On the Bright Side

I did some stress baking again last night.  This time...Pretzels.  They weren't as easy to do as the bread last week, but they were uber tasty.  I needed to add more salt to the top though.  Still, they made us all happy.  And I managed to save some for snack time today.

Original recipe I used can be found at http://allrecipes.com/recipe/soft-pretzels-ii/detail.aspx
I didn't put the sesame seeds on.  Not a big fan.  I might try cinnamon next time, or maybe cheese.  You just can't go wrong with adding cheese to things in my opinion.

$700???

So, I'm sourcing a brake line for Marcus, trying to deal with the vehicle issues.  I went to a bunch of places, struck out with any of them having them in stock.  Finally found a place that could get me the line relatively quick.  I decided I'd check a dealership for the part as well, just to cover all the bases.

Oh yeah, they can order it in, but it would be a couple of days, and $700.  Really Dodge?  Is this how you pay back loyal customers?  Mopar has always been a bit of an elitest club, at least back in the day.  It appears it still is.  That's right ladies and gents for a hose that's less than 30" you too can have it for $700.  Gimme a freaking break.  The domestic car industry wonders why it loses customers?  I can repair a whole lot on an import for a whole lot less.

Mmmmm Bread

So there's me, thinking about dinner, and food, and all such yummy things, and it dawns on me.  BREAD!!!
We must have bread. So, we had bread, and it was awesome.  I've always cheated in the past and made bread in the breadmaker.  At the very least, I've made the dough in the breadmaker and then transferred it to a pan and made buns.  But this time I wanted to do it old school.  So, a recipe was procurred for me, and I went to town.  The only downside was the arthritis flare up part way through, but we survived, and the bread was delicious.  I can't wait to make more.
I've decided to share the recipe:

5 1/2 cups flour
3 Tablespoons Sugar
1 1/2 Teaspoons Salt
2 Tablespoons Instant Yeast (Unless you don't like big bread, then drop it to 1 1/2)
1 1/2 Tablespoons Canola Oil
2 1/4 Cups Warm Water

Combine and Mix dry ingredients in mixing bowl. Add oil and water together and mix until combined and a good sticky dough consistency. Depending where you live, you may need more or less water. The dough should stick to your hands while you're mixing, but should still be able to peel off. I mixed this dough by hand for about 6 minutes. Might go faster if you have a mixer.

Separate the dough into 2 equal balls and knead. Place kneaded dough onto a greased baking sheet and form into loaf, or into a greased bread pan. Let rise in a draft free warm place for about 15-20 minutes. Bake at 350F for 23-25 minutes. Enjoy!

It's Still March! a.k.a. Geek Food!

Nothing like taking an impromptu sabbatical from writing...
I'm in my last week at a job I've been at for 7 years-ish. It's going to be an interesting transition, especially since it's in a section of retail I've never done before.

But enough about me, let's get on to the whole reason for this blog post. Jewel Staite. If you don't know who that is, you probably can't be my friend, but I'll tell you anyways. She starred as Dr. Jennifer Keller on Stargate Atlantis.  In Firefly and Serenity, she played Kaylee Frye.  In one series, she fixed people, in the other she fixed a spaceship...she's very multitalented.  And, by now I'm sure you're wondering "JAKE! WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH ANYTHING?"  Right?  Well, let me tell you.  I was wandering through the Twitterverse (what?  90% of users ARE Twits) and up pops Ms. Staite, chirping in a tweet (hehe) about kicking someone's ass in cooking.
Well, I'm a huge fan of food.  And not just because if I stop eating I'll die.  But that is a good incentive.  So, I clicked on the link, and it's about a Lasagna contest.  http://tinyurl.com/cnaxl26   Mmmmmm lasagna.  So, clicking through her blog, I found a good deal of food information, and was able to continue indulging my inner geek because...I mean...it was KAYLEE!!! *sigh*

When I'm worth 100 bajillion dollars

Sing that title along with the Barenaked Ladies...

So, I've always had this thing for big boats.  When I lived in S.C. I'd take my little 18 footer by all the fancy yachts.  Most of these of course had their own helipads. 
I was wondering around the net today, looking for gadgets that could help when the Zombie Apocolypse arrives, and came across Project Qi on Gizmag  This bad boy is way out of my pay grade...for now, until my darling nephew invents Skynet and sets me up for life.

Check it out here.

This is different

This was different, at least to me. I love string instruments. Check out this video I just stumbled across. It blends Dub Step with the Violin.

0_0

Boldly going where no bird has gone before...

FTW!!! By the Power of Greyskull

  

    I was one of those kids, whose parents just never got it.  I ask for Luke Skywalker, they get me Greedo.  I ask for an Autobot, and am bombarded with Decepticons.  I ask for He-Man, they get me Skeletor.  Would it have been any surprise if I grew up to be overbearing, badly dressed and greedy for world domination? 
As I'm wandering through random sites tonight, I come across Tough Nerd Toys.  And what's the first thing I see on the screen?  Masters of the Universe Classics Collection.  It's like a family reunion.  Beast Man, Mer Man, Man E Faces, and of course my beloved Skeletor.  All were there ready for me to take back up my mantle, and begin the process of destroying the forces of good.  I  missed you guys...

The Hunger Games

With the movie coming out, I decided to read the book.  I've purposely avoided the trailers thus far, so they won't skew my thinking about the story.  As we all know, a lot of times the movie doesn't come close to doing the book justice.  And I'm really hoping this wonderfully story won't fall into that category.
It's been awhile since a book kept me wanting more right from the start.  It was written IMO very well.  Lately, when I start a new book, I have to force myself through the first few chapters in hopes that it will get better.  This book?  Had me from the beginning.  Suzanne Collins did an amazing job with character development early on, and I was able to get into the main protagonists head almost right away.  I understood what made Katniss tick.  I was able to feel the emotion, and see the scenery as it was painted into my imagination.
For me, this is the most vital part of reading.  I should be able to take a journey through the life of the person(s) featured.  This was a no holds barred assault on my senses.  Incredibly, all of my senses were actually active while reading.  This may sound a little bizarre, but just by the description of the various dishes served before the games begin, I was able to imagine the smell and the taste.
My emotions were definitely being played on as things unfold.  Anger, tension, happiness, sadness it was all there.  Then when things took a turn, and you suddenly have these other characters that in a few short pages you become emotionally invested in, the writer throws in the twist that you KNOW has to happen, but it still takes you up short.
What I also noticed, is that very few details about the ordeal were left out.  A story with no pictures was able to graphically imprint on me, every detail of every injury.  Every sense of agony.  Watching hopelessness blossom into hope kept me turning page after page.   If it wasn't for the fact that I HAD to work and sleep, I would have read it cover to cover in one shot.  Few authors have been able to hold my attention in such a way.   
The ending left me with that sense of wanting more, and setting up my hopes for the direction that I hope it will take, but probably won't.  But that's ok.  I'm looking forward to seeing the tale brought to the big screen.  And I really hope the movie does the book justice.  I have finally brought myself to look at the actors cast.  I have to say, there's only 2 casting choices I'm questioning.  Woody Harrelson and Alexander Ludwig.
I have 2 other non related books to get through before I can go back to Panem.  I'm full of anticipation for the remaining 2 books in the trilogy.

*Shutter*

Oh the things I could shoot with this camera.  I've been drooling over it for awhile now.  I make due with my little point and shoot for now.  But someday...someday.

http://en.nikon.ca/Nikon-Products/Product/Digital-SLR-Cameras/25446/D90.html

Vampire: The Masquerade

That last post got me thinking about the gaming I did a little later in life.  In my late 20's I was introduced to V:TM.  I'd been a D20 gamer for a long time already, and it took a bit to wrap my head around the D10 system, but eventually I got it, and fell in love.
That is...until Gehenna.  To give a bit of a background, the entire premise of the game was pre-apocalyptic.  Everything was building up to the final nights where all hell was going to break loose.  So basically a game, where you build these characters up, fall in love with them, and then watch them be destroyed.  I found it a lot easier to get into character with my Vamps.  I also found it a lot more disturbing that I was creating them, just to have them destroyed.  In games there's always that risk.  I lost my favourite Rogue in 1990, and stopped playing for 2 weeks as I mourned his loss.  But that was a fantasy world...ok, so is the World of Darkness, but WoD used real life locations, historical settings.  So it was a bit more personal.
We had a small group of players, so some of us would play multiple characters in a night.  One thing we agreed on, was that this whole Gehenna thing was for the birds.  So, we broke away and developed our own version, where Gehenna was a possibility, but not set in stone.  We used the rules set out by White Wolf, but ran off on our own tangents.  Then...they started changing things.  You know small things like Clan Histories, Bloodlines having different backgrounds, some of the Historical Events...no big stuff. *insert sarcastic voice*  Up until then, we had continued buying the books, using the source material.  After that, we started rewriting it.  We created our own world timeline, to better reflect history.  Our characters became more fleshed out so to speak.
White Wolf brought Gehenna down, and then launched a new series.  Vampire: The Requiem.  Clans were destroyed, disciplines changed, it just wasn't worth it for us.  Especially as some of our characters wouldn't translate over.  We all agreed, that White Wolf was dead to us.
I understand the need to progress, and evolve.  White Wolf at it's core is a business, they're in it to make money.  But we can't be the only ones who felt alienated.  And yes, there was always the disclaimer.  The world is going to end.
A few of us have started to get back together to play.  We still refuse to go the path of Gehenna.  We're old school.  And we like our old WoD just fine.

Geek Moment

Back in the day, I was a roleplayer.  The D&D kind, not the handcuffs and feather duster types (that I'll admit to in public anyway)  We'd get together a couple nights a week (when not watching B-movies).  My buddy Chris had a ping pong table in his basement, and we'd all sit around it.  The mood would be set, we'd all pull out our dice, and get ready to kill the monsters.
This couldn't be more cool.  A flashing D20 for those all important critical hits.  Uber cool.  It would be worth reliving the days of yore just so I could buy one of these.

Khaaaaaan!

FTW!  Nothing beats your very own bust of Star Trek's baddest car salesman.  While I doubt this little statue has genuine Corinthian leather (just as well since the concept of wearing the skin of a bunch of dead Corinthians is creepy)  It still has the cool factor of being Khan.  Fear his wrath, and memorialize him in your collection.

 

http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=TBU10031&mode=retail&picture=out

Equal Rights for Zombies

With the Zombie Apocalypse surely being imminent, we must stop and ask ourselves; what rights do zombies have?
Sure you can argue, they aren't people anymore, until it's your uncle Jed recently risen, and you stand there unsure what the right thing to do is. Well, fret no more, hide uncle Jed in the basement, feeding him the occasional stray rat or Emo kid, and sport this shirt at your next Zombie Rights protest.

Thank you once again to Think Geek for keeping it real, and helping us deal with the issues that are sure to be important to us in the future.

Netflix Nuggets

As my first post, I decided to dedicate some space to Netflix.  I joined Netflix a few months ago, and have since found some random gems from my youth.  I've also found some movies that I personally feel never should have been created in the first place, but who am I to judge?
Tonight's Nugget comes to us thanks to Mr. Stephen King.  Has anyone but me ever noticed how twisted that mans mind is?  He was the first author to ever give me nightmares.  In fact, he's the ONLY author to give me nightmares.  I'm a very visual person, even when I read.  If the writer can make the scene in the book pop out and become visual in my mind, I'm hooked.

When that author's story is then set to film, and it's just as I visualized it when I read it, it makes it that much more enjoyable for me.  But I digress.

Like I said, when I joined Netflix, I started finding movies that helped me pass time during my misspent youth.  A couple of friends and I would either run out to the movie store, pick 5 or 6 tapes (yes tapes, I'm old school baby) and head back to one of our houses and laugh like loons all night.  We would laugh like loons, because inevitably, we'd pick the cheesiest looking b-horror movie covers on the shelves and have a marathon.  Every so often however, we would venture out into the real world with *shudder* other people and catch a movie on the big screen.
I recently came across Pet Semetary on Netflix, and was transported back to the good ole days.  I along with my best friend and his girl friend decided to go see it in the theatre. We'd all read the book, and figured hey! why not?  We also chose to see Coneheads together, but I'll save that for another day.  It was also a bonus that Denise Crosby was in it.  (I was in love with Natasha Yar from Star Trek TNG.)
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the book/movie, and if the title doesn't give away some of the context, check out the synopsis on Wikipedia 
I don't know if it was the creepiness of seeing little Gage die on the big screen, then brought back to life as a serial killer, or if it was the Creed's cat who looked like the farm cat my Grandparents owned that was always trying to kill me when I a kid.  Something about that movie just struck a chord, and to this day, is one of the few that have actually freaked me out.  I've got a decent resistance to horror flicks, but Pet Semetary just blew my mind.
It's one of the few screen adaptations where the casting was spot on for me.  I mean, who could have played Jud better than Herman Munster?

And of course, Nat..er..Rachel...*drool*

 For it's creepiness I give it 4.5 stars, and highly recommend reliving this gem.
I'll leave you with the trailer.

Welcome

I decided to create a new blog solely and completely devoted to randomness.  Not the chaotic types of randomness, rather just random things that I don't want to clutter my other blogs with.  They say the mind works in mysterious ways...it's so true.

There will be no rhyme nor reason to this blog.  One day may be dedicated to how many snowflakes I caught on my tongue (but probably not) Others may be dedicated to random geekdom.

Welcome to Random Acts of Jake