Joke Of The Day: A Nicer Approach

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Jan 042016
 
Rubber Chicken Every night, after dinner, a man took off for the local tavern. He spent the whole evening there, and arrived home very drunk around midnight each night.

He always had trouble getting his key into the keyhole and getting the door opened. His wife, waiting up for him, would go to the door and let him in. Then she would proceed to yell and scream at him, for his constant nights out, and coming home in a drunken state. But, Harry continued his nightly routine.

One day, the wife was talking to a friend about her husband’s behavior, and was particularly distraught by it all.

The friend listened to her, and then said, “Why don’t you treat him a little differently, when he comes home? Instead of berating him, why don’t you give him some loving words, and welcome him home with a kiss? He then might change his ways.”

The wife thought that might be a good idea.

That night, Harry took off again, after dinner. And, about midnight, he arrived home, in his usual condition.

His wife heard him at the door, and quickly went to it, and opened the door, and let Harry in.

This time, instead of berating him, as she had always done, she took his arm, and led him into the living room. She sat him down in an easy chair, put his feet up on the ottoman and took his shoes off. Then she went behind him, and started to cuddle him a little. After a little while, she said to him, “It’s pretty late, dear. I think we had better go upstairs to bed, now, don’t you think?”

At that, Harry replied, in his inebriated state, “I guess we might as well. I’ll be getting in trouble with the stupid wife when I get home anyway!”

 

 

Low-Temp Pasta

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Jan 032016
 

Low-Temp Pasta
There are more efficient ways to cook pasta besides dropping it into a big pot of boiling, salted water. For example, next time pasta’s on the menu, try turning off the burner once you drop the pasta and letting it cook in the already-hot water.

The folks over at Cook’s Illustrated tried this method out with several different types of pasta including spaghetti, farfalle, shells, and ziti, and it worked like a charm. They explain why:

What Is Low-Temp Pasta?

Most instructions for cooking dried pasta are invariably the same: Drop the noodles into a pot of boiling water, bring it back to a boil, and keep it bubbling vigorously until the pasta is done. We already broke with this conventional wisdom by showing that you can cook pasta in a lot less water than is typically called for, as long as you don’t mind stirring it frequently.

Now we’ve learned that you don’t need to hold your pasta water at a rolling boil either. In fact, you don’t even need to keep the pot on the heat. The pasta will cook just fine if you take the pot off the burner as soon as you add the pasta, cover it immediately, stir once or twice during the first minute, cover again, and leave it to sit for the recommended cooking time. We tested this method with spaghetti, shells, farfalle, and ziti, using the full 4 quarts of water recommended per pound, and we found that the texture was identical to that of pasta we boiled the conventional way.

Here’s why the approach works: Starches absorb water at approximately 180 degrees. As long as the water is at a rolling boil (212 degrees) when you add the pasta and your kitchen is at normal room temperature, the water will remain well above 180 degrees off the heat for longer than the typical 8 to 10 minutes it takes for the pasta to cook through. In our tests, the water temperature had only cooled to about 195 degrees by the time the pasta was al dente. (In a cooler-than-normal kitchen, the pasta might take a minute or two longer to reach the proper texture, and the water temperature might drop a little more.)

Does this mean we’re going to stop boiling our pasta? Maybe not. But it’s nice to know we have the option.

Source…

 
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Col. Robert L. Howard – The Man The Vietcong Couldn’t Kill

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Jan 032016
 

Col. Robert L. Howard

Col. Robert L. Howard (aka The Real Rambo) was the most decorated soldier / veteran in American history. It’s people like him who make this country GREAT!

This guy was a serious war fighter that played no games with the Vietcong. He racked and stacked bodies during The Vietnam War and was about black ops as it gets.

Col. Robert L. Howard

A Staff Sergeant in MACV-SOG which is a highly classified unit. This man was wounded 14 times during his 54 months of combat. He was actually put in for the Medal of Honor three separate times, but he did not receive either of the first 2 Medal of Honors because the actions that he performed took place in countries where the United States was fighting covertly and The President could not award him the Medal of Honor for actions in Cambodia since we were not supposed to be there to begin with. However he was award the Medal of Honor, 8 Purple Hearts, 1 Distinguished Service Cross, 1 Silver Star, and 4 Bronze Stars.

Actual citation for his actions.

FIRST LIEUTENANT
ROBERT L. HOWARD
UNITED STATES ARMY

for service as set forth in the following CITATION:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. 1st Lt. Howard (then SFC .), distinguished himself while serving as platoon sergeant of an American-Vietnamese platoon which was on a mission to rescue a missing American soldier in enemy controlled territory in the Republic of Vietnam. The platoon had left its helicopter landing zone and was moving out on its mission when it was attacked by an estimated 2-company force. During the initial engagement, 1st Lt. Howard was wounded and his weapon destroyed by a grenade explosion. 1st Lt. Howard saw his platoon leader had been wounded seriously and was exposed to fire. Although unable to walk, and weaponless, 1st Lt. Howard unhesitatingly crawled through a hail of fire to retrieve his wounded leader. As 1st Lt. Howard was administering first aid and removing the officer’s equipment, an enemy bullet struck 1 of the ammunition pouches on the lieutenant’s belt, detonating several magazines of ammunition. 1st Lt. Howard momentarily sought cover and then realizing that he must rejoin the platoon, which had been disorganized by the enemy attack, he again began dragging the seriously wounded officer toward the platoon area. Through his outstanding example of indomitable courage and bravery, 1st Lt. Howard was able to rally the platoon into an organized defense force. With complete disregard for his safety, 1st Lt. Howard crawled from position to position, administering first aid to the wounded, giving encouragement to the defenders and directing their fire on the encircling enemy. For 31⁄2 hours 1st Lt. Howard’s small force and supporting aircraft successfully repulsed enemy attacks and finally were in sufficient control to permit the landing of rescue helicopters. 1st Lt. Howard personally supervised the loading of his men and did not leave the bullet-swept landing zone until all were aboard safely. 1st Lt. Howard’s gallantry in action, his complete devotion to the welfare of his men at the risk of his life were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit on himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army.

howard

Col. Robert Howard died on Dec 23,2009 of pancreatic cancer in Waco, Texas.

Source…

 

Awards and decorations

  • Medal of Honor
  • Distinguished Service Cross (with one oak leaf cluster)
  • Silver Star
  • Defense Superior Service Medal
  • Legion of Merit (with three oak leaf clusters)
  • Bronze Star (with three oak leaf clusters and “V” device)
  • Purple Heart (with a silver and two bronze oak leaf clusters)
  • Meritorious Service Medal (with two oak leaf clusters)
  • Air Medal (with “V” Device and numeral 3. One award for heroism and two for aerial achievement)
  • Joint Service Commendation
  • Army Commendation Medal (with “V” device and one each silver and bronze oak leaf clusters. 4 awards for valor and 3 for achievement)
  • Joint Service Achievement
  • Army Achievement
  • Good Conduct Medal, 4 Good Conduct Loops (4 awards)
  • National Defense Service Medal
  • Armed Forces Reserve Medal
  • Vietnam Service Medal
  • NCO Professional Development Ribbon with 2 device
  • Army Overseas Ribbon
  • Army Service Ribbon
  • Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, w/3 Service stars (3 awards)
  • Army Presidential Unit Citation, 1st Oak Leaf Cluster
  • Presidential Unit Citation (United States) 2001, Studies and Observations Group
  • Navy Unit Commendation
  • Army Meritorious Unit Citation

Foreign decorations

  • Vietnam Campaign Medal with 60 device
  • Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Gold Star (Corps citation)
  • Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Silver Star (Division citation)
  • Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Bronze Star (Regiment or Brigade citation)
  • Vietnam Armed Forces Honor Medal 2nd Award
  • Vietnam Wound Medal
  • Vietnam Civil Actions Medal 2nd Award
  • Vietnam Cross of Gallantry Unit Citation with Palm, 1st Oak Leaf Cluster (Unit citation)
  • Republic of Korea Order of National Security Merit (Samil Medal)

Badges, qualifications and tabs

  • Ranger Tab
  • Special Forces Tab
  • Combat Infantryman Badge
  • Aircrew Badge
  • Master Parachutist Badge
  • Pathfinder Badge
  • Air Assault Badge
  • Expert Infantryman’s Badge
  • Vietnamese Ranger Badge
  • Vietnamese Master Parachute Badge
  • Thai Master Parachute Wings
  • Korean Master Parachute Badge
  • Thai Balloonist Badge
  • French Parachutist Badge

 

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