Today's Apocalypse Sign: The Weekend In Black And White

A photo from my walk in Belize City. June 2012


No. 5

I think this captures the essence of the hardscrabble existence in this city

 

 

I am linking this to The Weekend In Black And White

Today's Apocalypse Sign: A Rescue For Your Sweet Tooth

My post a week or so ago on my In N Out Burger experience made me think that I ought to have an offsetting post in a somewhat healthier vein. To that end I would like to present you with a glorious find...or at least MY find.

Organic Agave Nectar by Honeytree

This product is available at Walmart and I suspect at a Whole Foods/Trader Joe's type store as well. The cost at Walmart is $5.36 for a 24.7oz bottle. You'll find it in the aisle with syrups, jams, jelly and peanut butter.

This stuff is awesome. The taste is sweet and different. Not overly, sickly sweet like a syrup but more like a version of honey. It goes well on toast, pancakes or waffles, cereal, ice cream, smoothies, coffee and tea...and probably more stuff I have not tried it on or in yet. The consistency of this product at room temperature is very thin. I can tell you that New York-style deli rye bread toasted and buttered then spread with this stuff is beyond delicious.

Here is something to try:
       -Kashii Vanilla Island cereal
       -Fresh sliced peaches
       -Silk vanilla almond milk (sweetened or unsweetened)
       -2 tablespoons of Honeytree Agave Nectar

This organic nectar can also be used in cooking as a substitute for corn syrup.

The low glycemic value keeps any "sugar spike" from occuring and there is only 60 calories in a tablespoon. It is made from organically grown agave and has no additives in it. It is probably one of the best sweeteners to use for your kids.

Next time instead of Aunt Jemima syrup try some Agave Nectar. You will be hooked!

If you have already used this or a similar product, please share your thoughts...

Now I feel better!

Today's Apocalypse Sign: iPod Monday To Cure Those Summertime Blues

This weeks offerings were really a nice set after a stressful workday. I shook the shuffle extra hard and submit these 5 songs for your review

[Link on the band goes to Wiki and link on the song goes to elyrics] Educate yourself people!!


1. Pink Floyd - Pigs (3 Different Ones) (One of my all time favorite Floyd songs..."you like the feel of steel/you're hot stuff with a hatpin/and good fun with a handgun" - great lyric!) Together with Zeppelin, they are at the top of my list of favorite as well as greatest bands ever. Their influence has been far reaching and continous. I think I have listened to Animals at least as many times as Dark Side. The Wall of course is in a whole different stratosphere of music. Enough of me...give a listen!



2. Aerosmith - Angel (Yes, the best love ballad of the 80's...way better than Kiss's Beth. Don't argue.)



3. Santana - Smooth (One of the greatest guitarists ever, playing one of the greatest romance songs ever) Carlos Santana at 65 years old is simply amazing!!



4 Drowning Pool - Bodies (not everyone's cup of tea but it gets my adrenaline flowing...and they are from Dallas!)



5. Steely Dan - Don't Take Me Alive  (this is a great band to listen to when you are winding down for the day. A fusion of jazz and rock with smart lyrics. I have been listening to them for almost 40 years.)




Recognize or listen to any of these? Or maybe all of them? Quite a diverse range of music this week and I hope you found something you may not have heard...and enjoyed.

Til next week...keep rockin'

Today's Apocalypse Sign: URGENT: Call To Action

Hey loyal readers...my friend Milo over at milo-inmediasres.com is having a free book giveaway! I have read tons of his stuff  and let me tell you his writing is gooood! So even though I want to win this giveaway, I want to help him get the word out too. So read the following, enter in all the ways possible and head on over to his site for even more goodness. And pick up some of his short stories on Amazon, they are truly fun to read.

Now go!!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Up for grabs: the latest volume of Bardic Tales and Sage Advice (in PRINT), which includes my story "The Second Option." Volume IV of this fine anthology series brings you the winners of the 2011 Charity Writing Competition and the 2011 Bards and Sages Readers' Choice Awards.

To enter, all you have to do is leave a comment that lets me know you're following me on Twitter (1 entry), you've "liked" my Facebook page (2 entries), you've "liked" my Amazon page (3 entries), and you'll share about this contest on your blog (worth 4 entries).

For those of you with math skillz, you've already figured out that if you do all of the above, you'll be entering to win 10 times!

Here's how "The Second Option" starts out:

Hunchbacked and leering, Father Thomas blocked the narrow hallway with a katana out in plain sight. He scraped the molding along the floor with its tip as he advanced, vibrations resonating up the blade.

"Gabriel send you?" Mercer backed off, debated returning to his room and locking the door. Like that would do any good against this holy assassin. "Or was it Michael?"

The priest shook his head, wrinkled neck chafing against the collar. "Saint Peter," he said with some kind of clog deep in his throat’s drainage pipes. "He's quite unhappy with you."

No surprise there. "So the Big Man sent you to lop off my ear?"

The priest chuckled at that. "Good one."

The contest will go all week, and next Sunday, He'll post the winner. There will also be surprizes (check out the scrolling sidebar) for 2nd and 3rd place.

Thanks for getting the word out!

Today's Apocalypse Sign: Dog Days Weekend Graphs

Well the "dog days" of summer are upon us although much cooler here in Dallas than a year ago. We have actually had some mornings of low 70's which is unbelievable for this time of year. However school for some kids started last week and all of Dallas starts Monday. Provided you have your kids up to date on their vaccinations.

The Dallas county aerial spraying for mosquitoes (West Nile Virus issue) wrapped up this past week and of course we are all assured it was safe **cough, cough** as long you weren't a mosquito...or a fish. Yesterday a co-worker showed me where she had been bitten over a dozen times by mosquitoes a few nights ago when she got home. She wasn't concerned about the West Nile virus until I educated her that it took two weeks for symptoms to develop and that 13 people had already died from the virus. And that 12 bites was A LOT of bites!!  Kind of dampened her spirits for the weekend as this thought sunk in.

But hey, this post is for raising spirits! So without any further ado...here are this weeks graphs to amuse you...

Enjoy!











Hope you had a great weekend!

Today's Apocalypse Sign: The Weekend In Black And White

Belize Condiments

Rather than salt and pepper...on the Sun Dancer

Linking to The Weekend In Black And White.

Today's Apocalypse Sign: The End Of The Belize Road - Finale

The end of any trip is always somewhat of a let down. The relaxing is about to end. The adventure is about to end. The break from the everyday grind is about to end. And the travel FROM is not nearly as well tolerated as the travel TO.

Hey, at least it wasn't raining when we LEFT Belize!!!

I digress...on Friday (last day at sea) there were two morning dives and then after lunch the boat headed in for the final drive towards land. We arrived early afternoon back at the dock and pretty much had the rest of the day to ourselves. Several of us (about 8 or 10 total) decided to venture into town for a look-see. And by "venturing" I mean walking. We had already heard about Belize City . Belize is not a "tourist town" it is not that clean and supposedly not that safe at night (and the day was a little suspect too, if I might say). With no cruise ships in port our group of few were like fresh meat everywhere we walked.

We had the typical horror movie cast of characters in our group...the old woman and her daughter-in-law, the young bucks just out of the military, the hot babes attracting leers from locals, the goofball to whom nothing bad ever happens even though he should die in the first scene of every movie, and the wise watchman of the group (me). As factions get culled off here and there as we walk into town the scene is set for bad things to happen and some of the group never reappearing, rather ending up in white slavery...hey, this could be a good story!

After a short while in a steamy not so nice town such as Belize City, we are all ready to head back to the boat...but the goofball and the old lady's D-I-L head off on their own deeper into town...no sure if we shall see them again, the group heads the other way.

Here are a few shots of the city (there would have been more but my memory card somehow was full):

Apparently we did not arrive on Craft Market day...deserted

Goofball...army guy...hot babe...old lady...daughter-in-law

Two of our group are laggin behind already!! Army guys...

Quite the succinct menu offering...

Yes the birds were out to welcome us. I thought maybe this was a cockfighting arena

This could be several parts of south Dallas...notice gang tags...comforting

Housing on top.....business below

Lobster boats waiting to head out

Can never get enough Irie Goat...ya mon!

Is that an extra dose of LOVE???

Not even Jesus could save this mess



 

Once we return to the boat and get cleaned up we have a lite snack and viewing of the video put together by our hostess that documented the week-long trip. Here is the link if you are so inclined to view it:

Belize Live Aboard

It's a nice touch and it is how they make some of their money so for $65 a pop we bought one...but we did get a CD of a lot of the groups pictures they made at no charge. So in all they were nice reminders of a great week.

We had a late dinner at the Radisson since the chef was home for the night and not cooking on the boat. The service was lousy, the wait was forever and the food was terrible. My wife and several of the others were ready to openly revolt. Only bad two hours of the trip.

After dinner we packed and spent the last night aboard the Sun Dancer. Great group camaraderie and a few drinks and everyone was off to their cabin. We had to be off the boat shortly after 8 the next morning.

Our flight wasn't until 3PM or so, so we spent 3 hours at the Radisson before the shuttle came to take us to the airport. Another vacation in the books.

Parting underwater sights...

A gaggle of sponges

The beautiful and deadly lionfish...scourge of the Caribbean

I'm watching you watching me...everybody loves ray(mond)

Fascinating undersea formations

Hermit crab just hanging out

Very tiny shrimp

A remora fish...these are the ones you see attached to sharks symbiotically
They look like they are upside down

If you are interested, there are more dive pictures on the Belize Dive page at the top of this site.


Well, that ends the reporting of the Belize trip I took this past June. It was a really great and different kind of vacation and I loved it for that reason and I got to see my wife really enjoy herself doing what she loves. It was win-win for both of us (except for the part where she got sick).


Until next trip...adios

Today's Apocalypse Sign: A Product Review For Your Consideration

Build it and they will come...

Many, many posts ago...I presented you with the opening of the first INO Burger restaurant in Texas.  And come they did!! In fact you can relive that right HERE.

Sufficent time has past since those crazy days and Saturday I decided to finally try out this establishment. I confess that I had an ulterior motive due to the fact my wife and I bought one of these Friday night...

For $50k are you kidding me!!! I am kidding you though...



This is what we really bought.

2012 Jeep Liberty...very nice!

So of course while she was off teaching diving with our old Chevy van, I wanted to take this baby for its virginal drive, the first thirty miles are all mine! As always I deeply digress...

Back to the post at hand. In N Out Burger. My first time. The location is about 7 miles from where I live so after breathing deeply of the new car smell (makes you WANT to drive) I headed out to get some lunch.

When I arrived around 1:30 or so the line was just back to the entrance of the store. There were two girls with mobile order taking things and they were walking back down the line taking orders in a cheerful manner. Since I had never been there before I was concerned (for a moment) I would hold up the line while navigating a Wendy's or McDonald's-like overinformative menu board. Not to worry, INO has only about 5 menu selections and that's it. So I ordered a double-double with cheese, fries, chocolate shake. A nice "less than $8" lunch.

The line moved pretty quick and in total I was probably out of there 10 minutes after I ordered...considering there were about that many cars in front of me, not bad at all. The cool thing is from the payment window to the pick up window it is like a tour of the operation in full view through glass windows. Very unique.

Okay, being the semi-genius that I am, I brought an insulated food carrier to put my hot meal in for the twenty minute trip back home. Didn't want my first experience to be dulled by cold food. Clever, eh? I know, whatever.

Once home, I breathe in deeply one more time of the new car smell, fully intoxicated...I head in to eat.

Food Review ~

The burger was still hot and I must say pretty damn good. Easy to eat without pulling all the fixins' out with the first bite. Although in the interest of full-disclosure I did NOT get onions and those are usually the culprits (and pickles). The sauce they put on their burgers is some tasty stuff and not over powering like the Special Sauce on a Big Mac...I swear THAT stuff has heroin in it so you want to just keep eating them!! There wasn't so much on this burger that it dripped everywhere whenever I took a bite. I give the burger a 4+ out of 5 Stars. One of the better experiences short of a home grilled burger.

The fries probably would have been better had I eaten them on the drive home (not gonna happen in a new car) but they were good and not overly salted or overcooked like you get at so many other places. I like the idea they make their own fries on site. Not frozen or preserved. At the payment window I saw the pallet stacked five feet high with bags of potatoes. Nice touch. I give the fries a 5 Star.

The chocolate shake was chocolately and cold. It didn't taste artificial. Good enough for me. 5 Stars! (I am easy that way)

So in the end this was left...

Remnants of the meal...I like the palm tree touch

Apparently INO gives away all their money!!! And still makes good food..is this Scientology??

Yepper, fresh tators! Did we know about trans-fat and cholestrol problems in 1948? I dunno.. 

Fresh never frozen, a plus for me. Sorry about the ketchup mess, had to dip my fries ya know!

$7.42 for a three-course lunch...

And I know you have been wanting to see my insulated carrier (for hot or cold)...TaDa!!

I know the photos are crap but a full belly and a bad cell phone camera are what you get this time. That's MY full belly of course!

All in all, the new car drive was great, the experience at the store was better than most, the food experience was a solid 4+ out of 5, and the best part.....

When I was all done I took a nap for an hour!!

Top That for a Saturday!!

Today's Apocalypse Sign: Your iPod Monday Fix!!

1. Sheryl Crow - All I Wanna Do (Is have some fun) (good looking and talented...great combo. I like a lot of Sheryl's music and this is one of my favorite tunes)



2. Thin Lizzy - Cowboy Song (off of the 1976 album Jailbreak. This album is still as good today as it was then and one of my favorites. If you have never heard anything but The Boys Are Back In Town, then you owe it to yourself to pick it up and give it a listen.)



3. Godsmack - Faceless (hide the children...Godsmack is here! Love this band. I have the whole Faceless show this video is part of, on DVD...I watch it while on the treadmill or exercycle...gets your blood flowing!)



4. Rolling Stones - Sympathy For The Devil (is Keith Richards not just the coolest guitar player...what fun he has on this song. Say what you want but these boys are still together and still rocking into their 60's...timeless indeed)



5. ZZ Top - Blue Jean Blues (one of many favorite songs from rockin' threesome! I have been listening to the Top since high school. And pretty cool that Billy Gibbons is Angela's dad on the TV show Bones.)

Today's Apocalypse Sign: Mid-August Weekend Graphs

Can you believe the summer is almost over? This weekend is Tax Free Weekend in Dallas so parents can get all the back-to-school stuff for the kids starting back in a week or so. Man, I remember not starting school until after Labor Day and now kids start back in the middle of August. Bummer for them.

Anyway, here is some entertainment to take your mind off the dog-days of summer...

Enjoy!


If you get this you are way better than me...I just thought it looked cool...for a minute.




So apropos...I ran into two or three of these trying to print something just an hour ago!!!




Who doesn't love a way to make a panda from nothing??




I have seen variations of this before and it is always a little sobering to read...




And in case you want to look at the Olympics in yet ANOTHER way...yeah, we still won!!





Have a great weekend everybody!

Today's Apocalypse Sign: The Weekend In Black And White

Here is a great photo of a carribean lobster in its element...

You will want to enlarge and maybe even zoom a little.

LOBSTER

Standing Guard

Linking to The Weekend In Black And White

Today's Apocalypse Sign: Some New Tunes On iPod Monday

These are not necessarily newly released tunes but I reloaded my iPod with a different, larger playlist and spun the shuffle. Here's today's offerings:

{If you want to know more about the band click the link on the band name. If you are interested in the lyrics click the link on the song title.}


1. Soundgarden - The Day I Tried To Live When Soundgarden came out in the early nineties they fell in with my listening tastes at the time (grunge-oriented) and Howard Stern was promoting their single Black Hole Sun on the radio. This song is off their Superunknown CD. Lead singer Chris Cornell went on to form Audioslave and continues to produce great music and lyrics.




2. Days Of The New - Shelf In The Room With it's beginning cast, this is a close example of a one-hit wonder of a band. They only put out one studio album but when I first heard it I was hooked. The sound was more acoustic but still pretty hard driving. Travis can jam on that guitar. This song is off that debut album.



3. Bad Company - Deal With The Preacher What can you say, Paul Rodgers founding this band back in the 70's was a rockin' good time. Several hit songs from the former Free vocalist and his bandmates came from their debut album the year I graduated high school. And the songs still rock!



4. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Runnin' Down A Dream When TP&theHBS came out with Breakdown...wow, their music has been a staple of mine ever since. They seem to have hundreds of hits but I know its less than that. Good music (and TP was one of the Wilburys). Best car drivin' song in recent years.



5. Tool - Die Eier Von Satan You know I love Tool. I think Maynard is a genius on a couple levels. When I first heard this track on the Aenima CD I thought I was at a Hitler youth rally. It wasn't until I finally read the lyrics in English that I had a good laugh. (lyrics on the song link are German first and English translation at the end...give it a read.)


Here is one comment from the youtube site on this video:
To truly enjoy this song, you must understand Tool's dark sense of humor...because this is a recipe on how to make Spanish Cookies, not a Nazi deathmarch song

I know Tool has been on the list before but any favorites from any of the other bands? Ever listened to Days Of The New before?

Today's Apocalypse Sign: The Weekend Graphs

In the heat of the summer here is a mixed bag of graphs for this weekend. Enjoy and share with your friends...like cookies or cake.

Remember when you just wrote notes on cocktail napkins...



I know I owned several of these same devices over the years




Mr T is still funny!



Raise your hand on this one, you know you've had this before!



Since I forgot to watch the referees in the Olympic's volleyball games, I am glad I found this...




Hope you had a great weekend!