Full Metal Lunchbox

Running Jayhawk and Firefly on New Years Eve

Labels: New Years Eve Small Bar Firefly Running Jayhawk

 
Hi, everybody!  Happy Aren't-you-glad-Christmas-is-Over!

I got all kinds of cool gifts this year.  Surprisingly none of them were food-related this year and many were directly related to my physical fitness.  (Thanks especially to JB and JP!)

The only two gifts to my waistline this holiday season were:




1)   an invitation to the Peterson family Christmas dinner.


OMG, fantastic wine, fish baked in a parchment paper pouch w/ vegetables, and the best risotto I've ever had!








2)  a very rare bottle of Unibroue Quelque Chose from Jay.  Wow!










I enjoyed this special brew with some of my famous bachelor home cooking.  Pictured here is my dinner of bok choy fried in garlic and sesame oil with onion and Vietnamese spicy pork roll, and also my 19 herb fried chicken.  Well worth the extra hour I'll need to spend on the treadmill.








I had a lot more I wanted to post this morning, but I just got handed a pile of work with the potential to get me into trouble.  So I have to skeedaddle now.

Happy Post-Holidays everybody!

 

As you can see, I have relocated my blog off of my website and over to Blogspot.  This sudden move was a desperate necessity.

As many of you fellow bloggers may be aware, Beta Blogger sucks ass.  In my case it will no longer allow me to publish my blog to my website due to FTP related issues.

The following paragraph contains boring technical information:

My problem is that my ISP uses vDeck for host management. So do a lot of other providers. The old Blogger was able to FTP to vDeck servers just fine, but the new crappy Blogger cannot. There are thousands of us out there with the same problem and Blogger doesn't seem to care -- it's not even listed officially as a known issue. Now Blogger employees have gone away on Christmas vacation and my hosting provider Startlogic is no longer picking up their phone. I did manage to LiveChat with some dude in India who misspelled the word "password." Kinda depressed about this.  My problem is that my ISP uses vDeck for host management. So do a lot of other providers. The old Blogger was able to FTP to vDeck servers just fine, but the new crappy Blogger cannot.



Neither Blogger, my hosting provider, nor vDeck have been of any help.  The hell with it.

So it looks like my blog will be in this location from now on.  Regular readers will need to fix their bookmarks and RSS/Atom/XML/FeedBurner subscriptions may not work.  Sorry.  Please be patient while I update my blog to function in this new environment.

By the way, the new telephone I purchased at Costco in the previous post is already on the fritz and will have to be returned to the store.

 very frustrated

My faith in technology these days is not so good.

Labels: Beta Blogger sucks ass

 
It's better to ride your bicycle to Costco instead of driving.  That way you will only purchase what you can carry.


This particular shopping cart includes:  a giant bottle of salsa, bulk soy sauce, bulk tofu, bulk Boca Burgers, fancy red wine, and a new 5.8GHz telephone.  Everything I need to survive the holidays.  All for under $100.

(I resisted the urge to purchase a pie.  Trying to slim down ya know.)










Speaking of holiday grocery shopping, doesn't Sadie resemble a plump Christmas turkey?

This little roaster is staying inside this holiday season, as two of my friends have already threatened to eat her.

(Yeah, I'm talking about you JB and JL.)






Happy Holidays everybody!


Now bake me a pie!


Sorry, everyone.  I don't know where that came from.

 
A number of people lately have asked me "What's new?"

The answer is, not much.  Life is pretty much routine.  Same drama at work, same adventures with my friends and rotating cast of pug dogs.  I've been working out a lot more lately and improving my diet, but that's about all that's new.  Some exciting things will be happening to me in 2007 but I don't have anything to say about that yet.

In the meantime, here are some photos that show my regular routine:






Jay and I finally get around to drinking those last two lambics we didn't finish at the Alcoholics Reunion Party (see earlier post).  Mmmmmm... Oude Kriek....











With JB out of town last week I once again had custody of all three pugs.  Never a dull moment, believe me!






















Here's a rare day of me actually dressed up for work.  Not that it mattered.












Drinking Fat Tire, just to piss off Jay.











Finally found a new source for t'ef injera.  Now I can once again attempt to cook Ethiopian cuisine.  Anyone for Josh's embarassingly spicy lentils?









Jill & Eli: the tallest couple I know








This morning after another successful workout on the elpitical

Distance:  5 miles
Time:  42 minutes
Calories:  582





So, that's what's going on with me these days.

Happy Holidays everybody!!

 





Today's post begin's with a word about secrets, specifically your secrets.

Due to recent requests as well as the current "big brother" situation in the world today (Dick Cheney actively reads my blog) I have decided to institute a privacy policy for Full Metal Lunchbox (my blog), Pugpaw.com (my site), and all other places where I post information.

Here it is:

Privacy Policy


1. I wont mention your last name unless you are on TV and even then only if it's a show I hate. (For example, I won't keep secrets for Keither Sutherland.)
2. Upon request, I wont mention your first name either, but only if you supply me with a nickname by which I can refer to you.
3. I've booked a guest suite in Dick Cheney's secret mountain. Anyone care to join me?

It will take me a month or so to completely comb through my blog, site, online photo and movie accounts, MySpace etc. to make sure that your private information is removed. Please be patient. If come February 2007 you see something with your name on it on any of my sites that shouldn't be there please let me know.

Speaking of secrets, I'm not going to reveal the name of the dear friend who sent me the e-mail about the PIN number reversal myth, for I have no desire to cause embarassment to anyone I care about. But that e-mail did get me thinking about Internet myths. You know what I'm talking about right? These plausable faulsehoods seem to have a life of their own. For example, to this very day I still sometimes get e-mails from well-meaning loved ones telling me that Bill Gates will give me $100 if I send him a letter.

So, as a service to the public, I present to you top 25 Internet Urban Legends, courtesy of Snopes.com

Top 25 Internet Urban Legends

 
  ATM Reverse PIN Panic Code

E-mail claims that entering one's PIN in reverse at any ATM will summon the police.
 

 Invitation Virus

E-mail warns about Invitation (or Olympic Torch) computer virus.
 

 UPS Uniform Warning

E-mail warns that terrorists have acquired UPS uniforms.
 

 Osama bin Laden Virus

E-mailed computer virus claims Osama bin Laden has been captured or hanged.
 

 Ashley Flores

Missing child alert: Ashley Flores.
 

 Cell Phone Directory and Telemarketers

E-mail claims users must sign up with the national Do Not Call list to prevent telemarketers from calling their cell phones.
 

 Applebee's Gift Certificates

E-mail claims Applebee's restaurants are giving away free gift certificates.
 

 Life Is Beautiful

Warning about the "Life Is Beautiful" PowerPoint-based computer virus.
 

 Bill Gates / Microsoft / AOL Giveaway

E-mail claims Bill Gates, Microsoft and AOL are giving away cash and merchandise to those who forward an e-mail message.
 

 Target Stores

E-mail claims Target stores do not support veterans.
 

 Slow Dance / Amy Bruce

Amy Bruce, a terminally ill young girl, writes "Slow Dance" poem.
 

 Ben Stein's Confessions for the Holidays

Actor/writer Ben Stein's commentary on the observance of Christmas.
 

 Starbucks

E-mail claims Starbucks refused to send free coffee to G.I.s serving in Iraq.
 

 Carjacking

E-mail describes parking lot carjackers who place flyers on cars' rear windows.
 

 Gift Card Scam

E-mail warns about scammers' stealing value from gift cards.
 

 Citgo Buycott / Boycott

E-mails urge Americans to buy/not buy gasoline from Citgo or Petro Express stations.
 

 Social Security Petition

E-mail petition advocates denying U.S. social services to non-citizens.
 

 Fantastic Machine

Video clip shows music-playing "farm machine" built at the University of Iowa.
 

 Zicam

E-mail describes consumer's experiencing a loss of smell after using Zicam brand cold remedy.
 

 Excise Tax Credit

Special one-time federal excise tax credit rebates tax overpayment on phone bills.
 

 Let's Say Thanks

The Xerox web site LetsSayThanks.com allows the public to send free personalized postcards to U.S. troops serving overseas.
 

 Lead in Lipstick

E-mail warns that several major brands of lipstick contain dangerous levels of lead.
 

 Jury Duty Scam

E-mail warns about jury duty phone scam perpetrated by identity thieves.
 

 Andy Rooney

E-mail offers transcript of 60 Minutes commentator Andy Rooney's explaining his political views.
 

 Andrea Montoya

Missing child: Andrea Montoya
 






I hope all this has been helpful.

And to the many of you who continue to flood my in-box with urban legends, don't worry.  Your secret is safe with me.

Some of you might think that I'm all business here at pugpaw.com. But all work and no play makes Josh yadda yadda yadda. Fortunately beer has the magic power to turn a not-quite workaholic into a not-quite alcoholic. Here's how it goes:

The stage is set with a visit to Liquor Stop, a beer lover's heaven in the middle of NW Indiana hell.









As you can see here, our shopping trip left Jay with a fridge full of beer. The situation was desperate -- where to put all this stuff?  Fortunately Jay had a plan: the Alcoholics Reunion Party.

The idea was simple enough. All we had to do was drink up Jay's overstock from the past year. What we didn't count on is that Jay is highly organized when it comes to drinking beer.

Here is Jay's beer agenda for the evening.  This photo was taken halfway through the 18 beers we had to sample, and you can see my crazy handwritten notes.



Let me tell you something: you really learn a lot about a bunch of guys when you sit them at the table and make them drink that much beer!  But I'm getting ahead of myself.




The first few rounds went pretty well.  Jay started us out with some nice ales before moving us on to some flavorful IPA's.  The conversation was pleasant and for the first 7 rounds it was like any other night drinking with my co-workers.  We made fun of management, told off-color jokes, the usual guy talk.  Good times.




I think it was about the time we got to the Brouwerij Huyghe Delirium Noel (1 year old) that each of us gradually started to become unglued.  I started to lose my focus and instead of writing down tasting notes I started to transcribe random gibberish, such as this exchange between Jay and Brian:

Jay:  "It's really good for you to communicate with your senses."
Brian:  "Whoa, that's like Vince Vaughn broke up with Jennifer Aniston... oh, shit!"

Meanwhile Weyerbacher's Insanity Barley Wine lived up to it's name with an 11% ABV content!  By the time we got to the Yeti Imperial Stout our conversation had completely lost its structure.





Here's what that looked like:


And believe me, that's tame compared to what I'm NOT going to include here (including the infamous "North Korea" incident).



Fortunately heavy drinking doesn't require intelligent conversation.

Just some beer and a dream.

(Gosh, I'm getting a bit misty-eyed here.  I'm the sentimental type.)



Eventually the emergency relief alcoholics showed up to help us make it through our list, but it was too late.  The environment was already saturated with alcohol and there was nothing more we could do.

Our final beer was Lost Abbey Avant Garde Ale.  Joe put it best when he remarked, "It smells like wet diapers."  And that it did.  And that's where we ended our evening.

In the end we only made it through 16 of the 18 beers on Jay's agenda.  But considering that most of us were lightweights and not real alcoholics, I still think that's pretty impressive.

Manh was nice enough to drive me home in his Audi (heated seats!) and by the time I got home the hangover had already set in.  It was a vicious, mean, relentless college-style hangover that made it difficult to climb the stairs to my apartment--not to mention deal with three excitable dogs.  But after a nice drunken phone call with someone special and four aspirin and something like 64oz of water I was able to get to sleep.  I woke up this morning feeling just fine.



Lesson's Learned:

• Don't pretend to be a hard drinker if you're not -- unless it's fun.
  
• Make friends with people who seriously collect rare beer.
  
• In wintertime it's good to get a ride home with the dude with the heated seats.
  
• Barley Wine no no no no no.
  
• Jokes about North Korea aren't cool.
  
• When in doubt trust your instincts: a greasy burrito really does help.

I hope you will all learn something from my experience.




Note that the video included above was not fully processed by YouTube at the time of this posting.  If you don't see it, try back later.