She Showed Me Hers

23. June 2013 · 1 comment · Categories: Bob, Travel
Ann and Kay

Ann and Kay

A couple of days ago we went with Kay and Robert to Picola, OK to a Jamey Johnson concert. We stayed at the casino where the concert was held. I’m not a huge fan of Jamey Johnson, but Robert likes him a lot, I have some of his CD’s. It’s country.

The concert started at eight, and we got there in plenty of time to have some beers. Some of us had a snack before the music started. The venue was a big room with movable chairs with a slightly raised stage at one end.

We dressed for comfort and wore shorts, a casual shirt and sandals. We would have blended in better if we had worn some cowboy boots and jeans with a big belt buckle. A cowboy hat would have rounded out our ensemble quite nicely.

Our Rowdy Friends

Our Rowdy Friends

The young people sitting behind us announced early on that “We’re gonna get a little rowdy.” I said that’s OK, we have been known to get a little rowdy ourselves. Very soon after the concert started, the guy behind us said “Damn, I expected to get thrown out of this place, but I didn’t expect to get thrown out so soon.” I guess the man threatened him if he didn’t sit down. He bitched off and on about not being allowed to stand up. “This is a concert, God dammit; why can’t we stand up.” Apparently, standing was against the rules. I told the guy that we should all stand up, “They can’t throw us all out, can they? Woo hoo!!” I didn’t really meant it. But, way later in the concert, we all stood up for short periods of time from time to time. We were all being rowdy.

The music was loud. It had plenty of bass and 2 sets of drums. All the sounds kind of ran together into a loud, muffled jumble of music and noise. I couldn’t understand very much of what the singer said. But, the people behind us helped the situation by singing some of the songs. I could understand them better. I could have done without some of the screaming, but they warned us they would be rowdy. I wore ear plugs so as not to become totally deaf by the end of the concert.

The beer was cheap–$2.50. There was constant movement of the crowd either to go get some beer or go get rid of some beer.

We had some beer and a good time. From time to time I would execute a fist pump just to show that I was in the spirit of things. When I did that the girl/young woman behind me would rub me on the shoulders. That just kind of made me want to do it some more. Before the concert was over, she was rubbing both of her hand through my hair, or in the general vicinity of where my hair used to be.

One of the guys behind us got a little too rowdy, and a man in a suit followed by uniformed officers escorted him out. It’s never a good sign when you see a man in a suit coming your way. The guy made two mistakes. He got too drunk, and he stood up on his chair. If it’s against the rule to stand up, then is really breaks the rule to stand on a chair. He never returned. If he remembers it at all, he can brag to his rowdy friends about being thrown out of the concert.

When the concert ended we hugged and high-fived the people behind us. Then, it happened. One of the girls lifted up her blouse and showed us her titties. I took a picture. I would post the picture here, but it’s only in my mind. But, I can still see it.

Tired of Waiting

19. June 2013 · 4 comments · Categories: Bob, Health

After feeling a little dizzy while riding my bike back in the middle of March, I’ve been to see the my Doctor a couple of times. I had some blood tests, which were all normal. I had a treadmill test, which was normal. I also wore a heart monitor for 24 hours, and that showed I had a few arrhythmias. That test lead to another test that required me to wear a heart monitor for a month. I finished with that test almost 2 weeks ago. Naturally, I became anxious to hear about the results.

Several days ago, I called the cardiac lab to see if I could get information about the test results. I left several messages, but never spoke to a person. Then, I started calling my Doctor’s office. After several tries, I finally spoke to a nurse who investigated the problem. She found out that the cardiac lab here at UAMS does not evaluate the results of the heart monitor test. That is done by a company somewhere, God only knows where, and that is probably why it is taking so long to get the results.

Although I have no experience with these kinds of heart tests, I’m amazed that there are no cardiologists at UAMS that can evaluate the results. I can only assume that I must not have anything very serious or I would have heard something by now. They wouldn’t let me die would they, while they take their sweet time evaluating the test results?

Mud

08. June 2013 · 1 comment · Categories: Uncategorized

We recently saw the movie, Mud. Here’s my mini review.

I liked it a lot and give it a two “thumbs up”. Rottontomatoes.com gave it a 99% fresh (that’s kind of unheard of), and the fan rating was 87%!! For some perspective, Argo, the winner of the Oscar for best picture last year got a 96% and a fan rating of 93%. So, I’m not the only one who liked it.

The movie centers around the adventures of two teenage boys, who befriend a fugitive they happen upon on an island. It has an interesting story, and there’s plenty of excitement. It has several recognizable stars—Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Sam Shepard, Joe Don Baker.

I thought I might be positively biased about the movie before seeing it. We had heard a bit about the movie from the local press. It has lots of Arkansas connections. It was filmed in southeast Arkansas. The writer/director, Jeff Nichols, is from Little Rock. One of the teenage boys is from Yell County. He is from Briggsville, which is a wide place in the road a little west of Plainview, my home town. I loved his character and thought his performance was great. Maybe he will be nominated for an Oscar! Also, Russell, our neighbor across the street is from southeast Arkansas, and his nephew was an extra in the movie.

Go see this movie. I’m sure you will enjoy it.

Whole Grain Goodness

03. June 2013 · 4 comments · Categories: Bob, Food, Recipes

I’m sure you’ve heard the recommendations that a healthy diet should include lots of vegetables, fruits, whole grains and not so much refined food such a white flour, desserts, red meat, etc. A book written several years ago by Harvard nutritionists Walter C. Willett and Meir J. Stampfer, Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy (Simon & Schuster, August 2001), describes this nutritional approach, which is based on decades of research. The nutritional guidelines are easily summarized in their food pyramid. Basically, this “nutrition lifestyle” (don’t call it a diet), recommends sharply restricting red meat, potatoes and refined grain products such as white bread; limiting dairy products to one or two servings a day; replacing unhealthy saturated fat with healthier unsaturated vegetable oils; and emphasizing whole grains, fruits and vegetables.

pyramideNotice that the bottom layer of the pyramid lists exercise and weight control. Although this is not actually nutritional, it stresses that your lifestyle should be based on a strong foundation of exercise. Also, near the bottom of the pyramid are whole grains and plant oils, which means that a significant proportion of your calories should come from these foods. As you move up the pyramid you should eat decreasing amounts of the listed food categories—fruits and vegetables, nuts and legumes, fish and poultry, not too much dairy products, until you get to the top. The foods listed at the top are ones to avoid most of the time—the whites (rice, bread, potatoes, pasta) and red meat and butter.

Given that your lifestyle should include a lot of whole grains, I offer a recipe for brown rice pilaf. Try replacing white rice or potatoes with this dish.

[stextbox id=”black” caption=”Perfect Brown Rice”]In a 1-quart sauce pan add 1 teaspoon of olive oil (optional), 3/4 cup of brown rice (I usually use basmati), and one can of chicken stock. Heat over high heat until the broth comes to a rolling boil. Cover and reduce the heat to low; cook for 45 minutes.[/stextbox]

Brown Rice Pilaf

DSC_0145Ingredients

DSC_0142

The mirepoix, garlic and spices

¾   cup brown rice
1    can chicken broth
⅓   cup onion, chopped
⅓   cup celery, chopped
⅓   cup sweet peppers, chopped
2    cloves garlic, minced
1    tablespoon olive oil
1    teaspoon cumin
½   teaspoon coriander
1    teaspoon dried basil
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

Sauté the onion, celery and peppers for 2-3 minutes until they are soft.  Add the minced garlic and saute another minute.  Stir in the rice and add the chicken broth and spices.  Bring to a rolling boil.  Reduce heat to low and simmer with the lid on for 45 minutes.

 

[stextbox id=”info” caption=”Try it with quinoa”]

Quinoa Pilaf

Substitute quinoa for brown rice and keep the rest of the recipe the same. Quinoa only needs to cook about 15-20 minutes.

Quinoa, (pronounced KEEN-wah) is an ancient grain that is indigenous to the Andes region of South America.  It contains more protein than any other grain and is a good source of fiber.  It can be cooked like rice and expands to about four times its original volume.  

[/stextbox]

 

Tour de Rock 2013

01. June 2013 · 2 comments · Categories: Biking, Bob, Health

One of the largest bike rides in central Arkansas, the Tour de Rock, kicked off at 7:00 am this morning. For the first time in several years, I didn’t ride!

I had planned to ride; I got up at 5:30 this morning and assembled my gear–water bottles, electrolyte pills, helmet, gloves, etc. By 6:15 I had loaded my bike and was on my way. After driving a couple of miles, I turned around and came home and pouted.

Two things influenced my decision not to ride. First, the weather forecast called for thunderstorms and heavy rain. The greatest probability for storms was for the afternoon, and I thought the rain might hold off until after the ride. But, it started to rain about 10 minutes after I left home. Second, I was dizzy this morning. This is the third day in a row that I’ve felt dizzy. So, the thought of riding nearly 70 miles in a pouring rain on slick roads while feeling dizzy, was enough to cause me to stay home.

It was a wise decision. It poured rain all morning—over 2 inches in 3 hours. I can’t imagine that riding a bike in a downpour could be the least bit fun. Because of so much rain, the 100-mile ride was suspended after 2 hours, and some rides were canceled.

My dizziness is no doubt related to a previous spell of dizziness that caused me to crash my bike into a rock wall. In order to figure out what might be causing the problem, I’ve been wearing a heart monitor for the past 3 weeks and will wear it another week. I’ve been instructed to press a button on the monitor anytime I feel any symptoms, like dizziness. I’ve been pressing the button quite a lot over the past couple of days. I am hopeful the monitor will provide sufficient data so a doctor can diagnose my problem.