The Winotech VoluMaster 9000™

Necessity is the mother of ugly, brutish invention. The volume control for an otherwise high-quality, much-liked set of computer speakers needed replacement. Radio Shack provided the innards, and Sam Ash Music provided the guitar volume knob. After some guessing about how to wire it (no thanks to the total lack of a wiring diagram), the craftsmen of Orange Wino Laboratories & Bakery got it to work.
And just to remind everyone who surfs the internets how cool I am, that's Highway to Hell that I used for test music.

Michigan Beer has Arrived

I had a Bell's Amber at the Sawmill Taproom the other night; that's how I knew that a distributor was carrying it here. The Amber is decent, but Two Hearted Ale is where it's at for me.
I got this sixpack at Total Wine. The Kalamazoo Stout is big and bitter; good for winter. The Third Coast Old Ale is even better; I hope they carry it. It's strong enough to act as a natural antifreeze in your bloodstream.

A Bit More

More Progress

Lindz and her dad put up a few more tiles. While they were doing that, I was making a carrot cake:

Progress

A visit from my father-in-law is an effective catalyst for home improvement.

I Think I've Chosen the Tombstone I Want

It's about 60 feet tall, and it's in Kill Devil Hills, NC.

The Scientific City of Murania

SmokeDroid's Finished Product

Salmon in the Sun

A friend of mine asked me to smoke some salmon for him. Here it is after being taken out of the salt. It will air dry for a few hours to develop a pellicle, and into SmokeDroid it will go.

Lindz got a new job!

After much time spent being unhappy at work, and then some more time spent job hunting, things have come together. Lindz is beside herself with glee. We celebrated. Mom had sent us some money as an anniversary gift, admonishing us to do something fun with it. I got a bottle of wine the other day. The new job was deemed a fitting reason to drink it. I cooked dinner for us. Lindz snapped this shot of my foot while I was cooking. She gave me the brown Dansko Clogs for Christmas.

The main course:

What you're looking at is a good, all-natural pork chop, not much less than a pound (one of a pair, of course), grilled, topped with a flavor-packed goo of my own design. My brother's fine gift of a food processor gave great service here. I pureed:
some dried blueberries
some dried apricots
a clove of garlic
some pine nuts
some olive oil
some balsamic vinegar
a splash of red wine
salt and pepper
some fresh rosemary
a bit of lime juice
It was thick and jammy.

The wine: Ridge Geyserville 2003. Mostly Zinfandel, with a few other red grapes in there. Big, balanced, jammy and strong. A truly fine wine. It had plenty of what I love about Zinfandel; it's what wine would taste like if J.S. Bach made wine. We had whole wheat gnocchi tossed with parmiggiano and olive oil as a side dish here. A salad, too.
Good times!