Jupiter Shmoopiter...

I got Saturn tonight!!! This thing is so much fun. I actually got like a euphoric buzz when I found it, focussed it, got a bigger lens, and realized it actually was Saturn. Rings and everything.

It looked about like this...

"Still! It moves..."

...said Galileo after recanting. Can you un-recant? Re-recant? OK, so I'm officially a junkie. The telescope is a blast! We looked at the moon last night. And my Barlow lens came a couple of days ago, so we looked at Jupiter again. It is so cool to see the little stripes and bands. And it's cool to see the moons in different places every night. I'm slowly getting better. Last night I was able to use Scorpius to find Ptolemy's Cluster. And I know where Arcturus, Antares, Spica, and Vega are. So far, I've only been looking sort of South by Southwest because that's the view from my back yard. Some day I'll take it out front, or maybe up to the park. But for now, there's plenty to explore in my little corner of the sky.

Jupiter looks kind of like this...


Oh, and we took some old binoculars in the hot tub last weekend and officially started the Hotel Yorba Hot Tub Astronomy Club.

Shorter and not so long, more frequent with less time between...

First, I want to take a moment to say thank you to those of you who read my little blog. And I want to add an extra special thanks to those of you that leave comments. Comments are like Blogger food - they keep me going.

Some of my friends and family have complained, well, not so much complained as commented, that it takes too long to read. I realized that they have gotten longer and longer. And I also realized that they got to be less frequent. It always seemed like such a hassle. Especially when there were a lot of pictures involved. That cabin cleanup post took something like two weeks to get up.

So, I'm going to try to post shorter posts more frequently. That should make it easier for you all to keep up with what's going on in and around the Hotel Yorba and it's residents and keep me from putting off updates.

This picture really doesn't have anything to do with this post, but it is kind of funny. Oh, wait, I mean, here is Chris saying my blog posts are too long and he doesn't have time to read them. He said he would squeeze my head like a grape unless I promised shorter posts...

Ahhhh...Father's Day...

It was a great Father's Day. I didn't have to do anything. I did my chores on Saturday and Rachel and Jake wouldn't let me do anything except cook, because I like to cook.

They got me a telescope and a light blue Kangol (which you will see me wearing in an upcoming post about the Beach Boys concert we went to - you may recall Rachel got me those tickets for my birthday).
The scope is great- it's a lot more serious than the little one we got to see Mars back when it passed close while we lived in Petaluma. The moon is amazing, and I've seen Jupiter and it's moons. You can even see color bands on Jupiter. And I've found some easy stars like Spica, Arcturus, and I forget the name of the other one. Antares, maybe? I need to practice and get it all dialed in. I really want to see what a galaxy looks like, and supposedly you can do it with this one.

Then there was dinner. I grilled ribs. (I have a new method for beef ribs. Rather than boil them, I season them and then pour beer and soy sauce over them and bake them in the oven at 400 for an hour and a half or so, covered with foil. Then I put them on the grill over flames for a few and then cook another 20 minutes or so with indirect heat, slathering with BBQ sauce for the last 10 minutes or so. Best yet!) I also grilled chicken, carrots, and asparagus. I made rice with peas and lima beans, and had a couple of tall glasses of Newman's Virgin Lemonade. I ate it all while watching Revenge Of The Pink Panther with my family.

I guess the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree, as they say. If I changed the telescope to something golf related and the Lemonade to Dr. Pepper, it could have been my Dad's perfect Father's Day. I remember when he took me to see Return Of The Pink Panther when I was six or seven. I think it was at the Serramonte Theater. He laughed until he cried. I'm told that when I was born, he was watching an earlier Pink Panther movie in the waiting room and when the nurse came in and told him "It's a boy," he laughed out loud because something funny happened in the movie.

That's nothing like Glenn's great Father's Day post - it's worth a read (click here) - but it's the best I can do right now.

Caution: Graphic Photo!!!

Here's a picture of Jake's finger with six stitches (Click on it to enlarge if you aren't squeamish)...
We were changing the dressing. It was a lot worse before he went to the doctor. I wish I got a picture of that to post on the fridge to remind him to be careful. But I couldn't really say, "Hey Jake, could you please keep bleeding for a few minutes so I can go get the camera?"

Cabin Cleanup Weekend (Finally)...

Some of my favorite memories from growing up are from family trips to my Uncle David and Auntie Lisa's cabin in Calaveras county. We'd usually spend a week there in the Summer. There were actually two cabins - the first, really was cabin like, the second is actually a really nice house. But we still call it the cabin.

I have tons of memories from those trips, and they all blend together so it's hard to remember how old I was. Brian was a movie buff and we filmed the Claws movies on Super 8. We played bumper pool for hours. Uncle Dave designed incredibly elaborate D&D mazes for us. We played innertube water polo at the rec center. I spent a lot of late nights learning how to program in BASIC on an Atari 400. Laurie and I rode the bus out once, too, when we were like 11 and 8. I don't think we'd let Jake do that today, even at 13.

Oh, this is a good one - at the little cabin, when we were all there, Chris, Brian, and I had to sleep outside in a tent. And we often had too much fun at night and slept later than we should have. One morning, Uncle Dave went to the trouble of finding a sound effects record, setting up his monster quadraphonic stereo outside on the deck and blasting us awake with the sound of a chainsaw felling a tree at full volume. It really freaked us out as we thought we would surely die. That was a great trick.

Every year, my Uncle and cousins spent a couple of weekends getting the cabin in shape for the season. I think my Dad went to help sometimes, too. This year, Uncle Dave took ill and couldn't do it all. Fortunately, things look good for him. His bone scan and biopsy were both negative (which is a positive) and he is recovering well from surgery, according to the last update I got from Aunti Lisa. This year, Chris asked if I could come help. So Jake and I took a nice long drive together and spent the weekend on the cabin cleanup. Chris' friend James also came. And, of course, Brian was running the show - evfer since we were little, he's always been "The Director." And like they say, many hands make light work. We got everything done the first day and then had a bunch of fun.

Here's the crew...



Now, cleaning up the cabin is more like vacuuming the forest. The main goal is to get all of the twigs and needles and leaves up for fire safety. This may not sound like a big deal, but we are talking 5000 feet with a lot of tress. The little cabin was in "Big Trees Village," and the new cabin is right nearby. So between Fall, through rough Winters and Spring, a lot of detritus can accumulate on the forest floor. And you have to be careful to get just the dead stuff without hurting the new growth. And it is a good sized lot. So most of the crew raked areas in to piles and then used a wheel barrow to get loads to the trailer to be hauled off to the dump for chipping.

Here's James running a load...



Here's Chris on the phone...



Here's me and Jake working on the poop...



Here's Chris working on his basketball moves. I think he may be on the roids as he is looking a little too yoked for a man his age...



Here's me with rake and shovel. I look a little too tubby for a man my age. But I'm working on it...



Here's Chris on the phone again...



Here's DJ Brian who kept us rocking while we worked. There is nothing like Tool being blasted in the middle of a forest...



Here's a dump load ready to go...



We emptied the trailer and then Chris came along asking if he could help. But we were all done by that point...



Here's Chris complaining about a little blister on his hand. He must have got it from the phone. He's used to talking on a headset, so this weekend was tough on him...



Here's Brian and Delenn...



Here's all of the tools I brought...




I often get grief for taking forever to pack and for "turning corners" when it's time to go. And I do over pack. And yes, I admit, I turn corners. But at some point during a trip, someone is always glad I brought something I packed and it justifies the corner turning. Sometimes it's a band aid. Or the jug of Gatorade. And I used everything I broguht except the stereo because Brian brought his. Oh, and the rubber mallet. That was worthless...



Since there was only one wheel barrow and the rakes were all in use, Jake and I spent worked on the deck, railings, patio furniture, and windows. The rails were covered in bird poop, and there was a lot of dust, leaves, needles, and junk on the deck and patio furniture. And Delenn "helped." Jake and I would finish a window or a chair, and she helped by soaping it up again. You know, in case we missed a spot. We both got pretty frustrated because we finished everything and it was all nice and pretty, but a couple of hours later, more stuff had fallen and you'd think we hadn't done anything. But the windows look nice, and it definitely improved the views from the inside. And the forest is just gonna keep doing it's thing, you know?

Here's what a well manicured forest looks like. You can see Chris on the phone in the background there...



When we were finished, we went to town for pizza. Mountain Mike's is no more, and so we went to Round Table. At least there isn't a Starbucks yet. Delenn was thrilled to get a little side of pineapple for her pizza...



When we got back, Chris and James went to play basketball but Brian's work is never done. He still had to paint some boards that had to be replaced. I sat and kept him company while strumming Uncle Dave's guitar...



Here's the boards Brian had to paint and Chris on the phone. I'm not sure who he was calling all the time...



Brian made us all a fabulous bean soup...



I don't want to get too gross, but let me just say that five guys and bean soup made for a musical and somewhat stinky evening.

That night, we had a massive light saber battle....



It was so fun, we all talked about upgrading to the $100 swords you can buy now. But we had a blast with the less expensive variety. Brian brought like 8 of them, including a little green Yoda sword.

Darth Brian was assaulted by a horde of Jedi...



I think "Jedi" is both singular and plural, like "fish.' But is "horde" the right word? Perhaps a flock of Jedi? A gaggle? A pride? Maybe a Force of Jedi would be best.

Later we played cards, and Chris played with Delenn's Elmo doll. "Elmo loves his goldfish. His crayons, too! That's Elmo's World!"...



The next day, Delenn decided she was a turtle...



And we posed for a Jedi shot...



Now here's the sad part...



The "cabin" is for sale. And I am coming to terms with the fact that we probably won't have another family trip there ever again. We all talked about maybe buying the place to keep it in the family. But Brian got it right when he said, "Do the math, you get ten heads chipping in and for the amount we would use it, you could rent a place alot cheaper." It was perfect for Dave and Lisa as they were teachers and spent their Summer and Winter breaks there. But it wouldn't make sense for us to be able to go once or twice a year.

It's sad to see part of your childhood die, even at 38. And I first had the thought, "You don't appreciate what you have until it's gone." But that's not quite right. I really did appreciate the cabin. It was always there, and something to look forward to. And I always knew I could go back there and feel young again, and, you know, have light saber fights. And Auntie Lisa assures us their new place in Grass Valley is beuatiful, too. It won't be the same, but I'm sure it will be great fun. I'm also really glad that Jake, Delenn, and Serra got to have a few cabin trips. So they will have great childhood memories as well.

In all, it was a lot of hard work in a short amount of time, it was emotional letting go, and as always, we had a lot of fun.

Oh, and here's a closeup of Chris' blister...

Chris did actually work hard...

I must confess, Chris actually worked as hard as anyone. I took a picture every time he was not working. Sometimes from different angles so it looked like he was constantly goofing off. I did this because he teased me for doing the windows and the decks saying I had, "A day at the water park." So The above post was just me getting even.
I was also able to get a picture of both of our cars in the same place...


Some day we're going to look back on this time in our lives with great pride. I love you, Cuz, and it was great working with you. I still hold out hope that someday we'll get things going again, without the dead weight this time. Regular paychecks are nice, but I miss feeding our families through our own skill and hard work.

Obesity and the Fast Food Industry...

I remember a year or so ago when this was in the news a bit. Fat people were bringing lawsuits against the fast food industry. I do believe that the fast food industry contributes to our national girth, but I also believe people should take responsibility for their actions. I don't blame anyone for my weight but myself and the choices I make. OK, maybe a little of it is genetics. I know some people who would say genetics plays a bigger role than I think it does. But if my metabolism is to blame, well, then I need to make better choices about what I eat and how much I exercise. These are the cards I was dealt and it's up to me to play them to win, you know?

They are all bad and bad for you. And I admit I will occasionally indulge in the stuff. But I do so knowing full well it is bad for me. It's just a craving and sometimes it fits the bill - like when I'm driving somewhere and don't have time to eat properly. It's kind of like Wal-Mart for me, sometimes it's simply the only choice.

There are some free market realities involved here, and certainly a whole meal for under $5 appeals to some people. If a person is hungry and doesn't have much money, that person is looking to meet their immediate need and not so concerned with the long term ill effects the meal is likely to cause them.

So fine, sell your crap. This is America after all.

But it seems that the fast food industry has been emboldened by their court victories. Most of the ads drive me crazy. I hate that freaky Burger King statue. McDonald's offends me with their "I'm Loving It" campaign ("Me encanta" for our Spanish Speaking neighbors). Incidentally, I know a few people who have worked at McDonald's, and each of them has some stories of the type of things underpaid young employees do to the food, as if it wasn't bad enough already. And Jack In The Box ads now feature an apparently stoned young kid driving a van ordering 30 tacos. Isn't that a great message for our kids?


The worst, to me, is Taco Bell (Toxic Smell, Jake calls it). Taco Bell had this whole "I'm Full!" ad campaign. As if eating bad food until you are full is a good thing - it's a great value. I could chug a gallon of water and be full. At least I think I could. I've never tried. I could chug a gallon of milk, or try to, and get violently ill. And, of course, I could spend 6 bucks at Taco Bell and eat until I'm full. I may not throw up, but it won't be good for me. I will most likely have some wicked heartburn. I will also probably feel a little sick. And I am certain to pay for it on the back end of the transaction.

I just saw a new ad campaign for what they are calling The Fourth Meal - That late night meal between dinner and breakfast. The man says, "You've heard about the pyramid? Check out the square." It's "Melty, Crunchy, Spicy, and Grilled." This is, of course, a swipe at the government's food pyramid.

This stuff is just bad for you, there's no getting around it. And advertising is simply lies that attempt to get people to buy things they don't need, and may actually hurt them. The industry representatives say there are healthy choices on the menu and that they make the food's nutritional value available to consumers. This sounds to me like the old ads for cigarettes - "More doctors smoke Camels," for example.



What really gets me about this new campaign is that they are not only pushing the food, they are attacking and undermining the government's efforts at educating the public with the Food Pyramid.

They are also trying to add a fourth meal to everyone's agenda, as if we weren't fat enough already. On the other hand, it helps me because now I have more emotional and intellectual obstacles to overcome before I pull in to the drive thru. So thanks, Taco Bell, for helping me with my diet. After I saw that ad, I went upstairs and made myself a fruit smoothie for lunch.

A Trip To The Emergency Room,a little wildlife, and a Nice Visit...

For the most part, it was a really nice Saturday. Rachel and I took a hot tub late last night. We started the Hot Tub Astronomy Club. We killed all the lights and while sitting in the tub, the trees block out most of the light in the neighborhood. We put a towel over the spa controls because they are pretty bright when all else is dark. And we shut off the jets and sat there staring out. I tried to get that concept across to Rachel that when you look at the stars, you are looking out, not up. Then we got in to something of a debate about whether or not you are still looking out if you wer eat the North Pole. I maintain that you are. Rachel respectfully disagrees. Your thoughts?

Anyway, I slept great. I've slept great every night since we got it running. I can tell it's working on my shoulder and neck because I am in pain again. I didn't hurt much for a long time, and I think that was because I have been preotecting it by not moving much. I was stiffening up from lack of motion. And I think the jets are breaking things up again. I'm going to have to find another doctor and get that treated soon.

Anyway, I slept in a bit. Rachel broguht me coffee in bed. I love that. I watched a little of the morning match from bed while drinking my coffee. Then I went out and mowed the lawn with our new mower. The other one died on Friday. Lots of smoke, I changed the oil and it was fine for a bit, but then lots of smoke again. And it kept smoking after I shut it off for a good long while. It was enough to make me abandon it on the lawn and go inside in case it caught fire and blew up or something. The new mower is great, and it was on sale.

Why are lawnmowers on sale for Father's Day? Why not iPods or plasma TVs or something fun?

Anyway, we were glad to get a deal, but still bummed. It never fails, you know, you get out from under and then bam, one thing after another. Brakes need work, or you need tires, or the dishwasher breaks. Rachel's Dad says, "It's always something." I said, "Hey, that's Rosanne Rosanadana." And he said, "Yes, but she's dead and she left it to me."



It's a beauty, though. 7 horse, rear bag, side mulch, self-propelled. And it's orange. One drawback so far is it doesn't quite fit in the mower storage area unless you double fold up the handle. Which is a hassle.

Anyway, I got the lawn mowed and then I watched the second half of the U.S. - Italy game. Sorry, match. And wow, it was exciting. I missed most of the drama, but it was probably the most exciting game I've seen so far. Then it was back to work. Jake was tasked with cleaning up the sun room. I was taking out the bottle brush in the back yard and trimming the bottle brush in the front. A couple of Jake's friends came by and I sent them away for an hour so Jake could finish his chore and then I was going to let them hang out and play pool. It was like 95 out today, so I was going to let them play inside. So they left, and about ten minutes later, Jake got hurt.

I'm not quite sure how it happened, even after he tried explaining it to us. I was maybe 25 feet from Jake when it happened, but the first thing I heard was Rachel call my name once , quite loud, from upstairs. Even over the stereo and the electric clippers I was using, I heard a sense of urgency in her voice that sent me running upstairs. When I last saw her, she was cleaning the bedroom and I was worried she had hurt her back again. So I went running up the back steps. And she went running down the inside steps. I found Jake in his bathroom looking pale and running his hand under the water. Then Rachel came in asking where I was.

I asked what happened and he said he was moving the fan and it cut his finger. And I thought he must have been goofing around or something, because, really, how do you do that. And like I said, he tried to explain it, but I still don't get it. I had him show me the cut. I wish I took a picture, because it was pretty freaky. But he was in a lot of pain and it bugs him when I do things like that, so I didn't.

Anyway, I took one look and said, "Well, it looks like we're going to the emergency room." It was deep. And it started up by his finger nail on the fleshy side and ran down around the side of his finger to somewhere between his first and second knuckle. Rachel said, "Let's see if the bleeding will stop on it's own." That surprised me. I'm not one for emergency rooms, usually. And she usually is. Anyway, we had him sit for about ten minutes. And the bleeding seemed to stop, but when we had him show it to us again, we saw lots of little white things. Rachel says they were fat cells. And it just looked really bad and I was even more sure he needed stictches. And Rachel was convinced as well.

So I got my keys to take him. And Rachel asked him if he wanted her to take him. And he did. So I stayed home. We've got a lot of work to do before our party on the 4th and I didn't want to lose the whole day. I went back to work. About 20 minutes later, the dogs started barking. I had forgotten about Jake's friends. I told them what happened and they didn't believe me at first. I assured them I wasn't kidding and asked them to come back in an hour or so. They left and I was on my way back down to work more when they rang the doorbell. "Can we hang out in the garage and wait for him?" It was REALLY hot out. So I let them in and set them up downstairs, gave them a soda and some popcorn and put in Dodgeball. And they hung out. And watched the whole movie. And played a little pool. I checked on them every once in a while.

And I called to check in with Rachel. They were having a bummer of a time. It's been my experience, and it was similar for them today, that the worst part about being in the emergency room is all of the other people that come in while you are there who are way worse off than you. They kept getting bumped by more serious injuries, I think, a car crash, and a drug overdose.



Meanwhile, I had about finished the projects I was working on and also Jake's sun room chore (and the blood around the fan), when Tony and Eva showed up for a Union Break. They are our neighbors who moved who came back to do some work on their old house. It's for sale, by the way. It's smaller than ours because they haven't finished the downstairs yet, but they have the same great view. $400K or so, if you are interested. Anyway, we sat down and had a nice chat while drinking a beer. We had just about finished our first when a car pulled up put front and a guy rolled down the window and asked, "Is Jake home?" I answered no and explained that he cut his finger and was at the hospital. He looked a little puzzled and then asked, "Um, is Saul here?" I answered, "Oh, yeah, he's downstairs playing pool with Luis, let me get him."

So the kids left and I checked in with Rachel again. They had been seen by a nurse and were waiting for a doctor. This is three hours or so after they left. Then we saw this little furry thing go blazing by. And then some slower bigger things. The slower things were Momma Deer and her pal, perhaps Grandma deer.



And the little furry thing was the cutest little fawn with lots of spots. I tossed them some banana. The baby deer just had a blast with the sprinkler I had running. I shot a great little video, but I don't know how to post those here. We were cracking up. It got right up in and was drinking and getting blasted and then the water would go up it's nose and it would take off running and jump up to the street and then come tearing around again for more.





I think this was the closest I've been to deer since we've lived here without a fence between us. Anyway, we had another beer and I put any thoughts about doing any more yard work out of my head. Then Emily from up the street and the Kings daugther Andrea came down with another friend. They had gone to the movies. Well, the other friend waved at me like she knew me, and sure enough, it was Rachel's boss' (well, one of her bosses) daughter who was here for the cement saw/dinner for 13 on short notice night. Small world. And she'll be here for the 4th, which is cool because Dre will have someone to play with and Matthew will have two little girls fawning all over him. Which might make up for Serra not being here.




Anyway, it was a nice afternoon hang out. It's still weird to me, but I think it's really cool that folks in my neighborhood hang out in the front yard and visit. And neighbors will walk by and stop in to chat as well.

Tony and Eva took off, and Rachel and Jake still were not home. I called again to check in. Jake was to be getting a tetanus shot, a numbing agent, and some stitches. Bummer.

We are both really proud of him. I think wrestling and all of the medical stuff he's been through with his illness have really toughened him up. He didn't cry during this whole ordeal. They finally rolled home around 9:00 after a quick stop at the Waldstrom's (That's Tony's, and it's a good one, I think. Although I think I like calling it the 'W'.) for a movie.

We sat and ate dinner and watched the new Pink Panther movie with Steve Martin. Jake was a little loopy and laughed more than us. But he was on Vicodin. Maybe we all should have been because Rachel and I didn't laugh much at all. The critics were right on this one, it was a snooze. A couple of funny scenes, but they could have done so much more. I'm thinking Jackie Chan as Cato, you know? Anyway, Jake went off to bed. He got six stitches, by the way. And the numbing shot went right in the cut. And it is all bandaged up and will be for a week to ten days. Poor kid. Jeez, the lengths they'll go to to get out of doing chores, you know? Whatever happened to faking a stomacheache?

Anyway, Rachel and I took a tub. And then she went to bed and I sat doing some star gazing. Then I did a little walking meditation, barefoot, on my freshly cut grass. That was nice. I haven't done that in a long time. Then I came in here and blogged all about it.

The cabin cleanup post is still forthcoming. I am not trying to keep anyone in suspense, and I really want to get it up for Uncle Dave and Auntie Lisa (one of my most loyal readers). It's just that there are so many pictures, it's really time consuming to get throught them all, shrink them down to size and all. But I'm about ahlfway through them now and should finish up tomorrow.

Provided I can manage to keep my fingers out of the fan.

One of those ashamed to be an American moments...

They happen for me from time to time. Like when we send our military off to fight unnecessary wars. Or when we meddle in the affairs of other countries to make sure democratic happenings go the way certain people in our country want them to. Or worse, when we support the most wicked and despotic regimes.

This time, it has to do with the World Cup. Last week, one of our players made a comment that playing in the world cup was like War. One of our forwards, Eddie Johnson, said that last Wednesday.

And I thought, "OK, yes, it's a battle, of sorts, and surely he was speaking metaphorically."

Italy's Giordano thought so as well, saying that he thought, "Johnson was only referring to the competitive aspect of war."

But when asked to clarify the comment, Johnson said, ""Yeah, whenever you put your jersey on and you look at your crest and the national anthem's going on, and you're playing against a different country, it's like you do or die, it's survival of the (fittest) over 90 minutes-plus. We're going to go out there and do whatever we've got to do, make tackles, do the things when the referee's not looking. ... to get three points."

Do the things when the referee's not looking? Is that what we have to do to win? What am I supposed to say to my boy about this? This guy is representing our country on the world stage? It's no wonder world opinion is turning against Americans, and not just our leaders and our foreign policy.

Incidentally, the U.S. team stayed at Rammstein Air Force base for security reasons. Hunkered down in the Green Zone, I guess. And I am speaking metaphorically.

If I was the referee, I would have stopped play right after the kickoff, and immediately shown Johnson a yellow card, and said, "You better make REAL sure I'm not looking."

As it turned out, the officiating was disastrous and we weren't able to see both teams play their best game. And there was some dirty playing by both sides.

But I don't think McBride should get a purple heart, do you?

Is the Beer Can Chicken half full or half empty?

It's been a while since I have posted a recipe. But I want you to know that I still cook a lot. Three or four nights a week. I made the best fajitas I've ever made the other night. But I am not here to talk to you about my fajitas. This post is all about Beer Can Chicken. And I am saying Beer Can Chicken repeatedly in this post so it will get picked up by Google. I'm saying Google a lot, too, just in case it helps.

So I had heard about this new phenomenon (doo doo, dee doo da doo) Beer Can Chicken, and it sounded intriquing. And on my way out of Wal-Mart the other day (Yes, I had to go there again- garbage bags and batteries) they had the little stand for sale cheap (of course) as an impulse buy item by the register. So I grabbed a couple.

I went to the internet and Googled "Beer Can Chicken Recipe" and saw a whole bunch. I then Googled "The Best Beer Can Chicken Recipe" to narrow it down. I didn't do much to it, and you don't have to. Aside from the yuck yuck, it's one of the easiest things I've ever cooked. And I'll cook it again soon.

I've never cooked a whole chicken before because the extra bits gross me out. It felt more honest this way, like I was closer to the food source. Buying boneless, skinless breast filets is a bit dishonest. Like it is some magical food that comes all neat and pretty. It's easy to forget the violence behind cooking, but I think it is important to remember, at least once in a while.

When we cook Thanksgiving dinner, Rachel has to prep the turkey because I gag and throw up a little. But she was at work and I dealt with it this time- yanked the neck and giblets and I think the liver and such.

What, exactly is a giblet?

Anyway, I gagged a lot, but I got 'er done. I rubbed the outside with a bit of olive oil. Then I rubbed it inside and out liberally with salt, Lawry's Seasoned Salt, and a bunch of ground mixed pepper corns. I opened a can of Tecate and chugged half. Hey, I know it was the middle of the afternoon, but I was following the recipe! Anyway, I put the half full (not half empty because I'm an optimist) can in the Wal-Mart holder and plopped the bird on top...


...I took that picture and it reminded me of something...


...And with some help from Photoshop...


...My beer can chicken had a bit of the Captain in him.

An hour and a half to two hours of indirect heat is all it took. I put it in the middle of my grill and put the outer burners of my three burner grill on high. Use a thermometer and get the breast to 160. That's it. You're done. I mean, your chicken is done.

It was really tasty. The flavor permeated all of the meat, and the meat just fell off the bone. I grilled up some corn as well and made some rice. And I grilled some veg for Rachel.

I recommend this because it was REALLY yummy and very cheap to make. $4.78 for the bird, two dollars in vegetables (I did asparagus and carrots), and 50 cents worth of rice to feed a family of three with leftovers.

Oh, while I'm at it, I don't think I've ever talked about how I grill vegetables. I take a sheet of foil make a little box. I then place the vegetables (in this case, asparagus and carrots sliced thinly about the same length as the asparagus) in the foil box. I add seasonings to compliment whatever meat I am grilling. So this time it was just salt, pepper, and Lawry's. Sometimes I add crushed garlic and maybe onions. Anyway, I plop a tablespoon of butter on top (sometimes I use the squirtable butter substitue) and I sprinkle cold water on top. Just a couple of handfuls from the tap. I then cover the foil box with another sheet of foil. I put it on the grill right over the burner on high. Then I listen. Once you hear the water sizzling, give it about ten minutes and your vegetables come out just about perfect. Cooking times vary depending on what you are cooking, but ten minutes is a good estimate. Experiment a bit and see what you like. I like mine al dente.

I don't know why, maybe Alton Brown can explain it to me, but when I cook vegetables this way, it really brings out the color and the flavor. I'll snap some pictures the next time I grill.

That's it. Happy grilling!