LittleJoe

Grill and beer

Mmmmm... warm Florida evening, a cold beer, and grilling up some chicken ...It'd be a perfect evening ...if I didn't have to log back on and work more after dinner. oh well ...it's a real nice sanity break anyway :)

Ah...May is the perfect time in Tampa

Here's the view this evening around 7pm, kicked back by the pool, enjoying a beer while dinner is grilling. It was about 80F (27C) ...and I can tell I am totally acclimated to Florida, because it wasn't warm enough to be wearing shorts. Flip-flops and t-shirt OK, but had to wear jeans. It'll be warmer in a month :)

If you click the little thumbnail image you'll get a better view of the back-yard gardening. Almost all of the lawn is now removed, replaced with drought tolerant, Florida-friendly plants. Less water needed, less fertilizer, more scenic, more hummingbirds and butterflies (and snakes ...oh well :) ...quite relaxing to look at.

More bamboo removed - more to go

Oy! This bamboo takes a while to dig up! We're past the halfway point, but that is one bugger of a plant to remove. Today we made it a few feet into it and I broke our old shovel. The good news - I guess - is that I got to pop over to Lowes and buy one truly awesome shovel. Completely steel and made with a much more reasonable design. And that baby is my new friend. But after thinking we'd finish the job today, I'm now thinking that maybe - maybe - if we do a little each evening this week and several hours on the weekend, then we ought to be able to get that bad boy DONE by this time next week. ...and then it's on to planting whatever we decide to use for our new plant screen. I do believe it's time for a glass of wine :)

Gator after chomping bird in pond at work

Here's a pic of the gator I saw when I was leaving for lunch today (click the thumbnail image to see the larger pic). When I saw him he had just chomped one of those big black birds that sit near the water's edge with their wings fanned out. Another two chomps and the bird was gone. It's not the greatest pic (taken rather quickly with the BlackBerry from the car ...but you can make out the gator.

So there is the illustration of why one should not stroll too close to the water in Florida. I saw a gator in one of the other ponds at our building a year or two ago, and another gent told me he had seen one crossing the road a while back. It's rather odd to see such an ancient species in the midst of our 'modern' culture!

Hurricane prep: securing pool cage

Around this time of year in Florida (the June through November hurricane season), Shirley and I try to do something each week to increase our level of preparedness. Many months ago, we applied for a free home inspection through the My Safe Florida Home program, and we finally did get the inspection. In general, we're in pretty good shape (we've already installed tracks for metal storm panels to cover all doors and windows, done a lot of caulking around windows and other penetrations in the exterior wall, laid in spare supplies, etc.) One thing the gent did mention (off the record) while doing the inspection was that he used to install pool cages -- for those outside of Florida, that refers to a screened enclosure over the pool area to keep debris and bugs out. He suggested a couple of reinforcements for us to add. The first pic here (click on the thumbnail to see larger image) shows the small "L" brackets we've now installed at the bottom of each vertical post. We used a hammer drill to drill a couple of holes down into the concrete decking to then fasten the bracket with tapcon screws, and we fastened to the vertical post with sheet metal screws. I don't know just how much this will help in a true hurricane, but the parts were inexpensive and it only took an hour to install all the brackets.

The other suggestion the gent offered was for us to add some cables down the sides of the pool cage. We installed some extra cables along the back of the pool cage last year, and Volker had suggested that we might want to add some cables in other directions as well. So now, a year later, we're doing that. Shirley knew a fellow at a place she used to work, and through his side business (installing pool cages) we had purchased several sets of brackets, cables, and screws. The triangle bracket attaches at the top with 10 or so sheet metal screws, and the cable is strung to a metal strip at the bottom which attaches to the side of the pool's concrete base -- again using the hammer drill (a wonderful tool!) to bore the holes, and tapcon screws to fasten into the concrete.

There's still plenty more we can do, but we're getting there -- a little at a time, we get there :)

Backyard full moon

Saved a bundle on my insurance

Florida insurance sucks. No two ways about it really. Before moving down here a few years ago, we'd read many times that the cost of living is lower in Florida compared to the Pacific Northwest from whence we came. Not true. WAGES are less, but cost of living is more ...and increasing. When we first moved into our house, we paid $800 for a year of homeowner insurance. Just over two years later, we received a notice this past April that our rate was increasing (again) and we would now be paying $2,986 per year.

Fortunately, someone at work mentioned that State Farm was again writing policies in Florida. The restriction was that the home has to be newer (my guess is to have been built to the newer building codes), and that the home has to be at least 500 feet from water (I think that was the scoop ...in any case, we meet both of those requirements, whether they are real or not). So I looked online and sent an email to our local State Farm rep -- who, it turns out, lives in our neighborhood.

Bottom line: we will save $181 per MONTH on our homeowner and auto insurance by switching to State Farm. I signed the papers today, and have contacted our other insurance carriers and the mortgage company.

We'd been paying Universal Insurance Company of North America $2,986 for a year of homeowner insurance, and had been paying Progressive $3,324 per year to insure our cars (Shirley's, Ben's, and mine ...all are 10 years or more old, so none has collision coverage). With State Farm, for slightly better coverage, we will be paying $1,723 per year for homeowner coverage, and $2,413 per year for auto insurance. That's an annual savings of $2,174!!! $181 per month. Wow. I knew something was messed up when we'd gotten notice from Universal earlier in the year about a huge rate increase. We are outside of all evacuation zones. We have metal storm panels to cover all windows and doors. We have a fire hydrant one house over, monitored fire and burglar alarm, newer home, no dogs, etc., etc. We are a good risk. Yet a huge (I think it was 30%) increase, when the news was touting the law changes that should reduce premiums.

It pays to shop around.

EnviroFuels ethanol plant: what will be plant's energy source?

There's an ethanol plant slated to be built at Port of Tampa. Announced at least a year and a half ago, the plant would be built by EnviroFuels. While there is a lawsuit challenging the plans, in general I like the theory of burning cleaner fuel in our internal-combustion engines.

The downsides? Well, for one, read the brief article about the lawsuit, linked above. Another potential issue is that the plant is expected to consume 500,000 of water per day from Tampa Bay. Heck, we're already struggling to have enough water in Florida. Here in Tampa area, we get most local water from the Hillsborough River. The desalination plant is entering final testing (after years of problems and legal delay) ...but the projected 25-million gallons per day will be processed from Tampa Bay. Granted, the ethanol plant will only use an additional fraction of that, but this is not an endless supply of water.

Another issue - and the question to which I'm trying to find an answer - is this:
What will be the source for the energy that the ethanol plant will need? Ethanol production consumes energy before we end up with the cleaner-burning ethanol. If the plant is using energy produced from fossil fuels, that may negate some or all of the benefits.

So I went to the EnviroFuels website to research. I couldn't find the answer there, so I went to their contact page, which includes this information:

United States EnviroFuels, LLC
10027 Water Works Lane
Riverview, FL 33569
(813) 425-5478
Email : info@usenvirofuels.com

Excellent. So I sent them an email. Here's the immediate response:

Nice. Publish an email address for contact, but don't accept mail. I also tried calling, but the office was closed. That's to be expected, since this is the weekend, so I'll try on Monday. Their office hours are 8am-6pm, Monday through Friday.

The ideal would be for EnviroFuels to be truly green, and use solar and/or wind for the plant's energy needs. I hope to learn that this is the case (following the green lead of the wind-powered desalination plant in Australia!)

Earth Day: spent it fighting nature :)

We planted a 60' (almost 20 meters) trench of bamboo in our back yard in May of 2005 - two years ago (May '05 post, Apr '06 post). I need to post a current pic! When we planted it, Ben and I dug a trench, 18" deep by 18" wide by 60' long (about .5 meters deep and wide, and 20 meters long). We lined the trench sides with galvanized steel roof flashing, to keep the bamboo from spreading beyond the trench.

Or so we thought.

There were a couple of spots where we overlapped the roof flashing, since it wasn't long enough to circle the inside of the trench with a single piece. I overlapped the flashing about a foot in each spot, but did not seal it. DOH! This week we discovered a bamboo Prison Break! On one side (the side closest to the pool), the bamboo had found the seam and sent 4 or 5 runners through the seam and 20' (6+ meters) across our yard. Yikes! On the other side - closest to the fence - an intrepid runner had managed to get over the top of the steel and then proceed a couple of meters diagonally away from the trench. On the OUTSIDE of the fence, we discovered a couple of shoots - one of them a couple of meters tall!

Well, fortunately, it's not that hard to take care of this when one catches it early. For the runner that had hopped over the steel, I simply snipped it and pulled it up. During this time of year when the bamboo sends its runners, we'll make it a habit to check every day or two for escapees. For the runners that had found the seam, we cut the runners (back inside the trenched area and before the seam), pulled up the runners from the back yard (ok, Shirley dug them up ...down a few inches below the surface), and I dug around the seam, removed the now-severed runners, and sealed it with JB Weld ...which is, by the way, one of the true wonders of the world.

The moral for anyone planting bamboo ...DO put a barrier around the planting area if you are planting a running bamboo ...and DO seal the seams!!!

Best part about life in Tampa

Well DUH! The weather! And this time of year is awfully hard to beat. This morning (Saturday) I got up about 8am, did a few miles on the treadmill, went out back and hosed off and then did some laps in the pool before making some coffee. Sat out on the lanai drinking coffee and reading the paper. I love this view ...the relaxing water, the blooming hibiscus just outside the pool cage, the bamboo past that which is starting the annual growth spurt (we're at about 2 meters high now, and I expect it will double this year). The tall foliage in the background is a young oak tree in the neighbors yard (which I shall diligently trim whenever branches start to hang over into our back yard; I do not want any risk of a tree falling on the fence / pool cage if a hurricane decides to visit!)

And of course, one can't beat just relaxing with friends. This pic was last weekend ...Shirley on the left and our friends Michelle and Howard (Michelle is the one with a glass of Spanish wine). There's always so much that we could be doing around the house and yard, that it helps to have friends stop by and kind of force us to just chill ...Speaking of chill, I must admit that I did not go in the pool at all in February. But I did use the pool in January and December and the other months ...thanks to solar pool heat and thanks to feeling a bit warm when I get done exercising ...probably couldn't handle the water during the cooler months other wise :)

Florida prop. tax: Real solution must morph over many years

Earlier this week, the Florida House of Representatives proposed a plan to address the problem with skyrocketing property tax. It would save my wife and I almost $400 per month. But I have mixed feelings.

Property tax here is ridiculously high. Insurance is also high, but I can at least understand some of that, given the propensity for hurricanes. Here are the data for the Litton house:

• Size: 2,000 square feet; Lot: 80 feet by 120 feet; Appraised value: $270,000
• Property tax: $5,650 / year
• Home insurance: was $2,282. We just received a notice that we are blessed with a 30% increase. Our insurance will now be $2,986.

The bottom line is that we pay $720 every month for our tax and insurance. And that is not easy  (insurance is more than twice what it was when we moved in 2 years ago!)

As reported in the St Pete Times this week, the Florida House wants to eliminate property tax on homes that qualify for the Homestead Exemption (in general, one must be a Florida resident, and the home must be one's primary residence, so this does not apply to 'second' homes such as vacation homes). To make up for lost revenue, the House proposes increasing the sales tax from the current 7% to a new rate of 8.5%. By eliminating the property tax for some and by raising the sales tax, the net effect for the Littons would be a savings of about $4,700 per year. WOW!

So why do I have mixed feelings? Because for folks who rent their homes, the property tax is not an issue, but their sales tax would increase. The Times estimates an additional $250/year. We are a middle class household, fortunate to be able to be buying our home. Many working for minimum or near-minimum wage, are not able to purchase a home. So they rent. Some would say, "Hey, they'd only have to pay an extra $20 or so per month, so what's the problem?" Well, an extra $20 of expense per month adds up to about 3 hours of wages for someone earning minimum wage. There are many others today struggling to just have any roof over their heads, and the burden this would place on them should not be ignored.

So what do we do?

I don't know the definitive solution. This problem is not as simple as what the plan proposed by the House would imply. Governor Crist's plan would double the Homestead Exemption to $50,000 (no tax on the first $50,000 of value), and that has some merit ...but it would be better to tie this exemption to the median home value. Perhaps initially raise the sales tax by 1/2 of one percent, and grant an exclusion for an amount equal to the first 25% percent of the median home price in the state (I believe it's around $200,000 currently). That would start with the Crist-proposed amount, and allow for the amount to adjust as values adjust, without requiring legislative intervention.

But then there's the Save Our Homes ("SOH") amendment, which restricts the amount by which a Homestead Exemption-qualifying property's assessed value can increase each year. This could not be eliminated without forcing many people to leave their homes, since there is no way they could afford to have taxes suddenly raise by an order of magnitude! A Miami Herald article reports that the Florida Association of Counties has offered some additional suggestions.

A real solution? The reality is that the current system results in a much heavier tax burden being covered by those purchasing a new home or living here only part of the year - and by businesses, since the Homestead Exemption and SOH do not reduce their taxes. The suggestions I've read so far all try to apply a one-time fix. That will not work! A real solution needs to gradually apply the tax burden equitably across the population. An equitable solution would eventually rely on sales tax. Perhaps we could gradually increase the sales tax over 5 years while the millage rates are reduced, eventually eliminating the property tax. The SOH was an amendment to the state constitution in 1992, so it can only be repealed by a vote of the people. But the Legislature could change the sales tax and the millage rates.

I'm eager to see what other ideas are proposed. About the only thing on which everyone can agree is that the current system begs for change.

Tornadoes missed us

Very early yesterday morning, a rather freak set of conditions resulted in an area a little northeast of us being struck by several tornadoes. At least a dozen people were killed, and many homes and other buildings were completely destroyed (full story from the St Pete Times). The Times has also posted a  slide show of images showing the aftermath.

To all of those who've been calling to see how we're doing, thank you for your concern. We were quite fortunate; there was nothing more than some heavy rain in our location. To anyone wishing to help those who were hit by the storm, please visit:  http://www.sptimes.com/2007/02/02/State/To_help_storm_victims.shtml

Tiki bar ...getting there

On Thanksgiving weekend while Ben was home from college for a few days, we started building a bar ...with a bit of a Tiki theme in mind. No real plans. I sketched some ideas on notebook paper, took some measurements, eventually settled on a sketch of more or less what we were going for, and then bought some wood and supplies and we had at it. One can buy varying quality of finished bar for anywhere from about US$300 to around US$1500 ...probably more if one's been drinking. I'm guessing by the time it's done I'll have close to US$400 in this one. About double my original estimate ...just like when I'm writing code ;)

So if you click the thumbnail image you'll see the bar as it was last night. Most evenings I try to at least do something to make a little progress. Too busy tonight, so I'm posting instead. In general, it's supported by 4x4 inch posts on casters with an overall dimension of about 2 feet by 4 feet by 40 inches high ...the idea being to keep it small and mobile enough to roll inside if a hurricane is coming. Plywood all around, 3 shelves, bamboo slats wrapped around with heavy split bamboo trim at the edges. Lots of paint and water sealing. All wood joins glued and screwed, seams caulked, etc. I want this unit to be able to live outside (under the lanai cover) with no worries.

For the bar top, we're gluing down pieces of colored glass to form a random mosaic, with a palm tree design front and center. We'll grout and seal the top after we're done gluing down what seems to be about 5 million little pieces of glass.

But we're getting close ...getting real close. And I tested the Corona opener this evening after I got done on the treadmill :)

My dad's old house; health insurance

We were down in Cape Coral and Ft Myers this weekend, visiting my former step mom ... or something like that. She was my dad's wife until a divorce a couple of years before he passed away. Anyway, she lives in Cape Coral. Over 20 years ago, they built the house pictured here (click the thumbnail for larger image), located in Ft Myers (across the river from Cape Coral). When my dad bought the lot for the house, he'd paid about US$30,000. I chatted briefly with the current owners, and they said that the lots in that neighborhood (this is right on a canal) now sell for over a MILLION dollars! That's just the value of the land, not the house.

Unfortunately, my dad and his wife decided to take a risk and go without health insurance for a few months when they'd each started a new job. It's often the case that one must be with a company for 90 days before being eligible for health insurance through the employer. So they opted to forgo purchasing individual coverage. Then my dad had a heart attack, and his wife was diagnosed with cancer. They ended up selling another property to cover those medical bills, but they were then uninsurable. And so eventually (after a later heart bypass operation and other medical issues) they declared bankruptcy.

It was a poor decision to skip the health insurance. And there were disastrous consequences.

I am extremely fortunate to be employed at a company that provides excellent health insurance. As is the case for many folks, I pay a portion of the premium, but my wife, my son, and I are all insured. It is a travesty that in the USA there are so many who go without health insurance ...who can either not afford the premiums, or whom the insurance companies refuse to cover. These folks are left with few or no options other than skipping proper medical and dental care ...reliant on hospital emergency rooms for those times when medical attention is deemed necessary. Incredible.

Tampa's got the Blues

Our good Dem buddy James gave us a call this afternoon to let us know about a bunch of blues acts that were playing this evening at Skipper's Smokehouse. James is on the board of the Suncoast Blues Society, so he's got the full skinny on the local blues scene. Man, there is some awesome blues talent in Tampa! And for only $5 admission each, what a deal! Great music, old Florida atmosphere, grilled fish, beans/rice, cold beer. Yeah, baby! I've been dealing with a bit of a sinus infection, and this was just the ticket to kick back and relax with toe-tapping blues. We'd never been to Skipper's in the almost 3 years we've been here -- that's a bit of sacrilege, really, since this is THE place to catch the local music scene. Wednesday's are Reggae nights with $2 Red Stripe, so we may have to head back in a few days :)

Wasp sting - not fun

Two weeks ago I was pushing my way through the bamboo in our back yard and 'discovered' a wasp nest. It was about the size of a deck of cards. My first clue was the searing pain on my right arm. After flailing wildly while running inside, I doused the sting area with some vinegar to help neutralize the venom. The image here was take 2 days later (10 Oct) when the discomfort was the worst. You can't really tell here, but my arm was quite red from the sting site down about halfway onto the forearm. I was working from home when I took this picture, and spent a good part of the day typing with my arm resting on a bag of ice. I was also downing antihistamine and some acetaminophen. That night I had some liquid anesthetic ;)

Well, after administering the immediate first aid on Sting Day, I had to exact my revenge. I grabbed a can of wasp spray in each hand (basically nerve gas for bugs - bad stuff - and very cool, since it shoots a stream about 30 feet) ...and then went back to the scene of the crime and kicked at the bamboo. The wasps came swarming out and I blasted a steady stream out of both cans, criss-crossing the poison jets as the poor little guys dropped to the ground. That's when I spotted the nest that I had dislodged. Until this time, I'd thought the nest was intact, and I'd merely disturbed it.

Wasps, unlike bees, do not die when they sting. They will sting and sting and sting until they no longer feel threatened. My guess is that it was a single wasp that got me, but the angry little warrior had a bit of a field day on my arm and jabbed a few times before bidding adieu. By Wednesday (11 Oct) it felt like I had a small pillow under my elbow ...since it was a bit swollen and rather mushy.

So now it is 2 weeks after the sting. The discomfort is completely gone, and the discoloration is almost gone. It's amazing the effect these little critters can have!

Seafood feast with Chef Karl

Sat Aug 12 our friends Karl and Chris Ann came over. Karl is a remarkable chef and prepared a feast of oysters, crab legs, mussels, veggies, shrimp ....Mmmmmm, I'm getting hungry just writing this and looking at the pics (click the link to see pics of the magic). This is Florida living at its finest. Good friends, incredible food, grilling outside, enjoying conversation and food and beer sitting on the lanai by the pool. We are so fortunate. Thank you Karl!

Love is in the air

Well, the love bugs aren't quite here yet (but soon) ...but these 2 geckos were feeling amorous nonetheless. I think maybe we need to pressure wash our wall now.

Hurricane prep: Stabilizing the pool cage

Here in Florida, if one has a swimming pool, one often has the pool area within a screen enclosure.  Folks typically refer to the encosure as a pool cage. The idea is to keep leaves and debris from falling in the pool, keep mosquitos and other bugs and little critters out, and help provide a little more safety. We've heard stories from several people about pool cages blowing away in hurricanes, including one person who described seeing a pool cage wrapped around a telephone pole and pretty much just flapping in the wind.

So with these stories, and after having read from multiple sources that it is recommended to increase the bracing of one's pool cage beyond the minimum that building codes require, we decided to add a lot more bracing to our pool cage. Our hurricane insurance deductible is between $5,000 and $6,000, so if we were to lose the cage, we would quite possibly have to forgo replacing it for a while.

As built, our pool cage had one guy wire at each end. Each of these is a steel cable, secured at a top corner of the cage, and running diagonally down and secured into the cement with a metal plate and a couple of masonry screws. Today we added 4 more tie downs, and we plan to add yet another 4 (2 on each of the end walls of the enclosure). One of the gents where Shirley used to work has a business replacing pool screens, and we were able to order the tie downs from him at US$24 each. We figure the roughly $200 and a bunch of sweat is pretty good insurance. There's some more bracing we'll be doing, and we'll post pics of that work also, but for now, here's the pics from today's work:

Hurricane season starts in 10 days

Hurricane season officially starts on June 1. Last year the first tropical storm (Arlene) ran June 8-13. So one cannot assume that the real storms come later in the season (the first hurricane last year - Cindy - reached hurricane status on July 3). OK. Time to crank the hurricane preparations into full swing.

I've recently begun using the very handy, easy-to-use, and free :) Ta-da lists from the clever folks at 37signals. Pictured here is my to-do Ta-da list of items to get done soon. Last year, I installed tracks for storm panels all around the house. And we caulked all of the windows. We bought some brackets to use to secure vertical 4x4's behind the garage doors - even though the doors are the newer variety that are reinforced to handle high winds. I feel better having a hefty post every 8 feet or so. Of course, the brackets aren't installed yet, and we need to buy the posts.

Even though we have panels to cover windows and doors around the house (leaving ourselves 2 exit points for safety), we want to buy some clear panels to let light in. We'd bought one last year to experiment with and decide if it was worth it to get more. YES! The clear panel gets installed in place of a metal one, provides the same protection, and brings in some natural light, so one can reduce the 'cave' feeling that one gets when the house is shrouded in panels and the power is out.

Yesterday I finished caulking between the soffit and wall in the peak above the garage. The gap was up to 1/2 inch (ok, a little more than that in places), and when horizontal rain is blowing with gusty winds, there's too much chance of water intrusion and flying metal soffits. So I feel real good to have that done. Then there's the updates to video/photo inventory, refilling some of the emergency supplies, etc., etc. It's going to be a bit busy around here for a couple of weeks (so what's new!).

OK, people, if you live in a hurricane area, get busy!

Lime trees and compost

Lime 'trees' We go through a lot of limes, what with Corona, mojitos, Mai Tais, and various other libations. Strictly for the health benefits of course. The other day we picked up a couple of lime 'trees' at Lowe's, and they will be getting planted approximately where they are shown here. Eventually, they will be full-sized lime trees (well, we'll keep them pruned so they stay easy-picking height). In the background you can also see our compost bin, which is really a pretty cool invention (purchased at our local Worm's Way store). Just open either end, toss in the yard waste or vegetable scraps or coffee grounds or whatever, and give it a turn once a day. The stuff all cooks down to beautiful compost for the garden.

What's really cool is that one of these little guys even has our first lime getting ready for plucking :)

Guess it helps to clean the filters

Air return in hall The pollen in Florida this year is especially heavy. There's been no rain for over a month, and the trees seem to have been almost snowing down a yellow-green blanket of pollen. Cars have been coated, and many people, Shirley included, have had a real tough go of it. Well, we finally realized that we'd neither replaced nor cleaned the filters in our air returns for close to a year. For those who don't know, they should be cleaned or replaced every month! We have this large 18x30 inch unit in the hallway ceiling, and a 12x12 inch filter goes in the air return in each bedroom.

First Shirley started to vacuum the incredible amount of dust and yuck from the large filter. But then we decided to go to Lowe's and buy some new electrostatic filters and just replace the lot of the cheap filters. Shirley's still suffering a bit from the pollen, but at least we know that we're not wasting as much energy on heating / cooling, and we're not recirculating as much crud through our home's air.

Bamboo - a year after planting

Bamboo, one year later Almost a year ago, Ben and I dug this 50 foot long trench, lined it with metal roof flashing, mixed in some compost, and planted 10 bamboo plants. A few weeks ago, we noticed new shoots finally poking up from the ground, and now they are growing like crazy. Another year or two and this will be a beautiful stand of bamboo.

Here's the view from the pool area today.

And here's what it looked like just after planting a year ago.

Snow ...in TAMPA?!?

Florida weather in the winter is always entertaining. The prediction is for the temperature to again be above 80F (27C) by the end of this week ...but for now it's chilly. And tonight and tomorrow we could even see some wet snow! The snow - if it does fall a little - won't stick (the temperature is not supposed to get cold enough for that), but still ...Snow in Florida sounds a little weird!

Taking Down Lights

Yesterday was January 1, 2006. New Year's Day is when we typically take down the holiday decorations. Back in Washington state, that often meant bundling up for the cold rain - a rather miserable affair. Here in the Tampa Florida area, that meant slathering on sunscreen, wrapping my bald dome with a couple of bandanas to catch the sweat, and working amidst the blooming hibiscus bushes :)

Grilling the turkey

Yeah, baby! If you live in Florida, I'm pretty sure that it's state law that you have to own a grill -- and use it a lot. So we try to be good Floridians. When our house was being built, we were originally told that the house would be finished by November (2004). Our plan, therefore, was to grill the turkey for last year's Thanksgiving. Alas, we've since learned that Florida houses are never completed by the originally-forecast date. We moved in at the end of January 2005. But this year we are in the house and we do have a grill and we are grilling this bird! I basically prepped it just like I would if grilling a chicken: coated the bird with olive oil and then some Cholula rub (chili lime rub in this case). As per grilling suggestion from Weber, I'm expecting this to take around 3 1/2 hours (it's an 18 pound turkey). I put the bird on the barbie at 10am, so sometime around 1:30pm I hope to be snapping a pic of the finished product.

later that same day...
It only took 3 hours and the turkey was done to perfection. Since the first football game was starting, we decided to move the tv outside and load up the table on the lanai. So we had a bit of a feast, watched some ball, then after cleaning up and having some coffee, we all took a little dip in the pool before dessert :) Gotta love Florida!

Poor Jeebus was going nuts...

These 2 egrets were relaxing on the back fence this morning and Jeebus (one of our cats - imprisoned within the house and screened lanai) was going nuts. He gets all excited when he sees these potential appetizers hanging out just outside of his reach. Anyway... We love it that there are so many different birds that live in and near the neighborhood.

Banana planting

As Shirley posted, we went out both Friday night and last night (very unusual for us), and were up later than normal both nights. So maybe that explains why I'm feeling beat now, even though the only exercise I've had today was mowing the lawn and digging a hole. Of course, having to use a pickaxe for every frickin' inch of the hole to break up the hard-pack did not help. Notice the white horizontal line at the near edge of the hole; that's a water line for the sprinkler system. So I guess it's good that I couldn't dig too enthusiastically.

And the result will (hopefully) be worth it. We now have a dwarf banana planted on the south side of the house, just to the front of the fence. The dwarf bananas top out around 5 to 7 feet (around 1 metre) -- a much better scale for our yard than the standard 30-foot banana tree would be. One more chore to scratch of the rather l-o-n-g list of things we still want to do around the house and yard. And I must say, the post-digging beer tasted especially good.

Wasp sting ....OWIE!

This evening when I got home I changed and popped outside to mow the lawn. I'd noticed a couple of wasps flying around near the fence while I was edging, and again when I opened the gate to take the mower into the back to cut the grass. Well, when I was done and opened the gate to come back out front and put the mower away ....YEE-OW! One of those nasty little buggers stung me just above my right elbow. It'd been years since I'd been stung by a bee, wasp, or any flying critter. Man, that hurt (still hurts, but only mildly sore now). I ran inside, tossed some bleach water on the sting -- that works on fire ant bites anyway (as I learned some months back) -- and held an ice cube to the sting for a minute or two to lessen the rather searing pain. A quick search on the internet and I was reminded that vinegar helps counteract the venom. So I slopped on some vinegar, spent a little more time with the ice, popped a couple ibuprofen, and went back outside for revenge.

Armed with a can of wasp and hornet spray (which is basically nerve gas for bugs), I kicked the fence gate post (since I wasn't sure exactly where the nest was) and then started blasting the little buggers as they came to investigate. OK, it may not have been the brightest thing to do, but this spray stuns and kills the bugs rather quickly, so I wasn't too concerned. For some reason I've never really been afraid of bees or wasps. Spiders kind of bother me, but not wasps. So now that's at least 5 wasp nests I've sprayed over the past few weeks. Total wasps killed: approx 25 (all nests combined). Total stings incurred: 1. That's not too bad, and I think it's good to get a sting now and then :-)

Matt & Jess come to Tampa

After many invitations to friends and family, we've finally enjoyed some weekend guests :-) ...Matt and Jess  came down from Rhode Island on Friday. After some grilling and a few tropical libations on Friday evening, we trekked over to Busch Gardens on Saturday and hit the coasters. I'd been thinking that it might be a bit crowded, what with it being a Saturday and a holiday weekend. Nope. The park was not crowded at all, so we rode SheiKra a couple of times before moving on to the other rides (the pic shows - from left - Ben, me, Matt, Jess ...Shirley's broken foot and ribs are close to healed, but not enough for coasters). Saturday afternoon we splashed about in the pool back home, did some more grilling, then headed on down to The Hurricane for a rooftop drink, a look at the Gulf, and back home for some shut-eye before bidding adieu Sunday morning.

Thanks guys for visiting; we really enjoyed having you here (Matt, I'm still finding fruit stickers plastered various odd places :-) ......ok, who's visiting next?

Beer Me

This evening we joined fellow liberal beer lovers for Tampa's August edition of Drinking Liberally. We gathered 'round a couple of outdoor tables at New World Brewery and enjoyed some good beer, great company, and engaging conversation.  Plenty of the discussion, of course, focused on the devastation in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama from Hurricane Katrina's passing. Liberals care, and liberals act. We talked about the need for everyone to dig deep and send money to aid organizations. Cash is what's needed most right now, and you can donate online to the Red Cross. With the inevitable mounting medical needs, it's also a huge help if folks can donate blood -- you can also find a location to donate blood by calling 1-800-GIVELIFE (1-800-448-3543).

On a much lighter note, the picture above (click on the thumbnail image to see the larger pic) is of the license plate of a vehicle that was in front of me on the way home from work this evening. Knowing that I'd be joining some folks for a pint later, this seemed like a very appropriate sight.

SheiKra

SheiKra rocks! Shirley and Ben and I had planned to do this as a family, but then Shirley went and broke her foot (1 2). So last weekend Ben and I popped over to Busch Gardens for a few hours to ride SheiKra and hit several of the other cool rides. Adding to the coolness is that, as Florida residents, we get a two-for-one deal (buy a ticket and get to come back again on any additional day this year). Anyway... SheiKra is by far the smoothest coaster I've ever ridden. It seems like the ride is over very soon, but they say it goes for 3 minutes. Maybe the meaning of time is altered by the adrenaline. Oh, and it turns out that Ben and I got to sit in the front row :-) ...Nothing like dangling looking down that 200 foot vertical drop for a few seconds before the fall. What a rush! If you get the chance, do give it a shot. If you're not sure, or if you're just curious, enjoy the QuickTime version of the ride.

After 25 years ...we have a bedroom set

A little later this month, Shirley and I will celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. Aside from having an odd time of it comprehending that we could possibly be old enough for that (although, truth be told, we were married when we were each 3 years old) ...we have never had a bedroom furniture set. We've always had a good mattress, but it was typically on a metal frame or plywood, and the 'nightstands' for many years were simply speakers (I was a musician before becoming a geek, so we had speakers that were a convenient height). Well, as an anniversary gift to ourselves, we went to the local Kane's store and bought a set. We love the design, and overall the pieces are built quite well. But there have been some issues.

One of the guys delivering / installing the set said that they always have problems putting this set together. Rather that place a call to their service department (we'd have to wait days for them to come out) I decided we would fix this ourselves ...and do a better job than they would have anyway. I've annotated the pic to describe the issue with the side rails.

Each of the 3 slats that go across the bottom have one vertical support in the middle. There are supposed to be 2 inserts with threads to accommodate screws that fasten the board above to the vertical support. But those parts were missing, so the guys left it like this. That doesn't look too secure to me; what do you think?

We went back to the store to see about getting the missing hardware (I brought the screws with me) and they gave us some pieces that did have the correct thread size. But they were not the right pieces, and after measuring, we saw that even if they did work, the vertical supports would, at their max height, still be 1/2 inch too short. So again, we decided to do it better ourselves. I picked up some furniture leg brackets, affixing each of them with 4 screws to give us 2 supports per slat, rather than just one. I also picked up some hardwood furniture legs to fit the brackets, cut them to fit, screwed them into the brackets, and have them each resting on a caster on the floor. This is now a sturdy bed.

Oh yeah, and the wood on part of one of the footboard posts is broken. We documented that before the guys left, but the solution from Kane's is for them to order a new footboard. It's been just over a week, so I'll call tomorrow and get an update. The damage is strictly cosmetic rather than structural, so it's ok until the replacement comes.

This is a blurry pic, but it shows part of the latches on the armoire. They were bent beyond functioning when delivered, so again I decided that we could do a better job ourselves. I've replaced the latches on the armoire with magnetic latches top and bottom, and have now removed the dental floss that we'd been using to keep the doors closed.

But overall ...we really like this set. Shirley used her creativity and sewing prowess to find some awesome fabric at $6 a yard and make a bedspread and matching sham (which I've learned is a fancy word for pillow). We also decided that this shade of green on the walls is more relaxing than the purple that we'd first tried. This, to us, truly looks like Florida. It was worth the wait :)

Hurricane panels are done!

We have finally finished the installation of tracks, drilling of holes, and other tasks related to being ready to cover our windows and doors with metal panels if/when a hurricane should strike. Whew! This has been a chore and a half. Shown here is a pic of one of the front windows with a few panels installed. That was taken just over a week ago, on 07 July 2005, when we were preparing in case Hurricane Dennis decided to pay us a visit. But the one remaining job was to drill the holes and do the prep for panels to cover the front door (we plan to use a small door in the back from a bathroom to the outside - and one of the garage doors in the front - as our emergency exits in the event of a storm).
So today I finished the job. This pic shows some of the holes drilled below the front door. Our Bosch hammer drill does a great job of boring the necessary holes in the stucco and cement block, but MAN, drilling into the brick is HARD! The drill still handled it fine, but it was definitely slower going that just boring into the regular cement. So Shirley and Ben decided to come out and let me know that the weather stations were saying that in our area it was currently 93F (34C), and that with the humidity, it felt more like 106F (41C). I told them that really helps a lot to hear that, as if I didn't already know that it was warm. So they told me they'd be in the pool if I needed anything (I discovered that they actually were out back painting a cloud mural on the ceiling of the lanai, so that's pretty cool).
The other thing I've been working on lately is installing one-sided deadbolts at the top and bottom of the front door and (soon) the pool bath door. That's just one more thing that's recommended to help secure a home when a hurricane strikes. OK, gotta go ....just got word that I need to get the barbecue going for dinner. Cheers!

Florida residents: Are termite warranties worth $200/yr?

We are in a new house. We moved in at the end of January 2005. As required by Florida law, termite protection was applied during construction, and a one-year warranty issued by the pest control company. The warranty expires in about a month (since the treatment was applied in August 2004, early in the construction process).

Today I received a notice from the pest control company that we can renew our warranty for another year for $200. So my question for any Florida residents who might read this, is this: Is it worth it to renew? The pest control companies, of course, all state that it is not a question of whether a Florida home will have a termite problem, but rather a question of when the problem will arise. That's what I'd expect them to say, since the more fear is out there, the more folks will pay for warranties and treatments. The State of Florida maintains a web site about termite control, and they recommend renewing the annual contracts. But I wonder how much money was spent in lobbying ...not that I'm cynical, mind you.

So does anyone have any experience with this sort of thing? Apparently, the approved termite prevention chemicals can only be applied by properly-licensed contractors, so Joe Homeowner (that would be me) can't go out and buy the stuff and lay a perimeter around the home. Given how little some seem to care for the environment, that's probably a good thing, as I could see some schmuck tossing unused pesticide down the drain and further polluting the water table. I may just send the money in, but I'd like to be educated first. Of course, I'm also tempted to take matters into my own hands, being the control freak that I am :)

Looks like Dennis will stay west of us

With the skies clouding up, the lightening starting to flash, and the rain starting to dump, I finished drilling and preparing the last holes needed for the last of the steel storm panels to protect that last of our windows. In other words, we are finally ready to cover and protect all of our house's windows ...in about an hour total to install all the panels ...whenever the hurricanes threaten. I've posted more pics and instructions for installing tracks and steel panels.

It does appear now that Hurricane Dennis will stay to the west of the Florida Gulf coast, so we will most likely only get some strong winds and plenty of rain. Whew!

We do still have plenty of other prep on which we are working - and will be for weeks yet. Shirley has caulked all of the windows (it's a new house, but our caulking standards are much higher than what the county lets through inspection). We've both been working on caulking where the soffits meet the wall, the gutters and downspouts are installed now - with splash blocks to direct the water away from the house, we're adding bracing inside the garage doors. Lots more. But the main part of prep is now - thankfully - complete.

Drinking liberally :)

OK, you Tampa area Liberals. Time for us to kick back and share a cold one. As Wayne and Christine have posted, there's a liberal Tampa tradition that's started up ...enjoying a mid-week beer at New World Brewery (map). Next glass to be hoisted on Wed, July 29 at 8pm. Join us for a liberal beer :)

Fire ants: yee-OUCH!

Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition, and I certainly was not expecting to be breakfast, lunch, and dinner for a hundred fire ants (who, like the Cardinals in the Monty Python skit, also sometimes sport nice red uniforms). I was trimming some of the grass behind our fence this morning when my legs suddenly felt as though there was a multitude of locking pliers grabbing and twisting my skin, and holding burning cigarettes to my unsuspecting flesh. I looked down in the area of the pain, as one is wont to do when one is experiencing an explosion of unpleasant sensation on one's person, and saw my lower legs covered with moving dark masses of very upset little Satans. I had wandered onto their nest and they were expressing their displeasure.

While I was hosing off my legs, shaking ants out of my socks and shoes, and getting fresh socks, Shirley took a peek on the 'net and learned that sprinkling talcum powder on oneself may help keep the fire ants off. They apparently can't get good traction or something. I decided if "sprinkling" was a good idea, then emptying the household supply onto my legs was a better idea :) ...You see, the nest that I had disturbed was actually on the neighbor's property, right next to our fence, and I had then noticed another fire ant mound that was on our property at the opposite end of the yard. I wanted to be a little more cautious as I worked near this mound.

Just as I finished mowing the lawn, a good ol' tropical Florida rainstorm hit. I stood outside for a while just enjoying the cooling rain as it pounded down. And in true Florida style, within a few hours the sun had dried the grass again, so (after a quick trip to Lowe's for supplies) we applied some fire ant killer to the yard. It is supposed to control the ants for 6 months. Tomorrow morning I'll hit our fire ant mound and our neighbor's directly with some fire ant bait; the bait is a deliciously evil substance that the worker ants happily tote down (up to ten feet deep!) to the hive, and they share the bait with all their little pals, killing the lot.

Installing steel storm panels

Here in Florida, the hurricane season runs from June 1 through November 30 each year. Yup, 1/2 of the year is the hurricane season. There have been reports that we've begun the nasty portion of a 30-year cycle of mild vs heavy storm seasons. Regardless, the question is not really IF a hurricane will come, but rather WHEN. And so, we have been spending time preparing our house to weather the inevitable storm. We recently spent about US $1700 to purchase galvanized steel storm panels and tracks and hardware to allow us to quickly mount protection over our window and door openings when a storm is coming. Eastern Metal here in Florida manufactures the 24-guage steel panels that we bought at Lowe's. While we did find their installation instructions OK, we would have like to have had more pictures and a little more clarity to help us with the installation. So after we figured things out, we took a number of pictures and have used good old Flickr to post pics of the storm panel installation. Hopefully this will help someone else.

After taking pics to document the installation, we removed the wingnuts and panels (leaving the tracks mounted), and have stored the panels in the garage, ready to rock and roll when needed.

Of course, there are no guarantees with the pics and instructions I've posted, as it is entirely possible that I have totally goofed it up :-)

Hurricane season preparations

Hurricane season here in Florida runs for 6 months of the year - June through November. It was reported last year that we have probably begun the bad part of a 30-year cycle of mild seasons vs intense seasons. Well last year was pretty nasty, with several strong hurricanes hitting Florida. Many areas that had not seen a hurricane in decades were hammered last year. The recent prediction from the Florida Division of Emergency Management supports the theory that we in for some heavy storms.

The good news is that the local media have been blasting folks with reports emphasizing how critical it is to be prepared, and it appears that many are paying heed to the warnings. We are among them.

So today we went to Lowe's and spent about US$1700 on steel storm panels and mounting hardware. This pic (not our house; the pic is from the manufacturer's site) shows what a home looks like before and after storm panel installation. We had toyed with the idea of buying plywood and making storm shutters using free plans posted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. But we decided to follow one of our favorite mottos and "Buy the best and cry once". The steel panels are much lighter and easier to handle compared to plywood, we won't have to paint them, it will be very fast to install the panels when needed (they install with wing nuts and we have a power driver), and the panels stack in a very small space!

We've purchased panels, tracks (upper and lower mounting tracks), and mounting hardware to cover the front door and all windows (including sliding glass doors). The exception is a door leading out of our "pool bath" (bathroom that leads to the lanai). We plan to coat the glass of that door with 3M film (and also plan to use that film on a small semi-circular window above the front door). That will protect the house from flying objects in a storm, and still allow us to use the pool bath door and garage doors as emergency exits.

Our bank account is wounded from this outlay, but we consider it a very sensible one-time expense.

Bamboo planting...DONE!

Ben digging,
originally uploaded by Joe Litton.

Whew! I'm glad we're only doing this once! Last Sunday was a nasty bit of work digging and planting the first half of our 60-foot trench of bamboo. Fortunately for us, Ben's shift at Tia's yesterday didn't start until 6pm, so he was able to help us out for a few hours while we completed the other 30 feet of bamboo trench. I've posted several pics with commentary up on my Flickr page. It struck me while working that I must be getting used to Florida weather. It was about 90F (32C) and aside from sweating like a waterfall (which I do any time I exercise ...or eat spicy food :-) ...it actually felt about that same as what 80F (27C) used to feel like when we lived in Washington state.

Well, we now have a 60 foot trench planted with bamboo. It's a "runner", which means it spreads by sending out underground shoots that then pop up elsewhere and fill in the space. That is why we lined the trench with galvanized metal roof flashing. When the runners hit the metal, they'll take the path of least resistance and go up. With proper care and feeding, this should give us a very attractive privacy screen in a couple of years. It's already quite a pleasure to look out from the lanai and pool cage and see the greenery.

Bamboo planting

Yesterday we bought US$250 of bamboo. More details coming - and Shirley's posted a little about it. So far today:
8am - Enjoying coffee out on the lanai. Already 80F and a little humid. Gonna be a lot of sweat flowing today.
9am - Ben's home for the summer, so we had a family breakfast (out on the lanai, of course). That ceiling fan Ben and I installed out there a couple of months ago is working quite nicely!
10am - Ben's off to work and Shirley and I are off to Lowe's for compost and various other supplies for the day. Getting warmer outside. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate.
...more to come...pics posted later...got some digging to do today - about 60 feet long by 2 feet wide by a foot or two deep and lots of compost to fork in and then plant the bamboo and make it happy.
(later)
12:30pm - Back from Lowe's. We've got 400 pounds of cow manure/compost in the back of the car, som epotting soil for some other plants, and a wheelbarrow. Stopped at one of the many road side fruit stands and bought a bunch of limes for the beer that will be consumed later ...and grabbed a couple of shrubs with awesome yellow flowers - looks sort of like hibicus, but it's not. So for now we're calling them "Seffner Wonders" (we live in Seffner, just east of Tampa). Now time to eat a banana, guzzle some water, and start the real work.
9:20pm - Quit working at about 6pm, took a quick shower and swim, and pretty much passed out on the bed for about an hour. My poor body may not be very happy with me in the morning :-)
Pics with more details posted on Flickr.

St Pete Beach

View northwest from Hurricane roof,
originally uploaded by Joe Litton.

One of our favorite places is Hurricane Restaurant in the town of St Pete Beach. The pic linked on the left is of the view from the rooftop bar. It'd been a while since we'd been to the beach, so on Saturday we popped down to St Pete Beach with our friends Karl and Chris Ann. Ahhh...after a few hours kicking back on the beach we went up to the rooftop bar. Man, you can't beat the view :-) ...More pics are posted on Flickr.

Life needs color

We hate white walls. White walls are bland, blasse, lifeless, listless, lazy, and lackluster. We prefer to think we are none of those. Annnnnndddd...if you're gonna cut loose a little in a room, a bathroom is just a wide open canvas, 'cause it's not like you're gonna be looking at everything in there all the time (barring dysenteric calamity, of course). So clicking on the thumbnail image at the left will pop up a larger pic of our pool bath (meaning, of our 2 bathrooms, it's the one with a door opening onto the lanai/pool area). My only contribution to the decor was participating in the choice of color and the selection of fish for the wall; the credit for the actual work all goes to Shirley. To us, this is a color scheme that is happy and full of life...and very Florida :-)

Love is in the air

Yes, we are again enjoying those wondrous weeks - 2 weeks or so every spring and fall - when the Florida air fills with the acrobatic insectual coital maneuverings of Plecia Nearctica ...commonly referred to as "love bugs". These little buggers do it mid-air, on plants, on cars, and yes, even inside the mouths of unsuspecting humans foolish enough to venture forth, mouths agape, panting in the spring warmth of outdoor residential duties.

Note to self: Keep mouth closed while mowing lawn.

Tampa Dragon Boats

Crews To Go racing,
originally uploaded by Joe Litton.

Saturday morning ...*RING* ...
me: Hello
Ben: Hey, have you heard of the dragon boats?
me: Oh yeah! That's happening today, isn't it?
Ben: Yeah, and I'm racing in one in about 45 minutes.

Well, Shirley and I were in the middle of various homeowner chores and knew we couldn't make it THAT soon. But we did get down to the channel in time to watch a number of the races, including Ben's semi-final. The Tampa Dragon Boat Races were held on Garrison Channel, which runs past Cotanchobee Park in the Channelside district of Tampa. It was a great time, and we've posted several pics and comments up on Flickr.

University of Tampa Crew

P4090013,
originally uploaded by Joe Litton.

The University of Tampa Crew competed this weekend in The Florida Intercollegiate Rowing Championshipson at Harney Canal Park (which is about 5 minutes from where we live in Seffner, Florida). Shirley and I each took a number of pictures (47 total), and without taking any time to edit I've posted them all up on Flickr. Shirley's posted a little more detail on her blog.

Plant show and Larry Hat

This morning we popped over to the annual garden show at The University of Tampa. We don't usually go to these things with any particular purchase in mind, and still typically manage to easily drop over US$100. Today's damage was, I believe, around US$150. Among other things, we bought several African Pigmy Daisies, which I am shown planting here while wearing my new "Larry hat". It's a hat woven in Mexico from palms. I call it my Larry hat after our good friend Larry back up in Vancouver, Washington, who wears a very similar hat quite often when the sun is out. Cheers Larry!

Corona chicken

A month or so ago, we purchased a Weber Genesis Gold C gas grill (from Amazon of all places!). One of the very cool things about Weber is that they have a 24x7 grill line. So dummies like me can call at any time with inane questions to expose our incredible ignorance to the always polite and very patient and knowledgeable Weber folks. There's also a lot of good info on the Weber web site. This weekend I was browsing their site (not that I'm turning into a grilling fanatic, mind you ;-), and saw this cool poultry roaster. It's based on the idea of beer can chicken (also called beer in the butt chicken - follow the link and you'll see why). So we picked up a little device for about US$15, and tonight I took a chicken, a bottle of Corona, a lime, some salt and pepper, and some olive oil and experimented.

I rubbed olive oil over the outside and in the cavity, sprinkled lightly with salt, ground some pepper over the bird, then put almost a half a bottle of Corona in the container that ends up in the bird's butt. I squeezed lime juice into the container and stuck the bird in an unholy position, and decided to put a half lime up where the head should be ...to help keep in the steam (the rest of the Corona - and another for good measure - went to the chef). I grilled it on indirect medium, which means the front and rear burners were on half strength and the middle one was off.

After about an hour and 20 minutes, the bird was done. We only tasted the mildest hint of lime. The meat, however, was very tender, fell from the bone, quite moist ...pretty darn good all in all. Next we'll experiment with using garlic, clarified butter and red wine in the cup instead of beer. Lots of room for experimentation, and we've got a fairly nice starting point :)

Lobstah

Step 1: Make sure the lobstah is no longah movin'. Oh well.....have anothah mai tai and ya won't notice so much.
Step 2: Dead or alive, staht pulling the bug apaht and dip in buttah an' stuff and chow down.

So after the disaster of the dishwasher leak and minor flooding of Friday eve, we got together on Sat with Karl and Chris Ann for a feast and some drinks. Karl is one sick chef, whipping up all kinds of marinades and fancy dishes with no recipe books or any of that other crap that mere mortals need. Shirley's also posted about the eve ...since we were both quite impressed (again) with Karl's culinary skills, and of course had a hella good time downing a few (a few?!?) drinks and BS'ing the night away.

Cooking on the grill: Process Improvement

Last night I pulled a whole chicken out of the 'fridge (it was the body of a dead chicken, actually, and we had placed it there after purchasing it at the food store, so it wasn't a shock that it was in the 'fridge ...but I digress). Anyway, not knowing what I was doing - as shall become more and more apparent though probably not at all surprising - I cut the bird into pieces and proceeded to cook the snot out of it on the barbecue (to those in other countries, "cook the snot out of it" - or to do "the snot out of" anything - means to do it to an extreme). As the image here will attest (click the thumbnail to see the full-sized image if you dare), the exterior of each piece ended up a tad in the well-done category. Not well-done as in, "good job!", but rather well-done as in, "much time was spent with Satan". I may have been a little impatient and perhaps the gas was turned up a little too much.

Realizing that there might be an opportunity for process improvement, I had another go at it this evening. This time I first popped on the 'net and read how to properly cut a chicken into the standard pieces. I also took a moment to read some suggestions about how to cook the bird if one's goal was not to produce pure carbon. So this evening I started the grill warming up and put the cut pieces of chicken into a bowl with some Newman's Dressing, a little red wine (a cab/merlot blend), and some garlic salt. Once the grill was heated, I turned the front and rear burners to half, and turned off the middle burner. I sprayed the grill with some olive oil to keep the meat from sticking, and the meat was placed along the center so it would cook via indirect flame. This turned out much better. Every 5-10 minutes I turned the pieces and brushed on a little of the liquid from the bowl. There's still room for quality improvement, and in the best Deming tradition I shall continue in this pursuit. There is definitely hope.

Tomorrow I'll try grilling some mahi-mahi. Hopefully the first attempt with it will prove more successful than the first attempt at grilling chicken :-)

Nasty traffic; awesome sunset

This is the view from our car heading back to the apartment from the house construction site this evening. We usually return via a different road. Yuck! So the traffic sucked, but on the very cool side, we did get to enjoy a great sunset (it looked even better when we started fumbling for the camera).

New Year

We bid farewell to 2004. Many ups and downs, but overall we have much for which to be grateful. In about a month we will finally be moving into our new home, ending a year of apartment living. We're both dragging a bit today (I didn't drink much last night, but we were up until 1am or so, which is way past my bedtime)...but we're heading over to the house site in a moment so I should be posting some pics of the new house in its current state of construction later today.

When I came to Tampa last year, I left Vancouver Washington after some of the worst weather we'd had in years (much snow, ice, downed power lines and trees, etc), and I'm now sitting here in shorts in January typing this. It is supposed to be 78F (26C) today (!) and feels like a summer day from the northwest. On the downside, I do miss being able to pop up to Mt Hood for a day of skiing :-)  ...OK, off to the house.