Ah, Memorial Day Weekend...time for some good food. Here is a great meal that you can eat for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Here's the recipe for one sandwich:
2 slices of bacon
1/4 of an avocado
2 slices of wheat bread
butter
green onion
parsley
cream cheese
salt & pepper
1 large egg
1 tomato slice
Fry the bacon in one skillet and while you are doing so, spread some butter on the slices of bread and place them in another skillet over medium heat and toast them on each side.
Then take about a spoonful of cream cheese and put it into a bowl, it needs spreadable so if it's hard from the fridge then zap it in the microwave for about 15 seconds. Then take some diced green onion and put it in the bowl (per your taste of green onion) and put a little bit of parsley in as well. Stir it around and then spread the mixture on the toasted bread.
Once the bacon is done fry the egg in the bacon grease (if it's a lot of grease you may want to pour half of it out). That should only take a minute or two, and then you can place the bacon, egg, and tomato slice on the bread. Cut up the avocado and place that on the sandwich. What you should have is a really really good sandwich!
JB
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Friday, May 27, 2011
Rosy Retrospection
There was a principal of psychology I learned in a college class: rosy retrospection. It simply means that in your memory a certain event is recalled fondly, when in reality that event was not as great as you remember.
Do you ever think to yourself, 'I didn't know how good I had it 6 months, a year, two years ago'? Maybe you got a promotion, maybe you changed jobs, maybe you moved, maybe you did or didn't have a girlfriend/boyfriend. You remember all the positive memories but forget the bad. If you changed jobs for example, you remember all the easy and fun stuff you did at your old job...and any new tasks you have at your new job that you didn't have before make you wish you were back at the old job. But in reality, you hated that job, it was easy but you dreaded going to work everyday...you forget about the commute, the bad boss, the smelly furnace in the winter. It just seems better because you've blocked all that bad stuff out because we as humans don't want to remember the bad stuff.
Not everything was so much better in the old days. Everyone points to the 1950s as a time when people were so friendly and America was such a wonderful place to live. But what about organized crime? What about segregation? What about not having half as good of medicine or medical practice as we do now? Was it really so great, or have we romanticized that era to form a rosy retrospection?
People remember how their life was 10-15 years ago. They think it was so much better...was it? Think really hard about the difficult things that were going on, is it any different from the difficult things going on now? Will you look back 10-15 years from now and wish you were back to this point in time?
The point of all this is to say that life was not better in the past than it is now, and you don't need to have one half of your brain recalling memories and the other half hoping the future will bring good times because now is no good. The fact is we should live in the current moment because there was bad times and there will be bad times just like there is now. And there was good times and there will be good times just like there is now.
JB
Do you ever think to yourself, 'I didn't know how good I had it 6 months, a year, two years ago'? Maybe you got a promotion, maybe you changed jobs, maybe you moved, maybe you did or didn't have a girlfriend/boyfriend. You remember all the positive memories but forget the bad. If you changed jobs for example, you remember all the easy and fun stuff you did at your old job...and any new tasks you have at your new job that you didn't have before make you wish you were back at the old job. But in reality, you hated that job, it was easy but you dreaded going to work everyday...you forget about the commute, the bad boss, the smelly furnace in the winter. It just seems better because you've blocked all that bad stuff out because we as humans don't want to remember the bad stuff.
Not everything was so much better in the old days. Everyone points to the 1950s as a time when people were so friendly and America was such a wonderful place to live. But what about organized crime? What about segregation? What about not having half as good of medicine or medical practice as we do now? Was it really so great, or have we romanticized that era to form a rosy retrospection?
People remember how their life was 10-15 years ago. They think it was so much better...was it? Think really hard about the difficult things that were going on, is it any different from the difficult things going on now? Will you look back 10-15 years from now and wish you were back to this point in time?
The point of all this is to say that life was not better in the past than it is now, and you don't need to have one half of your brain recalling memories and the other half hoping the future will bring good times because now is no good. The fact is we should live in the current moment because there was bad times and there will be bad times just like there is now. And there was good times and there will be good times just like there is now.
JB
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
80s Country
Without a doubt the music I'm most into at the moment is 1980s country. I used to think that the country I liked to listened to stopped in the early 90s on the rewind machine. But I really like listening to the 80s country station on my TV, and I've purchased a few albums that I've enjoyed as well.
Maybe what I like about 80s country the most is more fiddle and steel guitar. It's more of the traditional country sound that what happened in the 90s and 00s. I like 70s country okay, but most of that doesn't really sound that great, and is really dated unlike most 70s rock. 80s country kind of blends 70s and 90s country together for a great sound.
The cool thing about digging up these vaults of music is that it's like a whole new area of music I didn't know was there...or I knew it was there but I didn't know I liked it. I just don't know why there aren't classic country stations that play 80s country. Theres rock and pop stations that play old songs, why do all the country stations stick to new music with maybe a song from the 90s mixed in every 10th song?
JB
Maybe what I like about 80s country the most is more fiddle and steel guitar. It's more of the traditional country sound that what happened in the 90s and 00s. I like 70s country okay, but most of that doesn't really sound that great, and is really dated unlike most 70s rock. 80s country kind of blends 70s and 90s country together for a great sound.
The cool thing about digging up these vaults of music is that it's like a whole new area of music I didn't know was there...or I knew it was there but I didn't know I liked it. I just don't know why there aren't classic country stations that play 80s country. Theres rock and pop stations that play old songs, why do all the country stations stick to new music with maybe a song from the 90s mixed in every 10th song?
JB
Monday, May 23, 2011
DVR
The DVR, one of the greatest inventions of all-time. Possibly greater than the TV itself. How can you watch TV without...knowing that it's out there? There are many reasons why having a DVR is well worth the $10-15 a month the cable company charges for you to use it.
When it's time to sit down and relax, put up your feet and watch TV don't you want to watch something that you want to watch? Do you want to flip around searching for something or would you rather instantly watch something you enjoy? I would rather watch something I enjoy. With the DVR I can easily do this. I simply record my favorite shows and when I have spare time or down time to watch TV I can watch them. I don't have to get this done, or finish that in order to sit down at a certain time to watch it either. I can watch the show when it's convent for me. So no being bored of being bored flipping around the dial...now with the DVR you can watch something you want to see all the time....provided you're ratio of recorded material to time is correct.
Then there's that Tuesday night when you have somewhere you need to be. Ah, but that's the night of the one and only show you really enjoy watching. That's always been easy, tape it. But then there those two Wednesday night shows that you watch just because you can...but you wouldn't tape them. But now you can just tape it because it's a DVR and it takes 2 seconds. So when down time comes on Thursday night you'll have something to watch.
In my opinion a DVR is critical to watching sports, especially if you're married. On one of my first post, July 27th of last year, I illustrated the proper way to watch sports (especially football) using the DVR. But beyond that there are reasons. For example, if there is a great game on but it's a weeknight...record the end of the game and watch it the next day; if you're one of those who can't watch a recorded game if you know what happens then wake up a little early and fast forward to the good parts and watch without knowing the outcome. During football season I enjoy recording all of the SEC games and watching them back during the week. I find this enjoyable because I didn't get to see all the games since most of them were on at the same time. And no I don't watch every play in real time...I may use the slow fast forward so I see what happened and then watch the exciting part in real time. Either way I catch all the action and make the weekdays college football filled as well. And the reason I say having a DVR for sports viewing is critical if you're married is this: you can record a game, and when you're wife who doesn't care for sports walks in and wants to watch a TV show with you, you can do it without either one of you getting upset. I actually welcome this because if we watch a couple recorded shows while the Braves are on, once I turn the game back on I can skip all the commercials...effectively reducing the game by half.
So there you have it. The DVR was and is a great invention. How can you legitimately watch TV without it?
JB
When it's time to sit down and relax, put up your feet and watch TV don't you want to watch something that you want to watch? Do you want to flip around searching for something or would you rather instantly watch something you enjoy? I would rather watch something I enjoy. With the DVR I can easily do this. I simply record my favorite shows and when I have spare time or down time to watch TV I can watch them. I don't have to get this done, or finish that in order to sit down at a certain time to watch it either. I can watch the show when it's convent for me. So no being bored of being bored flipping around the dial...now with the DVR you can watch something you want to see all the time....provided you're ratio of recorded material to time is correct.
Then there's that Tuesday night when you have somewhere you need to be. Ah, but that's the night of the one and only show you really enjoy watching. That's always been easy, tape it. But then there those two Wednesday night shows that you watch just because you can...but you wouldn't tape them. But now you can just tape it because it's a DVR and it takes 2 seconds. So when down time comes on Thursday night you'll have something to watch.
In my opinion a DVR is critical to watching sports, especially if you're married. On one of my first post, July 27th of last year, I illustrated the proper way to watch sports (especially football) using the DVR. But beyond that there are reasons. For example, if there is a great game on but it's a weeknight...record the end of the game and watch it the next day; if you're one of those who can't watch a recorded game if you know what happens then wake up a little early and fast forward to the good parts and watch without knowing the outcome. During football season I enjoy recording all of the SEC games and watching them back during the week. I find this enjoyable because I didn't get to see all the games since most of them were on at the same time. And no I don't watch every play in real time...I may use the slow fast forward so I see what happened and then watch the exciting part in real time. Either way I catch all the action and make the weekdays college football filled as well. And the reason I say having a DVR for sports viewing is critical if you're married is this: you can record a game, and when you're wife who doesn't care for sports walks in and wants to watch a TV show with you, you can do it without either one of you getting upset. I actually welcome this because if we watch a couple recorded shows while the Braves are on, once I turn the game back on I can skip all the commercials...effectively reducing the game by half.
So there you have it. The DVR was and is a great invention. How can you legitimately watch TV without it?
JB
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Low Country Smothered Pork Chops
Melt some butter in a skillet over medium heat.
Take some pork chops and season them with salt, pepper and cayenne. Lightly bread them with flour and put them in the skillet for about 3 minutes on each side. Remove them from the skillet.
Put a chopped up bell pepper and an onion into the skillet and saute them for about 3 minutes. Throw in a bit of garlic clove and stir for about another minute more.
Push the vegetables to the side of the skillet and put the pork chops back in. Put the vegetables on top of the pork chops and sprinkle a little worstershire sauce on top and add about a 1/4 cup of chicken broth. Let it simmer for 45 minutes.
It's good.
JB
Take some pork chops and season them with salt, pepper and cayenne. Lightly bread them with flour and put them in the skillet for about 3 minutes on each side. Remove them from the skillet.
Put a chopped up bell pepper and an onion into the skillet and saute them for about 3 minutes. Throw in a bit of garlic clove and stir for about another minute more.
Push the vegetables to the side of the skillet and put the pork chops back in. Put the vegetables on top of the pork chops and sprinkle a little worstershire sauce on top and add about a 1/4 cup of chicken broth. Let it simmer for 45 minutes.
It's good.
JB
Thursday, May 12, 2011
50 Good Songs I've come Across in the Last Year
When I find a song I like I tend to listen to it over and over and over again for about a week or two. If I really really like it then I'll keep listening to it for a month or two. These songs are basically the songs that I have worn out in the last year at some point or another. Not all of them are new, but they are the ones that I either just discovered for the first time in the last year or that I just discovered I liked in the last year. In no particular order other that the order I recalled them, here they are:
"Assassin" by John Mayer
"Smoke a Little Smoke" by Eric Church
"Hard Sun" by Eddie Vedder
"Good Enough" by Benjy Davis Project
"Ordinary World" by Duran Duran
"I Know How He Feels" by Reba McEntire
"Stars in Alabama" by Jamey Johnson
"From A Table Away" by Sunny Sweeney
"Desperation" by Miranda Lambert
"Only Prettier" by Miranda Lambert
"Don't Close Your Eyes" by Keith Whitley
"Forever" by Chris Brown
"Vacation" by Sister Hazel
"Sword and Shield" by Sister Hazel
"Hopeless" by Sister Hazel
"Family Man" by Craig Campbell
"Farmer's Daughter" by Rodney Atkins
"A Little Bit Stronger" by Sara Evans
"Fly Over States" by Jason Aldean
"My Kinda Party" by Jason Aldean
"Somebody Should Leave" by Reba McEntire
"Seven Days" by Kenny Chesney
"High Cost of Living" by Jamey Johnson
"I Ain't Dead Yet" by Ashton Shepherd
"The Pickin' Shed" by Ashton Shepherd
"What Country Is" by Luke Bryan
"Let Alone You" by Easton Corbin
"Roll With It" by Easton Corbin
"Let Me Down Easy" by Billy Currington
"The Man I Want to Be" by Chris Young
"No Hurry" by Zac Brown Band
"Free" by Zac Brown Band
"Painless" by Lee Ann Womack
"Rescue" by Uncle Kracker
"Face and Ghost (The Children's Song)" by Live
"We Walk in the Dream" by Live
"Sweet Southern Moon" by Benjy Davis Project
"Try Sleeping With a Broken Heart" by Alicia Keys
"True Love" by Phil Whickham
"We Could Run Away" by Needtobreathe
"Carolina" by Eric Church
"Those I've Loved" by Eric Church
"You Make My Dreams" by Hall & Oates
"Killin' Time" by Clint Black
"If You Only Knew" by Shinedown
"We Rode in Trucks" by Luke Bryan
"The Mountains Win Again" by Blues Traveler
"All We Ever Do is Say Goodbye" by John Mayer
"Slow Dancing in A Burning Room" by John Mayer
"Don't Dream It's Over" by Crowded House
JB
"Assassin" by John Mayer
"Smoke a Little Smoke" by Eric Church
"Hard Sun" by Eddie Vedder
"Good Enough" by Benjy Davis Project
"Ordinary World" by Duran Duran
"I Know How He Feels" by Reba McEntire
"Stars in Alabama" by Jamey Johnson
"From A Table Away" by Sunny Sweeney
"Desperation" by Miranda Lambert
"Only Prettier" by Miranda Lambert
"Don't Close Your Eyes" by Keith Whitley
"Forever" by Chris Brown
"Vacation" by Sister Hazel
"Sword and Shield" by Sister Hazel
"Hopeless" by Sister Hazel
"Family Man" by Craig Campbell
"Farmer's Daughter" by Rodney Atkins
"A Little Bit Stronger" by Sara Evans
"Fly Over States" by Jason Aldean
"My Kinda Party" by Jason Aldean
"Somebody Should Leave" by Reba McEntire
"Seven Days" by Kenny Chesney
"High Cost of Living" by Jamey Johnson
"I Ain't Dead Yet" by Ashton Shepherd
"The Pickin' Shed" by Ashton Shepherd
"What Country Is" by Luke Bryan
"Let Alone You" by Easton Corbin
"Roll With It" by Easton Corbin
"Let Me Down Easy" by Billy Currington
"The Man I Want to Be" by Chris Young
"No Hurry" by Zac Brown Band
"Free" by Zac Brown Band
"Painless" by Lee Ann Womack
"Rescue" by Uncle Kracker
"Face and Ghost (The Children's Song)" by Live
"We Walk in the Dream" by Live
"Sweet Southern Moon" by Benjy Davis Project
"Try Sleeping With a Broken Heart" by Alicia Keys
"True Love" by Phil Whickham
"We Could Run Away" by Needtobreathe
"Carolina" by Eric Church
"Those I've Loved" by Eric Church
"You Make My Dreams" by Hall & Oates
"Killin' Time" by Clint Black
"If You Only Knew" by Shinedown
"We Rode in Trucks" by Luke Bryan
"The Mountains Win Again" by Blues Traveler
"All We Ever Do is Say Goodbye" by John Mayer
"Slow Dancing in A Burning Room" by John Mayer
"Don't Dream It's Over" by Crowded House
JB
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Different Kinds of People
There are a lot of different kinds of people out there. Recently I've noticed how just in the small area I work, live, and play there can be such an array of people that fit into the stereotypical country, redneck, educated, well-to-do kinds of folks.
I don't have a problem with people being who they are. I don't care if a guy can't speak any correct English or another guy uses words I've never heard of because his vocabulary is so big. I like to think that I can fit in with any type of people, whether it be in a business meeting with millionaires or on a jobsite with men making a living off the bend in their back. Somehow I feel like I'm in the middle. I can talk country to make folks feel like I am one of them, or I can use proper grammar and fit in with the well-educated class.
I like the simple life, and the good-ole folks that live it. But sometimes I also like having an intelligent conversation that is more than how big the fish they caught was. I always feel like I should morph my personality to be the person they want to be around. And so that means they start talking to me about hunting, or on the flip side they talk about politics. But the country people I've found are smart too, they know about politics, and the well-educated know about hunting.
I used to always wonder, does the redneck who wears blue-jean shorts and a mullet know what the rest of the world is wearing and doing? And I would think, do the sheltered folks I grew up with know what it's like to be in the country...and around slow-moving people? Or am I just in the middle...going back and forth between them...they don't know about each other but I know about both of them.
Well, I think everyone is smarter than I've always thought. I think I'm the one being dooped. Instead of being myself, I've tried to talk to others about things they are interested in. That's nice, but in the end I let them control the conversation and I walked away thinking they were not as 'well-rounded' as I am...because I thought they only knew about a couple things whereas I knew about many things. But I think people live in the way they want to, where they feel comfortable. Educated folks in the city aren't necessarily smarter, nor do they necessarily have more money. Bottom line, everyone deserves respect, and don't judge someone's intelligence until you heard all the things they know about.
JB
I don't have a problem with people being who they are. I don't care if a guy can't speak any correct English or another guy uses words I've never heard of because his vocabulary is so big. I like to think that I can fit in with any type of people, whether it be in a business meeting with millionaires or on a jobsite with men making a living off the bend in their back. Somehow I feel like I'm in the middle. I can talk country to make folks feel like I am one of them, or I can use proper grammar and fit in with the well-educated class.
I like the simple life, and the good-ole folks that live it. But sometimes I also like having an intelligent conversation that is more than how big the fish they caught was. I always feel like I should morph my personality to be the person they want to be around. And so that means they start talking to me about hunting, or on the flip side they talk about politics. But the country people I've found are smart too, they know about politics, and the well-educated know about hunting.
I used to always wonder, does the redneck who wears blue-jean shorts and a mullet know what the rest of the world is wearing and doing? And I would think, do the sheltered folks I grew up with know what it's like to be in the country...and around slow-moving people? Or am I just in the middle...going back and forth between them...they don't know about each other but I know about both of them.
Well, I think everyone is smarter than I've always thought. I think I'm the one being dooped. Instead of being myself, I've tried to talk to others about things they are interested in. That's nice, but in the end I let them control the conversation and I walked away thinking they were not as 'well-rounded' as I am...because I thought they only knew about a couple things whereas I knew about many things. But I think people live in the way they want to, where they feel comfortable. Educated folks in the city aren't necessarily smarter, nor do they necessarily have more money. Bottom line, everyone deserves respect, and don't judge someone's intelligence until you heard all the things they know about.
JB
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Friday, May 6, 2011
Friday Night Lights
Me and Stacey started watching the show Friday Night Lights around New Year's. All the episodes are on instant Netflix so it was easy. We quickly got sucked into the show, and due to a winter storm handicapping Atlanta for a week in January, we basically binged on the show while we were stuck in the house.
We recently finished the final season after waiting a couple months for it to come out on DVD. I think it's one of the best shows I've ever watched. Even if you don't like football you would like Friday Night Lights. Without a doubt, it is the most realistic show I've ever seen.
It's not so much realistic because of the stories that are involved, but it's realistic in the way people act, how they talk, how they would react in certain situations. It doesn't come off as how Hollywood portrays American life. It is more like American life with a camera following it. Of course, it is a TV show so there are some things that aren't as realistic in the stories, but they are all believable enough to keep you interested.
If you're bored this summer and haven't seen the show, I would highly recommend watching the entire series from start to finish.
JB
We recently finished the final season after waiting a couple months for it to come out on DVD. I think it's one of the best shows I've ever watched. Even if you don't like football you would like Friday Night Lights. Without a doubt, it is the most realistic show I've ever seen.
It's not so much realistic because of the stories that are involved, but it's realistic in the way people act, how they talk, how they would react in certain situations. It doesn't come off as how Hollywood portrays American life. It is more like American life with a camera following it. Of course, it is a TV show so there are some things that aren't as realistic in the stories, but they are all believable enough to keep you interested.
If you're bored this summer and haven't seen the show, I would highly recommend watching the entire series from start to finish.
JB
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Onion Rings
Start up the fryer and slice up an onion. Dip the onion in a beat egg and then coat it in flour and a little corn meal. Pop them in the fryer for about 3-4 minutes and you've got some tasty onion rings. But onion rings aren't great unless you've got a really good dipping sauce. Here's a good one, basically the same as Chili's awesome blossom sauce:
1/2 cup of sour ream
2 tablespoon ketchup
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/8 teaspoon red pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons horseradish
1/4 teaspoon paprika
JB
1/2 cup of sour ream
2 tablespoon ketchup
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/8 teaspoon red pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons horseradish
1/4 teaspoon paprika
JB
Monday, May 2, 2011
Gas Prices
Gas prices just keep going up. I don't like it. Now you have to think twice about taking a weekend trip because if it takes a full tank to get somewhere it will most likely cost $150+ round trip in gas, and that's not including driving around once you get to your destination. When gas is $2-3 per gallon, you might spend $150 in an entire month on gas. These high gas prices are like a hidden tax.
As we try and try to get out of this bad economy higher gas prices aren't doing anything to help. They basically cripple the economy for two reasons: people have less money to spend because they have to spend money on gas to get around and the cost of goods increases because we rely on freight to move things around for us to buy them. So needs like groceries go up in price which also contributes to people having less money. Then certain goods the people want but don't need go up in price and folks don't buy them because they are too expensive.
All this means an economy that is barely hanging on gets flushed down the tubes if prices continue to go up, or stay at this high rate. The solution: drill here and drill now. The United States has plenty of oil and we need to access that oil and start lowering gas prices.
If we drill for oil on our soil it will have 3 positive effects: 1. We will lower gas prices 2. We will create a lot of jobs for Americans 3. We will stop funding Middle Eastern countries who use that money in ways we don't agree with and we have to spend more of our money to go over there to contain their evil.
It seems so easy but the liberal environmentalist are too concerned about harming anything in nature so they won't let us drill in America. But at some point the American people need to stand up and tell this loud 15% of people who are so concerned about it that we want to get back to where we need to be by drilling here, now!
JB
As we try and try to get out of this bad economy higher gas prices aren't doing anything to help. They basically cripple the economy for two reasons: people have less money to spend because they have to spend money on gas to get around and the cost of goods increases because we rely on freight to move things around for us to buy them. So needs like groceries go up in price which also contributes to people having less money. Then certain goods the people want but don't need go up in price and folks don't buy them because they are too expensive.
All this means an economy that is barely hanging on gets flushed down the tubes if prices continue to go up, or stay at this high rate. The solution: drill here and drill now. The United States has plenty of oil and we need to access that oil and start lowering gas prices.
If we drill for oil on our soil it will have 3 positive effects: 1. We will lower gas prices 2. We will create a lot of jobs for Americans 3. We will stop funding Middle Eastern countries who use that money in ways we don't agree with and we have to spend more of our money to go over there to contain their evil.
It seems so easy but the liberal environmentalist are too concerned about harming anything in nature so they won't let us drill in America. But at some point the American people need to stand up and tell this loud 15% of people who are so concerned about it that we want to get back to where we need to be by drilling here, now!
JB
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)