Three pounds of pot roast goes into the smoker, and I start to get excited. We are trying two new things this time, and both seem to be working out quite well.
First, Denise got tired of my Kingsford charcoal complaints. So instead she bought Kingsford charwood. I've never played with charwood before, and I was skeptical after reading reviews. Even Kingsford says that the stuff typically burns to hot for slow cooking. Fortunately, I know a little chemistry.
You see, if you want to slow a fire, you simply restrict the oxygen. The less fire, the lower heat. The real key with slow cooking is the bed of coals. So the magic seems to be in the fast kickoff of the charwood, letting it burn down, then managing your heat by opening or closing the coal bed. We are an hour into cooking and my theory is holding up nicely.
One more note about the charwood, I like the smoke that comes off of it. It seems a lot more woody, and should impart some excellent flavor to the meat. I am still adding wet chips to augment smoke.
The second change is the addition of a talking thermometer. Oregon Scientific makes a wireless thermometer with some speaking functions. It is a great accessibility boost. A complaint is that there is no function to read the current temperature of the meat (you get a visual indicator only). It does, however, provide presets for different types of meat and doneness, and speaks when the meat is almost or at the target temperature. This thermometer was a Christmas gift from mom and dad, thanks!
So now I sit in the house, and have no worries about overcooking the meat. I walk out every so often, lay a finger on the lid to check the temperature, add charwood or play with the fire if necessary, and check the water. It does get easier than this, but easy isn't always fun.
Time to think about which wine to open.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Sunday, January 25, 2009
All-Star Break, I Hate You
No hockey in over four days is driving me nuts! It's like the summer, only more agrevating as the typical Oilers blogs don't shut down to off-season rates. No, they have to stay in their game, so they churn out material related to statistics, probabilities and next season projections.
and who really cares about the All-Star game! So long as no one gets hurt, and Roloson gets to rest his thirty-nine-year-old body, the rest of the break is pointless!
Just an observation...I'll go get ready for church now.
and who really cares about the All-Star game! So long as no one gets hurt, and Roloson gets to rest his thirty-nine-year-old body, the rest of the break is pointless!
Just an observation...I'll go get ready for church now.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Workout Update
As I've noted before, I'm working on a strength training regiment picked up from StrongLifts.com. This sort of post is worthless for anyone except me, but since I'm my only reader I think I can post what I want.
Remember that I started this all off with an empty bar, with the focus being to learn technique, and progressively add weight. Additionally, I did have the few weeks off due to the holidays and the KC trip. All that being said, here's my current successes after yesterday's workout:
Included, but not documented, is rows, crunches, pullups and chinups. The points to remember are that I haven't been near failure with any lift yet, except squat at 85. As evidenced by last night, I've blown past that 85 pound problem. Also, last night's successes came only 36 hours after donating blood.
Remember that I started this all off with an empty bar, with the focus being to learn technique, and progressively add weight. Additionally, I did have the few weeks off due to the holidays and the KC trip. All that being said, here's my current successes after yesterday's workout:
- Squat: 100 5x5
- Bench: 75 5x5
- Overhead: 65 5x5
- Deadlift: 115 1x5
Included, but not documented, is rows, crunches, pullups and chinups. The points to remember are that I haven't been near failure with any lift yet, except squat at 85. As evidenced by last night, I've blown past that 85 pound problem. Also, last night's successes came only 36 hours after donating blood.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Pace yourself there, boy!
Two blog posts in a day? Sheesh.
I'd call this a pretty good evening. The Oil pick up two points by sacrificing the Blue Jackets on the altar of Hemsky! There's no doubt about it, #83 has hit a hot streak! Four goals and an assist in two games.
Spent the early part of the evening entertaining the children, doing housework, and eating dinner while discussing Obama with Denise. Watched a technically awkward, but oddly touching bit of the new president talking to a select group of soldiers in Afghanistan from one of the inauguration balls. Technically awkward due to satelite delays. Touching because they were all from the Chicago area, and Barak really seemed to be having fun talking to them.
And then it was off to do homework. About halfway through a chapter on Action Learning Teams, I wondered at the application of this sort of theory in parenting. Could I, when the kids are a bit older, use a system of question asking and reflection to foster learning and action thinking? If so, what kind of kids would I have? Always outside the box, they might have that jump over others that is so critical. The difficulty would be that, according to definitions, action learning teams are most affective when the answer is unknown.
And then, to cherry off the sundae, both kids were asleep, in beds, by 8:30. Part of me says, "That's what no naps will do." The other part just giggles and chants "Hemsky, Hemsky, Hemsky..."
I'd call this a pretty good evening. The Oil pick up two points by sacrificing the Blue Jackets on the altar of Hemsky! There's no doubt about it, #83 has hit a hot streak! Four goals and an assist in two games.
Spent the early part of the evening entertaining the children, doing housework, and eating dinner while discussing Obama with Denise. Watched a technically awkward, but oddly touching bit of the new president talking to a select group of soldiers in Afghanistan from one of the inauguration balls. Technically awkward due to satelite delays. Touching because they were all from the Chicago area, and Barak really seemed to be having fun talking to them.
And then it was off to do homework. About halfway through a chapter on Action Learning Teams, I wondered at the application of this sort of theory in parenting. Could I, when the kids are a bit older, use a system of question asking and reflection to foster learning and action thinking? If so, what kind of kids would I have? Always outside the box, they might have that jump over others that is so critical. The difficulty would be that, according to definitions, action learning teams are most affective when the answer is unknown.
And then, to cherry off the sundae, both kids were asleep, in beds, by 8:30. Part of me says, "That's what no naps will do." The other part just giggles and chants "Hemsky, Hemsky, Hemsky..."
What have I done?!
Oh gentle nonexistant reader,
You may have noticed that I haven't written anything for some time. I would love to blame the holidays, work schedule, an excess of winning lottery tickets. Unfortunately, the reality is much longer lasting, and makes me think that I've bitten off a little to much.
I have, after ten years of sloth, gone back to school. I enrolled in City University's Masters of Information Technology Management program. Last week was a flurry of reading, answering discussion questions, researching the use of class websites, and interacting with professors. It was good to see that I can hold my own with others in the program, but wow does it require a lot of time!
At the end of the week, however, I felt quite satisfied. The first week experience was good, and made me optimistic that I'll make it through the next couple of years without succumbing to insanity or alcoholism.
It helps, of course, that I am very interested, and have a daily engagement in, the coursework. I would have less success in a general MBA.
--
I'll admit that the holidays did keep me away as well. Lots of travel, lots of weather, and a business trip to Kansas City to start off the year. At least Oilers fans are getting a bit of a New Year's present in a positive streak leading up to the All-Stars game.
--
The astute will notice the date of this posting, and expect something related to the Obama inauguration. I'll say that I am positive and excited about the possibilities of the change of power. On the other hand, my cynical side requests that I pause in evaluations and exaultations until the first one-hundred days pass. Will Obama be a political animal like all of the rest, or will he pull a FDR on us?
You may have noticed that I haven't written anything for some time. I would love to blame the holidays, work schedule, an excess of winning lottery tickets. Unfortunately, the reality is much longer lasting, and makes me think that I've bitten off a little to much.
I have, after ten years of sloth, gone back to school. I enrolled in City University's Masters of Information Technology Management program. Last week was a flurry of reading, answering discussion questions, researching the use of class websites, and interacting with professors. It was good to see that I can hold my own with others in the program, but wow does it require a lot of time!
At the end of the week, however, I felt quite satisfied. The first week experience was good, and made me optimistic that I'll make it through the next couple of years without succumbing to insanity or alcoholism.
It helps, of course, that I am very interested, and have a daily engagement in, the coursework. I would have less success in a general MBA.
--
I'll admit that the holidays did keep me away as well. Lots of travel, lots of weather, and a business trip to Kansas City to start off the year. At least Oilers fans are getting a bit of a New Year's present in a positive streak leading up to the All-Stars game.
--
The astute will notice the date of this posting, and expect something related to the Obama inauguration. I'll say that I am positive and excited about the possibilities of the change of power. On the other hand, my cynical side requests that I pause in evaluations and exaultations until the first one-hundred days pass. Will Obama be a political animal like all of the rest, or will he pull a FDR on us?
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