you say you want a resolution

40 minutes until the new year here in CST. It's time for those resolutions. I wish you success in keeping 'em.

Be excellent in everything you do.

Happy New Year!

a pattern to follow

It snowed in Kansas City today. This evening kcrazorback daughter and I played at the playground near our house. We walked through a snow covered parking lot on the way back. For no good reason, I dragged my big size-11 boots broadly in a serpentine pattern across the parking lot.

From the street, to check on daughter, I glanced back at the path I'd left. What I saw was my big old serpentine tracks next to a similar narrower path. Of course, she was not too far behind me as well. She'd added her own unique flourishes to the pattern, but, clearly, the direction she was traveling in was modeled for her.

Parents, we're being watched by someone who will do/say/think/be what we do... We should give our children a gift of great value. Let's try being worthy of emulating.

santa claus and the tooth fairy

Four-year old kcrazorback daughter lost her first tooth on Christmas Eve. This momentous event would require midnight visits from multiple gift-bearers on the same night.

A proper perspective was maintained when daughter came bounding in to parents' bedroom on Christmas morning and asked "Did Santa come?"

Mom replied, "I think so, but did the tooth fairy come?"

Then daughter remembered the missing tooth left out for the fairy. She ran back to her room and returned a minute later with moist eyes, saying "all the tooth fairy left me was this cwedit cawd," which was in her hand. You see, the tooth fairy had brought her a gift card for her favorite restaurant.

Oh yeah, Santa also brought the usual haul of princess stuff, games and books.

I'm sure glad the big night is over. I hope to get some sleep tonight.

merry Christmas

Luke 2:14 (New International Version) New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society

14"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

a child is born, a son is given

Christmas is coming. It's that special time of year in Kansas City when Santa and Frosty are part of a nativity scene. While that is funny, it seems as if it is the baby Jesus part of the nativity scene that seems to be out of place in this world.

Probably because it is. Our human minds cannot comprehend the full implication of the God of all creation entering His creation in total humility. Neither can they comprehend the weight of the sacrifice on our behalf. Here's one of my favorite scriptures (also heard in a little ditty called Handel's Messiah).

Isaiah 9:6 (Today's New International Version (TNIV)
© Copyright 2001, 2005 by International Bible Society)

6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

You see, yeah that's right, a baby was born to us--fully human--one of us. He was born. It's this birth that we celebrate every Christmas. It's this baby that we praise. But, oh the cost. Not only was a child born, but a son was given. This is NOT the gift of a son into the world. Rather, it is the giving up--total sacrifice--of a son by a loving father. By sacrificing His son, God the Father proved (and proves today) his love for us.

A child is born (Jesus is fully human), a son is given (Jesus is fully God)--by my submitting to His rule over me, He is my Wonderful Counselor, my Mighty God, my Everlasting Father, my Prince of Peace.

Will you also place the government of your life on His shoulders and let Him be all of those things for you? The Messiah lives--that's enough reason to go all-out celebrating Christmas.

doritos & doritos

In anticipation of tonight's ice storm, my beautiful wife brought me a bag of Doritos. My regular readers already know of my Doritos addiction--see this earlier post.

This particular bag of Doritos has two varieties in it--Zesty Taco & Chipotle Ranch. What a wonderful idea. I would like to thank the Frito-Lay Corporation for everything they have done for me. I love combining foods. I love eating chips. This whole idea of combining chips, well, more power to you, Doritos.

Oh yeah, thank you to my wife as well. And, uh, I'm almost thankful for the impending ice storm.

70s tv show lunchboxes

C'mon, you know you had one--a metal lunchbox festooned with scenes of a 70s television program.

Mine was Adam 12. What was yours?

why you may not be suited for youth ministry

Some observations:

10. You think a paintball marker is for preschoolers to draw on paper with.
9. You think an injury involving a coke bottle, golf ball and baseball bat is not run of the mill.
8. You can’t actually recall being a teenager.
7. Some vague notion of sleeping at the next weekend retreat still lingers in your mind.
6. You’re not prepared for what follows “let me show you what I got pierced.”
5. You once completed your education—in anything.
4. The words “girls-only lock-in” terrify you and you’re a woman.
3. You are not a pyromaniac.
2. You occasionally wear something other than jeans and a t-shirt.
1. You’re convinced that youth ministry is the fast track for that lucrative career you’ve always dreamed of.

Yep, youth ministry might not be for you. But I tell you this. The first time you pull a 15-year old out of the water after he has made Jesus Lord of his life, you will cry.

baby Jesus is in the way

In my lifetime, I've seen tv shows (Carson, Cosby) dealing with the funny things that kids say. They are great, but nothing beats having your own kid(s) and hearing what they say that is so funny. Last night's quotable quote came about something like this:

Christmas is coming, so we've decorated the house--including a small nativity display on a box that stands on a counter next to the kitchen table.

Our very tired 4-year old had been looking forward to her dessert since before supper. Because it was messy she was required to eat at the kitchen table. This occurred during her winding-down-time television watching time--she loves to watch Flintstones, Tom and Jerry, Jetsons, etc. on Boomerang. Of course the television is in the family room. The solution was to turn the television so that it could be seen from the kitchen table. I turned it.

Overtired and overstimulated, through alligator tears and sobbing, she said, "Baby Jesus is in the way" meaning that her line of sight to the television was obscured by the nativity scene.

Of course the spiritual lesson in her words wasn't lost on the adults in the room. We laughed so hard at the statement but appreciate the truth so much.

Does baby Jesus get in your way? Praise God! Let Him prick your conscience. It may hurt a little, but nothing compared to the awful pain that will result from looking past Him, over Him or not seeing Him at all. When baby Jesus came to earth, God's plan for your salvation began. When He died on that cross, God's plan for your salvation was complete. The plan being complete, the salvation is up to you. Will you let baby Jesus get in your way? Do you make Him your Lord and King? Don't ever look past Him or through Him or over Him. Have you stopped seeing Him? Search. Find Him.

some parenting observations

How to be a great dad:

1. Talk to your child about God and talk to God about your child.
2. Honor your wife.
3. Discipline with love.
4. Learn to make pancakes—make them often.
5. Kiss and hug your kid—often.
6. Put down the newspaper/laptop/cell phone/day planner/whatever and pick up the child.
7. Teach your son to cook—on a grill of course.
8. Teach your daughter to play baseball.
9. Dance with your daughter—no matter how old she is.
10. Take the kid fishing.

go rebs

Wow, that was quick: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/sec/2007-11-27-mississippi-nutt_N.htm

houston, we have a problem (oooh, so cliche)

When I started this blog, I figured I wouldn't write much about sports and for two months I did OK. I thought my handle would speak for my allegiance. Then my team beat the #1 team in the country (see previous post).

Now the coach has left. He'll be OK, but we won't be. The state and the coach both contributed to this severance, however, it is the state that will pay the price. (For those of you not familiar with Arkansas Razorback sports--there is no "Razorback Nation" or anything like that--it is simply the state of Arkansas.)

Prior congratulations to Nebraska or A&M or any of the dozens of schools with head coach openings which actually lands Coach Nutt. Your team will improve--especially in overtime games.

Good luck Coach. I'm selfish and I'm not happy. I'll try to stay away from sports from now on.

oh yes we dih ud

kcrazorback's regular blog readers both know that he is an Arkansas Razorback. He bleeds cardinal red. He trains his four year old daughter to cheer the full whoo pig sooiee cheer--you know the one with the 16-beat whoos.

Next week, Arkansas will not play for the SEC championship. Arkansas will not play in a BCS bowl game. Arkansas will not be ranked #1 in the country. But, for today--just this one day--Arkansas was better than the #1 team in the country. ``Hey, we were the best team in the country today,'' boasted Houston Nutt.

Way to go Hogs.

Good luck LSU! I hope you whip UGA or the Vols next week.

Go Jayhawks on Saturday night!

it really is green

Final Thanksgiving post: This was a good turkey day. I did not overeat. I did enjoy it very much. I hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving.

Unfortunately, my family did not have T-giving with my mother today. I am certain that she had a lovely dinner with her sister and my brother and his family. I suspect there were other family and guests there as well. I also am sure that the pumpkin pie was green.

Yes, green pumpkin pie is a family tradition. It must be in the recipe. Ginger, perhaps? Anyway, I always am leary of other people's orange pumpkin pie because I'd never had it that way. Pumpkin pie is supposed to be green. It's always been green and that's what I want.

Here's hoping you all had your very own version of hot hominy, turkey and dressing with chicken, two kinds of gravy, monkey bread, orange pie and green pumpkin pie. And, here's hoping you didn't forget to give thanks.

two kinds of gravy

T minus one day. Turkey and dressing aren't complete without the gravy. But why must we suffer through gravy with giblets? The purists (I guess) like giblets in their gravy. Thankfully, mom always made two versions of the gravy, one sans giblets. It seems like, while doing dishes, there was always a lot of giblet-laden gravy left while I barely got to even lick the non-giblet gravy ladle clean.

orange you glad there's pie

OK, this is one even I don't get. Orange pie for dessert on Thanksgiving. What it seems to be is that the mom, in her effort to please everyone tries to make at least one dish specifically for each family member. While that's overkill, it is nice when it's for you. That's mom.

But the orange pie is definitely not for me. I think it might be for my sister, but I'm not sure. I don't think I've ever tried it. I'm sure it's good. I probably still won't ever try it, though. I'll leave it for my sister.

The pecan pie is for me. Call me a traditionalist.

monkey bread on turkey day

Still T minus 2 days.

Thanksgiving dinner includes monkey bread. Monkey bread is individual little pieces of bread that are pulled apart by hand. Typically, made with bread dough of a similar consistency to biscuits, but smaller chunks--baked pressed lightly together in a large pan several inches deep. Usually, it had cinammon, sugar and butter baked right in. In the family I grew up in and (I guess) through the mid-south, this is a regular part of the meal--i.e., not dessert.

Monkey bread is simple and quick to make with lots of recipes out there. Enjoy.

turkey and dressing with chicken

T minus two days and counting.

T of course stands for turkey. Turkey is usually served with dressing--a bread 'stuffing' that (in my family) was never actually stuffed in the turkey. Our dressing was baked in a pan over a layer of chicken. Yes, that's right. Our turkey and dressing was turkey and dressing with chicken.

I think my mom prepared it that way because dad insisted. Dad probably wanted it that way because that was how it had been prepared in his family when he was a kid. My depression-era paternal grandparents probably did that so that everyone in the family could get some meat even if it was a combination of both chicken and turkey. I don't know if chicken was cheaper then, but suspect my grandparents had their own chickens but would have had to buy a turkey. Having spent money on turkey, it was probably served to adults and guests while the kids mostly got chicken.

If you ever get the chance, try turkey and dressing with chicken. It is delicious and might make you sleepy. Hey, maybe that's why my grandparents...

hot hominy

This will be the first post of several related to Thanksgiving food traditions. It should also be noted that families are strange. The family holiday traditions that you grew up with are perfectly normal--until you interact with any family other than your own at a holiday. So, I'm going to post about some of the Thanksgiving menu items that are particular to the family I grew up in--I have no idea if they are normal (meaning I'm pretty sure they are not).

First, hot hominy: that's what we call it. It is hominy casserole--essentially hominy in a spicy cheese sauce and baked. If prepared properly, younger children and in-laws will not be able to tolerate the heat, however, most family members will wonder aloud (do family members ever do anything that is not aloud?) why it seems to be so mild this time.

You're on your own for finding a recipe--however, check this space because my sister may want to comment with the recipe.

don't forget to give thanks

As Thanksgiving approaches, the posts will be coming fastly and furiously. And in those posts, I'll focus on food. So, before that begins, with this post I want to encourage you Americans to remember to give thanks on Thursday.

You have been blessed. Not blessed by just anyone. And, not just blessed, but blessed by God. Not with just the food on your table either--you've been blessed with the mercy-filled gift of His Son--not a gift from God's Son--rather He IS the gift.

Immanuel, God incarnate (God with meat) is also the Bread of Life and we Christians observe His life every week with a feast of bread. We also remember His death every week with wine. Continue this remembrance this Thursday as we feast.

Even if you aren't Christian, God has blessed all nations--including yours--through His Son.

Give Thanks! The feast is prepared.

nacho cheese nachos

When I was a kid, I loved nachos. OK, yeah, I know, I still love nachos. But when I was a kid, I preferred nacho cheese flavored Doritos smothered in nacho sauce.

I think the nacho seasoning coating on the Doritos shielded the actual corn chips underneath just enough to keep them from getting too soggy in the cheese sauce while adding to the overall nacho flavor.

Now that I'm over 40, my tastes are more sophisticated. I like plain corn chips smothered in nacho cheese sauce. But if you made me, I wouldn't complain about eating them like I did back in the day. OK, I'm still something of a kid.

the voyagers

I guess it's time for another HP post. I balanced the family checkbook last night (don't get me started). After the drudgery of checking off each of the items in the register, I used my 12C for actually calculating the balance and the subsequent deficit between how much I thought we had in our account and how much our bank thought we had in our account. OK, enough about the checking account.

I really like the voyagers. Unfortunately, the only one I have is a 12C. This particular model, perhaps more than any other, has stood the test of time. Launched 26 years ago, it is still in production. In fact, there is a 25-year anniversary model as well (introduced last year obviously--get yours now while they're still available).

For a quarter of a century, real estate professionals everywhere snapped up this calculator. I suspect that this was the most popular hp calculator ever because of its utility in this one industry.

I said I like the voyagers. I really would love to have one of each: 11C, 15C and 16C. Especially, the 16C. It is my favorite. I don't have one. But, I do have a 12C. Thank you, real estate.

The 12C has good basic financial tools, with some nifty features (e.g., date math, irr calculations, bond discounts/coupon rates, etc.), but its amortization calculations on they fly were so valuable to the real estate folks for 2+ decades that they were willing to learn RPN.

Of course cheaper calculators and spreadsheets now calculate amortizations just as well. I guess that's why used 12Cs are so easy to find. After 26 years, its still in production, though. I wonder how long it will last.

one church--one building--three ministries

We visited a relative's church in Branson, MO this morning.

The church building is shared by three very different groups: Branson Hills Assembly of God, Harvest Evangelical Free Church and Tabernacle of Praise Ministries (a Messianic Jewish/Christian congregation).

I was most impressed by the cooperation and sense of sharing that seems to exist between the three organizations. Two of these churches share the building at the same time on Sunday mornings, switching auditorium and classroom spaces mid-morning. I observed a greeter for one of the congregations bless members of the other one as they were leaving.

I don't have much to judge it on, but if my impression of these churches is correct, we Christians have a model for how we can accept each other.

i solemnly promise

Ooooh! The calendar has revealed that next week is Thanksgiving.

I will not overeat. I will not overeat. I will not overeat. Hey, is that turkey?

I, um, oh yeah, will not overeat. I will not overeat. It smells like turkey in here.

I wasn't going to do something. What was it? Oh, I will not ove--Is that a Butterball?

I may not overeat. I mean, I will not overeat. I sure do like turkey and all those high-carbohydrate side dishes.

I hope I don't overeat. I shouldn't overeat. OK, I will not overeat.

I solemnly promise to report on this blog how successful I was in not overeating on Thanksgiving.

enough sources of stress already

Family story alert! Yeah, but it's a funny one. We lost Dad six years ago to lung cancer at age 59. He was well known for storytelling. We each had our favorites. Here's mine:

About 1980 plus or minus a couple of years, Dad was a kiln burner at a cement plant in SW Arkansas when his employer required employees to go through stress management training--perfectly suitable for my dad given that kiln burner is one of the more stressful jobs in a cement plant.

On the day of the training, the instructor began the session by breaking the ice with some specific questions designed to show that everyone has some sources of stress in their lives. The first few questions were simple, like 'raise your hand if you've recently experienced a major holiday.' Of course the session was right after Christmas and everyone had just experienced a major holiday. Everyone, Dad included, raised their hands. As the questions continued they got more and more specific:
* Raise your hand if you're married. Dad raised his hand.
* Raise your hand if you have a mortgage. Dad raised his hand.
* Raise your hand if you have children. Dad raised his hand.
* Raise your hand if you have teenagers. Dad raised his hand.
* Raise your hand if you have a baby at home. Dad raised his hand.
* Raise your hand if you're teaching a kid to drive. Dad raised his hand.
* Raise your hand if you...

As the questions got more and more specific, Dad kept raising his hand with each one. Finally, the instructor asked his last question 'raise your hand if you own a Ford Maverick.' Dad raised his hand. The instructor said "Mister, I'm afraid I can't do anything for you."

kraft spaghetti dinner vs. mccormick spaghetti sauce mix

After graduating from college, I moved three hours west for grad school leaving my college sweetheart behind. Fortunately for me and in spite of the distance, she remained my sweetheart then (and does so to this day).

On rare occasions during that difficult year apart, one of us made the trip across northern Arkansas for a way too short weekend visit. The highlight of one of those trips was a trip to the local Food 4 Less grocery store with the end goal of working together to prepare a spaghetti supper. Neither of us had ever cooked much, but we figured that we could start out with an easy assignment and do alright. So spaghetti was our choice for our first effort at preparing a meal together.

We were both students and had keen observation skills. We knew where to find the kitchen, for example. I could even boil water and she was a quick learner. We had watched our own parents prepare spaghetti many times. Having observed our parents prepare spaghetti, we were both sure that we could do it too. Ah, there's the rub. We didn't know that between the two of us, we represented two different families that prepared spaghetti in two completely different ways.

OK, so back to that trip to Food 4 Less. Right there in the pasta aisle, we began to argue about the proper way to prepare spaghetti. I had come from a family which made spaghetti from a box--not just any box either, but Kraft Spaghetti Dinner--the green box. She had come from a family which made spaghetti dinner by buying the spaghetti separately from the spaghetti sauce mix packet--not just any packet either, but McCormick Spaghetti Sauce Mix--the red packet.

After a few minutes of knockdown-dragout verbal sparring we began to laugh when we realized how silly it was that we were arguing over how to buy spaghetti. One method had the noodles and the sauce packet in one package--the other required two packages. Now, what was the argument about?

We made our choice then, and that is the way we still make spaghetti today, but not because her parents or my parents made it that way, but because we decided then that from that point on we'd find our own way to cook--spaghetti or whatever.

We're still cooking 19 years later--in our own way. In fact, we had spaghetti tonight. This story is what I remember nearly every time we eat spaghetti.

I would encourage all young couples to set aside your preconceived ideas about everything (at least everything as important as spaghetti) and go figure out the world with that one special person. He or she is much more important than the number of packages required for one meal. My apologies for the long post.

halloween means popcorn balls

I grew up in a special time ('70s) in a special place (small town SW Ark) where Halloween meant trick-or-treating until what seemed like the wee hours of the morning (it was probably 8:45 pm). In addition to the regular haul of candy, we kids got all kinds of goodies including coins, fruit, small toys (think party favors) and--best of all--popcorn balls.

I loved popcorn balls. A good trick-or-treating would net five or six popcorn balls. I loved 'em.

It's really a shame now that for safety's sake we have to protect our children from homemade popcorn balls. Of course, that is right. But, it is a loss.

I enjoyed helping Mom make popcorn balls to give out on Halloween. Of course, boiling hot Karo could remove the skin from your hand, but it was a small price to pay for (imho) the best Halloween treat of all.

with all

Deuteronomy 6:5 (New Living Translation)

5 And you must love the Lord your God with
all your heart,
all your soul,
and all your strength.

And with:
all your money,
all your time,
all your thoughts,
all you see,
all you do,
all your wedding band,
all your television shows,
all your internet activities,
all your facebook profile,
all your blog entries,
all your flirtations,
all you say,
all your reputation,
all your movies,
all you read,
all you listen to,
all you buy,
all the ways you treat others,
all your work

all.

facebook is for everyone

I've heard the young people complaining about us old people on facebook. To those young people, I have a one word response (although I may repeat that one word): HA! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! HA!

speaking of pickles

Dad was a picky eater. Basically, if his mother didn't cook it, it wasn't good enough for him. But what really baffled the rest of us were the exceptions to the rule.

Men in south Arkansas sort of speak like they have gravel in their mouth as they mumble. Dad mumbled pickleloafsandwich all as one word. And, he loved 'em. Not explaining the news, just reporting it.

If you have never had pickle loaf on Roman Meal sandwich bread, good for you.

josh is 19

Of course, regular readers of this blog know that it is usually about strange foods or combinations.

Which brings me to Josh. Josh is not my son--not really--but in my heart, he is. He eats pickle chips. He taught me the most amazing recipe involving pickles, bacon and cream cheese. He drinks pickle juice. He will eat anything--especially if pickles are involved or someone else buys. I love the way the guy eats. More than anyone else I've ever known, he reminds me of myself at his age. I'm pretty sure he'll be just fine.

Speaking of his age, yesterday it became 19. He has not become a man because of his age. He has become a man because of his character.

Happy Birthday, son.

the new ones

It's been an exciting summer at the old hp calculator company. With 2 new hp scientific calculators, kcrazorback can barely contain his excitement. The 10s appears to be a serviceable basic calculator for under $15.

But, what is really ramping up this bloggers bp is the $60 35s. It's getting mixed reviews on the forums. I haven't bought mine yet, but expect to in the next week or so. It appears to have all the features of my favorite calculator, but its the styling that really is cool. Its a throwback to the very first hp pocket scientific, the 35, named for its 35 buttons.

I'll be getting mine soon and I'll let you know if its function is as cool as its form and if its form is as cool as I expect.

Do you have a 35s? What do you think about it? Do you have a 35?

truckboy is my friend

OK, this blog is goofy. But, aren't they all. I mean, who likes hp calculators and fabulous food combinations. So mine is my niche.

My buddy Truckboy has his niche as well. He's into guitars, cameras and fast cars. I don't like guitars. I don't like cameras. I don't like fast cars. I do like Truckboy. I even like Mrs. Truckboy. Although, she probably doesn't like being called that.

You may be interested in one of those topics, though. Check out Truckboy's fendercons blog. My favorite quote from his blog is:

I would speculate that this volume level sucks down the filter-caps right after the transient and then you are riding the DC fresh out of the GZ34.

I have no idea what that sentence is about, but it is really cool, Truckboy.

atari 2600 was king

Of course, I had an early 6-switch Atari 2600 system with about 25 game cartridges. Of the first generation of console gaming systems, it was my favorite. Partly because it was mine, partly because it was first but mostly because I was addicted to gaming.

It came with a really cool game called Combat which you didn't get tired of until about 10 minutes after you got it. But of course, game cartridges then (almost 30 years ago) cost about what a new game for Xbox 360, Playstation 3 or Wii costs now. I remember I bought Donkey Kong for my Atari on the day it was released for $55. Fortunately, I had paper route income to support my habit.

For guys my age, the 2600 was THE system. Nothing else was even close. The NES was still a few years away.

I don't currently have any of the three game systems listed above--can't justify spending the money. Maybe, if I get a paper route...

a center for sprinting

Kansas City's Sprint Center arena opened today. An all-day open house during which it was set up for hockey, then for basketball and finally for concerts, was a great way for locals to learn all about the new arena. I toured it during the conversion from hockey to basketball during the early afternoon.

My impressions: It will be a great hockey arena. Attention NHL executives: Get a team into this building ASAP--it is the real deal and will pay off big time. It will be a good basketball arena--better if I never have to sit in the corners of the upper deck. It will be very good for arena football, indoor soccer and all of the other niche sports type events that seem to do well in this market. It has broad concourses, lots of video screens, elevators, escalators, lots of suites, and tons of branded concessions (bring lots of $$$, menu boards were over the top, i.e., $7.50 for nachos, $9 for a cheeseburger...). Seats are cushioned and comfortable. It's within walking distance of my employers' parking garage.

We need the NHL. The Kansas City Brigade (Arena Football League) is great, Garth Brooks is great, but the best option for an anchor tenant is the NHL.

museum for geeks like me

If you're into hp calculators, you probably already know about the hp museum. If not familiar with it, check it out.

The museum has a great summary of all of the hp calculators without getting bogged down in too much detail. Its forum serves as a good place for hp fans to communicate with each other. I especially like its history section.

If you already know all about Pioneers and Coconuts and know how to program RPL, I guess that you probably will enjoy the site anyway. If you only know Hewlett Packard for its inkjet printers, well, here is a good place for some interesting education for you.

cheetos and alfredo sauce

If you hadn't noticed, I like strange food combinations. Mom always said I could turn any meal into chips and dip. By my definition, chips and dip are a combination of foods that are not the same but go great together. Finding new combinations is what is so much fun. I used to just think I was strange. I wondered if other people did the same thing. Could there be an explanation? Am I the only one? Is it, perhaps, hereditary?

That last question was partially answered for me at dinner last week when my four year old daughter was observed dipping Cheetos into alfredo sauce. I don't know who I got it from, but I know who got it from me. Stay tuned, future posts will deal with dad's Ro*Tel spaghetti and his preference for pickle loaf luncheon meat.

drink like you mean it

My morning commute usually means I-70 eastbound into K.C. from the Kansas side. Earlier this week, that meant following a delivery truck with a giant Bacardi bottle painted on the back along with this tag line, "Live like you mean it." Don't know for sure what living like you mean it has to do with rum, but I'm sure somebody out there does. Actually, I do get it--I work for an advertising agency after all.

A better tag line for that truck might be something like "Drive like you did not just drink this bottle of Bacardi." 'Cause my fellow KC commuters drive wonderfully. And by wonder I mean you wonder how they ever passed a driver's test because they don't have a clue. OK, yeah, I know bad driving is everywhere.

Actually, I like the tag line. Live like you mean it. If you drink, though, drink responsibly. Never mix your drinking and your driving. Drive courteously, thoughtfully, safely and (gasp) slowly.

Live like you mean it. Drive like you mean for life to continue, especially if you're on I-70 eastbound between 8 and 8:30.

biscuits and chocolate gravy

Being from the mid-south sets many of us on a lifetime course of fighting the battle of the bulge. Breakfast is particularly unhealthy. A special treat from my childhood was southern style biscuits with chocolate gravy. Mom's friend Phyllis made the most wonderful chocolate gravy. It was sweet and thick with just the right consistency for breakfast gravy.

Now you may not think that chocolate gravy would be a very good breakfast food. You may also think the world is flat. You may think that television crews filmed the moon landing in New Mexico in 1969. You may think that the writing in this blog post is of high quality. You may think that aliens have landed in New Mexico. You may think that Bill Clinton was impeached (what? he was? oh).

Feel free to comment and let me know what you may think.

my 33s is happenin'

If you missed my first post ever, it was about my hp 21s stat/math calculator. Unfortunately, that particular calculator is mostly out of service now due to two decades of use and abuse.

The current model that I use daily is the hp 33s scientific calculator. IMHO, this is the most powerful programmable pocket scientific (non-graphing) calculator ever produced. Some of its features, it:
* has stepwise programmability like many of its predecessors
* uses hp solve for solving systems of equations
* switches between RPN & algebraic entry
* has tons of functions/conversions/statistics...
* makes coffee
* switches between fractions and decimals
* has its class C CDL
* has lots of registers for storing data
* watches Damages on FX
* works with complex (imaginary) numbers as easily as real
* will never shoot you accidentally while hunting

I strongly recommend the hp 33s scientific calculator for professionals who need a good scientific calculator and for hunters who need a huntin' buddy they can trust.

mcrib is back

Dad wasn't born until after the Great Depression. However, he did inherit his parents thriftiness. OK, not really, he was just cheap--which was a good thing because he didn't have much money.

This was especially manifested in his attitude toward long distance telephone usage. From the time I left home to go to college until he passed away 17 years later he almost never called me. I don't really think it was because he was cheap, but he sure despised the telephone. He wasn't about to call if he didn't have to.

But he did call one time. It was about a year or two after I got married. I really appreciated his call. With great anticipation and a little trepidation I looked forward to finding out what he'd actually say during this rarest of calls. Could it be that he wanted to have a personal conversation or offer some advice to the young married man; perhaps he'd have related some bad news, maybe even a loss in the family. What he said: "McRib is back."

making coffee, making friends

The office environment is brutal. At least until everyone has had their morning coffee. So be a good co-worker and make the coffee.

* Non-drinkers: Make one pot of coffee each morning. Your co-workers will appreciate it more than they can express because they haven't had their coffee yet.
* Early-birds: Clean out that coffee pot when you get there and get the first one going. Don't be afraid to take that first cup either.
* Crusty caffeine addicts: Keep making it. It just seems like you're the only one making coffee just because you are drinking it all. Also, seek medical help.
* Those of you who bring in several cups of premium coffee-shop java to share with your co-workers: I prefer regular coffee, black, and my cubicle is next to the pool table (yes, I know, our office has a pool table--search for jobs here).
* Everyone: See SVP Chris's blog about coffee.

why the hog blogs

OK, to answer the question of those of you that know me as to why I'm writing a blog and have recently become active on social networking sites. My employer is making me. Well, not just me, but all 300 employees at Barkley should be blogging and facebooking right now--maybe not at the same time. Gotta say I really have enjoyed the experiment and plan to continue blogging after tomorrow's deadline. What a great way to get my thoughts out and to share resources. Of course, I am still the top reader of this blog.

Barkley colleagues: here are some interesting stats I found on another blog regarding the relative success of email marketing as opposed to other online marketing techniques. Perhaps a customer willing to give our clients his or her email addresses is an advocate. Perhaps social network buzz as a marketing tool is overrated.

good idea, lukasiewicz

Once you get hooked on Reverse Polish Notation (RPN), there's no going back. Postfix notation is a little confusing for the first few minutes, but then it becomes like second nature very quickly. OK, so I don't say to my wife "I you love," but I really want to.

If you use hp calculators, you probably are already familiar with RPN. If you don't or aren't I encourage you to check out RPN. I use handheld RPN calculators. Even my calculator accessory on my computer is RPN. A couple of introductions to RPN follow: hp's introduction and the hpmuseum introduction (more about hpmuseum in a later post) are good places to start. But the best thing to do is just try it.

Do you use RPN? exclusively? Do you switch between algebraic notation and RPN?

For reading my post, I you thank.

joel and I are anti-semantic

While authoring surveys is a pretty good way to make a living, hammering down the best wording for a particular question or scaled response with a survey sponsor can be a big ole pain in the neck. That's why former colleague Joel and I decided that we are anti-semantic.

Anti-semanticism, while not widely popular in today's "my way or highway" world--although there are some vestiges remaining in the deep south, is the only way to go. The anti-semantite can get through meetings much more quickly. An anti-semantite rarely loses an argument. Clearly, such poor writing as this blog post must be anti-semantite work.

No matter how you say it, anti-semantic is the only way to be. But, please, please, please respect our semantic friends as well.

the moped, um, chick magnet

Yes, I know, in high school everybody thinks that he or she is the strange one, etc. But some of us really made it easy on everyone else to totally abuse us. It wasn't just that I loved trigonometry and played chess and was president of the parliamentary procedure team. No, I also had my wheels: a sweet ride, really. My moped wasn't just a mode of basic transportation, it was my business on wheels as I delivered newspapers for the local rag. Mine was a big hunk of metal, very heavy and difficult to pedal. It was a Czechoslovakian beauty, a Jawa. Along with my collection of dinosaur bones and my white guy afro, I'm pretty sure I must have been the most popular guy in school.

Stay tuned for later posts about my first car--equally cool.

rice with mustard and jalapeños

The college cafeteria is the most interesting intersection of bad food and good friends. Open-minded and daring students experiment with combinations to overcome the bad food and, perhaps, impress the good friends. The cafeteria salad bar is a wonderful place to find ingredients for these marvelous mixtures.

My favorite college cafeteria concoction was rice with mustard and jalapeño pepper slices. In fact, this particular dish stopped being an experiment and was a staple through my college career at Harding University. My usual table mate--a young coed from California--was not impressed at all. In spite of this, she did agree to marry me a couple of years later. After 18 years of marriage, I'm still experimenting with food combinations. She's still ignoring it. And we adore each other anyway.

Come to think of it, the strangest combination that was created in that cafeteria is still around today.

hp calculators and spaghetti sandwiches

Hello blogoshpere. This is the first post of my first blog. I hope you like it and that it reflects my crazy personality.

Up front: I love my Lord and I love my wife. I love my daughter, my mother, family and friends.

But this is hp calculators and spaghetti sandwiches. This post will focus on my first hp calculator--the 21S Stat/Math calculator. OK, it's really high on that list, but I wouldn't really say I 'love' my 21S. Wait, I do love my 21S. It came into my life at just the perfect time--I was a newlywed half way through grad school in statistics with a serious deficit in handheld computing power. This particular calculator was a blessing from on high (literally) purchased with gift certificates won from a radio station's back to school promotion back in 1989. I used my 21S through the remainder of grad school and three jobs before it began to fail.

Its most useful feature was its four built-in statistical distributions--z, t, F and Chi-squared. Given a test statistic (and the appropriate degrees of freedom, etc.) the calculator returned upper tail probability and vice-versa. Its biggest drawback was its algebraic data entry which was a break from hp's well-developed RPN. This keystroke-programmable was an outstanding calculator for this poor statistics grad student.

Do you or did you use an hp 21S? What do you think was its most useful feature?

Stay tuned. Spaghetti sandwiches and lots of other topics will come in the future.