Travis-Do List (Preliminary Version)

Travis/Trevor/Chaulmers/T-Rav/Trampass/Liberal will be coming down south a few weeks in March. As is the custom, our hospitality opens our house to him free of charge. We provide a bed, some water for cleaning/teeth brushing, towells and power to charge his phone. He provides us with purchasing dinner every night, purchasing donuts a few mornings, gas money (sometimes), agreeing with my wife on everything I bring up and helping me do tasks and chores that pile up. His help with the chores (and feeding us) offsets about the $2.52 he adds to our monthly electric and water bill. I look forward to his visit, as it motivates me to get these tasks completed. For example, the last time he was down, he assembled 4 patio chairs and 9/10 of a patio table, while I unwrapped all the parts and put together 1 chair and held the table while he finished screwing in all the bolts. There is a long list of chores that need to be completed including the following:
1. Fix broken door in the guest bathroom.
2. Hang broken fixture over blinds in TV Room.
3. Put together swingset and anchor to ground.
4. Install flag holder by front door.
5. Drill and install Address sign by front door.
6. Move remaining Christmas items into garage attic.
7. Replace bulbs to outdoor lighting.
8. Weed rockbeds.
9. Trim Palm Trees.
10. Lay sod over dead patches from winter freeze.
11. Paint and/or replace black mailbox.
12. Pressure wash driveway, sides of house and back patio.
13. Clean garage tool shelf.
14. Rent carpet cleaner for TV and Bedrooms.
15. Organize Ebay room.

This is just a few items that need immediate attention during Travis's visit and will continue to add to the Travis-Do List and post an updated version closer to his visit.

The 5 W's of JG

Today I saw a bumper sticker that read "Where's John Galt?". I always thought the question was "Who is John Galt?". I didn't know I was supposed to know where he is at. I was just trying to determine who he is. That lead me to wonder if "When is John Galt?", "What is John Galt?", and "Why is John Galt?" are all legitment questions. If anyone knows him and has found John, let me know, and then I can ask him some more questions.

The Red Elephant

Since this Blog is about Cole Slaw, here is my first official restaurant review. Last Friday, we ate at a fairly new restaurant called the Red Elephant Pizza and Grill Restaurant off San Jose Blvd. It is a family-themed sports bar, kinda like The Loop, but with a small bar, game room and more flat screen TVs. Instead of ordering pizza (like the title of the place), I was hungry for a burger and ordered that instead. We had a coupon for a free app, so we selected the Bacon Cheese Fries. After ordering the burger, I was given the chance to have fries, vegetables, rice, fruit or cole slaw as a side. When I heard cole slaw as an option (and since we already had the Bacon Cheese Fries coming), I had to go with the slaw. When I said that, the Waiter was quick to point out that it was a vinegar-based. I said sure, even though I prefer mayo based cole slaw. The Slaw came and it was nothing to write home about. It was vinegar based and was fairly weak with the vinegar and seasoning. Overall it was lacking taste, dry and was served closer to room temperature, than cold. So after my first bite, I knew I didn't like it, but still finished the entire cup. Overall I would rate The Red Elephant a C- for its cole slaw. Once I get better with this Blog, I will remember to take and upload photos.

Sequins

As I watched the Winter Olympics from Vancouver last night, I had a question to myself that I couldn't answer. Why are sequins the dominating feature of Men's Figure skating attire? Every skater last night looked like a diamond necklace from Jared being thrown across the ice (I wonder if these men go to Jared for their jewerly shopping?). I really don't know any men who wears Sequins in everyday fashion (Do you?). Ever see a man in a maroon sweater with sparking gold sequins at the mall? At church? In the grocery store? Shopping at Wal-Mart? I have been to various countries throughout the world and I have never seen some man walking down the street in Melbourne wearing sequin pants or in Paris with a sequin t-shirt. I have been to numerous sporting events as well and don't see sequins on any other uniforms that athletes wear. You don't see NFL jerseys with the numbers outlined in sequins. Baseball players don't wear uniforms with sequinstripes. Tennis players don't have sequin headbands or sequin wriststraps. What is up with the costumes? With all the sequins and fake tuxedos and whatever else they are wearing, you would think you would just put something on more comfortable to skate around in. Shorts and a t-shirt maybe? That would be fine with me. Why all the long pants and sleeves? If you are really good skater, you don't have to worry about falling down and getting cold on the ice, so you would think you would go with comfort over style. Just once, I would like see a skater come out on the ice dressed like Larry the Cable Guy wearing some cut-off jeans, a tow truck shirt and a red baseball cap. He might even get a bonus point or two just for now wearing sequins. Anyway, I am turning to the loyal readers of C&M to give me an answer.

Twenty-Six Point Five Percent

As my Grandpa used to say, "Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn every once in awhile". Well finally last night the Penn State Nittany Lions Men's Basketball won their first Big Ten Conference game of the year with a stunning 81-70 victory over the mighty Northwestern Wildcats in Chicago, IL. The Nittany Lions now stand at 1-12 in Big Ten conference play and 9-16 overall for the season. Just a few more wins, this teams gets hot, wins the Big Ten Tournament and the NCAA bid everyone thought would happen this year is a reality. Congratulations to Coach Ed DeChellis. With this victory, he avoids the possible scenario of tying the 1981 Northwestern Wildcats who finished that season with an 0-18 Big Ten conference record. Also with this victory, Coach DeChellis is now 30-83 overall in Big Ten Conference play. A winning percentage of 26.5% against Big Ten conference foes (At least that beats 25.7%).

First Post

What the heck do you write about on your first post? Politics? The economy? Sports? Garbage? Bees? Nahh, I will keep it simple and just stick to cabbage and mayonaise, the two primary ingredients of Cole Slaw. Sweet Slaw. Shredded Slaw. Homemade. In a cup at a restaurant. Eat it as a side. Eat it as a snack. With a BBQ. Some Fried Chicken. On top of a sandwich. In a bag lunch. There are numerous types and tastes of Cole Slaw, but one thing I always enjoy is good cole slaw. Weis Markets in Pennsylvania has a good cole slaw. Publix in Florida produces a solid Shreded Slaw. Just had a good cajun cole slaw at Buritto Gallery, thought the portion is pretty small. Actually made some homemade slaw recently for the Super Bowl and it was outstanding. If you have a good cole slaw experience, please feel free to post.