Guitar Get Together - Oct 29, 2017

We hosted another fun guitar get together yesterday!

Besides playing guitar (ok... I actually played bass since we have so many guitars, we don't need another person playing guitar), I smoked up six full racks of ribs on my Weber Smokey Mountain 22.5" smoker!  My wife made egg rolls and potstickers, and the other appetizers were brought in by our friends.

We'll do it again next Spring!  Photos courtesy of Gayle Hortelano.

Hewlett Packard - HP12C Financial Calculator

Look what I found after so many years!  My Hewlett Packard HP12C financial calculator!

I purchased this calculator around 1987 if I'm not mistaken.  That would make it 30 years old.  It takes three LR44  (A76) batteries which I promptly ordered on eBay.  It still works!

The calculator works with Reverse Polish Notation, so you don't enter data the same as a "regular" calculator.  For instance, for an equation like 5+8= 13, you would enter it this way... 5 ENTER 8 +

Definitely takes some getting used to, but I'm very familiar with it and it seems I haven't lost the ability to work it!  And of course, you can calculate things like interest and payments (for real estate, car payments, etc.)

I checked on Amazon and they still sell this calculator, although it is now less expensive than I paid for it in 1987.  I believe it cost around $89 back then.  Today you can get it on Amazon for only $52.88!  But reading the comments, many seem to say that the quality of construction has gone down compared to the older versions.

I'm looking forward to re-learning the calculator and using it again.  I even downloaded a free iPhone ap that looks and works just like it!  The ap is called Touch Fin (financial calculator).  Check it out!

Ryan's Favorite Bear

My nephew Ryan wanted me to put his favorite bear on my blog.  He named it "Honey Bear".  It is sitting on his favorite blanket.

He has had this bear ever since he was born.  In fact, my sister got it for free from Target before he was born... so actually, this bear is older than he is!

Robot

My nephew got this cool robot!  It fires projectiles, walks, talks, plays music... it even does the moon walk!  Kids got great toys these days!

Ocean Beach - San Francisco - Revisited

A trip to San Francisco wouldn't be complete without visiting Ocean Beach!

Final Fishing Trip For 2017

I did a lot of fishing this season for salmon, but the fish did not cooperate at all. Not even a single bite or bump of my line. It has been a very tough season this year and it just seems that every year for the past three years has been more difficult than the last. Even so, I still enjoy being out there trying. I get to see stars before the dawn over the water. I get to see the sunrise. I don't get that privilege hanging around at home. So here's the sunrise from my final fishing trip of the season taken on 9-20-17. It was nice of the angler in the boat to be in my shot as well.

The image was taken with my small Lumix DMC-LX5 camera. It's a four thirds sensor and I shot the image in manual settings. While it's a "point and shoot" camera, it has basic manual controls. There's no way an iPhone would have been able to shoot an image like this.

You don't always need a top of the line camera to get a shot if you know the basics. This camera cost about $250 many years ago. It has limitations, but you can overcome that if you have the knowledge of how to use a camera.

And yes, it was dark out there when this image was taken!

We Will Never Forget 9-11-2001

Business Card From The San Diego District Attorneys Office

Found an old business card of mine when I worked at the San Diego District Attorney's Office!

Born To Fish

Not exactly true since I love my job teaching photography, but I found this sign up in Wisconsin. No, I didn't buy it as it isn't exactly true for me, but I decided to take a photo of it instead.

Sunrise at Racine Harbor

I went fishing at Racine Harbor last week but didn't catch anything (as usual), but I did get to see the sunrise over the water at least. The sun was peeking through a layer of clouds. The image was taken with a Lumix DMC-LX5 "point and shoot" sized camera, but shot on full manual. The image was processed with Adobe Lightroom.

"13 Reasons Why" - A Netflix Original Series

I have watched "13 Reasons Why" twice now, once by myself and the second time with my wife.  It's a controversial show, no doubt.  Some feel it glorifies suicide.  Others feel it is important to watch so that others can see what goes through the mind of someone who is contemplating suicide.

For me, I think it was a powerful series that all students should watch.  It brings up the issues of bullying in many different ways and how this type of behavior could push someone to do something as terrible as suicide.

I have been to a couple of suicide scenes while working in law enforcement.  My first was a scene of a young boy who took a shotgun and shot himself in the backyard of a neighbor's home.  The other was a murder / suicide of a mom who killed her own son (I believe he was around 6 years old) and then killed herself.  She used a knife and it was the bloodiest crime scene I had ever witnessed.  Blood was spattered all over the walls of their home's utility room and all over the floor.  We had to be careful not to walk on all the blood.  I can still see these scenes in my mind.  These things don't go away.

Suicide should not be an option if you are bullied or depressed.  You can contact the suicide hotline for help.  Call 1-800-273-8255 if you need help.

Realize too that if you commit suicide, it forces those who you leave behind with a lot to deal with and cope with.

I have personally known four people who committed suicide.  One was a student at my high school.  Another was a mother with postpartum depression.  Another was a student from Trinity College who did some internship work at our church.  Finally, there was the son of a family who attended our church who committed suicide while in the Marine Corps.  Way too many people...

So please, do not consider suicide as an option.  Things will get better.  Call out for help.

Pink Butcher Paper for Wrapping Beef Brisket While Smoking

Pink Butcher Paper... does it really work? (Photo courtesy of Burnt End Paper)

Legendary pit master, Aaron Franklin of Franklin Barbecue in Austin, Texas uses it to wrap his beef brisket to power through the stall.  Others just use aluminum foil.

Cubs vs Brewers at Miller Park - Milwaukee. Cubs Win 4-2

My wife and I drove to Milwaukee today to watch the Chicago Cubs play the Milwaukee Brewers.  Cubs won 4-2!

The drive wasn't really that bad... less than 1-1/2 hours from our home.  Because of my handicap placard, we were able to park about 4 rows away from the closest parking spot by the stadium!  Plus, there are escalators moving you to the upper decks of the stadium!

Miller Stadium is really nice, I have to admit.  We really like it and are planning to go see more games up there in the future.  It's less expensive than seeing the Cubs play at Wrigley Field!  But ticket prices are definitely higher when the Brewer play the Cubs than when they play other teams.

We sat in section 415 in the second row.  It's the highest section up in the stadium, but it wasn't that bad really.  We think we will try sitting closer next time.

Because we were so far away, getting closeup photos was not possible.  The photo of Addison Russell at bat is as close as I was able to get with my Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 lens.  The photo of John Lackey on the mound was cropped closer.  Both images were taken with my Nikon D4.  The selfie photo and the stadium photo were taken with an Apple iPhone 6s+.

As I sat in my car getting ready to drive off to go home, a Brewer's fan said to me through my window, "I'll be home in about 5 minutes.  How long will it take you?"  Ok... so he's close by... but we still won today!!  :)

Zenware - Shedder Claws For Pulled Pork

I purchased these Zenware BBQ Meat Pulled Pork Shedder Claws on Amazon for only $5.99.  It made pulling apart pulled pork a lot easier than trying to do it with two forks!  For the price, I don't think you can beat it.  It's really sharp too, so be careful!  It would make an awesome weapon...

Body Worlds - Animal Inside Out

Body Worlds -  Animal Inside Out at the Milwaukee County Zoo!  The best part was hearing a guy ask his girlfriend why she wasn't taking some photos with her iPhone.  Her reply, "The lights are too difficult to get a good shot!" - I was thinking, "Uh, not for my DSLR and knowledge of how to control lighting!!!"

Father's Day Present From My Daughter - Cubs Jersey!

My daughter got me a Cubs Jersey with my name on it for Father's Day!  Ok, it's Addison Russell, but hey... it's still my name!

Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker - 22.5 Inch Smoker

I added a Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker - 22.5 inch smoker to join my 18.5 inch smoker!

I purchased it used on Craigslist for $225 including 5.5 bags of 18.6 lb Kingsford Original charcoal.  Not a bad deal overall!  I washed it off and cleaned the grates... it's all good!

I'll likely update the access door with a new stainless steel Cajun Bandit door like you see on the 18.5 inch smoker. Other than that, the smoker is in great condition!

I'll use this larger smoker whenever we do ribs or whenever we have family events.  Approximately 40% more space is afforded to the larger 22.5 inch smoker compared to the 18.5 inch smoker.

Edit Note:  Upgraded the door and latch on the 22.5 inch smoker:

Best Selling Kitchen Items

Arlington Park Racetrack

Today at Arlington Park racetrack... third race. We learned to pan our cameras. Good times, but hot. Glad we had a breeze though! Thank to everyone who came to learn and practice with me!

Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker

The Seventh Smoking With The Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker Smoker - Country Style Ribs with Apple Wood Smoke

Still on my smoker kick! This time, Country Style Ribs!

Smoked with apple wood with only rub on the country ribs at 225 degrees for 1.5 hours and then removed and placed into an aluminum foil pan and sauced up with Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce. Aluminum foil was used to cover the pan up tight and then returned to the smoker for another 1.5 hours. Finally, removed the country ribs from the foil and returned to the smoker's grill grate for 15 minutes.

Not bad! I had to do these country ribs since my very first use of the smoker dried out the country ribs a little too much since I didn't know the smoker yet. But since then, every cook for the last six times have been getting better and better! I'm getting used to smoking now.

I have to say, the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker smoker is really nice.  It is actually easier to do smoking than grilling on my Weber Spirit E-310 propane gas grill.  With the gas grill, I have to stand and keep and eye on the grilling all the time.  But with a smoker and a remote thermometer, I don't do anything except spray some apple juice every now and then, go out and wrap the meat and unwrap it in an hour.  One last trip to the smoker's grill grate and it's done!  It may take longer, but it's really easier on the long run.