Category Archives: Awesome

Post Groundhog Day

February 4, 2014Adventure, Awesome, Family, Fun, NatureFamily, Fun, Groundhog day...better than Christmas!, Punxsutawney Phil, the one true groundhogwarren

So, here’s the rest of the story…we toured around Punxsutawney all day on Saturday buying souvenirs and generally acting touristy. The town undoubtedly makes a good bit of money during this celebration and that is cool. We enjoyed seeing the sights but headed in a little early because we knew we had to be up early for the real celebration. You see, bus tickets to Gobbler’s Knob go on sale starting at 2am, February 2. I knew my family wouldn’t follow me quite that early so we opted to sleep in until 3:30 am. At 3:30, we hopped up (I did anyhow) and headed to one of the bus stops. I was shocked. I mean, there were a number of people around on Saturday, but the crowd was amazing for the real show.

The powers-that-be had done it right though…there were a metric crap-ton of buses shuttling people the 1.5 or so miles from town up to the Knob. We got there sometime early…I can’t remember exactly when, but early enough to get a pretty good spot, not too far back from Phil’s burrow-of-prediction. It was still dark and had started to rain. It was still rain but it was that cold rain, just above freezing that is so pleasant. When we got there, the crowd was large but little did we know…

Some of the members of the Inner Circle were there keeping the crowd excited and they did a heck of a job. When you see it all on TV, they look sort of formal, but let me tell you, they know how to have a good time. I mean, they wee singing and dancing and telling funny stories. Honestly, I see why Phil trusts them so much. They are good people for making this weekend a success!

At some point, they had a band come on and play some music…and then some dancers…and them more music and singing…and then some pretty cool fireworks. Time is sort of a blur but we had a good time. More and more people showed up as time went on though and it got extremely crowded. We honestly had to shove back against people to keep from being knocked over or otherwise moved from our position. Being a jerk, I am pretty well disposed to that anyhow, but I do not think Emily or the kids enjoyed that part too much.

Panorama of the crowd at Gobbler’s Knob…this doesn’t really capture the size of the crowd (click to make it bigger)

Sadly, this isn’t really a kid-friendly affair. For too many people, it was an excuse to get dunk and act stupidly. I am all for a good time, but my only complaint is that the powers-that-be didn’t jerk people out of the crowd by their ears when they started acting like total morons. Oh well, such is life and my kids already knew all those bad words anyhow (thanks to their Mom of course).

Phil's prediction with the Inner Circle — Phil’s prediction with the Inner Circle

Anyhow, the Inner Circle finally retrieved Phil from his den. The President of the Inner Circle, the only human able to translate Groundhogese discussed with Phil his outlook and declared that Phil saw his shadow thus guaranteeing 6 more weeks of winter.

Just a few buses from Gobbler's Knob — Just a few buses from Gobbler’s Knob

Now I never doubt Phil…after all, he is the Seer of Seers and the Prognosticator of Prognosticators, but I was a little disappointed in his prediction. I cannot be selfish however, as he is merely the bringer of news. And based on how things are looking, I’d say he was spot on (as usual)!

Groundhog Day Eve!

February 1, 2014Adventure, Awesome, Family, FunBest birthday present ever!, Groundhog day...better than Christmas!, Not your ordinary whistlepigwarren

Oh my word! It’s here! The best holiday of the year! I love Groundhog Day…it signals the beginning of the end of Winter, my bane! This year, we decided to make the trek to Punxsutawney, PA, the home of the Seer of Seers, the Prognosticator of Prognosticator, the world famous Punxsutawney Phil!

Tourists in Punxsutawney, PA — Tourists…Check

This year, for my birthday, Emily gave me a trip with the family of my choice to the one true Groundhog Day celebration. We drove in last night and I had a terrible time falling asleep. I was like a little kid on Christmas!

This morning, we drove into Punxsutawney and actually found great parking right away. There is still much snow on the ground so we sloshed around to the main square where we saw all sorts of sights. We saw wood carvers and magicians and all sorts of tourists. The first thing we bought were awesome wool Phil hats so we could easily be identified as “tourists”. Punxsutawney is all about Phil so there are groundhog statues and paintings all over the place! We took pics of a bunch of them. There were all sort of families were around so we had no problem finding people to take our picture.

Phil’s Inner Circle were all about town and were quite friendly and approachable. We talked to a few of the fellows, probably for 10-15 minutes. They are great salesmen of the experience and I really appreciated their helpfulness in figuring out what we needed to see and do!

The family with Jim Cantore — Groundhog hat compliant!

Jim Cantore and the Weather Channel crew were around and also very approachable (not while on the air of course). I asked him to take a pic with me, the two most handsome bald people in Punxsutawney (and maybe all of Pennsylvania) this weekend. He was very nice and kind to allow us to get pics.

Phil's den at Gobbler's Knob — Phil’s den at Gobbler’s Knob

Gobbler’s Knob, the location where Phil makes his prediction, is open ahead of the big reveal so we got a chance to walk around and actually touch his chamber. I was trembling like a little girl from the excitement!

We bought all sorts of souvenirs and walked all over town. I am so excited for tomorrow morning! We plan to get up around 3am to make the trek to Gobbler’s Knob on this best birthday trip ever!

Marshall Honor Band

January 28, 2014Audio, Awesome, WVBand kids rock!, Music, WVwarren

It’s been awhile since I have posted anything and I cannot decide if it is because I have the winter blues or if we have been busy or if it is the effects of the water chaos and snow. Speaking of snow, we are covered again and stuck inside with the latest polar blast…like the other 250 million or so people in the country who are affected by it.

Omega March

Anasazi

Engines of Resistance

Anyhow, one interesting thing we did get into recently was Isaac’s involvement with the Marshall University Honor Band. The Honor Band is an honor for middle school students. Each school’s band director nominates their best students for a one day seminar with the Marshall University School of Music staff. Students from the tri-state area come together in one day and get excellent instruction throughout the day that pinpoints their specific instrument. Later in the evening, the students put on a concert.

What makes this concert especially impressive to me is that the band kids have never seen the music prior to the start of the day. They learn the music and somehow pull together as a group in a single day. It’s amazing but really so awesome to see and hear! So, take a listen if you please…maybe you can forget about the polar vortex and poison water for awhile!

Throwing knives…the perfect gift for my lovely wife

December 30, 2013Adventure, Awesome, FunFun, I didn't think this one all the way through, Merry Christmas, outdoor stuff is always cool right?warren

As you may have discerned from reading my drivel, I am a practical sort of guy. Most times that blends well with my continued happiness and allows me to maximize money and get stuff done. Among some of our friends and acquaintances, however, my practicality has become somewhat notorious. But really, what person doesn’t want to get gifts they can use? And sometimes Emily needs to use vacuum cleaners or frying pans.

Muffin pans for Christmas — Practical…cast iron muffin pan!

So, this year for Christmas, I decided to get Emily one practical gift and one not practical gift. I like to cook bacon (and other stuff too) using a cast iron skillet. Occasionally, Emily cooks cornbread and uses my skillet. I figured a good practical gift would be to get her a cast iron muffin pan she can use when she makes her excellent cornbread. It’s practical, will last forever and is something she needed. I am thinking, “score!” with the practical…and normally that would be enough, but this year, I went above and beyond. Friends, I got her the infamous practical gift but I also got her a frivolous gift just because I care and want her to be happy.

Throwing knives for Christmas — I may have made a huge mistake…that “smile”…

Imagine my surprise when she didn’t run over and hug me when she opened her throwing knives! I mean, what woman wouldn’t enjoy a nice set of throwing knives? Apparently throwing knives are not a suitable Christmas gift for one’s wife. After much discussion among the men in my circle, none of them understands the problem with the gift either. I asked if she wanted me to return them and she said, “No, I intend to get very good at throwing them…” I couldn’t hear the end of her sentence but I think she said something like, “…just keep smiling target-boy”

Middle school band concert!

December 24, 2013Audio, Awesome, Fun, WVAwesome, Band kids are awesome!, Musicwarren

With Christmas near, it is concert season! Most recently Isaac’s band performed their Christmas concert. I learned a few years ago that his middle school band is incredible and always puts on a superb show!

Isaac plays tenor sax and is really pretty talented at it. He picked up clarinet and can play it pretty well too. I don’t know if his band director knows that but his first love is tenor so it probably doesn’t matter. Anyhow, the local middle school band has around 120 kids and they can play as well as many older bands I have seen. In addition to the concert/marching band, Isaac also plays in the jazz band, a group of about 20 or so musicians.

So, I am so proud that both kids play music and I was especially excited to hear what they had put together this year! I guess some people don’t look forward to this sort of thing, but I was on the edge of giddy waiting for their first number!

I think the music speaks for itself (of course, remember this is just my recording with my phone)! These kids are amazing and work so very hard and their dedication really shows! This concert really got me in the Christmas spirit and I couldn’t be prouder of Isaac and his band-mates!

Played it til our fingers bled…

November 26, 2013Awesome, Family, Fun, TechnologyAwesome, Family, Fun, I don't usually like video games...at all, Technology, We are gods of rock!warren

I never really understood the Bryan Adams song, Summer of ’69 where he talks about playing his guitar until his fingers bled. I mean, first of all, how? And secondly, why? I just never understood what it meant to play a guitar I guess. Fast forward to this week. I have long wanted to tinker with playing bass guitar. I don’t know why but I just like the sound of bass. They say a lead guitar gets the girls but a bass guitar gets the gigs. I don’t really want either but I think I would prefer gigs over girls since I sort of like the girl I have. So, by dumb luck (the best kind of luck), I discovered Rocksmith 2014, a “game” that works on all of the various gaming consoles. I happened to have a little extra money that I had been saving up so I hooked dumb luck together with extra money and bought a new bass guitar and Rocksmith 2014 for the XBox!

We hooked it all up the other night and started playing. You see, the game comes with a cable that allows players to hook a real guitars (bass or 6-string) into the system so a real guitar becomes the game controller.

Playing Rocksmith 2014 on new bass — The game screen

It’s pretty cool how game-play merges with guitar-play. Basically the player sees notes coming down the screen and has to adjust fingerings and hit the string at the right time. The system picks it up and measures tone, accuracy, timing, etc and adjusts the notes to the player’s accuracy. There are a number of different songs that span the 80s through today. It doesn’t teach players to read music but it does build experience with playing notes on a real guitar and teaches a form of tab playing for guitar (check out this guy playing).

So, Isaac, Abigail and I played for a few hours the other night and had a lot of fun. I kid you not, though…my fingers are still numb! I stopped before my fingers bled (I am sharp that way) but now I definitely get that there is a painful part of playing guitar that I hope will be overcome with callouses and experience. I don’t know if I will ever amount to much as a rock star, but I am sure enjoying the chance to play now and the kids and I get a lot of time to goof around together! With my playing, it is more likely that our ears will bleed than our fingers!

It’s never too soon for eggnog!

October 25, 2013Awesome, Food, Fun, ThoughtsAwesome, Eggnog is from the gods!, Food, Funwarren

Like many folks, I typically get irritated when I see the big box stores roll out Christmas stuff before Halloween. I mean, seriously, why do they do that? I am still trying to wrap my mind around the end of summer (though these freaking cold temps are helping to make it feel real to me now!) I cannot possibly contemplate Halloween already, let alone Christmas!

Southern Comfort eggnog is from the gods!

Anyhow, soccer season is finally coming to an end. I don’ know if I ever mentioned it but I am the head coach for the middle school soccer team where Isaac attends. We have had a great year and are in the play-offs for the county championship next week. It’s dark early now and as I have regular work during the day, our soccer time is limited…and increasingly cold. After practice is over, we are usually pretty well shot.

The kids enjoying Southern Comfort eggnog!

I was delighted last night as I returned home, to discover that Emily had been to the store and found eggnog! And not just any eggnog but the very best eggnog of all, Southern Comfort eggnog! Please, people at Southern Comfort, make a product page so I can keep up to date on when and where I can find your eggnog! I would marry it if I weren’t otherwise attached to my wife and kids! It’s amazing stuff! Nectar of the gods I sometimes call it!

It's always so sad when you get to the bottom of the glass! — It’s always so sad when you get to the bottom of the glass!

The Southern Comfort eggnog replaced my exhaustion as it coursed through my system and made me awake and alive once again! I am still not quite ready for Christmas (or even Halloween really) but Southern Comfort eggnog will soothe my soul through both Halloween and Christmas! Bless you Southern Comfort, bless you!

Making sorghum – Part 2

October 15, 2013Awesome, Family, Fun, Garden, History, Nature, TinkeringCane mill, Good times...good times, my wife called herself a mule!, Sorghumwarren

The Story of Two Mules – by Emily

Once upon a time there was a mule called “Brother”. Brother was drafted into turning a cane mill for what seemed like hours on end. After becoming dirty and dizzy, he began to bray for help. Another mule called “Wife” heard his braying and decided to help. With Brother on one end and Wife on the other, the cane mill turned and turned under the hot sun. Then Wife became tired and brayed, “Why can’t I have a rope to pull this load, why do I have to push?” The farmer hooked up a rope to the cane mill. Brother pushed and Wife pulled the cane mill under the hot sun. Round and round the cane mill went while Brother and Wife became dizzy and tired. Finally, both Brother and Wife started braying so loudly that farmer had pity on them and hooked the rope to a tractor. Brother sat upon the tractor and the tractor turned the cane mill round and round under the hot sun. Wife went back and forth, carrying more cane to the farmer who sat upon the ground. The two mules said nothing to the farmer about not thinking of the tractor earlier. However, every time the farmer got hit in the head by the board attached to the mill’s roller, the sounds of “hee haw! hee haw!” were heard throughout the land.

I think her story is hilarious and pretty well summarizes how our day went…

The plan was to process the cane I described yesterday into sorghum syrup. Basically, the canes are full of liquid with natural sugars and other magical things that give it a distinct flavor. To extract the liquid, farmer Warren has to crush the cane using a cane mill. Farmers in the old days used to hitch up horses or mules to a long pole attached to the center roller in the mill. As the animals walked in circles, the rollers turned crushing cane fed into the mill a few pieces at a time.

We reassembled the mill and lagged it to a few sections of old railroad ties. Old timers used to attach the mill to a tree stump that was quite solid in the ground. You see, when the rollers are turned in the mill, a tremendous amount of torque can be generated. If the mill isn’t attached to something solid, it will be spun around…not something I wanted to deal with as a 600 pound block of iron in motion is slightly more than I can handle.

So, we got it assembled and rigged a board to the center shaft. I was the first draft animal to take a turn at the mill. It was slightly easier than I expected to turn the mill. It was frozen solid when I got it so nothing moved. I guess I had an idea that it would be only slightly easier to turn once it was cleaned up. I had not assembled it even once since restoring it so I had no idea! Luckily, it turned well so we decided to start crushing cane. We tried to run a single pieces of cane through it but it didn’t really work.

The rollers are supposed to be spaced at around 1/16th of an inch. On each end of each roller, there used to be bolts that could be used to adjust the spacing of the rollers. On my old mill, I was able to free the top bolts but I couldn’t replace them (not for this year anyhow). The bottom bolts remain frozen in place so I had some ability to adjust the tops of the rollers but the bottoms were set in iron…literally. We set up the mill under a spruce tree so I grabbed a few pine cones and jammed them into the top of the mill to force the rollers closer together. Surprisingly, it worked amazingly well! The spacing at the bottom of the rollers was a little too wide so I had to be careful feeding the cane so that it went mostly towards the top of the joint between the rollers. That worked just fine but was less than ideal.

So, as I said, I was the original draft animal but I had the vision on how to feed the cane too so my brother, who has a mind well suited for being a draft animal, took over turning the rollers (just kidding…he has a PhD in chemistry). Really, neither job was too glamorous. After a few turns, we were both dizzy (and I swear it had nothing to do with the liquid wheat we had nearby) and decided to hook it to the motorized draft animal. I remained on the ground to feed stalk while Isaac and my brother took turns riding the tractor. I suppose we ran cane through the cane mill for 3-4 hours slowly learning tricks and getting better at the process. We had to fight the mill a few times as I got impatient and fed too much cane. The torque increased and we spun the mill in circles…luckily we kept the mill low to the ground for safety. Next year, I will mount it higher and more substantially to make it easier to feed cane and to minimize rotation.

Click here for a short video of the sorghum press in action

Sorghum juice flowing from the cane mill

When sorghum juice flows, it is pea green. Truly, it doesn’t look appetizing and I think it smells like the guts of a pumpkin around Halloween. Still, we got juice flowing and I was so excited. The process was working! We pressed a bunch of cane and had a nice bunch of juice to cook down. You’ll have to wait until the next post to hear about that adventure (yeah, I lied yesterday…I have to write more than 2 parts)!

My cane mill/sorghum stuff

Boot washer!

September 4, 2013Awesome, Cabin, LandCabin, Gettin' all fancy!, Peeing Olympics!, There's a snake in my boot!warren

Yesterday felt a little like Debbie Downer so I have some really good news too! Even with all of our soccer running around, we recently got the boot washer hooked up at the executive deer stand! Although it has been fun using the outdoor litterbox, it got a little old for the ladies, especially. I don’t understand but then I am not a lady. I was sort of excited actually when we got the deck built. You can imagine, as a guy, that a high deck and the lack of indoor facilities was a temptation too good to pass up!

Bootwasher aka toilet installed — Bootwasher!

The funny thing is that the very first construction we did at the property was install a regulation septic system. It remained unused for 2 years as we built our cabin. I have had the pipe sticking up under the house for 8 months or so. I just needed to complete that final step where we join the toilet to the pipe. With my usual schedule, 8 months seems pretty good!

Pipes...who knew how exciting pipes could be?! — Pipes…who knew how exciting pipes could be?!

So, it is functional but we don’t yet have water hooked up. No worries though…we always bring water for washing and flushing. I haven’t installed the tank yet. I’ll get to that after we get the walls insulated and covered with drywall. I don’t care much for wrestling a ~~full~~ complete toilet. I’ll tell you, with the fall muddy season nearly upon us, I am so glad to have the boot washer in place!

See all of the progress on the cabin

Back-up singer for Bryan Adams

August 28, 2013Awesome, FunDate Night!, New phone rockin', Old guys rockin'!warren

Where has the time gone? I swear we have been busy…in fact, too busy to even write anything I guess. Really, my problem is that I have been in recovery. You see, a few weeks ago, Bryan Adams came to Charleston for a concert in the excellent Clay Center. He asked me to sing back-up for him during the concert. Actually, he wanted me to sing along from the audience…you know…to lead the common folk who were in the crowd.

When Bryan first announced his concert, Emily’s brother asked if we wanted to get tickets. Of course we wanted to go and reminisce about our early days of dating. I forgot how many awesome Bryan Adams songs there are! This concert was a huge reprisal of all of his very best songs. It was awesome! Some concerts are not much fun when the musician focuses on new songs that no one cares about or the really bad old songs…but not Bryan Adams! Every song for 2 hours was a classic song from my teen years! He didn’t need any technology to sound great. His live concert was just as good as his recorded work. It was amazing!

The best part is that we had seats at center stage, six rows back. The concert was acoustical and simple and a perfect date for Emily and me. I tried to take some pics to share our date with you, my friends. My iPhone 4 has a camera that was woefully inadequate for taking pictures from even 6 rows back. So, not only is my voice in recovery, but so is my wallet. You see, my iPhone ticked me off so much that I got a new phone…I switched from Apple and bought a Samsung Galaxy S4…love it! No more bad pics I hope!

Bryan Adams Bare Bones Tour — The background is a portrait of Bryan Adams

Anyhow, if you get a chance to see Bryan Adams in concert, go. It was a lot of fun and he has so many great and classic songs that you will know, even if you don’t remember that they were his songs!

My Home Among The Hills

Life in WV!