I watched the whole debate and these people actually said these incredibly stupid things:

Mike Huckabee - “Just because we didn’t find the weapons of mass destruction, that doesn’t mean they weren’t there.”

Mitt Romney - “I don’t care about the voters. I care more about the other guys on stage.”

Mike Huckabee - “I did hear what Chuck (Norris) said. I was standing with him, and I didn’t disagree with him, at the time, because I was standing next to him.”

John McCain (on the previous awesomeness) - “Now that Sylvester Stallone has endorsed me, I’m sending him over to take care of Chuck Norris right away. And I’m going to get him, too!”

Then there’s this gem:

Moderator: “Will you do for Social Security what Ronald Reagan did in 1983?”
Overheard on TV as a whisper: “(raise taxes)”
Mitt Romney: “I’m not going to raise taxes.”

WHO THE HELL IS TELLING ROMNEY WHAT TO SAY??!!

Why do people quit? I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that people set unattainable goals for themselves and get discouraged when they don’t see big results as quickly as they would like. I set an
ambitious goal for myself last year. I would lose 80 pounds. It was a little too ambitious. I didn’t quit going to a gym, because I was never a member of one in the first place. I was very determined when I started, and lost about 10 lbs. Then I leveled out and started getting bored, like most people. I put the weight back on and hit pause until about May. Then I really started working out. I started riding my bike to work and back a few times a week and really started to notice a difference. Then I changed my diet and stopped eating processed food almost altogether. The hardest part about that was just finding the time to cook for myself. I had gotten lazy, and frozen pizzas were easier than making a stir fry from scratch. But I like to cook, so it wasn’t any kind of torture or anything to start cooking for real again. Anyway, I’ve lost about 40 lbs. of the 80 I wanted to lose. I don’t feel a lot of disappointment because I know I’ve accomplished something significant, but I’ve always got that nagging thought in my mind that I failed at another resolution.

So, this year I will make my resolution attainable, but not exactly easy. I will lose that last 40 lbs. I’ve done it before, and I know I can do it again. I think that if people just set attainable goals for themselves, they would actually accomplish them, and possibly that end of February depression that a lot of people seem to get would be avoided. What do think? Do you have an attainable goal this year?

While I’m on the topic, qualitative goals are cheating! “I resolve to be a better person.” What kind of weak-ass crap is that?! How do you “be a better person”? Aren’t you already a complete person? How can you be better? You can’t resolve to evolve. (Heh, resolve to evolve. I like that ) I suppose the talented chimpanzees that you see on TV dressed in people clothes could resolve to be better people, but you? I don’t think so. Set yourself an attainable quantitative goal, and I think you will be much more likely to achieve it and will be happier about yourself once you do.

The next day we are driving down to Memphis and are going to visit Graceland, the Blues and Soul museums, watch the ducks march at the Peabody, and get crazy-go-nuts on Beale Street. On Thursday we head back to Cincinnati to hopefully tailgate a little bit before the UC football game starts. Then on Saturday, I am driving up to Berea, OH to perform in their Oktoberfest and driving back down on Sunday for the incredible WEBN Labor Day fireworks.

It’s a busy week, but I’m looking forward to it as I haven’t been on a real vacation in about five years.

Seriously, this is important

I’ve been actively trying to eat as few processed foods as possible, and to tell you the truth, I feel great. I no longer use margarine. It’s real butter (unsalted) or nothing! When I make mac & cheese, it’s no longer crap from a blue box. It’s all homemade from scratch and baked casserole style if possible. It’s tastier and leaves leftovers for a week, so it’s cheaper than box junk too! Real butter, you say? Yes! Read about how margarine is made and you’ll never touch it again. The heat vegetable oil in the presence of hydrogen and nickel as a catalyst to saturate the fat, and make it full of icky trans fats, as opposed to real butter where you can just whip cream until it firms into butter. Also, whole foods seem to leave me feeling less “run-down” after eating too.

I’ve found that whole foods are generally cheaper, fresher, and taste much better than their “convenience cousins”. Homemade food doesn’t take that much effort to make, but once you spend 45 minutes cooking something and put your heart and soul into it, you can really tell the difference between it and the mutated TV dinner that claims to be just as good. Seriously, take a look at the labels on most of your convenience food. It’s full of salt and compounds only a chemist could love (or pronounce!). If you are really eating to fuel yourself, whole foods are the highest quality gas you can get and unlike the gasoline analogy, it’s cheaper than the low grade, full of who knows what convenience store gas of convenience food.

Here is a cheap popcorn experiment for you to try. I did this, now I can’t eat microwave popcorn at all. Go buy a large heavy gauge stainless mixing bowl if you don’t have one, or don’t feel like putting that one on the stove. I got mine on sale at Sears for like 9 bucks. Go to the grocery store and buy peanut oil (about 3.50), popcorn salt (79 cents for a shaker, or put regular salt in the food processor for a bit), and a small bag of popcorn (about a buck). The popcorn should be close to the expensive microwave junk. Ignore Orville’s smiling face and look probably to the bottom of the shelves for the real treasure. Take your supplies home and in the mixing bowl put 3 tablespoons of peanut oil, ½ cup of popcorn, and ½ teaspoon of popcorn salt. Popcorn salt is much finer than regular table salt and will get in all the popped kernel’s nooks and crannies. Cover the bowl with aluminum foil, poke holes in the foil, and shake the thing over medium heat on your stove. It will take a little bit to get going, but once it does, keep shaking! Once the popping slows down, take it off the heat and pull off the foil. Toss the kernels around a bit and serve right in the bowlJ. You’ll never want to touch the crappy microwave stuff again.

I wanted to ride this weekend, but on Sunday I hemmed and hawed until about 3:00. At that point I finally couldn’t stand it anymore and started to get things together to go out to the bike path. The first thing I checked, however, was the weather. There were thunderstorms all over the place. Great, I thought. Now what? I don’t mind getting wet, especially when it’s hot out, but I really don’t want to get struck by lightning. Then I got the inspiration to actually get back on my trainer! So I dug the bike out of the car and put it on the trainer. I got into some biking clothes, set up a fan and put in a great cycling movie. (American Flyers, in case you are wondering) I rode on the trainer for a good hour and a half watching the movie while the heavens opened up outside. Pumping away on the bike during a thunderstorm is really meditative and is quite a pleasant experience. Hopefully we get more early evening storms soon (on a day that I don’t ride to work) so I can ride the trainer. (Also we really need the rain here. The grass looks like it’s August already!)

• 1 lb ground beef, chuck, sirloin, or round (I prefer chuck because it’s lean enough and inexpensive compared to sirloin or round, and not much pricier than ground beef)
• 2 medium potatoes washed, unpeeled
• 1 bag frozen 3-pepper and onion mix (This is my favorite item at the grocery store because it’s cheaper than buying the three peppers and onions separately, plus I don’t have to chop them)
• Spices (I never measure. I season until the food looks and smells right, then taste and season again to adjust. It’s not really the right way, but I don’t care. My grandmother and my mother both cook like this, so that’s how I cook too.) Here’s what I use:
  • Kosher salt
  • Coarse ground black pepper
  • Cilantro
  • Garlic powder
  • Red pepper flakes
  • Ground cayenne pepper
  • Chili powder
  • Ground cumin
• 1 cup water

(Optional: This is enough for one person.)

• 1 cup uncooked minute rice
• Cilantro
• 2-3 tblsp lime juice

Cut the potatoes into largish chunks by cutting in half length-wise, then cut each half into length-wise thirds. Slice the thirds every half to 3/4 inches. Add the potatoes to a 10-12″ cast iron skillet at medium-low heat, and sprinkle a pinch of kosher salt over them. When the potatoes are about half done, add the ground meat and brown. Drain meat and potatoes in a colander (do not douse with water) and let sit. Increase heat to medium and add the frozen vegetables. When the onions are just translucent, add the meat and potato mix back to the skillet. Add the spices to taste. Approx. 1/2 tblsp kosher salt, 1 tblsp black pepper, 1/2 tblsp cilantro and garlic powder, 1/4 tblsp red pepper flakes and cayenne pepper (more of these if you like it hot!), 4 tblsp chili powder, 2 tblsp cumin. Add 1/2 the water and stir slowly. Add small amounts of water occasionally to deglaze the pan. When the potatoes are done and the last of the water is boiled off, remove from heat and serve with your favorite toppings in burrito size tortillas that have been moistened with water and microwaved on high for 15 to 20 seconds. (This makes them easy to roll and fold without breaking)

Rice: Make rice according to instructions on box. Add lime juice and cilantro. Stir.