Man Cave Food – Dinner Tonight
Posted on March 28, 2011
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I'm having bacon wrapped scallops for dinner. I love them. Perfect man cave food. The scallops are healthy (low fat) but the bacon is definitely "man food." Plus they're so easy to make that even I can cook them without screwing them up. In fact if I get a little portable indoor grill for my man cave I won't even have to go into the house to cook them. That could come in handy during times when I'm in hot water with my wife...
Like this post? Buy me a beer.Rocket Man
Posted on March 6, 2011
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I just got a few very cool Mercury Redstone kits. The most impressive one is the 1/24 scale kit from Sheri's Hot Rockets, but the one I'm most jazzed about is the Estes Mercury Redstone model I scored off of eBay last week. It's based on the Centuri Mercury Redstone I've wanted since I was a kid. I've also got my eye on an Estes Little Joe II kit. I never could afford all the model rockets I wanted when I was growing up but now I can and it's great. I think second childhoods are way under rated. A also picked up a Centuri Orion kit (reproduction from Semroc) and an Estes Saturn 5. Now I just need to build a launch controller.
Time to upgrade my Camcorder?
Posted on March 1, 2011
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But first I splurge…
Posted on February 26, 2011
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Yipee!!!! My loan got approved so next week we'll be able to make an offer on my new man cave... err... "investment property." But first I'm going to splurge a little. I missed out (got out-bid - really pissed me off) on a really nice Goldberg Skylane 62 kit that I've wanted forever so I'm splurging on a brass engine for my model railroad. I mean what good is a man cave if there aren't any toys in it? SO.... if no a-hole outbids me on Monday I'll have a nice locomotive for my Southern Pacific layout.
Like this post? Buy me a beer.A bigger, better Man Cave
Posted on February 22, 2011
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My wife and I are buying a second home for our older son to live in. The house we're looking at is small, just 900 square feet, 2 bed/1 bath/1 car garage, laundry hookups in the kitchen - typical of the working class homes built in Sparks in the 1950's. Besides being a place for our son to live, I'm thinking it will be a perfect second man cave for me. My son can have the larger bedroom and I'll use the smaller one as an office/train room for my HO Scale train layout. He doesn't have a car so I can use the garage for my engine building activities, wood working, electronics projects, etc. There is a really nice storage shed in the back yard, and I can see going over to barbecue almost every night during the spring and summer. When my wife first brought up the subject of buying a second home I wasn't too thrilled. Now that I see the possibilities of working it into a second man cave though I'm really getting jazzed on the idea.
Like this post? Buy me a beer.10 things I want to learn this year
Posted on January 11, 2011
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Since I'm going to cut back on my beer drinking this year, I figure I'll have lots of extra time (beer drinking is incredibly time consuming). I'm going to use that extra time to learn about stuff I've wanted to, but never got around to. Here are 10 things I want to study or learn about this year:
- The Bible. I want to grow my faith and more importantly set a good example for my wife and kids. Although I didn't always enjoy going to church as a kid, most of the time I did and a lot of my best childhood memories are about church activities, doing daily devotions with my parents, etc. I want my kids to have those same good memories.
- Chinese. My wife is Chinese and I want to be able to understand what she's saying to her friends about me:) I also want our son to learn it and preserve his mom's cultural heritage.
- Math and Physics. No it's not as boring as it sounds. I'm into model rockets so math and physics are actually useful to me. Plus it keeps my mind sharp and that's a good thing.
- Photography. Pictures are a great way to preserve memories and we just bought a really cool digital camera
so I want to make sure it doesn't just sit in the closet like lots of the stuff I buy. I also don't want to use it just for the sake of using it - I want my pictures to be good.
- Graphic Design. I don't aspire to be an artist, but I want to be competent enough to be able to throw together a good WordPress theme or 2.
- PHP Programming. Also related to WordPress, I want to become expert at PHO programming. Besides WordPress I can see my man cave filled with all kinds of gadgets that need custom programming so this will also be a cross-over skill.
- Small Engine Repair. I've got 2 chain saws to repair and I'd rather learn to do it myself instead of paying someone else to do it for me.
- Wood Working. I've got a lot of things I want to build for my man cave (shelving, a work bench, etc) so I'm going to get this DEWALT Table Saw
I've had my eye on (and possibly a Router
and Benchtop Router Table
) and start doing some wood working.
- Home Brewing. Since I'm cutting back on my beer drinking I'm going to focus on quality instead of quantity. I've been wanting to learn how to brew my own beer for awhile now and this is going to be the year I do it.
- Guitar. I've always wanted to learn how to play guitar and if I can save enough money to buy a Gibson Flying V, I'm going to learn this year.
There. I think that's enough to keep me busy and out of trouble.
Like this post? Buy me a beer.10 things I want to do for my health this year
Posted on January 10, 2011
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Last year I didn't do a damn thing for my health, and it's suffering for it. I'm not into making New Year's resolutions (and it's a little late for that any way) but here are 10 things I want to do for my health this year.
- Lose 20 lbs. I've said it a million times but this year I'm really going to do it. I'm tired of getting winded by just walking up a flight of stairs and I can't stand to see my big fat belly in the mirror. Besides my 5 year old son has taken to calling me fat and then laughing his head off. Cute, but a good sign that I really do need to lose some weight. My first health priority this year is losing 20 lbs.
- Walking and biking more. Besides losing weight I also want to get in shape and do things with my son. Besides walking to lose weight I want to go on some killer hikes and do lots of bike riding with my son. He turns 6 this year and I can hardly wait to teach him how to ride.
- Get my blood pressure and cholesterol under control. My health insurance will no longer offer copays on statins, so I don't want to just get them under control - I want them under control without medication. Losing weight and getting in shape should get me there - if not, my wife knows some Chinese herbal remedies.
- Get my f@#*&^%g sinuses fixed. They clog up at night, so I start breathing through my mouth, which dries out my tongue, which wakes me up, so I get up to drink some water - 5 or 6 times a night. This really sucks 'cause I'm always tired from not getting a good night's sleep. This year they're getting fixed whether it involves surgery or whatever.
- Work on my brain fitness. Not that I'll live long enough to develop Alzheimer's disease or some other type of dementia, but why take a chance?
- Learn to control my temper. 'Nuff said.
- Eat Healthier. Not only for losing weight, cutting blood pressure, and lowering my cholesterol, but also to hopefully cut my risk of cancer and other diseases. If ObamaCare actually gets implemented I sure don't want to have a serious illness that forces me to interact with government run health care.
- Drink less beer. Notice I didn't say QUIT drinking beer, just cut down.
- Drink lots of green tea. Well, I need something to replace the beer with, and green tea also has lots of health benefits.
- Have lots of sex. It's great exercise, it feels awesome, and most importantly when I keep my wife satisfied she's in a much better mood overall.
It might all sound boring (except for #10) but if I'm healthy I'll have a lot more time and energy to enjoy my man cave. I just read a really excellent idea on how to share a garage between cars and a model railroad and I'm looking forward to trying it out this summer.
Like this post? Buy me a beer.New Toy – Kodak Playsport Zx3
Posted on December 20, 2010
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Actually 3 new toys - all video cameras. We bought a Sony HDR-CX150 about a month ago and I really like it, especially the way it works in low light. The only problem is our 5 year old son like it too, but I'm not about to turn him loose on a $400 "toy." So... I decided to get him a Flip UltraHD - less than $150 from Amazon, rugged, easy to use. What could be better? Well, after I bought the UltraHD my wife found a Kodak Playsport Zx3 that is even better than the flip. Among other things it's waterproof. So we got one, and she's right (as usual) - it's a better value for the money than the Flip. The Flip is more hackable though so I still like it better. Here's some links:
Comparing the Zx3 with the Flip UltraHD: http://www.squidoo.com/flip-video-vs-playsport-zx3
Why I like the Flip UltraHD better: http://www.squidoo.com/-flipvideocamera
Review of the Sony HDR-CX150 Handycam camcorder: http://www.squidoo.com/sony-hdr-cx150-handycam-review
Check them out, any of these camcorders would be a great "toy" to have in your Man Cave.
Like this post? Buy me a beer.Grill Tools
Posted on November 14, 2010
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I think what I'd really like for Christmas this year is a nice set of grill tools. I love to cook on the barbecue but my wife always gets kind of snippy when I use "her" kitchen utensils. Ever since we moved to our current house I've had to make do with just using a regular fork to put stuff on the grill, turn it, etc, blah blah blah... Occasionally bought a cheap grill tool here or there but they don't last. So..... since I won't be getting a toy for Christmas I've decided I'm going to try for a good quality set of grill tools, probably the Weber Professional Grade 3 piece set. That, and a cute outfit for my wife to wear when the kids aren't around.
Toys for Men
Posted on November 12, 2010
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I've always loved toys. When I was 4 or 5, I loved playing with wooden blocks. When I got a little older I had a little toy train set. By the time I was 7 or 8, I had Tonka Toys, toy soldiers, cap guns, model airplanes, you name it. By the time I was12 or 13 I had gotten into hunting and fishing, but I still had toys - model rockets, RC airplanes, and various electronic kits. At 16, my preferred toy became my 1970 Barracuda (wish I still had it) and I've been into cars ever since. I've found that as I get older, my taste in toys changes but my love for toys never goes away. And, while I still enjoy some of the same toys as when I was younger (model trains, model airplanes, guns, computers, etc) my choices are getting more and more complicated. If anything though, I enjoy playing with toys now more than ever.