Tag: grill

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It’s Hot up Here!

I brought some spare stuff to work with me so I could wire Heaven’s new office. My first goal was to get up to the switch cabinet in the shipping area to see if they just needed to be patched in. I had to ask Charles to get someone to clear a path, since there were pallets upon pallets of stuff all underneath where I needed to be.

They got that cleaned up and delivered a scissor lift quicker than I could have imagined, so Muad’Dib and I took a walk through the plant to try and find some cable. I tried to get him onto the lift, but he refused to jump up. He stayed right by me though, while I went up. The cabinet was completely full of the blackest dust and dirt that got all over anything it touched. The switch wasn’t protected at all. There were no air filters or dust covers anywhere. There also weren’t any unpatched wires, and I couldn’t see cables coming into the cabinet anywhere, so I came back down and drove the lift over to the other switch cabinet by the line. More dust, and still no cables.

I walked through asking everyone, and nobody knew where any of it was run. Finally, Charles went over there and took a picture of the other side of the cabinet, where cables were barely sticking out from behind the cabinet, just out of sight and reach. I took the lift back over, and managed to reach up from behind to grab them. It was super uncomfortable, and super hot up there, but I eventually got them down and into the cabinet.

Three of the four lines were Cat6a, so my fingers felt all torn up by the time I was done with those. We made it down and brought a laptop to Heaven so she could get signed in. Rhonda had a fit about her leaving, and then gave Teddy to me since Muad’Dib got hyped for a run outside. I let them run around before taking Teddy back in, and then Muad’Dib and I grabbed some Arby’s and McDonald’s fries for lunch. Our Aptean call was coming up quickly, so I just ate in my office right before the call. The call itself was pretty pointless since we hadn’t done any more testing. I really need to get Janice and Elizabeth set up.

We eventually made it back out to Heaven’s new office to terminate there. I decided to just use RJ45 connectors on both ends, then went straight into the switch, since I didn’t have any keystones anyway. I thought maybe they had used Panduit Mini-Com keystones like they did in our main rack, but they did not. I’ll just have to go back and do it right later. By the end of it, I was able to verify data on all four cables, though PoE didn’t test completely right. I chalked it up to the dirt that I couldn’t blow out.

Finally, I got to focus a little bit on the security gates again. I found some manuals and tinkered with the setup utility some more, but didn’t really have anything to show for it by the time we left. Everyone else was long gone, and we made it home through some fairly thick traffic.

Summer was doing her nails, and Eaddie came home and cleaned her room a bit since she wanted to unbox the vacuum-sealed sofa I got her. I grilled some of the squash and zucchini that I brought home from Janice, and the three of us finished up the ribs from the other day. I took Muad’Dib for a run as it got dark and cool, but it still felt pretty miserable and stagnant outside. We visited my parents, and made it home in the dark.

Summer went to bed surprisingly late, especially considering she had a race in the early morning. I got us tickets to see The Odyssey in IMAX, so I tried not to stay up too late.

Much to do!

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We Have Data!

Muad’Dib has been leaving a couple times over the night to sleep in Eaddie’s bed, and I’ve loved having some space back, but I still miss him. I’m glad he comes back when he hears me wake up in the middle of the night. We got to work just as Joel and Dexter got in, so he had to run up and see them. We walked in and had to jump right to work, because Tyler had been waiting on me to get into his computer after something killed his Hello PIN.

After that, I spent all day tinkering with my Traverse Global import, and I was happy to finally get some traction on that. There’s still more translation to do before it can be properly imported, but at least now I won’t have to go to the staff meeting empty handed.

We went to Ortega’s for a late lunch, then ended up staying just a few minutes late to finish up. On the way home, Summer said that Julie invited us over for a swim and burgers, so we headed over pretty soon after I got home.

I brought along a grill table I got for them on Vine, and I spent most of my time assembling it. Everyone else had already been swimming, but Summer did a couple laps while I worked on the cart. We ate, I took a little dip, and then we finished the cart and headed home for the night.

Summer kept showing me videos of Check-H burning down, and I hated to see such an icon of Russellville go down like that. They were always pretty good when we went, so hopefully they can rebuild better.

What are you schemaing about?

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Pork Choppin’

I surprisingly woke up pretty early today and didn’t feel groggy, but I just wasn’t ready to get up before the sun, so I slept for a couple more hours until Summer got up. I had a leftover waffle, but nobody else wanted to eat with me. Eaddie left and was gone for most of the day, but Summer we planned to cook a nice dinner in the evening.

Summer eventually went to the gym, then we cleaned up the kitchen a bit in the afternoon. We eventually got out of the house to go to the Neighborhood Market for groceries, and just as we got inside, it started pouring rain. Muad’Dib didn’t seem terribly bothered in the car, so we continued shopping, and it had stopped raining by the time we were done.

I had voiced frustration trying to continually plan around Eaddie when she has become less and less reliable over time. She loses my stuff as well as her own stuff, and I’ve gotten to the point where I’m just ready for her to move along with her own life, but she doesn’t have any source of income yet. I think we’ve agreed that we just need to do what we’re going to do in spite of her, because we’re always going to cook more than just the two of us can eat anyway, and then Eaddie can join us or not without any expectations.

Summer made mashed sweet potato and broccoli, and I grilled pork chops, zucchini, and squash, and it all turned out really good. We’ll have plenty for the coming week, with opportunities to amend our meals with other sides. Dinner was great, and I finished up some laundry before we started winding down for an early bedtime.

Pork paper!

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Lemme Cook

We got up this morning and I decided to make pancakes and waffles, so Summer and I went to the Neighborhood Market for some milk, and browsed for something to cook for dinner as well. We ended up with a whole bunch of New York strip steaks, sweet potatoes, and Brussels sprouts. The girls went back later for some russets though, because I really wanted a classic baked potato.

I was disappointed in my breakfast, which we ended up eating right around noon, because both the pancakes and waffles didn’t really fill in, and had holes or jagged bits after they were flipped. I did get to use up a bunch of blueberries and bananas that had been sitting around for a while though. At least everything tasted good.

The kids had to go to a recital in the evening, so we planned to have dinner early. I tried to clean up a bit, and got the kitchen taken care of, but before I knew it, we had to start on dinner. I had gotten a fire started in the fireplace that we never really got to enjoy before I had to get up and start the smoker. I wanted to smoke and then sear the steaks I got, but time dictated that they could not smoke for long before they needed to be ready.

By the end of it all, we had everything ready and it was only Eaddie that ate. Eli didn’t come over, and Summer and I weren’t really hungry enough for dinner quite yet. Eaddie had also brought some ribs and chicken wings that she just picked up from her father in Clarksville. She ate and then left, so Summer and I cleaned up a bit more before sitting down to eat a small dinner ourselves.

We cleaned up a bit more before relaxing a bit. Then as the evening came to a close, the fire roared up in the fireplace again, so we sat together to watch that for a while before bed.

Speedrun Sundays

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Smoke and Fire

Summer made us bacon, egg, and cheese bagels this morning. I didn’t feel great for most of the day, but she wanted me to smoke some ribs. I had pulled out a frozen prime rib last night, and I figured we could go to the store to get ribs and anything else we wanted to smoke.

Muad’Dib really wanted to get out, so we took him and just let him hang out in the car while we went in to the Neighborhood Market. We got a couple racks of ribs, potatoes, asparagus, corn, a couple sausages, some chicken quarters, and a couple steaks since a lot of it was on sale. When we got to the house, Summer cleaned the potatoes while I got the smoker going.

I managed to fit both ribs, the chicken quarters, and the prime rib on the grill for smoking, and let it go for about four or five hours. I probably could have turned the temperature down even lower, but I didn’t get started as early as I intended, and I wanted to make sure everything finished on time. The chicken came off first, and then I had room to add the corn and steaks. As everything was finishing up, I turned the heat up to cook the corn and asparagus.

I guess the massive amount of meat had dripped enough grease that I immediately had a fire start burning out of control. Luckily I had the fire extinguisher in the kitchen, and that put it out really quickly without any fuss. The sausages and steaks were really the only things that got black from that smoke, but they should still be fine.

Eaddie had Eli over and the four of us all sat down to eat way too much. We didn’t even touch the chicken, but I bet it will be good to take to work with some rice. It was pretty quiet after we ate. I had been feeling extra depressed all day, so I just wanted to avoid any more interactions. I eventually took a shower and went to bed.

Yù Yī

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The Flamboyance

Summer disappeared this morning to run some errands, and Muad’Dib finally got up from between my legs, freeing me from my splayed prison in the night. He crawled up beside me, then pushed himself into me to be the little spoon, so I had no choice but to lie with him a little longer before getting up. It was his birthday, after all.

When Summer got home, she had already picked up most everything she needed to throw Eaddie’s pool party. She had a little bit of prepwork to do, but all I really did was pull out the collection of flamingo gifts and take a shower. Eaddie got up and left for something, so we just got everything ready.

Summer had to leave for some new wrapping paper, and she left all the food on the floor, so Muad’Dib helped himself to a bag of hamburger buns, then hid what remained of it in his little spot by the fireplace. By this point, I couldn’t do anything but roll my eyes. For some reason, she also bought huge Ball Park buns to go with the cheap, shrinking, frozen burger patties, and somehow that was the more upsetting part.

We eventually got everything to my parents’ house, and we started blowing up balloons for a big flamingo arch. Neither of us had ever done that before, so we didn’t really know what we were up against. There were a ton of balloons, and our air pumps were woefully underpowered. Dad pulled out an electric pump for inflatables, but it didn’t push out enough pressure. I ended up blowing up many of them by mouth, but I was so hot and sweaty by that point that I didn’t really ever hyperventilate.

Once the balloons were inflated, she went outside to set up and I assembled the arch. It came with a neat little plastic strip that hooked onto the knots, and I just went down the line filling in the best I could. I had a giant one blow up, and a couple others fall off, but we eventually got it mostly done and carried it outside. That was when the fireworks really started.

I don’t know if it was just the heat, or shifting of the things in the wind or against other objects, but balloons started randomly popping loudly enough that it scared Muad’Dib. He pretty immediately ran away, and nobody seemed concerned enough to chase after him. At one point he actually ran out the fence and started running toward home. Luckily Eaddie and Eli saw him on their way over, and stopped to pick him up.

From that point on, he stayed mostly in the cabana. It was hot anyway, so he didn’t have a great time. We took a dip in the pool, I had to run home for a couple things. I took Muad’Dib with me because he really wanted to go. He just stood at the car door and waited to be let in. We got our stuff and headed back as others showed up.

I had to restart the charcoal at some point, but eventually got things going. I was getting smoked out, but people were also crowding me at the grill, and I couldn’t get out of it. My eyes burned on top of the sweat that was already irritating me. Julie and Kevin took over the grill after that.

Overall the party was a success. The kids seemed to have an okay time, though things did seem less centered around them due to the limit on outside friends that could be invited. We all ate, Eaddie opened presents, we had mushy milk cake, and then people filtered out. Summer, Dad, and I cleaned up, popped all of the balloons we spent so long filling, and eventually got loaded up to go home. Just as we were about to leave, Mom decided she wanted some hamburgers and I had to partially unpack the trunk to get food for her.

We finally made it home where Eaddie and Eli were hanging out. They had plans to leave for the evening, but I had one giant, stuffed flamingo left to gift her that we had forgotten at home. Once they left, I made Summer and myself a couple drinks and thought we’d get to sit down for a moment, but then I realized how late it was. I left her on the couch and went to wrap up my own chores, but apparently I wasn’t vocal enough about it and she got her feelings hurt.

She went to bed, I did my thing, and then it was off to bed.

Flocking fabulous.

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On Hopes and Incense

Summer went to the gym and Eaddie went to church. I had a slice of pizza left over from I know not when, and then showered in time to get to Lelan’s to help grill pork chops before everyone else showed up. It was the second Ngày Giỗ since Bác Vân’s passing, and she had me grill pork chops and an assortment of sausages to add to the smorgasbord of other traditional and favorite dishes they would offer to those in the Great Beyond. The girls showed up after Summer finished mowing the lawn. Julie and Kevin arrived pretty close to the agreed-upon time. Our parents were, as expected, last.

Those who chose to, prayed. Dad made it a point not to, out of respect for his own faith. There didn’t seem to be any difference to me whether you prayed to a deity with or without incense, but I carried that learned respect with me when it came time to bless the food. I felt the emotion and the want, but I knew that to me, there was only the present, and I was there to enjoy the company of my family.

We visited as we waited for the incense to self-extinguish. There was something very traditional about sharing cold dishes after they had been offered to those passed. Lelan evidently didn’t get the message about my customary flattened, boiled eggs, and with fewer and fewer people upholding these traditions, I wondered who would slice The Sausage that I Like™ to eat with steamed rice on the anniversary of my own passing.

I didn’t love that Randall wasn’t there, but he is also a man of many cultures. At least having fewer people made eating around the table easier. After we ate, Dad had a slideshow of a trip to Europe they took before I was born. I was neither nostalgic nor sentimental about any of it, but we did eventually find a photo of me in a bunny costume.

When we all parted ways, Lelan, Stephen, Mom, and Dad all headed to the cemetery. I ran home first to get Muad’Dib, since I figured it was important that somebody new should be a part of the tradition. Once Mom and Dad showed up, they burned some more incense and offered fruit as, I suppose, dessert. We stood in the shade and visited until the incense burned out, and then we all went home.

I stopped at Casey’s to redeem a free drink and ran into Rusty, riding home from a day’s work at Atwood’s, on a small Shadow. We chatted for a little while before I eventually made it home. Eaddie had left again, so I talked Summer into going swimming at my parents’ house. We took Muad’Dib along, and Mom was watering plants when we got there. The pool was just about perfect, but we couldn’t convince Muad’Dib to dip his toes in the water.

We headed home after dark, and Summer went straight to bed. Eaddie came home really late and talked to me for a long while. She shared about her own day out, and then tried to help by telling me to be selfish and buy a sailboat. We talked about dreams, expectations, and the paralysis of choice. It doesn’t seem to me that there is a real choice, so for now, we’ll all float on.

Good news is on the way.

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Whoa Black Cherry

I was a bit in and out this morning, enjoying an upside-down dog in the bed between us, when Johnny called to check in. I got up and talked to him for a bit, and then made sausage and eggs for Summer and myself when she got around. Eaddie was slow to get up, but didn’t want any breakfast.

Summer had a couple of meetings to attend online and did some work from the couch, and I tried to clean up around the house a little bit. I don’t remember exactly what it was that had me feeling amiss, but I eventually found myself in my office writing Vine reviews to get my ratio up before the end of the month. I’ve got to get it up 20% in ten days to keep my account in good standing.

We had a few more flies, and were all pretty sure something died somewhere, but didn’t have any luck finding it. Muad’Dib seemed unaffected. Later in the evening, Summer ate our Mexican leftovers, so I grilled a single burger patty to place between two frozen grilled cheese sandwiches. It wasn’t edible. Eaddie had left to do things with friends, so it was dinner for one over the sink.

It was still a little warm when I finally decided to take Muad’Dib out for a run, but he had been cooped up inside all day and was excited to get out. We did a leisurely walk under five miles an hour, hung out at my parents’ house for a bit, and then took a short path back home for the night.

What a sweet dog.

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Scientific Proofs

It looked like it could rain a bit today, but it didn’t hit until the drive home. It was another really quiet day since I think most of the people in the building were gone. I had an anxiety attack fairly early in the morning, but it passed quickly without issue. I figured out some of the Fortinet licensing and got it registered to our account, but could never get the VM template to show up. I also had the idea to register a domain for the South Big Scissor Scam District for our Gophish campaign. Gemini coded a website for it and everything.

Nobody said anything about lunch, but I brought a soggy leftover burger anyway. I quietly ate that at my desk and rode out the afternoon. I thought Randy had been gone all day, but just as I was getting ready to leave, I saw him in his office. He had been super quiet, but he said it was only because he was hard at work. I left a little early and made my way quickly to Morrilton.

I got to Bitec about five minutes early, which seemed plenty. I chatted with Teisha until David came in and started talking about AI, and then Joel came in to talk a little more about the things they had done since last year. It was super informal, and I ended up handing them my “fun” résumé. Then I offered to show them a magic trick. Teisha found a couple rubber bands, and now hopefully I’ll be able to disprove the notion that performing magic tricks at job interviews is a bad idea.

It started raining a heavily-misted rain on the drive home, so traffic was super slow. I stopped by Superfast to fill up on washer fluid, and then went to the Neighborhood Market to get some stuff for dinner. I had mentioned burgers, but then I saw a couple packages of steak on sale, so I got that instead.

The kids went out for a bike ride as soon as I got home, so I started grilling corn, beef sausage, and steaks. Summer got home and we ate, and then I took Muad’Dib out for a run. The ground was wet, but it wasn’t too bad in flip-flops. We visited my parents and made it back home for a quick brush before bed.

But why isn’t it “jabañero?”

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Rereview

I woke up a couple times with Muad’Dib, but we ended up sleeping in until around ten o’clock altogether. He laid by my side with his legs stretched out into my chest until I finally decided I should get up. Summer left for the gym. Eaddie got dressed for, and then skipped church because Eli didn’t go. Muad’Dib ended up going back to the bed and slept for much of the day.

I started working on reviews, digging out things I had received long ago but never used or reviewed. Summer started on yard work when she got home and I bounced around cleaning inside while I continued my reviews.

Summer wanted brats for dinner, but I knew we had a bunch of burger fixings to eat before they spoiled, so I started the deep fryer for some tater tots and grilled the burgers. I had Eaddie pick up some brats on her way home from Eli’s house, and we had bacon cheese burgers, brats, and tots. She brought Eli over for dinner as well. I boiled the oil over because the tots were covered in ice from being in the freezer so long, possibly through a power outage.

I took Muad’Dib out for a run, carefully avoiding any water so he could stay inside without the need for another bath. We visited my parents and Mom said Dad passed out again yesterday after mowing the lawns across town. We got home and I cleaned up the oil spill, then took a shower and got ready for bed.

And it feels like falling into the sea from outer space in seconds to me.