Sunday, February 24, 2013

No Bake Cookie Recipe

These chocolate drop cookies are fantastic. They're easy to make in fifteen minutes and nearly everyone loves them.

You don't even need a stove, just a big pot and enough heat to boil the sugar for one solid minute.
I  doubled this recipe and made them at the Man Camp. Next time I'll triple the recipe. A complete hit.

Measure into a sauce pan:

2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup butter or margarine
pinch of salt

melt this together, stirring frequently until it comes to a roiling boil. If you don't boil it hard and long enough, it won't set up. If you over boil it, the cookies will be dry and crumbly. I just watched the clock, timing one minute after the sauce was bubbling and couldn't be "stirred" down.

Bottom line, make sure it boils one full minute. Remove from heat and add:

1 cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

when that is incorporated, stir in 3 cups of regular oatmeal. I used the old fashioned kind and it worked great.

Immediately drop by teaspoonfuls onto waxed paper, or a sheet pan lightly coated with pan spray.

This recipe will make about 24 cookies. You'll probably wish you made more.

I would consider this a "hobo" recipe cause if you had the ingredients, you could make it over a camp fire.

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Freedom is Won, Not Given

Working up here at the Man Camp at Yellowstone Lake, in Yellowstone National Park, I turn on the Pandora Radio Station and listen to music in the kitchen while I cook.

Just before the men arrive for meal time, I switch from the Bob Marley or Shakira  Station to Simon and Garfunkle or Bob Seger Station. I call them my Man Camp Music. You type in an artist and Pandora adds music that is similar.

Twice now I've heard Blowing In the Wind, by Bob Dylan and twice the same thought comes to me. I finally had to write about it.  Check out the third and fourth lines......


How many years can a mountain exist
Before it's washed to the sea?
Yes, 'n' how many years can some people exist
Before they're allowed to be free?
Yes, 'n' how many times can a man turn his head
Pretending he just doesn't see?

Read more: BOB DYLAN - BLOWING IN THE WIND LYRICS


Allowed to be free. That thought just sorta irritated me. When people are ready, they demand freedom. No one gives it to them. We could list many historical events proving this, from the story of Isreal escaping Egyptian enslavement, to modern  Iraq.

The Arab Spring is a prime example that freedom comes when the people demand it, armed revolution is the common path, not legislative votes and executive decrees.

China underwent the Communist Revoltion, fighting off a corrupt monachy.

Our founding fathers knew wed need the right to bear arms to keep this freedom.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution Follow this link to read more about our constitutional right to bear arms. In fact, the whole concept of a Militia is noted in the Bill of Rights:


As passed by the Congress:
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
As ratified by the States and authenticated by Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of State:
A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.[8]

We fought the Revolutionary War and the Civil War in the name of freedom. Politics didn't do it, discussion didn't do it. It took blood.

Enslavement and freedom have existed throughout history. Type Declaration of Independence into the Wikipedia search engine and you can research all the places and times a people have risen up to declare themselves free. Armed struggled usually followed.

History proves that people must fight for their freedom. It is not a gift.  No one will allow you to be free. You have to want it, demand it, take it.




Friday, February 8, 2013

Windtalkers-Movie Review

Last night I watched Windtalkers on my computer via Netflix.

I used headphones and got so into the movie I didn't hear the guy knocking on my door until several attempts to roust me from my chair were made.

OK, so, here's the main thought. The Movie was fascinating, although I would have loved to hear more of the Navaho's language. It's beautiful. The sound and flow, the intonations and spiritual undertones were fantastic.

Nicolas Cage is listed as the main star. You gotta love just about every movie he does. Totally believable commitment to the character and story.

He is a solider, thrust into a command position when the commander is killed while deep in Jap territory. After refusing to retreat, Cage's men are all taken out, he survives, recoups in a hospital. Damaged? You bet, but he has to get back to the war. With the help of a nurse, he manages to pass the hearing tests and feign that his equilibrium is restored.

Because of his great valor, he is given the assignment to "babysit" or in war terms, Protect the Code, which is an adaptation of the Navajo language spoken by Navajo Soldiers. Its not about the protecting the Navajo lives, its about protecting the code. When Japs broke the Allied code previously, many marines were killed.

Ok, as the story progresses, we see the importance of this code. At on point US radio is destroyed. Cage and his charge manage to capture a Jap radio and call for air support. Another time, friendly fire is taking out marines and the Code Talker radios the correct enemy position.

This is a 2002 film. It is easy to follow, has many stars in it, is well filmed, gorgeous scenery and horrifically realistic battle scenes.
Racism is overcome, eventually, when the Code Talker goes rouge, proving his military worth as well as his communications skills.

In the end, we learn more about the Code Talker's family as they are reunited in the desert scene, looks like somewhere in Arizona or southern Utah.

This is a movie worth watching several times. I give it a five stars rating.

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

The Laptop-A Survivalist Guide to Connecting

I've met lots of folks along my journey who are just now finding out what a computer, more specifically, a laptop can mean for the minimalist.

I have Netflix now. For 7.95 a month, I can stream movies, comedies and documentaries. I can pause them, play a portion, back it up and see a favorite part again. I no longer have to carry DVDs around in my car, rent them, or put up with commercials on other free websites. They remember the types of things I like and offer suggestions, too.

I can call out from my gmail account, which is really good because you can talk for hours free and the save numbers in a history list, making redial simple. My Verizon cell phone doesn't work up here at Lake Yellowstone, but the WIFI has been boosted so that calling out doesn't cost a dime.

I have music on my hard drive, but I also use Pandora for listening pleasure. It has one commercial per hour or so, which is tolerable considering all the music available. I've heard artists I wasn't even aware of because they will add "similar" artists to your specified playlist.

I do online banking, can shop at various stores online, comparing prices, getting the best deals then have them ship whatever I order to this location. This saves gas and lots of agravation looking for something specific.

Of course there is e-mail for staying in touch with family and friends, sending them photos and videos, having a record of what you talked about.

You can apply for jobs online. Its amazing how many employers are going this route, rather than paper applications. Craigslist offers free ads for everything under the sun, including jobs. That's how I landed this great job at the Man Camp. I answered an online add on Craigslist, emailed my resume, then had a phone interview.

I love the researching capabilities for anything you can think of. Simply put what you're looking for, like "Snickerdoodle Recipe", "Free music" or "parts of a pistol" in the search engine and you'll have tons of information at your fingertips. It can take the place of dictionaries and libraries.

Speaking of books, you can download books at Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble.com for next to nothing. There is a free application that allows you to access thousands of e-books. You don't have to own a kindle or nook to buy these books.

I use my word program all the time. Right now I'm working hard on book four in The River Survival Series. This is a perfect way to write and produce all sorts of written material. You can write it in one format, easily reformat it to print in a full size page, with smaller font or margins. I printed my new horor story for the boss by first reformating it to an 8 x 11 inch page. It saved about 80 sheets of paper by doing this rather than printing it from the original document.

I know some people have tablets and I-phones, but I prefer the wide screen on this Toshiba for viewing and work space. If you can only afford one techincal piece, consider the laptop.

My Laptop is used for entertainment, education, work, staying in touch, shopping, and banking. It offers so many possibilities if there is WIFI that its nearly essential.