My town, Vacaville California

i've lived in a lot of towns in my life. as both an army brat, a sailor, and now as a geezer, i've been around. one of the great things that has happened to me in the last three years is that my wife and i moved to Vacaville. this town has such a friendly small town feeling that it's hard to imagine living anywhere else. this place has a sense of community, a small town heart in a large town body. here are a few images from the last couple of days.
first, our town Christmas tree, right at the end of Buck Ave, in the heart of the old downtown.

and here are a few of the second floor windows at the local bike shop. a patrolman was checking us out while i took the window pictures. i guess it's not really common for folks to be out and about well after dark taking pictures of local buildings. if you look around, you can probably spot a few hidden gems in your own town. these have been looking down onto the street for a few years. every town i've lived in has had something equally cool, squirreled away in plain sight.

and a little Christmas full moon for you viewing pleasure. check this one out full sized. i like the effect of shooting through the trees in my back yard.

cookies for you

cookies for you
Originally uploaded by bothenook

to all my friends and readers out there, a plate of Christmas cookies.
i hope your Christmas is a safe and wonderful time of sharing with friends and family.
Merry Christmas everyone.

something to think about... Run TO the sound of gunfire

i bought a stack of AGI's gunsmithing courses on DVD for all the firearms i own, that they make a course for.
their product is simple, straightforward, and informative courses on working on various firearms. most require at least some semblance of mechanical aptitude, but you do not need to be a machinist to appreciate most of these courses. of course, if you want to work your way from duffer like me to master gunsmith, you can do that too.
i've lightened the trigger and smoothed it out to a perfect glass rod snap, no creep pull on my S&W revolvers (all of them). i've tuned a browning hi-power, and overhauled a 45 or two. good stuff.
since they are based out of a building about 2 miles from where i lived for 10 years, i feel some attachment.
the president of the company sends out a newsletter every month, and i look forward to reading about new courses available and his reviews and thoughts on all manner of gun issues. what's really cool is that he's started a blog. here's a taste:

In spite of the tragedy of lives lost and the after action trauma this woman will most likely face, there is some small good that can come out of this awful situation and that is this; because of this brave woman’s example we have an opportunity to Re-train at least some of the American population about How to react in a situation like this and how NOT to simply be Victims.

I have spent much of the last 27 years as a Professional Security Consultant, bodyguard, Firearms Instructor and served a brief stint in law enforcement. Much of my training came from Israel where a totally different mind set is prevalent. There, in the face of an attack you are trained to DO SOMETHING. Often Anything is better then nothing.

Almost all of the recent attacks have been perpetrated by a single gunman. And, while the thought of attacking a shooter while unarmed is daunting, it may be the only road to survival.

interested in gun stuff? check out AGI's Blog.

new (to me) submarine bloggers!

howdy to Wheels Within Wheels (thanks Jed)

and someone i found posting comments over at Joel's hangout ... welcome to In Through the Out Door.
welcome to you both. thanks for your service!

been a while: bubblesphere blog roundup

been a while since i've done this.
as always, though, if you want the very latest news related to submarines and all things submersible on the web, visit The Sub Report, your one stop shop for submarine related news and opinions.
this is just what the blogging bubbleheads out there have posted this week, and most of it is life in general stuff...

Joel, at The Stupid Shall be Punished has posted a couple of submarine entries, but really seems disheartened by his wishy washy senator. Joel, don't take it too hard. there are so few politicos out there that show any integrity at all these days.

and Chap has a couple this week regarding political backbiting (humor) and military culture both are worth a read, but i strongly recommend you look at the military culture post. chap is a pretty smart guy, and i'm glad he's on our side.

and our resident objectivist gus has an interesting take on the recent "civil rights" issues that have been cropping up in the news lately. and as i've said before, his roundups are always informative.
hell, you should make gus and chap two of the manditory stops while browsing every day. both bring intelligent analysis and reasoning to a variety of topics that affect us. if you can't tell, i'm a big fan of both of them....

and i'm not going to point to a specific post by vigilis over at molten eagle. let me just direct you to his site. he constantly surprises me with submarine and military posts about stuff i've never heard of, or analyzes info in a way completely differently than i do. and that's a good thing...

and nobody can ignore the humor over at the cookshack. this week cookie posted a great video reminding us to say thanks. thanks cookie.

and Myron posts a video that's been running around for a while titled women in film. i've seen it before, but it's still worth looking at again, and again, and... . oh, and stop by and congratulate the proud grandpa of a new baby girl. yes myron, she is sweet...

and Mike comments on how hard it is to be a Jewish conservative at family gatherings. hell, mike, you ought to try hanging out with my wife's family. talk about feeling like the odd man out! fortunately i'm bigger than all of them, and they know i'm armed! that keeps things under control somewhat!
and i recommend Mike's blog to everyone that will listen. smart guy, even if he is now a lawyer....

the old coot introduced me to a new holiday this year. i think i can get behind this one...

and do not go to old gary's site http://oldgary.blogspot.com/ for a while. looks like it was jacked! GARY!!! SOMEONE'S JACKED YOUR BLOG WITH SPAM SPAM SPAM

our resident eater megamunch posts a pic/recipe for an interesting looking burger. sorry dude, chocolate and cranberries?


so the A-ganger chief tells us what he really thinks, with no reservations: "Seems the only security guard that came to work that day with a gun AND a set of balls was the chick. The "less" twins (Hope & Dick) were too busy playing peek-a-boo to do what had to be done. If you set the balls of this pair on a razor's edge it'd look like a set of BB's on a four-lane interstate!"
i'm with you, that chick needs and medal, and those "guards" need a kick in the ass.

and DSC posts a timely quote

dalejarret4ever passes on a Christmas wish to us all. you too, bub.

over at Right Mind, there's an interesting tidbit about a student fighting back against a moonbat teacher.

midwatch cowboy looks into the 313 ship Navy. whatever happened to the 500 ship fleet of not so long ago? have they gotten so "advanced" and specialized that we can only afford a couple? stupid question, because i already know the answer.

and Doc MacDonald let's us know what he thinks about saint algore's recent comments regarding the culpability of our nation regarding the impending disastrous and really really bad global warming armageddon just weeks away.

ditto for the Chucklehead

and one of my new favorite bubblesphere bloggers has a great post about a petition to end global warming if you haven't spent any time wandering around the sleepy eyed whiner of the deep's site, i recommend you do so.

so that's all that's new this week. some of our bubblehead brethren haven't posted anything new this week, or in many many weeks. bummer. some smart and funny guys out there, and i miss their inputs

Nuclear funnies, and a Nuke Christmas song for all

ok, this probably isn't funny unless you are or have been a nuke. but here's a little video put out by one of the reactor safety offices that shows both a sense of humor and exhibits a clever way to get an idea across. Ways to Save a Millirem. this is currently winding its way around the nuke world. we aren't a power plant, but their work area looks pretty similar to ours. funny stuff.

And for all of you that haven't had enough Christmas songs pounded into your brain, here's a little song for you that just kills me. probably because i'm a nerd.
Working at a Nuclear Power Plant

and for you diehard nukes out there that just can't get enough music related to the nuclear field, check out this link. there are a whole bunch of "nuke" and radiation themed songs, some parodies, most real.

i know, but hey, i've been a nuke my entire adult life. what can i say?

turkey veggie soup. perfect for those cold blustery nights

we had two birds for thanksgiving, a 23 pound monster i roasted in the oven, and a 13 pounder that met its fate in a pot of 350 degree peanut oil. damn were they good. after everyone left with goodie bags full of leftovers, i still had a lot of meat on the carcasses. now what should i do with it? STOCK of course.

Turkey stock:
ingredients:

• one (or two) turkey carcasses. pick off most of the meat, but don't get too crazy about it.
• 1 red onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
• 2 stalks of celery
• 2 carrots, peeled and split lengthwise
• 4 cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped or sliced
• enough water to cover
• a small palmfull of peppercorns, whole

into a stockpot, add all the ingredients, and add enough water to just cover. turn the heat up to high until you just get a few boiling bubbles, then turn down to keep the pot at a very scant simmer. scant simmer means the water is hot enough to boil, with a few bubbles making it to the surface.
cover and leave alone for a couple of hours. it's pretty painless, and the smell is killer throughout the house. go do the crossword, chase momma, clean the garage, or take a snooze in the big chair.

after the stock has simmered for a couple of hours, pull it off the heat, and allow to cool a while.
strain the broth through a fine sieve. knock all the junk out of the sieve, and do it again. pick off the meat from the bones and reserve, and toss the rest into the garbage.

once the stock has cooled down, bag or seal-a-meal (wonderful invention) a quart or two per bag, label, and then toss in the freezer. same with the reserved meat and whatever scraps you have left. i tossed in a couple of wings and a thigh bone to add to the next soup pot. i got about a gallon plus of stock and two bags of meat from this batch.

Turkey veggie soup

• start with the stock made above. pull it from the freezer, and allow to thaw. if you DON't have a bag of home made stock, a couple quarts of chicken stock will do.
• ditto with a bag of meat (see the photo above). i used about 1 1/2 cups of shredded turkey meat
• 1/2 onion, fine/medium dice
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• salt free seasoning mix of your choice. i like to use Mrs. Dash, but that's because it's in the pantry.
• couple of big pinches of freshly grated nutmeg
• small palm full of kosher salt
• pepper to taste
• 1/2 tsp smoky paprika
• 2 bay leaves
• a sprig or two of fresh thyme. a small palm full of dried will work too

in a big soup pot, add enough olive oil to cover the bottom, then saute the veggies until the onions start to get translucent.

add the stock, and bring to a boil. add the meat, spices, and herbs. Reduce to a simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.
if you feel the need to add some starch to the recipe, add 1/2 cup of rice when the soup starts boiling, and add about a cup extra water. or toss in a couple of handfuls of egg noodles. whatever works for you, because this is a great soup by itself or as a base for further embellishments.

enjoy

as always, if you try this recipe, or it inspires you to try something different, please let me know how it turned out. i'm always looking for fresh and clever ideas to improve my own cooking skills and recipes.

for a complete list of my online recipes, follow the link here

the madness has begun

the madness has begun
Originally uploaded by bothenook

so far we've baked and given away about 14 dozen or more of mexican wedding cookies/russian teacakes, thumbprints, chocolate snowflakes, monacaos, and the new ones to the oven this year, chocolate and peppermint pinwheels. tonight is all about baking springerle. i love this time of year

never too young

never too young
Originally uploaded by bothenook

grandma and adriana baking christmas cookies. it's never to early to get the little ones involved.

click pic to see larger

a way to end gun violence

hat tip to KisP

imagine the post action party

i wonder if Bob and Doug McKenzie were touring through Ireland lately...
seems some enterprising person was able to back into the Guinness brewery and leave with a fully loaded trailer containing a total of 39,600 British pints (20 oz) of brew.
39,600 pints... gives a whole new meaning to fully loaded

state run health care, Brits show us how not to do it.

i know there has been a lot of debate the last couple of years regarding a national health care program. as a matter of fact, it has become something of a major issue in California politics.
but what is it that they are trying to do to us in the name of "we're from the government, and we're here to help"?
let's take a look at just one of the problems they are facing in Britain, one of the industrialized world's leading providers of state sponsored health care.
a clip from the article:

Dr Peter Kirkbride, the chief spokesman on radiotherapy for the NHS, said the NHS spent £100m on the breast cancer drug Herceptin in 2006.
But he told Radio 4's The Investigation only about 500 patients had benefited - at a cost of about £200,000 each.
If that was spent on radiotherapy, it could have a dramatic impact, he said.

The article goes on to state that the drug the national health care system decided on is only good for 10% of the successes in the fight against cancer. surgery and radiotherapy account for 90%. "Dr Kirkbride said: "There is a lot of publicity about the role of chemotherapy but the consensus is of all cancers that are cured, half are cured by surgeries, 40% by radiotherapy and only 10% by drugs."
but they can't buy the machinery necessary for a 40% vice 10% success, because the drug they've hung their hat on costs so much money that there isn't enough left to buy the machines needed.
think about that. in a state run system, there is no competition, no market driven protocols and techniques. there's only what the government says is ok. in the last few years there have been numerous reports that those at the top of the British healthcare industry have stated that triage of patients that includes their lifestyles and age will determine whether or not they get any treatment at all because the system can't handle everyone's needs. so if you are overweight, have diabetes, are older than some predetermined cutoff, or fail to meet the government's standards required to receive treatment, you are screwed.
is this what we are looking for?
is a health care system run by the government what we really need, considering the debacle the senior prescription drug program has turned into?
are we really so far gone as individuals and self sufficient/reliant citizens that we no longer are willing to care for ourselves? i know that individual or family healthcare coverage is expensive. $500.00 is a low number i've heard.
for many, that might seem like an unsurmountable amount of money. but let's be realistic. for those that $500 is truly too much for, the government has medicare, welfare, and medicade already in place. but for most Americans, the thought of only having one car, no cable tv or cell phones, or a myriad of other "essentials" that most people in the world do without is hardship. spend $500 a month on my family's healthcare and do away with my wide screen plasma tv? screw that. i'll bitch and complain until the politicians give it to me, just so they can be elected.

it was said a long time ago by someone a lot smarter than me that the end of a society occurs when society decides it can give itself gifts.
where will we be in 30 years? i'm afraid to even think about it.


the snips were from a BBC news article posted a couple of days ago. you can read the whole aritcle at the link: full article here