Crimereports.com - visit this site!

I heard about this site while listening to the radio. Mark Shurtleff, Utah's Attorney General, spearheaded this project that ties in crimes to yahoo maps. The result is outstanding! You just input your zip code at www.crimereports.com and it pulls up a map that shows what crimes have happened in your neighborhood. Way cool! Interesting to see that in my neck of the woods there are mostly vehicle burglaries. At my old place of business in the past 30 days there were over 500 incidents within just a few miles. Wow! Anywho, it can also show people on the registered sex offender list, traffic stops, and drunkenness. Too bad it doesn't show stupidity.

World of Warcraft vs. Super Mario Bros.

vs

This morning as I'm getting myself and the boys ready for the day, Jesse comes up to me as he's playing my old GBA and asks for my help to pass a level. He watches me as I effortlessly jump and stomp and power my way through the board that had caused him so much grief. When I finished the level I told Jesse that I had obtained Mario's friend Yoshi, the friendly dinosaur than he can ride through many of the levels. Jesse then told me "His name is Yoshi? I just called him my ram." I had to laugh out loud because he made a connection between Super Mario Land and World of Warcraft. Usually on weekend nights he'll watch me play WoW for a few minutes before he goes to bed. In that game my character has a fast gray ram that I can ride around to go from place to place. Jesse was always fascinated by it and liked to see its face. He then usually asks me to make my character make the train sound. Typing /train in the game makes the player raise his arm in the air, pull down an imaginary horn and say "Woo Woo, chugga chugga chugga chugga, Woo Woo!!!". So in honor of my son's awesomeness, I will name my Epic Mount Yoshi.

Old School Peanut Butter Bars

Warning! The following recipe is more addicting that drugs, alcohol and red rope licorice combined!!! Behold! The long lost recipe that your lunch lady used when you were a child for those supremely tasty Peanut Butter Bars

1 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
1 1/4 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
2 cups oatmeal
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 cup peanut butter

Mix together and bake in a lightly greased 13" x 18 1/2" pan at 350^o F for 15-20 minutes (underbake). When cool spread with a thin layer of peanut butter then frost.

Frosting

1/4 cup softened butter
1 tsp vanilla
4 tbsp cocoa
4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk

mix

Using a pizza cutter works pretty well in slicing up the pan. We usually do a 4 x 6 grid yielding 24 squares. Now if you are on any kind of diet or trying to eat healthy I'll tell you right now this is not a good idea to make. But is it delicious? Oh man, give me a half gallon of milk (because these things are very rich) and a couple of squares and I'm in heaven. So enjoy in moderation, yeah right, just make enough so that everyone gets their fill :)

It's really really hard to warm the globe

I guess this is kind of a continuation of my last blog, but I wanted to drive home a point. The energy it takes to warm the globe, and by that I mean the atmosphere and water in the oceans, is a lot more than you think. So here are some facts: The mass of the atmosphere is 5,3000,000,000,000,000,000 kilograms (1). The mass of earth's oceans is 1,400,000,000,000,000,000,000 kilograms (2). From here on out I'll use scientific notation to shrink the numbers :) The next thing you need to understand is specific heat capacity. Think of this as the amount of energy you need to heat up something to a certain degree. In our little experiment, the heat capacities of air and seawater are 1.005 kJ/kg.K and 3.93 kJ/kg.K respectively. For our experiment we are only going to raise the temperature of the earth 1 degree Celsius. Now, we'll multiply the specific heat capacities to the mass and add them together. (Pulls out and dusts off scientific calculator) And the answer is you need 5.5 x10^21 kJ of energy. (That's 5.5 Zettajoules for all you geeks out there) Now if you're the sun you have no problem producing that kind of energy, since we get 3.85 ZJ per year from the sun. But for us humans? We would have to outperform THE SUN for about a year and a half just to accomplish the task of a global temperature increase of 1 degree. Our biggest power plants that we have produce about 5 gigawatts of power each year. We would need about 2.5 billion of them running each year to match what the sun puts out every second! Seeing as how the sun runs on the very effective and efficient method of nuclear fusion (making hydrogen atoms into helium atoms) and we run on burning fossil fuels which is extremely inefficient by comparasion, I'm just not seeing how we can do it! I really do think that global warming is just hype and hysteria. You want to be green and save energy and not pollute, great, but don't try to tell me that my 100w light bulb is going to "warm the globe".

Hey Al Gore, Where's the Global Warming?

I'm having a hard time remembering when it was above FREEZING outside. December 1st, 2007 saw a snow storm hit the Salt Lake Valley, and we've been buried ever since. Normally I don't mind the snow so much, but it is so friggin' cold outside! Last night it got down to 3 degrees Fahrenheit! That's -16 degrees Celsius, for everyone outside the US. And I have to be in it! One of my duties in my other job is to check a backup generator to make sure it's still running and has enough fuel in it. After plowing through 2 feet of snow to get to it I get to climb into it and look and all the gauges. I try to hurry as fast as I can, otherwise I'll feel Mother Nature's icy embrace in full force until I can go back inside the building and warm back up.

It makes me think of the episode of the Simpson's called Mr. Plow. To sum it up, after Homer and Barney work together in a snow removal business in the middle of a cold winter, they challenge God that not even he can stop them. A stern "Oh no?" from the heavens later and all the snow melts, effectively ending their business. The reporter Ken Brockman sums up exactly what I'd like to feel: "Could this record-breaking heat wave be the result of the dreaded ``Greenhouse Effect''? Well, if 70-degree days in the middle of winter are the`price' of car pollution, you'll forgive me if I keep my old Pontiac." I think I should start driving my old Yukon some more.

Anywho, I really don't buy into the whole Global Warming hype that everyone is afraid of. A decade ago it was all about "Greenhouse Gases", now it's "Global Warming". Funny thing is just a few decades before that people were worried about "Global Cooling" and the next ice age. The Earth naturally has warmer years and colder years, and there is nothing we little humans can do about it. Sure, I'm all for not trying to add more pollution to the air, since I like to breath it, but to think that we as a species, with the exception of nuclear weapons, have the means to considerably alter our planet so that it becomes an uninhabitable sphere is inane. And even if there were nuclear war, eventually the planet would heal, with or without us. So to all those that are worried sick about Global Warming and melting ice caps and all that drivel, please send your heat this way where it will be well received.

Crunchy Bat Wings

I was going over my blog and was thinking about how many people probably don't get the reference my signature has. Early on in our engagement Melissa and I watched the movie "Three Amigos" with Steve Martin, Chevy Chase and Martin Short. Great Movie!!! Anyway, there is a part in the movie as pictured above when all three amigos settle down for the night and start a little sing-a-long. Before the music begins you see them eating cooked bats, and the crunch you hear when the eat the wings is louder than anything. While watching this Melissa told me how tasty that sounds, like bacon that is so crispy it just melts in your mouth. It's just one of the many reasons I love that woman!!! So there you have it. Melissa loves "Crunchy Bat Wings" and so should you :)

Songs I like

I got inspired by Camie's blog to add music because she had a LOT of cool 80's tunes on there. I went and added that music player to this blog, but did not make it auto-play. I must admit that there is not enough time for me to detail every song I like, but I'm able to add 99 songs to the playlist, so when I'm feeling like adding a few song I'll be doing that. In the meantime I thought of cool songs named after people, and being the family centric person that I am I'll start with Melissa. My favorite Melissa song is "Sweet Melissa" by the Allman Brothers. My Melissa also is very sweet. :) I also like "Brown Eyed Girl" for her, but it doesn't mention her name. Next up is Jesse. He has it easy! "Jessie's Girl" by Rick Springfield will make his friends envious forever. It's a darn shame that they misspelled his name, but the song is awesome and the video is a standard of how bad videos used to be in 1981, topped in awesomely badness only by Pat Benatar's "Love is a Battlefield". If you own the DVD of "13 Going on 30" you own both original music videos. For you kids reading this blog, once upon a time MTV used to be cool and play music videos. Now it sucks. Owen has a song called Song for Owen. Brilliant! It's by Timothy B. Schmit. Yeah, I've never hear of him either. I actually haven't heard the song, but the lyrics make me think of the moment that I'll say goodbye to him in the MTC when he's older. Here they are.

Do you remember

Not so long ago

When I could just pick you up

And warm your soul

We'd sit and talk about the difference between

The world of bad and good

And I was doing the best I could

Bedtime stories

Read you off to sleep

Wishing you all my love

And sweet, sweet dreams

I'd wait until you were closing your eyes

Just because I thought I should

And I'd wonder while I watched you breathe

What this crazy world had up it's sleeve

I was doing the best I could

"Time Flies"--So the saying goes

But I don't know if it's true

Because every dayd is so full of life

And so much of it is you

Now you stand-so tall

And look straight in my eyes

Longing with all your might

To be strong and wise

So on summer nights when you're driving away
I hope you understand
That this new found freedom you have earned
Worries me till you return
And I'm doing the best I can
And my love for you will never end

If you're not crying right now YOU'RE NOT HUMAN!!! Just kidding. Finally there are songs about Jeff. Yep, there are no songs about Jeff. That doesn't make me feel too bad because Bill Cosby did one of the funniest bits of comedy about a boy named Jeffrey in a plane. It was absolutely true. All Jeff's are the same. Anywho, listen to the music I posted. I'll try to update it frequently, and if you're brave enough, leave me a comment about your favorite song with your name!

How to make my Darn Fine Salsa

I can now say my homemade salsa is award winning. I made some for a combined youth activity in my ward where people got to try different foods from around the world. My salsa actually brought home two awards, one for the hottest food, and the other for food we hope we never ever have to eat again. Noobs. So here's how to make my salsa: First off, since I got rid of my stone bowl (molcajete) from Mexico I've been using a cool little salsa maker that Melissa got me. I think it's a tupperware or pampered chef unit, but anything like this Salsa Maker will be good. I'd stay away from blenders unless you want to be able to drink your salsa through a straw. All my salsas have the same base to it, then from there you can make it as hot or mild as you like.

3-4 small tomatoes (Romas work very nice)
1 8oz can tomato sauce
1 Tablespoon salt
1+ Tablespoon garlic powder

From here you can differentiate your salsas and let your inner Mexican go loco! For a milder yet delicious salsa add

1/2 cup chopped onions
2 jalapeños with the seeds removed

More spicy? Try no onions and 3 chili serranos.
Want more hair on your chest than Sasquatch? 3-4 Habaneros, Cayenne peppers and squeeze a lime into it.

More ways to spice things up? There are three ways I can prepare the tomatoes and chilis. First is raw. Just clean them with water, remove any stems and you're ready to go. Second is fire grilled. I'll put them on my BBQ on the middle rack at medium temperature until the skin on the tomatoes break and the skin on the chilis begin to blister. After they cool down then just peel off the skin and add them to the mix. Third, lightly fried. John if there is a better cooking term for it let me know. Just add a little bit of cooking oil to a frying pan and then add in the tomatoes and chilis. You'll get the skins peeling off like the second method, but not as bad. Once you're done wipe off the excess oil. There is something about the added heat that makes it a little more spicy, but whatever method you use will still yield some seriously tasty stuff. Word of caution: Clean your hands and arms off with soap when you are done. Repeat. Few things in life are as unpleasant as chili juice in your eyes. If your mouth is burning from the salsa, try drinking milk or eating a piece of bread or tortilla, but don't drink water. Also, adding salt and/or lime juice will lessen the strength. I imagine mangos would also work. You could also add cilantro if you like.

There you have it folks. Mighty fine salsa that can be served at your next social event. Disfruta!

What's one more...

This is my blog

about this cute dog.

Should I add another to the mix?

Will she need to get a fix?

She's so small and daintly and little

do I really want to clean up piddle?

Can I stand to hear her yap?

Will I tell her to shut her trap?

But she is so cute and gives me kisses

And I'm sure I'll be the one she misses

So should I add her to the clan?

Or do I make another plan...

My turn to be sick...time for some Heroes.

So in some freakish weird turn of events I'm pretty sick right now, along with both Jesse and Owen. And who's not sick? Melissa. I was able to watch the first disc of Heroes season 1, and it's amazing how much I missed the first time around. For those of you that haven't watched Heroes, you're missing out on some great television. And here's why. Heroes is written by a comic book guy (Jeph Loeb) that knows his stuff. And then match that with some pretty impressive visuals (Tim Sale) and you have a very good looking show. In case you were wondering, which I'm sure you were, both Jeph and Tim worked on a project before Heroes called The Long Halloween. It's a Batman story that starts and ends on Halloween, and over the course of a year the Dark Knight is trying to solve a murder. Anywho, great story, and that same creative team hooked up again and started working on Heroes.

The premise of Heroes is about ordinary people discovering they have super human abilities. In the comic book terms, these people would be like Marvel's mutants. There are no aliens (Superman), technology based (Iron Man), accidental (Spider-Man, Hulk) or other (everyone else). These are all people that due to some genetic anomally have gained powers that us mere mortals only dream of. After a solar eclipse we see more and more people realize that they have these powers and begin to develop them. The great thing about this series is how strong the characters have been. While most have been somewhat reluctant on using their powers, others, and especially the protaganist, fully embrace who they are and what their destiny is. The story lines have been consistently good, and the season finale was AWESOME!!! Melissa got me the first season on DVD, so if you're interested in watching I'll hook you up. Season 2 has also been very good, except for the whole story line with the latin siblings. So sit back, enjoy some DayQuil, grab some popcorn and enjoy this series.