Celebrate Freedom Atlanta 2008

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy '98

Photos I shot when Big Bad Voodoo Daddy played the West End Stage at Pleasure Island at Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL.

Wordless Wednesday - Dinner

Been watching too much Gordon Ramsay, got inspired, and this result is lemon feta chicken breast with grilled zucchini and yellow squash with chicken-flavored rice.

Simple prep - (for 2) - 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, 4oz crumbled feta, 4 lemons, 1 zucchini, 2 yellow squash, olive oil, seasoning salt, and a packet of Uncle Ben's microwave-in-bag flavored rice.

Lay out the chicken breasts in a glass baking dish, squeeze the juice of one lemon over each breast. Evenly divide the feta over both pieces of chicken and squeeze the other lemons over each breast (watch for seeds in this process. Bake for 30-35 minutes.

Slice the squash into chips, coat the bottom of a frying pan with olive oil, add the squash and sprinkle with seasoning salt. Stri the squash and add seasoning salt to taste. (this should begin about 15 minutes before the chicken is done.

Rice - takes 90 seconds in the microwave.

Plate and serve.

A Really Long Meme

Took this from Frigga, who took it from someone else...

1. How many people live in your house? 3
2. Do you like your siblings? More now than at times past.
3. What color are your nails? That silver metal color that most nails are.

4. What’s your favorite place on Earth? I enjoy being at a card table a lot.
5. Ever punch someone in the face? nver had the need
6. Did you have a dream last night? Not last night, but on Saturday I had a vivid one in which I opened a gourmet burger restaurant and Gordon Ramsay approved.

7. Where is your top from? Being a guy, I'm guessing this refers to my shirt, which I am not currently wearing one. A lot of my clothes are from JC Penney.
8. Are you mad at someone? No.
9. Where’s your best friend? At work (that would be Amy, my wife).
10. Last place you bought something from? At my workplace - Walgreens.
11. Last person you were in a car with? Amy
12. What bank do you use? USAA
13. Do you like being in photos? I prefer to be behind the camera, which explains why no one on facebook has posted a picture with ME in it.
14. Who’s your last missed call from? Work, they wanted me early on Sunday.
15. Ever broken something at someone else’s house? A chair I sat on.
16. Are you a good driver? By my own standards..

17. When is your birthday? January 15, 1971

18. What kind of mobile phone do you have? LG Chocolate
19. How old will you be in 5 years? 42
20. Are you a movie buff? Absolutely.
21. If you could move tomorrow, would you? Where to? Sure, yes, FL, TN, NC, Greece.

22. Do you like the weather today? I like that it's different, off and on sun, drizzle, and storms.
23. Do you like the outdoors or indoors better? Depends on the temperature.
24. How tall are you? Just shy of 6'2"
25. If you had to choose an age to remain for the rest of your life what would it be? I don't know, 22.

26. What’s something in your past you wish you could relive? My wedding week.
27. What is your favorite thing to do on the weekends? Play cards, watch movies.

28. Favorite nearby vacation destination? GA mountains.
29. How’s the weather? weird thanks to the remnants of TS Fay.
30. Does anything on your body hurt? areas of my skin with aggravated psoriosis.
31. What was the last television show you watched? Closing cermonies of the 29th Olympiad.

32. Do you prefer orange or cherry ice-pops? Cherry.
33. Do you like pickles? Yes
34. Does your hair still smell like shampoo? I imagine so, I can't smell it.
35. What’s plugged in in the nearest socket? telephone, lamp, and laptop
36. What was the last thing you wrote by hand? details about my broken bed with Ashley Furniture.
37. What’s your favorite tv advert? Swiffer with the missing you want you back song.

38. Do you pay attention to celebrity gossip? I try not to, but my wife likes it.
39. Have you sung out loud today? Nope.
40. Do you wish it was 4 years into the future, or 4 years back? Future, I want my family started.

41. Can you touch your nose with your foot? doubtful, there's a gut in the way.
42. Do you prefer paper towels, or napkins? As Frigga said, for what?
43. Are you currently texting anyone? No
44. What was the last movie you watched? Rambo - 2008
45. Whom did you last high-five? Nephew Basil

46. Do you watch the Olympics? I try to,

47. Can you dance? Not really, went to 8 Seconds when I was single.
48. Do you keep the oil changed in your car? Yes.
49. Have you ever been hunting? Not for animals.
50. Do you like taking pictures? Yes!!! :)
51. What about making scrapbooks? Nope.
52. Are you a sushi lover? No, but I do apreciate it.
53. What is your favorite restaurant of all time? Gary's Duck Inn, Orlando, FL, but it closed about 10 years ago.
54. Does it annoy you when people drive slow in the fast lane? Absolutely.
55. What do your parents do for a living? Mom is a service rep, Dad is a professional asshole.

56. Are there any famous people you’d like to meet? Jimmy Buffett, Daniel Negraneu, John Cusack, Reese Witherspoon
57. Do you get tired of hearing about celebrity divorces? Yes
58. What are your plans for the weekend? College football and poker!

59. How often do you tan? I don't.

60. Are your nails always manicured? Never
61. Could you ever go without eating meat? No.
62. Where is your favorite place to buy groceries? Publix
63. When was the last time you took a bubble bath? Sometime last year.

64. Do have good sense of style? Generally casual, jeans, shorts, t-shirts.
65. If you could have any car, what would it be? Chevy Avalanche.
66. Do you like fast food? Absolutely.

67. Have you ever cut someone off while driving? Yes, just on Saturday I refused to let someone into traffic, for the simplpe reason they were smoking and I had the power.
68. Do you like to receive compliments or give them? Both.
69. Have you ever been to a casino? Yes. Tampa, St. Maarten, Atlantic City, Las Vegas, and Kansas City.
70. What do you do to relax? Play poker, blog, watch TV.
71. Do you like kids? Depends on which one, but in general, yes :)
72. Does family mean a lot to you? It used to, but the ones I care most about in extended family are gone, and my immediate family is not the ideal I always thought it was.
73. Are you going to the beach anytime soon? Nope, tried to last week, but the weather was no good.
74. What is your favorite perfume? I really don't know perfumes. As for cologne, I like Drakkar.
75. What is your favorite men’s cologne? Drakkar.
76. What is your favorite type of dog? Basset Hound, and German Shepherd.
77. If you had to move to a different country, which one would you choose? Australia, England or Greece.
78. Do you like to color in coloring books? I used to.
79. Do you think you would have been a hippie in the 60s and 70s? Nope, I would have been the conservative type.

80. Would you rather be cold or hot? cold
81. What is the one website, other than MySpace, that you visit most? I don't visit myspace, but I can equate facebook to that, so the answer becomes www.lordsofpain.net
82. Incense or candles? candles
83. What brand of cosmetics do you use the most often? I'm a guy.

84. What is the one tv advert that annoys you the most? Head On!

85. Are you an early bird or a night owl? Night owl
86. Would you rather be smart or beautiful? Can I be both? As it is I am much smarter than I am physically attractive.

87. What is your favorite reality show? Gordon Ramsay's Nightmares (BBC), American Idol, Ice Road Truckers, Hell's Kitchen, Last Comic Standing, Cops, the nightly news.

88. What ringtone is on your phone? Degeneration X Entrance Music WWE.

89. What would you tell a 3-year-old that asks where babies come from? Mommy's tummy
90. What is your favorite type of cereal? Raisin Bran Crunch
91. Are you double jointed? No
92. What videos do you search for on YouTube? 80's music.
93. Have you ever given money to a homeless person? No.

94. Have you ever had to go to A & E? I've watched some shows on A&E.

95. Who is your favorite comedian? Jeff Dunham, Robin Williams.
96. Name some foods you will not eat: olives, eggplant
97. Do you have any irrational fears? nope

98. Do you snoop in other people’s medicine cabinets? sometimes

99. How much would you pay in ransom if someone stole your pet? Yes.

100. Have you ever eaten green eggs and ham? No.
101. Ever had surgery? Not since a young child, tonsils out, tubes in ears, that's all.
102. Ever walked through a fast food restaurant drive thru? No, because they will not serve you. I have picked up a bridesmaid who was on foot and in her dress in a drive thru, and I have gotten some teenagers busted for driving backwards through my drive-thru at Chick-fil-a because they were stupid enough to do it with 3 police cars in the lot and the officers at the front counter. I would have loved to have been in the living room when the kid had to tell his parents why he got a ticket for reckless driving.

Keep Your Textbooks!

I have not been a student of any formal kind for about 9 years, but when I was working on a degree in Literature, I had to buy several volumes of the Norton Anthology of Literature (English I & II, American, etc).

For no real reason, I kept these, never having opened one of them since the 90's, but they helped me get a good night's sleep last night! Let me tell you how.

The night before last I was sitting in bed, leaning against the headboard reading a novel. I heard an odd cracking sound. I got out of bed and looked to discover a crack in the wood that makes the side rail of our bed (this is the wooden bed, headboard, siderails and footboard I bought for our 5th anniversary 2 years ago). There is a metal piece that extends from the post of the footboard into a slot in the siderail and this had started to crack through the top of the siderail.

I could not tell the extent of the damage, but I got back on the bed and a few minutes later another crack and I shifted downward about 4 inches. The siderail was split in two. I slept on the other side of the bed that night, and when Amy got home from work yesterday morning I advised her to stay on her side.

I called Ashley Furniture, where we bought the bed and was referred to an 800 number. I called there to find there is a one year warranty, but I can but the replacement sideboard for about $25. Okay, not too bad. The weird part is this lady has to create an S.O. which I presume is a sales order. Then someone will call me and I will have to go to the local store to pay for the piece and it will then be shipped, but she said the S.O. may take a few days. Why?

We are looking at probably a week before I can try to fix the bed, which does not work well wor a married couple trying to sleep. The primary need for the bed is to support the frame, which includes wood that stretches across the bottom of the bed between the siderails, so to prevent further damage I need something under me to hold up the side rail.

This is where Norton comes in. I think it took 3 volumes, each about 3 inches think, stacked on top of each other and wedged under the siderail and all was well! My education continues to pay for itself!

This is the Captain speaking...

We're currently 36th in line for takeoff, so we'll be here for a little while...

How Unique Are You?

HowManyOfMe.com

There are 403 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

What is Hell?

This morning at work I processed an order that was submitted online. It was about 100 pictures taken the other night at a concert by the Jonas Brothers. I joked that I had discovered what Hell is and that it involves having to process pictures of a manufactured teen idol pop group.

Later in my shift I received a phone call from my friend Randy. Randy and I are poker buddies and he was calling to see if I was up for a game tonight. During our conversation, he told me that Mike had passed away last week when I was in Florida. Mike is a guy I met through my friendship with Randy. He would come to Randy's house to be the dealer for our games.

Mike was dealing with colon cancer. He had been given a terminal diagnosis about a year and a half ago. The prognosis was he had about 4-6 months to live. Mike made it about a year longer than they gave him credit for. In the end, he had decided to live life as fully as possible. He had given up on medication other than that used for pain management. Mike was a card player, but the financial reality of his condition prohibited from playing, but he found pleasure just being around the game. When Randy started hosting games, Mike dealt the first night and dressed in a tuxedo for the occasion.

Though I did not know Mike well, we enjoyed many evenings around the card table. He endured a great deal of pain and general discomfort, but he never complained. He simply gave this advice, "No matter what else you do in life, do not get colon cancer."

I joked about Hell at work. Mike endured it and never had a bad word about it.

Wordless Wednesday

Ten on Tuesday #16 Olympic Heroes

This is an odd one for me. I am usually aware of the Olympics, but I never really pay so close attention as to get to know particular athletes and name favorites. I am certain I will be limited to those from the Olympics that have been held in the time I have been alive, 1971 to present.

Mary Lou Retton - America's Gymnastics Pixie. She had it all.

Kerri Strug - Even with a broken ankle, she won us the gold.

Peekaboo Street - She just has a cool name.

Dara Torres - Winning Olympic medals at age 41 AND being mom to a toddler!

Kristi Tamaguchi - so you think you can dance, dunno, just like to watch her skate.

Bonnie Blair - Lightening on Ice from Texas.

Nancy Kerrigan - even after all the drama, yes she was the victim, but despite being the victim, she was genuinely likable, and she got caught saying that being in a parade at Disney was "corny."

Karch Kiraly - this guy MADE beach volleyball an olympic-worthy sport.

Greg Louganis - hit his head on the diving board and kept on going.

Michael Phelps. No need to say anything more than those two words. Michael Phelps.

Saturday Photo Hunt - Colorful

Friday night (8-15-08) my wife pointed out the moon and the clouds. We're visiting family in Florida this week, so these are shots from on the canal behind my in-laws house. As for color, I was really surprised by the red halo created in the clouds. I've been shooting a lot this week, so check below for shots of manatee and dolphin at my in-laws fishing camp, and further below for shots of the new (1 year old) stadium on the campus of the University of Central Florida (where I learned to shoot).

Wildlife and Friends at the Indian Mound Fish Camp

Thursday Thirteen - UCF has changed

Thirteen Things about The University of Central Florida in Pictures - Brighthouse Networks Stadium View from the press box. Outside - street level. One of two mounted knight statues. Tim Christopher - my little brother and one of the men behind the internet connectivity in the stadium. View of the press box from field level. The networking department has some hot wheels! Workers are reinforcing the stadium supports to keep it from bouncing. The syudents discovered that if they jump, it feels like a trampoline. The knight charging to victory outside of the stadium. Inside the press box, they have connections for 96 members of the press through ethernet cabling. Another shot of the press box. The visiting team seating is in the endzone that gets the sun throughout the game. Opening day is August 30 against South Carolina State University. The grass is looking good and the stripes will be painted in the next 3 weeks.

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Wordless Wednesday - New Nephew