Bobby Flay for Christmas

I'm not sure if this will become a Christmas tradition, but yesterday I decided to trash the kitchen and spend a few hours preparing something other than our usual Christmas dinner of king crab. Having always enjoyed barbecue ribs but never having cooked them, I watched my share of the Food Network in preparation for this holiday feast.

I settled upon four dishes to cook: ribs, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, and asparagus. The one underrated skill in cooking a meal like this is time/project management. I settled upon four recipes that weren't too complicated which offered good guidance on prep and cooking time. The wine pairing was a Shiraz.

The first recipe is from Guy Fieri, and it's Johnny Garlic's Famous Garlic and Rosemary Mashed potatoes. Should you try this recipe, double the listed cooking time. This was the only item that wasn't ready on time, and I didn't find any reason for them to be famous.

The other three recipes were from Bobby Flay: Ribs with Chipotle-Molasses barbecue sauce, Grilled Asparagus Wrapped in Proscuitto with Shaved Pecorino Romano Cheese, and Grilled Corn on the Cob with Garlic Butter, Fresh Lime, and Queso Fresco. Each of these were fantastic--especially the ribs. Fortunately I have another rack and enough barbecue sauce left over to make another tasty dinner this week!

For the record, my wife gave dinner an "A" for taste with a "C" for presentation, mostly because I didn't have time to clean the kitchen before sitting down for dinner.

Tracking Santa

NORAD's Santa Tracker has upgraded its technology this year, with webcams and aerial video of Santa and his sleigh as well as a Santa-tracker using Google Earth. Finally... government money well-spent!

Those wanting to speak with a member of the NORAD Santa Tracking team can call toll free: 1 (877) Hi NORAD or 1 (877) 446-6723.

It's time for Mrs. Claus and I to get to work assembling Santa's gifts for our girls. Merry Christmas!

A quitter, liar, coward, and a cancer

After spending the evening at the Georgia Dome watching their Monday night debacle against the New Orleans Saints, I thought the Atlanta Falcons may have reached rock bottom. I couldn't have been more wrong.

I was floored to check the AJC this morning and read that head coach Bobby Petrino had quit the Atlanta Falcons mid-season and had been named the head coach at the University of Arkansas just before midnight Tuesday evening.

I then watched the Arkansas press conference in disgust as Bobby Petrino and his wife Becky had the Razorback cheerleaders join them on stage and do the "Wooo, Pig, Sooie" cheer. He looked like the ass he is. Good riddance. Here's hoping that Arthur Blank and Rich McKay don't botch the hiring of their 3rd head coach in just 4 years.

Some quotes from Atlanta Falcons players and others...

"He preached team. He preached family. And then he quit on us. That's not what a man does." -Joey Harrington, quarterback

"It's a selfish act by a guy who has no class... who only thinks about himself." -Warrick Dunn, running back

"I think he's a quitter and a fraud. And I've been a supporter of Bobby Petrino... He'll throw water in your face and tell you it's raining. That's Bobby Petrino." -Sean Salisbury, ESPN

"I don't have any respect for him." -DeAngelo Hall, cornerback

"Disloyal." -Jamal Anderson, defensive end and Arkansas alumnus

"He allowed us to be embarrassed on national television while he's cutting a deal... We didn't realize we had a cancer on our team in the form of a head coach." -Lawyer Milloy, safety

"If you're going to preach being a team player, you have to be a team player." -Roddy White, wide receiver

"I feel betrayed with the decision that he made." -Keith Brooking, linebacker

"It just shows his true color, like a coward with a yellow stripe down his back." -Grady Jackson, former defensive tackle with the Falcons who was cut on 10/23 by Petrino (and signed by Jacksonville a week later)

"I think the timing of Bobby's decision was wrong. It was wrong for the coaches. It was wrong for the families depending on him, that he brought here that had invested in him and invested in this team. It's also letting our players down— the players I've heard him tell consistently to play all four quarters. All four quarters does not equal, in my opinion, 13 games." -Arthur Blank, Owner and CEO of the Atlanta Falcons

No more camping for awhile

I had my reservation booked weeks in advance, and on our day to pitch the tent, conditions were perfect--no rain in the forecast and daytime temperatures in the low 70's with evening temps in the 40's.

So a couple of weeks ago we drove up to Red Top Mountain State Park late in the afternoon and checked in at the lodge. Despite being nearly full, we were able to get a campsite with a fantastic view of Lake Allatoona. The view is much different than normal, however, as the lake is incredibly low.

Grilled hotdogs over an open fire were on the menu for dinner followed by smores for dessert. Sleep came early as we had big plans for the next day. I had a new gas stove to cook scrambled eggs & bacon on, and what is fall camping without hot chocolate? After breakfast we were then going to go on a nature hike, but first we needed a good night's sleep.

By the light of a full moon, we all trecked up to the bathrooms to brush our teeth and then climbed into our cozy sleeping beds. Everyone slowly dozed off to sleep... except for me. I heard the fall leaves rustling in the trees as the wind blew across the lake. I heard the crunch of fellow campers walking along the crushed rock path next to our campsite. I heard the metal zipper in the corner of the tent tapping against the metal teeth. I heard the polyester tent whipping in the wind. And I heard the owl, which couldn't have been but 50 feet from our tent, hooting throughout the night. The hours passed slowly: 10:00pm, 11:00pm, midnight, 1:00am, 2:00am...

And then around 2:30am, my youngest daughter stood up in her pack-and-play. We got her back down, but then my oldest declared that she wasn't tired at 3:00am. "Close your eyes and go to sleep," was our retort. By 3:30am, I had a full mutiny on my hands. After consultation with my wife, whose idea of 'roughing it' is staying in a Holiday Inn, I asked, "Who wants to go home?" It was unanimous, except for me. I wasn't about to pack up camp in the middle of the night and wake up other campers. So I loaded the family into the minivan, and they left for home. I then had the good fortune of falling to sleep and not waking up until my wife called at 10:30!

I did get to cook that breakfast and drink hot chocolate, albeit alone. I packed up the gear, and was especially careful in folding up the tent, knowing it will be several years before I try to push camping on the family again.

The Moody Blues are wrong

Ten years ago The Moody Blues sang the tune "You Can Never Go Home," but they're dead wrong.

This week I had meetings in Cincinnati, and two customers have offices just 5 miles from my home town of Reading, Ohio. I had some unexpected time to spare, so on a whim I decided to call two people who made a strong impression on me growing up.

I had the opportunity to catch up with my 7th and 8th grade Latin teacher, Don Lucas, over burgers and Coke. He's been retired from public teaching for 20 years, and his gain was their loss. For someone I so admired, it's almost serendipitous that we're both now in the same line of work--he owns a travel agency while I work for a dot com travel company. My next stop was Reading Junior/Senior High School to see my 8th grade English teacher, Ronda Eisenhard, who is now a counselor and coach.

My visits with Don and Ronda reminded me that I don't want my life measured by professional or financial accomplishments but rather by the quality of my relationships. They lived their lives as examples to thousands of kids, and their influence is still bearing fruit today.

FREE Software from Microsoft and Intuit

Microsoft is giving away software?! It's true. They're giving away Microsoft Office Accounting Express 2007, but of course they're hoping that some percentage of customers will want to upgrade to their Professional version for $149.95.

Comparing the Express against the Professional version as well as Microsoft Office Small Business Accounting, though, and it's hard to understand why a small business would want to pay to upgrade unless they're in manufacturing, in which case you're probably going to want a more robust accounting product anyway.

For those who prefer to use Intuit's products, there is a version of their QuickBooks product that is free--QuickBooks Simple Start 2008. We've been accounting for our real estate investments in Quicken, but I'm going to try both Microsoft Office Accounting Express and QuickBooks Simple Start to see if either might be better.

Life lesson from a last lecture

If you had an opportunity to give one final speech, one last chance to be heard, what would you talk about? For Carnegie Mellon University professor Dr. Randy Pausch, that question wasn't a hypothetical. Diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, this husband and father of three children (ages 5, 2, and 1), has only a few months to live. Last week he delivered his final lecture entitled "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams." It's well worth watching (but be forewarned: the video runs an hour 30).

If it seems like something is missing at the end, it is. Click here (Windows Media Player will open) and "fast-forward" to 01:25 in this other video to see the awards and honors presented to Dr. Pausch.

Update 2/22/08: Palliative chemotherapy is working, and Randy Pausch is still alive and healthy.

Update 7/25/08: Randy Pausch died today at the age of 47. He is survived by his wife, Jai, and children, Dylan, 6, Logan, 3, and Chloe, 2. Donations can be made to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, or to Carnegie Mellon's Randy Pausch Memorial Fund, which supports the university's continued work on the Alice project.

Life-changing events

I can count on one hand the number of events that I find simultaneously scary as well as thrilling. All of these impose great change, and without exception are life-altering. In my experience, most of these turn out to be overwhelmingly positive while the risk of heartbreak always exists. My family is possibly in the early stages of such an event, and we're doing everything we can to prepare. I was recently reminded of a quote by Churchill which I find all-too fitting, however, "Planning is essential, but plans are useless."

I promise to share more when it becomes appropriate.