Power of Love

LOVE
The most powerful emotion in the universe.
It can span space and time.
It can break the laws of physics.
Removes all barriers in it's path.

• Language
• Distance
• Time
• Age
• Culture
• And all the rest.

Nothing can stop the joining of two hearts that are meant to be together.

Not even those that hold the hearts in their breast.

Life, Love,

Have you ever stopped to ask yourself...

What shall I do with the remainder of my life...

May I recommend...Live life furiously...

Live life hard...Live life fast...

Cultivate your passions...

Love your lover...With all you are..

Walk in the surf...Holding hands...

Sit beneath the midnight sky...

Share your dreams...Your desires...

Smell the flowers...Kiss a baby...

Stop just looking...Learn to see...

Don't just listen...Hear what is said...

Laugh so hard it hurts...

Smile at the secrets you keep...

Above all this...

Share your Life...Your love...Your happiness...

Can I Please be a Quitter

It HURTS!!!
    My stomach hurts from the sit ups..My shoulders, arms, and back...Do you remember Dr. Smith from Lost in Space? The Pain! The Pain!
    Suck it up boy..What doesn't kill you will only make you stronger, and that is the point of all this after-all. Okay I have talked me into it. Back to the gym I go for round one of the day. The good point is, it can only get better. Right? I sure hope so. I love seeing the numbers on the scale slowly dropping toward my goal of 205.
    Today is Stretching day, like yoga but not so sexy when performed by a fat boy, but I am not here for the purpose of impressing anyone with my beauty :). My goal is to get back into the shape I was in at 35. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound...Faster than a speeding bullet...More powerful than a locomotive..Get the picture?  Big "S" ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ.
    Well enough of this, I am sitting here procrastinating, delaying the inevitable, I am off to the torture chamber. Time to induce more pain on my body.  See you there ;).

Korean Studies

내 한국 연구에 유용하다.
조금 더 배운 매일.
읽기와 쓰기를하는 것은 좋습니다.
또 한국 음식을 공부하고 있습니다.
한국 스프 제가 제일 좋아하는 것입니다.
내가 나중에 표시됩니다.

Smiley Face For Me :)

    I get a smiley face...another pound gone.  The workout routine and restrictive diet is working well. My stamina is increasing. I don't stay hungry all day as my body adjusts to the routine. Packing in the protein (chicken), and plenty of fiber (vegetables and fruit). Trying to stay with the high performance foods. I eat a lot of food. :)  I keep it low fat, no dressing on the salads, just a little pepper or fresh salsa. The same for the protein, no sauces, just various spices. It works for me. Still a little painful getting my butt out of bed and being in the gym 30 minutes later. Again in the afternoon, like 2 or 3 O'clock, that's a fast one lots of cardio, no breaks for 30 - 45 minutes. In the evening, I shoot for weights, using circuit training both to lose weight and build mass in the shoulders, back, and chest. I have to confess...I hate sit ups. Sit ups and push ups are killers for me. the rowing machine helps get the sit ups started by leaning back on each rep and then needing to do the sit up to prepare for the next rep. Push ups..you just have to do them. The run happens after the morning workout. I still need to work in this area, slowly building back up to the wall, for me that was usually around 4 miles. I'm not worried about breaking the wall just yet, not until I lose a few more pounds, like a save the knees deal.
    I am interested to see what my blood work will look like when I get back in shape, lipids, cholesterol etc. Hopefully they will all be lower and back inside normal parameters.
    Enough about my self inflicted pain program. I'll update again soon.

Origin of Words

    Have you ever wondered how certain words were coined, how they came to be? maybe, what were the circumstances surrounding their first use? I never did either, until today.
     I was just sort of browsing around the internet, one of them days. I came across several articles defining the way of life as it pertained to the Native American for centuries. As I understand it, they lived a simple semi-nomadic life in harmony with nature and for the most part, each other.
     The women were industrious hard working souls, laboring from sun up till past sun set. They raised the children, skinned elk, bison, and bear. Cooked over open fires and clay ovens. Gathered nuts, berries and roots for their diet and as a supplement for their often meager winter rations. When the tribe would move for various reasons, the women would disassemble the home, and reassemble it at a new location. From the bounty of nature they would make clothes, utensils, tools, and a sundry of other things to make the family comfortable.
    The men, on the other hand, would often lay around camp for days on end just shooting the breeze with other men. They would hunt and fish all day, delivering the catch to the women for processing. Often they would hold wild parties where they would dance throughout the night, stuffing themselves of food prepared by their womenfolk. many times, fearing their woman worked too hard, they would venture out to distant lands to find another young woman. He would bring her home then where she could help with all the chores around the home place. the men were very considerate of their women in this way.
    So anyway, back to the subject. One day there ventured into camp the white man. He looked upon the noble Indians, saw their way of life and were not amused. After much deliberation and dance around the communal fire, smoking the pipe etc. The leader of the white men stood and declared, "We shall make your life better". This brought amusement to the Braves, they looked at each other and then at the white men and with a simple gesture and a single word, changed history.
    The chief of the tribe stood, as the white man began to speak, the chief held out is hand in a stopping motion and asked him. How?
    The moral of the story is that when two men in suits knock on your door and say, "We are from the tribe of government, and we are here to help". Run Dude Run..

In The Gym

Just a quick update to remind myself that I can do this, I have been in the gym 3 times a day, 15 Km on the rowing machine today, 5 Miles walking, Push ups, sit ups, and weights.. Yup its fun.

Getting Skinny is Killing Me

    Loving this losing weight stuff however, I forgot how painful the process can be when you begin.
I'm not posting any stats or progress reports other than to say, my goal is to get my weight to an even 200 or 205. Sounds a little big still considering my height 6'0" but, that is a very comfortable weight for me. If I go under that then hey; Smiley face for me ;)  I have already been dropping weight fairly quickly, I am seeing a reduction in the spare tire, as well as the man (o)(o)'s. I'm not following any pre-defined  diet/exercise program, just what I feel like doing for the day.
    Basically it goes like this:
0 sugar, 0 trans fats, maybe 8-10oz of meat per day, I get my protein from other sources, I cook most of my own food, lots and lots of veggies and fruits, 1 cup of good strong coffee in the morning, rest of the day, it's decaf, tea, water, or tomato juice.  Of course you need some starches, so I have a little rice each day. And to keep the metabolism burning from the diet perspective, I eat a ton of hot pepper and hot sauces, I love those anyway.
    Exercise is the killer. A straight out low calorie/low fat diet doesn't make you skinny, it just make you weak and hungry. So I do some hard exercising, (relative to my present physical condition), on average I walk 3-5 miles per day, broken into 3 sessions, I run at least 2 miles per day in the mornings, I hit the gym 3 times a day, and go for the burn in a different area each time.
     Today it was:

• 0530, stretching, 3 mile run.
• 0630, squats with 100lb bar weight.
• 0700, walk 1.5 miles for breakfast
• 1000, basic bicep, triceps, and lats with dumb bells
• 1230, walk 1.5 miles for lunch.
• 1500, Row 3 Km on a rowing machine, max setting in 15 minutes.
•           and more squats.
• 1730, walk 1.5 miles for dinner.

Later this evening I will  hit the gym one more time, for calisthenics. As a note, it is 3/4 mile from my room to the dining facility, I schedule these times into my work schedule, And yes, I spend a lot of time taking showers. Cause losing weight is hot sweaty work.

OK, Time to clean my room, again. Later..

Hydroponic System Breakthrough

    Wow! Where does the time go? I can account for the hours, it's the days I lose track of. Have you ever noticed that when you are with a special person or working on an interesting problem, the hours rush by so fast, and when they're gone, time begins to crawl again. Have no doubt,someone in the field of quantum physics that studies the time continuum is searching for an answer to this mystery. Me? I just go with it. Enough of that. On to the good stuff!
    For those of you that read minds, you already know that I have been working on a special project concerning hydroponics. Well, I have finally overcome the final hurdle in the mechanics and I do believe I have it. For years I have been working on a small scale system, capable of producing approximately .5 - 1 Metric Tons of fruits and vegetables per year. I have been having problems with certain switching devices and torque conversion in the pumping mechanism.
    I was trying too hard. I went back to the basics and there I found my answer. Multiple low volume pumps! Who knew? I have run the math on both the hydraulic and mechanical aspects of the system, The flow through and drip systems are known factors and easily adapted to a multi-stage system such as the one I designed. Instead of designing special drives and pumps, I was able to adapt parts from common household appliances and vehicles to accomplish my goals. I only needed to fabricate one part for use in a tower system and that can be done for just a few dollars, and I may yet find that part on the market somewhere.
    So without spilling the hydroponic beans, here is an overview of the system. Using an elevated tower to support a wind turbine that will turn gears which in turn transmit torque to low voltage/amperage motors to charge back up electrical storage batteries; and also provide a direct drive system for multiple water pumps, I will be able to assemble a nearly fully automatic closed recirculating system. Extremely low maintenance the only training the average person would need, they can get it from the internet or their local farm agent, would be a basic understanding of hydroponic formula application.
    I am currently in one of the best places to test my theory, the arid deserts of Iraq, therefore I shall begin construction of a 1/4 scale functional model within the next month and test it this winter. Enter my problem, getting either premixed hydroponic solution or the basic ingredients to mix my own. I will figure that out.
    So what's in it for me? Did I mention that I'm American (translate-capitalist)? But seriously, there is more to life than money , right? So aside from being able to profit financially by selling/installing systems, selling plans and such (Giving seminars?). Here are some of the more humanitarian aspects that drove me to undertake this project. To really understand this you need to investigate the benefits of  using hydroponics to grow food.

1. The system could be constructed by humanitarian organizations in famish stricken parts of the world, to help communities feed themselves.
2. Families around the world could build this system with scrapped materials and realize a major offset in their annual food budget. (You can't grow junk food with it.)
3. Several of these systems, co-located, would support a small area with a fruit and vegetable market business, either family run, or co-oped by various groups as a supplemental income source. 
4. Maybe an honorary degree in Horticulture, Agriculture, Mechanical Engineering? Sandhills Community College of Pinehurst, NC? Hello?
5. Maybe a little recognition from the Nobel committee? (OK, I'm reaching a little on that one.)
6. Seriously, if I place a dollar value on the plans, and then donate them as charitable contributions on a per use basis, I should be able to offset any new taxes (translate-fines) my beloved government may levy against me for having the audacity to attempt making a profit while not being an elected government official. :)
7. Sorry, had to stick that in there.

Enough for today, I have an appointment this evening and need to prepare. It is a test of my verbal communication skills, verification of my ability to extract various radical emotions through the use of voice, inflection, bad grammar etc. If I keep this up I may become bilingual......Later folks.     

What a week this has been

    Wow...One crisis after another..Nothing big and scary...Just entirely too much little stuff.
Internet crashing a couple of times a day, they finally replaced the old cheapo they had with a decent Cisco, still not state of the art but it is Cisco and that is as good as it gets. Hopefully there won't be any more issues with connectivity.
    On Tuesday one of the guys was feeling real helpful so he took the trucks over and topped them all off with gas. That was nice of him. but....the two that burn diesel weren't feeling so hot after that. I spent two days dropping fuel systems and purging them out. New filters and separators, cleaned the injectors a little and they were running like new. It was one of those accidental things,  The kid stayed with me the entire time, working right there to get the problem fixed.  Then he stenciled "DIESEL" over the fuel doors of every diesel vehicle we have..Good Kid
    On the lighter side, I am losing weight, that is always a good thing. We are under some type of elevated security status until 2300 this evening. So for the last four days if you went off of our little piece of heaven, between 1800 and 2300, you had to wear protective jackets (mine is 37lbs) and wear your helmet, pack heat etc.. I haven't been doing dinner, I hate getting all dressed up for army food.
    I have been doing a lot of writing in my spare time, not here of course, but I have completed rough drafts of several short stories, finished a couple, and have the outlines for several more. Really enjoying that, researching, putting the ideas into word form and playing with the grammar trying to make if palatable for the intended audience.
    Writing lets me escape into my head a few hours every day. That is a very confusing place to be, unless you are familiar with the filing system and please don't open the wrong closets.
    So for now, that is all that is on my mind, be back soon with more dribble.

I'm writing again.

   Ok, here is a little secret that a lot of people don't know about me. In school, until high school, I never did very well in one subject. Lots of mediocre grades and the occasional "F". So what was the subject you ask. I'll tell you. In Math, I got all "A's", in Science "A's", everything was always "A", except in English. I hated it. I still do. What a technically complicated language. What? Did some lawyers sit around and draw this up? Goodness, makes my grey matter hurt.
   In High School, it was a much different matter. I breezed through it. Had I been struck by lightening and suddenly known what a dangling participle was? No, I still don't, to be truthful. You see, in High School, we weren't required to explain the usage of the language. Just read the classics. They were classic alright, Same classics that are force fed to every teen in America. This is only my humble estimation, but I think that only maybe 1 in 10,000 kids liked "A Tale of Two Cities", "Romeo and Juliet", or anything Shakespearean.
   It was just to deep, to involved for our minds at that time, but we were forced to read them and do the obligatory report on our "Feelings". Perhaps if we had been allowed to mature,and then pick up these titles at a later stage in our life. We just might have been able to produce a more honest evaluation of the literature, and quite possibly even appreciated them. As it was, my reports were filled from front to rear with so much fertilizer.
   Let me tell you, it was some high quality fertilizer, grade "A" material. My teachers, bless them all, encouraged me to write as I surely had a firm grasp of the English language. They didn't know my secret, and no, it wasn't the internet. Al Gore hadn't invented it yet. I read. I read a lot. I still do. Three or four books a month, anything and everything, true stories, fiction, text books. Everything except the "Classics" from those school years. With a great imagination, and having a feel for how a sentence, paragraph, and story were strung together, thanks to the hours of reading exposure, I was able to successfully BS my way through High School with straight A's.
   So where is all this leading, I'm writing again. Nothing majestic, just short stories, letters and such. For sure nothing I would share with the world at this point in time. And why now, at my age, some thirty five years after High school would I decide to pick up the metaphorical pen? Why the desire to create something that perhaps only I shall ever read?
   Perhaps, just maybe, there is a Voodoo Queen out there that has me under her spell, giving me inspiration, causing me to express myself in this small way. If she reads this I hope she knows I love her for it. She has entered my heart, mind, and soul to unlock things that have been hidden even from me for so many years. If this should in fact be true, I would surely like to meet with her someday to express my thanks personally.
    Enough of this. Or as they say in the writing world. The End. :)

ps. Please don't correct my punctuation, or grammatical deconstruction of the English language.
     Just enjoy it for what it is.
     Smile and be happy.

keeping my mind busy

   I have been busy with work during the days, the heat is a killer, 125 today. A real scorcher.
   In the evenings, I spend a little time with my friends from around the world, as we conquer the basics of Korean grammar. Learning is fun with them as we also learn about each other, our tastes in music, movies, and much else. Sometimes we have 15 people all logged in at the same time. Always a few folks there, chatting.
   I have begun to offer my "Grandfathers word of the day". I have already had a young lady (KC) correct my spelling. See we learn from each other. I am glad she corrected me so quickly, the lesson will stick. Many people say that, young people, have no respect. These young men and women are very respectful of one another. Their parents should be proud of them. :)

Just your basic update

   I would like to apologize to my followers for my lack of posts in the past week or so. Wait just a minute. I don't have any followers. Ok then, I apologize to those of you who will occasionally drop in to see what's up.

• The Korean study is going well.
• The CCNA study is going well.
• Work is not so bad every day. 
• I'm losing weight and inches. (horizontal inches)
• I exercise daily, eat better and less.
• And every day I close my eyes and let thoughts of a a "Petite Sonrisa" into my heart. :)

   So there you have it, my last week or so in a nut shell. No pun intended, You know, Me-Nut shell. :)

   I am also working on a small project for this blog. I'll post it when I finish.
 
   Here is a hint. Once upon a time, there was a land called America.......And then came the evil lords of the Senate.....And together with the Scribes of the Law they......Get the Idea?

Chat, Chat, Chat

Today was cool,
I had fun as I studied Korean today, Worked on my vocabulary a bit and then went to my favorite site for studying Korean, Talk to me in Korean .com, and hung out in the chat room. Mostly it's young folks there learning from each other, but they make accommodations for an old man. I'd like to link up with some of the older folks there when I can, then I won't feel like I'm intruding on the young ones. But for the most part they are really helpful. Not only are there foreigners there learning Korean, but a lot of younger Koreans brushing up on their English.

Beating the heat in Iraq, Studying Korean (Again)

Here it is a new month already, August 2011. As you know I am currently in Iraq working for the US Armed Forces. I love my job and the folks I work with, really great people. Of course I have a military background myself so we understand each other well and get along great. The daytime temperatures here have been hitting 120+ in the shade this week. I have been drinking gallons of water to keep hydrated. I shifted my work schedule to nights to beat the heat, now I only have to deal with 100 degree weather.

Our pride and joy, graduated from Duke University in May with a Masters in Nursing Science, she has just completed the first of two required 300 hour clinical programs that will qualify her to take the Nurse Practitioner exam in NC. She will be licenced for both primary and acute care. Way too cool, she is a hard worker and we are especially proud of her and her hubby, Chuck.

As I have said, I wish to someday return to Korea to work, or possibly live. Although I speak the language, I don’t speak it as well as I should. So, I have added that little activity to my list of things to accomplish before the end of the year. I found a great web site  that is really great for beginners to learn to read, write and speak the Korean language. They also have a community page where “students” can chat and share to help each other along with the curriculum. Awesome, I recommend them for anyone interested in learning a foreign language, well Korean anyway.

Love to stay and chat but duty calls. My boss has this thing about me working while I’m here, sort a requirement if I wish to get paid. 

My belly is full, and I have a smiley face.

The mail from America is often slow to traverse the world of military post offices as mail in whatever form travels space available (stand by) on military aircraft. I have a package from the Mrs that has been on the way for a  week now. It isn't a surprise package, I know exactly what's in it. Food, or more specifically, Korean food and ingredients I can use to make Korean dishes. I may be American however, I have been a part of the Korean American community for 35 years. I like Korean food, I miss Korean food, I will have Korean food. It may not be the good stuff like my wife makes, but I can knock out a pretty good imitation.
I couldn't wait any longer. Throwing together the final remnants of ingredients from my food locker, I managed to put together a meager feast and share it with some friends here in the desert wonderland that is Iraq.

Our meal consisted of;

1. Naeng myun 냉면, Cold buckwheat noodles, resting in an iced (slushy) and spicy beef broth, topped with pickled cucumber slices, shredded carrots, shredded radish and sliced boiled eggs.
2. Bi Bim Bap 비빔밥, sticky rice with pickled fermented cabbage 김치, sesame oil, sesame seeds, and fermented pickle slices 오이무침. 
3. Kim Bap 김밥, rice rolled in seaweed, stuffed with strips of beef, cucumbers, carrots, and radish.
4. Sweet barley tea 보리차, for drinking. 
5. Wasabe 와사비(Japanese horseradish), and a soy sauce 간장 based dipping sauce.

Too Good, can't wait for my package to arrive. I only wish she could ship octopus, squid, mussels, .......

Would you like to see what it really looks like? See the photos below. To see a lot of variations of these items, do a Google image search. Just cut and paste the Korean names into the search box.
If you would like to know what it tastes like, try your local Korean restaurant or market.

 김밥

 김치

 냉면

 비빔밥

오이무침

Enjoy the experience, experience the joy.

Today, I erased some people!

Ok, I didn't erase them literally, I just cleaned up my Face Book (fb) page. I haven't visited the site in over a year. When I opened it, It was just as I remembered. Seventy some odd friends (Some of them really odd) and postings ranging from chocolate infatuations to visits to the zoo. There were maybe 15 that I could identify with, and less than that that I cared about. I'm not being vain, I'm sure their posting were meaningful to them and had I been posting there regularly, mine wouldn't necessarily impress them either. We lead such varied and often opposing lifestyles. My biggest problem with fb is wading through the pages of irrelevant postings, the game notices, invitations to join worthy causes, or down load applications that can "help me" with everyday functions like telling what time I logged on to the computer. Not a problem, if I have a need to know that I'll check my watch.
So what to do? First I went through the eighty or so invitations to join or  play various games, and blocked them. Then I blocked all of the cutesy application offers. Finally I took the giant leap and deleted a lot of my "e-friends" and even the majority of my extended family. I am now down to nineteen "friends", After deleting some of them that may in fact be a literal statement", but life goes on. I now have my nineteen hand picked  "friends" 14 of which are immediate family, four are actual real life friends that I have known for years, and one is an "e-friend" that uses fb as a medium to help others learn Korean. Which was my motivation to re-enter the world of social networking. So it is official, I am once again a geek, glasses, pocket protector and everything. As in "My geeky friend on face book". I know, I'm pathetic, fourteen friends in this day and age. It had to be done. In the state it was in, not even Capt J.T. Kirk would have ventured there, and if he had, Mr. Spock would have had a mental breakdown.
See you there "Friend".

Chat, Chat, Chat

I have been busy in my down time chatting with folks from around the world at Talk To Me In Korean, (TTMIK) the site I use to study Korean Language (한굴). I've encountered some really interesting people from Korea, America, Malaysia, Japan, China, England, Poland, and Germany. I was amazed at the number of people out there that are interested in reading, writing and speaking the Korean language.
The people I chatted with are of varying ages, backgrounds, religions, and genders. They also vary in their level of competency with the language. They range from "I just started today." to "I've been at this for years.". The diversity of their skills is really helpful in the learning process, and their human diversity helps to give a fresh perspective on the worlds cultures.
There does seem to be one common thread that ties the majority of them together, and that would be their fascination with the Korean pop culture (KPOP) and Korean dramas. Some of us are into learning the language solely for academics or as a precursor to visiting or working in Korea. It really makes for an interesting mix, and I really enjoy chatting with the folks over there.

So, you ask me. Is there a down side to all of this chatting stuff? Of course there is. Where would we be with out a few detractors in life. Aside from my internet service not being the greatest in the world, there are the "children". You know the ones, that come in a variety of ages etc etc. They consider the internet, and especially interactive applications like blogs, chat rooms, and other social gathering sites as their own little playroom where it is alright to tease and irritate others to fill some void in their life.

In the world of interstate trucking, we call these individuals "Radio Rambo". They like to sit behind the microphone of a CB radio and try to aggravate drivers that have already had a hard day. Just to see if they can get a rise out of them. they think that because they are hiding behind a radio, they can't be found. I've seen some that have been found, and witnessed the aftermath. I felt no compassion for Rambo, as he got his backside thoroughly whipped by a couple of burly truckers. And no, I didn't try to intervene on Rambo's behalf, or even offer a band aid. He (Rambo) got what he asked for, albeit possibly more than he deserved.

We had one of those in our little chat room as well, it took a lot of personal restraint not to match wits with him. I didn't do it because of a personal rule not to match wits with an unarmed opponent. I so felt the need to give him a little medicine. I have a sarcastic streak, and have no doubt that I could have literally brought him to tears. I've done it before. Ask poor Rambo.

I have to remind myself when I run into these types that;

• It's not their fault, they are merely putting on display, for the whole world to see, how poor their parents child rearing skills were.
• They are advertising to all they encounter, their lack of education, their inability to interact with others on an adult level, and above all their personal inability to achieve.
• When they reach the end of their life here on earth and look back at all of their achievements, it will be a woefully short list.
• Generations from now, when their progeny ask, "What did my ancestor do?", They will be rewarded with a blank stare.
• I say this with care because my own list of "meaningful achievements" may also be a short list, but there will be a note on the page that reads "It wasn't for lack of trying".

Even with having to deal with this one bad apple, I enjoy the sessions with all the others that share a common goal in regards to learning Korean via TTMIK. I'm looking forward to this learning experience.

Under The Weather

It has been one of them days. I woke up at 02:30 this morning and was at work around 03:00, back in bed by 07:00 with a splitting headache and upset stomach, feeling pretty weak. Got back out of bed around 11:00, puttered around a little, still not feeling 100%. Took the laundry and dropped it off, then went to the mess hall for some fixins. Have you noticed that, even though everyone swears by chicken soup when you are feeling down, we all have our own special comfort foods that magically make us feel better? Mine is soup, but not just any soup, I like hot spicy make you sweat buckets soup. I of course have a certain recipe that I prefer (Korean) but when in a pinch and the right ingredients aren't to be found, you do what you must.

This is how I made my soup;

I went to the mess hall and using a large  "take out box" I rounded up the following;

2 hamburgers, 1 polish sausage
2 cups of stewed tomatoes
1/2 sliced onion
3 sliced jalepenos
2 sliced carrots
big handful of bak choi, and I have big hands.
2 medium baked potatoes.

Once back in my room, I fired up my rice cooker, which I primarily use for a soup and noodle cooker, added a drizzle of sesame oil, splash of dark soy sauce, 2 Tbs of ground red pepper and the onions. Let that simmer for a few minutes and then dumped in everything else except the potatoes. Added a couple or three cups of water and began the wait. Since all the ingredients that require cooking had been pre-cooked, it was a short wait, maybe 15 minutes. I chopped up the potatoes and added them, l letit simmer a little more and dug in. I already feel better.

I already had a large bowl of it.

This is the real recipe I would have followed if I had been home.

Super Chicken Soup

Ingredients;

Ø  2 ½ lbs of chicken pieces with the skin on.  I prefer thighs.

Ø  ¼ cup of vegetable or olive oil

Ø  1/4 cup of sesame oil. Asian store or Wal-mart

Ø  Salt to taste

Ø  Black pepper to taste

Ø  1 cup of ground red pepper.  Asian store, not pepper flakes. You could probably use cayenne.

Ø  4 large potatoes cubed

Ø  1 Large Asian radish cut in half length-wise and then sliced into 1/4 “  pieces.

Ø  1 Large Onion sliced in half, end-to-end, then sliced into strips.

Ø  2 or 3 cloves of garlic crushed. You can substitute with powder, but why would you.

Heat ¼ cup of vegetable oil in a heavy skillet and add the crushed garlic, add the chicken skin side down then place a large pot of water on top of it to hold the chicken down in the frying pan. You don’t need to check the chicken, or bread it. Cook the chicken like this for 10 minutes on medium high heat. Turn the chicken and then replace that pot of water on top of it. Cook for another 5 minutes.

* This method of frying chicken is called “Chicken Under a Brick” I guess because you could use a clean brick instead of a pot of water. Works well for regular fried chicken also. Notice you use much less oil?

While the chicken is cooking get your next pot on the stove, large enough to hold all the other ingredients and some water.

Heat the soup pot and put in the sesame oil. When the oil is hot add the onion and cook on low stirring occasionally till the onion begins turning transparent. Add the red pepper and stir constantly for a couple of minutes. When your arm gets tired, add a cup of water and cook on med-high to get the flavor of the pepper and oil mixed.

Chicken should be done. Add it to the soup pot. Don’t be bashful add those scrapings off the skillet to.

Add all the other vegetables and water to cover by at least 1 inch.

Cook over medium heat until potatoes and radish are fork tender, salt and pepper to taste.

Yummy.

Ok here is the deal about this recipe. The two ingredients that really set it off are the chicken cooked this way and the sesame oil.

All the other ingredients can be left out or exchanged with other vegetables that you like. I really recommend fresh vegetables for this recipe. The frozen or canned stuff just doesn’t cut it.

Frozen or fresh corn on the cob is great here, just cut into 1 ½ inch sections

If you have them add a really big handful of fresh spinach or other leafy greens just a couple of minutes before the soup is done.

If you don’t like the heat of the peppers, don’t use them or just use a couple tablespoons of cayenne instead.

Don’t slurp, use a napkin, and yes you can drink out of the bowl.

Rusty’s Kitchen

As a side note, this recipe is also great when made with shredded beef instead of chicken. I always feel better after eating any hot (spicy) soup.

I don't want to be alone.

I hate being alone, by myself.
Sometimes, I am alone even when others are present.
Times like these are worse than isolation.
So we reach out to see what fate will provide for us.
Someone with whom we can talk.
Freely, openly, with no reservations.
They are there, waiting, searching.
Reach out to them.
Let your destiny unfold.

Finding Myself

I often hear of people taking time off from life to "Find themselves".
If I should ever find myself, I'm pretty sure I'll like me.
If by chance I'm wrong, I'll send me to the store for milk and then,
I'll pack up and leave before I get back.

Farewell to, "Idaho, Country, Scraps, Tex, Tank, and Tap" Been a pleasure.

We lose our contingent of National Guard Soldiers today. They have completed their tour and will be heading home to Idaho. I wish them well as they return to their interrupted civilian lives. I am glad they are all getting out of here safe, hope they are better men for the experience, and although I would like to see them again, hopefully it won't be under the same circumstances. Sleep well America, these "Citizen Soldiers have got your six".

For those of you that "Have their six, by keeping congress in line". Thank you.
A special thanks to all of you who actually support your troops in more ways than just putting a sticker on your car. For some, I realize that is all you can do at this time.
For those of you that sent them the occasional care package. Thank you.
For the loved ones at home proudly proclaiming the sacrifice your loved one was making, while secretly fearing that "knock on the door". Thank you.
Keep in mind that there are still thousands of young Americans stationed at remote locations around the world, some in war zones, some not, that still require your support. Even a small handwritten note that lets them know you care goes a long long way in boosting their moral.
Address it to "Any soldier, APO AE, Afghanistan  or Iraq. They'll get it.
And above all I would like to thank those brave young Americans that serve to guard our way of life.

A side note for all the loved ones out there. keep in mind that your Father or Mother, Son or Daughter, Sister or Brother, Husband or Wife is not alone. They are surrounded by professionals that have dedicated their lives to watching over soldiers. Thanks to all the Platoon Sergeants, First Sergeants, Command Sergeants Major, and Commanders at all levels.

Russell W. Hoskins
1SG, USA
Retired

More later as time permits.

I couldn't let it go. A special thanks to all of those of you that have taken it upon yourself to be "Active Watchdogs" over our three branches of government.

Luckiest Dogs on Earth

Hey there, I have mentioned the wife and daughter, thought I might introduce you to the rest of the family. These guys all just wandered onto the farm at various times and used dog magic to infiltrate our family. They now pretty much own us as the saying goes. There have many dogs in our lives over the past 30 odd years and we still think of the ones that are no longer with us, Puppy, Bones, Spot, Jane, Brutus, Tater, Tommy, Herra, and Mama. There have been a few wanderers that will occasionally stop in for a few days or just a quick meal also, most notably, Neighbor-Boy and George. So here they are with their short biographies.

Susie. 

She wandered in one day with 8 puppies in tow, apparently the nice illegal Mexican family had moved and she was abandoned. She still shows some signs of abuse in the way she acts around people, not aggressive and not overly loving to strangers. She has her good days and loves to get her head rubbed and scratched. Very protective of any treats she may get, she generally runs off to enjoy them in peace then returns for seconds. She is a good girl.

Grace. 

She wandered in as a puppy probably just 7-8 weeks old. She knows she is the boss of the two legged animals on the farm. Really knows how to get dirty, hates bath time, loves finger food and getting a rubdown with a towel. All of them love this pastime, cooling off in the ponds.

Hobo.

Quite possibly the ugliest colored dog I have ever seen. I think there are about 52 shades of brown on his hide. The wife says he is handsome, and her baby. I have been married for 30+ years, so I know better than to offer an opinion. Spoiled as bad as any of them and then some.

Mama

I can not tell a lie, I walked into the neighbors yard, took her starving self off of her tangled 6' chain, and boxed up her 4 starving puppies and took them home. We found homes for the pups, nursed Mama back to health and a better companion you couldn't ask for. She was with us for several years before succumbing to swamp fungus. Miss her sweet disposition,

Tater

Purchased as a puppy by the kids on a day they had puppy fever. I agree he was cute but, hello, you can't have Pitt Bulls in an apartment in Raleigh, Duh. So he became ours, pretty good buddy, got away with more mischief than any kid. If he could talk he would have told you he was people too. Lost him to swamp fungus also. I don't know of a preventative or  a cure for this disease, we have lost 3 friends to it.

That nutcase with him is Herra.

Herra.

My wife "borrowed " her from a friend as a playmate for Tater when he was our only farm dog. That's right, I said borrowed. Permanently. For sure a daddy's girl, Like my other Daughter, she had me wrapped around her "finger"? So full of energy, she loved running around the farm chasing rabbits, she never caught one as far as I know, just chased them. She went out for a run and never returned. Miss her energy.

Tommy.

Sharing the love with mom. She gives such good belly rubs. Only with us for a year, but remembered with fondness. Swamp fungus took him also.

Just so you know, here are some of my views about our canine friends;

If you live with us, you will be "Fixed".

You will mind your manners with our guests. No aggression.

You will take a regularly scheduled bath, even if you just took one in the pond, swamp, mud hole etc..

You will come when called, at least in theory.

You will not nip me while getting a pedicure.

You will behave and wait your turn at snack time.

Snacks consist of the following;

Snausages, beef sticks, chicken, fish, greens, sweet potatoes, ham and cheese sandwiches, 

and home made from scratch pancakes.

At snack time, we make sure everyone is present and accounted for, line them up and say their name as we deliver the goods. They are well mannered and don't grab when their name isn't called. My wife will often catch and cook a large catfish, let it cool and remove the bones then use the meat as snacks. I told her that was too much work and she should just make the two dozen pancakes like I do every Sunday morning.

I really despise people that mistreat animals.

Here's the list;

People that fight dogs.

PETA, (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) would rather send animals into the ,long sleep,         (Kill them) than see animals kept as pets, companions, or livestock.

People that don't take an interest in their animals health.

Trophy/sport hunters.

(I have no problem at all with hunting for food)

My #1 is people that are just downright mean to their animals.

I do support no kill shelters and recommend them as a source for your next family pet.

I also urge you to contribute to them when you are able.

Enjoy your day, and love up on your furry friend.

Sometimes I type funny.

If you happen to notice the occasional error in my spelling, please forgive me. A typist I am not.

Beating the heat, learning Korean

Here it is a new month already, August 2011. As you know I am currently in Iraq working for the US Armed Forces. I love my job and the folks I work with, really great people. Of course I have a military background myself so we understand each other well and get along great. The daytime temperatures here have been hitting 120+ in the shade this week. I have been drinking gallons of water to keep hydrated. I shifted my work schedule to nights to beat the heat, now I only have to deal with 100 degree weather.

On the home front, the Mrs. has been struggling to keep the fish alive in the seasonal heat of North Carolina summer. She is such a hard working woman, great mom, and wife. As they say in the movies, “She completes me”. When I call her my “Better half”, I’m not joking. Where would I be without her? Answer, LOST.

Our pride and joy, graduated from Duke University in May with a Masters in Nursing Science, she has just completed the first of two required 300 hour clinical programs that will qualify her to take the Nurse Practitioner exam in NC. She will be licenced for both primary and acute care. Way too cool, she is a hard worker and we are especially proud of her and her hubby, Chuck.

As I have said, I wish to someday return to Korea to work, or possibly live. Although I speak the language, I don’t speak it as well as I should. So, I have added that little activity to my list of things to accomplish before the end of the year. I found a great web site talktomeinkorean.com that is really great for beginners to learn to read, write and speak the Korean language. They also have a community page where “students” can chat and share to help each other along with the curriculum. Awesome, I recommend them for anyone interested in learning a foreign language, well Korean anyway.

Love to stay and chat but duty calls. My boss has this thing about me working while I’m here, sort a requirement if I wish to get paid. 

My Less Than 3rd World Hatchery

During Christmas break from school a couple of ears ago, my wife Ok Sun (pronounced Oak Soon) and I decided to take another step in our business and start hatching out Tilapia, which we could grow out and sell as fingerlings to other farmers, and as food fish for sell on our farm. We call it our Less Than 3rd World Hatchery because it was built from scratch with a lot of sweat equity, recycled materials, Home made equipment and no assistance from the U.S. Government. Fine with us, we don't want their fingers in the pie, it's pretty thin already. As I have stated before, I don't do debt, so our farm is completely paid for including all equipment and stock. when the economy went sour for most folks in America, it didn't really hurt our production model, except for a 300% feed price increase. However Our customers, the majority of which are beholding to the financial institutions of America, were hurt severely. Most of the fish farms where I had hoped to sell fingerlings are no longer in business. Our farm gate customers (walk in individuals) slowed considerably and the cost of production couldn't be offset by the amount of business for Tilapia, or compete with cheap (Safe?) imported fish. Even though our fish were live when purchased vs frozen and shipped from wherever, and the cost was only about 20% higher, customers opted for rancid over fresh. What's a country boy going to do? We locked the door and will re-open when the economy rebounds. We considered trying to get a government contract to provide fish for state and congressional dinners, but that would be like selling to ourselves because, you know they would tax us to cover the cost. Anyway enough of the whining, here are a few pics of the hatchery and tilapia.

These are our breeders, they are quite small, around 450g, we still get about 100 eggs per female per week.

These tiny fish are just days old, they are from a single brood and are ready to be transferred to a tank

These fish are between 3 weeks and 5 weeks old, they will stay in this tank fore about 4 months

These fish are about 2-3 months old, really starting to eat more and grow faster

The Pastor and some ladies from church were over for dinner, these guys were the guests of honor, about 1.5lbs each.

What do a Wal-mart swimming pool and our grow-out tanks have in common? They are identical. 600 fish in here.

A little emergency evacuation of ammonia gasses, and infusion of oxygen

A little about the farm

I thought I would give a few highlights of my life as a fish farmer. In 2004, my wife and I purchased some land in NC with the intent of developing it into a commercial fish farm. Being adverse to debt, we did the majority of the labor ourselves during our home time from truck driving, approximately 7 days per month. We cut trees, dug stumps. burned brush, put up 1/2 mile of chain link fence, sunk 2 wells, rented equipment and dug 5 ponds, ran electrical power, and 700 feet of 3" pipe. It took us 4 years before we finally had fish on the place. there were a lot of ups and downs, it is defiantly not a business for the timid. We stocked the farm with channel catfish, hybrid bream, and hybrid striped bass. Over the years we have expanded to include blue catfish, a few accidental koi, and lotus (nelumbo nucifera). We tried a few american eels, and some red swamp crayfish, that didn't work so well. Raising fish seemed like a good plan when we started, we have learned much over the years about the complexity of the process of rearing fish, and presenting those fish to the market. We're no great success but, we do good. Here are a few pictures of the farm (Carolina Coves). I will definately touch on the subject of fish farming from time to time as it really interests me so much.

It's 5:00 AM, That is my wife anchoring the end of a net that

has corralled 900 3lb catfish. We are moving them to our fish out pond.

This is a "Georgia Giant" hybrid bream

It weighed in at a hefty 1lb 

This "Chanel Cat" was a decent 7.5lbs

Around here we call that "Medium"

For perspective, that table is 26" wide.

Customer with a nice catch. 

We occasionally have catfish that are missing pigment, causing albinism.

This lady holds our farm record for catching them, 4.

Personal policy, automatic release after photos. 

 Our Pastor and his family, enjoying a day on the banks.

 My wife helping the pastors wife land a big one.

 We often have this combo, grandfathers showing the 

boys how it's done.

My friend Dean, brought this young man on his first fishing trip.

He dresses the part.

On occasion, Idiots run up against mother nature, she wins every time.

We had a pond that was heavily stocked, and procrastinated on moving some of the fish to our fish out pond.

Weeks of hot weather and a sudden cold rain storm cost us about 4,000 lbs of fish.

We were able to give away 2,000 lbs before they died, and this bunch was converted to fertilizer for use on our gardens. Nasty business often times.

Nest post; The Hatchery, Tilapia

I looked at the Blogging Community

Wow! Eye opener for me. I have a degree in Computer Technology, I am a network, security, and maintenance guy. I don't claim to be an internet Guru as far as applications are concerned, not even close. I don't use many applications beyond Microsoft Office and some network tools. Yesterday, after I made my initial posts, I decided to further investigate the blogging world. I was blown away by the diversity of topics blogged about, and the creative thought that people from around the world put into their blogs. The page design aspect alone was awesome,  As you can see I just popped up a standard template and went for it. I'll have to work on that.
I still have a lot to learn about the blogging world, but I do believe I will enjoy the journey. I'm really looking forward to meeting so many of you through your blogs, and learning from you all the intricacies of blogging

Things that "Push My Button"

There are many things in this world that irritate me, most of which are trivial, a great many I can do nothing about, and some that I can. Here are a few.

1. People that refuse to take responsibility for their current station in life, or their future.
2. People that refuse their moral responsibility to provide for the children they bring into this world, I don't mean signing them up for welfare programs, I'm talking about nurturing them and preparing them for adulthood.
3.People that are ignorant, and prefer to live their live that way. They can do as they please, it just irritates me because by remaining ignorant, they fail to acquire the skills needed to be a productive member of society and by default, become a burden to society.
4. People who campaign for public office on a platform of representing the best interests of their country yet once in office, they act only for their own self interests.
5. Political correctness.
6. Anyone who attempts to force their personal beliefs on another.
7. The failure of the justice system to curb illicit activities that undermine the nations ability to progress.
* I'm seeing a pattern here, seems like people are involved with things that tick me off.
8. Hunting, when done strictly for sport.
9. Most advertising campaigns, or their vehicles.
10. Idiots that think Hollywood should dictate all aspects of life in America, and especially those in Hollywood that agree with said idiots.

OK I'll shut up now.