Obscure Nut burns a Koran. MSM covers it

And, the MSM coverage goes world wide and sparks riots in Afghanistan. Thanks, MSM, for your balanced and patriotic coverage. Couldn't do it without you.
Last time it was Newsweek's story about a Guantanamo guard flushing a Koran. Wasn't even a true story and Newsweek retracted it later. It still caused riots in the Middle East.
Just what was it that made the actions of a lone screwball so newsworthy?

Walnut makes the grade.

I'm upgrading my DVD storage. I use an ordinary bookcase to store my VHS tapes. Still have a lot of 'em, and I even play them now and again. So up until now, I just stuffed the DVD's on the same bookcase in between the VHS tapes.
Trouble is, DVD's in jewel box cases are too thin to carry a label on the spine, so when looking for a DVD I gotta pull each one out to see what it is.
Here is the DVD solution.



This home made box fits onto the shelves of the tape book case but holds the DVD's face outward so you can riffle thru them easily. It's walnut. I had a piece, purchased for I cannot remember what, in the lumber rack. Good looking wood, harder than hell. I had to sharpen the blades on the jointer before they would cut it. My well worn carbide saw blade would not rip it with out leaving black burn marks on the cut.
I need to make three or four more to hold all my DVDs.

"We need high priced oil" Meet the Press

One of the pundits seated around the table said that, just a few minutes ago. On NBC TV no less. Where does David Gregory find idiots like this?

Some thoughts on improved pills

I have reached that state in life where I am faced with a battery of seven prescription drugs, to be taken daily.
They ought to find an ink for the labels that will last as long as the pills in the bottle do. About halfway thru the life of a bottle, the ink has rubbed off the label so badly that I can't read it. This could be a real safety hazard.
Then the damn pills all look alike, round, and pink. Drop one and then try and figure out which one it was. Surely they could make different shapes (square, oval, triangular) and more colors than just pink. It would be nice to look in my hand and be sure that I had seven different pills in it rather than two pills of the same kind.

April Fools. Six inches of snow on my deck.

I think they must have repealed spring. The April Fool's day snow storm laid down as much snow as we get from a January storm.



Note shiny new town plow truck. We voted for this truck at town meeting last year. It missed hitting my mailbox yet again. Be thankful for small favors.

So what does Obama do now?

Libya doesn't look good. Even with US air support, Quaddafi's army is pushing the rebels back. Which is not to be wondered at, regular armies can usually beat civilian militias. Unless some of Quaddafi's army defects to the rebels, or the US Army steps in, or something bad happens to Quaddafi, the rebellion looks to be in trouble.
What will Obama do to pull his chestnuts (prestige) out of the fire? He will look mighty foolish if Quaddafi whips the rebels and retains power in Tripoli.

Recipe, chicken soup from scratch

You start with a chicken carcass, you know the bony ribcage left after all the white meat has been carved off and eaten. Fill a soup kettle with water and break the carcass up into pieces small enough to submerge in the water. Add some chopped veggies for flavor, an onion, a celery stalk, a mushroom cap, a carrot. Some spices, I use Bell's poultry seasoning, but a bay leave, and sage works too. Bring to a boil and simmer, covered for some hours, until the chicken meat comes loose from the bones.
Now comes the sticky part. Take the pot off the stove and when it's cool enough fish the chicken bones out. I use a slotted spoon and put all the chicken in a strainer. Pick thru the strainer with fingers, separating the bones and discarding them. Return the deboned chicken to the kettle and step 1 is done. You have a kettle of chicken broth, fresh and homemade. The veggies will have cooked down to almost nothing, but they contribute flavor.
Step 2 needs to start about an hour before serving time. Put the kettle back on the stove and then add things to cook in the chicken broth. Veggies, onion, celery, carrots, mushrooms, what every seems good. Some rice, or some peeled and cubed potato. Bring to a boil and then back off the heat so the broth is just on the verge of a boil and cook until the veggies are tender and the rice is cooked. Taste the broth and decide if it needs salt. I wound up adding a whole teaspoon of salt to a large kettle last night. Don't overdo the salt, its bad for the flavor.