Thank GOD!!!!

I am 14% Metrosexual.

I need some advice. I need to STOP BUYING MY CLOTHS AT WAL-MART!!!! I will never land a decent woman unless I shave this nasty facial hair, and spend more then $5 on a haircut.

Take the
Metrosexual Test
@ FualiDotCom

I guess all that time I spent harassing all the effeminate "girlie men" in those office jobs wasn't because of latent metrosexual tendancies after all. AND I usually cut my own hair. Why waste $5.00 on something I only see once a day when I step out of the shower and look in the mirror to shave?

Folks from the teardrop board

Right after church I had the pleasure to meet Archer_1, Tom and his significant other, Barb. I was taking my mother out to Sunday dinner when we saw a teardrop on one of our local wreckers. When I pulled into the tire shop lot the wrecker was dropping their trailer in, we introduced ourselves and discussed their trailer problem. I offered to go get my tools and try to help patch or repair it and they accepted. I took Mom home (yes, she just now finished her lunch), grabbed the toolbox and a neighbor, and headed back to their location. By the time we got back they already had the problem fixed (the wrecker driver is a good ole boy who helped them find the problem). A clip that holds the magnet on the trailer brake had worked it's way out and got stuck in the hub locking the wheel some how. We helped pull the other wheel and did a preemptive repair on the other side. After talking a few minutes, they were on their way west. They are traveling Rt 66 from Chicago to the west coast.

It was nice getting to see their Camp Inn (#12) 550 Ultra. It's the first commercial built teardrop I've been able to look at, and gave me some ideas I hadn't thought of. It was very nice to get to meet Tom and Barb, and I hope the minor breakdown didn't annoy them too much.

Dr visit

Had a doctor appointment today. Nothing special, just check in, take my vitals, get my prescriptions renewed, then pay the man and go home.

However, I did get some good news. Since January 1, 2008 I have lost 21 pounds AND have brought my blood pressure down from 135/85 to 119/76. I'm going to try losing about another 9 or 10 pounds, then evaluate what needs to be done.

Now I have a question for some of you that have previously lost weight. Even though I have lost 21 pounds, I have only lost about 1/2 - 1 inch around my midsection. How much do I need to lose before the spare tire starts to disappear?

55 mph speed limit

Mostly Cajun has posted about Senator John Warner (R) VA suggesting we re-institute the national 55mph speed limit. It didn't work during the 70's and 80's and it won't work now.

However, note my personal experience. We returned last night from our trip to Indiana. On the trip up I pretty closely followed the speed limit (70-75 mph) in Mom's Lincoln, returning about 24 - 24.5 mpg. We fueled up in a suburb west of St. Louis, and without engaging the cruise control, I followed the speed limit through St. Louis and all through IL (50-65 mph). The Lincoln has an instant mpg reading on its trip computer, and as we were crossing into IN from IL we were reading 27.5 mpg. On the return trip I set the cruise at 65 mph and averaged over 25.5 mpg from IN to western OK. Just dropping my average speed about 5 mph netted about a 5% fuel savings. From now on longer distance trips in the Lincoln will be at 65 mph and in my Jeep (Just Empty Every Pocket) will be at 65 mph, unless I'm towing, then it will be 60 mph.

I believe driving slower will save fuel, but I don't want any government legislating a lower speed limit. If you can afford the gas cost drive the speed limit. If you're like me, leave a little earlier, slow down and enjoy the savings.

A Quick Restaurant Critique

I've traveled I-44 Through Missouri probably 125 times in my life, mostly while I was driving truck. Usually I was running through there bitching and complaining about the lack of good food. Well, today I quit complaining.

If you get off I-44 at exit 127 (Lebanon) and go back east 2-3 blocks, you'll find Gary Doud's Catfish and BBQ. Seemed to be plenty of parking and most of the vehicles in the parking lot had local (Missouri) plates so we stopped. That's a clue to rating a restaurant while traveling.

We went inside and were seated immediately, drink orders were taken (unsweetened iced tea), menu's were passed out, drinks were delivered and we were left alone to peruse the menu's in just a minute or two longer than it took to read this paragraph.

To get down to the gist of this, I ordered a half rack of (pork) ribs and Mom ordered 2 whole fried catfish. The side list was extensive. I ordered fries and sliced tomatoes. Mom had fried mushrooms and cottage cheese.

When the food came out, I had literally, a half rack of ribs, still connected together. They were lightly smoked and then, I'm guessing baked. Mom's fish looked great, about 1 1/2 - 2 pounds live weight each, breaded and deep fried.

I would give the ribs a 6 rating on a scale of 1 - 10. They were better than a lot of ribs I have eaten, good but not great. I don't think they were cooked in a smoker, but rather smoked for a short time, then finished off in an oven too quickly at too high a heat. Usually, when ribs are slow smoked right, and completely cooked by this process, they will be so tender as to allow the rib to pull completely out of the meat. These ribs were a little tough, so were probably cooked a little too quickly at too high a heat.

Anywho, I'm going to try to rate this place thusly:

Ribs 6 a little tough, not smoked long enough
Servers 9 very friendly, good servers
sides 7 good selection, servings a little small
decor 6 roadside hillbilly kitsch
price 6 decent price for the size of the entree

rating 6.8 I'll probably stop in and eat there again.

Happenings

I haven't posted much lately but I have an excuse.

A few weeks ago, Ravon was hit by a thrown bottle as she was driving down the street in Beech Grove IN. She was taken to the ER where they stitched her up and sent her home. When the swelling started going down she was in pain and had blurred vision. She then was sent to an optometrist who is also a plastic (reconstructive) surgeon. This surgeon found some of the bones that hold the eyeball in (the orbit) were shattered so he scheduled her for reconstructive surgery.

July 1 she went into surgery at 8:34 AM and was in recovery about 12:20. It took 3 members of the surgical team about 3.5 hours to remove the shattered bone, lay it out on the table, piece it together like a jigsaw puzzle, reinforce it with a titanium plate, re-attach the whole mess with 7 screws and sew her back up. Thanks to the surgical team, my daughter may not lose her sight. Thank you's all around to that team.

I was getting everything ready to leave home June 27 when my mother asked if I thought she could make the trip also. I told her to pack a bag and we would find out. We left June 28 and arrived Indy June 29. Yes, we took the Lincoln. I found that with careful driving and at 65 mph, that car will get 27.5 mpg. A 2003 Lincoln Towncar with minimal prep (I didn't even check the air in the tires) will get 27.5 mpg.

Anywho, back to our story. The reason we came to Indy was to take care of the Poot while her mom convalesced. So for the past week, my mother and I have spent about 10-12 hrs per day chasing a 14 month old toddler around. Also for the last week, we have been eating mostly fast food. I am dreaming of the time I get home to get back in the kitchen. I am beginning to seriously dislike fast food, again.

Today, Ravon went back to the surgeon to get checked on. They removed her stitches, then told her she could start helping with the baby and if everything was OK after a couple of days she could take over the care of the Poot, so it looks like we will be headed west about Wednesday.

I have a list of things to get done when we get home, and up near the top of the list is get the trailer built. I hope to never have to stay in a motel and eat fast food for an extended period (anything over 2 or 3 days) again in my life. I hope to make the trip back up here in late October and hope to be pulling the trailer when I do.