablespoon of shredded parmesan cheese. The stuff in the green can is OK here. Divide the burger in to 8 equal portions and shape in to VERY thin patties about 6" in diameter. On 4 of the patties place a few pieces of chopped up pepperoni, a few pieces of corsely chopped onion, and a generous tablespoon of shredded mozzarella. Dust lightly with some parmasean and if so inclined a few red pepper flakes. Place the other 4 patties on top and seal the edges well. Drop them in a wicked hot skillet (cast iron is best) and sear well on both sides. In the mean time toast 4 buns lightly buttering and dusting with garlic salt. While this is happening take some good pizza sauce and heat it up in a small sauce pan. To finish take the now well cooked burgers, place one on a toasted bottom bun and top with a tablespoon of the now hot pizza sauce and some mozzarella cheese. You're now enjoying the "Pizza Ali" pizza burger that I grew up on. It don't get no better...

The mussels turned out quite well but the dinner took an unexpected turn. I have a good friend who is deeply concerned about my health (it's a long story) and several times a week calls to ask what I'm eating that night. That particular day I tell her mussels and pasta and she replies "Sound's good. I'll bring the rest and be there in an hour". As it turned out the meal was mussels in a basil, white wine, butter, and garlic reduction served over linguini. A salad of spring greens, red onions, fresh tomatoes (from her garden), sliced black olives and shaved parmesan. Dressed with XVOO, balsamic vinegar, sea salt and black pepper. Also included was a couple of nice fresh baguettes and a bottle (or maybe two) of chianti. Desert was the one of the two only completely original recipes I've ever dreamed up (which she LOVES) and cappuccinos. There are no pictures. She thinks (for reasons I don't understand) that taking pictures of food and the process is (in her words) "profoundly wierd". Since she paid for the bulk of the meal I yielded to her wishes and left the camera in its case. Sorry... It was all quite good though.

I'm betting she's a blonde

Back when I had a fairly substantial system I asked my agent if I should get a rider for audio equipment. After chatting about it for a while it was determined that I had enough coverage for "contents" that no additional insurance was necessary. What he did suggest was a full inventory that included model number, serial number, aurchase price and pictures. Being able to fully document the loss will stop any arguments and speed up the claim payout. Of course this inventory needs to be kept somewhere other than at the house.

As a general rule... No. Failing caps will not effect performance. It depends on where in the circuit they are. I have seen bad caps cause blue screens but only because the chip(s) they were buffering power to went flaky because of bad power. If that machine were brought to me (I do IT for a living) my first look would be for malware or BOT activity. There are any number of free "cleaners" that will work wonders on a sluggish PC. If you want to chat PM me a phone number and I'll be happy to help in any way I can.

Picked up a pound (or so) of really nice mussels today. I'm thinking a butter - garlic - basil - white wine reduction and served over some manner of pasta. The last time I had decent mussels I tried them in a red sauce and I wasn't very impressed. HMMM... I hope I remember to take pictures.

And now we can have genetically engineered milk. http://vitals.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/01/14173274-cow-named-daisy-makes-reduced-allergy-milk?lite []

I have a Roku 2 XS feeding in to a 1 in 4 out HDMI splitter that in turn feeds the TVs in my house. The remote for the Roku is Bluetooth so I just carry it to the bedroom when I retire for the evening. Most of my viewing is streamed from NetFlix by way of the Roku or the BD player. I am an Amazon Prime member but their "purchase" process for free videos is cumbersome so I rarely use their feeds. Every now and again I do though. I also have a number of other Roku channels set up that get occasional viewing. Between the local broadcasts from Orlando & Tampa and the Roku I don't lack for something to keep me entertained. There's also a HTPC hooked up to the living room computer. Stored on it are about 300 movies ripped from DVDs. Honestly it's been so long that I've watched one of those that I might as well just clear them off. At $100 delivered (or less) I think the Roku is one of the best entertainment values available. For the VERY occasional "just out" Blu-Ray I hit one of the local RedBox machines. There are no less than 5 of them within 10 miles of my house. I cancelled my DirecTV service earlier this year. I can't say that I miss it at all. My monthly DTV cost had grown to almost $150. Considering how little TV I watch it was just stupid to shell out that kind of coin. At one point I calculated that it was costing me close to $7 an hour to watch TV. DUMB! I went from $150 a month to under $15 a month. There are a LOT of good streaming options AND content out there. And don't count out getting a small antenna for receiving local OTA broadcasting. You'll be amazed at how much better the picture is from OTA than cable or satellite.

I'm using a "slow cooker" (I.E. Crock-Pot) this time. I've also made the same in a Dutch oven cooked in the oven. I like the results of the crock-pot better even though it takes a LOT longer. I've never done a "pork" pot roast but I can't think of any reason why it wouldn't be wonderful. Go for it. Here's a "teaser" picture of what's currently simmering at the jhoak household. Yea... It smells WAY better than it looks right now.

I just got back from the grocery. Coming soon: The Pot Roast Project. With an all star cast featuring Shoulder Roast, Carrots, Potatoes, Onions, Celery, and Mushrooms. Pictures to follow...

You've done well grasshopper. Who else here is old enough to know that reference? I'm looking forward to photos of the finished and plated dish. If you need to host additional pictures you have my email address. Happy to do it for you. In the mean time I am so SO craving a big ole plate of enchinalads Enjoy!

Rdmarsiii, If you don't want to mess with it email them to me at jeff DOT hoak AT gmail DOT com and I'll host them in my Photobucket account and supply you with the links to them. Boxx, If you're referring to the RF-3 IIs they're still here. They play 16+ hours a day. I'd love to find a new home for them so I can move on to the next "project".

Trust me... It's nowhere nearly as bad as you think. Grandchildren are wonderful. If they get fussy or stinky you can hand them back to Mom or Dad and say "Here... This is yours. Deal with it". []

Do you really believe that you're going to get your Droid and your Mac to play nice together. Oh... You are so SO deluded. You realize of course that they're "mortal" enemies. Right? OK... Just kidding... You can get photos off of an Android phone to load in to a Mac. I've done it. Connect the phone to the Mac with the USB cable. It should see it as an external drive. From there drill down to the photos or images folder and drag them from there wherever you want to store them on the Mac. And I of course have to add...

Enjoy these years to the fullest my friend. They're irreplaceable and gone before you know it. Before long you'll get a call that begins with "hey Dad... Guess what?" and the next thing you know you're sitting in a waiting room anticipating the arrival of one of these:

The sad story of my life. A day late and a dollar short once again. I hope you had a spectacular day Amy.

I guess I should be checking my front porch for deliveries soon. Did they tell you how they would be shipping?

These received mention in the October issue of Home Theater magazine. In the "This Just In" section, page 19.

The meat, onion, and spice mix has gone in to the pool as it were so it's time to deglaze the skillet with a splash of the Ale. It'd be a shame to let those yummy brown bits go to waste. Everybody in to the pool for a nice long slow cook. Some 8 hours later this is what I got to enjoy. Normally with a big-tub-o-chiii I'd cook up a big skillet of jalapeno cornbread. I'm a dottering old dumb@$$ and failed to buy the ingredients need for the cornbread. A couple of slices of frozen Texas Toast will have to do. The beer is pretty good though Sorry but no fancy place settings or big buck dinner ware or fine wine here. I'm a pretty "basic" kinda guy. Gimme a decent bowl of chili and a couple of good beers and I sleep like a baby that night. OK... there's an expression that I just don't "get". When my son was a baby the little SOB would NOT sleep through the night. EVER. What am I missing here?

One yellow onion coarsely disassembled: The spice mix. Garlic powder, black pepper, cayenne pepper, kosher salt, chili powder, Carol Shelby's chili spice mix, cocoa powder, and whatever else sounded good to me at the time. Browning up nicely with the chopped onions in place. In the mean time the "wet" stuff is patiently warming up and waiting for the "star of the show" to show up. The spice mix has been added to the browned meat. Good color. My kitchen is beginning to smell really REALLY good at this point. Page 3 already? Go figure.