Brave!

Passed a campaign sign on a jog earlier today:

"Voting Prevents Unwanted Presidencies."

Massachusetts hasn't given their electoral votes to a Republican since 1984.

Your vote won't matter, but kudos for your bravery! 

Wordle 1005

 25th loss.

Full Metal Jacket

I attended Marine boot camp about 6 years before Full Metal Jacket came out and was still in the Marine Reserves when I saw the movie. Even though there were some major and minor differences between my boot camp experience and the film, the imagery and vibe were startlingly similar to what I remember. Bear in mind, the film was of the Vietnam-era Marines and I attended, something like a dozen years after that period.

Some of the differences:

--We wore camouflage uniforms.
--I was at MCRD San Diego and the film was set at Paris Island.
--We had 3 drill instructors and I only remember one from the movie--nobody works 24/7, so while possibly good for dramatic purposes, highly unrealistic.
--There were two deaths in our company though not our platoon. Neither were murdered---one was a recruit who has a massive heart attack while on a PT running workout and another recruit drowned in the pool during swim qualifications.

--Shooting instructors kept tight control of ammunition when we were out at the range, so it would be difficult to possess unauthorized ammo. It happened once by accident and became something of an incident. After shooting, we would all go around and collect the brass casings. I came across a live round and put it into my cargo pocket to turn-in later, but then totally forgot about it. A few days later, I rediscovered it and knew that I'd be screwed if I came forward at this late date. So I casually tossed it out the window of the barracks. It was inevitably discovered and there was a major hubbub. Nobody confessed and there wasn't much they could do since the barracks had 6 platoons of 90 men each and they had no idea how long the round had been resting in that location before being found. In retrospect, maybe I should have flushed it down the toilet. 

Wordle 1004

 

Wordle 1003

 

Wordle 1002

 

Wordle 1001

 

Wordle 1,000

In case anybody has been following this saga:  This numbering is based on how many Wordles I've personally tried.

An analysis feature...

Wordle 999

 

Wordle 998

 

Wordle 997

 

Wordle 996

 

Wordle 995

 

From Your Lips to God's Ear

Trump Sings Landslide

Wordle 994

 

Wordle 993

 

Apple Pie

 Not really a recipe, just some helpful hints:

1. Apples: Choose large fresh crisp apples.  Good apples make good pies and large apples require less effort than small apples.

2. My wife makes crust portions ahead of time and puts them in the fridge.  So, step one is to take out enough crust for one pie.  It will be too hard to roll out if you try to do this right out of the fridge.

3.  Peel and cut up apples into pieces similar in size to what you are used to seeing when you eat apple pie.

4.  Add granulated white sugar to the apples in a large bowl--The amount is to taste, but as a general guide, I put 1/2 cup for a pie which would serve 8-10 portions.  This is also where you would add cinnamon, if you like cinnamon.  A teaspoon or so, to taste.  I mix by tossing the bowl to mix the sugar into the apples.  The sugar will draw moisture out of the apples and become wet, this is good and why you add the sugar now and the flour later.

5. Roll out the crust portions:  Put one into the baking dish, save one for the top crust.

6. Now add the flour to the filling.  For the same size pie as above, I use about 1/3 cup of flour.  Dump it on top of the filling and toss the bowl to mix.  At the end you may use your hands.  Keep using them to fill the pie dish.

7. Attach the top crust, trim excess, crimp the top and bottom crusts together and pierce the top decoratively.

8. If you are freezing the pie for later, just put it into a plastic bag and put it into the freezer.  Otherwise garnish the pie with a sprinkle of sugar and bake at 375 F for about an hour or till the top looks lightly brown and you can see good bubbling from under the crust.

Wordle 992

 

Wordle 991

 

Wordle 990