catesta

I believe it was EKE who mentioned that Mike had other matters on his mind than this board. He said the same thing about you. I never pay any attention to EKE.

Happy Birthday, Chris!

Sorry, can't help with that.

Here goes nothin'. The wings have been marinating since around noon and are set to be on the grill in a half hour or so.

Greg Waits Tom Waits Tom Terrific Crabby Appleton 12 Angry Men Rebel Without A Boarding Pass nyuk nyuk nyuk I get this though.

Hey, I've never been able to understand that "Three Names" thread! Same here. Bill Bob Ray

He missed out. Mexican produced Tequila never contains a worm. Some bottles of Mescal do, but if it's Tequila and has a worm in it, that's a bottle made in America or for tourists. Tequila History He paid $225,000 for about $50,000 worth of gold and platinum. I doubt the stuff inside will really ever be worth more than the packaging.

According to the Barbecue Bible today is a day for wings. Not just any wings but Buffa-Que Wings. I heard these wings being discussed on the radio last week. I think I will give them a try tonight. The recipe straight from Steven Raichlen.... Method: Indirect grilling Advance preparation: 4 to 12 hours for marinating the wings For the wings and marinade: 16 whole chicken wings (about 31/2 pounds) 1/2 cup Tabasco sauce or your favorite hot sauce 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice 1/4 cup vegetable oil 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce 4 cloves garlic, minced 2 teaspoons coarse salt (kosher or sea) 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper For the mop sauce: 8 tablespoons (1 stick) salted butter 1/2 cup Tabasco sauce or your favorite hot sauce For serving: Blue Cheese Sauce or dressing 4 ribs celery, rinsed and cut into thirds lengthwise, then cut crosswise into roughly 3-inch sticks You’ll also need: 1 1/2 cups wood chips or chunks (preferably hickory or oak), soaked for 1 hour in water to cover, then drained Rinse the chicken wings under cold running water and blot them dry with paper towels. Cut the tips off the wings and discard them (or leave the tips on if you don’t mind munching a morsel that’s mostly skin and bones). Cut each wing into 2 pieces through the joint. Make the marinade: Whisk together the hot sauce, lemon juice, oil, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, salt, and pepper in a large nonreactive mixing bowl. Stir in the wing pieces and let marinate in the refrigerator, covered, for 4 to 6 hours or as long as overnight, turning the wings several times so that they marinate evenly. Make the mop sauce: Just before setting up the grill, melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat and stir in the hot sauce. Set up the grill for indirect grilling and preheat to medium. If using a gas grill, place all of the wood chips or chunks in the smoker box or in a smoker pouch and run the grill on high until you see smoke, then reduce the heat to medium. If using a charcoal grill, place a large drip pan in the center, preheat the grill to medium, then toss all of the wood chips or chunks on the coals. When ready to cook, drain the marinade off the wings and discard the marinade. Brush and oil the grill grate. Place the wings in the center of the hot grate, over the drip pan and away from the heat, and cover the grill. Cook the wings until the skin is crisp and golden brown and the meat is cooked through, 30 to 40 minutes. During the last 10 minutes, start basting the wings with some of the mop sauce. Transfer the grilled wings to a shallow bowl or platter and pour the remaining mop sauce over them. Serve with the blue cheese sauce and celery for dipping and of course plenty of paper napkins and cold beer. Yield: Makes 32 pieces

Cloudy with on and off rain and temps around 80.

I'm in.

Congrats!

Oh really? Not the parent, obviously. But if you're providing for their needs, and if you're living with thier mother (and providing for some or all of her needs) and you're not being a "parent" in some form or fashion, then you're being a chump. That probably sounds a lot harsher than I mean for it to, but dude - you've got these people in your life now. If they need some direction, give it to them and don't apologize or feel guilty for it. Doesn't mean you gotta be an insensitive prick about it or not seek outside assistance, but hey - there's a time to lead and a time to follow. The time to follow is when somebody's got a better sense of direction than you do. The time to lead is when nobody else does. Right now, the latter seems like it might be the case. From what I've come to know of you, not having a sense of direction has never been a problem. It's now a question of using it on an intimate group, and not just on yourself or on business associates. Step up, and good luck. A chump? Why you dirty mutha.... In all seriousness I have indeed assumed a role as a parent type. But you gotta understand I'm not their father and have no kids of my own so it's an odd place to be. I can only advise on things how I see them. After last night's discussion the kids did say that they would stay and make the best of it if that was the direction we decided to go. But both said they no for sure Arizona would make them happier. As for leading. Well, I lead them all here, but this was a move for me more so than us. I was fortunate Catrina wanted to come along. I owe her the courtesy and respect to make the decision for what she feels is best for her kids. In the end I'm cool if the kids want to return to Arizona and she goes as well. I'll miss her, but we will work it out and visits are in order. I have a lot going on here and shit can and probably will get hairy, so I will probably thank them when it's all said and done.

I watched the Yanks get beat by Seattle yesterday.

Thanks Ron. That's really what my thoughts have been. You know, moving isn't really that big of a deal. They made friends here so what's the big deal? It's really tough for me 'cause I'm not the parent. If we do it, I'm agreeing strictly for the reason of supporting Catrina and what she thinks.

Is that what she is? Your "lady"? If so, then I'd not get too involved in her kids' lives. Too much drama and shit. And you can, without too much effort find a good lady w/o all the baggage. But if she's more than that, then... Obviously she's more than that. Referring to her as "my lady" is something I just never seemed to stop doing. Believe me when I say I never planned on getting involved with the kids and all the headaches. It just worked out that way. Not having any kids of my own it's been major experience and pain in the ass to say the least. I married when I was older and it didn't work as a result of my inability to adapt. With Catrina it's been different. She can and does tolerate the bullshit without giving me back more than I can handle. She's always there and that brings me comfort. If this move goes through I will actually be around the kids much less as I will be spending a lot of time in New York on my own. So maybe that's a good thing, who knows. The plan would be for Catrina to move back here after the kids graduate.

Well, you do listen to all that hip music. Depends on whom is giving the definition of hip.

We just finished having a discussion with them 15 minutes ago about the consideration of moving back to AZ. We also presented them with options of moving to a little more rural of an area, say onto Long Island because they did mention it a few times. They said it's not so much hating New York as much as feeling they can and will be better off back in Phoenix. I'm not surprised. The depression thing is tough because right now I think that's a lot of words. I don't really see many if any signs of a true depression problem. That is where the counseling is coming into play. Someone needs to get to the bottom of it all. Their mom seems to think they both at times have given the signs of having some deeper issues.

If it's resentment because of me than they cover it pretty good. We went through issues early on when Catrina and I first lived together back in Arizona. That what more a result of having kept the relationship a secret from them for so long. Now I think they actually like me being around. I've been known to be fun at times. I had no say in the matter when my parents moved us from New York to Cleveland, and Cleveland to Arizona. I had to deal and adjust, and I did. I'm afraid these are different times. Honestly this may be as much for the well being of my lady as she thinks it will be for them.

Socially they seem to be fine. The daughter (16) is extremely popular for only being here for a few months. The son (just turned 15) is much less out going. He has friends but is not really in the popular crowd. His grades were actauuly above average the last scoring period. The girl failed four classes and is on summer school. They attend one of the better schools in NYC (Cardozo in Bayside) but it's huge (5000+ students) so that was a big change. Counseling is a no brainer. And I'm with you, no way moving them back is going to change everything. It will though I think improve her grades some and make him feel more inlcuded.

Pardon this out of the ordinary lengthy post from me. As most of you know, last summer I relocated from Arizona back to New York. I can't begin to tell you how happy I am to be back. This is not to say that Phoenix did not have some things I liked and miss. Yeah I know I talked major trash about Arizona, but at times (mainly winter ) it's easy to miss. Still, I have no regrets. For me it was the right thing to do. I maintain partial ownership in my business there and have begun the process of building what I hope becomes a successful business here. Here is the issue. As you may or may not know, my girlfriend moved with me. She loves the east but is from the Pacific Northwest and lived most of her life in Arizona. Needless to say this was a very big adjustment for her. Even though she accompanied me on several trips, living in NY is a totally different animal. I think she has done very well and seems to like it. The problem is really with her kids. When we first moved both of her kids decided not to come and live with their father in California with the hopes of moving back to Phoenix. For the son the decision to live with his dad was the wring one and he moved to NY to live with us in November. The daughter followed a few months later after her dad said he was going to move to Utah for work. Both of the kids have had a very difficult time adjusting to the culture here. They've made friends and hang out, but their grades have really suffered and on more than one instance they have voiced their dislike for New York. Go figure, they love going to Union Square and places like that to hang out and seem to dig this place at times. Still, they are forever on my girlfriend about how much they hate it here. This would not be much of big deal until they start talking about depression, skipping classes, etc.etc.. No drug use that we can see and still under all of this are okay, but they never let up. Catrina is worried at this point that they're going to screw up the rest of the their high school years and hurt the chances to gain acceptance to a decent college. Not to mention she is tired of the aggravation. So, she is thinking about moving them back to Arizona for the next several years so they will finish high school and graduate in Phoenix. She feels an obligation to try and make them happy in hopes to improve not only the grades but the overall outlook. Any opinions as to whether or not this is the right thing to do? Part of me says this is giving in, but then that's easy for me to say since I'm not the parent. We really don't know if this is the best move. What I do know for sure is that this will not be an inexpensive venture. When we moved here I sold most of my furniture and a lot of shit. This time though, all of what we have here is going back to Phoenix. Then there is me. My plan as of now is to go back to Phoenix to help make the move and transition easier. My partners in Arizona are having some problems so me being around for a while will not be a bad thing. But when all is said and done, I plan on returning to New York within a couple of months. This in top of me having to make several trips in between since I have a business to run on the other side as well. Hopefully we will survive the long distance relationship. I really don't have the energy to start over. Plus she's a pretty good gal and so far has demonstrated an ability to put up with the bullshit when all others have failed. One last thing. She thinks the kids need some counseling. I'm not usually a fan of that shit, but in this case I happen to agree. No way things in AZ can go back to what they were. Plus, they need to fully understand what it is their mother is doing for them. I mean this is going to be a major pain in the ass. Oh, how I miss the days of beer and babes. Thanks for listening.

I'm very sad for you and your family, Kevin.

Nice, real nice. Glad you all had a great time.

Hope it was a good one.

97.4! With the heat indeax they say it feels like 104. Should be much cooler tomorrow.

I'm going to see the Yanks and Mariners play on Wednesday. First game I've been to all year, go figure.