It's been a long time since I've made a post on my blog. Thought maybe it was time for another one. How about an XFL post?

We are in the 5th week of its second incarnation. I liked it the first time around and I like it even more the second time around.

A few random comments in no particular order.

Commentators. Curt Menefee and Greg Olsen are clearly the best of the lot but on the whole the commentators are doing a good job. The sideline reporters are about average.

Level of play. Not up to NFL standards but good enough that I enjoy it.

Officiating. I have found the officiating to be pretty good. Part of it may be that the instant replay rules get rid of the bad calls. At first I didn't like the person who spotted the ball after each play but I realized it made the game move a little faster which overall is a good thing.

Instant replay. The XFL version of instant replay is definitely a major step up from what the NFL does. The goal is to get things right all the time and they do a fair job of it.

Kickoffs. Kickoffs are radically different from the NFL version but still enjoyable to watch with the possibility of long runs but limiting potential for injury. Another thing maybe the NFL should look at.

Extra point. At first I did not like the elimination of the kick for a single point. But after a while I sorta like the choice of being able to try for one two or three extra points on every touchdown.

Overall the league seems polished and well organized. Attendance seems reasonable for this kind of league and I expect over time it may improve.

ETA: Typos 4-10-20

Today's mailbox photos

I fixed it.

11-11-15 This is how I found the mailbox when Wilma and I went for our morning walk

Rock Cut State Park Walk 11-5-15

Wilma and I went for a short walk in the park. Very windy so the audio is bad in spots.

10-10-15 Burning Bush in My Front Yard

9-5-15 Eagle seen along Rock River at Riverside Park, Roscoe, IL

8-22-15 Baby Turkeys at Atwood Forest Preserve

More cross bow medals

Previous post on this

Edi also sent me this picture of some more cross bow medals he also received over the years. I meant to post it and forgot.

Hammy

Hammy is the mascot for the Rockford Ice Hogs (the local minor league hockey team). He was featured at a promotional event this morning at Steiner Electric. I mentioned it to my wife. She remembered she had taken this picture of him at a KMart back on May 3, 2008, and had me print it up last night and take it to him this morning so he could autograph it for her.

2015-02-21 distillery conservation area

A shortish 2 mile walk in a conservation area in Boone County. A lot of work walking through the snow. I had in mind walking around a couple of fields but ended up cutting it to just one field as we ran out of time. It started to snow a little on us as we were finishing.

2015-02-07 IPSEN ROAD CONSERVATION AREA

Wilma and I had a nice hike in the snow. We basically walked the perimeter of the site with a short detour to the I39 bridge that provides access to County Line Forest Preserve. There is a sign at the trailhead that says County Line FP is closed due to tollway construction but the barricade I have been told was at the bridge was nowhere in evidence. Not even a sign. We did not go into County Line. Lots of snow and no foot prints. We encountered 4-6 inches of wet snow. The first two legs had trail broken by someone on a snow mobile. The 3rd leg it was mostly me and wilma and occasionally some deer prints. The 4th leg we just walked up along Ipsen Road as I was tired of the snow.

2015-02-01 RANGER PAC BOOTS FAIL

This is the final video in the series. They have finally failed in a way I cannot fix them.

Ranger Pac Boots
First Update
Repair Attempt
The repair attempt sealed the holes in the bottom of the boots, but the RTV just wore off the wear surface, so I guess the repair was a partial success.

I can't really recommend them as anything other than light duty boots that are likely to fail.They were not real expensive.

2015-02-01 SNOW

Blizzard warning for later today.

Mainstays 1.5 L Grease Pot (Walmart)

I bought this at Walmart to use as a water heating pot for hiking and camping. It is lightweight aluminum. Seems adequately made. I think it was $6.

I just wanted something to put water in and heat it up on the trail. I acquired it back in late November of 2012, and promptly set it in a cupboard.

(I originally wrote this post back in March of 2013, but never posted it for some reason).

Guy Fieri Pepperoni and Mozarella Beef Patty

I was grocery shopping at Walmart earlier and saw these for sale. The pepperoni and mozzarella burgers were priced at $2.50 for six 1/3 pound burgers. The other varieties were a lot more.

However, since just regular hamburger is now more than $1.25/lb, I figured I would give them a try and bought a box.

I fried one up when I got home. Pretty darn good.

Only 4 carbs per patty.

Not much on the web about them. I did find this:
http://www.guyfieri.com/walmartburgers/

I snipped this from the above URL.

ETA: 2-16-15
I haven't found any nutrition information for these on the web so I took this lousy cell phone camera picture of what the box says.

I have also noticed that the burger is thick enough that it does not cook all the way through when using the same heat settings as with regular 1/4 frozen burgers. I usually either cook it at a lower temperature or put it in the microwave and give it a partial cooking before frying it up.

2015-01-17 cat can stove Walmart grease pot

Wilma and I went hiking in a nearby forest preserve. We stopped at a picnic shelter to see how my Walmart grease pot works for heating up water on a cat can stove I made. The grease pot is a little large, but the size means I can store a nice sized plastic coffee mug (handle removed) inside it. The coffee and tea fixings go in bag inside the plastic mug. The whole thing fits nicely in a gallon ziplok bag. I like that the pot has a handle on it. The cat can stove worked OK but I think it might work better with a pot stand. I read a few articles about them on the Internet that suggested aluminum cans work better than steel cans. Mine is steel because I thought it would hold up better.

2015-01-17 HONONEGAH FOREST PRESERVE

Wilma and I hike in the slush and snow at a local forest preserve. It's one of the more well used preserves in the area and we ran across several people out on the trail. We also ran into a creek that had flooded its banks and then frozen so there was a solid sheet of ice I did not want to traverse so we went back and bypassed. I also tried out the cat can stove I made a while back along with the Walmart grease pot. I think the cat stove needs a pot stand The grease pot is just a little big but worked fine at heating water. Never really liked trying to heat water up in the SS cup or the enameled steel cup I was using. It made the cup too hot to drink from. I got a plastic coffee mug and cut off the handle and it fits inside the grease pot with room to spare. I had to cut off videoing when it got dark. Not much to video anyway.

2014-12-24 roland olsen forest preserve

Wilma and I have been here a number of times. It's a nice short walk. Some drizzle. We ran across a group of other walkers. We saw a herd of turkeys just outside of the preserve on our way in. They were still there when we came out so I got some video of them. The turkeys are at the tail end of this video. Wilma and I like turkeys.

2014-12-23 kieselberg forest preserve

Wilma and I had a nice walk in the FP. A little bit of drizzle. We met a couple of dogs and their human who were also out for a walk. Wilma got to play in the little creek there.

22 ammo at Gander on Saturday

I got up a little earlier than I might otherwise have done so and headed over to Gander Mountain. They had 22 ammo advertised. I got there a few minutes before 8:00 am and found the parking lot had a bunch of cars in it already. The door was already open and people were inside in a long line waiting to buy the two boxes of ammo one was allowed.

 They were giving out tickets for the ammo. I got ticket 208. I think ticket 214 was the last one to get any ammo and he only got one box. The store was well organized for the ammo event and despite the long line, it went relatively quickly. No riots or anything.

 The line. I took this picture at 8:10 am according to the file time. Quite a few people had already gotten their two boxes.

The actual goods! 1200 fps, so not exactly standard velocity, but SV seems to be unobtainium these days.