Santa delivers wheels

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Discover Linux

Fedora Project, a great resource to learn Linux and understand the Linux Community.

Leading with fresh applications and the newest development in Linux, Fedora Project is hands on experience. A great place to start is Fedora Documentation. This in depth information on installing and running Fedora, also provides a great reference for configuring your system.

After going over Fedora Docs, grab the latest Fedora Live ISO. Good test of your hardware's compatibility and nice test run of Fedora.

Finally, if you think Fedora might be a good Linux distro to learn with, check out the great Linux community of Fedora Forum. Great resource, great people, and a wealth of information.

Fedora Project is sometimes called the leading edge of Linux development. An innovative Linux distro can present challenges. Though Fedora releases are stable, there can be some rough edges, and thus the opportunity to learn and grow with a great Linux distro.

Fedora Project is a solid operating system. For over a decade, I have used Fedora (redhat) Linux. Dependable system for work and play. And a great value. You gain knowledge of an Operating System you control and configure, and you can participate in a great community.

Sofa Super Hero

Life's a balance...

Sometimes you save the day, and sometimes you kick back and relax.

Nap needs

What does Grandma need for a nap?

Two watchful Grandchildren and a little white dog to sit on you.

Little Train Conductor

It keeps you busy, setting these little trains on the right track, but it's fun.

It's also serious work. Little train safety is top priority. You'd be surprised how many times I am clearing the track of snacks and the wondering Hello Kitty or Princess doll.

Rewarding fun work, I highly recommend being a Little Train Conductor.

Leftovers

What to do with leftover roasted turkey and mashed potatoes? Pasta dinner and twice baked mashed potatoes!

Prepare cheese tortellini, add pulled roasted turkey and Alfredo sauce, slow cook. Put leftover mashed potatoes in baking dish, add shredded cheese if you like, and bake in oven.

As with any dinner, it goes with out saying - or maybe should be said, have some salad and a fruit dish to round out your meal.

Music for a great leftover dinner should include: Grateful Dead, Railroad Earth, and Leftover Salmon.

tracking a tasty brine

Tasty Southern style brine:

Water
1c   sea salt
1c   brown sugar
1c   apple cider vinegar
2tbs black pepper
2tbs garlic powder

Fake Thanksgiving is a great time to try a new brine. Apple cider vinegar and brown sugar adds a great southern kick to a turkey roast. And what is Fake Thanksgiving? It's a floating fake holiday that usually lands sometime in Autumn, and is a great reason to roast a turkey for family and friends.

Thaw your turkey in the fridge. Put turkey in brine - submerge completely under brine. Some use a big bag, some use a big pot. Brine turkey in the fridge. Adjust brine time to size of turkey, 6 to 12 hours. Remove from brine, drain turkey. Now roast!

Music for Southern style brine and turkey roast should include Stevie Ray Vaughan, ZZ Top and Molly Hatchet.

Rain and Play-Doh

What do you do on a rainy day? Play-Doh

sand and water

Sand village

Work continues in the Sand village, though many have returned to school. Dedicated folks like Jack, keep sand building production going.

"Sure, some days are tough. Our numbers are fewer, and those that are here - seem to be my size, no bigger. But we keep going, you know, for the joy of sand building." - Jack, a Sand village regular.

Jack assures all, sand scoops and buckets will be in action!

How about Ubuntu Unity

Ubuntu Unity is based on Debian GNU-Linux. It's a friendly Linux distro that is easy to install and use. The live ISO, that you can burn to a dvd, can be downloaded from Ubuntu.

With trying any Linux distro, BACK UP YOUR DATA! Save your data to a separate drive. There should be no problem trying a Live ISO of Ubuntu Linux, this test run of Ubuntu Linux should not affect your current Operating System. Again though, to be safe, BACK UP YOUR DATA!

The Ubuntu Unity desktop environment is based on Gnome 3, an easy to use modern interface. Unity is a nice blend of new desktop interaction, with a nod to traditional desktop work flow. The left side bar holds your favorite applications, and the icons give indication of application functions - while applications are not in focus. The top bar provides easy access to system functions, and also provides information on those functions. Application windows occupy the majority of desktop space, and make good use of global menu function. You can maximize any application, have it fill the screen, and still have indication of other running applications not in focus - in the side bar. Pop up alerts, let you know of application function too - such as receiving email or an instant message.

Perhaps one of the nicest features of Unity, is Dash. Dash is a search function that provides you with information on data and applications. Simply start typing what you are looking for or interested in - and usually Dash provides the information before you can finish typing the search query.

Ubuntu Unity 12.04LTS is a Long Term Support distro, supported until 2017. There can sometimes be confusion on 32-bit Linux distro or 64-bit Linux distro. Most modern hardware, a couple years old, is 64-bit. If you are trying Ubuntu Unity, you will want to try Ubuntu Unity 12.04LTS amd64. amd64 is a nod to the company AMD, one of the first to implement 64-bit processing. Simply put, amd64 is 64-bit, most hardware with 64-bit capability should work fine with Ubuntu Unity 12.04LTS amd64.

Ubuntu Unity 12.04LTS is an incredibly stable, smooth operating system. A great Linux distro worth trying, friendly to those new to Linux and a powerful distro for solid production.

the Future of Rock

This Ladies and Gentlemen... is the future of Ukulele Rock & Roll!

Leave it to a preschooler to infuse Hawaiian guitar and thrashing rhythms, in a free flow jam!

Slow roasted chicken in the smoker!

Setting up the grill:

Got my water pan in place with water and a little white wine. Set my soup can in place, to hold some hickory chunks. Piled in the charcoal, made space between the charcoal and water pan, so they are not touching.

Lit the charcoal, and let it burn down. Added a couple chunks of hickory to my soup can. Put the chicken on the grill, over the water pan.

All vents, bottom and top, wide open on the grill. Shut the lid and enjoyed the blue smoke from the grill.

Chicken smoked for an hour or so. And... wow, some tender tasty chicken!

Tip on the bird: marinade the chicken in Italian dressing over night in the fridge.

Music for slow roasted chicken in the smoker, should include Old Crow Medicine Show and Moe.

Good to go BBQing

Water pan, charcoal, and soup can - for wood. Place meat over water pan, and good to go for Summer BBQing!

Spin

Spinning disk fun!

Rain and Sunshine

Spring is bringing rain and heat. Good for digging and building in the sand!

Smoking Chuck Roast

The Grocery Grill Smoker is in action again, featuring a Chuck Roast!

Charcoal, can with chunk of hickory, water pan, and seasoned chuck roast. Let smoke for the afternoon, and then enjoy a great dinner of beef!

Good ole grocery grill, on sale bargain from a few years back. Didn't think it would last so long, but it keeps on smoking.

Music for smoking chuck roast should include Johnny Cash,  Railroad Earth, and Widespread Panic.

Linux Mint - a friendly distro

DO NOT INSTALL any Linux distro until you back up your data to a separate storage device other than your pc!

Looking for a friendly Linux distro? Check out Linux Mint featuring the Cinnamon desktop environment. Linux Mint offers a nice straight forward way to experience Linux.

If you are new to Linux, download the install.iso, burn it to a DVD, and then boot the DVD on your PC. When you boot up from the Linux Mint DVD, it will enter a live session. The live session is for you to test drive the Linux distro, if you like it, you can then choose to install.

As mentioned at the top, BACK UP YOUR DATA! Most Linux installs will wipe your hard drive of all data. Even if you choose to install Linux along side other operating systems - BACK UP YOUR DATA! Things can go wrong, or you choose something in the install that does not do what you think it will do - BACK UP YOUR DATA!

Before you try any Linux distro, I would recommend reading their web site and forums. Taking some time to read about a Linux distro, especially the install notes, can help with a smoother experience when you try it out.

Check out Linux Mint 14 Nadia, featuring Cinnamon 1.6 desktop environment!

hickory smoke burgers

A chunk of hickory in the grill makes a great burger. Let your charcoal burn down to a nice ash grey. Add a chunk of hickory, as it starts to smoke, add your burgers. Salt and Pepper the burgers, and shut the grill lid. With the Grill lid top vent wide open, hickory smoke will nicely season your burgers.

Added cheese bonus! Before you pull the burgers from the grill, put a slice of pepper jack or provolone on your burgers. And toast the hamburger buns, while the cheese melts.

Music of Widespread Panic and Michael Viner's Incredible Bongo Band goes great with this hickory smoke endeavor.

Signs in the Field

Hike-ologist and Playground expert Jack, says Spring not far off. All signs in the field indicated warmer weather and flowers and frogs are on their way.

Classic Slow Roast

In this slow roast, I used a scoop of Cajun seasoning - mixed in olive oil. Cover the chicken with seasoned olive oil and set the slow cooker.

Use bbq seasoning, most any seasoning, with olive oil for a great slow roast.

Music for this solid classic roast should include Patsy Cline shuffled in with jam bands such as the Grateful Dead and Ekoostik Hookah.

Winter breaking

Out hiking and enjoying the Parks. The cold weather is starting to break... thinking about getting out the bbq smoker.

For tasty beasts, smoked and slow roasted: season meat and let rest in the fridge over night, smoke meat for a couple hours, then into the roaster for awhile.

Mmmm... more on this later.

Music for getting out bbq smoker, setting up roaster. For me this is a cosmic energizing experience, so tunes from Rush would be good.

not so sloppy, sloppy joe

So what do you do with hot dog buns, sloppy joe and shredded cheddar? Toast the buns and make a good open face sandwich.

Toast the hot dog buns with a little olive oil. Plate up the buns open, add sloppy joe and shredded cheddar. Really, it is the only way to eat sloppy joe... and not be so sloppy.

If you want to go completely wild, boil some hot dogs and tuck them in the open face sloppy joe joy.

Recommended music for open face sloppy joe: Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show, Chicago, and any good groovy music.

Stove Top Casserole

A good stove top casserole needs two key items, a wok and hot sauce.

Brown your beef in the wok with a little olive oil and garlic.
Add your favorite box casserole mix - with milk and water, as the box directs.
Add a couple good shots of hot sauce and let simmer.

Jam bands playing, while you mix this together, is also helpful. Music of the Grateful Dead and Los Lobos is good.

Serve this stove top casserole with you favorite vegetable, and that's a tasty dinner.

Brine and Roast!

Basic Brine: 1c sea salt, 1/4c garlic, 1/4c black pepper, and a small bottle of molasses.

The Brine works with time and allows other spices and seasonings to be absorbed. Use 1 cup of sea salt and small bottle of molasses, increase or decrease brine time to size of turkey. Other spices can be adjusted in amounts, according to your taste.

If the turkey is frozen, it should be thawed in the fridge and kept cold.

Mix and heat the brine ingredients in a pan with water. This helps the salt and other spices dissolve. Let cool. With the turkey in a large container, add the cool brine and more water so that the turkey is completely covered with brine water.

Set the container with brine and turkey in a cooler of ice or in the fridge. Pictured is a small 12-pound turkey. Set in brine, in cooler of ice, for around 10 hours.

Add or change spices you like to this basic brine. Always keep the sea salt and sugars - molasses, these are the ingredients that allow other spices to be absorbed.

I rubbed the turkey with olive oil, and then into the slow cooker.

The turkey roasted all day, and family and friends enjoyed a tasty dinner.