Zombie Gear AR 10

I believe in the Zombie Apocalypse. Although not as in depth as some hard cores believe; I believe that people when pushed up against the wall no matter what ethnic background (with the exception of the Japanese) and no matter where they fall on the social economic ladder; the inherent nature of people to survive at all cost will manifest itself when times get tough.

I think back to the Katrina Catastrophe when mobs of people were running the streets like "Zombies" raping, pillaging and destroying everything in thier sight. How do you protect yourself? How do you protect your family? When chaos strikes because it will, it's not a matter of "if" but rather when and when it does go down, how prepared will you be? One day your watching a movie with your family and the next day your hiding in your closet hoping "Zombies" don't find you.

Guns are a tough subject for many people. Especially when we just recently had a congress woman shot at point blank range by some idiot. I get it. I believe there should be regulations, but we have to be smart about what we are regulating because often times regulations only affect law abiding citizens. Regulations have no affect on criminals. Let me say this again.... Regulations have no affect on criminals. This is why I say we have to be smart about this becuase when that time comes and your life is in serious danger, you will have many options. You can run away from criminals who will have guns. You can try to reason with criminals who will have guns or You can stand your ground with your guns agianst criminals who will have guns. Either way in any situation, criminals will always have guns. I wish this talk was only fantasy, thought up in the deepest darkest segements of my mind, but that is just wishful thinking.

Pictured is an AR 10 Armalite. It shoots a .308 rd or 7.62 x 51mm NATO rd. It's outfitted with a rail system to add sexy equipment, bipod, magpul assualt grip, and Bushnell Tactical Elite 3200 5-15 x 40mm Scope. I will finish her up with a Tactical stock. As long as the Zombies keep at bay, I will be using this beauty this year to shoot wild boar and deer. Some purest believe you do not need a military style rifle to hunt with. My statement to those critics is to look back in history and tell me what military rifle in colonial times were not used for hunting.

In short--- No Matter what your personal reasons for owning a gun is, I urge all gun owners to practice gun safety continously and be responsible. And for non gun owners and Antis who are totally against guns- I urge you to not make yourself appear vulnerable. No im not here to spout off my opinions to people who do not think the same way I do. The bottom line-Criminals are oppurtunist and seek to exploit  easy vulnerable targets. There is real extreme evil in this world. I have seen it up close. It's not pretty. I wish my eyes were virgin like the majority of people who have never experienced it. My only advice; if your in a situation where you wish you would have a gun and don't; Wish a little bit harder that your neighbor has one.

Some people just don't have a clue

Today I was checking around to see if some of my local garden centers carried lady bugs. I am putting my money where my mouth is and I'm committed to attack these aphids organically instead of chemically. They have gained some ground and I see physical sign that they are winning. So today's call was to find out who in my area can help me locally. One out of four garden centers can order the Lady Bugs but will only do so well into the spring. My last resort was to call pest control companies. I mean pests and pest control go hand in hand right? Well at least I thought so. So I called the first company and I asked the guy does he have any lady bugs? He said, "Yup those lady bugs can sure be a problem." I said, "No Sir, do you have Lady Bugs?" He said, "WHAT!" I said, "Lady Bugs; do you have them sir?" He said, "What the hell do you need Lady bugs for?" I said, "Dude Really?!?! I need them to kill aphids. I have an aphid infestation and I use them to kill aphids." He said, "Nope we don't carry no lady bugs." WOW!! I can't believe I had that conversation. But than again his job is to hunt and destroy. I'm going to put this out there to any pest control company that may not know about this side of the house. It will Behoove you to get smart on the use of beneficial bugs for gardeners like myself who want to get rid of "Pests" I'm just sayin, It might be profitable.

Do our Farmers care about Quality or Quantity?

One of my favorite desserts is to eat fresh strawberries drizzled with sweetened condensed milk. Delicious!!!!!!!!!!! However, there was nothing that the sweetened condensed milk could do to make those juicy red strawberries taste any better and in an instant my dessert went from hero to zero and it just simply sucked.

What are our farmers selling to stores these days? I see a lot of fruit that looks great but taste like cardboard. Apples, Grapes, strawberries you name it. Grant it for many of these fruits they are not in season, but that leaves me to think if they are not in season and we have them available, how are they made available. Farmers, Gardeners should produce vegetables and fruits like a well seasoned Chef prepares a meal. A seasoned Chef constantly tastes his food. Unlike some who just throw whatever is ordered on the table without tasting only to realize they suck from reading bad reviews. Sadly enough I want to say that the over whelming majority of veggies and fruits that I have purchased from the super market really suck. Ok I know I am ruined because I grow alot of my own produce;  But that's my point because I know what a vegetable or fruit should taste like.

I guess as consumers we do have a choice, some of us have more choices than others. in many parts of the states people have the opportunity to purchase locally grown food. I have used a great website Local Harvest.org to find local farms in my area. That strawberry must have really been bad for me to rant this long. But I hate being tricked by good looks and bad taste. Disappointing...... Big Sigh!!

We Love Fish Heads!!

Ok sooo I know I am pushing this fish head thing but I honestly think this is the best kept secret. Just thinking of all the fish heads that people throw away, in fact the day we caught these monsters people were just happy catching them and releasing them back because as they stated, big blue fish are not as good as the smaller ones and other big game fish like striper aka Rock Fish.

The nerve of these people to suggest such a thing. For those of us in the know; fish like blue fish, tuna and salmon heads possess something that is soooo exquisite and Divine and has been virtually untouched by the food market except by those of us in the "know." You might ask, "What is this secret?" Well my friends it's called the fish cheek and OMGG!! it's so unreal. For all of you New England folk and all the way down to the Jawsy shore who have access to monster blues in the surf you will want to smack yourself for throwing the demons back into the sea or even filleting these guys and throwing the heads away. I know, I know, eating heads is not the most desirable meal, but it all depends on who shows up for dinner. When we caught these guys I caught three huge monsters, they averaged around 20 lbs plus a piece. My cousin caught an additional 2 and at the end of the day I made a deal with him to give him the whole fish minus the heads if he would just give me the heads. To a normal person like my cuz that was a great deal. But to someone like my in laws who just visited us from Japan a few weeks ago, I would have came across as a con artist trying to keep the best part for myself. Come to think about it thats exactly what I did with my cousin; but hell he doesn't care about heads. At the end of the day we were both happy. And short of dragging a mammoth leg into my den to please my wife with, she was extremely happy with the heads. (For someone just reading this snippet it sounds like we are a bunch of cannibals) The above photos are showing the technique for using parchment paper to grill fish on the stove. All was needed was a sharp knife to cut the huge heads in half; Moderate sea salt and crushed black pepper, wrapped in a paper towel for a day or two and then grilled with parchment paper on medium heat, skin side down until brown and crisp and flip over. After it was all said and done. Served on a bed of rice, garnished with some fresh cut veggies and Bon appetit!!!! Sorry no end photos, I dropped the ball on that one. It smelt so great and my wife and I just started to dig in and half way through I remembered to take a photo. Wooooopsss;)

Plants are tougher than people

Its been a long time since I had post anything to my blog. As this year is passing along I have been victimized by this intense heat. I have literally traveled the world into some of the hottest regions on the planet and nothing compares to this Georgia heat. It's depressing, my dogs are in danger, we here warnings to refrain from working out doors. The compost bin has suffered, the reports of rain everyday gives us a glimpse of hope but no water has come in sight, temperatures have stayed in the high 90s approaching 60 days with 100% humidity and yet as I complain and look for that bullet to end it all my plants still thrive. There are days they yearn for water and if I am gone too long they let me know by wilting, but with a little mist and and some water on the roots they come back with pride. There is so much to learn from plants with regards to dealing with hardships. I think back to how spoiled I am with AC and electricity when I think of folks who live in the same conditions and do not have the same luxuries. Because of this heat I have begun to reevaluate myself, I may think I'm tough but not tougher than a plant. Besides the other day I was chopping around the garden and almost had a heart attack when a toad jumped out. Really....... a toad!! Go figure.

Happy New Year !!! And a toast to Failed Resolutions;)

2010 is here and I made it with all my limbs, fingers and toes. 2009 was a very good productive year. After all it was one year ago today when this blog was in it's infancy that I started to write about how I was going to change my lifestyle a bit and start gardening and transforming my new urban home into an urban homestead. Blogging has given me a way to reach out with people all over the world, people who I would probably just smile at while standing in the grocery line or shout at because I got cut off in traffic; either way, the friendships that have been established on here have served to be very valuable and I look forward to learning new things from everyone.

So starting with a recap of last year I planned my garden, I created raised beds, I started a very successful compost bin, I GREW VEGETABLES!!!!! YESSSSS!!! and lots of them for the first time!! It was amazing! But I failed at growing radishes WTF!! This should have been the easiest thing to grow ever, and I yes I sucked at it. I grew Watermelon and cantaloupe in HAY BALES!!! Yes HAY BALES!!! and they grew like wild fire. Hay bale gardening was such a success that this year it will be a major player in how we grow alot of our veggies. We grew edamame, Japanese cucumbers, Japanese eggplant, shisho, 4 different types of tomatoes, zucchini, corn, snap peas, collard greens, bib lettuce, spinach, 4 different types of Japanese leafy greens, Potatoes in a bucket, onions, garlic, and started 3 different grape vines that are trellised around the garden. We also started a small orchard by purchasing a dwarf cherry and peach tree. Ok let me take a breath. We got two chickens that gave us so many eggssssssssss, (there taking a break now) and I found a good deal on 6 rabbits that will start my breeding program to supply meat (My wife is trying to make them as pets. I think we need a rabbit dinner real soon to bring things back full circle) I trapped my new hunting buddy Delta who gave me hell and with his inital training and I have a crazy New German Shorthaired Pointer Named Jackson who is................................................................................ Simply HIGHSPEED all the time until he comes in the house lays on his bed and snores in sequence with my other dog Cheeba and my 30lb tabby hugo who like to sleep on my wifes head right next to me, yes im a bit Td but I love em all. 2009 has been great and I now that we are in 2010 I have so much more to do.

First I don't really like resolutions to myself but I will make at least one that I will stick to. This year I am going to volunteer my time to at least 3 individuals in my area and get them started on growing veggies. They can live in an apartment or have a backyard. But I figure with all the knowledge that I have gained over this past year from all the wonderful people that I have met on this blog I can help someone get started. So I know I can't change the world all at once but I can start with one container, one pot, one seed and one person at a time. So that's my realistic new years resolution everything else is just going too happen. I would like to tell myself that I won't drink as much beer as I did in 2009, But who I am I kidding. I love Beer and I love food, in fact that's why I think I was born, too drink beer and eat good food. In fact I will grow Hops this year. I can't guarantee I will make my own brew, But I will start by growing my own Hops. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm I can smell the Hops. But Ok I will say this. I will run longer this year. I put in approx 15 miles a week last year and I want to bump that up to 25 before spring. Ok that's enough of the new years resolution, Today is my off day and I am looking forward to a cold one:)

Lamb Fries anyone!?!?

So im visiting this Extreme cold state of Oklahoma and went out to eat and there I found the Infamous Lamb Fries on the menu. I had to try it. The thought of eating lamb scrotum didn't bother me a bit. It was really good. But than again everything fried tastes good. So Im not sure if they were prepared for lets say a "Puritan" if I would have appreciated them. I don't have very good memories of Oklahoma, the last time I visited I almost died of pneumonia but I did get to see my first ever tumble weed barrel across the road I only saw those on the movies and I also saw my first ever prairie dog in a real live wild prairie town. Being from NY City I was wishing I had that huge hammer to smash each one of them as they poked there heads out. But anyways here I am again in this frigid 17 degree F whipped air battling with another cold. It sux. My wife told me it was 70 degrees yesterday back home, Bummer!!

I feel like pulling my stubble out.....

First, this friday was amazing; we met our new pup "Jackson" at the airport. He was everything we ever expected. Im sure there was a lot of confusion going on with him as we did our little meet and greet. My wife and I realized that we really never owned a puppy. When cheeba came to our door step she was beyond the yappy I need everything stage. So it's kind of new for us to deal with such a fragile giant. Right now crate training is going really well. We just have to fight beyond the cries of bloody murder and keep on a schedule. I realize that the best we can do for Jackson is to give him direction and stay consistent. For now we are off to a great start.

Second; Saturday started with me and petsmart having a big argument. Yesterday morning I decided to again resume trapping a passage redtail. But I first needed to get a dark colored mouse. So I walked into petsmart and I asked one of the managers if they had any feeder mice. She looked at me with certain disgust. She said, "Oh, we don't sell feeder mice! All of our animals are for pets only!" I was so friggen annoyed. so I looked around the store and snapped back by saying, " So I guess that fish tank full of FEEDER fish is not meant to FEED other fish and that cage of "Crickets" is not feed your lizards?" She had no comment as suspected. I know she was calling me everything in the book. But I was just fed up and asked her to just get me one of her fancy mice. Her eyes got soooooooooo wide and she blurted out that "WE DO NOT SELL FEEDER MICE!" I said, "Ahhh, yeah I know, you made that very clear, sooooooo, please sell me a FANCY MOUSE!" She said, "For What?!" I said, "Forrrrrrr none of your business!" I told her that it was obvious I was not going to feed a mouse that cost seven dollars. I just need it to catch a hawk. When I said that her big Jawls just started Gasping, as though she was having an asthma attack. Im in total disbelief at this point. I cut it short by telling her that my mice don't get hurt they are in a cage and the hawk can't get to them. But before I could by the FRIGGEN, FANCY MOUSE, I had to get literature on Mice care and sign some papers on some other stuff and the whole time I am screaming inside Saying, "I JUST WANT A DAMN MOUSE LADY!!!" So with a few more deep sighs I sign the papers and receive my mouse. While everybody looked at me with there little beady eyes piercing through my soul as I walked out. All I could say as I walked out was. WTF!?!?!

Trapping- I get my Fancy Mouse in the trap and within 30 mins from the time I left petsmart I had One Adult Female on the trap. I had to let her go because I was looking for a passage bird. I began my trek through the mountains and found a great spot over some farm land where I saw a huge Passage redtail and threw the trap out. The Passage Redtail Came to the Trap and I said, "YES!" I drove up to the trap and the Huge Passage Redtail was trying to foot the mouse through the cage. But I noticed something. Not one damn Noose was hooked onto her talons or leg. I shook my head in disbelief. I drove my car up to the trap approx 10 feet away and the Redtail didn't move. She just RIVER DANCED on the trap trying to catch the mouse and didn't get caught. Again, Pulling my stubble out saying WTF!?!?! And she flew off. What a day, what a day, What a day.

Hunting-the Good and the Bad

You would think that a person who wakes up at 4 o-clock everyday would relish the thought of sleeping in late on the weekends. Not this guy; during hunting season I wake up at 3. It seems like with all the preparation I do, I am so how never prepared. Im constantly thinking about everything; my scent, the time of the year, the time, the wind, how will I lure them in and it goes on and on. So when I eventually leave the house I am so exhausted from the mental mind #&^! that all I want to do when get to my stand is sleep. But who am I kidding, it's hunting season and the deer are starting there Pre-Rut. I know that as the sun rises movement will shift from the feeding grounds to the bedding grounds and Bucks young and old will begin sizing one another up for full rights to the breeding ground. It's a fantastic time of the year, until your in your tree stand at O-dark-thirty and rain clouds pull over and deliver a torrential downpour all day. All I can do is just lower my head and shake it from side to side. But luckily I came prepared. I stored my poncho in my hunting bag and as most hunters would retreat to back home, this hunter started a stalk. I know from past experience that hunting while it's raining in the dense woods can have it's advantages. First deer will have a very hard time hearing you as you walk through the woods and second, the rain keeps scent dispersal to a minimum. So as I stalked I found areas in my hunting area that I didn't know existed like a deer highway that had multiple scrapes along the path. I poured some doe urine in the fresh scrape and sat back aways. As I sat I noticed movement from the corner of my eye. It was a very young doe working her way up the path. As I shifted she caught site of me and turned around and ran the other way. But nevertheless, I turned an uneventful day into an eventful day and latter on this week I will again wait in ambush for some unwary deer to walk by. For now its deer 1- wet hunter 0.

No Wonder They say we all look the Same

The other day I called a surveillance installation company and spoke to a gentleman that has been installing cameras for 20 years. In the past few months somethings have been happening in the neighborhood that we think merits the surveillance of our property and surrounding areas. So anyway, I got the gentleman on the phone and we started talking about all the different systems and the cost to purchase and install. In the back ground I could hear several chickens and we struck up a great conversation about raising chickens and how much fun they are. This went on for approx 5 min, after which, we again got back on to topic about the cameras and I asked the question about what is the difference between the two types of cameras. He began giving me a breakdown about one camera and when he got to the other camera he began by saying in a whisper, "We'll I don't mean to be racist, but if you get a negro coming to your door it will be really hard to identify him if he's dark." I said, "Oh really, Because I don't want a camera that can't pick out all Negros; when can you come over and install?" I don't think this guy realizes I am black. It's going to be real funny when he sees me. Other than the Old style negro comment, I think he is a really nice guy. I will have to bust on him though and make sure my camera passes the Negro test:)

Social Responsibility

Many popular food chains are advertising on their websites that they are socially responsible. But upon closer look, I start to question how could someone call themselves being socially responsible when they serve food that has calorie laden food that should be considered socially unethical. We scanned through many of these sites only to find food so high in calories that it would make up your one total meal requirement for the day. How is this being socially responsible? Its actually disgusting. My wife and I love to go out and eat, but honestly what can we eat that will be considered healthy from us from the major chains. Im sure I can go to these places and pick through the menu and search for a meal that could be healthy. But it would seem to me that a company that is claiming social responsibility should already consider these issues and try to do what they can to curtail the problems. I understand that eating fresh organic food can only be purchased at really nice restaurants, so I start to wonder, why in the world would I want to eat anything else and since it costs too much to eat at most of these places, I would rather cook myself. So it looks like there will be no more dinner and movie for us. We will just go to the movie. But wait, there is that Popcorn washed with fake butter and a soda Issue, that cost wayyyyyyyyyy more than the movie. I'll talk about that at another time.......

Tornados Got to love em.

The past couple of days Mother N has been really pushing the bar around my home and inparticulary around the garden. We had another tornado jump in and out of several spots where I live and one tornado hit destroyed property 3 blocks away from me. It left me scratching my head and wondering about the 'What If". Nevertheless, my garden has started to make a remarkable come back from the destruction sustained from the tornado a few weeks ago. And we have not even bought the plastic sheet to lay over the garden. Im playing with fire. Note to self...... " Buy the damn huge Plastic sheet!"

But even though there has been total mayhem thier is some good that has come out of the destruction. For one, the town phenix city which is in Alabama was hit pretty hard and I don't think if the tornado hit they would have even bothered doing any rebuilding. That town seemed like somebody pressed the pause button back in the 80s and died. So hopefully with rebuilding being started up it can spark some interest in to that depressed town. Also I have found a treasure trove worth of garbage that I post shortly. I found two useful shelving systems that were thrown out and that I have reused for my ongoing plants. My porch is starting to look like a jungle and I love it.......