Nonesuch # 173 So come up to the lab and see what's on the slab. I see you shiver with antici.............pation.

The experiment is complete. After a couple of weeks of promises and real life getting in the way, I made the peanut butter hot dog creations last night. I took pictures for posterity.

I got my ingredients together: Ball Park hot dogs, Sara Lee whole grain white hot dog buns, Kraft shredded sharp cheddar cheese, Simply Jiff peanut butter and French's mustard.






As I microwaved the hot dogs, I prepared the buns with the peanut butter. I put a good coating of peanut butter on one side. I then decided to only put mustard on one of the hot dogs so if it was really bad with the mustard I could have at least one that I could enjoy.



Once the hot dogs were done, I put them in the prepared buns, sprinkled the cheese on both sides of the bun surrounding the hot dogs. I carefully placed them on a aluminum foil covered cookie sheet and set them under the broiler for 1 and a half minutes or so, just to make sure the cheese was melted and the bun was a bit toasted.







I let them cool off just a bit. Nothing like hot peanut butter and cheese to burn the roof of my mouth, let me tell you. I sat down with a glass of lemonade as my drink of choice hoping that it would clean my palate if my creation was just nasty. I bit into the one without mustard first...
Not bad at all. The peanut butter blended it with the taste of the hot dog, actually bringing the hot dogs flavor to the forefront. Then I took a bite of the one with mustard. It tasted better than the one without. The mustard added a certain spiciness to the mix that the first one lacked.



I finished the one with mustard first. The one without just didnt taste right after having the mustard flavor of the second one.

So, they turned out to be pretty good. I will say this will not be a regular thing for me, hot dogs and peanut butter. I like them both very much but as seperate meals in and of themselves. They are quite filling that is for sure. I give the overall recipe a B+ knowing that this is not for everyone. My next experiment will a "casserole" that I came up with years ago when someone said that all I ate was peanut butter and pringles. Will let you all know how that turns out.



**Update** If anyone has any suggestions for experiments in the future, just let me know.

Nonesuch # 172

40 Reasons Why...

From Pop Candy a birthday list for John Cusack's 40th birthday.
Been a fan of Cusack since his early days in Sixteen Candles. Seen The Sure Thing many many times. Better off Dead is a classic. Watched One Crazy Summer with a young hippie Demi Moore not long ago for the first time in years. Bullets Over Broadway remains in my top 3 or 4 Woody Allen films. And there are many more but...
Say Anything is one of my favorite films. Seen it many times, more than I can count or can remember. It probably is the best "teen relationship" movie out there. I quote it almost as much as I quote Princess Bride and When Harry Met Sally.

From the list that stood out for me:

8. Jeremy Piven is his pal. You can spot his former roommate in One Crazy Summer, Say Anything, Serendipity, Grosse Pointe Blank and several other films. Here's hoping Cusack will return the favor with a guest stint on Entourage.

I think Piven's parents or it may be Cusack's parents ran( or still run) a theater school type of place in Chicago. When I was there a few years back, I went looking for it, but it got dark and I went back to the hotel.


40. He was Lloyd Dobler. I shudder to imagine a world without the Say Anything hero, a high-school senior wise enough to know true love was far more valuable than a lifetime spent buying, selling and processing. John Cusack is the only actor who could've fit the part, and I owe him big time for the hours of daydreams and amusement he has given me. - Whitney at Pop Candy, She says it so well.

Nonesuch #171

Awake again at 4am. Just once I want to sleep the night thru. I watch COPS. It comes on at 4am every morning on my local FOX affliate. It used to help me go back to sleep. It still does sometimes but for the most part I watch it all the way through. Then comes a Geraldo At Large repeat from yesterday. I usually fall back asleep sometime during that show. At 5am comes the local morning news program. Its funny, I know that show so well, I use it as a clock. Plus, if I get confused, there is a little clock in the bottom left hand corner. Well, guess I will finish my Sprite and lay back down.

**update**
Did fall asleep during Geraldo. Sometimes that show is so boring. He makes every story sound so important. Anyway, so hot once again. We had rain for the past 3-4 days and now it is gone but the humidity stayed and the hot temps are back, mid 90s I think they are calling for. I feel miserable and it is barely 8:30am.

Nonesuch #170 To Moose

"Moose, the feisty Jack Russell terrier who played Eddie for 10 years on TV's Frasier, has died, his trainer Mathilde Halberg tells PEOPLE.

"He was 16-and-a-half years old, and he just had an incredible charisma and was a such a free spirit," said Halberg. Moose, considered the Lassie of the '90s, died Thursday night of old age at Halberg's Los Angeles-area home."

cont...

Nonesuch #169

I am at a friend's house. Going with her to the doctor tomorrow to check on whether the cervical cancer is gone. I know she is worried about that but right now I am not too pleased with her. She has a new boyfriend, she hasnt called him that yet but it is obvious. No matter what she says, he was not pleased that I am here. Of course, I really dont know that but sometimes you can just tell. Plus I have been in this situation. Its not that I am not happy that she found a nice guy. I was the third wheel, a flat one at that. We went to see X-men, dont get me started on that. Movie pissed me off. Then we get back to her place, she hands me the remote control and they go to her bedroom. Hour and a half later, I go to the room I stay in. Put the sheets on the bed, check email and the blogs and so here I am. Maybe I am jealous, I dont know. Maybe I am pissed that she can find someone quicker after her break up than I. Is it that woman are the ones asked out that makes it so simple sounding or looking? And you know it is not jealousy, it is borderline rudeness, if not out and out bad manners. Maybe I am over-reacting, maybe I just want to be treated right by my friends. You know, tomorrow she will be thanking me for being such a good friend and I am. I know that. I dont even know what else to say.

Nonesuch # 168

Awake at a little past when I usually wake up during the night. I dont really sleep but more nap. I sleep 3 hours, wake up. Stay awake awhile, go back to sleep. Not very good I know. But I think I have developed a pattern so what can I do.

**Update** 3:37am
Hour an half. Not sure why I am awake now but oh well. Time for a snack.

Nonesuch #167

According to Anne, some of us are not updating our blogs enough, so I will now attempt to post everytime I wake up in the middle of the night. We will see how that works out.
Feeling a bit better today. Been napping, eating and playing some DDO every once in a while. My goal was to do nothing today and so far so good. I go to Durham tomorrow. I dont think it will be as hot tomorrow as it has been. It is still humid but not as hot today. It has been sunny but now clouding up again.

And now for the midsummer crappy TV update

America's Got Talent - Oh no, they don't. I hope Chuck Barris is angry as all get out with this poor man's Gong Show rehash. I feel sorry for Regis getting involved with this, but he is a big boy and knows what he is doing. Hassellhoff? Sometimes I wish he would just fade away and let the Knight Rider memories remain.

Master of Champions - Better than the above but not by much. The first episode had "drift racers" doing donuts to see how much cheese they could shred. I kid you not. Then it was unicyle stunt riders. The highlight was a 14 yr old girl that could shoot a bow and arrow with her feet. Coolest part of the show.

Big Brother All Stars - Enough said. (Sorry Anne, hehe)And why wasn't there more folks from season one involved with the All Star voting?

Treasure Hunters - I wrote about this show earlier in the week. Will do a quick recap. Nicely done but there are moments that I felt I was watching Amazing Race. Now, Race is one of the better reality shows out there so imitation of that show is not so bad. I am going to watch the next episode Monday night so will let you all know how that one measures up.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - I watched about 15 minutues of this show a few weeks back when FOX first started airing it on Sunday nights. It made me mad and here is why. It reminded me a lot of Arrested Development, the great show that will not be returning this fall. It bothers me that someone would get rid of one show only to replace it with one that is so similar and nowhere near as good.

So You Think You Can Dance - Not bad but not that good either. As with American Idol, the try outs are the best time to watch this with the really really good ones and the really really bad ones having airtime. The rest of the shows are boring and in the end, the judges and the studio audience decides who goes home, not the folks at home. They only decide who gets into the bottom 3. It is always a guy and a girl that get voted off. So not 1 but 2 get to go home each week.

Hell's Kitchen - watched every episode of this last year. This year, not into it. Gordon Ramsay's mad as hell schtick has worn off on me. And this year's crop of would be chefs just are not that interesting.


And that is it for now. Going for another nap, maybe I will eat something. Oh, the peanut butter/hot dog update. I am planning for this upcoming Tuesday night for it to go down.

Nonesuch #166

I am down, way down. Not in a good way, not at all. It may be the heat. It has been very hot all week. I like things cool. I keep the AC on all the time, have fans on me at work and at home. I like to be comfortable but I really havent been all week. Drinking a lot of cold water. It does help some. Had a Frosty from Wendy's yesterday. It helped some but didnt agree with my lactose intolerant self.

"Some people claim that there's a woman to blame"

Yeah and it is. It will be 5 years ago next week we decided to get together for a weekend. Her plans with another friend fell through so I said come see me. We met in library school and after graduating stayed in touch by email for 2+ years. She came and well, we got together. It was great. She was what I thought was the total package: good looking, intelligent, funny, could carry on a conversation. And I could go on and on. But it is just bringing me further down. I dont like being here/there, but here I am. I guess bottom line is I am tired of it being just me. I want to have someone I can come home to, talk about things, fix meals with, laugh at crappy TV and just BE.

I see my friends find someone, get married, settle down. I dont call it jealousy of what they have, I just want my turn. I want to win a time or two, not come up even or lose time and again.

I signed up for eharmony a couple of months back. It is a big step up from okcupid, but I have the same issues. No communication from potential matches. I was emailing with a girl for a bit, but the emails have stopped and her last email talked of being busy. I know what that means. And when they close a match and put "Other" How the hell am I supposed to know if I did something or said something wrong or not? I want to get this right.

I have seen it and I know it is true, men take longer to get over serious relationships. We may not admit it to anyone, not even ourselves. But I am living proof. I often wonder, I am still getting over my recent ex or am I still trying to get over A from 14 years ago? It just feels the same, similar situation, similar breakup. I am the common factor in all my failed relationship, it has to be me.


"Mother, mother ocean, after all these years I've found
My occupational hazard being my occupations
just not around.
I feel like I've drowned,
Gonna head uptown."

Nonesuch #165

I want a vacation.
I want a break from the day to day.
I want to go where it is not so hot.
I want to be able to sleep all night without waking up every 3 hrs.
I want to travel to Coventry, England to see my friends.
I want to be able to play D&D 2-3 nights a week.
I want a cold drink of water, lots of ice.

"Cause, what the world needs now
are some true words of wisdom
like La La La La La"

Randomness day. It is so hot and so quiet here at work. Summer is very slow and today is no different. It is 95 or so outside and the AC is just not cutting it. I am drinking a cold diet pepsi. It is helping. The latest cans have the superman symbol on them advertising for the new movie. I am interested to see how it is. Was a big fan of the first two Christopher Reeve movies back in the '70s.

Please keep my friend Sally in your thoughts. She is going to the doctor's Monday to see if the cervical cancer is gone.


"you
soft and only
you
lost and lonely
you
strange as angels
dancing in the deepest oceans
twisting in the water
you're just like a dream...
you're just like a dream..."

Summer Soundtrack
Since my ipod is still not working just going to be a list of songs that remind me of summer days gone by:

Range Life - Pavement
The Bends - Radiohead
Mysterious Ways - U2
Peace Frog/Blue Sunday - The Doors
Europe '72 [LIVE] - Grateful Dead
Quality of Armor - Guided by Voices
100% - Sonic Youth
Teenage Wasteland - The Who
Whatcha Want? - Beastie Boys
Don't Follow - Alice in Chains
Just Like Heaven - The Cure
Porch - Pearl Jam
Tangled Up in Blue - Bob Dylan
And I guess that's why they call it the blues - Elton John
Mr Roboto - Styx
When Doves Cry - Prince
Cortez the Killer - Neil Young
Message in a Bottle - The Police/Sting
Tommy the Cat - Primus
Tom Courtenay - Yo La Tengo
The White Album - The Beatles
Wild Horses - Old and in the Way
16/16 - Dave Grisman
Going Down the Road Feeling Bad - Doc Watson
Do You Realize - Flaming Lips
Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd
Brian Wilson - Barenaked Ladies
Cactus - Pixies
Modern World - The Modern Lovers
Philosophy - Ben Folds Five

*Update Summer Songs continued...
Scenes From An Italian Restaurant - Billy Joel
Skylarking - XTC
#41- Dave Matthews Band
A Pirate Looks at 40 - Jimmy Buffett

If anyone has any summer songs to add to the list, post them in the comments section and I will add them to the list.

Nonesuch #164 Westley, what about the R.O.U.S.'s?

photo by dragonflysky

They have escaped the dreaded Fire Swamp! This one was spotted in downtown Greensboro, NC. No harm was caused to the photographer.

Buttercup: We'll never survive.
Westley: Nonsense. You're only saying that because no one ever has.

[after Westley rescues her from the lightning quicksand]
Buttercup: We'll never succeed. We may as well die here.
Westley: No, no. We have already succeeded. I mean, what are the three terrors of the Fire Swamp? One, the flame spurt - no problem. There's a popping sound preceding each; we can avoid that. Two, the lightning sand, which you were clever enough to discover what that looks like, so in the future we can avoid that too.
Buttercup: Westley, what about the R.O.U.S.'s?
Westley: Rodents Of Unusual Size? I don't think they exist.
[Immediately, an R.O.U.S. attacks him]


I guess you could call this part 2 in the rodent series.

Nonesuch #163 - How did that get there?

Let's start it this way. Twice a year I have mice. Usually one or two get in the house. I catch them in traps and that is it. Happens in the Spring when it starts to get warm and we have rain and in the Fall when it starts to get cool again. Over a week ago, I saw one run by me in the kitchen. Didn't think too much on it. I knew the traps would get him. Next night, he came out and hung out near where I was for a bit and then went on about his business. I didn't worry about it, but I did change the cheese in the traps just in case. This morning, woke up at 4am. Usual time. I would love to sleep a full night for once. Anyway, I go to the bathroom, lift up the lid and swimming in my toilet is a mouse. How he got there I do not know. I am thinking that he may have swam up my pipe. god, I hope not. There is no way to know if this is the same mouse I had seen earlier. I wasn't sure what to do, so I flushed it. I didn't want to pick him up, I didn't have a fishnet available or a large enough cup to scoop him out and it was 4am. I mean, I do feel bad about having to flush him but I am not sure what else I could have done. And I hope I don't see one in there again.

Nonesuch #162

Things I did not get done this weekend:

Cleaning some more of my house

Mowing my yard

Working in my garden
After the Mother's Day Storm, I was not sure if I had anything left in my garden. This morning I found 3 small rose buds getting ready to bloom. So I guess some of the plants survived. A neighbor of mine lost 200 tomato plants.

The peanut butter/hot dog experiment
Well, it just didn't happen. Had all the ingrediants ready to go and realized I was out of peanut butter. I didn't feel like going out in the heat and I am having to wait for my credit card to cycle so I can go to the grocery so it just didn't happen.
It will happen this week though. Pictures and all.

Things I did do this weekend:
Made 3.4 with my Bard on DDO. And even though that is a good thing, I dont know why I keep playing this game. I have dial-up internet access and the game just does like those of us on dial-up or as I call it diel-up. The game plays but I have so much lag(the time it takes for new stuff to get from their server to my computer) I can see why folks do not group with me more than once. I tried to be the healer yesterday in the group but I was so far behind I would get there after it was needed. I feel like I am just a straggler and taking folks XP. I have looked into roadrunnner but it has not come to the area yet. I hope it will soon.

Napped
I napped some but not really. I dont napped well in the Summer. Even with AC, it can get warm in my house. I tend to get hot when I sleep so the fans are always on me.

Talked to my Dad
I sent him an ecard for Father's Day. I am not sure if it is the one I sent him last year. He didn't say anything. We talked later last evening.

And that is about it. I really didn't do much. The TV was on most of the weekend but I do not remember much of what I saw. OH, I watched Treasure Hunters last night. It was pretty good. Started off strong, slowed down some and then the last 30-40 min was quick. One team was eliminated last night. Some of the teams should not be on there. I feel they are enterntainment value only but I guess they are needed to round out the game. I guess the network didn't want the teams to be all military and ex-cia members. I will watch next Monday night.

And that was my weekend. Exciting? Yeah, thought so.

Nonesuch #161 'Exidor' from Mork & Mindy dies

Robert Donner

Robert Donner, a comedian and character actor known for his roles in TV's "Mork and Mindy" and "The Waltons" and movies including "Cool Hand Luke," has died. He was 75.

Mork & Mindy was one of my favorite shows growing up. When you think of how odd Mork was, Exidor took the cake. I never understood the character but that didn't stop me from liking him.

Nonesuch #160 Deer Friends

image taken by Margie Scott, owner of Sammy


I thought this story was touching and I had to share.

Link found at fark.com
Sammy and friends

I swear animals know more of what is going on than us humans. They can sense when something is wrong and they do their best to comfort each other. I know pet owners know what I am talking about. Our fur-covered friends know when we are down or sick or something is up and they are there right beside us, comforting us.
Here is to the memory of Sammy, to his two friends that came to comfort him and to all animals and animal lovers.

Nonesuch #159 Two great tastes that taste great together

Peanut butter hot dog craze sweeping Du Bois
7-year-old suggests them, people find them yummy

Sunday, June 11, 2006


By Cindi Lash
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

DU BOIS, Pa. -- Russell Emel sure does like peanut butter.

Forget dip for potato chips or ketchup for french fries. Russell demands a dollop of peanut butter on most everything, down to the ice cream for dessert.

But when it came to indulging the first-grader's cravings for hot dogs garnished with a gob of Skippy, Russell's mother balked.

"It's not my thing," said Cyndee Emel, 41, with a grimace. "It kind of made me sick to smear it on the hot dogs for him."

Russell persisted. His mother turned to the Internet, posting half-jesting pleas that would spark a community-wide inside joke in this Clearfield County city of 8,000: Could local meat market operator J. LeRoy Palumbo Jr. appease Russell by creating a peanut butter hot dog?

Mr. Palumbo, whose culinary experiments in the landmark market his grandfather, Dominic, founded in 1927 have resulted in such treats as jalapeno-cheese hot dogs and wild boar jerky, took up the challenge. He and production manager Tom Weaver produced a 25-pound experimental batch, even though they feared it would be awful.

As an unmistakable nutty smell wafted from the smokehouse under Palumbo's Meats of Du Bois, Mr. Palumbo fired off a response to the Web site, announcing, "Come get 'em." That batch sold out in hours. So did the next. (cont...)


When I was younger I came across a recipe I wanted to try. It was called the All American Hot Dog. It was a hot dog with peanut butter, mustard and cheese. You assembled the dog and then put them in the oven to melt all the stuff together. I don't remember what they taste like but I remember my parents didn't like them and I we didn't have them ever again. After reading this, I think will try it again.

And for those that don't know, I really enjoy peanut butter and I really enjoy hot dogs. How it turns out, I will let you know. I have lived on peanut butter sandwiches and pringles for months at a time back in the day. I still enjoy them but I do not eat them as much as I used to.

Nonesuch #158

Today is June 10th, her birthday. Been trying my best not to think about the day and her but when I usually try not thinking on something it ends up that that is all I think about. Her birthdays were good up intil last year. Last year we never saw each other and her car was stolen. She got it back before the end of the day. I tried to see her for a few more weeks but gave up and decided to wrap it all up into the anniversary on July 5th. We never saw each other then either. In fact the last time we actually saw each other was in April 2005. It ended in October. I knew, I swear I knew it was crumbling apart. Of course it is easy to see all that now. In a week it will be 8 months. I don't have the anger I did but I am still angry and sad. I miss what we once had and I fear of being alone.

Nonesuch #158 shepard to lost sheep, shepard to lost sheep

From the Onion's
Inventory: 13 Memorably Unpopular Characters From Popular TV


Coy and Vance, The Dukes Of Hazzard


Ah, scab characters. They get their own special category of fan hatred. They don't even have to be repugnant in their own right—they just have to step in as inadequate or generic replacements for characters that the fans actually enjoyed. Coy and Vance were harmlessly bland look-alikes who replaced Dukes Of Hazzard regulars Bo and Luke Duke during a fifth-season salary dispute; once the contract issues were ironed out, Coy and Vance magically disappeared. What didn't disappear was viewer disgust over the entire awkward swap. See also such most-hated also-rans as Barney Fife's short-lived replacement "Warren" on The Andy Griffith Show, Mrs. Garrett's longer-lived replacement headmistress on The Facts Of Life, Mulder and Scully's replacement agents Doggett and Reyes on The X-Files, etc.


The appearance of Coy and Vance really messed with my head as a kid. Had Bo and Luke really gone off to NASCAR to race? They were both good drivers...who would be the main driver or would they switch off as needed or would one be the pit crew leader. I always saw Bo as the driver in my mind with Luke the behind the scenes man, he was more like Uncle Jesse of the two. I always wondered, were Bo and Luke brothers or were they just cousins to Daisy and Uncle Jesse was uncle to them all? And were they not related to Cooter in some way? Second cousins? So much to think about...

Nonesuch #157

Moby helps to savetheinternet

Nonesuch #156 spam poetry redux part 2

See post below:

And now these spammers are using "The Hobbit" to get past spam filters. Don't they realize that us geeks know spam when they see it?

...his liking. If he plunged into it, a vapour and a steam would arise
enough to cover all the land with a mist for days; but the lake was
mightier than he, it would quench him before he could pass through.
Roaring he swept back over the town. A hail of dark arrows leaped up
and snapped and rattled on his scales and jewels, and their shafts fell
back kindled by his breath burning and hissing into the lake. No...

Nonesuch # 155 ipod March 2005-June 2006

My ipod has died or so it seems. I lost all of the songs off of it when it needed reformating a day or so ago. Now, when I try to reload the songs, it causes my computer to reboot and I have to start all over again. The apple site has not been much help.
Anyone have any suggestions?

I tell ya, I am at a lost. I mean I can still listen to the music from my computer but being able to carry all those songs around with me to play in my car or when I did yardwork was nice. I hope it can be fixed cause I just cannot afford to get a new one right now.

Friday's are short days for us in the summer. We close up at 3:30. I really want to go home now, just do not feel like doing much of anything.

**Ugh, my computer just rebooted while typing what you see above. Luckily blogger saved it so I could pick up where I left off. Maybe it is not my ipod, but my computer. Not good either way.**

Going to buy a new AC this afternoon. My plan is to get it this afternoon and then get up early in the morning and install it while it is still somewhat cool. Supposed to rain and cool things off but so far not a cloud in the sky.

I am not sure what is worse...Brittney Spears or Anna Nicole Smith being pregnant.

Nonesuch # 154 spam poetry redux

Sometime ago Still Point posted some spam poetry earlier this year. Here is one I received this morning. It sparked something so I felt I should share:

Blethers say nought Seven-fifths of all people do not understand fractions A cat may look at a Queen.
Like the measles, love is most dangerous when it comes late in life Happiness is not a state of mind, but a manner of travelling Go to heaven for the climate and hell for the company Opportunity seldom knocks twice If you believe everything you read, you better not read

I just don't know.