Monday, November 14, 2005

Ham Hock Heaven


Last night I developed a hankering for some ham hocks and collard greens. Of course, I had to do it my own way, so I fried up the ham hocks in their own fat, then deglazed the pan with heavy cream to capture all the greasy little crispies. I added a pinch of red pepper, and preceded to mix it all in with the collards. You see the result here. I gotta say, it was tasty.

I know my po' ole Mama has to be confounded by my eating collard greens. When I was a kid, it was easier for her to split the atom than get me to eat collards, or any sorta greens, for that matter. I guess it just took me a long time to see the light.

We were invited to lunch at the Mayo Family home the other day. Mrs. Mayo is one of my patients, and she and her husband are two of the nicest folks I've met. Mrs. Mayo is a retired chef and restauranteur, and the lunch was amazing. The Mayos are remodelling/rebuilding the farmhouse in which Mrs. Mayo was born, and I really enjoyed crawling around in it with Mr. Mayo. We had a great time, and there will be more pictures posted on Veronica's Blog tonight. The brown dog is Molly, and you can see that she had all of Veronica's attention.

Sunday, November 13, 2005

Rome

If you haven't been watching it, you've been missing something worth seeing. Rome, an HBO miniseries, is by far the best thing on television, IMHO. Wikipedia article here. Tonight's episode was so good, I don't mind that Vitali Klitschko retired and Alabama lost to LSU (well not for the moment, anyway).

Wednesday, November 09, 2005

Fat Jihad, Year Two

While Googling myself tonight, the first actual "me" link to pop up was to a post from the Hatchblog from March 2004, in which Hatch called for a "Fat Jihad" against yours truly. Ferlie and I were not yet pregnant, I weighed in at 257 and the Hatch at 282. Our wives' pregnancies have led to something of an upward move in those numbers, though I am almost back to my "pre-pregnancy weight". Hatch is also trying to slim down, though my "chicken wings only" diet will lead me through to victory. It is both funny and sad that he and I have continued to live the lives of fat, hairy, white boys (but at least we have the hair part, eh Heff?). Oh well, time for that late night snack.

Of course, I was sad to see that Ferlie's and my wedding announcement no longer appears on the first Google page. I didn't pop up until page 3.

Road Rage

Today I am finally recovered from suppressing yesterday morning's road rage. A person driving a red Saturn Vue (may she die of a bloody flux) was talking on her cellphone and driving both slowly and erratically, weaving in the I-40 East's left-hand lane. I ended up stuck behind her for 5 miles, during which she drove 45 mph in a 65 zone, with no one in front of her. Two large trucks were travelling at the same speed in the other two lanes. After a few minutes, the folks behind us began honking and flashing their lights. Neither set of actions led to any change in idiotic behavior. When I finally managed to pass her, (I respectfully decline to describe the manner in which I did so) I had a very difficult time resisting the impulse to pelt her with a lug nut (I always have a spare on hand), or at least gesturing in some profane manner. I did however, memorize her tag number. Hopefully I'll be able to resist the urge to find her and burn her house down.

I've never given in to "road rage", and I try not to let myself get too worked up over the rudeness and/or stupidity of others........but one day.......one day.....

Tuesday, November 08, 2005

B(BS)last from the Past

Stumbling around the internet, I found this list of 205 area code BBSesses from the old days. Some of these I remember, most of them I don't, but this brought back a lot of memories of huddling around my Commodore-64, or Jim's 8086 (with a math co-processor!), and being wowed by the wide world of computing (well, that and general goofing around).

Any of you guys see any names that you recognize?

Saturday, November 05, 2005

Blast From the Past

My good buddy Mike told me that he had recently re-established contact with "Dr. Homecomer". We have to protect her identity, and if you read her blog, you'll understand why. Taylor (I guess the first name is safe) was a real hoot in college. I first met her when I dodged the water she was throwing at me (A group of us were making a drunken attempt at Christmas carolling, which disturbed her sleep or studying--almost as much as my mocking of her when she asked us to quiet down), leaving poor ole Burt to get soaked. I ended up getting to know her a bit, and she was certainly worth knowing. In addition to massive brain power, sharp wit, and a twisted sense of humor, she shared my contempt for the University's "establishment". She was the first openly gay woman to win a spot on the University of Alabama homecoming court (some of her campaign posters even featured her in a Star Fleet uniform). Read her blog, you'll enjoy it.

It's Not the Heat That Gets You.....


We went down to visit Granny and Grandpa, and pictures from this visit will be up soon on Veronica's Blog.

On our way back, we stopped by to see Ninong Mike and Ninang Cassondra. They had some more great gifts for Rani (see the pictures below) and Ninong gave us a coupla bottles of his amazing, homemade barbecue sauce. Those who were at Mallet in the mid-80's through Y2K will remember Mike's great sauce. I don't think he's mass-marketing it yet, but I will definitely sign up to be a distributor.

F.A.K. You!

Malignant Melanoma is the cancer in which I'm the most interested. Several of my favorite patients have died of this disease, and I'm stupid enough to take it personally. In the very early stages it can be controlled, but once it progresses it is pretty much always fatal....or at least so far.

Focal Adhesion Kinase (FAK), and learning how to target it, may well be the key to preventing the spread of malignant melanoma and several other cancers. Science Daily has the story here, on the research going on at Northwestern University.

Wednesday, November 02, 2005

Happy Birthday Ling!

Today is my cherished wife's birthday. We are celebrating with lunch at the Cheesecake Factory, and then having dinner with Granny and Grandpa. I am a truly lucky man, particularly because of you, Ferlie. Mahal na mahal kita.