what's up?

My favorite book is The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

I'm currently reading The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith, and Double Whammy by Carl Hiaasen

I've never been a heavy reader and read 5-10 books a year. I keep a queue on GoodReads

Currently playing Doom Eternal, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, and dabbling through The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Most recent completions:

The Ascent

God of War: Ragnarök

Resident Evil 4 (2023)

I make an annual playlist and release it on December 1st. They usually have a theme to make me think a bit more. Here are the most recent playlists:

This was a "greatest hits" of all my playlists from 2010 to 2019. I considered it two albums with two names. Floating Back too Maximum Infinity / Blazin' Orbit yet Netherworldy Reprise . I took one word from each playlist title to create the name

This was my 2020 Playlist titled Shifty Pairs . Each song has one more/less word in the song title than the song title before and after, and the songs had to flow

This was my 2021 Playlist titled Starfire . Each song has a reference to something natural

This was my 2022 Playlist titled 2 Aught Too To . Songs mention specific places (like a city, country, etc). In honor of the unique year, I also had songs I listened to during the year. A dual theme in the year of twos. Two hours and 22 minutes on Spotify

This was my 2023 Playlist titled Festooning Floodgates . The lyrics mention their thoughts, feelings, and/or part of their life 

This is my summer 2024 Playlist titled Sweet Atomic Glaze . Not an annual list and no theme. Started with the songs Little Martha and Atomic

Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Pepper, Salt, and Parsley. I only have Parsley for High Noon Meatballs (recipe below) but parsley can look fancy on an entree.

Companies spend thousands of dollars on getting their portions right. I don't try to make some secret potion: 

Hamburger Seasoning - I first thought this was cheating, but this really amplifies the burger meat

Italian Seasoning - a classic

Lemon Pepper Seasoning - Seafood and chicken, but it gets around

Montreal Steak Seasoning - I get the reduced salt version. Goes great on steaks and in burger meat

Old Bay - I used to keep paprika, then discovered that is the main ingredient in Old Bay. I use Old Bay as a paprika substitute. This also is used on seafood and chicken

Rib Rub -  Any BBQ rub where the first ingredient is sugar. Goes good on pizza or anything needing a lil sweetening

I still venture outside these, but I practice spice restraint

I used to make a tomato pasta sauce, but people just ate the meatballs, so I use any generic sauce. This is great for a potluck:

2 pounds of 80/20 Ground Beef 

2 pounds of Johnsonville Mild Ground Pork 

0.5 cup of grated Parmesan (you decide the flavor) 

2 tablespoons of Italian Seasoning 

1 tablespoon of Parsley 

0.5 tablespoon of Garlic Powder 

0.5 tablespoon of Onion Powder 

1 Egg 

1 cup of Italian Seasoned Breadcrumbs

- - -

1. Mix the Parmesan, Italian Seasoning, Parsley, Garlic Powder, and Onion Powder

2. Mix in the Beef and Pork

3. Mix in the egg

4. Mix in the breadcrumbs

5. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Put about a quarter inch of water in a tray

6. Roll meat into smaller size; an ice cream scooper can help. Place meatball in the tray of water, and put in oven

7. After 15-20 minutes, take tray out and flip meatballs with tongs. Continue to cook until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees