Yellowtail with a citrus salsa CLICK on the picture for a fun recipe
There were two types of fish that I loved to catch as a boy. The more plentiful was the ‘Perch” that was relatively easily to catch where the waves broke near the beach. The second — and in my opinion — more delicious was Yellowtail. “Smoked” Yellowtail could be purchased almost anywhere in the beach communities of California. This brings me to where my favorite Olde Port Seafood market in Avila Beach is offering quite a deal on Yellowtail this weekend!
What I like about these folks is the fact that they also post recipes of their favorite finds on the internet and they have one they ‘borrowed’ from Epicureous that is well worth the effort!
Macadamia-Crusted Yellowtail with Mango-Papaya Salsa
It's off to the Pig races! Karla drew this nice drawing for one of her entries into this year's midstate fair. Karla didn't win this year, but she was thrilled to be there!
The California Midstate Fair has been something our family has been going to every year… well… since forever. This year was a little different as Karla decided to share some of her art work with the world. My daughters always loved to watch the pig races when they were active and we have missed that little edition to the fair; however, Karla brought them back for her entry this year.
The culinary arts — such as they are — will not be forgotten this year as ‘pork’ products seem to be one of the Fair’s favorite offerings!
Two of my favorite experiences was to shake the hands of both great Americans Toby Keith and my favorite entertainer Bob Hope…. obviously on different occasions. However , Karla had a great time last night visiting with all the other artists ( a very competitive lot), sampling the food and talking about her art.
Karla's theme: a MOUNTAIN of fun -- Bull Riding CLICK to read more about the fair!
The iconic game of the 80's is still going strong! However, it nearly failed to survive and few know the story.
Some time ago, I tried to get my hands on a video game that came out on Wii last year with little success. It was the Dragon’s Lair Triology. I have it today as it finally arrived yesterday. By today’s standards it seems a bit slow moving, especially since the game video will run until you arrive at a scene in which you have a choice to make. It’s simplicity seems quaint but let me tell you a little about how it all began (early 1980’s) and how it might not have made it without the help of a three year old girl.
I remember driving to one of our stores in which we had placed a new Dragon’s Lair. There was a line that stretched for several block of eager young men willing to spend $.50 for a try at this revolutionary new full size arcade game ( it is important to know that most top games were a quarter and many older games were 3 for $.25). Oh yes, there was a local news film crew. Looking back, it is hard to remember WHY there were any reservations in buying these games, but then ‘victory has many fathers.’
Now available for your iPhone!
In my early days, as the marketing guy for a convenience store chain, I would be asked my opinion on a wide range of issues. Was the price of our milk too high? Can we sell more gasoline with a promotion? However, the toughest question to ask anyone concerns emerging technology, especially when it costs a lot of money upfront. There was also this little problem that although Dragon’s Lair was setting the industry on fire, there was — as I remember it — this little problem with the manufacturer’s cash flow, which raised a lot of legitimate questions by retailers. At this time, if I didn’t have a ready answer, I would call in my team of experts… in this case my 3 almost 4 year old daughter, Kristin.
Kristin, would come with me to work every Saturday and I would turn her lose in our video game warehouse where this new game was lurking. We set it on ‘unlimited lives’ and left it to Kristin. I would always support any game she would play for 15 minutes straight, but this one had special appeal and she played it all morning UNTIL she won! I related Kristin’s experience and all were ‘sold’ and the rest is history. Every store wanted one… and there were 1300 stores.
Who knows what might have happened if Kristin didn’t touch the controller that day?
President James Madison author of the First Ammendment
I am always surprised at how many folks take for granted but few use their right to freely speak their mind in public. However, using your right to speak is a two edge sword. I have always felt that the best way to let a fool reveal themselves is to give them a podium, a microphone or even a blog. This is not to say that everyone should cower and hide from any public interaction in order to not seem foolish, but having an open environment that can test the worthiness of ideas is the best way for a society to address emerging social issues and economic and political challenges. A good idea can stand the test of a little scrutiny, a bad idea shows itself for what it is.
Our future President James Madison drafted the first amendment to the US Constitution to include our right to free speech , but he was not without his detractors. A number of people felt that speech should be strictly muzzled, but this ran against the grain of all those who were trying to get away from the European system of royalty, restrictive rules and trade castes. For example, you might know that George Washington turned down the ‘offer’ to be King. Eventually, other freedoms were added to the first amendment such as freedom of the press and freedom of religion and association. Although this isn’t very popular in academic circles to say, these ‘founding fathers’ got it right.
However, there are those, especially in Europe, that have made it an art form to restrict free speech and there are those here in academia in America who would like to do the same in our country. Let’s just say its wrong morally and it is unconstitutional.
Not long ago, I took a very strong position in my blog on ‘an issue of public interest’ involving our local university and a ‘Kingdom” not known for it’s toleration or acceptance of diversity or free speech. One administrator took exception to my blogs and sued me for all sorts of bad things. As it turned out, the judge ruled that my blogs were constitutionally protected free speech and that I was blogging on an issue of public interest. (You can search my blog under Saudi Arabia and read more about the issue.)
The lesson here is not to be afraid, but to stand up and express yourself when it counts on matters and issues that you feel are important to you and those you love. Interesting times are coming and it is important for everyone to be heard.
