Unintended Consquences

Smoking had its place in society.

Smoking kept ones weight down, now everyone is fat.

Smoking was a great source of tax revenue.

Smoking gave one a predictable death, now nursing homes are overcrowded and government struggles with healthcare. It was rare to see a smoker alive past 70 and that turns out to be tidy for society.

Not to mention the pure pleasures of smoking, the after dinner/sex, whatever cigarette was a real and constant companion.

A cross country drive? A pack of cigarettes made it easy.

Now we are fat, bored, saving money to live into our 90s so that our wits slowly leave before our body leaves.

Could it all have been a great mistake?

I Tried It

Seared a steak on the starter chimney. Sear turned into a thin crusty burn.


The interior was perfect.

Memorial Day

I've often wondered, if I sprayed these on my dog, would they vaporize?





My new girl sleeping like a puppy. We love her.





The path is coming along. The contractor should be finished by Wednesday. Eventually I hope to have my entire back yard in pavers. It's better than grass.





My pile of hickory smoke wood drying. Oh it's going to make some good food.







Dive 135 Dive 136

Nice day to dive. The visibility was good at 15 to 20 feet.


The water was mid 60's which was tolerable with a wet suit.


An hour and 45 minutes under water. The dive was kept at a maximum of 35 feet. Below 35, the process of a sex change began so we desired to stay warmer.



Perfect

A perfect weekend so far. Temperatures are 82 and low humidity.





I fixed the collapsed foundation. It was easier than I expected and that is the first time in almost 58 years that a repair job has been easier than I expected. I used quick dry concrete, a bolt, a come along and a cinder block to adjust, brace, and set the failed post.





My friend Kendall finished cutting my shaggy bark hickory. This wood is hard as a brick and very heavy. It will be great smoke wood in the fall. I am also getting some local cherry and pecan. Now I need some dry oak for heating in the grill.





Then a nap with my new pink snouted one eyed baby girl Georgi. We love her already.

New Doings

Phase II

A paver walkway coming off the patio.


Hoping to fix some standing water issues.


I'm tying into the downspouts.


Two drains total.


The project from afar.



Fail





Been Busy

Since I got back from Miami I have been catching up. Since then the Tailgate Bar has been wired.

I made a double male pigtail to plug in any one of four outlets from the generator or shore power.


Then I have these swell outlets.


Meanwhile we/I have been hauling the load for our social media. The URL extremetailgatesociety.com is mine! I run the Facebook page, and Tree runs the Twitter and Instagram portion of social media.


We will hit the fall season running. Win or loose, we're going to have fun.

UK

I spent a great deal of time with tech divers from the UK. They are almost like us. But, they are very different.

Diving there is very popular and they are mainstream on CCR (closed circuit rebreathers). We are just starting to see adoption of CCRs since the Brits have worked out the bugs and now one is much less likely to die on the thing.

Funny thing, they have lousy diving conditions there and poor visibility.

Another thing, they poke fun at Americans a lot. I suppose they can since they've been around since 1066. Still the cultural superiority feeling is common among southerners since we have historically been the brunt of jokes. We are treated like the Polish of the US.

Remember, bbq is a noun, not a verb.



Miami

I'm in Miami for Tek Dive USA and loving the conference. First things first, I got to hook up with all my dive buds from St Croix.



My Dive Buds

Mingling with friends from St Croix and other friends of St Croix.


This is going to be fun.

Planning the Fall

Thinking about credentials. Not because it is necessary but because it adds a wow factor. I have a few months to play with this.


Also thinking about when the Saints come to town on spooky week day night before Halloween.


Saints always is a big seafood tailgate.

Today

Lunch today with an old college buddy at Green's. He is joining our Merry Men of tailgate and has a 24 foot motorhome. That will make two motor homes.

Motorhomes offer civility, power, heat, AC, and a clean bathroom. Welcome to the party.

We have a third RV scheduled to join us as well but the foot print is much smaller.

Our little tailgate is all grown up. Lets see if we can hit 100 per game this year. I think we can handle the capacity.




The local downtown dogs were great. This place is in the shadow of the new baseball park. Two things, I need to buy my hotdogs here before I go to the game, and I've had three hotdogs this week. Enough.

Do me a favor if you would. Hit the Extreme Tailgate icon to the right and like us on Facebook. It would help my visibility.

Thanks.

Watch a man pull his pork



I want to pull my pork too.

I gotta get one.


The Old Ball Game

Ah, a nooner in the new ball park. My sweetie and two friends attend my first baseball fame in decades.


Before this year the team played too far away for my liking. I decided to absorb the whole thing with hotdogs, popcorn, peanuts and beer.


It was a beautiful warm day.


Such a civilized, non hostile sport. So different that NFL football but nice just the same.

I will be back for sure.

This Day in History




Conestoga wagons still fresh on their minds, just 100 years after the war of northern aggression.

Rock Star

Next Friday, I'll make a trek to my dive Mecca in Miami to attend Technical dive conference.

Lots of friends from Charlotte, St Croix, and all over will be there.


Rock stars of the industry will be there and I'll be front row.

I'll fly down Friday and ride back with a friend Monday.

I've been looking so forward to this conference.

A Busy Saturday


The fasteners I made last week were put to the test.


Now, I can set up the lights rather fast. They will be superb for our night games. Then, it all breaks down.


This one shelf was not level and now it is level. That drove me crazy last season.


While I had the high temperature paint out I decided to touch up the Jambalaya cooker.



Still have some welding to be done and then electrical outlets installed for convenience and wow factor. Then it will be ready.

Ready for Duty

The Weber Ranch Kettle is restored and ready for duty. It just had a bit of friction rust on the lid edge. Some high temperature paint and a little sanding took care of that.





Mouth wide open.





Can't wait to fire this monster up.

Possible Five

This little girl is Jersey and she is a rescue Aussie.


We are visiting her Friday with plans to adopt. She has a tail, four legs, but, her left eye is withered.

I'm not perfect either. She'll fit right in.

Wednesday

I went to the allergist doctor lady today and they began to run tests on what I'm allergic to. I could have told them, but it was confirmed, dogs, cats, grass, and mold.

This from a guy who loves summer, dogs, horses with moldy hay. I have two cats by the way. I guess I'll give up cats one day.

We can't do the venom tests yet because enough time has past since my sting. So I'll be back in June.


Rest assured I ain't getting rid of any of my animals, as she told me what I knew. Love is thicker than mucus. They are all safe with me.

I got two state of the art epipens that actually speak instructions when I use it.

Later, I met with the board of directors of Extreme Tailgate Society to discuss capital improvements for the upcoming season. We are really taking the game to a new level.


Late in the day I off loaded GrillZilla and let the grill become acquainted with the tailgate bar/wagon. That went well.

I'm going to touch up a few blemishes on the grill with high temperature paint and continue installation of led lights on the trailer along with other essential improvements.

The Grill

The last few years I have hit a wall in grilling capacity, especially at large tailgate events. What I did to compensate is buy and bring more grills and modify said grills with extra racks to meet demand. It worked but it was messy in cleanup, and took a lot of logistics loading and unloading various grills and parts.

At the end of the season my plan was to weld two grills together as one and continue with the modifications. I reasoned that loading and off loading would be easier.

What developed was an entirely different thing. Meet the Weber Ranch Kettle. I call her GrillZilla.


It is Webers version of a commercial grill made for large events, and restaurants. The reason I didn't own one is they retail for $1300. I got this used on Craigs List for $400.

The capacity get me where I need, it has the cooking surface of three grills. It is in very good condition. It is amazingly portable with four wheels.

I am in love.

Progress and Calibration

Work continues on the time machine. Tiny jets must be precise or the machine could be off as much as three weeks.


Access port are drilled on the opposing side.


Just in case you think I'm all just a fig newton of my imagination, just check out this produce accelerator I built a few years back. Particle acceleration is nothing new to me. A time machine should be a slam dunk.


At last I smooth out the holes.


Then, painting. Several coats.


Please don't try this at home.

Local Berries

I love them. So sweet and red.







If I Had N Old Boat

I'd do this.







Change in the Air

Today I play golf. It has been a long time. Yes, 70 degrees, guys, beer, banging a ball around, laughs, outdoors. I can't wait.



Yesterday at lunch was one of those rare days when the weather was perfect.


I was reminded how a real lunch view looks from a friend in St Croix. This is one of my favorite beach bars. Good food, world class view, world class beach, world class shore diving, and a dive shop attached to the bar. A Five Star wReggie wRating.


Got a quote on this grill and it looks like I might own one. This monster can grill, smoke, use charcoal or/and hardwood, and tops out the Weber line as it is a commercial grill. I'm still trying to contact a fellow in Lexington, NC that has a well used one for sale on Craig's List.

In town is the Wells Fargo golf tournament. That will fill in nice on Sunday after some yard work. The course looks as good as it ever has.

First, on Saturday is the Kentucky Derby. This is a rite of passage.

Spring is in full swing.