Master of the Universe

Flipping through the channels last Saturday I had an itch to watch some cartoons. I continue to be deeply saddened by the cartoon selection that today's kids have. For starters, good luck finding cartoons on Saturday morning, what once was a staple of network TV has been replaced by news, I mean who really needs more news? Come on FOX, ABC, CBS, NBC there are already 17 channels dedicated solely to providing "news" 24/7 (FOX and NBC I'm pretty sure you actually have 2 of these to yourself) give the kids some toons. The cartoons that are there are so disappointing. Sponge Bob Square Pants? Cat Dog? Dora the Explorer? I mean come on, luckily the only saving grace was the fact that I found that the TMNTs are still alive and fighting the good fight "go ninja go ninja go!" but I feel they are the Rolling Stones of the cartoon world, they're hanging on for deal life trying to provide the quality of yesteryear, but eventually Leonardo is going to break a hip and Raphael's going to have a heart attack.

Alas ladies and gentleman not all is lost! For there is a beacon of light at the end of the tunnel, Hulu. Now I've sang Hulu's praises before but they skyrocket up my approval meter with this one. Tell your friends, grab the kidos if you got 'em and head the computer it's time for a lesson in quality cartoon entertainment. So far we've got He-Man and Voltron, I've yet to search thier archives for more, but it wouldn't surprise me if they had a few more jewls there in hiding. I mean He-Man and GI Joe even had morales at the end of each episode, that's right a teaching lesson, I've never seen Sponge Bob tell a kid about the dangers of a downed electrical wire (Score: Roadblock 1 Sponge Bob 0). Just in case you need a little motivation just try to watch the clip below and not click on the link above it.

To view episodes click here => HULU you won't be sorry!

From My Kitchen: Chipotle Orange Meatballs

1 Pound Ground Beef (or Pork, Turkey, Chicken, whatever)

1/4 cup Diced Onion

1 tsp Garlic Powder

Salt (few shakes)

Pepper (few shakes)

1/4 cup Dried Bread Crumbs

1 Egg

1 Bottle Blue Moon Beer

Zest of 1 Large Orange

Juice of that 1 Large Orange (just cut it in half you'll squeeze 1/2 in the sauce and 1/2 on the meat)

1 Bottle BBQ Sauce (My personal choice is Sweet Baby Ray's Honey Chipotle)

For Meatballs:

In a bowl combine 1 lb meat, diced onion, Garlic Powder, Salt, Pepper, Bread Crumbs, Egg. Mix WITH YOUR HANDS, using a spoon of any kind for this step is blasphemous and will result in subpar meatballs. True story. Once mixture is all combined, form into golf ball sized meatballs. Put these in a skillet and sear them over med high heat, for a couple of seconds on all sides. Pour bottle of Blue Moon and juice from 1/2 and orange into skillet, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer till desired doneness is achieved.

While meatballs are simmering, prepare BBQ sauce.

For BBQ sauce:

Combine in a bowl BBQ sauce and the zest of the orang and squeeze the juice of the other 1/2 an of the orange into the bowl and mix.

When meatballs are done, drain off juice, top each ball with BBQ sauce and cover to allow BBQ to warm up.

The orange really comes through on this dish and I think pairs very well with the spice of the chipotle, however if you don't want the spice, I speculate that any BBQ sauce will work just fine. The Blue Moon is a good beer to use in the cooking process because it has a lot of citrus/orange characteristics that give the meat a nice flavor in and of itself.

Wanna Ride in a Ferrari?

Last year in my runs around the lake I saw, nearly everyday, a man. Not just any man but a bronzed, toned man with golden locks that flowed like the waters of Lake Michigan nay, billowed like the sails of the boats that passed. His iron dumbbells resting, waiting in the grass to be lifted. His fire engine red, 24 kt. gold accented Ferrari sitting in the parking lot, just close enough that you knew, oh you knew who's it was. It was his and he was "the deal." My lovely wife informed me today that "The most photographed man in the country, next to the President;" is now marketing himself and his Ferrari. That's right for the low low price of $300/hr YOU can get a guided tour of the city with this man. So if you're coming to Chicago and would like a tour (for one) here's the link: http://ferrariguyforhire.com/

Currently Listening To:

Green Day, 21st Century Breakdown

I'm not really a Green Day "fan", although I have like a smattering of songs here and there (Boulevard of Broken Dreams, Wake Me Up When September Ends to name a few), so I was somewhat surprised by being drawn to this album. Their new CD 21st Century Breakdown is a great album, pretty much start to finish this is is 18 tracks of really good music (Know Your Enemy is a little repetitive but palatable). The CD has a great mix of driving lyrics and slow ballads. I don't know that I'd say Billie Joe Armstrong is a great singer but his somewhat unorthodox vocals work especially well with this albums lyrics and music. If you haven't heard it below is a the video to one of my personal favorites from the album.

From the Kitchen: Applesauce Stuffed Pork Chops

2 Pork Chops (butterflied)
2 Apples (peeled diced into fairly small chunks)
1/8 Cup(ish) Brown Sugar
1 1/2 Tablespoons(ish) Cinnamon
1/8 Teaspoon(ish) Cayenne Pepper - (gotta trust me here)
2 Tablespoons Water
The "ish" is because I didn't "actually measure these, I just am guessing at the approximate amounts I used, just play with it to your taste.

To make the applesauce filling:
Add Water, Apples, Brown Sugar, Cinnamon, Cayenne Pepper to a small pot stir, then cover and simmer, stirring occasionally 20-25 min or until the apples are soft (almost "mushy)

In the meantime, butterfly two pork chops creating a "pocket" season all sides lightly with salt and pepper.

When apple sauce is done stuff "pocket" full of apple sauce (reserve a small amount for topping) and then broil or grill until desired "doneness" achieved. Plate add bit of sauce to topping and serve.

A fairly traditional combination, apples and pork chops, but I gambled by adding a bit of Cayenne pepper to the applesauce, I think it gives it a subtle little kick that really adds a lot of flavor to the dish by creating an interesting sweet and spicy combination that plays well with a juicy pork chop.

We Didn't Get to Sing

This is an older picture (a few weeks ago) from the Cubs v. Dodgers game we went to. Sadly the game was over in the 3rd, Cubs stunk up the place. But our seats were awesome. Cubs lost so that meant no song. For those of you that do not know what I'm talking about... read below.

After Cubs games, if there is a victory the entire stadium and for that matter Wrigleyville, breaks into song.

Go Cubs Go,
Go Cubs Go,
Hey Chicago Whatdya Say?
Cubs are Gonna Win Today... Repeat

It really is a pretty impressive thing to hear, alas we have yet to be in a bar or at the stadium when it has been sung. Beth, having a particular fondness for this little diddy is particularly disappointed, having been to several Cubs losses this year.

New Design

Decided to give the ol' blog page a bit of a Bravo-style makeover. I added some new photos along the left side bar. Alas, Stewie Griffin has been replaced... actually he was always meant to be just a placeholder, but unfortunately as with most things it just took me just a little bit longer than I intended to do what I had planned to do in the first place. I'll update these periodically, or may create a slide show if I really get to feeling froggy. Anyway, I also added some links to my favorite sites on the web. Enjoy.

All Dogs Go to Heaven

It's with a very heavy heart that I write this post. Our dog Daisy, who has battled a heart condition for the past several years passed away on Saturday. She was dealt a raw hand as far as health goes, which was unfortunate, but ya know something, she made the most of her time with us. She was a great dog and an even better friend and will be missed terribly. She left us far too soon, but nevertheless our lives are all the better for having her in it. Anyone that ever entered our home knows Daisy was the funniest little dog. When we would come home she would wiggle back and forth and jump straight up in the air and was so excited to see us, you'd swear we were gone for weeks. She'd sprint ahead of us and try to "guess" what room we were going to to make sure that we didn't leave again. And sticks... she wasn't so much a fetcher but a chaser. She could chase down a stick or ball with the best of them, but then she'd look back as if to say, "Okay, I'm here. Now what?" But by far one of the best was the wake up calls. We really didn't have much need for an alarm clock; round about the same time every morning we'd have 50 pounds of awkward puppy all up in our business, pawing at and stepping all over us. Needless to say, this is very hard to ignore. Her tongue was seldom in her mouth and she drank her weight in water in a single setting. I really could go on for pages and pages about the silly things our puppy would do.

The death of a family member is never an easy thing to deal with and make no mistake my "furry little creature" was certainly one of the family. I know she's in a better place, pestering all the small dogs and licking people's pants. I think that the words of Robert Frost go a long way in describing why life, is so precious, it's fleeting for sure, so we need to remind ourselves to enjoy every moment we have.

Nature's first green is gold

Her hardest hue to hold

Her early leaf's a flower,

But only so an hour.

Then leaf subsides to leaf.

So Eden sank to grief,

So dawn goes down to day.

Nothing gold can stay.

~Robert Frost

Daisy McMahan

Oct 8, 2006 - June 13, 2009

Onsite Work

Below is what it looks like when I work onsite. Although, we aren't looking at loans this week so this is pretty tame as far as papers and files go, no file towers to speak of.

***EDIT*** Stay tuned in July/August for some pictures from a loan review...

Lights

Every 3 seconds, click, off go the lights.

Motion detecting lights are a great idea, save money, reduce energy use, reduce carbon footprint, whatever, but if they were installed in a conference room you'd think there'd be an over-ride switch? I'm a bank examiner pecking away on my laptop in a conference room, not an aerobics instructor. That being said there's not a lot of motion involved in what I do for 9 hours. Hence, why the lights keep shutting off. So I am stuck making a spastic, tourettes like gesture toward the North wall every 3-5 seconds as people walk by the 3 glass walls watching me. I can hear there thoughts, "who the heck is that guy, and why is he waving at me?", "what is wrong with that guy's arm?", "why is there a guy working in the dark?", "how many examiners does it take to turn on a light? apparently more than one, so this guy is hosed", "that's it I'm going to HR, that's the 4th time that random guy has waved at me this morning, I will not be sexual harassed where I work"

This must be what monkeys at the zoo feel like.

I Know What You Did Yesterday

Facebook, Linkedin, Myspace, Tripit, Blogspot are all part of the ever-growing list of social networking sites, but I like to lump them under the software title Stalker 2.0 (my addition of Tripit was an upgrade from Stalker 1.8). With these various sites I can tell you in about 3 seconds what a bulk of my friends are doing right now, did yesterday, and plan to do tomorrow. Information that could once only be obtained with phone call that was a awkward and inconvenient for everyone involved can now be gathered at my leisure. No awkward phone call, no mess it's easy, Stalker 2.0 everyone should have it.

In all seriousness though social networking sites are a blessing and a curse in the truest sense of that phrase. The connectivity that they give us is unparalleled allowing me to easily keep in touch and keep tabs on hundreds of former classmates, rather than just the select few that I would have time to call, email, etc. You can voyeuristicly (is that even a word?) check in on nearly anyone under the age of 35 that you've ever met. The curse is that they are highly addictive, kinda like crack. They keep adding features and buttons and quizes and applications that keep you coming back daily to update your profile, yada yada yada. I bet one could literally spend all day on Facebook (and judging by status updates some of my friends do). And you are pretty well left in the dark if you are under 35 and don't utilize at least one form of social networking, whether it be a blog, Facebook, whatever.

Video of the Week

It's long but too funny to not put the whole thing up.

NEW

Those three letters suck me in instantaneously. No clever commercial. No catchy tag line or flashy display. Three letters is all it takes N - E - W and I'm hooked in. Doritos and Mt. Dew are the primary sources of addiction, rolling out product after product and try as I may, resistance is futile. It doesn't matter what the change is or what makes it new the fact is the bag/bottle says it's new so I must have it. Ahh... Mt. Dew World of Warcraft Edition Game Fuel... you taunted me into paying $1.59 for you, I couldn't help it, it was new, it was in the cart before I got to the store.