Snowy Joey

The morning rudely revealed a world full of snow. This is Lincoln's first snow of Winter, on the last day of the year.


Snowy Joey

Snowy Joey

Snowy Joey

Snowy Joey

Snowy Joey

Snowy Joey

SNOWY

The Dansk Animals

When we unpacked our Christmas decorations I was pleased to discover my portion of the famed Tangeman Dansk Animal collection. I found the silver polish and shined them up. A quick review of the Dansk website indicates they no longer make these animals. A google of "Dansk Animals" brought up this antique URL containing numerous animals I've never seen before.

The Fielder and Nave Families are well!!!

One of the highlights of the trip was getting to see old friends David and Shannon,their kids as well as Michael and Erin.

Here is the Fielder family on Christmas Eve. You can see the visions of Sugar Plums in Hannah and Katie's eyes.


Here's a snap of Michael - who also served as our guide for two different Memphis expeditions.

Christmas 2006 - Southern Style

Erin and Stephanie got the opportunity to experience a BBQ laiden holiday this year with trips to the Rendezvous, The Peabody Hotel and BB King's Beale Street club in Memphis. Here are few snaps from the evening.

The Rendezvous is located in a "dumpster laiden" alley in the heart of Memphis


The ribs inside are from no dumpster though...Mmmm!


The Peabody Hotel was fun as always- we saw the famed ducks in their rooftop apartment and the sun setting over the mighty Mississip.


At BB King's on Beale the Blues was flowing...along with the beer and 180 proof mixed drinks.

Fast Food Sausage

The video you are about to watch contains the secrets behind Dad's famed technique for degreasing fast food sausage. Watch and learn! ***WARNING - Not recommended for the weak stomached***

What do you want on YOUR tombstone?

I took a trip to Firth at Dad's request to document his newly carved and placed tombstone which is located next to Great Grandpa Abe's stone. They are located in the South East corner of the Firth Cemetery.




















Yuki seemed at ease next to the stones.

He was so comfortable there he decided to relax a bit.

Wii Forecast Channel

Nintendo released the forecast channel for the Wii yesterday. Because I'm a weather channel junkie, I knew I'd love it. The interface with the Wii remote is excellent. It's like having an interactive globe! In this little demonstration I check out Jonesboro, Sacramento, and the South Pole.

Gift Horse

Don't look one in the mouth! All these gifts are coming home for Christmas.

The Hatch

The Hatch from the ABC show Lost has arrived. It features Lock, Hurley, Kate and Jack.


As you can see, there is an ominous looking light coming from within. What could be down that hatch? If you haven't ever watched the show lost, you should put it on your netflix que and check it out.

Yuki is famous!

Well, kind of famous. His picture made a faily prominent video game industry blog.

Click here to see.

Christmas comes Early for Violet!

We decided it was time Violet got a new hutch. We found this nice home for her in Placerville. She was quite happy and seemed to enjoy checking out her new home - which was remarkably similar to her prior home.

Husker Volleyball Team National Champs

They knocked off Stanford to win the 2006 crown.

Yuki Gets Fancy For Holidays

Yuki has enjoyed wearing this holiday bow in anticipation of the navidad.

Eating a Gingerbread House

After you make your gingerbread house, you should photograph it and admire it for a few moments. At that point, you must make a decision. You either choose to immediately smash and consume the house, or leave it up as a decoration. I chose the former.

First step, hack your house into cookie sized pieces with a large knife. Second step, enjoy, then store the leftover ginger cookies in a sealed container.

Lost Figurines

We got some new Lost figures honoring the hit TV show. Here you see Hurley and Lock. Coming soon, "The Hatch".

The Gingerbread House

We decided to make a gingerbread house for the holidays. It began with an aluminium foil "yard" with a purple plastic foundation.

Next we mixed the frosting. The glue that would bind it all together.

The ginger cookie house came together nicely.

Next we required a snowy roof.

Yuki looked on hoping for dropped treats.

Several candy types made the lights and decorations.

The final house! Looks tasty enough to eat!!!

Yuki dreamed he was a beagle

The Latest Dr.

at Safeway...

Christmas in Sacramento Airport

I had to go to Oregon last week and had a super early flight out of Sacramento. I arrived at the airport around 5am, went to my gate and was surprised to see that a harpist had set up shop playing holiday classics. Kind of an odd sight - and sound at 5am.

Preliminary 2007 College Football Recruiting Class Ranking

http://scout.scout.com/a.z?s=140&p=9&c=14&yr=2007&refid=6592

1. Texas 23 Big 12 4277 8 5 14 3 14 9 0 23 0 3.96 1.
2. Florida 20 SEC 3222 3 2 13 3 8 11 1 19 1 3.75 2.
3. Georgia 23 SEC 3056 1 1 11 10 14 9 0 19 4 3.52 3.
4. Michigan 18 Big Ten 2653 5 1 12 3 11 7 0 17 1 3.67 4.
5. Georgia Tech 18 ACC 2597 2 0 9 6 9 9 0 18 0 3.33 5.
6. Virginia Tech 25 ACC 2554 1 1 5 13 14 11 0 25 0 3.00 6.
7. USC 10 Pac-10 2478 6 5 4 1 6 4 0 10 0 4.40 7.
8. Auburn 20 SEC 2477 1 1 6 10 9 10 1 20 0 3.25 8.
9. Notre Dame 12 I-A Ind 2340 7 2 7 3 6 6 0 12 0 3.92 9.
10. Nebraska 20 Big 12 2231 1 0 6 12 8 11 1 18 2 3.20 10.
t11. Colorado 28 Big 12 2204 2 1 4 14 17 11 0 24 4 2.89 t11.
t11. Tennessee 20 SEC 2204 1 1 5 11 13 7 0 19 1 3.20 t11.
13. Mississippi 24 SEC 2169 2 1 4 15 14 10 0 18 6 3.08 13.
14. Clemson 17 ACC 2157 1 1 4 11 9 8 0 17 0 3.29 14.
15. West Virginia 19 Big East 2095 0 0 4 12 11 8 0 19 0 3.05 17.
16. Texas A&M 18 Big 12 2015 1 0 5 10 10 7 1 17 1 3.11 15.
17. Oregon 16 Pac-10 2005 1 0 5 10 6 10 0 16 0 3.19 16.
18. Virginia 18 ACC 1985 1 1 3 11 7 10 1 18 0 3.11 18.
19. Penn State 14 Big Ten 1965 1 0 9 3 6 7 1 14 0 3.50 19.
20. Pittsburgh 16 Big East 1950 1 1 6 6 10 6 0 15 1 3.31 25.
21. Ohio State 10 Big Ten 1844 4 1 5 3 5 5 0 10 0 3.60 20.
22. Mississippi State 30 SEC 1787 0 0 5 9 13 16 1 23 7 2.60 21.
23. South Carolina 17 SEC 1784 0 0 6 7 10 7 0 16 1 3.12 22.
24. LSU 16 SEC 1766 0 0 5 9 11 3 2 16 0 3.19 23.
25. UCLA 8 Pac-10 1764 1

X-Mas Time in Hollis Land...

Clip-clop. Clip-clop. The sound of Clydesdale horses clip outside my window and Yuki goes nuts! He runs to the window to look down. These horses have been clipping and clopping for a couple of weekends now around the Haymarket. Here's a snap.


I saw this snap on the web. It's a Mountain Dew lover's idea of a merry Christmas.


Finally, get into the holiday spirit by reading the lyrics from the greatest Christmas rap of all time!!!

Christmas In Hollis
by Run D.M.C.

Run:

It was December 24th on Hollis Ave in the dark
When I seen a man chilling with his dog in the park
I approached very slowly with my heart full of fear
Looked at his dog, oh my God, an ill reindeer
But then I was illin because the man had a beard
And a bag full of goodies, 12 o'clock had neared
So I turned my head a second and the man had gone
But he left his driver's wallet smack dead on the lawn
I picket the wallet up then I took a pause
Took out the license and it cold said "Santa Claus"
A million dollars in it, cold hundreds of G's
Enough to buy a boat and matching car with ease
But I'd never steal from Santa, cause that ain't right
So I'm going home to mail it back to him that night
But when I got home I bugged, cause under the tree
Was a letter from Santa and all the dough was for me

D.M.C. :

It's Christmas time in Hollis Queens
Mom's cooking chicken and collard greens
Rice and stuffing, macaroni and cheese
And Santa put gifts under Christmas trees
Decorate the house with lights at night
Snow's on the ground, snow white so bright
In the fireplace is the yule log
Beneath the mistle toe as we drink egg nog
The rhymes you hear are the rhymes of Darryl's
But each and every year we bust Chrsitmas carrols
(Christmas melodies)

Run-D.M.C. :

Rhymes so loud and prod you hear it
It's Christmas time and we got the spirit
Jack Frost chillin, the orchas out?
And that's what Christmas is all about
The time is now, the place is here
And the whole wide world is filled with cheer

D.M.C. :

My name's D.M.C. with the mic in my hand
And I'm chilling and coolin just like a snowman
So open your eyes, lend us an ear
We want to say

Run-D.M.C. :

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

The Garrison Keillor Look-alike

I was watching that Robert Altman movie "A Prarie Home Companion" and was struck by how much Garrison Keillor really does look like Dad. Here are a few screen snaps of Garrison I took along with some pictures of Dad. The resemblance is uncanny even with Dad's beard. Is Dad a celebrity look-alike? You be the judge.

The Choxie Scam

Here's the thing. About a year ago this candy called "Choxie" started showing up all over Target stores. I noticed it because it was very prominently placed. Eye level. End caps. We're talking best placements in the candy aisle even over the likes of cemented brands like Hershey. Where did this stuff come from? What is it? I've tried some and it's pretty good, but it's expensive. Very expensive.


How much would you expect to pay for this box of chocolate Choxie truffels no bigger than a $7.00 Whitman's Sampler box?


How about $25.00? $25.00!!!! Are freaking kidding me!!!


Or maybe you'd enjoy paying nearly a buck an ounce for these Choxie treats?


Here's Target's scam. Choxie aka "The Chocolate with Moxie" is a store brand. A store brand like Sam's Choice at Walmart.
A store brand like Safeway Cola. No advertising budget. No marketing expenses. No middle man. This should translate into a lower price for the consumer. It does in the case of Sam's Choice. Sam's Choice products are very high quality and cheaper than the national brands. Safeway Cola is far cheaper than Coke. But Choxie is different. Choxie is more expensive than all but the finest imported Swiss confections. Why? I guess so Target can make an extra buck. I suppose it's a good business move. Otherwise Target wouldn't be just completly flooded with Choxie down every aisle. Personally though, I can't buy the stuff without feeling like I'm getting screwed.

Merry Christmas!

To fill this blog with a bit of holiday cheer, I'm asking the various contributors to post some Christmas scenery from their respective citys. Here's my first contribution. It's from "O" street in downtown Lincoln.

The Duffle Saga Continues

The homeless man's duffle has remained hidden under its tree since I placed the suprise inside a few weeks ago. No change. But yesterday when I walked Yuki to the area I found this sign:



Uh oh. If they're spraying the trees with poision, surely some city employee stumbled across the duffle! I checked and was happy to find that the duffle remains. The trees did stink though. What the hell did they spray on them! I'm going to avoid the park for a week or so to let the stench wear off.

Kraft gets sued over fake guacamole

Holy guacamole! Kraft sued over lack of avocado in dip
By Jerry Hirsch
Los Angeles Times
Peanut butter is made from peanuts, tomato paste is made from tomatoes, and guacamole is made from avocados, right?
Wrong. The guacamole sold by Kraft Foods Inc. [owned by Altria (formerly Phillip Morris Co.)], one of the best-selling avocado dips in the nation, calls for modified food starch, hefty amounts of coconut and soybean oils, and a dose of food coloring. The dip contains precious little avocado, but many customers mistake it for wholly guacamole.
On Wednesday, a Los Angeles woman sued the Northfield, Ill., food company, alleging that it committed fraud by calling its dip guacamole. Her lawyer says suits against other purveyors of “fake guacamole” will be filed soon.
The suit highlights the liberty some food companies take in labeling their products.
If consumers read the fine print, they would discover that Kraft Dips Guacamole contains less than 2 percent avocado. But few do. California avocado growers, who account for 95 percent of the U.S. avocado crop, said they didn’t know that store-bought guacamole contains little of their produce.
“We have not looked at this issue, but we might follow it now that we are aware of it,” said Tom Bellamore, the top lawyer at the California Avocado Commission.
Kraft and other food companies insist that they don’t deceive customers by skimping on the avocado. A spokeswoman for the company said most consumers understood that guacamole is part of the company’s line of “flavored” dips.
“We think customers understand that it isn’t made from avocado,” said Claire Regan, Kraft Foods’ vice president of corporate affairs. “All of the ingredients are listed on the label for consumers to reference.”
Nonetheless, Kraft is relabeling the product.
Regan said the company is in the process of changing its label to make “clearer” that it is selling “guacamole flavor” dip. She said she was not familiar with the lawsuit.
Frequent litigant
Brenda Lifsey, the plaintiff, who has often sued other corporations for money, said she made a three-layer dip with Kraft guacamole last year only to discover that it contained almost none of the ingredient she most expected: avocado.
“It just didn’t taste avocadoey,” said Lifsey, who identified herself as a federal employee who lives in Los Angeles. “I looked at the ingredients and found there was almost no avocado in it.”
In her suit against Kraft, Lifsey is asking the Los Angeles Superior Court to stop Kraft from marketing the dip as guacamole. She also wants attorneys’ fees and unspecified punitive damages.
Lifsey has a record of filing lawsuits against large corporations – and going after the green. A few years ago, Lifsey sued Sears, claiming that the retailer misrepresented that its Craftsman tools were U.S.-made. She also sued Carfax vehicle reporting service, alleging that it did not have access to police accident reports in California and other states even though it advertised that it could provide vehicle history records.
Unlike peanut butter, which by law must contain at least 90 percent peanuts, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has no legal standard mandating how much avocado should be in guacamole. The FDA only requires that the labeling be truthful and not misleading, said Michael Herndon, an agency spokesman.
“For FDA to say that the food is misbranded because it contains only a small amount of avocado, we would have to find that the labeling is misleading, which would likely require some consumer data to prove the labeling is misleading,” he said.
Consumer advocates say that the FDA should either set standards or force Kraft and other manufacturers to better disclose how little avocado is in their dip.
“It is really deceptive marketing,” said Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest in Washington, which three years ago called for more accurate labeling of guacamole dips.
At the time, Jacobson said the producers were “begging to be sued.”
Aztec fuel
Like much of the prepared guacamole sold in supermarkets, Kraft guacamole is essentially a whipped paste made from partially hydrogenated soybean and coconut oils, corn syrup, whey, and food starch. Yellow and blue dyes give it the guacamole green color.
That’s probably not what the Aztecs had in mind when they invented guacamole about 700 years ago. They made a sauce called ahuaca-mulli, which roughly translates to avocado mixture, according to the avocado commission. The dip was prepared by mashing avocados, sometimes with tomatoes and onions in a molcajete, a Mexican mortar and pestle.
In the modern recipe, some cooks add lime juice to keep the guacamole from discoloring. The dip has become a U.S. tradition, especially on Super Bowl Sunday. Some 50 million pounds of guacamole were consumed during the big game this year, according to Hass Avocado Board in Irvine, Calif.
Kraft declined to say how much guacamole it sells in the United States, but it’s a tiny fraction of the company’s $34 billion in annual sales.