Monthly Archives: October 2009

Pasta and Leather?

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Here I am, in brown leather jeans and tall Wesco harness boots (you’ll have to trust me to know I had on tall boots)… running home-made pasta through the press attached to my mixer.

I love to “make my own” … pasta, bread, and other great stuff to eat. My partner and I enjoy doing this together. I roll out the pasta, cut it, and my partner applies egg white to the edges of the cut ravioli (the egg white serves as an organic “glue” to hold the pasta edges together). I put on some cheese filling, then fold the pasta onto itself.

There you have it: a raviol – o? (Is one piece of ravioli a “raviolo?” Hmmm, I have to check. Certainly, it’s not a “raviolus” since I have no evidence that Julius Caesar enjoyed this pasta dish LOL!)

We did this on Saturday afternoon after I got back from my homecoming visit with my college fraternity. I peeled off the black leather and put on the brown (I change boots and leather often.) It was really yucky weather outside that day, so it was a great time to stay inside and cook. I try to “batch cook” several dishes in advance and freeze them. Then we can still have a home-cooked meal during the week when preparation time is limited.

I also made another huge batch of “salsa del Guido” — it is Guido’s ‘secret recipe’ pasta sauce. (Guido is my chef inspiration). The sauce is great, and goes well with the ravioli, lasagna, stuffed peppers, manicotti… you get the idea. Umm, umm, umm…

Life is short: buon appetito!

You Want A Cop Uniform for Halloween?

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It is inevitable at this time of year that a number of internet seaches for “Cop Uniform for Halloween” or “Police Costume” are ending up on my website, especially on my page related to how to assemble a CHP uniform.

The California Highway Patrol (CHP) uniform is the classic, most sought-after cop uniform in existence, made popular by the TV show, “CHiPs” which was broadcast on American television from 1977 to 1983. I tell ‘ya, a LOT of people are looking for that uniform — and not all of them are gay uniform fetish guys, either. Lots of straight guys like to wear a uniform for Halloween, or dress their kids in one.

For those who thought it might be easy to find a source of a complete CHP (or other law enforcement) uniform via the web, I am sorry to disappoint you. It is not possible to buy an authentic, complete California Highway Patrol (or other) uniform. In fact, it is illegal even to sell such a uniform to someone who is not authorized by the CHP to buy one. (This is due primarily to laws that went into effect after the U.S. terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. They don’t want the bad guys to have easy access to a uniform that they could use for nefarious purposes.)

However… it is possible, and legal, to put together a replica CHP uniform yourself, as long as you do not wear it anywhere within the State of California, USA, OR assume behavior while wearing a uniform that implies you are a cop. Impersonation is evaluated on two factors: how you look and what you do. If you try to act like a cop in public, such as by pulling someone over, frisking or handcuffing a “suspect,” interrogating someone, etc., then a real cop may think you are trying to impersonate an officer and take you in for questioning and possibly place you under arrest on criminal charges.

Keep the cop-acting behavior behind closed doors, and don’t wear a uniform in the city, county, or state where cops in that uniform have jurisdiction, and be cool. You will be okay.

It is not hard to assemble and create a CHP (or other agency) uniform, but it takes some advanced planning. Considering that this post is first appearing on this blog on October 20, 2009, you may not be able to pull this off for Halloween 2009, but here goes:

1. Get a uniform shirt (any shirt supplier can sell it) in the color “silvertan”

2. Get breeches (if you want to go with the look of a motorcycle officer). You can have the gold/blue “braiding” (stripes) applied from your supplier. Intapol is one source of breeches; there may be others.

3. Get Dehner Patrol Boots (or a similar-looking pair. For a halloween costume, no one will notice if you have cheap knock-off imitations.)

4. The insignia (patches) are worn on both the right and left sleeves up high near the shoulder. They are a bit harder to find, but it is possible to find them at leather fetish shops (choose your favorite) or on eBay. Sew them on.

5. You probably can not find a real CHP badge. And it’s probably not a good idea. You can find a replica badge on eBay, but try to avoid getting one that says “security officer” or something generic like that. IMHO, badges like that are cheesy and make you appear like Deputy Dawg.

6. Get a regular belt (to serve as an underbelt) and a Duty Belt (called a Sam Brown Belt), attached with keepers. Get a few doo-dads to hang onto it — see my duty belt description on my website for ideas. Here is a source.

7. By all means, do NOT wear a weapon (gun, baton, billy club.) Such devices are illegal for an unauthorized, unlicensed individual to wear on the street of most cities and towns in the United States, Australia, and probably many other countries.

8. Optional Damascus cop search gloves set an interesting “tone.”

9. Go hatless or if you wear a hat, choose as authentic a ballcap as you can find. A motorcycle helmet with CHP colors is good, but likely not easy to find. If you choose to wear a ballcap, avoid a generic “security” hat. Remember the “Deputy Dawg” warning above?

That’s about it. It isn’t hard, but takes planning. Go get ’em (at home, privately!) Have fun!

DISCLAIMER: All the information contained in this post is provided solely for the benefit of collectors and fans of the show “CHiPs” to assist them in constructing a “CHiPs” replica costume. In no way is it intended for use in any attempt to impersonate any law enforcement officer.

765 Safer Homes

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All day on Sunday, I carried out my annual project to ensure seniors remain safe: a cadre of some 70 volunteers and I visited 544 homes and replaced 700 batteries in their smoke alarms (some homes had more than one smoke alarm). We also replaced 65 smoke alarms that were over ten years old, which is the recommendation for when a smoke alarm should be completly replaced.

Two major home supplies retailers donated the batteries and smoke alarms. Another major restaurant chain donated pizzas for the volunteers who shared a joyful lunch with some local dignitaries who thanked our donors, the volunteers, and celebrated Fire Prevention Month. We appreciate the donations, even though we got 300 less batteries this year than last. (Honestly, due to the crappy economy, I was really worried that the donations would not come through this year.)

Being “football oblivious,” I had forgotten that the local football team was playing on Sunday afternoon. That’s why most of my volunteers wanted to work an “early shift.” That’s okay, it made for a much quicker and lighter afternoon. It was funny, when I went to an elderly man’s home to swap his smoke alarm’s battery, he thanked me several times for coming, and it was only when I was leaving that I realized why he was thanking me so much. He closed with, “I know you could be watching the game with your buddies, but instead, you’re doing this. Thank you!” I didn’t have the heart to tell him that I don’t care for football and did not even realize that there was a game being played, until someone told me about it.

What did I wear? I “went brown” since it is Autumn — brown sweatshirt, brown leather jeans, and my tall brown Wesco harness boots. Once again… I heard no comments about the leather, though one younger guy volunteering with us asked me about the boots.

Due to his disability, my partner didn’t run around to do installations with me, but instead, remained at the check-in site making sure the volunteers were all accounted for and had the supplies, directions, and release forms that they needed.

We were all done by mid-day. It was time to come home and have some hot chocolate. Man, even though it finally stopped raining, it was cold all day! My partner and and I were completely wiped out, but we felt great about doing this important civic volunteer work. Once again, everyone rallied to a great cause and carried out a huge project superbly, just like they did last year. It really makes me smile and feel good to know that so many people are safer.

Life is short: replace your smoke alarm batteries today!

Soggy Homecoming

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Saturday, I went to a homecoming party hosted by my college social fraternity at my Alma Mater. Man, what a wet and miserable day. But at least it was only rain, and not snow as has been falling unusually early north of me.

I regret that I couldn’t ride my Harley to the fraternity house. It would have been easier to find a place to park, and “cooler” to arrive on such a ride. However, when it was only 43°F (6°C), raining, and with lots of wet leaves on the ground, even this hard-core biker knew his limits.

It was interesting to meet the new guys and to celebrate the rechartering of my old college fraternity which had closed in the ’90s and only recently was rechartered. They were friendly, greeted me warmly, and were deferential to this “old alum” by bringing me a burger and a Coke and making sure I was comfortable and welcomed.

I realized, though, how much I’ve changed, or should I say what the generation gap displayed. The guys were texting or had cell phones joined-at-the-ear. They had on rap music, and talked about their “techno rave” they had the night before and how much fun they had. I’m glad they had fun, though I told my partner when I came home that such an activity would not have been something I would have liked to do when I was their age. I guess I was born old.

How was I dressed? Well, unfortunately, all of the shirts and t-shirts that had my college fraternity name or logo on them are long-gone, so I wore a black shirt, leather vest, a pair of leather jeans and Chippewa Hi-Shine boots. As usual, no one said a thing about the leather. (I repeat this because some guys who read this blog and continue to tell me that they are concerned about wearing leather in public. Honestly, it is no big deal! Nobody cares!)

Life is short: renew the spirit and enjoy your memories (while doing it in leather and boots!)

Brown Equestrian Boots

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This is a little story about following links provided on the “boots on line” board. About two weeks ago, someone posted a message about an interest in patrol boots in any other color than black. I’ve seen tall patrol boots worn by some outfits and a certain corps of cadets who are very well known for their good-looking brown boots. However, those boots are expensive and waiting lists are long to get them. The message poster provided a link to an eBay retailer who is selling tall brown boots. So I took a look.

The eBay retailer claimed that the tall brown boots I saw were patrol boots, though the images were clearly of an equestrian boot style. They have a single strap across the instep closed with a buckle. But the boots looked interesting, and the price was reasonable, so I ordered them.

Soon enough a package from DHL was at my door. Inside was a pair of boots and a customs declaration indicating that the boots originated in Pakistan and were sent to me via Dubai. Yep, it’s confirmed, Pakistani leather products are not of good quality. These boots are made of thin leather. They squeak already, and the fit is not that good. I ordered them a size larger than I usually wear, and I am glad about that. The foot size works for me, but the calf width is tight (despite the fact that they are marked “wide calf.”)

Oh well, the boots look good. I’ll figure a way to wear them and try ’em out on my Harley to see how they hold up. But it goes to show what I have said before about eBay: information may be accurate on the listing, but it is what is not said that makes a difference. Nothing was said about the origin of the boots, and had I known, I probably would not have ordered them. Oh well, the lesson is affirmed and my boot collection has grown by another pair. Have a look at photos of these boots on my website.

Life is short: wear your boots!

I’m Done

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No, not done with blogging or with life, but with work this week. I have been exceptionally busy and “crashing” on a huge project that was due yesterday. After 70 hours of work this week alone, this project has consumed every friggin’ moment of my time. In fact, I even had to bring it with me when I visited the mother-in-law last weekend.

My partner has almost forgotten what I look like, and he is probably appearing emaciated as he has had to feed himself these past several nights. (He still feels warm, though… I may be exhausted, but I am not dead! LOL!)

Anyway, if you have written to me lately and I have not replied, it’s because I literally put everything else in my life “on hold” this week while I worked on that project. It was submitted by the deadline last night. I was “rewarded” with a day off today (Friday). Oh goodie, I can sleep really late like until 5am or something….

After I submitted the project via a complex on-line secure portal, I notified the team of professionals I was leading through this process to advise them that it was done. It’s a great relief to all of us. You can hear big sighs of relief from California to Florida, from Washington (state) to Washington, DC, from Maryland to Hawaii.

In response, one of my team partners replied with these sayings, which I really liked:

Vision without Action is daydreaming
Action without Vision is wandering
Vision with Action is Destiny

Life has a way of making room for those who know where they’re going

Life is short: do what you gotta do!

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Why Not Ride My Harley To Work?

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Among my 500-or-so daily blog readers, I occasionally receive email and questions about matters about which I write. The other day, someone wrote to me to ask why I take the Metro to work at my office in downtown Washington, DC, instead of just ride my Harley there.

“Wouldn’t riding your bike to work be more fun? Isn’t it faster? Wouldn’t you be able to have a more flexible schedule? Wouldn’t it be cheaper?”

Actually, the answer to all of these questions is, “no.” Let’s examine each question in detail.

The fun factor. While riding my Harley is indeed fun, it is fun only when you do not have to compete with many other vehicles on the road at the same time. Remember, most of those other vehicle operators are driving cars, and because they are not motorcyclists, they often do not pay attention to the fact that a motorcycle is sharing the road with them. All too often, they are yakking on their cell phones and doing other things that draw their attention from their #1 duty: paying attention to driving. When traffic is heavy and stop lights are numerous, it is not fun to ride a motorcycle. Instead, it is tedious and exhausting to keep eyes out for the behavior of other drivers who are not paying attention to you, claim they do not see you, or are just bad drivers and make maneuvers on the road that if you were not paying close attention each second, could injure or kill you.

Speed of commute. In the pattern of my commute, it would take me well over an hour to drive to my office in the morning, yet via Metro, the commute time is cut in half because the train is faster and doesn’t have to stop for traffic. While the train stops at stations, there are far fewer stations than traffic lights. Unfortunately since the terrible Metro crash on June 22, the train has been running slower and is more crowded. But overall, Metro is still faster for me. Portal-to-portal, if I rode my Harley to work, it would take about 80 minutes from the time I begin to gear up to the time I arrive, park, disrobe, lock up, and walk to my office. It would take about 90 minutes to reverse the process going home (traffic is thicker in the afternoon.)

If I ride my Harley to Metro, even by taking an extra five minutes to lock it up and cover it, my portal-to-portal commute is about 45 minutes in the morning, and 50 minutes in the afternoon. Plus, I can read or nap on the train — an added benefit.

Flexible schedule. The train runs frequently enough when I use it (standard work day shifted to “early”) that I usually do not have to wait more than five minutes for a train in the morning or afternoon. If I drove my Harley, I would be at the mercy of hoping that there are no crashes or road construction slowing me down, as well as the weather.

Cost. Riding Metro is more expensive than ever. However, if I were to factor in the wear-and-tear on my bike, added cost of insurance (my insurance premium is lower because I do not ride my Harley to work), and additional cost of gas, then using Metro every day is still less expensive than driving to work. While I can find a place to park my Harley for free near my office, I can also park for free at the Metro station. So the cost of parking is not a factor. But what makes a real difference is that my employer gives me a monthly commuting stipend for using public transit which I would not receive if I drove myself. Thus, my overall commuting expenses are lower than they would be if I drove myself.

Ease of tension. While this question was not asked, it is important for me to say that riding my Harley in traffic, especially in hot weather, is nerve-rattling. When I have ridden my bike to work, I have found that when I get home, my nerves are tense and my body aches from having gripped the handlebars hard and swiveling my head to keep aware of what other drivers are doing (or not doing). I don’t have that when I ride the Metro, despite at times being annoyed by its decline in service quality or by the behavior of some of my fellow passengers.

Overall, riding my Harley to work is not a good choice for me, considering that I live and work close to a Metro station. Better yet, I don’t even have to change from one line to another. In my former job, Metro was not an option, as it was nowhere close to where I worked, so I had to ride my bike and put up with the concomitant traffic and weather hassles. I realize that I am lucky in that Metro is convenient to me.

So now you know why I choose not to ride my Harley to work. Any other questions?

Gallery of Bike Cop Pics

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On October 12, I announced on the Hot Boots “Boots on Line” board that I had posted two new galleries of photos that I took while observing a motorcycle cop event on 19 September.

I got a few responses to that post. Some would think, therefore, that nobody cares and nobody’s looking.

Quite the contrary. Using some simple statistical web software, I am “seeing” that over 2,500 unique visitors to my website have visited those galleries from the links embedded within the BOL posting. And that was within 24 hours of posting that message and link. Hundreds more continue to visit, and will continue to do so over the next few days, until all who want to see have “seen.” Then Google will do its thing, and send a googlebot to that page of my website, thus increasing its ranking when people enter search terms such as “motorcycle cops” or “cop boots” into its search engine.

So for those guys who post on BOL and get few replies, don’t fret. People ARE looking, reading, and following links. Few, if any, take the time to reply, say “thanks” or write an email. That is typical internet behavior — surf along, surf along — so don’t worry about it. The viewership is indeed there.

In case you missed that BOL post and want to see the galleries, click here. Have no fear, while I can count visitors, I don’t know who you are. Just that you visited.

Life is short: boot up and enjoy the viewing!

Tests of Patience

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I have returned from a weekend with the mother-in-law who lives near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. It is regretful to say, but each time I go see her, my patience is severely tested. In her worldview, everyone is out to get her and everything else that everyone else does is wrong.

I continue working on practicing what I preach. I smiled — so much so that my partner said, “be careful, your face is going to freeze that way!” (That’s a little joke between us.)

I prepared all the meals, which she ate with loud gusto. Umm, umm, lip-smackin’ good. (Noisy eating is common, unfortunately.)

I had to work on a big project for my employer, so I had to plug away at my laptop when I wasn’t doing something else. My patience was frustrated once again because I found that my collaborators — all over the United States — had documents and files they needed to share with me, but because my mother-in-law doesn’t have internet access and I’m too cheap to buy an air card, I just had to suffer without.

Unfortunately, riding in a car all that distance tested my patience in just being “cooped up in a cage” which is really my problem, no one else’s. My partner, on the other had, gets very stiff due to his disability. That makes him irritable and grouchy. He can’t gripe at his mother, so I’m the lucky one to hear some things that perhaps he wouldn’t say if he weren’t so sore.

Columbus Day weekend is always one that tries my patience. But I continue to remember what I blog about, and find an inner resolve somewhere deep inside me to accept what I cannot change and just go with the flow.

And you know what? Overall, I’m okay. I could have had a more productive weekend and less taxing on my nerves had I remained home. But then again, going with him to visit his mother is something my partner asks me to do only twice each year. He does so much for me otherwise. It’s only fair that I accommodate his interests and needs from time to time.

I have to say that I really appreciated the change in TV commercials. While I am not fond of television and don’t watch it at home (no time, no interest), my partner and his Mom had it on. I couldn’t help but notice the “regular” commercials, instead of the commercials run only on the DC television stations that try to influence votes in Congress on various issues. Or right now, additional commercials about the election for Governor of Virginia, which air in our market. All those commercials are awful and so darned one-sided; it was refreshing to hear something else for a change, and not all that political junk.

Life is short: grin and bear it!

Some Things I Have Learned

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I found this on the Internet somewhere, but these sayings are so very applicable to me and many others I know:

I’ve learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles four things:

  • A rainy day, elderly people, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.
    • Rainy day: “oh boy! great time to catch up on reading!” or “let’s cook!”
    • elderly people: show those you love that you love them
    • lost luggage: I hope I get frequent flyer miles for its travel!
    • tangled Christmas tree lights: that’s why we now have a pre-lit tree (smile)
  • I’ve learned that making a ‘living’ is not the same thing as making a ‘life.’
    • My one year of ‘unemployment’ while spending time with my uncle during his last year of life was the best ‘living’ I have ever done.
  • I’ve learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance.
    • …and third, and fourth… for all my foul-ups, those who care about me continue to extend more opportunities to learn from failure and to succeed eventually.
  • I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands. You need to be able to throw something back sometimes.
    • I never learned how to use a catcher’s mitt anyway (smile)
  • I’ve learned that if you pursue happiness, it will elude you. But, if you focus on your family, your friends, the needs of others, your work and doing the very best you can, happiness will find you.
    • oh so true; happiness has found me, and I am blessed.
  • I’ve learned that a smile is a choice.
    • I decide to smile often. A smile may be the only sunlight a stranger sees all day!
  • I’ve learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision.
    • This is where my heart leading the mind works wonders.
  • I’ve learned that even when I have pains, I don’t have to be one.
    • It is easy to let aches and pains cloud what otherwise is a sunny personality. I take Excedrin and always remember to smile.
  • I’ve learned that every day, you should reach out and touch someone.
    • I send birthday cards to over 100 people throughout the year.
    • I check in on friends and family often by phone and email.
  • People love that human touch — holding hands, a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back.
  • I’ve learned that I still have a lot to learn.
    • Oh, how true!

Life is short: show those you love that you love them!