"I don't know nuthin 'bout no restrospect, but lookin' back..."

Thank you to heavy weight boxer Larry "the Easton Assassin" Holmes for the immortal words that make up today's title!

Here we are again, another year gone by another one started. Looking back at last year's New Year's post, I did ok. I made a point to reconnect and stay connected to a few friends that had drifted away. I didn't do as well as I hoped but I made progress.

The Saturn is still in the garage neither sold nor donated, just taking up space and grating on Mrs. SpecialEd's last nerves. At least I turned in the registration and we are not paying insurance on it.

The house is still a disaster, we've made progress in some areas and lost ground in others. It's tough just keeping the tide at bay.

The GrillDome although not used as much recently has still hung in there and not let me down. I did some pulled pork a few weeks back for a nephew in need and also smoked some salmon on Christmas Eve for a couple of lucky SpEd Siblings as surprise Christmas gifts.

And speaking of cooking Christmas gifts, something has happened and Mrs. SpecialEd and I totally blew the fudge this year. We made about five batches and only one of them really turned out right. The others hardened in the pan, on the spoon halfway from the pan to the cooling dish, anywhere but the right spot. We followed our usual recipe from the past, used a thermometer, did everything we were supposed to do but no luck this year. We had to resort to Costco and some fudgie wudgie brand fudge for our special friend who was counting on us. (you know who you are!) But it's ok, fudgie wudgie is awesome stuff!

I got my HAM license and have been on the air on the local 2 meter and 440 mhz bands. Still saving for that HF rig but I began studying the Morse code in earnest when I got a tutoring program on CD from the ARRL for Christmas then downloaded a free program from the web called G4FON to compliment my practice.

As with any year there have been ups and downs and pluses and minuses, this year taking a backseat to no other. BUT (and here is the gist of this message for the three of us that actually read this blog) in spite of the roller coaster ride ups and downs of another year and as bad as the economy is, blah blah blah... we are still plugging away and moving forward. We have a roof over our heads, food in the fridge, good health, (humans and doggies), the house is heated and praise whatever Gods may be, the x-box, cable tv and Internet still works! Matter of fact the SpecialEd Boys declared this "the best Christmas, ever!"

Happy New Year everyone!

CQ, CQ, CQ... KB3RUX in da house!

After putting it off for years and years, I decided that it was either now or never so last month I got a book and started studying for an Amateur Radio License, more commonly referred to as a HAM license.

I got myself a little handheld dual-band (2 meter and 70 centimeter) radio. (think walkie-talkie).

I studied for the first element, the Technician Class license but then with a week to go before testing, I found out I could keep testing as long as I passed so I got a book and studied the last week for the second element or General Class license.

The big day arrived last Saturday, October 11th, and I went to a local library for a testing session. There were maybe 8-10 of us testing for the three different levels. I zipped through the first test and the testing coordinators asked me if I wanted to take the second one so I said "bring it on! I zipped through that one fairly quickly too so I was offered the third test. At first I declined as I knew I was not prepared and it's about 40/45% longer of a test also.

Well the testing coordinators convinced me I had nothing to lose and would at least get an idea what the test was like so I agreed.

I did NOT zip through the third test and they say I got just about half of them right but no matter, I achieved my goal and then some, so it was a good day.

Next the waiting... You aren't official, and can't transmit until your name and new call sign appear online in the FCC database.

Well after checking everyday it finally showed up on Thursday. Due to other things going on like day to day life and such I did not make my first transmit until this afternoon. A short contact with a couple guys from not too far away. The 2 meter and 70 centimeter bands are only good for local transmissions but with the use of nearby repeaters I can reach most of Northern Delaware as well as lots of Southeastern Pennsylvania, Southern New Jersey and Northeastern Maryland.

Having attained the second level or General Class, I am licensed to transmit on frequencies that will get me across the country and around the world but I need to save my pennies for a radio that will do that. But with my van going in the shop, and Annie going to the Vets and SpecialEd Boy #2 starting on braces, etc., etc., it won't be anytime soon.

So from now on, I am no longer SpecialEd, Eddie, Mr. Ed or Hey You... I am KB3RUX, that's Kilo Bravo Three Romeo Uniform X-ray!

73's and hope to catch you on the airwaves!

Zombie Mosquitoes From Hell!

No it's not a B movie from the 1950s or another outrageous book by Australian children's author Andy Griffiths. It's really about mosquitoes, The Asian Tiger Mosquito to be exact or more formally Aedes albopictus.


These are not the brownish salt marsh and woodland pool mosquitoes I remember from my youth but a newer species to the US.

As their name implies, they are originally from Asia but are so invasive they are now found on every continent, excluding Antarctica! They were first found in the US in 1985, in a shipment of used tires in Houston, TX and now range over most of the South and as for north as Maine.

They are very aggressive and are outcompeting the native species of mosquitoes we are all used to. You know the little brown ones that usually only came out at dusk? They are also described as "fast biters" meaning they are done draining your blood before you have a chance to swat them. I don't even feel the bites, just the horrendous itch that comes afterwards.

These buggers are active throughout the day and don't seem to be put off by the smoke billowing from my cooker. I can't go out to my cooker or even sit and smoke a relaxing pipe without having to spray myself with bug spray.

Well this week when I placed another order for smoking wood from Lexington Outdoors of Maine, I checked out their anti-pest products. The world's greatest customer service rep, my friend Dorie, is sending some samples of Ole Time Woodsman Fly Dope for me and some NoSkeeto mosquito barrier for the yard.

It may be a little late in the season but hopefully by this time next week I will have reclaimed my backyard!

The Best Thing About August?

In the otherwise oppressive, drab, dreary, dog days of August, there is something that makes it all worthwhile. Something golden and sunny that tastes like summer... peaches!


I've made two cobblers so far and they turned out very well but not quite what I'm looking for. (the great thing about this trial and error routine is that even the errors are pretty darn good!)


Admittedly, the ratio of peaches to crust was a little off here but no matter it was delicious!


I'm looking for a crust that is a little more crumbly than what I've come up with so far. So, if anyone would like to share their favorite cobbler recipe, I'd greatly appreciate it.

Now for some homemade peach ice cream!

Dog Days of Summer

As most Retrievers have an affinity for water, this is one happy pup!

It also helps to keep his mind off the BBQ... at least temporarily.

How can you NOT, love that face?

"I Find The Pastrami To Be The Most Sensual Of All The Salted Cured Meats"

At least according to Vivian, Geroge Constanza's short-lived girlfriend from the episode "The Blood" from the 9th season of Seinfeld. This is where George achieved the bedroom "Trifecta" of sex, television and food.

George: "I flew to close to the sun on wings of pastrami."

Jerry: "Yeah, that's what you did."

In my neverending quest to perfect my brisket -- which is a much less forgiving piece of meat than say a pork shoulder -- I came across some recipes for making pastrami on the Playing With Fire and Smoke blog.

I have yet to locate the necessary curing agent for starting from scratch so I picked up a couple of store-bought corned beef briskets and followed the instructions. One "dry" and one "wet."

Basically you need to soak the briskets in fresh water for 24-48 hours, changing the water as necessary to extract as much salt as you can from the corning process. Then apply the rub and let that "melt" in overnight, then cook the brisket(s) under a gentle smoke.

Due to some last-minute scheduling problems I ended up overcooking both briskets. They were by no means ruined or even bad but a bit overdone.

The "wet" style was very moist but crumbled when I tried to slice it. The "dry" sliced nicely but it was a tad too dry.

Anyway, they were good enough that I definately plan on doing this again!

My latest Addiction!

Smoked salmon! Man is this stuff good!

I made it for the first time about a month maybe six weeks ago but I can't get enough and neither can the SpecialEd Siblings.

I can't afford the good stuff (wild) so I get farm raised fillets of Atlantic Salmon from Costco.

The first step is to rinse it well in cold water, dry it with paper towels and apply the cure.
The cure consists of one part kosher or sea salt to two parts brown sugar plus a couple tablespoons of freshly cracked black pepper. For a 1.5 lb fillet, I use about a cup of sugar, a half cup of salt and a 1/4 cup of pepper.

Let that sit overnight and the next day the fillets will be sitting in a pool of liquid that the cure has pulled out of the salmon flesh.
Wash the cure off very well and if it's still overly salty you can soak it in cold, fresh water for a little while.

Now lay it out on a rack or cutting board to air dry until it is no longer tacky to the touch (about an hour or so). I use a small fan to help the process along.

Then dust it with your favorite spice rub--for salmon, I use Dizzy Pig's Raging River. Let that "melt" in to the salmon for say 30 minutes then put it on the smoker.

I smoke it at about 210-220 degrees until it reaches an internal temperature of 150 degrees. That's it! Chill it in the refrigerator, get some crackers and cream cheese and it don't get much better 'n that!

BTW, I have been using Sugar Maple and or Cedar from Lexington Outdoors of Maine but I just ordered a bag of Alder chunks from them so I can finally try the traditional salmon smoking wood. The ever helpful Dorie of LOofM also gave me some of her own recipes and ideas for recipes to try so check back soon.