ness

What, you're Mr. St. Louis now? When the heck did that happen? Last I knew -- well, that's better left unsaid.

Dynasty? Your word. I merely pointed out that we have a football team. I didn't even know there was a StL style BBQ. Honest. There is a KC style, but there's a lot more than that style in KC. I like ours, go figger. Many sauces. Bryant's <> Gates <> Joe's Thumping chest? Not me, just said better baseball the last two years. Nice try though, Chief.

I just sent 12 ounces down your way. Should be there over the weekend. Make some beer with it

Oh, and KC has football, period. And, it's only a matter of time before we run Bandana's out of Independence, like we did their ill-fated North KC restaurant.

Hah! When I saw the Old Vienna company was a local St. Louis thing, I immediately thought of Guy's.

You've got a good jump on things! I've got some peppers, shallots, leeks and tomatoes going in cells. Onions in the pre-sprout bags. Won't start lettuce until later this month.

Hah! I've never seen or heard of Red Hot Riplets, but I guess they're a St. Louis thing.

Leftover chile verde burritos with some queso fresco This is a quick chile verde I came up with some time ago. 1 pound pork (chops, whatever) chopped into small pieces 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 1 medium onion, diced Salt and pepper 2 cups chicken broth 1 jar Herdez salsa verde Brown pork chunks in oil, set aside. Brown onion in oil with salt. Deglaze pan with stock, then add pork, salsa and pepper. Simmer uncovered until pork is soft, about 30 minutes

Shrimp and grits. Totally winged it. Tony Chachere's instant roux mixed with a little water for a quick, dark gravy. Added some herbs and spices then threw in some shrimp. Served over some cheesy grits. Not too bad, but not too great either.

I never felt debt to GDP ratio was really meaningful all by itself. You've got to look forward, and when you do you see there are trillions of obligations we've already committed to, with billions in additional obligations added each year. And many of those obligations are growing at high rates of inflation, like medical. Saying that we've been there before (debt/GDP >100%) and that worked out OK is a heck of a way to conclude we're fine this time. It does indeed look bleak. China suddenly selling all its US obligations today isn't a real concern. But if they and others did it over time it would put a lot of pressure on interest rates and our currency. Anybody that's paid any attention to how markets work will understand a loss of confidence can cause things to happen quickly. When the 'sell no matter what' stage is reached, things can get really bad. So don't totally discount the possibility. Let's not be casual about the fact that a big chunk of the debt we owe ourselves (i.e. Some of our debt is owned by the Social Security trust fund), as if we should deduct that from total debt. We owe it. That system is a Ponzi scheme defined! What's different is that the government has an almost unlimited ability to continue to tax, so they can continue the scam longer than you and I could. But, it's just simple mathematics it can't go on forever. Saying that all it takes is an economic boom to bail us out is a foolish way to get comfy with our problem. We are growing the problem at a growing rate. We're less and less likely to be able to outrun the problem the longer we keep adding to it. And there's absolutely no end in sight. We've become complacent to the deficits. Look back into history and you'll see empires do fall. Looking just at the US since WWII is pretty short sighted. Hell, we're less than a century from the Great Depression. Are we so sure we're so smart that it couldn't happen again??

^ That right there. I'm extremely surprised it took this long for someone to point that out as an issue. (Sorry if someone else did and I missed it). That is undoubtedly the single biggest issue we have. I hope everyone realizes that the only reason those pieces of paper in our wallets work is because we, and the rest of the world, think they will. When the confidence is gone, all hell's gonna break loose. Our position as the greatest nation on earth is by no means a sure or permanent thing.

Chili verde with fried eggs and cheese on a charred tortilla. One of my favorite breakfasts.

The panna cotta was pre-made for us. Chef said it takes time to set up, so there wasn't enough time to do it last night. Recipe is in the booklet we got -- not sure how it's done (temp or texture). I'll tell you it was excellent. Creamy and tasty without being overly sweet or rich. I'll read up on it and maybe talk to him next week about it because I want to make it!!

Welcome! Sounds like you've got a lot planned. Hope you'll share the results when done.

Alright, so the little lady and I did this 'Couples Cook' thing at the KC Culinary Center last night. They have cooking classes in which they guide you through preparation of a gourmet meal. I'm just gonna cut and paste the menu from their website rather than try and type it out: "Pan-Seared Scallops Over Tri-Colored Lentils with Roasted Yellow Pepper Coulis, Baby Field Greens & Arugula Salad with Red Grapefruit, White & Strawberry Balsamic Vinegars and Blood Orange Infused Vinaigrette Dusted with Hibiscus Fleur de Sel, Seared Pork Tenderloin Rubbed with a Wild Mushroom & Sage Infused Olive Oil and Sprinkled with Bourbon Smoked Sea Salt & Espresso dark balsamic reduction. To finish our wine country dinner - a Mocha Panna Cotta." Is that crazy or what?? RPS probably understands it all, but I had to look up a lot of that stuff. Coulis is a sauce made from pureed fruit or vegetables. Flour de sel is salt from France, that supposedly is the first stuff scraped off the top of the salt ponds where they're evaporating seawater. Panna cotta is a chilled cream, sugar and gelatin dessert. Anyhoo, it was a lot of fun and the food was excellent. The group we were with was a lot of fun too. Here's a few pics: Chef showing us what to do: Doing the scallops. Man, I love scallops! One of the couples there. These guys were a lot of fun Plating up the lentils: The guys at our table. Guy on far left with glasses just happened to be my girlfriend's divorce lawyer The mocha panna cotta. Dang, this was good: Chef was a really good and fun guy. We're going back next weekend for another go. Lotsa, lotsa fun!

Yep.

I just wanted to weigh in on these changes. I'm OK with them.

Bump. This is what ness is going to be getting to work on very soon.

Oh man. I'd better get going.

Great write up, beautiful photos!

Welcome to the forum.

Aw heck. Can I play? I blew the dust off my workbench last weekend and found a vise on there. I can tie ness' Extraterrestrial, or a Block ness Monster, or the ness Hair Caddis or the Gold-Ribbed ness Ear. Pretty please?

He's just having his monthly miracle. He'll be more civil in a few days. Thanks for sharing -- I love the little creeks!

No spoilers, OK?