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February 19 A New blog startedFeb 19. 2008
It's been nearly a year since I've done any serious blogging....getting used to my new life in Japan.
I started a new blog.......http://www.pappadragon.spaces.live.com/
For anyone intersested in the " Paranormal" and contrversial events.
I'm hoping I can now keep this blog updated............we'll see!
Life is interesting here and I have new photos to upload soon............
:) July 05 Anna Dragon SlayerWell the weather here in Japan has been rainy, though we did manage a nice trip to the zoo and lunch at the Grand Chism Hotel. I ate too much deep fried pumkin and got a bit sick but it was nice. We got some pics but I need to change my camera settings, they are a tad out of focus.
Some of the holiday festivities at the navel base I'm afraid have been a wash out due to storms.
Anyways.......I am making great progress with the Anna Dragon Slayer video game ! It's a good 1 year behind schedule, but I have tried many platforms to launch the game and characters as well as " terrain " building. It's all very tedious and time consuming and the frustration is often !
Buut...in the end...rewards come to those who are persistant ! I've considered tearing down my Paranormal blog site and doing a blog site devoted to building this game and similar large scale adventure / RPG type games. Of course only those interested in game design and graphics and programming would understand much of it.
Enjoy the screenshots as Anna makes her way through the evil forrest en route to Akurra battling giant trolls and monsters.
Chapter 1 is nearly finished and terrain detailing has already begun for chapter 2.
Have a good 4th of July ! For us here...we are a day ahead and Misae's Curry is on the menu.
It's quite good....Curry is the one food that many good chefs just screw up! June 19 Touch Down in Japan !Wow!!!
Finally here !! It was a long 8 months of separation from my wife !
The flight was exhausting and painful. I sacrificed much to come here.
The new domestic terminal for United Airlines shared with ANA ( All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines ) is a really nice feature for Tokyo Narita International Airport. I enjoyed that very much !
Narita, Tokyo is as big as Chicago, Ohara Field and keeps growing !
I found Ohara to be far less friendly as usual....the security Paranoia and prices of airport vendors is a totally stupid thing......America the Beautiful ?? ( Yeah still beautiful but more like America the Greedy and moronic ! )
My first arrival is almost a blur. Certainly it was cold and rainy...my stomach was nearly sick and i wanted hot soup badly. We found it near Sasebo station late at night at a Chinese restaurant. They make Fabulous soup!! Oh Yeah !!!! That was a hit for me !! I refuse All airline food....it has Never been Safe for anyone.
Enjoy the photos from the Around Home Album...........
Yeah this is a neat place.............certainly I Love it !!
March 19 PappaUshi Euro BurgerA late entry for grilled burgers....but worth noting.
The Pappa Ushi Euro Burger.
A real sweetheart !
A single patty of 100% beef.
Cheddar and Swiss Cheese
Chopped red onions
Chopped tomatoes and fine chopped lettuce ( just a little of both )
Onion Bun
Sauce is : Ketchup and Mayo ( very simple )
Some Secrets :
1. Paint the grill with liquid smoke before you start.
2. Serve with chips and German Potato Salad or Deviled Egg Potato Salad
3. A mug or 2 of Cold Suds is Never a Bad Thing !!!
The Pappa Ushi Euro Burger is simple with underlying smoky grilled flavor.
Do grill the veggies lightly....
This burger is light but full of flavors !
P.S. Try a [ Whisper of sweet relish ! I mean a whisper ! ] March 18 pappa Ushi 3+2Ahh Yes !!
Why 3+2 ? This burger rocks! 3 types of cheese and 2 hunks of pure 100%
beef......( come on girls...keep your mind clean ! )
The Pappa Ushi 3+2 does not use lettuce,pickles,tomato or any other condiment
other than 3 basic elements.
1. Beef...pure beef patties ( no soy meal garbage ). Sorry Ronald...take your orange
mop and clown suit down the road...This burger is meant for real eating!
2. Cheese...this burger is a cheese lovers delight....Swiss,American,and Montery Jack.
Sorry Velveeta lovers, but Velveeta ain't Real Cheese !! I will agree it tastes pretty good.
3. Onions..Use 1 or 2 hearty slices...Red onion for flavor Yellow for heat.
However, red onions after a light grilling display a nice warmth and retain
lots of flavor. What about white onions ? Well those are best for stewing or
if you are grilling out slice white onions and let them smoke on your coals.
This onion smoke is really good on ribs and loins !
This burger is just down to business with no whistles and bells lots of
" I Luv U" factor ! Try to stay with the origins for best result.
If you can't find an Onion Bun, then go with poppy seed buns.
This jewel is a handful, but can be eaten with your dignity in tact.
What's next?
Well not sure...I'm packing stuff up for Japan.
I could do my Originall Pappa Ushi Burger, that has bacon and trimmings.
I might show how to made some really good Ramen !!
Don't say "Yuck" just yet...these little jewels can be done up pretty good !
March 17 World of BurgersWell it's about time I wrote something here !
The 60 day count down is getting close !
I decided to write about burgers because of their popularity and I just 'love'
them! They are nearly everywhere today yes even in Japan !! In fact....young school
children are showing evidence of their love for the almighty burger with a good share
of pre-mature obesity !!
The image of those sexy young high school seniors in their their sailor uniforms with mini skirts
might be fading these days !
*******
Many chefs disagree with several issues about the best burger.
Do you serve with raw onion and ( which type ) or cooked onion ?
Is tomato an issue? What about lettuce ? Lettuce really doesn't add flavor.
*****
One thing for sure, cheese and bacon is a hit most anywhere.
But..what about bacon bits? Cool...no cool ?
Let's face it...you can stack tons of junk between 2 buns and call it a burger
if you want to. But....if you can't eat it in dignity, and it has no "I Luv U" factor,
then let's call it by it's real name....." Just Crap!"
*****
Gaining great attention in Japan and the U.S.A. is a burger called the
Sasebo Burger, designed in Sasebo Japan. Most everyone that has had one
gives the Sasebo Burger a 10 rating. It's not just a burger...it's a Sasebo
Burger..cooked very slow with condiments and bacon and a red egg !
The Sasebo burger definately has the " I Luv U" factor !
Many people on a busy schedule simply can't enjoy this burger for a quick lunch.
However, it is certainly worth trying at a more convenient time !
******
If you are on a busy schedule you could do the " King of Slop" The McDonald's
quarter pound of surprise ( scarey ) or the Wendy's Classic Triple which I do
often. The Classic Triple is just grub...no " I luv U" factor at all. In fact it's pretty
junky...but it seems to feel the empty void. If you are looking for self abuse,
go for the Wendy's Black Forrest Ham and Cheese...just do it I dare you !
Mmmm that home made bread....just like aunt Wheezy's plaster cakes !
********
Next blog.....I'll show you a glimpse of my Pappa Ushi 3+2 burger.
It's not my top of the line, but a really beautiful piece of engineering
that you can make yourself with lots of 'I Luv U ' factor.
In the mean time, check out the newest photo album..." World of Burgers"
Oh by the way...Chips or Fries ? What's up with that ??
February 05 Dry Itchy SkinFeb. is here. To me that usually means a couple of things.
1. Spring is just around the corner.
2. Dry itchy skin.
The air is very dry here in the Midwest, mix that with Kansas wind and you soon are looking
for long handeled tool to reach those areas on your back, under the shoulder blades, or
you could swear that somehow you walked through a pack of chiggers, but it can't be chiggers
because there is snow and ice outside. You scrape your ankles raw.
Here is a very nice little remedy that heals dry skin very well, at least for some of us.
You do 2 things until spring gets here.
1. Drink water...plenty of it.
2. Every morning you get up, don't do the shower thing with your regular deodorant soap.
Instead, do a nice hot soak and use a small amount of Medicated Shampoo in the water.
Don't make a bubble bath with it just use a small amount where there is a bit of suds.
The watre will feel soft. Kick back and realax for 15 or 20 minutes. You can soak your
hair as well. Enjoy a cup of hot green tea while you are soaking.
Get out, dry off and get ready to start your day with some relief from dry itchy skin.
Do this every morning...feels great...and it works well.
As for the brand name...any medicated shampoo should work. January 20 New Japanese Cellphones announcedOooh some new cellphones announced for 2007 in Japan.
One model features a stylus for drawing on the screen, a sketch or
a simple handwritten message for that personal touch...just e-mail it.
Another model features a touch screen with menu. Very cool !
Presently the United States is about 4 years behind the Japanese in cell
phone technology.
To see more cool Japanese check out the photo album " Creative Products"
on this blog site. :) January 18 Shipping to JapanThere is a myrid of ways to ship household goods to Japan and some will
decieve you if you don't do your research !! No Joke !!
My best way is by United States Post Office. Get rid of your big American furniture.
Yes they sell Redi Post boxes that's fine for just a few things.
Rick Davidson, mgr., for Advanced Extrusions Inc. recently presented me with
the " perfect box for international shipping" of small and medium sized household
goods to Japan. the box is 21"x21"x14". In fact...2 Large Redi Post boxes fit
side by side in this box adding extra protection. The best part is that you can
up your weight limit to 70 lbs max and save a lot of Yen / Dollars !!!!
This almost cut my shipping costs 50% !!!!! The size calculation for boxes is
this.....total circumference of box plus 1 side not to exceed 108" and 70 pounds.
"""""""""""
Circumference in this case would be 21" x 2 + 14"x 2 +14" =84"
PIECE OF CAKE !!!! This meets the Post Office standards.
Economy shippings is 4-6 weeks to destination.
This is just fine...
January 14 Bird Flu In Japan !!Sun. Jan 14, 2007
Just got the report from Medical News Today.........
2,400 chickens die on a farm in the Miyazaki Prefecture in Southwest
Japan. It is confirmed......
BIRD FLU !!!!!!!!!!!! Yikes !!!!!! NOT GOOD !!!!!
The big concern has and will continue to be the mutation of the virus
and it's ability to be transferred to humans. The worst flu in history did
just that.
It was the Spanish flu....which by the way was an avion flu that started in
chickens and other birds.
Bird Flu at this point has only been transferred maybe a hundred times or less.
Very few have survived. It is now being reported in China,Malaysia,Taiwan,
Indonesia,South Korea and now Japan.
It is spreading !!!
If you want to keep up on world medical news....check it out:
January 07 Found ApartmentWell.....
It looks like the little woman has found an apartment. I can begin shipping all
those boxes and her mother doesn't have to be inconvenienced by it all.
It's very different from the apartments here in America. The apartment appears
to be spacious [ see photos ]. I like the idea of a balcony but not being above
the first story.
As a rule the Japanese hate clutter....Americans worship it...I can attest to that !
While backing more boxes I am amazed at the amount of stuff I'm throwing away !
Mainly because it should have been pitched a long time ago! I'm nervous
about my time line to get there. Shipping is quite expensive and this puts me
at the mercy of airlines at the start of tourist season.....Not good !
I may have to extend my lease here until June which is looking more
practical every day...not liking it....just accepting it. December 30 KareisyuWhat is [ Kareisyu ? ]
That is the Japanese equivilent of....." the smell of old people"
Recently, I dropped into the Dillions supermarket to grab a few things
and to my surprise it was a senior citizens re-union. A large and predominant
group was there wondering about and shopping.
My gag reflex was kicking in hard as the pungent odors filled the shopping
isles and overwhelmed my ability to breath ! It was affecting clerks as well
as I could tell by their expressions. Holey Moley !! Gotta' get out of here!
This lead me to investigate the ponderings of Why do old people smell?
Obviously Not all old people smell, but why do so many...is there a medical reason?
Actually there is not a lot of serious information out there that I could find but a lot of very
humorous articles about this subject. I did find this info, just in case you might have ever wondered about it.
By age 80, must of us have lost most of our ability to detect odors even from our favorite
foods. Why do old women literally bathe in lilac perfume? Because they can't detect the
smell ! Seniors also have a fear of bathing...more accurately a fear of falling.
The bath tub or shower represents a real danger to an elderly man or woman. Falling incidents
account for many elderly fatalities! Sr. citizens are aware of their limited mobility.
Wouldn't you be too if you creaked like Tin Man ? So the really bad oders are quite simply
a lack of bathing and they really can't smell themselves.
So...next time granny gets to perking like an old toilet that hasn't been flushed forever,
help her into the bath tub. If she's too stubborn to go...invite her to lunch and on the way
pull into the car wash and give her creaky old bones the once over with a high pressure
hose. If you can afford the extra quarters, go ahead and give her the deluxe fluff and
buff.
It's the proper thing to do, Ken Conley PhotosI have recieved permission from ken Conley to display some of his
Japan pix for all those interested. Ken has spent some time traveling from
one end of Japan to the other with a camera. His photos have a unique style
and shouldn't be stereotyped.
Thanks Ken.
You can view more by visiting...
Holiday Wind DownWhew!! Made it through the holidays..with surprisingly good weather
overall.
I was deeply saddened by the loss of longtime friend and webmaster
Marcia Glick that departed us on the 7th of Dec. at 2:00 AM..
She will be missed by many and my heart goes out to the Glick family.
Xmas was a bit lonely due to Misae being in Japan, but good news is that she found
an apartment for us and now I have a place to begin shipping stacks of Ready Post
boxes.
As new year approaches, I always view it as a time to plan and make resolutions
that are real enough to stick with. Getting hammered with liquor and counting down the
minutes was always a rather childlike activity in my mind....the next morning must
be devastating to many...bottoms up mates !
December 22 Talking about Video for Rocky Balboa on MSN Movies
Quote
December 16 Gee a Late Blog!Gee !!!
We made it through turkey day with beautiful weather.
I attended the annual Synthwerk USA get together at the Nuguyen Mansion.
It was more traditional than last year and a wonderful day. Everyone spent most of the
day outside near the large brick cooking pit where smoked turkey, ham, brisket and
duck was being prepared. We didn't even have a jam session this year !!!! Wow !!!
Life IS changing !!
Annabelle insisted that I attend this year as she had a big surprise for me.
Yeah...it was a surprise alright....she and Christinna drove to Colorado and hijacked
my daughter Susan and brought her to the festivities !! Ha! Ha!
Yeah I was surprised !!!
When I saw her I was like..." what the heck are you doing here????"
She was dressed in hiking boots, white knee socks and a camo mini dress.
Very cute...a bit too sexy...but she is 23 so whatever!
My remark was " Uhhh...are you joining the Army?" duuuhhhhh.........
yeah right.
I had a good weekend. I enjoy hanging out with my daughter whenever I can,
but after a while.....( she annoys me !) but....so does my wife so.........such is life.
October 01 Sad week endIt's Oct. 1st already. The last week went fast and I could tell that Misae was having a hard time dealing with it. Japanese people just do not outwardly express emotion very well.
She went back to Japan Fri. the 29 th.
She was shaking as we had coffee in the airport." Nervous?" I asked.
She said that she was cold so I gave her my flannel shirt to wear, as I was wearing it over a
sweat shirt. I could tell that she was nervous...I felt sorry for her.
But she seemed in good spirits when she called me from Japan last night.
Everything went smooth and I was happy. I miss those wonderful smells coming from the kitchen,stir fry sauce and hot sesame oil....mmmm, and I miss her very badly..it's an eerie feeling
of lonliness....But....only for a short time. There is much to do in a short time and I will be joing her....my goal is March. Scottish FestivalWell we had our annual Scottish festival on the 23rd of Sept.
The weather was perfect, unusual because normally it is very rainy that time of year.
There were lots of clan tents for registering your name if you are Scottish.
There was lots of vender booths also selling music, swords, gifts etc.
I've placed some photos of it in an album, but only a few. A bunch of them didn't turn out good at all...I was fighting the sun angle the shade and cloudy periods all day.
The food vendors were expensive and the food really sucked ! Of course.
A really popular event was the strongmen contests and the pipers.
Another popular event was the dancing. Tradition Scottish folk dancing is really quite boring, it's a bit like the European Minuet. I found it humorous that one of the dancers was a Vietnamese guy in his 60's and wearing a Kilt.....ha ! I still find that funny and out of place.
The Sunflower Stompers attracted a large crowd...they claim to be cloggers....oh please....more acurately....hillbilly stomping! They used country western music and their costumes looked like 50'era square dance kinda' thing. The crowd seemed to like them but I kept asking myself...where is the skill in this ? There isn't any...skill or intelligence in any of it.
Then...( oh thank God!!! ) I though that they would never leave the stage !!! The Cory Irish Dancers appeared in beautiful cotumes. These are very young girls the oldest of them being maybe 15 or 16. Irish dancing is fascinating to watch as the arms are always straight to the side of the body and only the legs are used. I find this interesting and certainly in better taste than some old hillbilly skag trying to give the crowd panty shots as she is flipping around her
goofey square dance petty coat...uuughh...eeek....that was scarey to watch.
On the last dance number the Irish dancers decided to put the stupid hillbily stompers in their rightful place ! A young girl moved front and center of the stage....the celtic style music completely stopped...then she began to stomp hard with her loud tapping shoe....
No music...then all 6 or 8 dancers began a complex clogging routine all in unison...
Wheeeww hooo...very impressive...very loud...very skilled...Now that my friends is CLOGGING !
They got a near standing ovation with hoops and hollers...Just loved it ! September 16 Classic WeekendWell, I accidently deleted a small photo album, but no big deal.
I added an album called Hirado and Sasebo...very nice pix. They were taken on
my trip to Sasebo,Japan May 2005.
Well, this is a classic weekend in Kansas. It's hot and windy...very windy!
I was just over at the Synthwerk USA Studio...yikes! It's being packed up and is nearly gutted !
In a few weeks it will be bare walls....a bit sad in a way...lots of memories !
Misae spent Thur. night yelling at me....have no idea how it started....she's tiny but firey!
At least she managed to yell in English this time. I'm still a bit tired from that fiasco.
She likes to argue whenever possible....quite frankly I'm not interested and that seems to fuel
the fight..."you're a weak man! " " Yeah...yeah..what ever!"....I just don't need the hassle.
She leaves in a couple of weeks......maybe she was having a bit of stress.
The town is a bit quiet today...a big thunder boomer last night...pretty good for this time of year.
Soon the trees will be turning orange and yellow....a beautiful sight to see.
September 10 Passing timeToday I added a few more pix. The black swans, several varities of duck and geese
are flocking. They will soon head south for the winter.
The park easily ow has over 200 large birds practicing their manuevers and to see these
large birds take off in a large group and circle aroud and land on the water is an impressive
sight.
We also have a couple of large sand hill cranes....very impressive flyers. They look pre-historic
and are beautifully graceful. |
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