U Didn't Build That!

Not really sure where this video is going...but it is funny.

iPhone 5...a little tall!

and don't even talk about maps....!

Another Day Another...School Picture!

Jack - the proud and protective big brother!

Both kids were nice and smiley for the pictures!

Facebook Political Rantings

Here's one that resonates as we all have those friends (most notably Andy Stricklin) who continue to post political junk over and over and over again...

Happy Birthday Granny!

Circus Day

We won box seats for the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey circus and had a grand time.  It was all there... trapeze acts, lions, tigers, elephants and even house-styled cats!

 The kids had a great time and so did we!

NFL Season Kicks Off! Let the Tebow Bashing Continue!

Happy Labor Day!

Here's some art Jack made earlier this Summer to help celebrate.   He did this, as if you couldn't tell, completely on his own.  Gluing the flag, drawing the picture of himself and his friend Brandon.  I forgot what they are supposed to be holding... sparklers perhaps - or maybe cups.

He now declares that he wants to be an artist when he grow up - in lieu of becoming a garbage man...

Fish Tacos!

It's easier than ever to get a good fish taco in Lincoln. A Southern California joint called Wahoo's Fish Taco has opened in downtown Lincoln. Erin and I had lunch there recently and enjoyed the meal.

It's hard to see the fish under all the toppings, but there was plenty under there. It was some kind of grilled white fish. I got mine cajun seasoned while Erin had the tasty original.

I also noticed recently that yet another fish taco shop called Fuzzy's will soon be opening downtown. Let the fish taco wars begin!

Rock Chalk Jayhawk!

The 'hawks home football crowd has been named the #46 home crowd in college football.



The chant still rings in my ears from the big Georgia Tech upset in Lawrence a few years back...

Picture Day at School!

They take pictures at school early and often these days.  Today was day one so we obliged and got the kiddies dressed up a bit.  Jack was in a playful mood - Elle not quite as much.

Catching a Football Game at KU This Year?

Here's a change that doesn't stink you should find on campus!

Romney Stars in "The Do Over"

Political rhetoric will be peaking over the next few weeks. Here, our Democrat friends, strike in advance of the Republican's Tampa convention.

Perhaps they also invited Isaac to swing by as well?

Sing Me a Song You're The Piano Girl

We've moved our piano out of the office and into the dining room!   Elle took the opportunity play it a bit.

Real Guacamole

Recently, I wrote a blog post about fake guacamole dip. As a response this, my friend Terry from Toronto emailed me her real guacamole recipe. The secret, she says, is lime juice. I took her recipe and decided give it a shot. One ingredient that Terry's recipe didn't list that I added was fresh chopped cilantro. I made a point to get real tomatoes from a roadside stand instead of the the bland ones you get from the grocery store.

The resulting guacamole was delicious! I highly recommend this! Here's Terry's recipe: My recipe for guacamole contains only ingredients. But I think you just mash them all together and - VOILA* - guacamole. *a little linguistic inconsistency Unless you have a food processor (I don't... still), use avocados that are black - super-ripe and mushy and therefore easy to mash. The page from my recipe binder (which goes back to about 1980): For each avocado used: juice of 1/2 lime 1/2 tsp salt (approximately) 1/2 garlic bud (pressed) Tabasco 1 tbsp onion grated 1/2 tomato chopped Then, I have very helpfully written: For 6 avocados: juice of 3 limes 3 tsp salt 2 garlic buds pressed Tabasco 6 tbsp grated onion 2 tomatoes chopped

Mission Guacamole Revisited

As I understand the story, Dad was hosting a Mexican themed Superbowl party a number of years ago. Along with other standard Mexican fare, he picked up a jar of Mission Brand Guacamole. As he was serving his guests, he looked at the ingredients of this "guacamole", and noticed that it contained only traces of avocado. Dad was so offended by this that he wrote a letter to the Mission Company explaining how the product was fraudulent and that they were destroying the Mission Company's reputation. Mission responded by sending Dad some coupons. These years later, I thought I'd check to see if Dad's letter did any good. Does Mission still peddle avocado-free guac? I found a display of the product at my local grocery store to see for myself.

One look at the color of Mission Guacamole tells you there's a problem. The label confirms it. It contains 2% or less of avocado powder. Mission also adds insult to injury by writing the words "with GARDEN VEGETABLES" on the product cap. Mission must have a very liberal definition of garden vegetables, because other than "concentrated crushed tomatoes", everything I recognize as a vegetable is only present in powdered form. Looks like Dad needs to write these boys another nasty letter!

The success of Tech's season will be determined in the month of September this year..... three conference games out of the gate...all to teams they lost to last year.

First Day of Kindergarten!

Jack officially started Kindergarten this week! Compared to my first day back at University Heights with Mrs. Turman it was nothing. One benefit of all the pre-school perhaps...

Football Season!

College football season is fast approaching! Erin and I are heading down to Lawrence to help usher in the Charlie Weis era. We got some nice seats and we're looking forward to a fun night game. Hopefully the Jayhawks will start the season well.

Bad Guacamole

Dad gets credit for being the first in the family for noticing the horrible practices of the food industry and guacamole products. As I discovered on a trip to Walmart today, the horrors continue. Ask any person in the world, and they will tell you the central ingredient to guacamole is avocado. Ask the "chefs" from the food industry, however, and the answer to that question is apparently whipped vegetable oil and green food coloring.



Two clues for the wary stand out. First, the price is too cheap for real guacamole, because avocados aren't that cheap. Second, the term "flavored" is never a good sign. It always means that whatever ingredient preceding it isn't actually in the product. Chocolate flavored candy means there is no chocolate in the candy. Maple flavored syrup means you're eating corn syrup, not maple syrup. Be careful out there grocery shoppers! The industry wants to trick you into eating pure crap in order to make higher profits!