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May 30 2016

Hail the mighty Salmon

By Annie

Salmon is so good for you and so yummy. Unfortunately, our days of eating Salmon are gone forever. The oceans have become so contaminated that all the fish are dying. I’m heartbroken.

We had bought some salmon prior to the Fukushima meltdown. It was double-bagged and kept in the bottom of the freezer. We’ve used a little of it every couple years to wean ourselves off of this amazing food. It’s been five years and it still looks good. I’m amazed. As I post this, we are preparing to smoke it for bagel sandwiches.

I used to work in Old Town Sacramento at Laszlo’s Gourmet Smoked Fish. I swear it was the best smoked fish I’ve ever had the pleasure of eating. Since the business is no longer open, I see no reason not to publish the simple recipe:

Smoke Salmon Recipe
1 cup Soy Sauce
2 cups Apple Juice (or Apple Cider)
½ pound Brown Sugar
Garlic

You may have to double or triple the recipe based on the amount of fish you’re making. The brine should just cover the fish. Soak the fish in the brine overnight. Smoke in your smoker for at least 6-8 hours. This is the bomb!

For bagel sandwiches, spread cream cheese on your favorite toasted bagel. We make ours from scratch. Top with capers, thinly sliced tomato and onion. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

If you were unaware of the damage being done in the Pacific Ocean, check out the links below.

I believe our government is lying to us about the radiation levels in not only the salmon, but other fish as well, and by the time the government warns us about it, the damage will be long done. I would rather take a “let’s wait and see” attitude. If after a few years we don’t see a huge increase in cancer rates, I will start eating salmon again. But wait, aren’t we already seeing an uptick in cancer?

Categories: Cooking, Medical, Rants

Tags: Alaska, Apple cider vinegar, blog, business, California, cancer, favorite, food, Fukushima, government, health, homemade, Laszlo's Gourmet Smoked Fish, Monsanto, Old Town Sacramento, opinion, Pacific Ocean, radiation, recipe, salmon, San Francisco, smoked fish, Smoked Salmon, Tomato, UK, Youtube.com

Jul 18 2013

The NSA’s Own ‘6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon’

By Shawn & Annette

If the NSA is harvesting data 2-3 points from everyone (and yes, they are), they have a map way more intricate that anything we could ever collect on our own. They know everything about everyone who has ever talked to anyone who has ever talked to anyone you have ever talked to. Think about that.

English: Kevin Bacon. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In perspective, 6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon only requires “a link” at some point in two people’s lives, nothing more substantial than a name in the credits. Yet, the NSA is collecting data 3 people away from everyone for every communication or other ‘link’. Everyone.

Oh, I’m sure that many will interpret the phrase “terrorist suspects” to mean only the million or so people on the public terrorist watchlist, but that doesn’t actually include the other “suspects” such as those who support the Constitution – you know, like every law enforcement officer, military member and duly elected representative in America is sworn to do.

Do you bank at BofA, where Dzhokhar Tsarnaev of the recent Boston Bombings also banks? That’s a “link.”

Do you use Facebook, where there are literally dozens of Al Qaeda affiliated groups? That’s a “link.”

Have you visited Twitter or Youtube, where the digital terror group (if you accept the FBI’s terminology) ‘Anonymous’ shares information about their activities? That’s a “link,” too.

Or, admittedly my favorite example, did you vote for President Barack Obama, who has provided weapons to militant terrorists abroad and personally signed off on the sale of guns used in well over 200 Mexican murders? That’s a “link.”

Oh, did you think you had to have actual contact with these people in order for it to count? Bah. Clearly you’re not familiar with how the law is abused in America today. Each time someone tells me I’m blowing things out of proportion with my pessimistic view of government, I send them the following links:

Botched Paramilitary Police Raids: While the data is extensive, the question is really why any paramilitary-style police raids happen in America in the first place. The same government that drones civilians in countries across the globe, and stores the content of every phone call we’ve made for the last decade can’t be bothered to pick up a suspect on the street instead of beating in his neighbors door for refusing to allow them to occupy his home to spy on the house next door.
National Police Misconduct Newsfeed: This daily newswire reports on the abuse du jour. Read the last week or two then tell me that the same government that used to help get cats out of trees is still trustworthy enough to be allowed to track your every action, movement and communication.

I read an article yesterday from the NY Daily News that tried so very hard to dispel the theory that the NSA is the American Stasi. His reasoning is perfectly sound, as long as you are willing to bury your head in the ground and believe every lie told to you.

The Stasi only wishes they had the ability to track and record every single movement and communication, along with legal authority to ‘disappear you‘ without judicial oversight. Where the Stasi failed, our government has not only succeeded, but excelled. Why stop with targeting of those who are actually intending to do ill – heck, even after multiple warnings the Boston Marathon will never be the same. Meanwhile, Shia LeBeouf tells it like it was…OVER FIVE YEARS AGO:

Surely they don’t think the ever-goofy Shia is a terrorist? Must be the hair, right? Are you fed up yet?

Categories: Patriot

Tags: abuse, bank, Barack Obama, blog, Constitution, court, database, English, Facebook, favorite, finance, gov, government, guns, House, law, news, Obama, opinion, police, President, Yahoo, Youtube.com

Dec 10 2012

Get Ready for Tax Time

By Annie

In today’s economic climate it pays to be smart and could mean the difference between an okie dokie tax refund and a real nice fat one.

Lots of people have taken jobs where they get tips: waitress, waiter, delivery person, etc… You’ll want to keep track of those tips. Not only are you supposed to claim them, but it could make you thousands of dollars. The figures vary every year, so I won’t bore you with the numbers but in order to qualify for the earned income credit, you have earned income. Right?

Well, up to a certain point, the more you make, the more earned income credit you get. So, claiming that extra $5,000 in tips could net you a tidy sum when it comes to tax time. Every little bit helps. I’ll tell you another secret.

We keep all our receipts, that way when we do our taxes some things that we didn’t think were tax deductible were actually deductible. I just put them in a folder marked business or personal, but I always check back through the personal stuff, just in case I missed something.

If you find a mistake, you can go back and amend a return for three years.