Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween

The Red Socks pulled it off, and the good folks of Boston can celebrate their Halloween in style. 

Peace...Make Food/Not War

Wednesday 10-30-13 Go Red Socks

I'm not a Boston Red Socks fan. Growing up in Connecticut you would think I was, but not so, I was forced to root for the Socks for four years during Catholic school. All our nuns were Sisters
of Notre Dame, Irish Catholic, and from Boston. I loved the nuns, the sock, NOT.

Mom and I were Yankee fans, and Dad was a Dodger fan being from Brooklyn. I'm now a Mets fan, and there's not much to speak about there.

I am even less a fan of St. Louis, so I have been rooting  for the Socks.  I'm hoping the Red Socks will put this series away in Boston tonight. But, it is baseball, and anything can happen.

The other reason I hope the Socks win is that Boston has a tough year, and they could use some good cheer. Last, but not least, they have never won a series in Boston in 95 years.  They're due.

That is my stupid blog for today. If this is not the most boring blog I've ever written, it's right up there.

Life is what happens between meals.

Peace,

Make Food/Not War

Food Consumption,

Breakfast; black coffee 1 sugar, 1/2 cup strawberry yogurt, granola, 2 piece of sour dough bread
w/butter

Lunch; peanut butter sandwich, apple

Dinner; chicken and dumplings with carrots, onions, and  green beans

Exercise; 5 miles walking/hiking, 1 hour cycling

Scraps

I had something to write this morning and then it was gone. I didn't write it down. Of course my desk in the office is littered with little scraps of paper. One such notation to myself says; pick up avocados,  Esalen, tiramisu, buon compleano (happy birthday in Italian), Sid Arthur, some arithmetic, a note from our house sitter telling me to check out Caro Emerald on YouTube, which I still haven't done.

There's a great article in the October 24 issue of Rolling Stone about the right wing of the
Republican Party. I have two incomplete movie scripts, 4 months of business receipts that need to be entered into my accounting ledger, and notes from Geri to herself that make absolutely on sense to me at all.

So, there you have it. This reads like an Andy Rooney piece.

That's it for today.

Life is what happens between meals.

Peace,

Make Food/Not War

Food consumption;

Breakfast; 2 pieces of dense sour dough bread w/butter, black coffee, one sugar

Lunch; general Tao's chicken w/shrimp fried rice, 6 pot stickers

Dinner; shrimp fried rice

Exercise; 1/2 hr. biking, 5.5 miles walking/hiking

Monarchs and Merigolds

I have always wanted to witness the mass migration of the monarch butterfly and I got my chance this last weekend I got my chance. I din't mention in my previous blog Thursday exactly where the writing seminar Geri and I attended this last weekend was, but it was at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, where the monarchs stop to rest and copulate in the marigold bushes.

After all these years of hearing about other people's experience we finally had our Esalen cherries popped. It's a great place to go and commune with nature, eat great organic foods, meet wonderful intelligent people, and learn about so many things, not the least of all one's self, and the monarchs. 

It is a bucolic, Upton Sinclair, uptopian socialistic existence that is truly captivating. I could have used a couple of more days, or maybe years, there. 

The writing seminar we took was sponsored by the Sun magazine, a reader/writer publication that has been in production for 40 years now.  Sy Syfransky is the founder of the magazine. A kind, funny, gentle, compassionate human being. 

Our time was spent in workshops writing, reading our works, and listening to other writers 

read their works. In between the workshops there was food, or you could schedule a massage, go for  a swim in the poll, take a hot-bath in sulfur spas, or go for a hike. There were people from all over the globe there, and quite a few people from the Bay Area. We met one of the former editors of the Sun magazine living right around the corner from our home. 

From Oakland you can get to and from Esalen on a tank of gas. Once your're there you don't need to, or want to, go anywhere. 

Located on the central coastline of the Pacific, and perched on a few hundred acres of flat land above the cliffs, one looks down on a magnificent kelp bed ocean. A mixture of salt water, sulfur, and patchouli oil fills the air. Above us were higher cliffs I feared would come crashing down on me at any moment because I was guilty of having way too much fun. 

When we did arrive back home, after dropping a fellow traveler in San Francisco, we were greeted by happy furry family members. Of course Merle had just vomited on the bed. It was feeding time

again.  The thin thread that connected me to the other world was broken. Still, there is no place like

your own space.

Special shout outs to Ocean. Please come and rest your body after your cycle to Baja. Tim, please keep in touch. I'm ready to write. The woman from PA who's name I cannot recall who was there every time we turned around, and who I was always happy to see, please come visit us next time.
And of course Alex, keep in touch.

It was an old hippie's dream come alive.

Life is what happens between meals.

That's it.

Peace, 

Make Food/Not War

Food consumption;

Breakfast;  2 egg sandwich on wheat toast, black tea w/honey

Lunch; grilled pannini  sandwich w/French ham, gruyere cheese and artichokes and a small salad

Dinner; turkey sandwich w/avocado, lettuce, mayo, & mustard  

Writing

There will be no blog this Friday or this weekend. Geri and I will be  attending a writers seminar.  Hopefully this rather expensive experience will give me some sorely needed skills to write more exciting new blogs, bla, bla, bla.

My life is basically the same as everyone else, more or less, it's boring. I get up early, do the chores, walks dogs, have breakfast, walk more dogs, see cats, ride my bike, have lunch, go for more walks, have dinner, walk again, come back, do this stupid blog and write other crap, watch some TV, try to sleep, get up again and do it all over. To extract something of interest out of that is, at least for me, a minor friggin miracle.

If anyone finds these small snippets of my dull life of any value or interest is another minor miracle which truly humbles me.

I never understood why Sidarthur, aka the Buddha, went through all those years of self imposed
suffering to become enlightened when all he had to was just lead a regular life. Life for me, in my definition, is struggle. I don't care who you are, how famous, rich, poor, talented, simple minded, healthy, or disable you may be, you are going to have to struggle to make it through this world. What the Buddha did figure out was how to completely block out the material world that surrounds us from his brain, and just be.

I was raised to believe that life was hard, and that success was what you defined it to me, not  what anyone else shoves down our throats. That the road best traveled was your path alone.

I think pop culture sucks. I see too many people doing what other people tell them they should
do, especially by the government, who has done a wonderful job of brainwashing people into believing that it will provide, protect and defend us, and what's worse is they believe it.

In Oakland, neighborhoods have taken to hiring their own security companies to patrol the streets because the police don't, won't, or can't do it, even marginally. Millions of people are in prison for non-violent crimes, mostly drug possession. We have a puppet government totally unresponsive to the needs of the citizenry, beholding to multi-national corporations and special interest groups, all in the name of the glorious "global"  economy. The mass party line to the people of America is, "Don't worry about anything, we'll take care of everything." The same way they did for the Indians and New Orleans. When will the wealthy pay their share?

I refuse to let anyone tell me what to believe or think. I don't want to fit in with the crowd. I'm in with the out crowd. I don't want to work 80 hours a week for Google or Microsoft, and I have no idea of how I got to this spot, or should I say on this downturn, in today's blog.

I guess I just look around me and I'm as much saddened as I am angry at the state of the world. We have to tools to make this a better planet, but it's not happening. If this is intelligent design then  stupidity design must be really fucked up?  Why has it always been so fucked up?  Are we incapable of all getting along with each?

Talk at you Monday.  It will be nice to depart from the real world for a few precious days with my beautiful bride.

Life is what happens in between meals.

That's it.

Peace,

Make Food/Not War

Food Consumption;

Breakfast; 2 eggs over easy, 1 piece brown bread, potato pancake, black tea w/honey

Lunch; 1.5 handfuls of cashews, 3 ounce smoke salmon

Dinner; pizza from Lanesplitter...why not?

Exercise; 5 miles walking/hiking

CATS

Not everyday is going to be a good day. That's a given. Yesterday just sucked, and why bore people
with the details of how it sucked when they have problems of their own. It's all so unpredictable. Let's move on to today.

Every morning at 3:00 AM, two of our cats, Merle the male, and his sister Callie, vomit.  That's right vomit. Welcome to your new day folks, here's a little present,  now get to work. They generally vomit on the floor next to the bed so that when someone gets up to clean it they can step in it. Geri usually gets up and cleans it up with paper towel and a spray bottle of simple green. We often have difficulty finding the spray bottle  because we leave it at the last vomit site. They also vomit during the day, but the 3:00 AM vomit is a given. I should say that a good day at our home is when none of  the cats vomit.

Last night because I couldn't sleep Geri decided to retire to the office/spare bedroom. I like to watch TV before I sleep. The drone of the television makes me drowsy. Of course the TV satellite went out, par for the course of the day. This left Geri's side of the bed open. She had her dog Westy with her in the office, I had Frida, my dog, and the cats with me.

At 3:00 AM again, like fucking clockwork, Merle decided that Geri's side of the bed was a good place to dispel the remains of his stomach right out to the bedspread. These daily episodes always elicit  a barrage of foul  language from me. Once up I investigated and there were two other areas of the house where Cal and Merle decided to deposit their stomach waste. More paper towels, more simple green.

The reason this whole little daily ritual occurs is that the cats want to be fed at 3:00 AM  they vomit the excess  digested food, so they can stuff themselves with more goodies. I should also mention that if Callie doesn't get wet food she will make our lives an utter nightmare. Likewise, if we don't feed them, they will not let us sleep, jumping on the bed, sitting on our chests, head butting, and caterwauling like drunken hillbillies until they are fed.

It's difficult enough for old humans to get to sleep, but once we're awake it's even harder to get back to sleep.

I love cats. I love Merle and Callie, and I take care of cats and dogs for a living. I'm not giving up my day job to become a blog writer. But, I am tired of hearing about a) how clean cats are b) how independent they are, c) how much wiser they are than dogs.

Before I wrap this up, I should mention we have another cat in our home. His name is Zeus. He was a feral Manz cat. He is Merle's best friend and cuddle buddy, the cleanest of the three cats, the healthiest, and the least trouble. He never vomits. He's also a lover boy.

Our cats are old, almost 16. They've had a good life here, and they have given us many precious
moments, but we won't replace them when it's their time. We will stay with them, care for them, feed them, pick up after them ever morning, and comfort them all the way till the end. We won't replace them though. I like to sleep.

Remember, life is what happen in between meals.

That's it today.

Peace,

Make Food/Not War

Food consumption;

Breakfast; black tea w/honey, yogurt, granola

Lunch; pinto beans and rice

Dinner; smoked salmon, Irish cheddar, a handful of cashews, black tea w/honey

Exercise; 5 miles walkinghiking

A Day When Nothing Went Right

There are days where nothing can go your way. Today was one of those days, and I'm going to quit while I'm behind.

No stats. No nothing.

Peace,

Make Food/Not War

Weekend, Dinner Guests, More Pizza (not that again)

It was a regular weekend with nothing special happening. We went for a big ride Sunday, and had some wonderful neighbors over for pizza. Yes, that again, that's what I do. I'm a pizza cook. Our neighbor Josh made the best tiramisu I've ever had with a crushed amaretto topping . I had three helpings, and another one today.

I did a lot of exercising today to try and compensate for the overeating. I did well on the pizza consumption last night, but blew it with the tiramisu. Give here, take there. Such is life.

That's it.

Peace,

Make Food/Not War

Food Consumption;

Breakfast; 2 pieces of pizza, 2 cups of black tea w/honey

Lunch; 1/2 calzone, 1 serving of tiramisu

Exercise; 7.5 miles walking/hiking, 45 minutes biking

Friday 3-18-13

Nothing to report to the foodies of the world today. I stayed home mostly today, and every once in a while you got to rest.

That's it.

Peace,

Make Food/Not War

Food consumption;

Breakfast; yogurt, granola, 1/3 apple, black coffee one sugar

Lunch; large bowl of leftover spaghetti, one chicken thigh

Dinner; salad, 6 ounces of steak, bread, cappuccino one sugar, small dessert

Exercise; 3.5 miles walking, 1 hour biking

Fig Recipe

As promised yesterday, this is Geri's recipe for fig bars, that she got from last Sunday's San Francisco chronicle. I love the recipe in the Chronicle.

This is a lot of work, so this is my blog for today.

Peace,

Make Food/Not War

Food consumption;

Breakfast; 2 eggs over easy, small potato pancake, 1 piece brown toast

Lunch; peanut butter sandwich, 3 fig bars

Dinner; Bowl of pasta w/marinara

Exercise; 5 miles walking/hiking, 1 hr. cycling

FIG BARS (makes 16)

Fig jam
1 pint figs
3 tbs light brown sugar
2 tbs light brown sugar
large pinch of salt
1/4 cup water

Dough
4 oz. unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup firmly pack light brown sugar

1 large egg.

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp kosher salt

For the figs...cut off the stems, and cut into 1/4 inch pieces. Combine those in a small saucepan with the sugars, salt and water. Cook over medium heat until the figs are soft and jammy, about 10 minutes. If the mixtures gets dry before it get jammy just add a little water. If you add too much don't worry it will cook off. Stir frequently to prevent sticking. Set aside to cool.

For the dough... Preheat oven to 350˚. Line the bottom sides of an 8" sauce pan w/aluminum foil.
Beat the batter and the sugars until smooth. Mix in the egg and the vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt and stir into the butter mixture until well combined. Turn the dough out onto a smooth surface, and divide in half.
To finish...With you finger, press half the dough into the bottom of the foil-lined pan. Spread the cooled fig jam on top. Sprinkle small pieces of dough all over the jam. With your finger press lightly so the dough covers the top of the pan. Do not press so hard that the jam comes through the dough.  Bake until light golden brown, about 30 to 40 minues. Cool then remove from the pan by picking up the edges of the foil.
Calories per bar..189, go lightly my friends

FIGS

Oakland is full of fig trees. There are at least 3 neighbors on our little street that I know of who have fig trees, old fig trees, with big fat figs that the squirrels feast on for weeks and weeks. The red squirrels in Oakland are fat and happy.

There was a  recipe, which I will post tomorrow, for fig bars, that Geri made last night that are out of sight. When they came out of the oven I had two pieces.  Geri's sister Victoria kept saying let it cool, it'll taste better. Sorry, let is cool yes, 10 minutes, and then I'm digging in. Geri is a great baker, and Vicky has won awards when she worked in the bakery in Sabastapol. She was also a pastry cook at Firefly in S.F., not to mention  Folie Douce in Arcata. No small accolades by any means.

I've been riding my bike everyday now, and it feels great. I'm shifting less into lower gears, which means I'm using more of my muscles, and I'm climbing some hills that I didn't climb before. In fact, I'm looking at hills that before I would say, "No way will I make it up that." Now I look at them and say "I might be able to make it up that hill", or, I'll be able to make it up that hill before too long.

I'm never going to be  speed racer or  marathon man, but it sure is fun riding again.

Tomorrow fig bar recipe.

That's it for today.

Peace,

Make Food/Not War

Food consumption:

Breakfast; 2 small fig bars, 1 handful of salted cashew, 2 cups black coffee, 1 sugar

Lunch; small bowl of pasta, chicken thigh meat, sauteed zucchini.

Dinner; quesadilla souza carne asada, whole beans, rice, salsa

Exercise; 6.5 miles walking/hiking, 1.5 hrs. cycling

MEATBALLS

I started out yesterday with 14 meat balls and 5 mild Italian sausages. I can account for Geri and our roommate Michael eating 5 meatballs but I reckon I ate the rest.

When I started this sauce I  braised the meat  in a large 12 quart, Dutch oven, and that is the foundation of the the entire marinara sauce. Then I add the garlic, and cook it for one minute, then the tomatoes, basil, dried herbs,  6 bay leaf, salt, a little sugar to balance the acidity of the tomatoes, and then I cook the meat in the sauce, over low heat for 4 hours.

The meat balls I bake for 12 minutes in the oven, and add those to the sauce as well. They're so friggin' good I can't stop eating them. It's a good thing I'm cycling everyday.

All that's left is the 6 chicken things, which just fall off the bone.

That's my world today.

Peace,

Make Food/Not War

Food consumption;

Breakfast; Greek yogurt, banana, granola, black tea

Lunch; small bowl of pasta, 3 meatballs, sausage

Dinner; pasta again, 2 meatballs, salad w/carrots, cucumber, red bell pepper, romaine, frisee,
            olive oil, lemon, s & p

Exercise; 7.5 miles walking/hiking, 1.5 hrs. cycling

Monday 10-13-13, Weekend & Marinara Sauce

Nothing spectacular happening this weekend, and I'm glad I didn't do any stupid blogging. My diet was what it normally is, and I exercised pretty much like I would any other weekend.

Sunday we started out in San Bruno, and rode to Burlingame, had lunch at Il Fornaio, and then rode along the south Bay shoreline to the San Mateo bridge. We made the mistake of following the Bayshore road by SFO airport on the way back. Never again. The nose from the airport, the smell of jet fuel, and diesel fuel exhaust was enoughto gag the most ardent support of global warming.

Today I'm making a simple marinara sauce. A client of mine gave me a bunch of tomatoes.  I'll combine those with some Italian canned tomatoes that are on sale at our local grocery store. I'm also going to cook a half dozen pork sausages, and a half dozen chicken thighs in with the those to give the sauce  added flavor from the meat. To this end I will also make some turkey meatballs for Geri who won't eat red meat, and for good reasons.

When Geri and I first started living together we would go out for burgers all over San Francisco, trying to find the BEST burger in the city, but she gave up read me, again for good reasons, and so no more burgers with Geri. We went to the old Hamburger Mary's, Bill's out in the avenues, and the best one we ever found was West Lake Joe's, hands down, cooked to perfection.

The recipe for marinara sauce are already in previous blogs, and I believe for meatballs as well. The difference with turkey meatballs is that when I make my regular meatballs I use equal amounts of ground pork, veal, and beef.

Another great way to cook the turkey meatballs is to poach them in chicken stock, add a little soy sauce, ginger, and greens onions.

That's it for today.

Peace,

Make Food/Not War

Food consumption;

Breakfast; cup of yogurt, granola, black tea w/agave

Lunch; 2 hot dogs on whole wheat buns, dijon mustard, sauerkraut, 2 turkey meatballs

Dinner; nothing

Exercise; 5.5 miles walking, 1.5 hrs. hiking



 

Why The A's Lost Again

Starting a rookie pitcher in a playoff game. It's that fucking simple. I said to Geri when the game started I got a bad feeling about this game. I hate it when I'm right. It's a Gray day in Oakland because another bad coaching decision. He didn't have his stuff last night, and you could tell by the placement of his pitches. Sunny has a hard time throwing to left handed hitters. Why can't these coaches see the problem when it's happening right in front of them. You don't leave a pitcher in when you got a whole bull pen full of guys.

Verlander pitched a good game. Of course the offense sucked as well. You have to get hits, get on base, and you have to score runs. If I was the batting coach I'd have my players swinging at first pitch, which percentage wise are almost always fastball strikes, but everyone lays back on first pitches to see what the pitcher is going to do. But, you already know what he's going to do i.e., throw a a fast ball right over the plate on the first pitch. So, what the fuck are are you waiting for?  It's your turn at bat, so plant your feet and swing. Verlander's got great stuff, but he's predictable. Everyone can be beat.

It's just a baseball game. Life goes on. The city of Detroit could use a little pick me up after having gone into bankruptcy.

The end of baseball marks the end of summer for me.

No blogging this weekend, not even stats. Well, maybe stats.

That's it for today.

Peace,

Make Food/Not War

Food consumption;

Breakfast; 2 eggs over easy, 1 piece of brown toast, 1 potato pancake w/Irish cheddar

Lunch; 2 peanut butter sandwiches on whole wheat

Dinner; beans, rice, quesadilla souza carne asada

Exercise; 6.5 miles walking/hiking, 1.5 hrs. cycling

Thursday 10-10-13

We went out to Rumbo Al Sur, a tapas restaurant on Park Blvd. in Oakland, and the food, once again was rocking. The service was exceptional as well. It was a slow night so we got a lot of attention from the wait staff.

The big game is tonight w/the Detroit Tiger. Go A's. That's all I have to write  today.

Peace,

Make Food/Not War

Food consumption;

Breakfast; 2 eggs over easy, 1 potato pancake, black tea 1 sugar

Lunch; nuts, chocolate covered raisins

Dinner; peanut butter sandwich

Exercise; 1 hr. biking, 5.5 miles walking

Wednesday 10-9-13

There is not much to blog about today in my world. It's all work and no time for anything else. Even as I am writing this I'm thinking about what else has to be done, what I didn't accomplish today that I have to reschedule for tomorrow, and the rest of the week.

Work is good. Maybe I'll have something tomorrow.

That's it for today.

Peace,

Make Food/Not War

Food consumption;

Breakfast; 2 eggs over easy, 2 pieces of sour dough w/butter

Lunch; chocolate chip cookie, large salad w/leftover baked chicken, radish, cucumber, shredded carrot, fresh lemon, olive oil, s & p

Dinner; going out, who knows

Exercise; 4 miles walking, 1.5 hrs cycling

Back on the horse + A's Baseball

I got back on the horse today, and I was much more conservative in my riding. I think I've learned my lesson about cowboy bike riding. It's time for old man bike riding.

The Oakland Athletics are still one game away from advancing in the playoffs. The difference is Detroit is also.  Tuesday's euphoria wore off fast today in Michigan.

So, we shall know Thursday night, here in Oakland. The city of Oakland is the little town that doesn't. It's not that it couldn't, or shouldn't it just doesn't. I think we'll go to a sport bar up the hill, and root for the home team. I can envision an A"s v.s. Red Socks series, with the A's kicking the shit out of Boston, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

I have mixed feelings about weather or not home field advantage is an advantage. I'm not a betting man, that was my dear old dad Rocco. He was the odds maker actually, a better job.

I'm tired.

That's it for today.

Peace,

Make Food/Not War

Food consumption;

Breakfast; 2 pieces of toasted sour dough bread w/butter, black tea with honey

Lunch; big salad w/2 oz. smoked salmon, 1/2 oz. shredder Irish cheddar cheese, diced tomatoes, cucumber, 1 radish, frisee' and romaine, salt, black pepper, fresh lemon, olive oil

Dinner; 6 ounces of Italian chicken sausage, steamed white rice and parsley.

Exercise; 7 miles walking, 1 hour biking

Mending + Pizza + Thanks + Love

I have to say that the old body came right back. I feel pretty damn good today considering I fell off a bike and hit the pavement yesterday. The fluid went back into my body and the rib is the most bruised part of my body.

Pizza last night was great, but I couldn't limit myself to just half a pie. I'll give up something else during the week to make up for the excess intake of calories last night. That oven just rocks. I think my friend Ron was the big eater of the evening. The thing about the pizza that comes out of this oven is, people are stuffed, but I keep making the pies, and they can't help themselves, they just keep eating more. Geri's chocolate chip cookies were a big hit, because I saw everyone take seconds. I left the toasted chestnuts on top of the fence for the squirrels.

I'd like to thank, Chrisinte, Guy, Sarah, Ron, Ryan, Sarah, and Peter, for coming. It was wonderful to see you all. Peter, thanks for the beads, and coming all the way from Hawaii to be here with us. It's nice having the young adults around to give us tired beat up old fucks some energy. Their youth and vitality picks me up, even if they're were hung over from the previous night of revelry. Love you guys.  And as Guy Haralson always says, "All you need is love." How true.

Tomorrow I get back up on the horse.

That's it for today.


Peace,

Make Food/Not War

Food Consumption;

Breakfast; black tea w/honey, yogurt, banana, granola, chocolate chip cookie

Lunch; cookies....hey I'm on the mend

Dinner; 4 pieces of leftover pizza,

Exercise: 6.5 miles walking

Crush the Tigers + Bike Crash + ER + No Stats Today + Happy to Be Here

We're right back where we left off last year in the AL West. The Oakland A's are facing the dirty Detroit Tigers. See you tomorrow Detroit. Just because were underpaid don't mean we ain't good, or bad.

This is how my blog started today, then we decided to go for a bike ride, and that's where the day went directly into the shit hole.  While Geri stopped short while I was tailgating her, I crashed, hit the pavement, burned, and then spent 4 hours at the ER with every kind of crazy person known to mankind. I got some great dialogue from that place. Just sit and listen and man the stories, the tragedy, you hear. Nothing is broken. My right elbow swelled up like a black and blue golf ball, and one of my ribs is bruised, a couple of minor scrapes, but I'll live. My bike survived without a nick.

The accident occurred just as we had completed our leisurely peddle through the canals of Alameda. We were at the shopping center parking lot where Safeway is, across from the golf course, right in front of a Synagogue when people were heading in, as Geri said, "to go to church",  "no sweetie, that's temple."  If I had asked "is there was a doctor in the temple?" at least 12 people would have raised their hands. But, people don't really help people these days because they're terrified of being sued. People were very nice, but I got right up, feeling like, you guessed it, a court jester, or in this case the Temple Goy Jester.

It's comical how when people make blunders they sense embarrassment. I know I do. Riding too close, and why? You in a hurry fool, and for what, to get yourself killed?

At the ER, they tried to drain the am biotic fluid from the golf ball, but it wasn't ready to leave the sanctuary of the golf ball. This only took four hours. And, if you have to be in an ER having your own private nurse, Geri,with you, isn't a bad thing, if you can pull it off.

 After the ER visit I came home, had a talk with Alice, and cooked pizza for 10 people. I must say I did quite well on my falling. Those early years of playing sports paid off once again. It could have been much, much worse. My head, legs, feet, hands, and most of my torso, except for that one rib, came away unscathed. I was only going 5 miles an hour, but I do have to be more careful. I take a lot of chances and I cowboy out there. I'm going to be sore, really sore, tomorrow.

Such is life. Sometimes you fall. I'm eternally thankful I'm doing OK.

In the wise words of my dear sister Helene, "Any accident you can walk away from is a good one. Ain't it the truth.

That's enough for one day.

Peace,

Make Food/Not War

Exercise; 25 miles cycling

Oaktoberfest In The Dimond

No, I didn't spell Dimond incorrectly. It's actually pronounced De-mond, origins of which are Irish.

It's appropriate that the Dimond has Oaktoberfest because there was once a beer garden in the Dimond at the corner of Lincoln and MacArthur, and a French whore house directly across the street. So, you could get drunk, stumble across the street,  and get laid, all in the same block. Life was much simpler in the 19th century.

NO I didn't drink any beer. It was tempting, but I don't need the calories, it's no big deal, and it's not in the menu plan. What do I need Sam Adams for when I've got Alice B?

There was a guy down at Oaktoberfest with two, not one but, two pit bulls that wanted to kill every dog they saw. And you brought those to a beer festival with thousands of people for what reason? Yet another reason why I avoid crowds at all costs.

There was a lot of fried food stands there.

I went down, and I got out as fast my my overweight ass could carry me. Fuck crowds. Americans can't handle their liquor, speaking from experience of course, and these micro brewers amp up the alcohol content at these beer festival to 9 or 10 percent, specifically to get people good and drunk. Anything over 6%, and I mean, come on.

Geri made chocolate chip, oatmeal, raisin, nut, cookies today, stupendous. I did mise en place for pizza Sunday.

That's it.

Peace,

Make Food/Not War

Food consumption;

Breakfast; 1 savory morning bun, 1 chocolate croissant

Lunch; turkey sandwich w/honey mustard, mayo, lettuce, onion

Dinner; 3 choc. chip cookies, turkey sandwich again w/avocado, onions, mustard, mayo

Exercise 4.5 miles walking

High Winds = Chestnuts

The high winds brought down the chestnuts. I got to them before the squirrels and the Mexican landscapers. Sunday we're having people over after Hardly Strictly Bluegrass for pizza and I'm going to roast them in the pizza oven for dessert, along with ice cream and chocolate chip cookies. It's my one extravagant meal for the week.

Chestnuts are an acquired taste, like everything else I suppose. I think if it's something you grew up or is in your heritage it may be more appealing to the palette. And of course if you wash them down with some grappa anything tastes good.

The high winds are also reeking havoc with my allergies, and that's my complaint for today. This is allergy season, and it's starting out as a killer.

Have a great weekend.

That's it for today.

Peace,

Make Food/Not War

Food consumption-

Breakfast- 1 piece of bread, 1/2 small baked potato fried, 2 eggs over-easy

Lunch; 1/2 orzo pasta, 1 piece of pita bread w/hummas

Dinner; leftover fish, white rice, brussels sprouts, salad

Exercise; 8 miles walking

Thursday 10-3-13

I never got a handle on writing anything for this blog today, and I have no great ideas. The details and duties of everyday life never stopped today. In other words I've been working since I woke up this morning, and now my energy for blogging is spent.

I have a nice piece of Atlantic cod, white rice, green beans with red onion, fresh garlic, lemon and a nice salad for dinner. Then we're going for our nightly constitution with the dogs for a couple of miles, and that's all she wrote for the 3rd of October.

I do want to say that I feel sorry for the federal employees who have to take a furlough, without pay, not to mention the ripple effect all of this shut down has on the general economy, all because we have a legislation that can't work together. Hang in there.

To the idiots who say the Affordable Care Act is a failure, hello, it's just begun. Give it 3 years and if it's a failure then start crowing. Till that, shut the fuck up, and get back to work.

Keep your pipes filled, your powder dry, and your corks popped.

That's it for today.

Peace,

Make Food/Not War

Food Consumption;

Breakfast; black tea w/honey, 2 eggs over easy

Lunch; small leftover turkey burger on 1/2 piece of pita bread

Dinner; same as above

Exercise; 7 miles walking, 1 hour cycling

Wednesday 10-2-13 The News + Shutdown + Tom

The news these days is rarely cheerful. That's why I try not to read it or watch it on TV, You Tube whatever. When I'm looking for bad news I seek out alternative to the current status quo. Geri was on the lap top this morning while I was checking my mail, and she was reading the story about the little girl who was killed in our neighborhood. The OPD caught the killers, and they deserve a hell of a lot of praise for doing so. The men who were arrested were nothing but heartless stone cold killers. The guy they were looking to kill wasn't even in the house. Just killing for killing sake.The little girl was one of lord knows how many people this one guy murdered. This was an investigation that took thousands of man hours. This was what I call good news.

This is what I call bad news. Another story that was disturbing was about 91 elephants that were killer in Africa by poachers who used cyanide, 91 elephants. The biggest land animal on earth, and one of the most gentle species in the world, killed for what? So, some rich guy in China can get an erection? Next time you hear about an elephant that goes on a rampage and tramples a whole village of people don't ask why. News travels.

Lastly, what everyone is talking about is the government shut down. I say this is good news. They don't do anything anyway. They can't get any problems solved. The country is being run by a bunch of grade-school children who love wars, bankers and stockbrokers. If the tea bagger idiots who were elected to office are so anti-fucking government why did they want to become part of it? To change it from the inside out, in AMERICA? Right.

And if you're disappointed  because you came from Australia to visit the Grand Canyon, and you can't because it's shuts down, you can go to Las Vegas. Or find a barbie and throw some shrimp on it. Nothing dysfunctional ever happens in Australia, just ask the Aborigines.

Never underestimate the cruelty of the human condition. I'll have to figure out something to brighten my spirits before this day is out. A visit from Alice and nice dinner works well for me.

It's much easier dealing with animals for a living than people. I'm feeling better already.

"The difference between reality and fiction is fiction has to make sense." Tom Clancy. RIP.

That's it for today.

Peace,

Make Food/Not War

Food Consumption:

Breakfast; 2 fried eggs over-easy, one piece of toasted brown bread, 1 cup tea w/honey

Lunch: nothing

In Between; peach, 2 handfuls of cashews

Dinner: avocado, turkey burger on a acme roll, salad w/olive oil, lemon juice, s & p, radishes, cucumber, olives, red bell pepper, grated carrot, small baked Idaho potato w/butter, s & p

Exercise; 6.5 miles walking, 1 hr. cycling

Cycling And Olfactory Factor

The nose is a mighty powerful sense that we often take for granted. This morning Geraldine said, "Something stinks in this house." If you lived here you would immediately assume a dog or cat shit somewhere, but it turned out to be the green bin for food recyclables.

The smell of certain foods can electrify my brain into obsessing about that particular food. Sometimes I just have to have that food, eat it, and get it out of my system, and it all happened because I smelt it first. One whiff of sauteed garlic can make me salivate. When I ride around town the smell of food cooking is all around me. Cycle down to China Town and my nose tells my brain, "You need some beef chow fun, NOW." If you're cycling over by the Coliseum before a Raiders game the smell of BBQ wharfing from tailgaters is all around.

In Oaksterdam the sweet dank aroma of cannabis is everywhere, especially coming from cars. There's nothing like cruising around smoking a fat Sam.

When we went on our ride over the new bay bridge two weekends ago there is a sewage plant in that vicinity, and the smell of human waste mixed with the smell of salt water from the bay was unmistakable. It reminds me of the open sewage systems that empty directly to the Pacific Ocean in Mexico.

We all have a smell of our own, pheromones. It's our olfactory fingerprint. You can fall in love with the way someone smells. I know I love the way Geri smells. Sex organs have their own distinct scent which can be overpowering and extremely erotic. I guess that's why they say, "love enters through the nose." Check out the movie called Perfume, with Dustin Hoffman, way cool.

I had a dream where in I hugged my mother, and not only could I feel her, but I could smell her as well. She always wore a perfume called Shalimar, and that smell is unmistakably imprinted on my brain.

Being an old hippy I love the smell of patchouli oil. I have several different kinds around the house. I put a little dab on most days.  Geri got allergic reactions when I put it on, but she finally got use to it.

Think of how horrible food or wine would taste if we couldn't smell it. How would you know if a cheese was over the top? You would know after you put it into your mouth, but maybe you could avoid that unpleasant sensation if you could smelt it first.

I've said this a thousand times if I've said it once. If I could improve any one of my five senses it would be my nose. Man, if I had the nose of Tennessee coon hound I'd be the richest wine merchant in the world.

The smells of Oakland are one of my favorite things about riding my bike around town, unless I'm over by the sewage plant or behind a garbage truck.

That's it for today.

Peace,

Make Food/Not War

Food consumption;

Breakfast; granola, almond milk, raspberries, 1 banana

Lunch; nothing

In Between: 2 handful of cashews, energy bar, plumb

Dinner; carne asada quesadilla suiza and a large salad w/tomatoes, frisse, romaine, olive oil and fresh  lemon, grated carrot

Exercise; 6 miles walking, 1 hour biking