Monday, May 31, 2010

One Big Mess Monday

I think I tried to do too much this weekend and now I am out of gas and have to go back to work tomorrow. Large BBQ cooks, kayak fishing and yard work were all in play this weekend. Just a few items for the holiday Monday.

Blogger Battle
Readers should be aware that I am a big fan of gold and silver and hold physical metals. Anyone who does own metals or anyone who thinks they are a waste of time would do well to check out the lively debate between Zero Hedge contributor Gordon Gekko and Market Ticker author Karl Denninger. Nothing quite like two smart guys going at it in the blogosphere!

Gordon's pro-gold article:
Mr. Denninger and Gold or Why the Dollar-Deflationists Are Wrong

Denninger's rebuttal:
Listen to the Hucksters, Lose Your Ass

Good stuff!

"The Road"
Last night I dialed up some OnDemand and watched "The Road":

The film is based on a novel by Cormac McCarthy, who also penned "No Country for Old Men".

This movie is brutal. It hurts to watch this film. I would recommend it, but you need to know it is a rough film. Even today I am thinking about it and how powerful it was. Add to this some crazy forest fires in Quebec are causing enough smoke to be blown all the way down here in Massachusetts and my eyes are killing me. Bad omen perhaps!

Right now we have the Gulf Oil Spill which continues to be worse than thought, the Quebec fires, and Israel doing all kinds of things (Submarines off coast of Iran, storming ships from Turkey). Everything just seems a big mess right now.

Cooking on the Keg
On Saturday I made twp racks of babyback ribs and 30 MOINKS (meatballs wrapped in bacon). I usually take pictures but I forgot this time as I was doing too many things all at once. Sorry!

I did a simple cook today, just some cheeseburgers and hot dogs. Nothing too exciting:

Here they are about done. In this picture you can see the top grate that swings out for extra cooking space. I used it to toast the buns (go ahead and focus on that line in the comments!):

They were very good!

Added:
Here was Friday's cook; a huge Porterhouse steak for me (I had not eaten all day, was on the kayak all day!) and a couple of filet mignons for the wife and mom in law:

See, variety. Meat, some meat, and then some meat, HA!

I am not ready to go back to work. At least it will already be Tuesday.

Have a good night.

12 comments:

EconomicDisconnect said...

See, it is a mess all over the place:
Air Force pounds MILF
http://tinyurl.com/lpyrf3
Who wrote that headline????!

GawainsGhost said...

GYC, you grill ribs more often than anyone I know. More than even my friend Boogity, and he has a black belt in ribs!

Those burgers and dogs look pretty damn good. I had burgers last night myself, but I pan fried them on a cast iron skillet.

As to the gold debate between Gekko and Deringer, I found it interesting. There are legitimate arguments on both sides. My thing is that it really doesn't matter what you invest in. What matters is proper risk analysis, protection of capital and adequacy of return.

I don't own precious metals, so I don't have a pony in this show. I don't own any real estate either, except for one condo. My family does own a corporation, so I just concentrate on improving the value of that, as it is my inheritance and retirement fund.

I've known people who went broke in precious metals and in real estate, and I've known people who became rich in both. I've also known people who went broke and people who became rich building businesses. So it's all relative to me.

The future is uncertain. There is lots of turmoil in the world today, and things could go either way. I find it best not to worry about these things. And instead to live well, dress well and eat well.

Success, as they say, is the best revenge. And if it all ends tomorrow, oh well at least I went out looking good.

EconomicDisconnect said...

Gawains,
I agree, there was plenty between the two views worth some real thought. I do think the metals are going higher, but thats just me. It is my macro view that deflation will scare the central bankers into freaking out and making so much cash (call it liquidity if you must) that paper will lose plenty of value. I could be wrong and if I am, oh well thems the brakes. I only have my cash and my brains, I never got anything from anyone and will not get anything from anyone going forward.



People love ribs, so I cook them! What can you do.

GawainsGhost said...

"People love ribs, so I cook them! What can you do."

I love ribs too. I just don't cook them as often as you.

What can you do? Well, you could try a little variety. I mean, I do all the shopping and cooking in this house, so when I'm planning meals I try not to cook the same thing too often. Beef, pork, chicken, fish, I alternate. That way when I do make a favorite, like my world famous omelettes, it's more special.

EconomicDisconnect said...

Gawains,
I do all the food shopping/cooking too. Whenever I am having guests I will do ribs and such. Most of the time its just chicken, pork, and pasta. I like to entertain!

On Friday I did do a big porterhouse for me and the wife and mom in law had filet mignon. I will update post with pics in a second.

GawainsGhost said...

Mmmm. That's what I'm talking about.

But you know you should never grill a filet mignon. (I do it all the time, so don't worry about it.)

Seriously though the proper way to prepare a filet mignon is to lightly oil it, prepare a rub of Kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper, and rosemary, then pan sear (30 seconds each side) and oven bake it (4 minutes each side). That produces a truly delicious steak.

But when I'm grilling, I'm grilling. I'm not going to simultaneously try to use an alternate method. And grilled filet mignon is just fine by me.

By the way, if you should decide to grill fish, say a nice thick red snapper fillet, it's best to make an aluminum foil boat and poke tiny holes in it with a needle. That way it doesn't stick to the grill. Same for lobster.

EconomicDisconnect said...

OOOOHHH! Lobster! I think you just picked next weeks cook!

GawainsGhost said...

By the way, tonight we're having Carroll Shelby's chili. It really is the best. He was the inventor of the Ford Mustang Cobra, you know, and this is the recipe he used to cook chili on NASCAR race tracks. You really should check it out:

www.carrollshelbyschili.com

Diced onions, shredded cheese, yum, yum.

Oh, and baked beans. Here's my recipe: one yellow onion, one green pepper, diced. One palm each of parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, oregano, cumin, and bay leaves. In a large pot, sautee diced onion and green pepper in oil, add beans and spices, stir. Pour in 8-10 cups water, add two palms salt and strips of bacon. Bring to a boil, then cover and bake at 300 degrees for at least six hours, adding water as necessary.

That's what I'm talking about.

Moneta said...

I noticed you indulged in Oreo cookies over the last week. That jar has gone done quite a bit since your last picture.

EconomicDisconnect said...

Moneta,
sharp eye!

It is the mom in law! We try to keep sweets in short supply, but she always seems to find them. I once bought a bag of the small reeses peanut butter cups, and after a week I went to grab one and they were all gone! What can you tell a 79 year old though?

Moneta said...

Sure sure!


Loved the gold debate!

GawainsGhost said...

Here is an interesting interview with Janet Tavakoli on the global financial ponzi scheme.

http://vimeo.com/11120284

She's exactly right, fraud is pervasive. She focuses mainly on the mortgage industry but notes that it extends into virtually all markets, including precious metals.

Well worth a listen.