Author Archives: Frank

Politics and headlines

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The current Congressional investigation into the eight fired US Attorneys reminds me of nothing so much as the unfolding of the Watergate scandal.  The early stages of that began in the summer of 1973.  At the time, I remember wondering “why is this taking so long?”  Now that I’m older I get a certain pathological amusement out of the escalating shenanigans.

The news for the past week is that Monica Goodling, one of the DOJ officials who was involved, has told Congress that she’s going to invoke her fifth amendment right to avoid testifying.  The question is, of course, “why?”  No one has accused her of a crime, nor has she been indicted or even formally subpoenaed. 

There’s much speculation that she was involved in briefing one of the previous witnesses.  If she deliberately withheld information from them, that’s a crime: it’s called “suborning perjury.”  If she gets in front of Congress and lies herself, that’s clearly perjury.  (Not a good idea; it got Slick Willy impeached, thus ending an otherwise interesting career.)

I really do hope they drag her in front of the House and force her to publicly and repeatedly take the 5th to each and every question in front of the cameras.  Friend of the Bushes or not, I wonder how long she’ll keep her job after that.

Recipe: Jambalaya

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Serves 8 as a main-dish meal

Ingredients

  • 1 lb andouille sausage, sliced
  • 2 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into small pieces
  • 2 medium onions, chopped
  • 1 large or 2 small green pepper, seeded and chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, pressed or chopped
  • 1 large (28 oz) can diced tomatoes with juice
  • 5 cups low-sodium chicken broth (add another cup more if you like your jambalaya soupy)
  • 1 pound cooked shrimp
  • 3 cups UNcooked long grain rice
  • 1 cup shrimp stock or clam juice
  • salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot (a Dutch oven is good) brown the andouille until cooked. Remove from pot and set aside. Drain all but a little fat.  (Leave maybe 1 tablespoon.)

Brown the chicken thighs in the reserved fat. Remove from pot and set aside with the andouille.  If there is more than tablespoon of fat, drain all but 1 tablespoon.

Put the onion and green pepper in the pot with a little salt. Sweat until onion is translucent. Add garlic and cook one minute more.

Add rice and stir until coated.

Add tomatoes and all liquid ingredients. Bring to a boil. Add the chicken.  Reduce heat to barely simmering and cover.  Simmer for 30-40 minutes.  Resist the urge to look in the first 30 minutes!  If it smells like it is burning, reduce heat a little more.

Check seasonings and adjust as needed. Add andouille and shrimp and set aside for a few minutes. Residual heat will warm the shrimp.

Serve in bowls with hot sauce if desired.

Building fires

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I have a nephew who has always been fascinated by my ability to start a fire with non-traditional tools.  We had a camp-out once where I started our camp fire with a chunk of metal, a rock, and a knife (magnesium shavings and sparks will start a fire even in wet conditions.) He spent quite a while trying to figure out what the “trick” was.

Here’s a site that provides instructions for starting fires with primitive tools, including bow drills, hand drills, and flint/steel.  They also sell bow-drill equipment, which sort of seems like it defeats the purpose, but hey, whatever lights your fire.

Management Lessons

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Corporate Lesson 1 : Naked Wife

A man is getting into the shower just as his wife is finishing up her shower when the doorbell rings. The wife quickly wraps herself in a towel and runs downstairs. When she opens the door, there stands Bob, the next door neighbor. Before she says a word, Bob says, “I’ll give you $800 to drop that towel.”

After thinking for a moment, the woman drops her towel and stands naked in front of Bob.

After a few seconds, Bob hands her $800 dollars and leaves. The woman wraps back up in the towel and goes back upstairs. When she gets to the bathroom, her husband asks,”Who was that?”

“It was Bob the next door neighbor,” she replies. “Great!” the husband says, “Did he say anything about the $800 he owes me?”

Moral of the story:
If you share critical information pertaining to credit and risk with your shareholders in time, you may be in a position to prevent avoidable exposure.

Corporate Lesson 2

A sales rep, an administration clerk, and the manager are walking to lunch when they find an antique oil lamp. They rub it and a Genie comes out. The Genie says, “I’ll give each of you just one wish”

“Me first! Me first!” says the admin. clerk. “I want to be in the Bahamas, driving a speedboat, without a care in the world.”

Poof! She’s gone. “Me next! Me next!” says the sales rep. “I want to be in Hawaii,relaxing on the beach with my personal masseuse, an endless supply of Pina Coladas and the love of my life.”

Poof! He’s gone. “OK, you’re up,” the Genie says to the manager. The manager says, “I want those two back in the office after lunch.”

Moral of the story: Always let your boss have the first say.

Corporate Lesson 3

A priest offered a lift to a Nun. She got in and crossed her legs, forcing her gown to reveal a leg. The priest nearly had an accident. After controlling the car, he stealthily slid his hand up her leg. The nun said,”Father, remember Psalm 129?”

The priest removed his hand. But,changing gears, he let his hand slide up her leg again. The nun once again said, “Father, remember Psalm 129?”

The priest apologized “Sorry sister but the flesh is weak.”

Arriving at the convent, the nun went on her way. On his arrival at the church, the priest rushed to look up Psalm 129. It said, “Go forth and seek, further up, you will find glory.”

Moral of the story: If you are not well informed in your job, you might miss a great opportunity.

Corporate Lesson 4

A crow was sitting on a tree, doing nothing all day. A rabbit asked him,”Can I also sit like you and do nothing all day long?”

The crow answered: “Sure, why not.”

So, the rabbit sat on the ground below the crow, and rested.

A fox jumped on the rabbit and ate it.

Moral of the story: To be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very high up.

Corporate Lesson 5

A turkey was chatting with a bull “I would love to be able to get to the top of that tree,” sighed the turkey, but I haven’t got the energy.”

“Well, why don’t you nibble on my droppings?” replied the bull. “They’re packed with nutrients.”

The turkey pecked at a lump of dung and found that it gave him enough strength to reach the lowest branch of the tree. The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch. Finally after a fourth night, there he was proudly perched at the top of the tree. Soon he was spotted by a farmer, who shot the turkey out of the tree.

Moral of the story: Bullshit might get you to the top, but it won’t keep you there.

No idea where these came from, a friend just emailed them to me and I thought they were worth sharing!

Panorama Photos

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Someone asked where I got that photo that’s current gracing the site header.  It’s actually a bunch of individual photos stitched together with the demo version of Autostitch, a program that does automatic image stitching.  It’s pretty slick. 

Oh, and the image itself is taken from the path on the jetty that separates the Mission Bay inlet from the San Diego River.  The big white building in the center of the picture is the Hyatt Islandia.  The Sea World tower is toward the right.  My sailboat is in that forest of masts between the Sea World tower and the bay.